January 27, 2019

6 Ways to Stay Sane While Building Your Brand

As I head home Friday night at 5:30 PM from my full-time job as the Skin Care Portfolio Director for a multi-national company, I'm looking forward to the night ahead. Years ago, my husband and I started what we call "family date night". Every Friday, our little family of three goes out to dinner and sometimes an activity. Each week, we rotate who selects the restaurant and activity. This week was my son's week and he chose Benihana! A bit more expensive than our normal dinner festivities but this week is unique because we were also celebrating his 4.0 GPA for the second term in a row. Wooo Hooo!!! (insert confetti and trumpets).

As I pull into the driveway, I'm giddy with excitement. We all pile into the car a few minutes later and we head off to Benihana. The night was great, food amazing, service top notch, and our son...BEAMING ear to ear. As we drive home, I reflected on the evening and I become overwhelmed with joy. These small moments will be remembered. They may seem ordinary, but I know that I will remember this night and am grateful for the life we have. I know in that moment that times like these is the reset button I need to stay sane while building Trinity. 

6 ways to stay sane while building your brand

We got home around 9:00 PM, change our clothes and begin our nightly routine which always consists of planning the day ahead. Doing this task, it occurs to me that many of you are likely in my same position. You have a full-time career, may also be starting a business and building your brand, or managing all of the extracurricular activities of your kids. Each of us, over worked, tired, yet, passionate about what we're doing. That's when I started frantically taking notes like a crazy lady. My husband, looking at me trying to figure out what's going on...I look at him and say - there are six things I do daily or at least weekly to stay sane while building Trinity. I MUST share them. So...here we are. I've compiled six ways to stay sane while building your brand, or your family schedule! I hope you enjoy and implement at least one tip into your routine.
6 Ways to Stay Sane While Building Your Brand
  1. Find a support system: No one built their empire by themselves. Steve Jobs, Vera Wang, Bill Gates, Elon Musk....they built their companies with a support system. Whether your support system is a mentor, a good friend to bounce ideas off of, or a partner that manages certain tasks of the business. Find someone, a group, or network that can support you while you're stretched too thin. Once you do this, you'll be amazed how productive you will become and how that will improve your mood and energy.6 ways to stay sane while building your brand
  2. Get moving: "Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people don't shoot their husbands, they just don't ." Ok, I had to quote Legally Blonde, so forgive me, but the fact remains that exercise does give you endorphins. It also is the BEST way to reset your mind and body. In fact, I love going out for a run when I'm stressed and "idea challenged". There is something that just happens on a run. I'm able to process my thoughts and solve problems. If you haven't done it, I suggest trying. It doesn't even need to be a run, it could be a walk. Whatever allows you to disconnect, free your brain, and reset. Do it!6 ways to stay sane while building your brand
  3. Give yourself a break: Yes, I said it. TAKE A BREAK. Some days I'm sure it feels like sparing 15 to 30 minutes for a bite to eat or coffee break seems impossible, but schedule it. Block out time on your calendar and commit to a break. If you can spare an entire hour, then do it! There is a reason why labor laws mandate breaks. Productivity and quality of work decrease the longer you work without a break.  Don't believe me? Well, Forbes published an article last May about the correlation between employee satisfaction and engagement and the long-lost lunch break. I've linked it here if you're curious!6 ways to stay sane while building your brand
  4. Time Management: There are many articles, blog posts, and books written on this very subject. If you work in an office, I'm sure you've received a training at one point on the importance of time management, so I won't belabor the issue. I will tell you what works for me, but I encourage you to find something, anything, that resonates with you and use it. Trust me...you will be thankful once you begin managing your day by tasks and time-slots vs. a list of "to-do's" that reside in your brain. Now, for me, I use a good old daily & monthly planner. Does that SCREAM 40? Probably, but I don't care. I take this planner with me everywhere and it contains a listing of every little task I need to complete and when to complete it. Before I started using a planner, I used post-it notes for my daily lists. Hey, not bad, but not great either. There are plenty of digital planners, but for me, there is something about the physical act of writing it in the planner that seems to cement it into my brain. Try it and report back!6 ways to stay sane while building your brand
  5. Sharing is caring: I'm sure you're like...what does she mean? Catchy saying though, am I right? Ok, what I mean by "sharing is caring" is, SHARE responsibilities. There is no way you can do it all. Yes, there are 24 hours in a day, which gives you 8 hours for sleep, 8 hours for work, and 8 for everything else. But we can't be everywhere and everything. Divide and concur I say. There is no shame asking for help and sharing responsibilities. Why do you think large companies have employees? It's because the founder can no longer perform all tasks the company requires. Same with you! Share, delegate, conquer. Your sanity will thank you.6 ways to stay sane while building your brand
  6. Remember the JOY!: My father once told me to remember the joy. My "why". The reason I started down this path. The reason we started Trinity Clothing. It certainly wasn't to have more stress in my life or worry about the little details that NO ONE and I mean NO ONE will even notice, care about, or appreciate. It was in pursuit of JOY and HAPPINESS. When you're stressed and having a difficult day. Step back and say, is this situation making me joyful or unhappy? If it's the latter, then direct yourself to what brings you joy. If it isn't joyful then it won't work. Focus on the joy and you're bound to love what you do and be successful.
Final Thoughts 
    The 6 tips noted above are not ground breaking, they just aren't. But hopefully you read them and it's a good reminder and helps you stay sane while building your brand and trying to accomplish all of the things that tend to pile up. Just know that you are amazing, courageous, resilient, intelligent, and unstoppable! You can do anything you set your mind to, but every once in awhile, you need a break to stay sane while you're building your empire!
    Written by Shayna Dunford

    1 comment

    I love your 6 staying sane …. so true and participating in life’s coach program, you are spot on!

    Jan March 02, 2019

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