Sometimes not doing something is better than doing it. Busy work is the stuff we do because at some point it seemed like a good idea, and maybe it was for a while. I hear from entrepreneurs about their lack of time and yet when we start to look at where the time goes, it is obvious that it is to busy work.
It is frustrating to work so hard all the time and feel like you are not making a dent. Wouldn’t it be nice to get twice as much done in half the time?
You want to get to new, cool ideas that will make you a bunch of money, and you want to not work all hours of the day so you can spend time with your family having fun. So, let’s look at what can go first.
These are three of the biggest time sucks that even focused and smart people have a hard time letting go of. If you can let go of these first, other areas that you can let go or modify will become clear and you will find all kinds of time in your day to make things happen.
1. Meetings, especially the out and about town, let’s meet for coffee and talk about how we can help each other out, kind, need to go. It’s not just the meeting time, it’s the scheduling time, the driving and the waiting time that you will save here. Try switching to phone meetings when ever possible, and use the phone to schedule them in the first place. The phone is often faster than email and will allow you to solidify the relationship too.
Try to have an actual purpose for the meeting, not just let’s waste some time sipping beverages outside of the office. And I don’t mean let me sell to you for 40 minutes type of purpose, but an idea of how you might work together in mutually beneficial ways.
2. Tasks that don’t pay off. Here is where those things that seemed like a good idea at one point can trip us up. Are all the tasks you do still working for you? See what you can find on your task list that can be modified, delegated or eliminated to make room for the new ideas with a better pay off.
I have recently looked at the time cost/benefit of the Free Q&A Call I have been doing every month. I’m still retooling the next phase of this idea, because it turns out that sign ups have dropped off, and frequently no one shows up. However, I know a few people really love it. So the newsletter goes weekly and will cover more how to’s from questions you send me.
3. Redundant work. This should be easy to spot but many people find it hard to change a habit, once it is a habit. Printing out your email and filing it is an example of this. Just create the folders in your email program and pull them in there. And while you are at it go ahead and have your favorite email reader go get the mail from all your mail programs. It will save you having to log in to every different site.
It’s time to let go of the tasks that keep you from really getting what you want. Let me know what you let go of and don’t forget to send me questions if you want them answered.
What does your desk look like? You can see mine below.
Are you surprised to see the piles on my desk? I admit it, I’m a piler. However, each pile has a purpose, and that is what keeps me from getting overwhelmed.
Often the reason people call me for help in the first place is that they are overwhelmed by the actual physical pieces of paper. To deal with it they usually scoop it into a bag and hide it in a closet when people come over. At a certain point the closets fill up and then it takes over.
There are some really easy things you can do to keep the paper from taking over. For a variety of reasons, mainly the thought that you don’t have the time, you will resist even these simple ideas. Not only are they easy, they are really fast. So, I urge you to try them anyway.
Chances are you will be saying to yourself, “I don’t know where to start.” Good thing I do. Are you ready? Pick one horizontal spot you would like to work at and pick that as your starting point. It could be the dining room table, the kitchen counter, your craft table or your actual desk.
The number one easiest way to not get overwhelmed by your paper is to first, stack it neatly. Just do the papers on the spot you picked to start. Pick some up and tap the end against the desk a few times to get it square and then set it down. Add another small stack at a time until you have all the papers from this spot in a neat pile.
Now you want to create 3 places for the most common “in the way papers” to live.
Trash. By far, the most space and energy zapping kind of paper I find is actual trash. Make sure you have a handy and large trash receptacle in your work space. You can also set up a recycle bin and a shredder but it’s all just trash. Now there is a place to put all the marketing crap you have received in person and in the mail, along with all envelopes the mail came in to start with.
Extra supplies. Set up an to put all the duplicate supplies that you find in your piles. Most of it will be note pads, sticky notes, single sheets of blank paper and other paper goods. Gather these together and keep them in a central area that you can “shop” from when you really need them to accomplish something. Until then they are just in the way of your work.
Regular stuff. This is where you assign a place for your regularly processed items to live. Usually, I recommend 4 separate systems for processing paper, each with a corresponding area for the associated papers to reside. I actually just visually divide the desk surface into 6 sections and assign a process to each section. One of the sections will be for incoming, the stuff that needs to be processed, that’s where the pile you just made goes. The last one will be for clear space.
The 4 other areas will be:
- Bills and correspondence
- Projects and ideas
- Contacts
- Lists
Now, go through that pile and put each of the pieces into the appropriate spot. Neaten each stack and then go about your day. I’ll give you the next steps next week. Although, if all you do from now on is process your papers into those areas and then work from that area and weed out the outdated stuff every once in a while, you will at least know where your current stuff is and be able to find it when you need it. Super easy!
Let me know how it works for you.
