Productivity

Most small business articles will tell you to take steps forward.  The writers will encourage you to:

• make progress
• crack on
• push ahead

But today I want you to take a step in a different direction.

The one simple step I want you to take today is a step back.

 

Working In Your Business vs. Working On Your Business

It’s an easy trap to fall into.

You can be so busy running your business, dealing with customers, making products and supplying services that you don’t take regular time to step back.

Stepping back and looking at your business will help you:

• Spot areas for improvement
• Highlight areas for celebration

 

It’s Too Easy To Put Off

“Next week I’m going to spend a day looking at my business”.

The day becomes the week after, then next month, then after the holidays, in the New Year and so on.

Before you know it months have gone past and you’ve not taken a step back and looked at how your business is going.

 

It Only Takes Five Minutes

Take just five minutes a day to complete this small exercise that will help you continually improve your business.

Find five minutes whenever you can during the day, sit quietly and ask yourself the following three questions.

 

Question #1: Am I going in the right direction?

Your business is a journey.  It’s taking you somewhere.  Somewhere that you’ve decided you want to be.

It could be to a better life for your family, you may want to work less, live in a different house, drive a different car, and go on different holidays.

It might be none of these things; it could be that you started your journey to share knowledge or experiences to help improve other people’s lives.

Either way, are you going in the right direction?

During your daily step back ask yourself if you are still heading in the right direction, are you on course to get where you want to get at the end of your journey?

If your answer is yes, fantastic!

If it’s no, don’t panic, just recognise that you need to get yourself back on course.  Pin point what is leading you off course and write down the steps you need to take to correct it.

Correcting your course might need several steps but today you just need to recognise it and make the first one, then review each day in your step back and keep taking one step at a time until you are happy you’re going in the right direction.

 

Question #2: Am I focusing on the right priorities?

Never before have there been so many distractions for small business owners.

If you’re not careful you can very easily spend time on things that seem very productive but are they helping you on your business journey?

Are they helping you to get where you want to be?

In your step back ask yourself this question and think about the things you are spending time on, are you prioritising the right things?

Yes?  Great go on to the last question.

No?  Put some time aside to write as short a list as possible of the real priorities in your business.  Use this list each day when you ask yourself this same question and check that you’re prioritising the right things.

 

Question #3: Am I seeing results?

Results are the check points along your journey.

Seeing results confirms the other questions and helps ensure that you are completing the important steps towards your goals.

Results also give you confidence that you are going at the right speed.

Results come in many shapes and sizes.  They include completing a client project, gaining a new client or even getting people signing up to your email list and sharing your blog posts.

Are you seeing results from the hard work you are putting into your business journey?

If Yes, great, make sure you celebrate them and continue taking a step back each day to stay on course to your goals.

If no, look at the priorities you are working on and check they are really the right ones to help you on your journey.  If you need help then leave a comment below.

Remember that even if you answer all of these questions positively today, you need to keep taking a step back to ensure you remain on course.

 

Take A Step Back Today

Can you find five minutes today to step back and answer these questions?

Please don’t put it off.

To help I created a PDF of the three questions that you can print off, stick on your wall and use as a daily reminder, click the button to download it:

Try it today and then please come back and leave a comment below so I can hear how you’ve got on.

 

Sports teams try especially hard to win the first game of a new season.

A “quick win” helps them start the season well. �It also:-

• Builds team motivation
• Encourages the fans
• Builds momentum for the coach
• Positions the team for long term success

As a small business owner, every morning is your new season.

The secret to kick-starting your day is to win your first game – the first task on your list.

 

Kick-Start With A Quick Win

My definition of a quick win is a task that can be completed within the first thirty minutes of the day. �The first task on your list needs to be a quick win.

A quick win increases the entire productivity of your day.

Before I used this method I would start on my first task without any thought to it’s size. �I prioritised what was most important.

Some days my first task would be short, but on others it might be a task that would take several hours and I found myself losing focus and motivation quickly.

Now I start everyday with a quick win, and the results are amazing.

By the time I’ve finished the task I feel like I’ve achieved something, that I’m “on a roll” and this carries me into the rest of my day and helps me build momentum through my task list.

If I have lots of larger projects I break some down into smaller tasks and use one task as my quick win.

 

A Quick Win Is A Quick Result!

A quick win is more than just an easy task, or a quick task.

It needs to be a task that will bring you a result.

Examples of some of my quick wins include:

• Completing a client proposal
• Sending a motivational email
• Editing and publishing a blog post
• Editing a client’s marketing email

All of these quick wins either helped me progress my own business or the businesses of my clients.

But not all tasks can be used as quick wins. �Some that I wouldn’t suggest include:

• Reading your favourite blogs
• Checking�social networks like Twitter, Facebook, Google+
• Replying to emails
• Checking news websites

Not that these are bad things, they are important and your day should include planned time for them, but they won’t leave you with the feeling of completion like a quick win.

If you start the day with some of these things rather than a quick win you’ll get the opposite effect – you’ll feel like you’re playing “catch up” and that you’re not being productive.

 

Pick Your�Opponent

Your advantage over a sports team is that you can pick your opponent. �You can pick the task for your quick win.

Pick your quick win the day before.

If you leave it to pick on the morning there is a risk you’ll find something else to do, be less focused and lose the kick-start.

I select my quick win in the evening and ensure that everything I need to complete it is ready so all I need to do is get to my desk and get started.

You can also pick a second quick win for after lunch, or any time of the day that you need a short productivity boost.

 

Make Your Next Game A Win!

Kick-starting you’re day with a quick win will increase your motivation, momentum and put you on course for a fantastic day.

Don’t believe me? �Try it!

Pick a quick win for tomorrow – the start of your next season. �Complete it and then come back here and let me know how it changed your day in the comments.

On the 4th November 1922 men working for Howard Carter discovered hidden steps to what we now know to be one of the greatest Egyptian archaeological finds, the Tomb of Tutankhamen.

It might seem like a chance find for a lucky archaeologist but it was the result of a long term, strategic plan.

 

Planning is everything!

 

After waiting years for permission to dig in the Valley of the Kings Howard Carter received his permit. �He mapped the valley into a series of blocks using a grid system. �He worked his team through each block systematically, clearing the ground and ensuring that the tomb he sought wasn�t in a block before moving to the next.

This process continued for five years before Carter finally made his discovery.

Howard Carter�wasn’t�relying on luck.

He relied on�in-depth�research, solid planning and unshakable commitment.

 

Lessons from Tutankhamen

 

Are you looking to grow your business, to make it profitable and sustainable?

Do you want to launch new products and services, and ensure customers are happy with your service?

Here are some lessons we can take from Howard Carter:

 

Lesson #1: Create your plan

 

Before a single rock was moved Howard Carter drew a grid on his map of the valley and split it into blocks.

He�didn’t�just run into the valley with men and tools and start digging, he created a clear strategy.

If you want to build a profitable, sustainable small business you have to have a plan.

You need to understand what you want to achieve and how you�re going to achieve it.

It�s the same regardless of whether you�re just starting out in business or if�you’ve�been trading for years and want to grow.

There are two important steps to creating a plan for your business:

 

Start with the end in mind

 

Howard Carter believed that there was still one tomb to be found, he set this as his purpose and created his strategy around his ultimate goal.

What�s your goal? �Be clear and write down your goals in detail, understand what life would be like for you if you achieved these goals.

Make the goals tangible, if you�re goal is to grow your business so you have financial freedom what income would you need, what would you do with it, where would you go on holiday, what house would you live in, etc. Whatever your goal is ensure that you record it in as much detail as possible.

Make your goals specific, if you need to grow your business to the stage where you have a certain income how many clients will you need?

Carter knew exactly how many blocks he had split the valley into. �You need to know how many customers you need to buy which of your products, how much revenue that needs to generate for you to reach your goals.

 

Research, Research, Research

 

When it comes to knowing your business, your potential market and the steps you need to take to achieve your goals you can never research too much.

Collect as much information as possible. �Who will be your perfect customer, how can you attract them and create products and services that appeal to them so much they not only buy once but keep coming back for more.

Read my FREE eBook �Focused Marketing: How To Grow Your Business In Any Economy� for more details about this point.

But, remember that the plan is a means to an end. Planning can be exciting, thinking about how wonderful life will be when you reach your goal. �But, the plan is made to be followed.

In order to reach the goal you have to get started and make progress!

Spend enough time on your plan to ensure that it�s solid and that you know where you�re going and how you�re going to get there, but don�t spend a moment longer on it than you need to. Start making progress!

 

Lesson #2: Break your plan into sections

 

How do you eat an elephant? – One bite at a time!

Looking at your plan can be intimidating. �One of the biggest reasons that small business owners fail to make progress is that they get intimidated by the size of the task ahead. �Many will think about the plan and then find something else to do, leaving the plan for another day, as if it will some how look easier tomorrow.

That�s human nature.

To prevent this you have to break the plan into small steps. �If your plan is to have twelve new customers by the end of the year think in terms of needing to find one each month, that sounds much easier�doesn’t�it?

If part of your plan is to develop a training programme that will take one hundred hours of writing over several months, break it into small chunks. �Concentrate on writing it one chapter at a time and celebrate each one as you finish, it�s got you one step closer to your goals.

 

Lesson #3: Stick to your plan

 

It was five years before Howard Carter received the breakthrough that he wanted, his great discovery. �It�s most likely that your plan won�t be that long and that you�ll be looking for results in less time, perhaps even within five months, weeks or days but whatever happens stick to the plan.

You�ll have moments of doubt and wonder whether your work will pay off, when you�ll get your breakthrough, but just keep going. �Success comes to those who keep pushing forward and making progress.

In 1922 Carter was called to England to see his financial backer, Lord Carnarvon, who gave him one more season to make his discovery. �Many would have panicked and dropped the plan and starting digging anywhere throughout the valley trying to make the discovery but Howard Carter knew the power of strategy and kept to his plan and the rest, as they say, is history.

Don�t let others put you off your plan. �If�you’ve�done your research and know what you need to achieve, and what you need to do to achieve it, then just keep to your plan.

To help keep you motivated and to drive your progress follow this little exercise. �At the end of everyday take a few moments to write down what�you’ve�done in that day to make progress on your plan and what you plan to achieve the next day. This daily exercise will help you focus and ensure you keep making progress.

 

How is your plan looking?

 

Howard Carter made his discovery and ensured his name and place in history. �However, he didn�t do it all on his own. �Several people helped him before, during and after the discovery.

You don’t need to do it all on your own either.

I want to help you with your plan. �I’ll be posting lots of information to help you plan, stay on course and achieve your goals in growing your business. �To ensure you receive these posts as soon as they are published just add your email to the box below and click Sign Up.

Don�t worry, you won�t receive anything other than valuable small business advice from Fresh Eyes Consultancy, I hate SPAM as much as you do.