Simply Business Coaching

When Processes Really Make a Difference

There’s often so much to do when you’re trying to grow a small business that it’s understandable when some tasks are forgotten during especially busy times.  Keeping track of what needs to be done with a traditional to-do list certainly helps for the day to day stuff - and  crossing out completed items as the day progresses is wonderfully satisfying.

I was working recently with a client who was creating an exciting new service to add to her portfolio.  There were several stages involved with this project - research, collecting together all necessary resources, production, pilot, revision, marketing, launch, sales and customer support.  Of course each stage comprised several smaller steps.  The whole project had begun to be overwhelming, especially as it had to be fitted in to my client’s already busy schedule.

Here was a case where simple lists weren’t enough to keep the project on track and it was also important for certain actions to be taken in a specific order.  Trying to make sure nothing was forgotten had started to cause sleepless nights!

An ideal solution for this project was to take the various lists for all the stages and carefully work out the order in which each individual step needed to be taken.  Sticky notes proved very helpful here!  Then, once the final sequence was agreed, a process diagram was produced.  This would act as a visual overview of the whole project. 

Here’s what an extract of what the ‘top-level’ process sequence diagram might look like:

More detailed process diagrams of each stage ensure that actions are taken in the correct order.  From these diagrams, to-do lists can be made if desired.  The project is no longer overwhelming and my client is firmly back in control.

Sometimes you need more than just lists! 

If you found this post helpful, please share it :)

10 Myths of Small Business Productivity (part two)

Here are the remaining 5 productivity myths from the list I started yesterday. 

Do you identify with any of the following?

6.    All the other projects have to be finished first
Often this is because we worry about missing deadlines, so making a note of due dates – and keeping it somewhere visible, or setting reminders – can help when juggling several projects.

7.    My internet connection is down so I can’t work 
Rather a sore point as, at the time of writing this post, my internet connection really is down (and will be for at least a week).  But, with the help of family & friends I’ll be able to do some work online – after preparing it offline.  (Sidebar:  Without the temptation to ‘just look this up’ on the internet or have a quick look at Twitter, I’m finding it easier to stay focused on writing this week’s articles.)

8.    I have to type up a detailed plan first
Usually a mindmap drawn on paper (or on a whiteboard then photographed) is quite good enough to get started.  Keep the perfectionism for the work itself!

9.    I’ve only got 15 minutes before my next call/meeting
There are always little tasks to do that will fit into these short time slots.  Checking messages, acknowledging an email, or even engaging with a few people on Twitter.

10.    I can’t get anything done when I’m out of the office
That’s not true now with smartphones – we can read & reply to emails, respond to and make phone calls and keep updated on Twitter & Facebook.  And driving or travelling by train are both good opportunities to catch up with all those audio downloads!

Do any of the above stop you from being productive?  Please share in the comments below – and a retweet would be much appreciated if you enjoyed this post!

10 Myths of Small Business Productivity (part one)

I don’t know about you, but working alone from home sometimes means mixed results in terms of getting things done.  Some days I amaze myself by whizzing through what I thought would take me all week, but then other weeks seem to arrive and depart before I quite manage to get started :)

I was relieved to learn, from speaking with other home based business owners, that I’m not alone in finding it difficult to stay motivated and be productive all the time.

Here are some of the excuses I’ve heard (some of mine are included!)

1.    I need to make a cup of coffee first
I suppose the thinking behind this is that I don’t want to stop once I get going, so get a drink first.  But actually, I’ll enjoy that coffee much more as a reward after working for an hour or so.

2.    I’ll get more done after tidying my desk
This is pure procrastination and usually crops up when we don’t want to do a particular task.  Is it because of lack of knowledge, lack of resources or worry at not doing a good job? 

3.    I’ll be more productive .... tomorrow
Tomorrow is always the busiest day for a procrastinator!  A tip I learned from Mark Forster, to commit to completing one action each day, helps break this cycle.

4.    I don’t have enough time to finish this task today, so I’ll leave it until I do have time.
If you don’t have to get the whole job done in one go, then break it down into smaller steps and just do the first one.  That’s often enough to break through the barrier of getting started.

5.    There are too many interruptions
While you can’t stop all interruptions, you can cut them down by setting and keeping to clearly defined boundaries when it comes to friends & family. 

(part two tomorrow!)

Do any of the above resonate with you?  What stops you from being productive?  Please share in the comments below – and a retweet would be lovely if you enjoyed this post

"Get your nose out of that book!"

I used to hear that a lot when I was growing up.   I've always been a bookworm, and as this photo of my  birthday cake from a couple of years ago shows - some people believe I still am!

But now, in addition to books, I read far too many blog posts, special reports and ebooks.  The possibilities for research and learning stretch into infinity, which is wonderful if it wasn't for one teeny, tiny thing.

At some point the learning has to stop and action must start.  Funnily enough, I wrote about this a couple of months ago too! 

While I have kept to my resolution not to buy or download more 'how to' information, and have been doing a bit of virtual housekeeping, grouping downloads on a similar topic together in folders  - even deleting older downloads (it's amazing how quickly anything to do with the internet becomes outdated!)

Imagine my delight when I came across a couple of unread pdf documents that actually gave me an important missing piece of my online knowledge jigsaw puzzle.   It seems I'd downloaded them to 'read later' and then forgotten to do that.  Has that ever happened to you?

Anyhow, as a result I've been able to apply my newfound knowledge to a project which had ground to a halt because I didn't know how to do the next part.  Now I do :)

So it's time to take my nose out the books, stop learning for a while & take action!

Do you find learning gets in the way of taking action?  Please share your experience in the comments below.  And if you found this post helpful, a retweet would be appreciated!

When You're Really Busy - Stop!

It's early Monday morning and I've got a very busy week ahead - client appointments every day and, just to make things really interesting, a few project deadlines too.  Please understand that I'm not complaining, just setting the scene.

When I first saw was was in store for me in the diary, I thought the best plan would be to spend most of the weekend working to get ahead - but then realised what I really needed to do was take both days off!  Here's what led me to that conclusion:

• Whenever I work through the weekend, I feel shattered on Monday morning.  Not a good start to any week, let alone a busy one.
• Any progress made on projects would most likely be countered by sluggish productivity over the rest of the week.
• Work has a strange habit of expanding to fill available time, so would I really be getting ahead or get caught up in 'busy' work?
• It goes against everything I tell my clients to do!!

So I didn't even turn the computer on until this morning.  I spent the weekend relaxing, read a couple of paperbacks, and even had a couple of afternoon naps!

I know there will be other occasions when I do choose to work over the weekend - but only if it feels right.

As a result of switching off for a couple of days, my mind is actually clearer (even though I was totally overwhelmed last week), I feel rested and alert and excited to tackle the week ahead.

Best get on then....

What works best for you? If you enjoyed reading today's post, a retweet would be appreciated!

Doing More and Achieving Less

It seems to me the more labour and time-saving tools we have available to us, the more overwhelmed we feel.  Not only that, I believe we're actually becoming less productive too!

How is it possible to be getting almost the opposite results to those promised by the inventors of these wonderful new tools and systems?

The first problem has to do with increase in choice as the internet has made is possible to access answers to just about any question you can think of!  The sheer number of information products is making decisions harder and delaying action while we try to weigh up which product will best suit our needs.

The second problem arises as clever people invent more and more 'new and cool' tools for us to try out.  People jump on each one eagerly, wondering if this will be 'the one' that makes the difference they want.  But assessing each new tool and system takes time.  Time taken away from the 3 core activities every business owner needs to work on - every day, which are:

Client Work - serving current clients and keeping them happy which encourages repeat business and referrals leading to new business.

Looking for New Clients - marketing activities which involve making direct contact with new prospective customers.

Developing the Business - planning ahead and getting very clear on where the business is going.

It's important to ensure these core activities are given priority in every business, before allowing 'new and cool' stuff to distract us.

As a life-long learner, and generally curious person, I'm often distracted by new & cool, bright shiny objects on the internet when I should be working.  What's your biggest distraction?

A Matter of Timing

Regular readers of this blog and my newsletter will know how I love using an old fashioned kitchen timer to boost productivity!  Over the past couple of weeks I found a couple of timer tools online and tried them out for size.

The first is Slim Timer, which is web-based and works with Firefox, Internet Explorer 6+ and Safari.  The second is Paymo, for which you need to download some software and it displays a widget on your computer screen from start-up.  Both tools also have paid versions with more features, I used the free version.

Before starting to use these tools, you first need to spend a few minutes setting up the different activities you want to track.  Whereas Slim Timer uses a very simple list, activities on Paymo can be further sub-divided into projects and again into clients; there was also an invoicing facility which would be useful if you have to submit timesheets and charge for your time.

As far as using the tools, it's a case of selecting the appropriate activity and starting the timer with a mouse click.  When you want to stop timing, you just click on 'Stop'.  I liked that with Slim Timer it's possible to stop timing one task and start timing another with a single click of the mouse.  Paymo takes a few more clicks when you wanted to change over as you have to stop, select project, select activity, then click to Start.  Both timers run in the background, ie they're not visible on screen until you want to see them.  Paymo has an annoying pop-up message if it doesn't detect any computer activity for a few minutes - it made me feel guilty if I wasn't typing all the time!

If you forget to start timing an activity or want to include time spent out of the office in a meeting, both tools are easy to edit. 

Slim Timer's reports are very readable - giving me both weekly totals and daily breakdown.  Paymo's colourful graphs looked impressive but the more detailed reports lumped everything together for the week which I found less useful for my purposes and not so easy to interpret.

My (very non-scientific) trial was undertaken to find out what activities I'm spending most of my time on.  For that purpose Slim Timer was perfectly adequate and marginally easier to use, even if it's more 'basic' in appearance.  If I were tracking lots of projects for different clients, then Paymo would have the edge in terms of extra features.

Have you tried out any online timers lately?  I'd love to know!

A 'Short & Sweet' Start to the Week

This week is going to be a busy and exciting one for me - that is to say, even busier than usual. I'm putting the finishing touches on a couple of talks for next week, planning a 'Special' radio show (details later this week!), as well as starting work with a new Mastermind group, which I'm really looking forward to. It'll be great to be a participant this time, rather than the organiser!

As we both know, there are a finite number of hours in each day, which means that something has to go (or be put on hold) to make room for the extra tasks.

So, much as I love spending time writing these blog posts, this week they're going to be a little shorter than usual.....

What have you had to give up lately to make room for something exciting?

Do you have the attention span of a butterfly?

Just as butterflies in nature flit from flower to flower, landing briefly and then moving on, butterfly business owners can’t seem to stay focused on any one topic long enough to make significant changes.

Yes, it’s the sign of a true entrepreneur to have lots of new ideas and want to pursue them. But, if those new ideas are stopping you from actually making progress – and more importantly - money in your business, because you aren’t seeing projects through to completion (or moving quickly enough), then something needs to change.

Let’s take a look at some ways you can be more focused:

Use a timer and work in short bursts of 15 or 20 minutes. During that time focus on just one task and get as much done as you can. When the buzzer goes, take a short break. Repeat as often as necessary. You’ll amaze yourself at how much you get done.

Keep a little notebook handy at all times. Use it to jot down ideas as they occur to you and capture them before they escape! One reason for a butterfly attention span is carrying too many ideas around in your head. Writing them down will free you up to concentrate on the job in hand.

If your project hasn’t got a deadline, set one anyway. Without deadlines, you’ll find yourself starting lots of projects and then letting them drift as something more urgent comes along.

Break big projects down into small action steps. It can be hard to stay focused when the overall project is too big. Work out a timeline for each step that needs to be done.

Only work on 3 projects at a time. Spreading your attention too thinly between a myriad of projects will mean that none get finished quickly. Focus on just 3 at any one time and you’ll build up an unstoppable head of steam! And, as soon as one project is complete, you can take another from your list to replace it.

The beauty of staying focused is that you will get more done in your business and make progress faster. So work with full concentration on the projects that count - and leave the butterflies to nature.

When everything seems equally important

I’ve found asking myself the following questions to be a good way to help with prioritising when everything seems to be equally important.

Question 1 – Do all my projects fall into one of the following categories?

Work for current clients
Marketing for new clients
Moving the business forward

Only projects that do should be considered a priority. The others can wait a while.

Question 2 – Is what I’m doing right now the best use of time?

This is a great question to ask periodically during the day. One side effect of having many projects and not being sure what to do first is that you can end up doing ‘busy work’ that doesn’t actually move anything forward. If your answer to this question is ‘no’, then stop doing whatever you’re doing and do something that is the best use of your time.

Question 3 – Is what I’m doing right now making me money or going to make me money soon?

An even better reality check question that should really help you prioritise your projects. If you’re ever unsure what you should work on next, check how quickly you’ll get a return on the time you spend :)

What questions do you ask to help you prioritise?