We all have areas in our life that we’d like to
change. As New Year’s resolutions, you
may have set some goals that you want to achieve in 2014. Perhaps some of your goals look like
this:
¨ Exercise four times per week
¨ Stop bidding jobs that you aren’t heavily
favored to win
¨ Be home every week night in time to eat
dinner with the family
¨ Finally replace that employee that is slowing
down the company
¨ Get to sleep earlier each night by putting
down the TV remote, Kindle or computer
Those are all goals that can improve your life. While big, specific goals are good, I have
found that small, daily changes have the biggest impact on our lives. John C. Maxwell says, “You will never change
your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your
daily routine.”
These small daily changes are what allow you to work on
the important – instead of urgent – parts of your business. There are often too many things to do during
the normal work day. We never seem to
get caught up. By freeing up portions of
your day to work “on” your business instead of “in” your business, you’ll make
huge strides in achieving what you want.
In order to free up some time from your normal work day,
try applying my 4-Step System for reducing your daily workload:
Step 1: Delegate
What are you doing that someone else within your company
could or should be doing? How much extra
work could you get done if you hired an assistant or part-time employee? If you are a small company with little or no
staff, are there any tasks that can be outsourced? You’d be amazed at the
people who are available to handle small, specific areas of your daily
activities. (Check out oDesk.com or Fiverr.com for ideas).
Step 2: Systemize
Create a system for anything that regularly happens in
your business. A system can be as simple
as the Foundation Checklist that we fill out before estimating any project, or as complex as a
multi-step process for handling your accounts payable. Systems get everyone on the same page and
produce consistent, predictable outcomes.
Construction is full of variables and constant change. The more you can tame that chaos into
expected outcomes, the easier it will be for everyone you deal with. My good friend and former homebuilder Jim
Sessoms is exceptional at creating systems to improve businesses.
Step 3: Change
Consider changing the way you do things. In a previous newsletter, I gave you the
example of the realtor that didn’t like being a typical realtor and
successfully transformed his business and life to suit his desires. Your changes don’t have to be as radical as
that to still have a big impact on your life.
If a specific type of client is more enjoyable and profitable to work
with, then change your business model to attract more of that type of
client. Even small changes can change
your life.
Step 4: Stop
Stop doing the task altogether. What would happen if you simply stopped doing
a specific task? Are you sure it is
absolutely necessary to the operation of your business? Sometimes we start doing something that is
important, then continue doing it long after it has become irrelevant. Where are unnecessary redundancies? Are two people entering the same information
into different areas that could be combined?
You may be surprised to learn that nothing bad happens if you simply
stop doing some tasks.
When you analyze your day and take steps to improve it,
you’ll see that even small changes can have a big impact on your productivity,
stress level, and happiness. You will be
much closer to achieving your goals.
To your success,
