“It is no good getting furious if you get stuck. What I do is keep thinking about the problem but work on something else.” – Stephen Hawking
How often do you get stuck working “on” your business?
I hear it often from my clients, they are stuck. They don’t know how to _____. You can fill in the blank with many different things: create content, find more sales, follow up with a lead, etc.
Let’s face it, we all get stuck. It is part of life and it is part of being in business. You can let it spin in your heads and get frustrated or you can refocus your energy.
I know when I get really stuck I’ve learned to do one of the following:
1) Talk it out – Sometimes being stuck requires someone else’s perspective. Talking it out with a close associate or business coach can help you see beyond your “stuck” and your own blinders to your situation. It can help you determine what is the next step you need to take.
2) Get away – If I’m really stuck and frustrated the best thing for me is to get away from it for a while. Get up from the computer and get moving, go for a walk, run a business errand, do something that takes you away from sitting and thinking. I find the best breakthroughs happen for me when I’m out walking my dog and my mind is able to relax and be constructive.
3) Focus on another activity – As Stephen Hawking says, “keep thinking about the problem but work on something else”. A personal example is when I’m stuck generating content for a program or a blog post. If I refocus and work on something else then ideas start to crystallize and the creative juices start to flow.
What do you do to get unstuck? Please share below!
I love to see entrepreneurs follow their passions, serve more people and create the lifestyle of their dreams.
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When I feel stuck, I usually go for a run. It’s very relaxing and clears my head! It’s also a great way to come up with new ideas! Thank you for sharing the blog and I enjoyed reading:)
Hi Heather,
Awesome tips to getting “unstuck” in your business! Usually focusing on something else helps me and then I go back and finish what got me “stuck” in the first place and work on figuring it out either by asking someone who knows or work to figure it myself.
Joan: It definitely helps to ask a friend who not only knows you but who also will challenge you when you’re the blockage to getting unstuck.
I find when I get stuck if I leave it the issue aside for awhile and re-visit it later I see things a little different.
Joe, that exactly what Stephen Hawkins suggests and I think it so important to do. Thanks for commenting.
I do one of three things to get unstuck: 1) MOVE (I go for a walk with the dogs, who are only too happy to get my mind on them); 2) bounce ideas off a friend (sometimes friends can give me new ideas or help me find the flaws in my plans); 3) do something different that feels like a vacation for my mind. This may mean draw, watch bad tv, or hang out in blog land. 🙂
Liz: Excellent examples and I love the way you think about the 3rd, a vacation for your mind! That is such a brilliant way to frame it. Thank you sharing.
Recently it’s been suggested I do what I will call a mind map, where I put me in the centre and then all the variables and pieces in circles radiating out from there. The answer is often in the question and I also take it into my dream life at night and ask for guidance, which brings new ways of looking at the areas where I might be stuck. Also getting away from it all and reading or watching something totally unrelated, as often there will be one comment, sentence or phrase that sparks something new. Thanks for the great points in your post, Heather!
Beverley – Excellent addition. I love Mind Mapping, it can be such a great tool for letting our creativity and ideas flow. Thanks for adding that, you’ve inspired an upcoming blog. 🙂
Simple, straightforward, effective tips. Great advice Heather. I go for a walk, a run, or hop on my bike – a new environment and suddenly, unstuck!!
Deb – That is really the trick, to create something new, away from what we are stuck on. When we allow the frustration and stress of being stuck to go away we generally have great movement on the what we are stuck on in the first place. Thanks.
Often when stuck, I go to sleep & awake with options, possible solutions, actions to take. Always works.
Rosyln – So true, I use to have a pad beside my bed so that I could capture great ideas I had in the middle of the night. Thanks for sharing.
Please promise you won’t laugh at me Heather but when I am stuck I do one of 2 things – take Miss Coco for a walk or……….start washing dishes. 🙂
Being in Nature with my delightful canine companion helps put a distance between me and the problem and the breakthrough happens. I’ve also noticed that washing dishes helps perhaps because the water on my hands helps me to relax and allow my subconscious mind to do the needed analysis.
Vatsala – I’m not laughing, I love it. Walking Bella, my canine companion is one of my favourite ways to get unstuck. I get doing dishes, I like to make soup, or something that requires chopping, I find that relaxing and productive at the same time.