Try on your words. Walk around with them on for a while to see if they fit. Look over the draft or design of your new collateral, website, invitations, t-shirts, tattoos - whatever. If something jars with you; it’s got to go.

Note: jarring is not the same as intriguing. If something stops you in your tracks and captures your attention, work out whether it is because it’s interesting or because it’s a wrong fit.

It’s like judging the Best and Worst Dressed list. You need to be discerning, appreciate styles and packaging that bring something unique to the fold and, where required, call a spade a mouldy old shovel.

Deliberation is taking ‘pause for thought’ – and the pause is almost as important as the thought.

Also Note: I said ‘pause’ not ‘three weeks to consider one paragraph of text which you then need to send to all your friends and extended family before deciding if you really like it’. Give yourself some time to churn it around in your mind, but don’t over think it. Go with your instinct. Take risks. Don’t be scared to be different. Don’t be so open-minded your brain falls out. When in doubt, be guided by the type of thing to which you think your customers and potentials might respond well.

A break in work – whether it be a lunch break, overnight, weekend or holiday* - is the perfect time to mull things over without even meaning to. It’s rare for me to go for a run or a gym workout without a solution to something work-related squat thrusting its way into my head (ewww .... that sounds wrong ... probably should have mulled over that metaphor a little more before using it).

A rested, refreshed mind brings fresh eyes to cast over the fine details within that big picture.