Always worth it

I recently started at a gym that I really enjoy, but after a few sleepless nights, this morning felt like a “no gym” day.

For me to get to the gym at all, a lot of stuff needs to happen – it’s a routine of 7 or 8 things involving kids and multiple car rides for me to make it to a 9:30am session. If anything in the routine breaks, I don’t make it and have to skip the session.

Today, I almost didn’t bother with the routine because I woke up feeling like a zombie.

Despite that (and very unlike me) I forced myself to stick with the routine anyway… juuuust in case I felt more alive later in the morning, I wanted to at least have the option to make it for 9:30.

I ended up at the 9:30 session, and even managed a small P.B.

There have been a lot of personal stories from me here lately, but I’m seeing the parallels with daily life and work everywhere at the moment.

This one felt like the marketing lesson I’ve never liked following myself.

Marketing yourself, especially as a soloist, is critical. There’s no one to fall back on for this one, and the more consistently you do it, the easier it becomes (AND the more effective).

Marketing yourself can be a lot of big and small things:

• Big things, like writing newsletters and blog articles
• Small things, like reaching back out to someone who sent you an enquiry weeks ago
• Strategically connecting with people on socials (LinkedIn for me)
• Setting meetings
• Sending proposals
• Asking for referrals
• Connecting with soloists, freelancers or companies in “adjacent” industries, so they might become referral partners for you

I’m not great at marketing, but there was a long stretch where I was consistent with a lot of things on this list, and it showed (especially when I let it slip).

Not a comprehensive list, but there’s something on it that can be done every day – even the days you just don’t have it in you. You can open LinkedIn and connect with 5 people.

And having a list like this handy, makes it more likely I’ll do something from it each day. If you can build a routine around your marketing efforts – or stack them on the back of another habit you already have – it’s so much easier to give yourself the option to do the work.

Like giving myself the option to get to the gym this morning by robotically following the routine, it’s always worth the effort.