So often in business advice there are such long lists of things you need to prioritise and be on top of to develop a successful business. This can be overwhelming and somewhat stressy for a micro business who only has so much capacity.
Granted, we need to make sure we invoice folks, pay tax on time and have an updated website, but these are just tasks.
Developing priorities in your business is where the power is at and can be a simple formula to keep the focus, attention & love in the right place.
Like all good gardeners, I like working in 3s. Three priorities feels manageable and easy to remember as well as keeping a sense of simplicity. What if we could choose just 3 things that form the centre of our day and week that unlocks the real potential in our business? How about we separate out the priorities from the ‘stuff’ so that our heads are clearer & our anxiety is lower?
Here are some things to think about to help you choose the right 3 priorities in your business & feel a little lighter as you work.
Know your vision. What do you really want? Where are you really trying to get to? Are you looking for a 10 year exit or a simple life where the bills are paid and you can keep yourself in nice jumpers? Are you looking to make some serious money? This bit is obvious but crucial to help you choose the right priorities to get you there. Vision board time, long walk without music, deep dive with a trusted friend time is required here to unpick the real desire here.
What is your flow state? Flow isn’t a woowoo concept of floating around feeling happy, it’s having the right amount of stretch in your business that means you’re using great skills and learning new ones while challenging yourself enough to keep going. If you picture a moment when it all feels like it’s coming together - what is that for you? Write all the circumstances when that happens. Picture the scene - how does it feel, what are you doing, how are you supported? This is what we’re trying to achieve most days.
The long list. Write everything down that you think might be a priority to get to the flow state and feel really great in your business. Include all your ideas here! Include both the things you do and the conditions in which you do them. For example you know you’re at your best when you’re well rested or when you’re on top of your website updates.
Tasks and priorities time. Look through your list and start to cross off what are actually tasks. You may have put accounts, emails, getting orders out on time, developing new content - these are tasks. Hopefully you’ll see a pattern emerge that what is left are things that aren’t tasks but priorities. These could include getting enough time to rest or exercise. It could be time to work on the business not just in it. Perhaps you’ve got something like finding new customers to enjoy your experiences.
Get to a top 3. If you’ve got a longish list still, you need to decide what 3 priorities are going to help you achieve your vision. 3 things that without doing them, you can’t get there. These are the 3 areas of focus that you can make the centre of every day or week from now on. None negotiables that have to be there and that drive you to your destination. Everything else is task completion and cab be scheduled, delegated or perhaps even dropped.
Reframe. So here is your list of 3 priorities that are the essentials in your working day and week. Reframe all that is necessary to ensure they remain your focus. This could be calendar management, increasing your prices to make time, delegation, finding support, putting yourself first and so on. This is the tricky bit but so important!
Let’s have a natter about this in the forum. It’s such a crucial exercise in business but not easy to do alone, so we’re here to help and feed back!
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