Get Over Your Sh!t

Navigating the Messy Middle: An Unfiltered Check In

• Malinda Watt • Season 1 • Episode 20

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In this episode of "Get Over Your Shit," Malinda Watt takes a candid and unscripted approach to discuss her personal journey and challenges in the "messy middle" of growing her business. She delves into themes of procrastination, overcoming perfectionism, and tackling fears surrounding success and failure. Malinda's experiences are relatable to business owners who find themselves stuck in self-doubt, as she shares her process of adapting her methods to create engaging content with more ease.

Key Takeaways:

  • Overcoming procrastination can lead to the life you desire; it's essential to take imperfect action.
  • Adapt your content creation process to suit your personal strengths and preferences.
  • Implement practical systems like the Daily Messenger, gratitude journaling, and the Habitify app to streamline productivity.
  • Utilize cycle tracking to understand personal productivity fluctuations and plan tasks accordingly.
  • Expand your mindset through resources like hypnosis and transformational coaching programs for reprogramming subconscious barriers.

Episode Resources:

"The price of procrastination is the life you could have lived."

Additional Links & Resources:


Thank you for tuning in to this episode of Get Over Your Sh!t! If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to follow the podcast and leave a rating or review. Share this with someone who needs a push to start taking action—because we’re all about moving forward together!


Hosted by Malinda Watt
Edited by Chris @ Wider View Studios
Music License purchased from stockmusic.com

0:00:00 - (Malinda Watt): Hello and welcome to get over your Shit, the podcast dedicated to helping digital course creators, entrepreneurs and small business owners stop overthinking and start executing. I'm Melinda Watt, your host and fellow overthinker, here to guide you through the maze of self doubt and procrastination that keeps us from reaching our full potential. So on today's episode of get over your shit, I'm deviating from from the norm. Usually I would be very careful in crafting a script so that I can keep my train of thought and not ramble too much. But today I'm going off script so that I can just share my thoughts with you in terms of where I am in what I would call the messy middle of my business right now in hopes that you might give yourself some grace if you too are in the messy middle of making it all make sense. And the intriguing part about this, that I am going to ad lib this episode with stream of conscious thought is funny to me because I've just told my editor, Chris, thank you.

0:01:08 - (Malinda Watt): Not to continue with the YouTube video, the very first YouTube video edit that she was working on, because I am so frustrated with myself in terms of being able to memorize the content and then, you know, keep eye contact in the video. I feel it's really important. It's what I value when I'm watching something on YouTube, especially when what you're creating for the most part in my industry in my space is talking head videos, essentially. So it's interesting that I have said, hey, Chris, hold off on that. I'm sorting out a whole teleprompter thing and establishing a better setup so that I can sit down to create YouTube content with some ease and not feel like it becomes cumbersome and a big struggle to get to a point where I'm ready to record.

0:01:59 - (Malinda Watt): Someone that I worked with previously had shared this on their Instagram in the last week or so, and it hit me hard. And so I did create a graphic and I put it on my phone because I think it's a really great reminder. The price of of procrastination is the life you could have lived. And a funny story. My husband once gave me a book for Christmas on procrastination. I did not read all of it. Big surprise. But I think that it speaks to the fact that you cannot spend time overthinking the shit out of everything.

0:02:32 - (Malinda Watt): And for a long time that's what I was doing with what I've been building instead of doing the work. That is really uncomfortable, feels really uncomfortable but ultimately, when you kind of get through it, you get through it. And, um, last week I was trying to, you know, record that YouTube episode and memorize something and try to get the line right and be looking in the right spot. And it's just something that comes to me naturally.

0:02:54 - (Malinda Watt): Maybe, maybe that skill is gonna come. Maybe I will be able to continue to hone in on that skill in the months and years ahead. But if I'm going to produce things with some ease and clarity in terms of making sure that my message and what it is that I hope that you take away from an episode, because I value your time, what I hope that you take away from an episode can be valuable for you so that you too, can move through what feels overwhelming and kind of messy. And after going through the experience of, okay, this is not how I want a YouTube video to go. It's not how I want it to look. Chris did an amazing job splicing it all together, but the amount of blinking and number of times it needed to be spliced was just. It was too much.

0:03:40 - (Malinda Watt): It was too much. Even for the first YouTube video. It wasn't what I wanted to put out. But in doing that, it forced me to come back to, okay, well, what do I have? And if you've been at this online business stuff for a while, exploring the possibilities and ideas, you may have accumulated some of the tools to do these things as well. And I pulled out wireless mics that I had. I got out my old canon because I used to do professional photography of women, family, and kids. I used to do Boudoir, which I loved. But once I became a mom, it was like, it was too many directions. But I pulled out my old camera and I got it on the tripod and I got the ring light out. I have all these things, and so it's just a matter of coming back to them, checking out other people's YouTube channels to figure out, okay, well, I've got this beautiful camera. How am I going to see the back of the screen? How am I going to know that I'm looking in the right spot? And then what can I use for a teleprompter? So I do anticipate that, just like this podcast, to an extent, I've followed scripts to make sure that I am saying all the things I need to say in a clear way to make sure that the message is coming through on what I hope you might take away from it. And here we are a few months later, recording an unscripted episode. And maybe that's just what needs to happen with YouTube as well. Especially now that of course with YouTube, putting myself on the screen instead of just, you know, audio that brings its own level of discomfort to work through.

0:05:10 - (Malinda Watt): And the process of doing forced me into the actions of, okay, well if that doesn't work, if I'm not proud of the way this looks, how can I come back to that and make it work for me? Because we are all different and what works for me is going to be different than what works for you. And that's where I needed to get. I needed to be uncomfortable in it so that I could find the path as to what I'm comfortable making this look like. And so YouTube will come. I've ordered a teleprompter so that I can make sure I'm looking on the camera and Chris isn't gonna have to spend hours splicing together a single sentence that comes out of my mouth. So it's getting there. And so I've been doing a lot of research in the last few months of what this can look like, what the YouTube channel should kind of be about and where it should focus on and how I'm different than some of the other content that is out there.

0:06:03 - (Malinda Watt): As you know, if you have listened to an episode before, I prefer WordPress. It's what I honestly and truly believe is going to move you through the process of growing a business in this space of online business without giving away your value in terms of being tied to additional services. Yes, there's still services that you're going to have to pay for, whether it be additional plugins or something like that. But that, that's different than tying everything that you're hosting within something that you're selling online, or the website that you're creating, or the blog that you're writing. That's different than tying it to the expense of someone else's service, essentially the cost of it going up and up without you really having any control.

0:06:43 - (Malinda Watt): So I've always believed in WordPress. I've been building websites longer than WordPress has been around. And so it's been my go to. I've tried others, but WordPress has been my go to because ultimately it lays the foundation for whatever it is that you might want to build. And so in moving away from not relying so heavily on the one to one work with clients and creating something that would have been incredibly valuable when I was starting out my business, that's what I'm moving my business towards. And it's interesting because I've had To restructure my thinking around this. And I still find myself falling into this idea that this should be really easy. Like, and everyone online for the most part, is going to lead you to believe that this should be incredibly easy.

0:07:31 - (Malinda Watt): And they make it look so easy. But there are a lot of moving parts and the tech of it all, the marketing of it all, it can slow you down if, like me, you get stuck in perfectionism and the fear of what if it doesn't work, wanting to do it right and also being afraid of hitting a point of failure because nobody wants to fail. And so it's a tricky place to move through, going after it, sorting out what is working, what isn't working, and then knowing where to give your attention.

0:08:11 - (Malinda Watt): And that's where I am right now in this space of online business, digital products and courses. And I know that they're like, I feel very much like I'm on the cusp of really great and wonderful things to have had my first few sales of, you know, my easy website content planner and keyword kickstart, which helps you plan out all this content as well, and understanding SEO and how to pick keywords for the pages of your website.

0:08:42 - (Malinda Watt): And I know that I have an approach that my clients value because there are a handful of clients who pay for a retainer to basically be able to send me a vox or message and say, I'm not sure what to do about this or what do you think about that? But it's packaging it up and putting it out in the world in a way that someone else doesn't have to be connected to me necessarily to be one on one and work through the things that I take my clients through step by step by step.

0:09:11 - (Malinda Watt): Because ultimately I know that's where the silver lining is in terms of getting through all of the stuff, right? To actually get to the end goal of having a website, launching a blog, launching a membership, launching your course, launching some digital products and whatnot, running Facebook ads, all these things. There's a point where things are just really, really messy. And if you're anything like me, it is very easy to squirrel and be distracted by someone else's low ticket offer someone else's way of doing things and you can sort of accumulate.

0:09:45 - (Malinda Watt): What I like to say is, you know, I have so many courses and products, I could open a blockbuster and, you know, rent these things out is what it feels like. The, the collection is large. A big part of it has not really been trusting myself and knowing what the next best step is for me. I wanted to share on this episode a few things that it is that I've been doing since early January. I'm not a fan of resolutions, but there was systems that I wanted to put in place that would allow my brain to slow down and give myself enough space to be able to see the progress.

0:10:21 - (Malinda Watt): Instead of feeling like every time I sat down to give attention to this work in terms of, you know, these online digital products, feeling like every time I sat down to do it, I was starting from square one. And that just isn't the case. So a few things that I've been doing. I did purchase the Daily messenger by Jonathan Milligan. And I really like Jonathan's approach because he has done a brilliant job with an online marketing system. I guess we'll say to like he. He wrote a book every 90 days. There's still the. The last book coming out. I think it's the fourth one, if I remember correctly, and the marketing idea around doing that and building community around that and having the anticipation of something else coming.

0:11:05 - (Malinda Watt): So he put out a book called 365 Lessons to Inspire a Message and Impact the World. A daily guide for writers, coaches and speakers. So between reading from this book on a daily basis and it is the date, you know, I'm recording this on February 10th. So on February 10th, I read that page. I've been keeping a gratitude list, a journal of sorts, and I tend to do that in the morning, and then I'm also in the evening making a note for myself of the three things that I am proud of myself for having accomplished that day.

0:11:36 - (Malinda Watt): Because I think it's really important that we step back and remember what it is that we've accomplished instead of looking at the list and saying, I didn't get any of this done, because those negative feelings just compound and can take you completely off course for more days, weeks, and possibly months than you would like. So I've got the book, my gratitude list. I'm taking note of the three things that I'm proud of myself for accomplishing in that day.

0:12:06 - (Malinda Watt): And then in access with the book, Jonathan put out this really great Messenger Weekly Focus Dashboard, which I am really enjoying because there's something about writing things out on paper and taking it out of a digital space, taking it out of a digital calendar. And I used to love my planner. I think I probably have them even stored somewhere. It felt hard to go digital with a calendar, but I could see the need. But some things are still in a digital space, but I bring it onto paper because I do enjoy putting you know, pencil, ink, pen to paper, and actually jotting out and following something each week so that I can see the progress and feel and know that I'm crossing things off the list.

0:12:47 - (Malinda Watt): So in the Focus dashboard, you know, you make, there's a space to make notes for those things that are on the schedule. So coaching calls that I want to attend, of course, and commitments that I have for my son and, you know, homeschooling or appointments that are coming up. So making note of that and then picking sort of the big three at the beginning of your day or the at the end of a day for the next day, picking those big three things that you're going to cross off the list the next day has been really helpful. Instead of looking at a massive to do list and not feeling like you're accomplishing anything because you only got one or two things crossed off the list. There's also a space for quarterly goals.

0:13:28 - (Malinda Watt): And so it's been easier for me to take each of these programs that I'm developing, these mini courses, what they would call in the industry, like a low ticket offer, and build those out. And then one of the other things that I'm building out in this quarter is of course YouTube and so I can more easily see and structure what it is that I want to accomplish with each one of these. And then the reminder of this is for the quarter, this isn't for this week.

0:13:56 - (Malinda Watt): So that's been really great. And I also started integrating an app that I've used in the past called Habitify H A B I T I F Y. And what I love about that is it has kept me on task with the reminder of making sure that I make a note of gratitude, review that schedule, get to bed at a reasonable hour. And also the things that I want to do on a weekly basis because there are certain things that I need to do that if I don't, it throws off my week. And this is going to seem really silly, but if I don't wash my curly hair on Sunday and style it, the week is messed up.

0:14:35 - (Malinda Watt): I'm not ready to record something or show up on social media if my hair is just wild. And I don't care about the messy bun or anything, but you know, it just needs to get done at least once a week. If you have curls, you know what I'm talking about. And it's a bit of a time investment to get all the products brushed into it in just the right way, allow it to dry enough so you're not sleeping on wet hair.

0:14:59 - (Malinda Watt): And yada yada. So I've put that on my calendar because it's something I need to do on Sunday to set my week up for success. The other thing that I'm doing and have been doing for a few months now is I'm actually putting my cycle in my calendar. So ladies, if this is not something you've integrated yet, I encourage you to look at it. There are a couple of women who I have followed. I'll try to make sure to put those links in the show notes.

0:15:27 - (Malinda Watt): It's made such a difference to make sure that the week that I do know is the start of a new cycle, that I block that time out and I don't expect too much of myself on a productivity scale. I find that that has made a big difference. Even though I am heading towards 47 and perimenopause menopause, who knows at this point? But it's. It has helped me make some space and know why I can't focus or why I'm not quite getting done the things that I had hoped or expected to in that time period. So I'd encourage you if you haven't take a look at it because honestly, it's been a game changer just in terms of my own mindset and not beating myself up so much about what it is that I'm getting done week to week to week. The last piece I'll share before we wrap up this episode is that I've also gone back to hypnosis instead of meditation because I love the idea of reprogramming the subconscious mind to remove the fear and worry and anxiety around the success or failure of what it is that I'm creating.

0:16:41 - (Malinda Watt): Because I can't move forward if I'm stuck in overthinking. And so a big piece of that has been and I was in this program in 2018. And it's interesting because years later, so I rejoined the program as an alumni. It's Jim Fortin's transformational coaching program. And so I rejoined in November of 2024 and now we're in February. And it's interesting of 2025. It's interesting to see what pieces did stick and when I kind of jump shipped from the program last time where I was like I'm out and I'm not to that week yet. So I can't even tell you exactly what week because it's kind of a 12, 13 week program and I'm on week seven right now. But when I did it in 2018, there was a point in the, in the program where you had to. This is how I remember it. I might be getting it wrong, but you had to do something that really forced you out of your comfort zone. And one of the things that people were doing was going and laying down, like in a mall or at an airport or somewhere, right. Like out in public.

0:17:40 - (Malinda Watt): And for whatever reason, the way I remember it right now today is that I was like, no, I'm out. I just. Nope, I completely checked out at that point. And I don't really remember finishing the program with only a few short weeks left to go and coming back to it in the last few months, I am seeing what was there and remembering, oh, yeah, that's why I have that app on my phone. That's why that app is there. That's why these things are following through. So there's, There are things that stuck. But I came back to it because I want to see the changes that are possible for my business, for myself, and really build something that can provide for my family in a way that most people may not get to experience and that can be different for everyone.

0:18:30 - (Malinda Watt): You know, that can be hitting six figures or it could be hitting multiple six figures or multiple seven, or heading towards eight figures. There is a sense of wanting to ease the financial pressures in our household. We're, we're comfortable. But if something bad happened or myself or my husband got sick, it would be, it would be stressful. And I think that that's pretty common for a lot of people today, a lot of families and couples. I mean, I started down this road of trying to find my way in this space of online business in 2013, when I was expecting my son and wanting to grow my business and have something that didn't build, something that didn't need all of me all of the time.

0:19:16 - (Malinda Watt): And I have to trust that that's possible or else I wouldn't be continuing on this path today, so many years later. And I know that it is because you can see the results in other people. There are these beautiful little businesses who are bringing people onto their email list with low ticket offers to bring them into a sales funnel that has a mid ticket offer to them, a high ticket offer. And yes, there are a lot of big names who have made big beautiful businesses and lots of money that have been around a long time.

0:19:51 - (Malinda Watt): And I think we're going to start seeing a shift that people are going to be less likely to perhaps invest in their knowledge and start on a smaller scale with someone that they can see having just a bit more and just that peace versus the whole cake. Like the whole thing. So I hope that this episode has made some sense and that my projector self and my ramblings resonate and that hopefully you can take away from this episode if you've made it this far.

0:20:25 - (Malinda Watt): Doing a little bit and documenting it well is enough to keep moving you forward. Baby steps. Keeping a really good list of all of the things so that when life gets in the way and whatever commitments or, you know, your. Your focus switches because that's what's bringing money in right now. That when you come back to this work and creating this business, that you don't feel like you're starting all over from square one again and again and again.

0:20:52 - (Malinda Watt): I will share a little story before we go. So we moved from Ontario, Canada, to nova Scotia in 2019. And I always like to say that we were allowed to do that because I grew up in New Brunswick and so it was just moving back to the Maritimes. But anyway, in Nova Scotia, because I built my business in Ontario, and I still have clients in Ontario and in other parts of the world. But it's interesting that I'm starting to sort of shift in a little bit to people here who know us now for a few years that are seeing me as the business owner, not necessarily just as, you know, Melinda, who is a web designer, and she also homeschools her son. So. So the hats, or the first hat or the first identity of, you know, what someone might think of me or what they say that I do is shifting.

0:21:38 - (Malinda Watt): And I was encouraging another mom who is building up a small business and just getting going. And I just, I love that early stage of possibility and being able to map out and help her see what the possibilities are. So we've built a. A website and we've put together a rack card and to have that in hand to sort of make this business of hers feel that much more real. And I find it so exciting to work through with someone being able to put those pieces together and build a business and start charging money for what it is that they do.

0:22:20 - (Malinda Watt): So if you've got an idea, if there's something that you're trying to piece together on what the possibilities are and what it could look like, I'd love to hear from you. I'd love to hear where you are in your business. Is it shifting? Is it. Is it growing? Is it getting smaller? I've worked with clients, too, who have left a brick and mortar to move things online and create something that didn't need all of them or created space for more time with grandkids or more time to travel.

0:22:48 - (Malinda Watt): So let me know where you're sort of spinning your wheels a bit, and where you're getting hung up on possibilities, because there really is something incredibly valuable with being able to bounce an idea off someone to get a new perspective. It can be everything in terms of shifting what it is that you do, what you might want to be offering, and what the possibilities are for you and your own business.

0:23:14 - (Malinda Watt): Thank you for tuning in to this episode of get over your Shit. If you found this helpful, be sure to subscribe, Share Share this episode with a fellow overthinker and leave a review. Your feedback helps the podcast grow and reach more people who need to hear this message. Until next time, Remember, progress over perfection. You've got this.

People on this episode

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Malinda Watt

Host
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Chris Rodriguez

Editor