PressFixer

WordPress Maintenance and Support for Entrepreneurs

Productivity

The one question every CEO must ask themselves

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“Would Richard Branson be doing this?”

If you were running a successful global empire, how would you spend your time?

My mentor once gave a presentation about what it takes to build a business that generates $100,000/mo in revenue. He said that he asks one simple question to evaluate his daily to-do list, “Would Richard Branson be doing this?” If the answer is no, the task probably shouldn’t be on your list. Obviously, you can replace Richard Branson with your business idol, but the point is still the same.

If you were to follow the Maker’s schedule, what tasks would pass the Branson test?

When you only have one item on your daily to-do list –  you get really clear about what REALLY matters. As a result, the things that push your business forward get done because you have the time to research, think, plan, question and innovate. The end result is better than anything you could cobble together in between a packed schedule of calls.

Here are a few things I’ve done in an uninterrupted day…

  • Map out a 5 year plan vision and game plan, with milestones, KPIs and performance targets
  • Draw the organizational chart and task process for every key role in the business
  • Write and post job descriptions for hiring new team members
  • Research and select the technology that would not just meet the needs of the business today but also where it plans to be in 5 years
  • Decide on the marketing approach for new services
  • Create marketing content
  • Think and implement clever ways to hit my monthly sales goals

So, what did I say “No” to…

  • Being chained to my computer and phone 24/7  checking email and messages
  • Waking up every day feeling unsure of what the day would bring and what problems I’d face – reacting to things as they happen
  • Reacting to “urgent” emails, being interrupted by phone calls or having “surprise” projects with short timelines
  • Editing my website content
  • Talking to tech support about hosting problems
  • Ending the day feeling unaccomplished and frustrated

Start thinking about (not just who, but the characteristics of) the person you want to take over your “No” list.

Around this time, you’ll start to feel like you can’t actually do this because you can’t afford to hire someone… I’ll explain how to do that next.

 

Rethink the way you manage your schedule

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“When you make music or write or create, it’s really your job to have mind-blowing, irresponsible, condomless sex with whatever idea it is you’re writing about at the time. ”
― Lady Gaga

And that creative process cannot be rushed… or condensed into 1 hour or even 90 minute blocks. It doesn’t follow an agenda, which I would know because my last 3 planners were all  blank after January. Every year, I promised myself to “get organized” and use my planner, but it wasn’t until this year that I figured out why I could never make a planner work.

Around the time when I was building PressFixer, a friend told me about The Makers Schedule.  It’s one of those underground cult favourite opinion pieces like Kevin Kelly’s 1000 true fans (a must read if you haven’t).

Written in 2009, the Makers Schedule post helped me to understand why I wasn’t growing my past businesses at the rate I wanted to and why each day seemed unproductive, even though it was completely packed with meetings and to do lists. I’m sure that for a fellow creative, it will also bring clarity to you.

The big problem was that, by trying to run my life like a manager, I never had enough time to really get into a creative flow. I’ll let Paul Graham, who wrote the original post, explain it…

“When you’re operating on the maker’s schedule, meetings are a disaster. A single meeting can blow a whole afternoon, by breaking it into two pieces each too small to do anything hard in… [con’td]  But in addition there’s sometimes a cascading effect. If I know the afternoon is going to be broken up, I’m slightly less likely to start something ambitious in the morning.”

I used to have 3 – 5 meetings each day, then I’d find myself up all night long working on the projects that didn’t get completed that day. It was the reason I couldn’t sleep at night and why I eventually just felt like quitting all together.

After reading the Maker’s Schedule article, I immediately changed my calendar to only allow meetings in the evening, near the end of my work days. That means that from the time I wake up, I’m free to be creative until 4 or 5pm each day.

Having those 6- 8 hour blocks of uninterrupted productivity has been a game changer. It’s not a perfect practice yet, but just following this for even 2 days a week will move your business forward in the right direction.

I’m sure your next question is How do you find the time when there’s already so much to do in a day? I’m going to cover that next.

 

 

 

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