This week I took out two full hours to “go dark” – no slack, no email, no phone notifications: complete silence on everything except this one project.
The next day, I did it again. Same project (now halfway finished). Two hours, again. No connection with anything except the tasks before me.
I got it done. Not only that, I feel good about what I created. I knew it was some of my best work.
Afterwards, when I looked at those two blocks of 2-hour deep work time, I realised I hadn’t done that for… months. At least six months.
Here’s how and why I used the time this way, and then I’ll share what I realised about why I was able to do this, twice in one week. (Hint: it has to do both with mindset, and with the practicality of support where you need it).
For every client we work with, before we launch into a steady monthly rhythm of strategy meetings and actions, they go through a series of Foundational Strategy sessions. Those are led by myself or one of the other PF strategists.
The sessions themselves are deep. Four sessions of 1.5 hours each, digging into things like why you exist as a company. Who you serve – exactly who you serve, down to the detail. The kind of team you’re building. What growth means to you. The kind of services you provide and your pricing. Your progression model – from someone never having heard of you, to connecting with you in some way, to prequalifying leads, proposals, onboarding, and client delight.
We do this to be absolutely clear about the marketing actions they’ll take, and why. Also because every company’s goals are different.
I love these sessions. Every week my clients say things like “Ohhh, good question” or “I’ve never thought about it that way before” or “What if we…?”
(Sometimes they say things like “damn you this is really annoying how good you are at this. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to invest in [a new brand, a new website, whatever] and now I know I have to or I’ll keep getting the wrong kind of clients. Thanks a lot.”)
At the end of the sessions, we create their deliverables, which include things like:
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- A “brand summary”: who they are, who they serve, the qualities of their ideal audience, mission, values, and the ideal client’s journey
- A website structure – the core messages their audience need to hear. What sections they need on the home page, or the site. The calls to action (learning & buying). A rough structure of the site.
- Their asset gaps: Based on their ideal client’s pain points, and the messages they need to hear, what assets need to be created? A new page, a PDF guide, a video series, a scorecard…. We identify the top 5 priority assets (and have lists of others, for later)
- Marketing timeline: What needs to happen when? Campaigns, consistent content, and any brand or website projects (small or great)
- Marketing budget: Where does the investment need to go, into what things, and how does this compare to the suggested 3-10% range? (Read this post for more on that!)
- First marketing campaign: If the first campaign is really clear, we may build out the entire campaign (using our tried and tested Campaign Planner template), usually 6-10 weeks of detailed actions each week.
Every client, every Foundations series is different, so the deliverables change slightly: but it’s at least three or four of these.
The one I needed to finish was intense. It meant gathering everything I’d learned about the client over two months and creating something really valuable.
It would take headspace.
I let the team know, turned off all the things, and gathered all my notes. Our meetings, the actions, the ideas, the questions. I started with the brand summary (always begin with audience!), and it flowed from there. When the two hours were up, I stopped. The next day, I did it again. No notifications, no texts or whatsapp messages or checking instagram out of habit. There were a few points I wanted to ‘take a break’, but I stayed dark. I kept the momentum going.
And I finished it – all of it. The deliverables, the video for the client, the 16 week detailed event marketing campaign. Done.
It not only felt good to finish: it also felt good to step out of the day to day business for a few hours. Yes, I was doing ‘client work’, not strategy for my own company or “working on the business”: but now I know I can.
Why was I able to, though? I thought.
Why this week, when the last few months felt so full on?
Because on Monday morning, our new outsourced Ops Director and Project Manager started. Both of them working seamlessly together to help us get things done for our clients more efficiently. I hadn’t even realised it at the time: but by Wednesday, the subconscious relief my mind felt was enough to give myself permission to go dark for two hours.
It would be okay. The place wouldn’t fall apart. There was nothing I was needed for in a two-hour block which would destroy anything for the company or a client relationship.
Now, you and I both know, reading this, all that was probably true back in January, too.
But it didn’t feel true.
I felt guilty if I didn’t respond to the team instantly. We’re a small core team, and we support each other in everything. We have closer relationships with our clients, and some of them message me on whatsapp with ideas or wonderings. I’m enjoying it, a lot.
And also… it’s a lot.
It’s not as if the new Ops Director and PM magically fixed everything on day one. (They’ve been quick to remind me they will get things wrong, too, and the first few weeks might be a honeymoon period.) Yet knowing they were there, looking over the client work and the outsourcers and the tasks and the projects and the profitability, gave my mind the permission it needed to go dark. And to do it again the next day.
So here’s my question for you:
What is weighing on you which is preventing you from feeling “safe” enough to take that block of time out? The two hours, the four hours. Maybe a day. Maybe even a full week.
Is it operational, like it was for me? Needing to know that clients are being looked after, even if you aren’t there?
Is it team related? Do you need to hire (or feel like you need to), and it’s taking all your energy, and you’re doing much of the work yourself? Is there a team member who is struggling and needs extra support?
Is it financial? Are you in a slow spell, or even a super busy spell with lots of new business, and either way you’re obsessively checking the revenue and profits to see progress?
Could it even be marketing? Are you aware your brand isn’t reflecting who you truly are, and it’s putting a mental burden on you in terms of the leads you’re getting (or not getting), and how you train new clients to be the best clients?
Whatever is at the root, it’s okay if you’re in a period of time where deep work doesn’t even seem possible. Really, it is.
Because you will absolutely solve it. For a variety of reasons I had to find PM support really, really quickly…and yet I’m great with a deadline. Within two days I’d spoken to 14 people, interviewed 7, and strategised the plan to do a “hybrid solution” of an outsourced ops director plus a part time Project Manager.
The utter relief of having people who are better than me at an area I don’t enjoy, gave me permission to step away. Even for a few hours.
Whichever one is weighing on your mind, you’re welcome to drop me a line to tell me about it. There’s a possibility i could help connect you to someone (I’m really good at connecting good people to good people): and even if I don’t know the answer, I can empathise. And remind you that you’re doing a good job.
Keep going.
