47. Why Your Online Business Needs A Parking Lot

Your online business needs a parking lot. If you’re curious about the 2 primary ways I see teacher business owners make the most of a brain dumping system each and every day then this episode is for you.

Build your parking lot project today! My DIY course walks you through the process click-by-click:

https://janice-s-site-3363.thinkific.com/courses/DIY-Asana-Systems-For-Teacherpreneurs

If you'd like me to build a custom project management solution for your business, reach out in the contact form on my website:

 https://www.cookfamilyresources.com/work-with-me/

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Transcript

[00:00:01] Welcome back to Your Win-Win Teacher Business. In episode number 47, we'll talk about why your online business needs a parking lot. We'll talk about a brain dumping routine that's perfect for solopreneurs, and I'll also address what a parking lot might look like if you're running a team. 

[00:00:46] You've probably heard about the value of a brain dump before. At the start of a work week or a work day sometimes it's helpful to take every idea, thought and worry, and get it out of your brain and into a holding container so your brain can function and you can breathe. And for every person who places this brain dumping routine at the start of their process, there is someone else who prefers to brain dump at the end of a workday or a work week as a transitional routine to turn off their work brain and turn on their personal life brain.

[00:01:22] Both habits work, but trying to focus on an important work task or be present for an important life event while your mind is racing and overstuffed, that's what we want to avoid as we consider adding this brain dumping system into our life. I think of brain dumping as a routine and a parking lot as a location, but I admittedly do have a lot of overlap when using these two terms.

[00:01:48] My parking lot is where I store my ideas so that they are safe and sound until I have a chance to make time to act on them. My parking lot is where I store things that I don't want to forget when the stress from them interrupts the task I'm currently trying to focus on. My parking lot helps me move the needle on one thing at a time efficiently because it empties out as much of the noise from my mind as possible so that I can focus on the information that matters most to me in that moment.

[00:02:26] So where's the best place to keep your parking lot? Are we going for a digital solution or a paper solution? There are times in life when you need to sketch a diagram, draw a picture, or scribble a thought on a post-it note or a napkin. Sometimes paper is what's readily available when your idea strikes and what feels most comfortable for you as you process and develop the creative idea.

[00:02:52] While we can embrace the power of paper and incorporate it into a strategic system, I'd like to encourage you not to store those brain dumps in a paper planning tool for the long term. Most teacher business owners have half empty notebooks, binders, and old planners galore that hold pages of ideas and reminders,

[00:03:14] but those tools never get opened and visited again. And I find that when we brain dump into a paper planning tool, those ideas and thoughts rarely make it to the section of the paper planning tool where we write the tasks that are most important, the ones that we'll truly be taking action on. And I think deep down inside we know this and that's why many business owners don't brain dump as a consistent habit.

[00:03:40] They know their current system isn't going to get that idea to the finish line. So they stop what they're doing right now and just try to squeeze it in before they forget. But that's not fair to the task we had already determined was the top priority for right now. It's not fair to our big dreams and goals to hop to the next shiny object that comes to mind. When we catch ourselves doing this

[00:04:02] it's a sign that something isn't working with our current brain dumping routines and tools. If you're a solopreneur, I encourage you to try a digital parking lot in a project management tool like Asana. This is the primary way I use the Asana mobile app. If I'm on the go and I see an idea that I want to capture as inspiration, I'll open my Asana app, start a new task in my parking lot, and capture a picture on my phone.

[00:04:30] Now the inspiration is safe and sound so that I can act on it later and return to being present in the moment. If at the end of the day as I clean up my space, I notice some important diagram, sketches, or notes on paper I take a picture to capture them in my Asana app and recycle the paper. Maybe that sounds like an extra step, but Asana is where I go to take action.

[00:04:56] So that idea has the best chance of actually happening if I store it in the project management tool where all the big action steps are happening for my business. It doesn't go on the calendar because I'm already working on things that I have determined are a priority. But the next time I load up new tasks on my calendar or have a tiny pocket of extra time, I can shop in my parking lot and start to prioritize those ideas and move them into the big picture plan as they relate to my big dreams and goals.

[00:05:29] If you're running a team, I'll encourage a digital parking lot within your project management tool as well. You'll reap the same benefits of the solopreneur that we mentioned before and also a few more. Let's imagine I'm your online business manager and I have my eyes inside your Asana workspace daily.

[00:05:48] If your ideas, thoughts, and worries are in a notebook on your desk, I can't see them. I don't know about them until you share them with me in a meeting. If I don't know about the idea, I can't get started on it, and I can't consider it as I make decisions about the workloads and deadlines of all team members. And if I can't see the worries, I can't start to research a plan to address them.

[00:06:15] But if you build the habit of parking these ideas, thoughts, and worries in your digital parking lot, I can see them as soon as they're created. This collaborative storage container will help both of us make better big picture decisions, and often I can see a pocket of time on the calendar to place some of those tasks or even get started on them myself once they make it to Asana safely.

[00:06:42] So if your online business doesn't have a parking lot, I hope this episode gave you some food for thought about how it could be a helpful tool in your teacher business toolbox. If you're ready to get started building an Asana workspace for yourself, dive into my DIY Asana course where I demonstrate click by click, how to set up your parking lot project, and how to move it into your routine so you use it and make the most of it.

[00:07:07] And if you'd rather have me build a custom Asana workspace for your business, I'm happy to do so. Just jump into the contact form on my website so that we can compare calendars and begin collaborating on that impactful project. I'll leave a link for my Work with Me page in the show notes.