Nov 21, 2016
I had the recent pleasure of meeting one of my mentors, Todd Herman, in person. This encounter really made me reflect on the progress I’ve had over the years, especially on the productivity side of things. I wanted to share some of the takeaways that I’ve experienced this year, as I built a business that fit more of my lifestyle needs.
One of the things I learned from my mentor, was that I was doing a pretty good job with goal setting, but I was not spending any time evaluating the personal side of my business. The truth is, business is personal. I honestly don’t separate the two. However, with that being said, I was not paying too much attention to the personal aspect of my day-to-day life. I wasn’t clear on goals for that side at all!
Another thing I learned about productivity, is that the thing I value in this business, for me, is really to do more in less time. When I started my first business, I was trying to do ‘all the things,’ and it really drained me. On one hand, I did develop a very successful business, but it was at the expensive of my well being.
So, based on all this experience I’ve had, doing more in less time is really important to me. I don’t want to work extensive hours. I’m actually on a mission to see how few hours I can work, while still building a successful business. But while on this journey, I was rewarding bad behavior, by moving quickly onto the next task once I completed the first item of business earlier than I scheduled. I should be using that extra time to ‘enjoy life,’ as it were, instead of working, working, working.
One more thing that I’d like to add about what I learned this year about productivity, is how I streamline my business. It’s not easy to streamline your business, and make everything so seamless. Despite the goals that I have to do more with less, I was still biting off more than I could chew. And it’s forced me to stop, pivot, and re-focus myself. In fact, I’ve had to do this several times this year, to keep with my end-goal in mind.
So, that’s what I want to pass on to you today. Be clear on your goals, and stay true to that, even if it means stopping what you’re currently doing, and re-focusing.