Futz, Funk & Flow: Get Yourself (and your business) Moving Forward Again

As an entrepreneur, you already know your emotional state drives the kind of action—or inaction—that results in a thriving, good-work-good-money business. There are three emotional states in particular worth noting because I see them consistently at play in the business world:?

the Futz,

the Funk,

and the Flow.

Now you might think that the Futz and the Funk are undesirable, while getting into Flow state is like the holy mecca of life itself.?

Here’s the thing: the Futz is often unrecognizable, leading to overly long periods of stagnation. The Funk is unsustainable and repellant to clients, and getting into the Flow can feel impossible with so many things dinging for your attention. These three states can also lead to other not-so-fun emotions like fear with the Futz, shame about being in a Funk, and guilt for the Flow.?

Knowing when you’re in the Futz, shifting out of the Funk, and prolonging the Flow are what you want. Recognizing the signs of each is the first step.

Let’s start with the Futz.

The Futz looks like tinkering. Tweaking. Pushing pixels on your website. Getting caught up in tech. Spending ridiculous hours crafting a Facebook post only 2 people will see in their feed. Creating a graphic in Canva instead of letting your VA do it. Suping up a spreadsheet. You get the idea…

I see my clients doing these things, and I know what’s going on.

Because I do it, too.

And it’s not got anything to do with saving time or money.

It’s because Futzing is easier than doing The Hard Thing.

The Hard Thing might be picking up the phone to talk to a prospect. Responding to an upsetting email. Telling your client his request is out of scope. Figuring out what you really want to do.?

Figuring out who you really want to do it for.

Futzing is an avoidance strategy.

It’s almost always when we don’t have clarity.

When we don’t have clarity, we can’t make a decision.

Where or when in your business have you been futzing around?

More importantly, why?

Then there’s the Funk.

I’m not talking about the peculiar persistent odor of my husband’s boating gear or Marky Mark and his bunch (shout out to my fellow Gen Xers!).

I’m talking about the no-one-is-immune-from-it-living-in-the-21st-century kind of blues.

There are a bajillion legit reasons (I mean, pick your poison) why you could’ve been feeling down in the mouth for a spell.

Does being in a funk mean your mindset management sucks and you’ve lost all capacity for being creative and high-vibe forevermore?

No.

It just means you may not feel creative or high-vibe for the moment. It means you probably need rest and to give yourself a well-deserved break.

My fellow ambitious Type-As will get this and find it really hard to be in a funk without begrudging yourself for it (even a teensy weeny bit!).

Could it be time to chill or “do some relaxment” as my daughter calls it?

And then... there’s the Flow.

Oh man, this is BLISS.

I hardly have to describe Flow. You know it.

It’s having a heart-to-heart with an amazing client. Cash at the ready when you need it. Words spilling from your fingers on the keyboard. Cranking it all out and feeling the total opposite of cranky.

It’s standing in 75-degree sunshine feeling the inevitability of world peace.?

Once you’ve experienced Flow you want it always.

But I don’t know if we’re designed to have it always, all day long.?

I do think we can learn to get into Flow more often—or get back into Flow more quickly—when something comes along to logjam it.

I personally find movement, music, and meditation my best tools for reaching Flow state when I’m working.

What do you do to get yourself into (or back into) a state of Flow?

What exactly are you doing when working feels fun?

It’s okay to catch yourself Futzing around or wallowing in the Funk for a bit. The trick is finding what works to move yourself out of those states and into Flow, or at least closer to it, and what works will be unique to you. Though I can say being a part of a business-minded community is a nearly universal panacea for every entrepreneur’s Futz or Funk moments so that would be a good place to start.?

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