I love the analogy of a garden as our business.
I first saw it clearly during a meditation, when I was going through a transition after burnout. I knew I couldn’t work the way I used to, but at the same time, I didn’t yet know what the new way was.
A purpose and essence meditation showed me a vision of my business as a garden and anchored me into its energy. The words that stayed with me were calm and gentle.
That image changed the way I relate to my work.
Business is a relationship
A business — its vision and mission — is a relationship between you and your work. And like any relationship, it needs care, presence, and connection.
What we often forget is that most of the work we do in our businesses is invisible. The preparation. The tending. The thinking. The holding.
As solopreneurs, we work across all departments. Admin, marketing, IT, client care, planning, strategy. We wear many hats, often regardless of our natural strengths.
In the early stages, many businesses can’t afford regular support. We might hire someone for a one‑off task, but much of the time our focus is on building foundations — systems that will eventually hold the business.
Just like in a garden, the ground matters. And it needs to be prepared gently.
When the foundations aren’t steady, we start to feel a wobble more often.
If your foundations aren’t supportive, business can start to feel heavy and chaotic.
You might notice things like:
- your to‑do list never ends and you constantly feel behind
- you’re always busy, but not much seems to move forward
- your business starts to feel like a 9–5 job
- taking a day off feels impossible because everything might fall apart
- you don’t know what to post and keep starting from scratch
- you don’t have a clear sense of how your business will grow
- you keep doing the same things without seeing change
- your business requires you to be ‘on’ all the time
This isn’t a personal failure.
It’s often a sign that your backend and foundations need attention.
A weak foundation won’t hold a garden for long — and it won’t grow anything strong or sustainable.
Let’s look at foundations with curiosity
Recently, I’ve been returning to the basics in my own business.
Reviewing the systems I have in place.
Noticing the tools I use daily.
Paying attention to the rhythms that support me — daily, monthly, and yearly — so I know what needs to happen and when.
It wasn’t always like this.
For a long time, my business lacked rhythm and systems. And with that came stress, overthinking, and nervous system overload.
Having systems in place — and knowing my own rhythms — has brought a sense of safety, calm, and steadiness.
A gentle first step: awareness
If you’re feeling the weight of your business, I invite you into a small experiment. The first step is awareness.
Before changing anything, it helps to understand what’s already there.
Take a simple piece of paper and, for one week, note:
- what tasks you do in your business
- how often you do them
- what tools you use
- how much time they take
- whether you have any system supporting them
Seeing your work from a whole-picture perspective creates clarity. It helps you understand where your energy goes and where support is missing. From there, it becomes much easier to create rhythms that feel sustainable — rather than reactive.
If you’d like support with this, I’ve created a simple Time & Task Experiment spreadsheet you can use for 7 days. It helps you track what you do, how long things take, and which tools you rely on — so you can start seeing your business foundations more clearly.
You can download it here: https://www.subscribepage.io/7-day-time-task-experiment
Think of it as gently walking through your garden and noticing what’s growing, what needs care, and what might need a different structure.
Your business can feel calmer
Your business doesn’t need to feel like constant effort or survival.
With steady foundations, clear systems, and rhythms that support you, it can become a place of more ease, trust, and grounded growth.
Like a garden, it doesn’t need forcing.
It needs presence, patience, and care.
And sometimes, simply pausing long enough to really look at the ground you’re standing on.
Virtually,
Magda