6 Tips on How to Focus your Business and

I’ve been feeling a little bit guilty lately that I’ve let things get away from me with my business and my life.

About 3 months ago I had everything stable and in a great routine.

I was working two days a week on my passion projects, the local Community Centre, as well as being the Assistant Editor here at Create & Thrive.

I was getting my recently re-branded soap business This Soap Smells Good up and running from home and my mini-store, Handmade High Street (HHSt) at Southside Antiques where I work one day a week while I look after their website and social media.

I was also running 4 creative workshops a month which go hand in hand both the Community Centre and HHSt.

Plus, on the back-burner I had a few other little projects which I’d been dabbling in including a market which I organise twice a year for traders in my local neighbourhood

My plate is full.

But it doesn’t feel full most of the time because I’m used to it and I have a pretty strict routine which helps me to keep all the balls in the air.

We live in sunny Brisbane and my husband worked at the local Children’s Hospital which was only 4 minutes drive away and we had one car, our little house and two rascally pups.

I also almost started a Graduate Certificate at University this Semester but I have now deferred until 2016.

Recently, husband has started a 6 month stint at a hospital around 1.5 hours away from our home and we have moved part-time to my family’s house which is close by. (It does mean that I will have to do that 1.5 hour journey once a week for my Centre job but it’s not so bad). 

He has also started studying again so he’s going to need my help to get his work done and that piece of paper signed off at the end of it all.

Now I can feel those juggling balls slipping out of my fingers: I feel like I am trying to grip each too tightly, not giving me enough time to catch the next one in line.

I looked at the list of things which I am responsible for and I had a sudden realisation:

I’ve lost my focus.

I’m a ‘yes’ person. I love to do more, try everything, never say no!

But in reality, consecutive rather than concurrent will give each project, task or job more clarity and will ultimately make you feel more accomplished and on the path upwards rather than in the wiggly track I’ve found myself on.

So here’s my tips for getting your focus back if you’ve got yourself into the bother that I have and need to streamline your business and life… and even cull some of the extraneous tasks or jobs to help you have a better work/life balance.

Focusing is about saying 'No'.Steve Jobs

1. Write down every project, responsibility and job you currently have

Make sure you write down everything.

Don’t leave something off to make your list look easier or more achievable, that’s cheating yourself and you’ll lose clarity.

Here’s mine as an example: believe it or not, there used to be more on it.

  • Community Centre
  • Fundraising and Grants Portfolio
  • Creative Workshops
  • Town Hall Meetings and Annerley Support Meetings
  • Annerley Junction Traders Association Markets
  • www.annerley.org
  • Create & Thrive
  • The Thriver Circle
  • Business Coaching
  • This Soap Smells Good
  • Handmade High Street Mini Store
  • Southside Antiques (media and marketing)
  • Zibbet
  • Idle Zine
  • Grad Cert Community Development
  • Weekend Notes
  • Look after Husband when he’s working long shifts and studying
  • Look after two dogs
  • Keep the house tidy and household happy
  • Look after me

You can’t focus without specifics so it would be a good idea at this point to drill down on each of these jobs and projects with individual tasks and the time it takes you on average each week to achieve them.

Breaking things down into smaller parts makes it clearer how much time and energy they are taking up in your day.

I’m not going to bore you with mine – we might be here all day!

2. Decide what can go and what must stay

What’s the bigger picture here? What do you want to get out of your business and how will that balance with your life?

After writing that list I realised something really important.

Look where I put the words ‘Look after me.

There I am, right down there at the very bottom.

We’ve talked about self-care many times on this blog and I’ve realised that I’ve slipped out of the routine of looking after myself.

Also, where can I fit in my ‘useful distractions’? Things like hanging out with my friends and going out to dinner with my husband are important for overall happiness in my life.

Now, it’s time to decide what’s going to stay on that list and what’s got to go.

You’ll know what needs to stay and I bet you can look at my list and make the same decisions I would. Some things are so important that you can’t take them off the list – I can’t just stop looking after my dogs, my husband and myself can I!?

But there are going to be some things on that list that you’ll realise straight away are time-eaters or might be able to be postponed to a time when they are more achievable.

What can you put on the back-burner for while? Or maybe get rid of completely?

3. Make a Pros and Cons list for the things you’re not sure about

I have been thinking about some of my roles for a while and I just can’t seem to make a decision about whether or not I should keep going with some of them.

The important part here is getting out all your emotional, practical and logistical thoughts about each project or job and thinking critically about whether you want to do it, should do it or can do it… or not!

If you’re really into analysing your data, there’s a great post here about how to write an amazing Pros and Cons list.

After you have made your list for each task, really think about it with your heart – can you bear to let it go? Are you really invested in it?

If you feel like you can let go, it’s time to make a move on culling those things in your life which just aren’t working for you – at the moment.

You might find some of them can be left on the back-burner whereas others are now-or-never kinds of projects and roles. Make sure you take this into consideration.

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4. Start a calendar and plug in times for each project, job or task

Phew!

Take a break and make sure that all sits well with you. It’s a really tough thing to do but finding Focus takes… well… focus!

Now is the time I start looking at my time and a calendar is a really great place to start.

I looked at all the tasks I wrote and ‘drilled down’ on in the first place and see how much time each one of them takes.

I use Google Calendar but you could just as easily use a paper calendar or make one yourself.

First thing I have done is lock out Saturday and Sunday. I don’t want to work on weekends and that’s part of the reason I own my own business and have such a flexible work situation.

I want time off with family and friends on the weekend when everyone else is free.

Then I have slotted in things which have set hours so that I know those times are booked out and I can’t schedule other tasks there.

I also have multiple Google calendars so I can turn them on and off if I’m taking a holiday or having a break from one of my projects or jobs for a week or two. Plus I can see them all on my phone when I’m not near the computer.

When and how do you do your best work? Make sure you’re slotting things into your calendar at times and in timeframes that will allow you to give the best output.

You might realise after slotting everything into your calendar that it’s still a bit cramped.

5. Streamline each Project or Job

Go back to the beginning of this list and see all the jobs and projects you now have on your plate after your cull.

Look at the tasks that go along with each one: where you ‘drilled down’ and elaborated on each job.

  • Are there things which you are doing which might be able to be dropped or at least put aside for now?
  • What can you outsource or get help on?
  • Can you take a little extra time now to work on streamlining a process which will save you time in the longrun?
  • Could you ask someone in the same industry to help you find a quicker way to get a task done?

You could also do the exact same process we went through with your Pros and Cons earlier but on a deeper level of your list.

Once you have streamlined these tasks, you can rethink how much time you spend on each job or project and help you to prioritise time into your calendar.

6. Review, review, review

Now you have taken a step towards a more focused life and business, you can sit back and ride the wave of success.

Not really.

You’ll need to keep an eye on your jobs and projects within your business and other aspects of your life or things can have a habit of creeping up on you.

This is exactly what has happened to me!

If you feel like things are becoming too much, you can’t keep all the balls in the air or you’re simply not getting enough ‘me time’, take a deep breath, and start from the beginning of this post again.

I feel much more secure now I have really thought through all my roles in life and made decisions which will make me happier and healthier in body and mind.

 

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