Ways I've Overcome "Shiny Object Syndrome"

Shownotes:

For this podcast episode, I want to talk about one of the topics that many people can surely agree on. How do you treat new objects? For a child, they usually play with this new toy and completely disregard the other ones that they already had before it. Do you know that we somehow brought that kind of attitude as we grew up? You see, whenever a new trend, app, or a new technique comes out, we feel this strong desire to try it out. For some, it is because it might be useful, but for others - it’s just their FOMO! Ask yourself, do you have the shiny object syndrome?

  

 

Hello and welcome to The Traveling Introvert. Today I'm going to talk about ways I over use to overcome sort of Shiny Object Object Syndrome, Huh? So Shiny Object Syndrome is when a new diet comes out or new software comes out or a app comes out that everyone's talking about it, so you have to try it, yada, yada, yada. And then you waste, you know, days, weeks, whatever, trying out this thing while neglecting everything else that you were doing in your business or your career.

And the reason why I want to talk about some shiny object syndrome is because in this day of online businesses, we get bombarded all the time with adverts on new things. You can come up with a new idea, create a Facebook page for it and have ads linked to it in a matter of hours. And there are so many things going on around the world that we now have more access to that we never really did before that it can be overwhelming.

And so when I see a shiny new object, for example, there are hundreds of different calendar booking options or things that you can use to help clients book with you. Or a way to link your invoicing with your contracts with something else. And this other thing. So what I do is festival number one, do I have something that already does this? Am I happy with it? Is it cost effective? If so, move it along. Number two, which really should be number one, is it in line with my business goals? Does it help me with my overall business goal? If it does, okay I'll take a look into it. If it doesn't, stop, move it along. Does the company that is creating whatever product it might be, are they also aligned with my goals or are they anti X, Y or Z that I am totally for, because that can make a difference.

I try and use products or work with clients, work with other companies that do things that are in line with my beliefs and my mission and my vision for my company and for things in general. So that's another thing. Is it in line with your business goals? Is it something that you currently have and you're just looking to replace?

The next thing that I do when I'm thinking about, Ooh, should I try this shiny thing? What is it I would use it for? Is it something that would make me more productive? Is it something that will save me money? Is it someone that will help promote me or market me or my products or whatever it might be. Take a look at that and see, A, could you do it another way? Do you need this software? B, is it doing something that you really need right now or it's something that will enhance what you're currently doing?

Think about those things and if it's not, then move it along. Just because everyone else is using it and everyone else is super happy, jumpy about it doesn't mean that you have to. Another thing that I really take a look into is how long would it take me to set up? Is this something that I'm going to have to go and read a bunch of software or go and see a lot of YouTube videos and spent hours setting up or is this something that could take a minute or two and we'll be able to use it very, very quickly because that makes a difference. There's certain things that I'd be happy to spend time figuring it out because it's a longterm thing or something that helps my client journey or something that is very, very targeted to my business goal. But if it's something sort of like tracking stuff, I need that to be as automated as possible.

I need to meet, go in once, click check this, that and the other, link it up to whatever I need to do and then it should be able to run on its own. So think about those things when you, you see a new shiny object. Just because your friend is using it or because someone else is using it doesn't always mean it's a good fit for you. And yes, the price might be amazing and it's an introductory prices. This is another thing. It could be something where an introductory price is a dollar, but then a year later you get smacked with a charge of 599.

That's something to keep in mind. The year of the dollar is great, but then you need to make back that money. Can you make back that money? Is the charge going to come out at an inopportune time? Are you going to forget about it? Cause they don't remind you and all of a sudden you see this charge? That is something for you to keep in mind. So those are ways that I use to overcome or to at least sort of project out shiny object syndrome and buying lots of new things all the time. Thank you for listening. This is Janice at The Career Introvert, helping introverts amplify their voices through podcasting, publishing, public speaking, and general personal branding. If you have any questions, please email me at Janice@TheCareerIntrovert.com.