Super Affiliate Challenge 2019 - "You look tired!"

So, first month in and Wow - what a ride...

Throughout the first two weeks of this thing we call the Super Affiliate Challenge (a.k.a. SAC), the most common thing said to me was "You look tired" ... I was tired. I had worked hard, but nothing comes to those who don't work hard right?. But did I really work hard or did I just not work smart? I am not known for my smart working when it comes to planning and time management.

So for those of you who are struggling a bit with the pace of this as I am starting to see in a few of your posts here - this is what I have been making an effort with over the past few weeks which I think has really paid off and hopefully made me look a little less tired.

How it beganYou see before I took on the SAC within this amazing platform we know as Wealthy Affiliate, I had a "come to Jesus" discussion with my beautiful wife Nic.

Brief backstory - we run two Pilates and Yoga studios four hours apart by car (whoever thought that was a good idea...) which had suffered a little downturn over the Christmas holiday period. They weren't in trouble, but needed some work so we had spent a lot of time in February and March setting up some new marketing campaigns and processes to re-enegise and rebuild our studios. Oh, and we also have a 7-year-old son and I am the coach of his local soccer team.

Then, one warm autumn day in late March... Kyle sends an email...

So, back to our discussion...

Paul: "Oh, that SAC thing is starting, I want to do it"

Nic: "What the @#%# is an SAC" - I really shouldn't start these conversations before our morning coffee...

P: Rambles on for about 30 minutes about how awesome it will be and that I need to create a new website and so on and I am gonna do it - I am going to get to Vegas! (to which Nic just thinks I am just trying to confuse her into letting me go to Vegas...)

N: "How are you going to fit that in with all the studio stuff we set up yesterday as well as the fact that we are moving house next week?" - timing has never been my strong suit...

P: " I will find the time and it won't affect the studios - I can work at night here and I always have more time when I am in Newcastle"...

Anyway - the conversation went on for a while with Nic's final comment:

"Fine - I support you and do what you will but I can't do the studios alone just yet so if it starts to effect that..."

So I started the SAC

Off the bat here I am going to give myself a little pat on the back ... 1 month in and I have managed it - some serious timeblocking and a few late nights but I have done it. - everything in month 1 is ticked off - my only shortcoming was spending enough time on the online chat but I am working on it.

The studios have done well and I have just published my 16th post for the month. And most importantly, Nic is happy - at least she said she was last night - that might change after having to get up at 4:30am this morning to teach some classes to cover for a sick instructor...

But it didn't start well

As I oultined above, I was always tired - I was present in the studio when needed and I was getting my website work done. Nic was happy that she was not being left alone but she was worried... worried that I was about to burn myself out... So another discussion was had:

Nic: "People are telling me you look tired- you are going to burn yourself out"

Paul: "Nah, I'm fine - I am just getting it all done - that is what we have to do"

N: "You are getting snappy with us - work with me here or the SAC goes - I don't care about Vegas"

I tried to explain it was not about Vegas.. Vegas was just the 'idea' for success - it is about attracting visitors, getting referrals, learning a craft, being determined against all else to succeed - Vegas was just the image of success - Sure the trip will rock! But that is best left out of the conversation for now...

Nic: "Well, if you are going to keep going, you need to work at it better."

I also admit that if you look up the word stress head in the dictionary, then you see my face

So I made some changes

I am lucky here as my wife, apart from being amazing, is also a trained wellness coach so I have assistance on tap. Admittedly she didn't go into it too much but as she knows me so well she set me one rule! 4 hours a day!

That was it - four hours per day on my site is all I can do. So I did it and my work thrived. This is what we planned:

Work Consistently

This is a big one that I learned - consistency is not working from sun up to sunset, it is about

working a little at a time, consistently over time. 1, 2, 3 or 4 hours per day is enough to build a consistent portfolio of work within this online space. I find that if I am too tired, then I wirte rubbish - rubbish which takes me longer to clean up the next day than if I had just left it the night before and started fresh.

Look after yourself

Being married to a personal trainer helps me here but it does not have to be rocket science. Feel tired? Take a walk. Hungry? Eat (try and keep it healthy but at least eat). You will be surporsed at how much more productive you are if you do these things.

Rest

Rest is not for the wicked - this was probably the hardest adjustment I have had to make. I felt guilty when I wasn't in front of the keyboard. It was as if Kyle himself was going to call me and boot me out of the SAC for being slack. But as with looking after yourself, a rested mind is much more productive.

Learn

This was a bonus I found whilst trying to bend the rules... I negotiated an extra hour occasionally to catch up on Jay's weekly live training modules (they are on Saturday morning here which is when soccer is on) and other WA training. I learned so much that it really helped me move forward with my sites in way less time. Many of us skip the learning as it takes time away from writing our posts. Don't - in time it will speed you up.

Help

This is a task within the SAC admittedly but I also find great assistance in helping others and answering questions (I suspect that Kyle might just know what he is doing here). Again, it helped me clear my mind and I actually learned so much - many of them were those little things that make your website and posting so much quicker and a little easier.

Bring on next month

So that is what I have been doing and that is my plan for next month. I am determined to succeed here so this is just what I need to do. I can't say I will be successful everyday with all of them (The man can sneak on his laptop) or that I will make Vegas this year... but it is not about the place, it is about the measure of what it means to make it there...

Anyway, hope you are all doing well and I will see you all in the SAC for month 2.

Paul