There’s been a lot of noise lately in my life. Literal noise - the kind that makes you want to put your head in the oven just for a moment of peace. The other night at 1am, our carbon monoxide detector went off. An ear piercing, repeated beeping sound screeched through the hallway and up the stairs, sending my noise-sensitive daughter into a full blown meltdown and my paranoid husband into full-on survival mode (listen to the end of this podcast to hear the full story..) and I thought to myself: this is it. This is life right now. One. Big. F***ing. Noise.
It’s like there’s always more. More to think about, more to juggle, more to listen to. And somewhere between the notifications, the family chaos and the mental load of running a business (or two) - my brain has developed a low hum that is always there in the background, slowing me down and distracting me.
And running a business can feel like that too. The “shoulds” get loud. The algorithms and the annoying trends get louder. And yet your own voice gets quieter. You consume more, but you do less. You’re getting constantly disrupted by the relentless soundtrack of your life that you’ve unknowingly created - and it’s suddenly become louder than you.
I used to think the answer was to just block it all out. It’s just part and parcel of life and running a business. But the truth is, sometimes the noise is trying to tell us something.
But you can’t hear any of that if you never turn the volume down.
So this week I’ve been making a conscious effort to make my life a little quieter again so I can enjoy my day and feel more free and calm than I have in a long time. And I’m gonna help you do the same.
Today’s podcast episode is all about identifying what ‘noise’ is too loud in your life - and turning down the volume on it. We’re talking literal noise like family, kids, pets, household appliances but also internal noise - the whispers of self doubt and the sound of that voice which is constantly making you question if you’re good enough. We’re also talking about digital noise - the kind that comes from social media and the pressure of keeping up, as well as the noise of others in the form of unwanted advice or opinions.
Because once you know what’s too noisy in your life, you can turn down the volume, restore your inner peace and FINALLY make some progress in your business or life in general!
Listen to this week’s episode of the Her Handmade Hustle Unplugged podcast:
Turning Down the Noise: Learning to Listen to Yourself When Life and Business Get Too Loud (Available now wherever you get your podcasts!)
And if your Etsy shop is one of the causes of your noise (messy SEO, chaotic listing or just too much on your plate), let me take it off your hands with my new Etsy Takeover Service → Check it out here
Enjoy the episode and please do share it with one other person who needs to hear it too!
Joanne x
