It's 8:00 PM. You have a major team deliverable tomorrow, and despite 52 offers from your coworkers, you turn them all down and are convinced that you are the only one who can complete the task to your satisfaction.
After cleaning every room in your house, meal prepping for the week, and randomly picking lint out of your sweater, you decide to stay up until 3:00 AM creating the presentation, storyline, and handouts… and it looks amazing. After the presentation, everyone calls you a genius, wonders how you do it, but all you can think about is the sleep you're about to get that night.
On the brink of exhaustion, you swear that you're never going to procrastinate again, but you and I both know you will, because you're a procrastinating perfectionist.
People don't understand us, but we're blessed with a skill-set that can transform into a curse if left unchecked. Rather than get started, we wait and plan and perfect in order to avoid getting started. Even if the end product is ah-mazing, continued procrastination will prevent us from reaching our full potential. Why settle for a B when you can get an A?
Here are 5 phrases you've probably said if you're a procrastinating perfectionist and tips to get back on track.
"It will get done."
If anything, this is the procrastinating perfectionist's go-to catch phrase. The thought of impending deadlines hang over our heads like a dark cloud, and yet here we are, deciding to watch a whole season of House of Cards knowing that we could finish a designated task 3 days in advance if we were on top of our scheduling. Stop it!
Tip: Follow the "one touch rule": As soon as something is assigned to you or designated for a certain day/time, only "touch" it once. Don't start and then stop. Don't push back the deadline. Just force yourself to sit there and complete the task until it's complete and then cross it off the list.
"It's all in my head."
This phrase lets us act like we have actually began working on a task, when in reality, it's a cop out. Unless you truly have written a list or created an outline with actionable steps (or however you prefer to organize your life), you have not made legitimate progress.
Tip: Create detailed schedules/to-do lists and be accountable for the items you place on them. If you know you cannot bake 78 cakes in an hour, do not put it on your to-do list. Setting mini-deadlines can help you accomplish more sophisticated goals, but be realistic and ensure that you are following through.
"The deadline motivates me." or "I was waiting for inspiration."
Similar to the "it's all in my head" excuse, the "I was waiting for inspiration" claim also allows us to be complacent with inactivity. Sometimes you have to force yourself to be productive by creating an environment where you can focus, or refusing to move onto other activities before completing an agenda item.
Tip: At a minimum, research shows that it takes at least 18 days to change a habit, so repetition and forced realignment with more productive goals can help you get back on track.
"It would be easier if I did ____ myself." or "No one does____ like I do."
Refusal to ask for or receive help can guarantee that you will not complete some tasks. Learning to let go and/or relinquish some control is an important life skill. There are ways to contribute your opinion without leading the whole project and having your hands in too many pies can prevent you from having the capacity to focus on projects you truly care about.
Tip: Invest in training others or leaving detailed instructions so others can pick up tasks where you left off. Their interpretation of a project may not be the same, but sometimes the incorporation of fresh perspectives can lead to even better end products.
"It all worked out."
If you're a vegetarian who occasionally eats a burger, are you really a vegetarian? That's not how it works, sis. Just because you feel good about the end product, doesn't mean that the road you took to get there was appropriate.
Tip: Don't pat yourself on the back for unproductive behavior. When you have that "I really should be productive right now" feeling, do. You'll thank yourself for it later.
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While an evolution is a natural progression that happens as businesses grow, a rebrand is a total change. Lola tells xoNecole, "A total rebrand is necessary when a business’s current reputation/what it’s known for is at odds with the business’s vision or direction.
"For example, if you’ve fundamentally changed what your product is and does, it’s likely that your brand is out of alignment with the business. Or, if you find your company is developing a reputation that doesn’t serve it, it might be time to pump the brakes and figure out what needs to change.
She continues, "Sometimes you’ll see companies (especially startups) announce a name change that comes with updated messaging, visuals, etc. That usually means their vision has changed or expanded, and their previous branding was too narrow/couldn’t encompass everything they planned to do."
Feature image courtesy
The Brand Doula was born in 2019, and its focus is on putting "the experiences, goals, and needs of women of color founders first," as well as brands with "culture-shifting missions."
According to Lola, culture-shifting is "the act of influencing dominant behavior, beliefs, or experiences in a community or group (ideally, for the better)."
"At The Brand Doula, we work with companies and leaders that set out to challenge the status quo in their industries and communities. They’re here to make an impact that sends ripples across the market," she says.
"We help the problem solvers of the world — the ones who aren't satisfied with 'this is how it's always been' and instead ask 'how could this be better?' Our clients build for impact, reimagining tools, systems, and ways of living to move cultures forward."
The Brand Doula has worked with many brands, including Too Collective, to assist with their collaboration with Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Balanced Black Girl for a "refresh," aka rebrand. For businesses looking to rebrand, Lola shares four essential steps.
1. Do an audit of your current brand experience — what’s still relevant and what needs to change? Reflect on why you’re doing the rebrand in the first place and what success would look like after relaunching.
2. Tackle the overall strategy first — before you start redesigning logos and websites, align on a new vision for your brand. How do you want your company to be positioned moving forward? Has your audience changed at all? Will your company have a fresh personality and voice?
3. Bring your audience along the journey — there’s no need to move in secret. Inviting your current audience into the journey can actually help them feel more connected to and invested in your story, enough to stick around as changes are being made.
4. Keep business moving — one of my biggest pet peeves is when companies take down their websites as soon as they have the idea to rebrand, then have a Coming Soon page up for months! You lose a lot of momentum and interest by doing that. If you’re still in business and generating income, continue to operate while you work on your rebrand behind the scenes. You don’t want to cut existing customers off out of the blue, and you also don’t want so much downtime that folks forget your business exists or start looking for other solutions.
While determining whether the rebrand was successful may take a few months, Lola says a clear sign that it is unsuccessful is negative feedback from your target audience. "Customers are typically more vocal about what they don’t like more than what they do like," she says.
But some good signs to look out for are improvements in engagement with your marketing, positive reviews, press and increase in retention, and overall feeling aligned with the new branding.
For more information about Lola and The Brand Doula, visit her website, thebranddoula.com.
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And he elaborated on his decision during his recent visit to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. "Listen, when you calm down you can focus," the 49-year-old mogul said. "I've been good to me."
He also explained how his financial status can complicate things and being celibate helps him see things clearer.
"[Money is] when things start getting complicated, things start getting confusing cause people come in for different reasons," he said. "If you go on a date but you have no interest in anything, I can see you now. I said, ‘God damn, girl, you fine, but you ain’t got nothing going on."
When Stephen asked if The Accomplice author has ever been married, he responded with, "I am safe. I’m not a happy hostage. I’m here. I’m free. I made some mistakes, just not that one."
Later on in the interview, 50 clarified that he still wants a romantic relationship and possible marriage down the line, but that's not his focus at the moment. "I want someone I can love in my life too, just not right now. I’m fine."
50 has had a lot of high-profile relationships, from Vivica A. Fox to Ciara. Here's a look back at his relationships below.
Shaniqua Tompkins
Before 50 became famous, he was dating Shaniqua Tompkins and they share a child, 27-year-old Marquise Jackson. For years, the former couple have been involved in a back-and-forth over their son and eventually, the rapper's relationship with Marquise turned sour.
Meagan Good
Meagan Good confirmed in a Hollywood Unlock interview that she and the Queens-bred rapper did date in the past. They reportedly dated from 2002 to 2003, and she starred in his music video for "21 Questions."
“Just to bring clarity on that, that was over a decade ago, and it was for about a year. … I kept it under the radar intentionally because…at that time in my career, I’d just come off of Biker Boyz, I’d just done the music video, and my career was going in a really great way," she explained. "And what I didn’t want was my connection to him to be the catalyst in any type of success that I had."
Vivica A. Fox
Photo by KMazur/WireImage
50's relationship with Vivica A. Fox might be his most memorable one yet. After publicly complimenting her on her dress at the 2003 BET Awards, they showed up at the MTV VMAs together later that year. Their love affair was brief, but their public feud lasted years. Two decades later, they seem to have both put the petty past behind them.
Joy Bryant
Joy Bryant and the "In da Club" rapper reportedly dated from 2005 to 2006. The two were co-stars in Get Rich or Die Tryin' and had impeccable chemistry. However, it seems they couldn't replicate that chemistry offscreen.
Ciara
Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage
The "Can't Leave Him Alone" collaborators dated from 2007 to 2010. In 2012, Ciara revealed why they ultimately called it quits during an interview with the Ricky Smiley Morning Show. “He’s obviously far from afraid of anything that he can control. But at the same time — him not being afraid of anything in that way — the one thing he is afraid of is love," she said. "And with that being said, in a sense, he’s afraid of me.”
Chelsea Handler
The couple that surprised everyone the most was 50 Cent and Chelsea Handler. The comedian called the mogul her favorite ex. “I love 50 Cent, he was fun. He was just a sweetheart, and he was fun to be around,” Chelsea told Entertainment Tonight in January 2023. “My friends loved hanging out with him. I loved hanging out with him. It was a pretty short-lived romance. It was only two months. But yeah, I mean, If I saw him, I’d definitely have a drink with him.”
Daphne Joy
50 dated model Daphne Joy from 2011-2012, and they share a 12-year-old son, Sire. The Grammy award-winning artist is currently suing his ex for defamation after she accused him of rape. This accusation came after 50 asked for sole custody of their son following Lil Rod's sex abuse lawsuit against Diddy, which alleged that Daphne was a longtime sex worker. The model has also accused her ex of abuse in the past.
Jamira "Cuban Link" Haines
Photo by JC Olivera/Getty Images
Jamira Haines, known on social media as Cuban Link, and 50 began dating in 2019. Since then, they have made many public appearances together and have been posted on each other's social media pages. However, it appears the law school student and the rapper are no longer together. While neither party has confirmed the breakup, Jamira has scraped her social media with any traces of 50.
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