Why it’s very fabulous to realise that you will NEVER have enough time to do everything!

The tough thing about running a solo business is that you have to do everything, right? And there is just sooooo much to do. And you worry about how you’re going to get it all done. And your todo list makes you feel overwhelmed. And everything feels a bit out of control. And Oh Gawd, how do other people do it!?

Well the secret is they DON’T! Really! They don’t!

For the first few years of running my business I was in a complete tizz. I was working super- hard but I felt like I wasn’t moving forward. My todo list was getting longer, not shorter. And, quite frankly, it all felt a little impossible.

And then I realised it was, indeed, impossible.

I was NEVER, actually, going to get everything done. NEVER. EVER. EVER

And while I should probably have felt dismayed by this, I actually felt relief. It’s kinda nice to know you can’t do everything. It takes the pressure off. It makes you realise you HAVE TO MAKE CHOICES. It puts you back in control.

When I first realised I couldn’t do everything I made a list of how knowing this was going to change the way I worked. It went something like this:

Because I can’t actually do everything…..

1 I’m going to start with the most important things on my todo list because I know the ones at the bottom will NEVER GET DONE.

2 I’m going to decide what I *really* want to achieve, turn it into a goal and only do stuff that moves me towards that (this is how the 100 Day Goal came about!)

2 I’m not going to spend ages sorting my email inbox, instead I’ll check email 3 times a day.

3 I’m not going to be on every social media platform (just in case there happens-to-possibly-be a customer there).

4 I’m not going to spend time on making everything perfect. 98% will do!

5 I’m not going to spend my time doing the fun stuff (making graphics for a blog post) at the expense of doing the useful stuff (writing the blog post).

6 I am going to focus on ACTIONS (tasks that will move my business towards my goals) rather than MOTIONS (general busyness).

7 I’m not going to waste time worrying what other people think.

8 I’m going to make my products truly different and useful so I can spend more time making them and less time marketing them.

9 I’m going to stop wasting time scrolling through Facebook and instead I’m going to do things that matter.

10 I’m going to look at everything I do and ask “Is there a quicker way to do this?”

11 I’m going to look at everything I do and ask “Do I *really* need to do this?”

12 I’m going to pay someone to help me with admin so I can use my precious time to work on stuff that only I can do.

13 I’m going to say ‘no’ to the things that I don’t want to do but am usually too nice to say no to!

14 I’m going to turn off the internet and get on with my work….

15 I’m going to decide quickly whether something is worth putting on my to do list. If in doubt I’ll chuck it out.

16 I’m going to be selective about what I read (and what I save to read later) and accept that I’ll never read the millions of articles that I’ve popped into Evernote for a rainy day!

17 I’m going to do the most important tasks first thing in the day because I now know there will never be time to do them if I save them till ‘later’.

18 I’m going to get up early to and use the morning time (when I am at my best) to work

20 I’ll going to make proper time for my family. [If you find yourself promising that you’ll, um, make time for your family later, listen to this]

Now it’s your turn!

Write down 20 ways in which you’re going to change the way you work, now that you know you’ll NEVER have time to do everything! It’ll make you feel good and your business ridiculously better!

MORE!

If you’re struggling to get it all done when you’re a business of one, you will absolutely LOVE this guide!

We’d love you to join the 100 Day Goal in January (it’s FREE), just pop your details in here.

If you’d like to get SMART about your time, try keeping a Timesheet!

 

Comments

comments