This concept of working harder to achieve more is one that I talk a lot about in my work/life balance program and it seems that it is one topic that I get alot of responses to. So today I want to disprove that theory and show you some practical ways to get more work done in less time so you can enjoy your “life” more. Sound cool?
But before we get into that, I want to talk more about this unspoken “phenomenon” that has occurred over time in our society. This perception that to get more, to get ahead, to succeed – we must work harder (and harder and harder). Longer hours, weekend work and generally pushing ourselves to near super-human acts just to get ahead. “It will all be worth it it one day….” we tell ourselves, it is not going to be like this forever.
YOU ARE KIDDING YOURSELF, STOP IT…..
Ok, there is your virtual slap for this week. You don’t have to work 90 hours a week to get what you want (no matter what you goals are) and I am going to show you how. It is a matter of changing the way that we look at our personal training business and our “work”.
Productivity Is Not A Dirty Word
It doesn’t take a genius to work out that if you do the same amount of work in less time then it is happy days all round. This is what productivity is all about; getting more REAL work done in the same time. This is where the lines can get blurred a little as we often associate people who work “hard” as people who work long hours.
Working smart is not about how many hours you spend working on your business. It is about how intensely you work and how productive you are. We want to be working smart as much as possible.
Because as small business owners it is so easy to get distracted without “the boss” driving us to work harder. We are part of the working population that really need to have some discipline to get where we need to go. Now I have personally road-tested a bunch of different ways to get more done in “work” time because I absolutely love my free time (but really, who doesn’t). These 4 steps have served me well in ensuring that I get ALL my work done in work time so I can go and enjoy life:
Step 1: Define what is work and what is not
Yeah, I know it sounds weird but stay with me. Things that would fit into the work category would be training clients, marketing, finance and admin, client communications, etc.
Now things that are not work would be reading the paper on the internet, surfing Facebook, talking to friends on the phone or via email, taking long lunches, doing your personal banking etc.
As small business owners, we spend WAY too much time messing around on non-business activities so when you are at “work” only do “work” activities.
Step 2: Turn on and off quickly
We rarely start working as soon as we get into our office. We might check the daily news on the net, read a few emails, make a cup of tea. So it is time to review your morning ritual. Get to work, write down what you are going to to for the day and then start doing it without distraction.
Turning off is just as important skill to possess as you don’t want to be bringing your “business” head home with you every night. So a good habit to get into before you step out for the day is to review your day’s actions and then turn off. Your business is not your identity and taking mini-breaks every night will make a big change.
Tip: NEVER check your work emails via your phone after you have knocked off for the day. Give your mind a rest.
Step 3: Set mini deadlines
For every task that you are currently doing, set a mini deadline for the completion of the task. For example if you have a new marketing piece that you are putting together, set yourself the deadline of 10.30am to get it done.
Then once you have finished, review whether you could have completed you task in less time or see if you felt pressured and rushed. Adjust accordingly but each time you are becoming more productive.
Step 4: Be present in your own bubble
Yeah, this sounds a little weird but is an amazing way to bring a strong focus to your work without distraction. Ok, so the first thing to do is to create your bubble. Close you Facebook window, turn off your email, switch off your phone (you have a message bank) and shut your office (or bedroom) door.
Next step is to be present. Remember the last time you had something important to do and you had a certain deadline that you didn’t know if you could meet. As you worked as hard as you could to get whatever it was to get finished in time, all that you were thinking about was the task at hand.
You were completely present (and probably being super-productive).
You were probably getting heaps done because you were concentrating fully. You didn’t have time to let your mind wander and think about Lindsay Lohan’s latest court case. You were in the moment – you were present.
How do we get better at this?
Firstly, by simply watching how often your mind wanders off you will increase the amount of times you bring it back to attention. Meditation is built specifically around this principle and if you want more information on this just drop me an email (ie: I’m a massive fan of meditation)
There you have it, my 4 steps to working smarter not longer. It is really about treating your work time for work and becoming as efficient as you can. Thanks for taking the time to read it and I hope that you can implement into your working week (the 40 hour one, not the 80 hour one).
Cheers
Rick :-)
P.S: If you would like to join hundreds of other trainers and be a part of my FREE work/life balance program, you will get practical tips like these delivered to your Inbox every week of the year and learn some cool ways to enjoy your business. Check it out…
About the author: Rick Watson is the surfing, swearing personal training business guy who tells it like it is. He blogs, coaches, writes books, runs an online community and holds live workshops for personal trainers but most of all he is a father and husband (with a healthy respect for road trips). If you like what you read, subscribe to blog here and get your weekly dose of goodness delivered straight to your inbox.
