You’re Not Failing, Issue #138

You’re sitting at your desk thinking about the next improvement you want to make in your business.

You decide it’s time to set up your calendar scheduling software so prospective clients can book a time to talk about working together.

You choose the Acuity Scheduling software because you’ve heard it’s the best. You sign up for an account. You’re feeling so excited. This is going to be awesome.

And then it’s not.

You can’t figure out how to connect your calendar.

You don’t understand how to set up appointment reminders.

And now you’re completely overwhelmed and confused.

Google and YouTube are not helping and it feels like you’ve been working on this for hours without making any progress.

And that’s when you start to beat yourself up. I can’t do this. I’m wasting time. I don’t know how to do this. What was I thinking?

Sound familiar?

News flash! You’re not wasting time – you’re just learning something new, and this is what that looks like.

Here are some things to remember when learning a new skill, application, or program:

1. Learning something new takes time. When we expect immediate results, we’re setting ourselves up for failure. Choose a day and time when you can work on your new skill for two or three hours uninterrupted.
2. Learning something new takes patience. It’s not usually obvious how to tackle a new skill. Sometimes you have to go around in circles before what you’re learning starts to become clear and you can see a path. Monitor how you’re talking to yourself in your head and be kind.
3. Learning something new is how you expand your business. Once you understand your new skill, you can offer it as a service to clients and make money doing it. How exciting is that?

It’s rare when I’m learning something new that I’m wasting time. Sometimes It just feels like I am. Embrace how you’re feeling as you start, acknowledge that it’s natural and normal, put your head down and get to work. You’ll be glad you did.

Belinda Sandor is the Founder of The VA Connection where she works with new, aspiring, and established Virtual Assistants to help them build thriving businesses through her free online community, courses, and coaching programs. You can learn more here: https://www.thevaconnection.com/