Time and money – and how to get more of both – is the constant concern of small businesses

Work Smart Not Hard Tip No. 12 in a series written for Indie Cambs

In this series of articles I’ve looked at how to improve profits so that you can buy more time by outsourcing, delegating and automating and why this is the only way to do it because time is finite and money isn’t.

But what if you’re not short of time?

What if it’s more energy you need?

Imagine pushing an empty wheelbarrow up a hill.
Now imagine pushing a wheelbarrow full of bricks up the same hill.
You might be able to do it in the same time but it’ll take a lot more effort and you’ll use a lot more energy.
The time we spend doing something (duration) – and the energy we use to do it (effort) are not always the same…
Noticing the difference can be a game changer.

There are other things that affect the effort needed to get things done.

Estimating and focusing

Estimating the right amount of time and focusing on the task for that time is easy to say but not so easy to do. Every distraction requires effort to bring your mind back to what you were doing before you got distracted. Add in some self-recrimination and by the time you’ve finished beating yourself up you’ll feel exhausted.

Resources

Do you have the skills needed for the task or will you struggle? Do you need something from someone else? Do you need more information? These are the sorts of things that make duration longer than effort and send the time you‘ve got available spinning out of control.

Flow

Compare this to being “in the flow” or “in the zone” where you do things without really noticing time passing and feel energised when you’re done and ready for the next task.

Controlling that overwhelmed feeling

In Tip No. 11 I talked about prioritising – specifically setting one priority at a time. When you do this you can change the story from “I don’t have time to do this” to “I’m choosing not to make it a priority to do this now (or first) (or until I get more information or resources)” and see how that makes you feel.

If you’d like help figuring out the best way to use your time, energy and effort, just get in touch.