In the third installment of “The Time Chronicles” series, James and Phoebe give 11 strategies that you can implement in your business in order to be more effective, and get your time back.
James believes that often, doing work creates more work, and people will try to combat busyness by doing more. The goal of this series isn’t to give you more time so that you can get more done.
“Let’s just focus on results. It should be results-oriented work.”
You need to define what results you are looking for, and achieve them with the least amount of effort or output possible.
11 strategies to help get your time back
1) Spend more time playing, planning and daydreaming
Abraham-Hicks has a quote that says, “Leverage your time by spending a little more time every day imagining and a lot less time every day doing; just imagine yourself into the success and watch what happens. Imagine a little more, and act a little less…”
Phoebe says you need to ask yourself, “How do I want to feel?” and James reminds people that leaders need to take more time to do what they enjoy, guilt-free, to recharge themselves and inspire creativity.
2) Get really clear on your “one thing” and do that first
In Gary Keller’s book, “The ONE Thing” (see “INTERVIEW LINKS”) he asks, “What’s the one thing you can do to make everything else easier or unnecessary? Do that thing first in your day.
Trying this strategy for even just one week, and you’ll see positive results. Practicing doing this will help you develop your priorities, until you’re really clear on what you want.
3) Get your team clear on their “one thing.”
It’s important to get everyone approaching business from the same vantage point!
4) Drop everything that isn’t important
James notes that saying “No” to things is really one of the secrets to getting more time.
5) Let go by outsourcing and delegating
A previous episode of the podcast focused on how to (and not to) outsource (see “INTERVIEW LINKS”). For an entrepreneur, it’s important to remember that almost everything in your business can be done by someone else, and there’s no need for the business owner to be doing task that could be outsourced for $10/hour (or less).
6) Remember “Parkinson’s Law”
Parkinson’s Law states that work expands to fill the time available for its completion.
Phoebe allows herself time off to do the things that she enjoys, and that aren’t business-related. She even blocks off this time in her calendar to do this each week.
7) Master communication
James shares a quote he heard to summarize communication, or lack of, between leaders and their teams:
“When a flower doesn’t bloom, you don’t blame the flower, you blame the environment in which it grows”
The environment plays a vital role in the behavior and performance of your team, and as the business owner, you alone are responsible for creating the environment.
Using a customized version of the “Scrum Method” by Jeff Sutherland (see “INTERVIEW LINKS”), James has created an environment whereby communication is paramount.
8) Create better systems
The last episode of the podcast discussed systems, and James has implemented project management software, password protection/sharing tools and file sharing programs to make day-to-day operations as efficient as possible for all team members (see “INTERVIEW LINKS”).
9) Set clear deadlines
To realize what you are working towards, you need to ask “Who, What, Where and When” in relation to the project.
Phoebe adds that so many deadlines get missed because no one is taking responsibility for certain tasks getting done.
10) Prioritize and create a “minimum viable project”
To do this, you need to look at every single thing on your to-do list and ask yourself if you really need to do it. You then can get clear on the things that are the very minimum needed to get the results that you’re after.
In a recent promotion, James’ team directed potential customers direct to a sales cart, without setting up a sales page, and achieved strong results.
11) Use leverage
Leverage is about doing one thing, and figuring out how that one thing can be used in multiple ways. For example, you could record a podcast and then use it in a future blog post, or as a bonus for a course.
“There’s all these different ways that you can leverage one piece of content”
In the near future, there will be an episode dedicated specifically to the topic of leverage!
INTERVIEW LINKS:
“The ONE Thing” by Gary Keller
7 Tips for Failing Miserably at Outsourcing
“Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time” by Jeff Sutherland
Improving the Systems in Your Business