Do you run your company, or does it run you? Are you taking the time to think strategically or are you so busy with the day-to-day that you’re always exhausted?
I’ve lived in both worlds.
My natural tendency was to focus on what I could get done sooner rather than later. I went to work to solve problems and get the immediate satisfaction from doing so. The problem with that mindset is that I was not “in business” so much as I was “in busy-ness.” And staying there would never get me, my family, or our business where we wanted to go.
So, what changed? You could say that I got better at deferring gratification. Doing so is essential if one wants to succeed at being a businessperson.
How do you get out of your own way and become the businessperson you want to be?
Your Perfect Week
Most of us have a good idea of what we are supposed to be doing, but we allow ourselves to be seduced by the fire of the day.
Build a weekly schedule that has you doing what you know will only get done if you do it. Set up that schedule so you have periods of time when you will not be disturbed (by phone, by text, or by email) so you can focus and get things done.
Have specific times when you will be returning calls, etc.
Catch yourself sticking to your schedule and give yourself a pat on the back for doing so! And don’t beat yourself up for occasionally slipping into your old mindset.
Hire Wisely
As long as you are in business, you will be looking for good employees. And when you find one and bring them on, be prepared for the possibility of them leaving. In two different cases, we had a good employee get married and move to where their spouse wanted to live. So it goes. That’s just business.
Finding and retaining good employees takes a lot of time, though not all of it your time. However, you must give the time needed to review resumes, participate in interviews, and help onboard new hires. If you are scheduled to the max, you will make bad hires because you are wrapped up in busy-ness.
The better the hires you make, the more you can focus on building and running the business. The business will get run into the ground otherwise.
Focus on the Forest, Not the Trees
Recently, I fixed the side door locket at our house. Some screws had loosened up. It took me about 20 minutes or so to get it functioning properly.
No big deal, right? But add those tasks up and then subtract from what time you have in your business.
Trees (small tasks, often important, that need to get done sooner or later) are way more attractive than the Forest (huge, amorphous, strange, unfamiliar, and slightly scary tasks).
The thing is, if you are not trying to get a handle on the Forest, on your future, and the future of your business, then a lot of Trees will suck up the focus and energy of your entire team.
Build the time needed to do this into your Perfect Week. This is work that will only get done if you do it.
Becoming a businessperson who runs a business takes changing your mindset.
Breaking your addiction to busy-ness is the only way you’ll find time to do what you know needs to be done.
Make the choice sooner rather than later so you can do the needed work to build a business that works for you. You and your family deserve that.