One of the greatest parts of working for yourself is having no one telling you what to do.

One of the most challenging parts of working yourself is—there is no one telling you what to do!

Some people think they want to quit their jobs and go all in on their passion, but as someone who did it—I can say, wait a second!

If you're at a job, you have some higher-up giving you direction on what to do. You head to work knowing what needs to get done and by when. If you're not on the right track, your boss will tell you.

If this is your only understanding of "work," then when you quit to pursue your passion, you might be in for a rude awakening.

Yes, freedom at last!

But unbounded freedom can be overwhelming, even paralyzing. When you're used to a structured schedule, having endless time on your hands can be jarring. (I'm talking about quitting your job, but you can say the same for retirement.)

After I quit my job, there would be times when I'd lay on my couch, staring at the ceiling. I'd hear the mail person come by and feel envious—they had a purpose, they knew their task, and they were getting paid! I lay in a void of uncertainty with endless hours and no idea how to fill them.

But let's assume you didn't quit with no direction like I did. If you did leave your job to focus on your passion, you likely have a sense of what that looks like. Best case scenario, you're already making money through it, and it's demanding you leave your job to clear up space.

So, now what?

Now that you have time, what tasks will move the needle forward?

The choices are endless!

So, what do you do?

This is where hiring a coach is invaluable. They help you get clarity and direction on what to focus on. A coach also helps navigate the sea of uncertainty and acts like a "boss" to keep you on track.

One of the biggest lessons in being an entrepreneur is embracing ambiguity.

You have to be ok with not knowing, trying new things, and reminding yourself that most things won't work.

You would think I figured it out by now, but ten years into it, I still face these questions. Last week, I woke up with a chunk of time to work on something, but I had no idea what.

I have a good problem I didn't have in 2015—too many options! I could do my coach training, prepare for my mastermind, update my speaking profile on my website, promote a meditation course, write a newsletter, create a YouTube video, reach out to podcast guests, work on my book, create a meditation, promote my podcast, update my speaker page, create a course, go live on Insight Timer, work on admin—all the things!!!

Plus, since I have a weekly mastermind, clients, and other meetings, these tasks need to happen outside of that, which means I need to be conscious of my energy levels to show up fully to coach and facilitate.

Since my solo-creative time is limited, there feels an added pressure to make the most out of it.

In this post, I share what I did and give you ideas on what you can do that are both practical and spiritual.

Write down everything you can work on.

Break these tasks into four categories:

• Growth activities

• Nurture Activities

• Money Making Activities

• Admin

(Some activities will be blurry to choose as they can count for multiple.)

Growth Activities

These activities bring people to your work. This can be social media and reels that will reach new people. For Insight Timer this can be going live. Growth activities also involve getting in front of other audiences. It could include being a podcast guest or connecting with others you can collaborate with and get in front of their people. The key metric is NEW people.

Growth Activities:

• Creating Instagram reels (to reach new people)

• Getting in front of other audiences

  • Reaching out to podcasts to be a guest

  • Collaborating with others to reach their audience

  • Speaking at events

• Going live on Insight Timer or Youtube

• Create a new lead magnet or free offer

• Promote lead magnet/free offer

• Create Youtube content

• Create a challenge for people to participate in

• Run paid advertising

Nurture & Long Game Activities

This is what you do to nurture the people already in your world. This can be creating new meditations or more focused Instagram content that people with context will understand.

For me, this means recording podcasts that go out each week, responding to comments on Insight Timer, or writing and sharing this newsletter.

Nurture Activities:

• Creating new meditations

• Creating focused Instagram content for your current audience

• Recording podcasts that go out each week

• Responding to comments on Insight Timer

• Writing and sharing newsletters

• Running a private community or Facebook group

• Engaging with followers on Instagram

• Working longer-term projects (book)

Money Making Activities

These things have the potential to bring you income or will bring you income. They are also your marketing with direct offers. Remember people need to know about the thing you sell!

These can also include the trainings you're in, as they lead you to do a better job at what you do, ultimately equating to being confident to charge higher rates. For me, they may be making a new course on Insight Timer or promoting Meditation Course Creators Academy​

Money Making Activities:

• Making a new meditation course

• Promoting 1-1 coaching

• Creating and selling online courses

• Launching a membership program

• Hosting paid workshops or webinars

• Running group coaching programs

• Selling digital products (eBooks, guided meditations, worksheets)

• Organizing retreats (in-person or virtual)

• Offering corporate wellness programs

• Cold calling/emailing potential companies

Admin

These are the things that have to get done, yet maybe aren't the most creatively inspiring, like:

• Replying to emails

• Bookkeeping

• Planning Content

• Scheduling Sessions

• Onboarding Clients

PSA: Don't let your inbox become your to-do list.

Replying to people can feel productive, but it gets in the way of the tasks that move the needle forward.

Go through your four activities and write everything you can think of!

I also encourage you to make space to play around, think, and make artsy things that may not directly relate to anything but inspire your creativity.

Get clear on short & long-term goals

Now that you have everything written down, it's helpful to understand what goals you're working toward. Connect with your vision for your work and why it's important.

In my mastermind group, we're working on 6-week and end-of-year goals.

Determine a goal for a period that feels doable. This will help you know what activities to focus on.

For example, if your goal is to launch a group program, work backward on all you need to do. (Design, Copy Writing, Promotion, etc.)

If you want to bring more coaching clients in, decide what action steps make it possible. (Writing emails, posting on social, reaching out 1-1, direct asks, booking intro calls, etc)

One of my goals is to grow my podcast 25% by the end of the year. Working backward from there, I'm taking more time to reach out to dream guests and dialing in my SEO on YouTube content.

Spirituality and goal setting are not contradictory

A goal gives us purpose and direction. When aligned with our hearts, this creates a beautiful unfolding.

Goal setting goes awry when people are so fixated on "getting there" that they don't enjoy the process.

Decide your 80/20

Once you have your goal, look at all the tasks and ask yourself, "What 20% of activities bring 80% of the results?"

This can help you focus on what is high-leverage. For example, new meditations are always a high-leverage activity for me because they get posted in many new places and have the chance to reach new audiences.

Tech Tool: Use Toggle to track your work hours. Even if you stare at a blank page, it will help you feel like you're doing something.

Deepen your spiritual practices

We are shifting away from the practical for a moment to remind you what underlies the work and the importance of our practices.

Spiritual practices help us return home to ourselves and as we deepen into our True Nature, Nature happens.

An acorn doesn't need a plan. It becomes the fulfillment of its nature and unfolds into everything it was designed to be.

I believe we are like that acorn—we just have a lot more crap in the way. (Another reason hiring a transformational coach will help clear what is blocking your natural unfolding.)

When filled with primordial energy— we are inspired to take proper action.

Maybe this time of not knowing is a sign to deepen your meditation practice or whatever brings you closer to the Real.

If you need inspiration to trust the unfolding, read Michael Singer's The Surrender Experiment. It will remind you that you are not the one calling the shots, and the more you align, the more you won't need to "do" anything.

I just learned of this beautiful song called "The Way Knows" that captures the essence of unfolding:

"You don't have to know The Way, The Way knows The Way, You don't have to find The Way, trust the Way, The Way knows The Way."

No need to push. You can't force the acorn to sprout.

Everything unfolds in perfect timing.

Do your inner work, and the outer work will make itself known.

Take a break

Maybe not knowing what to do is a sign there's nothing to do.

This may only be possible if you've built a solid foundation with your work. If that is you, show appreciation that you CAN slow down.

Isn't that part of what we work for?

Hire a Coach

Again, I can't emphasize how supportive this can be. Anyone who wants to do well brings on coaches and mentors. And if you're a coach, you should take the medicine you give.

​Here is what my coaching looks like.​

I can help you get clear on all the activities and do the work to bring them forward.

If you want to explore working with me, submit your interest here.

However, it doesn't have to be me. Hire any coach or mentor!

I interview many on The Art & Business of Meditation.

One of the most rewarding parts of the podcast is when someone says they found their coach through my show.

My long-term vision is to build a large enough platform to support many people.