This month, I’ve been running a 21-Day Simplify Your Life Challenge on my blog. To be honest, I decided to run this challenge because I was feeling overwhelmed myself, and it seemed a great way to de-complicate my own life. As we’ve been working through personal life challenges, I’ve been applying the lessons to my business life too. Here are business-ified versions of 3 of the challenges. They’ve already made my work life simpler. Maybe they can help you too?
Three Ways to Simplify Your Business Life
1. List your priorities
When you’re running a business, there’s always something to respond to. Everyday demands and urgent issues fill up your time and your days, crowding out deeper goals and more meaningful objectives you once set in what can seem a galaxy far, far away. The only way I know to keep these goals top of mind is to keep them top of eyeball. To write or type out a list and put it somewhere you’ll see it every day, several times a day. A post-it on your mirror, purse, or coffee machine. The wallpaper on your phone or laptop. Even if you don’t consciously absorb everything every time you read it over, like inky liquid in Mrs Marsh’s chalk, it does get in. Being reminded of what matters in your business life can help you to better recognise and sidestep what doesn’t.
2. Have a morning routine
If you’re not a morning person, or if you take a while to warm up – both of which apply to me – then a morning routine is a great way to simplify your business life. If you feel chaotic in the mornings, then try this: list the things you’d like to get out of the way on a daily basis, in the order you want to get them done. Things like replying to comments on your blog or Facebook page, checking email for issues that need prompt attention, touching base with your VA, updating client files on project status. Make this your morning routine. This approach ensures you do the things that make the rest of your business life run more smoothly. It also creates a habit so you don’t have to invest mental energy deciding what to do when your brain is still booting up. After a while you’ll slip into your routine on autopilot, saving your real brainpower for more important things.
3. Switch from multi-tasking to single-tasking
One of the habits that has contributed to my recent feeling of overwhelm is multi-tasking. There are times it serves me – such as listening to audiobooks or podcasts while doing mentally-unchallenging tasks. The tasks take longer, but the overall experience is more pleasant. But I’ve realised there are many times multi-tasking doesn’t serve me – such as doing multiple projects at once and losing concentration as I attempt to switch back and forth, or talking on the phone while doing anything else (it seems I can’t multi-talk-task). I take longer because of all the switching, I feel stressed, and I do a poorer job because my focus is fractured. Since committing to single-tasking I feel more relaxed and I’m doing a better, faster job too.
Simplify your business life
Do you need to simplify your business life? Will you try one of these ideas? Do you have ideas of your own to share?
