Monetizing your slower months
How to find money in the margins this summer
Summer is officially here, and it’s no secret that things tend to slow down during this season across the board. The sun is shining, trips are booked, and the majority of society has gone MIA (at least on the weekends). When it comes to work, productivity slows, deadlines tend to be extended or loosened, and year after year we seem to feel this on a deeper level.
But there’s something really special about the months of June to September, and it isn’t just the fact that I get to validate making a trip to get a scoop of my favorite ice cream multiple times a week. Summer brings a unique opportunity to view things from a new lens, explore adventures that wouldn’t be available to us at other points in the year, and above all, discover the momentum in disguise that the season brings for a successful Q4.
Today I’m breaking down why this summer, the best ideas you’ll have probably won’t come from sitting at your desk, how you can use the quieter spaces between meetings, trips, and events can bring more money into your pocket, my idea capture system, and how to reframe summer as a time of lost momentum to the creation of great opportunity.
Why the best ideas won’t come from sitting at your desk
Most ideas that I come up with in general are never when I’m just sitting at my desk, and that goes for any time of year that it is. So, during these warmer months where there is so much to do outside, it leaves so much space for creative possibilities. Whether you’re into nature or more of a city person, getting out into the real world is going to spark some creativity in you one way or another. For me, I find that it helps me come up with ideas a lot faster too. Inspiration is everywhere. It’s in who you speak to, it’s in your surroundings, it’s what’s coming out of your headphones, it’s in how you move your body. It’s everywhere, and this summer you have the ability to get out there and let your mind wander.
Whether it’s a walk, long drive somewhere new, a farmer’s market, a hike, a beach day, or a whole trip somewhere else altogether, the less you resist that freedom and change in routine, the more ideas will likely flow to mind effortlessly.
And no, you’re not sitting in front of a computer screen or standing in front of a white board to concentrate and write things down, but that’s OK. You don’t need to be locked in for this, that’s the whole point. Have you ever heard the quote, “creative people need time to sit around and do nothing”? That stems from the same concept of not everything being so hard-wired and being focused on every single little thing on the table. Some of the best ideas come from a random thought, while being in a random place, surrounded by a bunch of random catalysts that you’d never think would inspire such an idea. And, some of the best ideas brew for a while before they actually come to life because of that reason alone. But that’s how it works. Let yourself have an adventure, try something new, get up!
OK, I’m up! Now what?
Proactively choosing to notice the quieter spaces between meetings, events, trips, etcetera is the best place to start. Summer is filled with plenty of quiet space, use it to your advantage. Some examples of what you can build now include local collaboration ideas, seasonal offers for Q4, batching content creation, perfecting your pitch, any busy organization work that you hate doing and don’t prioritize when you actually are busy, projects you’ve put off, bringing old ideas back to life, there are so many examples. But they don’t need to be big. They just have to fill up the space between those other moments you’ve committed to and thoroughly enjoy. When you’re having fun doing everything else, the results of what you create in the in-between phases will guaranteed come out so much better and with more ease.
My idea capture system
Ideas never come at a convenient time. They always come at random moments, and they can just as easily get forgotten just as spontaneously if you don’t write them down. That’s why keeping a list of ideas that you constantly can refer back to is so critical. Have them organized and within one app or in one place, so that once you go back, you’ll know where to look. It’s pretty simple, but to get into the habit is a whole other practice that takes getting used to.
For me, I love capturing ideas in a list on my Notes app on my phone. It’s synced with my iCloud account, so when I pop open my computer or iPad, I can easily refer to the same ideas there too. What’s great about this is even if I don’t have anything additional to write down sometimes, there are many occasions where I’ll just read over the idea over and over again and see what gets unlocked in my brain. Sometimes nothing comes to mind, other times it’s all I need to get myself going. So for me, the basic Notes app is my go-to. I prefer to not get overwhelmed with app features and fun tech-y details, it ends up being counterproductive for me. But I know many people who take advantage of Voice Memos, or voice texts they send to friends, other new AI-driven apps, or journals if you don’t mind carrying one around with you.
As I jot down random thoughts in the app, I don’t force myself to expand on them all either. If I have a bare mimimim, really rough thought that I just need to get on paper, that’s all I need. You have to trust that the idea will continue to brew on its own and come to life on its own clock.
A final note I have to make regarding my idea capture system is how much I like to take into account the abundance that’s all around me when I’m operating from this kind of energy and being out and about in the summertime. Start learning to appreciate the small things around you more. The cold water you’re drinking, the fresh fruit you’re eating, the laughs with others you’re having in conversation, the tiny wins you have at work, the flowers that are bright and blossoming. The small, beautiful ways life winks at you that you only can appreciate when you actively decide to slow down and enjoy it. Embrace the slow down in this way and watch what naturally comes to you.
Reframing from lost momentum to the creation of great opportunity
It can be easy to want to sit back and slack off for a few months. Then come fall, you’re dreading getting back into the swing of things and it hits you like a truck. You lose momentum and you feel dragged down. Your summer doesn’t need to be the trigger of your lost momentum. You can reframe your perspective and view it as the time to create great opportunities for yourself and your career. I like to view the summertime as the building blocks for a fully loaded Q4 ahead (I also cannot believe we’re already starting to think about Q4).
Rather than getting yourself up to speed with no foundation set in place come Q4, using this time now to your advantage can allow you to have those building blocks already set in place for success going forward. You don’t need to have projects finished, deals closed, or collaborations wrapped up. You can plant the seeds now and that is more than enough. But you’re still doing yourself a huge favor by getting ahead now, with better quality ideas thanks to this beautiful season and working with it rather than running from it.
In conclusion…
Your next idea may be orbiting you already — but you just need to slow down enough in order to catch it. I challenge you to view this time not as a setback or pause, but rather an opening. Think of an idea you’ve had, no matter how unfinished or messy it is, that you can start to slowly bring back to life. Don’t think about finishing it, just keep diving deeper into it. Let it sit and meet you when it’s ready.
Until next time…
Cheers,
Angelina