Removing crayon marks from a table isn’t my favorite task. I have, however, learned a few things from the (repeated) experience.
1. Creativity can be messy.
Just accept it and you’ll find it easier to deal with and less stressful. Expect that your creativity may be outside the lines, run off the paper, or look like a disaster from the outside while you’re still “coloring.”
2. Ask for help from someone who knows what to do.
When it comes to cleaning things, other mothers are a fabulous resource. A while back I learned that salt makes an effective non-chemical scrub to remove things like crayon (depending on the surface you’re removing it from, of course).
3. It still takes “elbow grease.”
Knowing what to do, then putting in the effort to make it happen are two different matters entirely. Just because you know how to do what you need to do doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy or fast.
Coloring and removing crayon is like building a business.
Apply these three lessons to your business and you’ll find that you can get farther, faster — because giving yourself permission to be messy, then putting your effort into strategies that work is a much better strategy than stressing out and trying to figure out how to do it on your own.
Your Turn
- Does business sometimes feel messy to you? How do you deal with it?
- What’s your favorite way to connect with those you can learn from?
Photo credit: gracey from morguefile.com
Yes, sometimes business feels messy. Sometimes that’s good and OK. Sometimes it’s a challenge. When it’s a challenge, sometimes I just need to step away for a bit. I might go for a walk or a drive or do something silly. Often, I get the inspiration I need and am able to carry on. If I need to connect with others, my favorite way is to get on the phone with my business partner, Cheryl. We ALWAYS have “aha” moments together and discover how we can move forward. Asking people we’ve connected with online, or putting it out there on social media are other ways we’ve connected with those we can learn from.
It can be really hard to step away for a bit, but you’re right–sometimes that’s what we need to find our inspiration again.
There are definite benefits to working with a business partner. :)
Business can be very stressful to me, especially on those days where I have a lot of problems…I feel like the world is all against me…
For the crayon’s, Mr. Clean or the generic brand of magic eraser works great! For business however, oh yes it gets messy some times and stopping and counting to ten helps tremendously.
There are times however that stopping is not an option. So, I work on something else that will aide in the finished product. I have also found that if I keep a work journal by myside, I can write down what is working, what I feel needs to be improved and what I would do next time.
Work stress relievers, read someone’s blog.
Hey Michelle –
WD40 will help with the crayons!
As for business… when it drives me nuts, I go back to the basics and try to have fun! When I am enjoying myself, everything goes better!
Thanks for a great, simple, yet informative, ‘back to the basics’ kind of post!
Paul.