Grow your creative biz by eating your veggies 1st
Become a Productivity Machine
We’re back with a 4-part FREE training series designed to help you become a more focused + productive creative.
This will be an ongoing theme each week where you can take what you’ve learned to the next level in the upcoming 3-Week Group Coaching Boot Camp which opens for enrollment Thursday, April 27th, 9 AM CT. 🗓
This session will show you how to reduce guesswork, eliminate distractions, and become a productivity machine.
Note: Click the image to watch the replay. Continue below to read the blog.
Click to watch the Instagram Live Training Replay
Why You Should Eat Your Veggies First
“Eat your vegetables first, otherwise you won’t get any dessert!”
Ah, remember how annoying (and torturing) this was being told as a kid?
That was just a phase, right?
Fast forward to today as an adult building your creative biz/side hustle pursuits.
You may be struggling to gain traction, see results, and/or stay focused.
Chances are you’re not eating your vegetables first.
You’re most likely eating your Dessert first because it’s the most fun (and easiest)!
Next, you’re probably pushing the rest of your Veggies and Sides around to make yourself look busy…
At the end of the day, you didn’t do anything impactful to push your nutrition + biz forward.
You'll most likely still be hungry (for bigger results) and clueless as to why?
Let’s break down this scenario on how you can see the most progress by eating your Veggies first before the Sides and Dessert.
1. Veggies
These are your top projects/tasks that drive the biggest results in your creative pursuits.
They often require high willpower to focus and execute.
They’re not always the sexiest or tastiest thing on your plate...
But focusing on these first will move your biz forward and free you up later for the fun stuff on your plate (Dessert anyone?).
Veggie examples that move my business forward are:
Student communication + coaching (check-ins, feedback, guidance, etc)
Writing for impact (outlines, emails, blogs, captions, sales pages, etc.)
Having conversations (constantly building relationships + providing value)
Big picture planning (coaching programs, boot camps, events, speaking, etc.)
If I don't take care of these first, my business will sink down the toilet.
2. Sides
Not everyone eats meat so let’s compile things like proteins and starchy carbs as Sides.
These projects/tasks are important, but not as urgent as making sure your Veggies get eaten first.
These DON'T have immediate consequences if you don't eat them right away…
BUT, they could become just as important as Veggies when deadlines get closer.
You can’t just push these around on your plate and ignore them!
Side examples for me are typically future looming deadlines like:
Launch emails + tasks
Speaking gigs down the road
Quarterly taxes
Website updates
Content creation, etc.
Many of these can become super urgent Veggie-level tasks.
3. Dessert
Clearly, this is where most people want to focus their time/tastebuds because they are fun and satisfying at the moment.
They tend to be easier tasks that make them feel productive yet tend to not move the needle forward.
Dessert-based projects/tasks should come last...
OR they should be delegated or eliminated if they distract from the main focus, target, and season you're in.
Dessert examples for me would be:
1. Drawing — This one depends on the season as art can often be an important Side that brings a lot of value to my business.
However, it's a low-willpower task I typically treat like a Dessert once I've completed all the urgent Veggies + Sides on my plate for that day.
Art most certainly becomes a Side over Dessert when I take on the right Hell Yes commission that vibes to my style. But again, it's still completed once other high willpower Veggies are taken care of.
2. Admin — There are a lot of distracting tasks that take me away from what’s most important.
Things like organizing my email, uploading/formatting show notes + blogs, editing, scheduling travel, and even accounting-based things I should be getting off my plate.
Thankfully, my past alumni student, Britt Hoffman , has been my VA since December and has radically helped ease my workload.
Gotta shout out Wifey too as she handles my backend biz expense categorization for tax reporting.
Hard Stuff First, Fun Things Later
Being successfully self-employed in my world means doing what I have to do first before I can do what I want to do later.
Same concept as being a kid when you had to do your homework before you could go and play.
I mean, it’s almost like our childhoods were grooming us to become functional adults or something, right? 😅
When I find myself struggling in my business, it's because I've strayed away from knowing WHAT Veggies I need to eat and WHEN to eat them.
One final important note on this…
Knowing what my Veggies, Sides, and Desserts are during the season I’m in means WRITING IT DOWN.
It can’t live in my head—writing it down holds me accountable and serves as filters for separating opportunities from distractions.
If you wanna take your creative pursuits full-time one day and crush it…
Don't forget this sequence: Veggies --> Sides --> Dessert.
Do the hard stuff first so you can do the fun stuff later!
Let’s Work Together 🤝
Do you know what your Veggies are during this season?
AKA, do you know what you should be focusing on that drives the biggest results?
Or does Dessert come first as you push your Veggies and Sides around pretending to be busy?
If so, you'll love the upcoming 3-Week Boot Camp on Focus, Prioritization, and Productivity (5/6 - 5/26).
In 21 days, I’ll show you how to reduce the guesswork, find clarity on your path, and enjoy the hell out of the work you're creating.
Consider learning more below about how to join an upcoming 3-Week Boot Camp. 👇🏻
JOIN THE BOOT CAMP WAITLIST
The Side Hustler's Boot Camps are quarterly 3-Week Group Coaching Workshops that provide you a year’s worth of measurable growth, support, and accountability…
Or they’re available as one-off sessions to tackle your current biggest struggle.
These are for anyone looking the take the next steps in growing their creative biz/brand creating work they vibe to.
Expect challenging exercises, a private community, 3 weekly live calls, and more.
Learn More and Join the Waitlist for updates + 1st dibs at enrollment.
