If your week looks anything like most other business owners, it probably goes something like this:
- You have the best of intentions to get all the things done you have on your priority list
- You start something, move on to something else, then something else - because there's so much to do and so many interruptions and unexpected things that come up!
- Before you know it, the week is over. You worked your ass off - yet it feels like you didn't actually get much accomplished (or the most important things anyway).
- You sigh as you cancel plans for the weekend so you can "catch up".
- You promise yourself that next week will be better (but know that realistically it's probably going to go pretty much like this week, and the week before it, and the week before that...). Where's the wine?
Can you relate?
I hear a variation of this story from so many of my clients when I start working with them.
Things are very different by the time we wrap up working together. I always share one of my favorite lean concepts with them - stop starting and start finishing.
What does an ideal week look like?
In an optimized week, at the mid-point of your week you should see your highest priority activities complete, the next most important activity/activities in progress, and your lowest priority activities not yet started.
If your week does not look like this (maybe you have every activity in progress with none complete?), then stop starting anything new and focus on finishing your highest value and highest priority activity first.
Then move on to finish the next. Then the next.
If something is no longer important or valuable, cut it or hold it until a later time so you are focused on finishing the things that matter most.
I recommend to all of my clients that they have a set day of the week to do this review - it is typically Wednesday if your standard work week is M - F. Over time, you will begin to do this more frequently, but the mid-point in your work week is a great place to start.
A commitment to stop starting and start finishing will mean that in some weeks, you will not work on everything you planned to work on. But it will mean that you FINISH what's most important.
TIP: Create a calendar reminder.
Are you ready to do less and achieve more in your business?
Download the free Do Less to Achieve More Guide where I share with you how to simplify your business and go from feeling stuck to a lean, mean successful and scalable business machine.
by Crista Grasso
Crista Grasso is the go-to strategic planning expert for leading global businesses and online entrepreneurs when they want to scale. Known as the "Business Optimizer", Crista has the ability to quickly cut through noise and focus on optimizing the core things that will make the biggest impact to scale a business simply and sustainably. She specializes in helping businesses gain clarity on the most important things that will drive maximum value for their clients and maximum profits for their business. She is the creator of the Lean Out Method, 90 Day Lean Out Planner, and host of the Lean Out Your Business Podcast.
