• The JOLO Lifestyle Blog

It almost didn't happen!

Good afternoon gorgeous!

Tuesday is here already! I hope you slayed your Monday and kick started your week off with full vigor. I love Mondays! If you've read any of my other blogs or follow me on a social platform, you would know that I salute my Monday with a big heart and an even bigger smile.

Mondays are truly magical for me. It's the start of a new week, new opportunities, new energy and new momentum. Imagine if we were always saying "It never happened." How many missed opportunities have you had because you didn't make it happen? How many times did you cancel on something because you just didn't feel like it? How many times did you not bother because you were too busy with something else? More times than not, we miss out on some amazing things because we never made that one thing a priority. We never had the full drive to make it happen. We never pushed ourselves to get it!

How many time have you said "I'm going to start my new Keto Diet on Monday," or "Come Monday, I'm going to start looking for a new job," or even "I'm posting my new blog on Monday." But then, life gets busy and those things you wanted to get done get lost in the list of other things to do. Oops! It happens, right?

We all do it in one form or another. We put off what we want to start and continue with that vicious cycle, over and over. I know I've been procrastinating writing this blog, and for many good reasons, however, regardless of the reason, I still put it off until a later date. You see, procrastination is still procrastination, whether we have good reason or not. That chore, the new job, the diet, the exercise routine, the blog, or whatever it is we decide to put off is exactly that. A choice!

We can either choose to make it a priority and get it done, or we can choose to continue to procrastinate and make excuses as to why we don't need to do it at that time. And then, because it takes us SO long to even do it, guilt sets in and we think why bother. Here's what you can do to move past the excuses of not getting it done. Start making excuses to do it. Make an excuse to go after it. Make an excuse to just start.

Now I get it, we get busy. There are a ton of things that need to get done but in reality, if we are truly passionate about something, we WILL find the time to get it done, to go after it, to slay it, to accomplish it and to just do it (thanks Nike). I mean, I didn't write 5 books in 4 years by making excuses to not do it. I made every excuse to go after it and get it done! I worked my butt off and made every excuse to pushed hard so I could release my newest book Femme Fabulous on time (yes, I give myself deadlines).

With all of that being said, be careful to not over do it. I sometimes go to the extreme and push myself to do too much and that's why I chose to slow my pace a bit. My problem is that I want to do everything, master it all and grow my knowledge in every passion I have. I also get tired easily, and that' my reality with Fibromyalgia. I know I appear to have an endless amount of energy, and some days I actually do. But, when I pile on too much, I really feel the drain.

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of excitement for me, but it's also extremely tiresome. I have spent more hours traveling in a car than not, attending workshops, numerous auditions, organizing and hosting book signing events at multiple Indigo locations. I've attended doctor appointments, chiropractic clinics, dentist cleanings and checkups and a visit to the ministry of transportation. I've birthday shopped for 2 of my 3 kids upcoming birthdays (I always leave it last minute), organized a Valentines retreat for my kids and husband so they could feel special, loved and appreciated, played Uber for my kids (back and forth, over and over) so my kids could complete school projects and science fair submissions, joined a zoom conference call (that's what you do when you can't make a group mastermind in person), enjoyed and celebrated my youngest son's 1st reconciliation, celebrated my oldest son's 17th birthday (where has the time gone?), went to a friends 50th surprise birthday (O-M-G, it was SO fun), went to an adult-commercial-scene study-improv workshop (say that 3 times fast), had lunch with a good friend (Galentines Day), took my youngest to his friends 7th birthday party, caught up on all my banking, collected rents on my rental properties, created & organized invoices for past appearances, events and speaking engagements, sent out book orders (one of my favourite chores), closed a real estate deal with my lawyer, went to a fitting for a fashion show I'm walking in, took my son for a much needed haircut (which he hates getting done), celebrated 2 of my nieces birthdays, taped & submitted a self tape audition, cancelled an influence collaboration (what a nightmare), updated my social platforms with new content, slayed the catwalk in the Joan Kelley Walker Spring/Summer Fashion show at Mercedes Benz Burlington......all that in 14 days!

In between it all, there's spending time with my husband and kids, creating evening joy lists, creating mindful moments to celebrate and embrace gratitude, morning coffee with my sister, grocery shopping, workouts, cooking, cleaning, shovelling (the snow can stop anytime now) and helping the kids with their nightly homework, reading and prayer. Phew, I mean seriously!!! I understand busy more than some may realize. And, I'm sure I've missed a few dozen things in between.

My point is, making time to get things done can be challenging, but not impossible. The fact that it's even getting done should be celebrated because busy knows how to infiltrate our lives. As part of my celebration, I've decided to gift myself with a slower pace. Although I know this slow down won't last long, I know it's imperative to me at this time. It's a new part of my self-care routine that I know my body, mind and soul needs so I can recharge. I'm learning to implement a slow down every once and a while so I don't experience burn out, chronic fatigue or even anxiety.

This slowdown routine has been a game changer for me. Not only am I able to practice a slower pace guilt free, I feel more energized and at peace. I actually feel healthier, more accomplished and exceptionally creative. I feel like I'm accomplishing more than ever and still finding the time to recharge and relax. A big part of me want to continue to run full force but I know that is not good for me physically and mentally. I know what I can handle and I push myself to some crazy limits at times but I also know when to pull back and recharge. Implementing slowdowns into my routine is all part of the life upgrades I've made to my health and my wellbeing.

So, what does my slower pace look like? Well, I can assure you it's not laying around in bed all day watching The Real Housewives of anywhere (although fun to do every once and a bit). It looks more like a relax version of being creative. I've been working on more social content and some FREE tools to help you get to your next level of Boss Babe so stay tuned for that!

If you've been feeling like your blog is being overlooked, your brand is not making the money you want it to and you're feeling like your business is your BOSS, you're going to want the tools I'm releasing soon. Make sure you're subscribed to my Newsletter so you can be one of the first to get your hands on these FREE tools. I wouldn't want you to miss out. It's total, next level business magic! Scroll down to the bottom of my website to sign up now!

One thing is for sure, you can always count on me being real, raw and authentic. I'm always sharing my journey on my Instagram stories and on my Facebook Author Page - VIVOLOg. If for some reason you're not connected to these social platforms, be sure to check out the Luxury Lane section on my Website every once and awhile. It is there that you'll be able to find my Books, Business Resources, Publishing Options, Collaboration Offers and soon, FREE Business Tools to help grow your business, social platform and elevate yourself to the BossBabe we all know you can be! I know my success has grown ten-fold because of all these proven methods and tools I'm sharing with you.

My wildly successful step by step blogging guide (available in download format), A Housewife's Guide To Blogging has proved to be a huge help to hundred of pre established and new bloggers worldwide. Here are some testimonials from real bloggers...

Ann ~ "Thank you xxx I read your blogging guide and needed a refresher so I read it again!"

Sara ~ "I'm an affiliate of a big journal and I'm approaching a few magazines that are in my target audience....it's a big step for me."

Janice ~ "You'll laugh but I've now started reading 3 of your books, I couldn't help myself. They're all so good!"

Sylvie ~ "I love women that are go-getters. It's so damn inspiring!

Krista ~ "I couldn't put it down. It's been so helpful. It's answering all my questions without me feeling too amateur to ask. lol"

Jason ~ "Okay, I downloaded my copy and wow! Thanks Joanne."

These testimonials are only a few of the hundreds I hear back from. And yes, not all of my readers are women even though I target a female audience.

It's time to become the Boss Babe you've always dreamed of! Are you ready to drop the excuses and make it happen? I know for me, it almost didn't happen!

With gratitude, knowledge and my need to share it all with you,