I will admit, I have watched more than my share of online seminars, and been through more than a few different business planner/organizer systems trying to get myself, and my businesses, more organized and more efficient. Any other planner addicts out there?? And don’t get me wrong, there have been systems that have helped quite a bit and there are a few that I recommend if you really need some help getting your business organized. However, what I also found was that there was point at which I realized it wasn’t all an issue of not being organized… I was just trying to fit too much into too few hours each day. This is a realization for business owners that creates some important questions that I thought I would cover briefly.
How can I know if it is inefficiency or being overworked? Well, since the level of efficiency each person can achieve and level of work that they can – or want to – handle can be different, there is no golden formula or rule. The best way I find to evaluate it is to map out how you are using your time in your business over a 2 to 3 week period, making sure that the evaluation period includes both busy days and not so busy days. From that time-mapping, you can figure out how much time you spend on tasks, and look at each task to determine if you are doing it efficiently or if there is just too much of it.
What happens if I figure out that I am less organized/efficient in my business than I would like to be? As I mentioned above, there are quite a few systems out there to help you get more organized and efficient. And the great thing about there being so many options is that there is most likely going to be a system that fits your style. Yes, different people have different organization styles, so it is key to evaluate a few systems and determine which one fits you and your business best. I could go on and on about that (digital vs paper vs both, with goals, tasks only, etc) – and I often do…
What happens if I figure out that I have more work than time? The quick answer: figure out how to have less work. And the longer answer, start to break down the work that you do and determine if there are pieces you have as part of your business process that you don’t need to do, pieces that you can outsource, or core ways that you can change how you do business to reduce the amount of work.
I hope this blog post helps a little bit, but we know that when it comes to figuring out inefficiency vs. over working in our businesses, there are no easy ways to determine it, or easy answers once you figure it out. Knowing the struggle first-hand and having evaluated and investigated options for my businesses, please let me know if I can be of any help as you work through it in your own business. Happy to help you to figure it out for yourself!
