I have a confession, I have been procrastinating. I seem to have lost my focus. I think it has been a gradual thing. I certainly wasn’t my intention but it has become my reality right now. I find myself doing nothing or tasks that are time wasting which leaves me feeling like I achieved very little. I know what the problem is though – I have been doing too much. I can’t help it, I like to be busy but the inevitable consequence is that I crash and burn. I know I am not alone amongst small business owners as we try and do it all.
Are you trying to do everything in your business?
As a small business owner, it’s easy to feel like you have to run everything. I don’t think we mean to; I think we are trying to save money (and time) by doing it all ourselves. I have learned however that we rarely save money or time as it is never as quick as we think it will be and thus it ends up costing us more in time (and therefore lost business). We get distracted by all of the things which need our attention. Here are three things to consider:
Do you have a business plan?
Maybe you already have a plan? If not, then it’s definitely something I would recommend. Why? Because it gives you direction – which is important for your focus and more importantly, so that when you start procrastinating you can get back on track. Once you have a plan remember that it doesn’t have to be perfect in order to take action. Change is inevitable in life but it feels especially true as a business owner. The plan you have made may need to be updated frequently. Using the plan, you can prioritise those things which generate you money.
Where are you spending your time?
I think that I spend only a few minutes on social media at a time or that it only takes me 30 mins to write this blog…but, in reality, it is often much longer. If you have a similar issue then I would encourage you to keep a detailed note of how you spend your time for a week – I found it extremely eye-opening! Use this knowledge to create better habits around where you focus on one thing at a time and create some boundaries. Even an increase of 10% time spent on your business will be beneficial.
Where could you delegate?
Time, as a business owner, is our biggest and most valuable asset and yet it’s the thing we waste. What if you spent all your available time doing the things which pay the bills? The easiest things to delegate are those things that we don’t have the skills for ourselves e.g. accounting/bookkeeping. In addition, however, you might consider the tasks you don’t enjoy or those in which you find yourself losing time.
By reflecting on these questions you have already stopped procrastinating and have started taking action for your business.