Twice a year I make an effort to get out the office and go away for what has been deemed, "the Power Business Retreat '. This particular trip I went on my own and as such this gave me a chance to observe the people around me .
During the breakfast buffet, I watched as men and women alike loaded their plates with food. Plate after plate with mounds of food was brought to the table on display, ready for consumption. The scary part; the multiple plates were for just one person.
Being a first-hand witness to this behavior of grabbing everything on offer, as much as the plate would handle, I wondered if this is a behavior that business owners do with their day-to-day operations. Do people grab every product, service, app in sight to use in their business? Do they try every new social media update that comes on the market?
Are you filling your plate with more than you can consume?
Was I?
I thought about it and asked myself, where in my business was I biting off more than I could chew? Following some honest inspection of my own over consumption behavior, I identified three areas where my plate was too full.
1. Following too many 'gurus' who send daily newsletters
It's wonderful that people today are willing to share their knowledge via newsletters. At the click of a button you can sign up for this information and have it delivered to your inbox.
However, I realized that there were far more newsletters than I could read or keep up with. Subsequently I have opted-out of many and maintain 2 or 3 that I feel offer me the greatest value. They get flagged so I can find them in my inbox and go back toward the end of the day to read them.
2. Saying yes to coffee appointments that take hours out of my day
When accepting a 'coffee meeting' with someone who hardly knows me, it usually means someone wants a free consultation. A 45 minute conversation soon becomes one and a half hours long by the time you get the social pleasantries out the way.
Add in the 20 – 30 minutes each way for the commute and there goes two and a half hours out your day. This is precious time that you could be spent working within your business generating assets.
I've taken this type of meeting off my plate and replaced with the 15 – 20 minute phone call instead. Save the coffee for breakfast.
3. Taking on creative projects myself
We've all heard it before, play to your strengths and outsource your weaknesses. As much as I love working on the creative aspects of my business, the time it would take me to actually execute a project would take me 10 – 20 times as long as it would an expert in that field. Taking on creative projects totally overloads my plate.
Give the creative work to the people who do this daily and free up your time to do those things which are revenue generating.
It's amazing how much lighter I feel .
I want to hear from you. Where can you take things off your plate? Leave your comments on our Facebook page or tweet your thoughts.