Working in a more traditional job with coworkers, departments, and “teams” means that a person can delegate. We get to pass things off onto someone else or shift it to another department. Working for ourselves in our home businesses usually means that we are chief cook and bottle washer and there is not anyone we can really delegate to. This can result in our getting overwhelmed, overextended and having far too much on our plate. Even if we are a one-person show, we do need to find ways to shift some things off of that plate so we can focus on the priorities.
What can you let go of? Chances are, even if you are a tiny business on a budget there are things that you can let go of or find a more efficient way of handling. Are you doing all your bookkeeping by hand instead of using a software program? Could you afford to hire a part-time bookkeeper or accounting service to take care of these records? Are you purchasing all of your supplies in person and would it save time if you ordered things online? Can you see how thinking about things differently can help you to free up time and energy?
Surely there are things that you are doing that are not really benefiting your business that you could let go of. For some of us, we might be attending one networking or business event too many or we might be clinging to a certain routine that has lost its effectiveness. Let it go. Create some room and space in your work day by letting go of those things that you don’t really have to do. This can mean prioritizing all those tasks and chopping out those that are absolutely necessary. For some of us, this can be hard as we really feel like we need to have all those things on our plate in order to justify our frazzled existence (or we may be somewhat controlling and not willing to pass things off.) For the overall health and growth of your business, however, you’ve got to clear away the clutter and make room for what really matters.
Also: Figuring Out What Absolutely HAS to Happen