Multi-Passion Mama Interview: Ije Ude

Note from Stacey:  The following is an excerpt from my interview with Ije Ude, founder of Soul Powered Solutions for the Multi-Passion Mama Productivity System interview series.  Ije is a totally inspiring businesswoman and single mom, and our conversation covered a lot of ground, including a truly enlightening segment on the things we can learn from going through depression.  Here, though, we’re discussing lighter (though still really enlightening!) fare, as Ije turns us on to her “made-up” system for “Getting Things Done” (I think I’m going to steal it from her!)  For more information on The Multi-Passion Mama Productivity System click here and find out more about Ije below.  Enjoy!

Ije: I so appreciate and love having the freedom (afforded by being an entrepreneur rather than working a 9 to  5 job).  When I have that freedom in my days, and I’m able to just be present and be with my son without being tired – that’s why I do it.

There are marked differences in our days when I’m stressed out or worried or distracted around him, and then another moment when I’m full and rested and in a good space.  The exact same behavior from him will elicit a completely different reaction from me, depending on those things.  I can get triggered and get in a little power struggle with him which obviously isn’t ideal.   And so I enjoy being able to have a schedule that allows me to take care of myself in that way so that I can be there for him and be present in the relationships that I have in my life.  To me, that’s the joy.  That’s what makes me enjoy the process of running a business.  And those little moments make it worth picking up the phone to make that call that I don’t want to, or staying up late working on my website.  All those times when you’re making sacrifices and putting work in, you’re also reminded why you’re doing it, because you get to enjoy the little rewards along the way.

Stacey: Absolutely.  Speaking of the entrepreneurial life – one question I have is how do you stay focused?  Do you have any system or routine that works for you?  I know for myself, systems are the key.  Like “On this day I’m going to be working on this.”  I always set the intention of getting this one thing done, because there are so many demands on my time that I need to ensure that at least those things get done.    So what is your process like?

Ije: I’m a really visual person.  I’ve tried a lot of book-prescribed systems, like “Getting Things Done” or the Stephen Covey planners…. I’ve gotten things out of them, but they haven’t really worked for me.  What works for me is sort of non-traditional, it’s just something I’ve made up.

I like construction paper, and different colored post-its, and different colored pens.  And so I make a visual map for myself.  I write my end goal – and my end goal isn’t to make a certain amount of money or anything like that  – like one sheet that I have up right now is the saying “My greatest gift is my happiness.”  So when I see that, that’s what inspires me, like “Oh yeah, I need to go to yoga.”  Because I know for my happiness, the greatest gift that I want to give those around me… when I go to yoga, I’m happy.  When I read, or write in my journal, it makes me a happier person.  So that’s what I use to calm me, and I have my little goals underneath.

And for my business, I sort of work on 3 main goals, and then I have little post-its with baby steps that I need to take to achieve that goal.  So I put a goal up, and then I find what post-it I’m going to work on, and then I work on it and then once it’s done I take it away.  So the post-its get taken off, and then when I need to add new ones I do.  But it’s great to wake up and have these visuals to remind me why I do what I’m doing, and all of these little baby steps that I need to take.

Stacey: That’s so great!  So let me just go over that again, because it’s not the sort of things that’s in a Stephen Covey planner, or in “Getting Things Done.”  So you’re looking at your wall and you have a colorful piece of construction paper that has the project or the goal on it, and then you have the sticky notes around it that are the tasks that need to be accomplished around that goal?

Ije: Yeah.  I have different sized post-its, and the big pieces of construction paper, which I put my big goals on.  And then under those are the littler post-its with all of the little baby steps.  So one of the things is, for instance, I’m working on an eBook.  So the eBook is on the biggest post-it, and then underneath there are smaller post-its that say like “write the introduction,” “write chapter one,” “get so-and-so to edit” and so all of those go underneath it.

Stacey: That is so fantastic!  I want you to write a blog post about that!  Note from Stacey:  I still want to see this blog post, Ije!

Ije: Okay!

Stacey: I want to see a photo!  That visual would be so powerful, to see what your wall looks like.  And so it’s a great message for the other mamas to take away – as busy mamas, we may not have (or we just don’t have) huge chunks of time. We don’t have huge chunks of time to knock out a project.  We have 15 minutes here and there.  For me, with my kid, it’s like “Okay, he’s watching a video or he’s in the bathtub or he’s with his Dad.”   What I love about your system is that it’s like, “Let me look at my wall and see one thing that I can knock out in 15 minutes.”  So for a baby step I can imagine pulling off that post-it note and… for me right now it would be “Solicit three people to be on the Multi-Passion Mama interview series.”  And I can do that, I can write three emails in 15 minutes.  And that’s how it happens!  I’m so glad that you broke it down, because I don’t have that system.  I’m more like using scraps of paper, or writing something up on the computer.  But I love that visual, and I really think it’s going to resonate with so many of our busy mamas.  These chunks, or baby steps as you call them, just bites that you can take out of the project… those can make sense in an otherwise busy day.

Over the past 13 years, Ije has worked as a health/sexuality educator, HIV counselor, girls empowerment facilitator, local organizer, teacher, trainer, program coordinator, youth educator, curriculum writer, nonprofit consultant, doula, holistic health counselor and program manager.  In the midst of that she survived a severe depression, became a single mother, designed earrings for fun and rode the roller coaster of being a part-time entrepreneur.

She also found like-minded freedom lovers and experimented with 2 childcare collectives, an all-female crew of hip-hop freestylers, a group of aspiring community doulas, and an all-woman crew of socially-conscious filmmakers. As a doula and holistic health counselor, Ije witnessed the magic of birth, healing and transformation.  She learned how to help people create a vision of what they really wanted then inspire them to trust their inner compass to guide them there. To find out more about Ije, go to www.soulpoweredsolutions.com

Note from Stacey: Want to get more support for pursuing your dreams?  I’m offering a very special teleseminar, “You’re a Great Mom. Now What? How to Get Out of Overwhelm and Get Clarity and Traction on Your Goals” on Thursday, September 9^th at 1 pm EST. Register for the FREE call by clicking here - and a recording will be sent to you even if you can’t make it.

I’ve also created The Multi-Passion Mama Productivity System: A Busy Mom’s Guide to Getting Everything Done. Get it here!

Tagged as: "feeling overwhelmed", organization, success, systems