HOW TO RUN YOUR BUSINESS LIKE A PRO & AVOID LOSING YOUR MIND IN THE PROCESS

It has taken me a while to get the hang of this, and it's been quite the process…I am happy to pass this experience along to you if you are at the point where you are trying to figure out how to delegate effectively, get & stay organized, increase efficiency, and get a clearer picture of what you want to focus on.

Step 1: CHUCK OUT THE PAPER LISTS

I have about 30+ paper journals sitting in my closet full of old to-do lists in my many failed attempts at keeping on top of things. Don't get me wrong, I love to journal, and I will forever be a fan of handwriting thoughts, feelings & ideas, but the problem with using paper lists when running a business is that things come up that you don't expect ALL.THE.TIME. So, by the end of the day, the to-do list looks like an illegible mess, and it gets overwhelming when you start the following day.

Plus, inevitably, tasks fell through the cracks!

I had to get with the times and start using project management software (we use Click up ($4.25/team member/month), but there are many other options out there!).

I sat down one night and brain-dumped everything I had on my mind that needed to be done and anything that existed within the last two journals I had going.

I think there were like 50 freaking tasks floating around!

Step 2: Comb through what you've got, and mark the deadlines.

This helped me see what needed to be done right away and what could wait. I was able to set up tasks for "TODAY," "TOMORROW," "NEXT WEEK," and "NEXT MONTH." Once I got going, I created statuses for each day of the week to use for rolling tasks and set up automations for recurring tasks!

Step 3: Practice awareness, learn to delegate

I spent the next few weeks in awareness, noting what I could teach or train my team to take care of, what I loved doing and working with my capacity in a day. (I started giving myself 15 tasks in a day and have slowly learned to commit to 5-7 now. What is impressive is our productivity, quality, and creativity have all skyrocketed in this process. I have a clear real-time picture that I can go to before committing to deadlines or saying yes!

Step 4: Self Discipline - taking care of the tomorrow you.

Taking a half hour at the end of my day to scan over my to-do list for the next allows me the headspace to let myself wake up and start my day with ease. (Refer to the blog post from last month).

I begin every single day knowing what I need to do and have been able for quite some time now to sit in meditation, connect to gratitude & goals, & have a look at my next 24 hours as a whole with intention - and best of all - I get to schedule my day around wellness, vs "work."