How to Get Twice as Much Done in Half the Time
Have you ever read a book that resonated with you on so many levels that you want to tell everyone you know about it?
Like you find a way to slip it into every conversation because you want it to change everyone’s life the way it’s changed yours?
That’s how I feel about Michael Hyatt’s book: Free To Focus. By this point, I’m pretty sure my mailman, my dog’s vet, and half the employees at my local Target know about this book. And now, friend on the internet… you can, too!
The reason I’m obsessed with it is because it’s so unexpectedly aligned with my biggest goal for 2021: Freedom. Less tasks on my to-do list, so I’m free to focus on what’s most important to me. Less stress, so I’m free to focus on being present in the moment.
And it doesn’t happen just by chance. For years I let stress and have-to’s sloooowly build up, because I felt like I had to say yes to everything. Every event, every invitation, every opportunity. I ended up working myself into the ground and had a pretty intense health scare (read about my stress-induced heart attack here). I was able to work through it, but as my agency has continued to grow, I realized it was important to get the right systems in place to prevent something like that from ever happening again.
Free to Focus gave me exactly what I needed: a step-by-step action plan to figure out what I should be eliminating, automating, and delegating in my business. Before this book, even starting to figure those out felt overwhelming. And it’s kinda crazy because think about how much time they’ll free up long term! But like they say… How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. And that’s exactly what Michael shares in this book (except instead of an elephant, it’s my behemoth of my task list!).
STEP 01: Eliminate
How often do you say no? This is one of the hardest things to do as a business owner (especially in a service-based business). After all, helping people is why you started your business in the first place. But while there might be a million reasons to say yes… sometimes there’s one really important reason to say no: When adding it to your plate takes energy and resources away from other things that are more important to you.
It might feel counter intuitive, but saying no to new clients (or opportunities) might be exactly what your business needs to GROW. Saying no can give you the headspace to zero in on what really matters right now: your clients, your upcoming launch, or even something going on in your life outside of work.
But saying no is easier said than done -- and that’s why I love this book so much. Michael doesn’t just tell you that you SHOULD say no, he tells you HOW to say no. Here’s what saying no looked like for me: Having canned emails ready to go for when someone fills out the application to work with me and it isn’t a good fit for me at this time. I can send that email, knowing it breaks the news gently and points them towards my other self-service options. And sending that email takes all of 0.5 seconds (other than reviewing their application, of course).
STEP 02: Automate
There are probably a LOT of tasks on your to-do list that can be automated. Think about it this way: If it’s something you need to do more than once… automate it. Technology makes it so easy these days! Setting up the automations might take up some time on the front end, but down the line it will pay you back 100 fold.
Here are some easy automations you can get started with today:
Drip campaigns for new email subscribers (I love ConvertKit!)
Project management software + task templates (my team uses Asana)
Invoice reminders
Weekly data reports
STEP 03: Delegate
I had a hard time with this one, guys. It can be hard to let go of control sometimes -- especially when your business is your baby. You remember the late nights, early mornings, doing it all solo when you first started out… so when it comes time to (finally!) let other people in on the action, it’s hard to trust that they’ll care about it as much as you do.
And beyond the letting go part, I also felt bad delegating things that I didn’t feel like doing myself. Like my email inbox: I didn’t feel like sifting through hundreds of emails a day, so I felt bad asking someone else to do it. But then I hired my AMAZING virtual assistant, who is an absolute whiz at organizing (and actually enjoys doing it!). Hiring someone to operate in their genius zone allows me a lot more time to focus on my own genius zone. Win-win!
One more reason to delegate: You can only do so much for your business on your own. If you want to limit your week to 40 hours (or less), think about how much more you’ll be able to get done if you have a team that’s able to work 100+ hours a week in addition to that.
But like automating, delegating is easier said than done. Free to Focus outlines the HOW for delegating with 5 tiered levels, starting with: “Here’s EXACTLY what I need you to do” and eventually moving to “I need this, run with it!”
What will your next 6, 12, 24 months look like if you’re Free to Focus? Get your copy of Free to Focus here!
To clicks, clients + IMPACT,
Jackie