Ask any entrepreneur if they waste time or procrastinate and only the brutally honest ones will tell you that yes, they do. Is your business suffering because you’re wasting time? That may not be a question you’ve ever asked yourself, but now that I’ve brought it up… do that right now.
There are many ways an entrepreneur can cause his business to suffer because he’s wasting time and they may not always be obvious. For example, if you charge $100 an hour for your service and you could hire a social media manager for $25 an hour, why are you still doing your own social media? Can you afford to? Is your bottom line suffering because you’re focusing your efforts on something that should be outsourced? Many business owners do because they don’t want to delegate.
Is Your Business Suffering Because You’re Wasting Time?
Are you a go-getter? Do you make to-do lists and get through them? Are the tasks on which you’re working moving your business forward? If that question gave you pause, you’re wasting time and your bottom line is suffering. It’s a harsh truth.
Have you read Ben Franklin’s, “Book of Virtues”? In it, he writes about “industry” as a business virtue. He describes industry as being an imperative to living a life fully realized. What does he mean by being industrious?
- Writing and sticking to a schedule
- Making a to-do list that is doable, but that still pushes you to move forward
- Spending your time well
On those days that I wonder if I am being industrious in my business endeavors, I ask:
- Is this a task that I have to complete or could I delegate it?
- Will this task and its completion move me closer to achieving a want, goal or need?
Answering those two questions might help open your eyes to those tasks that are wasting your valuable time and push you toward delegation of them.
If you want a bit more insight ask:
- For GOALS what is the goal I want to achieve?
- For WANTS, why do you WANT it? For What purpose?
- For NEEDS, why do you need to complete the task at hand?
If you can’t answer these questions, then why is that task on your to-do? Are you writing items down simply to have the feeling of a job well done just because you’ve crossed it off? Rethink that notion. Yes, it’s great to check items off, but if you’re writing down items like,”straighten pens in the pen cup” ask yourself if that task is moving your goal forward, why do you want to do it and does it need to be done to help you achieve your goal?
The year is quickly coming to an end. Don’t start 2021 from a feeling of already being behind the eight ball. End the year strong and focus your gaze ahead toward the new year with new goals. Let’s face it, 2020 kicked many of our entrepreneurial butts — don’t let it follow you into the new year.