Do more with less- The 5 Keys to Leveraging Your Time

Often in business we get stuck doing tasks, being very busy, but we don't always create the results that we want.

In fact many businesses that I have worked with have come up with a default way of operating and over time it has become a habit, and it is not questioned if it is the most effective way to get results.

This keeps people and businesses stuck at a certain level of growth.

You were designed to do more with less. Take advantage of it by applying the principles of leverage

Your arms can lift a large rock, but using a lever and a fulcrum you can move a boulder.

We are designed with the mental faculty to solve great problems using more than the effort of our own output.

Many business owners get stuck in this idea of hard work. But hard work can be a trap. There is no reward for hard work alone. The reward lies in right action.

Imagine a skyscraper being built. The inspired entrepreneur decides this is where the skycraper will go, these are the people that it will serve and this is how we will pay for it.

The architect spends many hours designing this.

The project manager co-ordinates and oversees the project.

The contractors arrange the construction of the individual elements

And the labourer works on the jack hammer, carries heavy objects, removes rubbish, endures cold mornings and direct sun most of the day, labourers through dusty dirty conditions.

So if we look in terms of physical exertion who worked hardest on this project?

The labourer right?

Who worked the least on this project?

The entrepreneur right?

Now lets look at the impact each has.

If the labourer doesn't show up for work, this causes a short term problem for that day but can be resolved relatively quickly and won't have any impact on the overall project

If the entrepreneur doesn't show up one day it will make no impact. In fact if the project has been set up correctly, the entrepreneur could potentially never show up again and the project could continue to completion.

Why? because the project itself has become a life force of its own.

So that allows the entrepreneur to pursue other projects and exponentially expand their impact.

So what does this mean for the average small business owner?

5 keys to leveraging your time

1. Focus on Results not Actions

Start with the result that you want to create.

It seems elementary but so many people are focused on their actions without even questioning if they are the most efficient and effective pathway to create the greatest result.

look carefully at your actions and determine what key actions are getting you the results that you want.

I worked with a recruiter who wasn't making enough placements.

We determined that the number one action that was creating the greatest result, was interviewing potential staff. Pretty straight forward right?

But when we broke down the recruiters daily actions, we found she was only spending an average 1-2 hours per day actually interviewing people. The rest of her day was filled with phone calls, emails, scheduling, talking to colleagues etc.

We then set a target to interview for 5 hours a day. That was 5 hours of just interviewing, not arranging interviews, not reviewing, or emailing, or scheduling or any of the other tasks associated with the process. All of that was either delegated away or dropped completely.

We focused the highest priority action that produces the greatest result and the recruiters results and placements skyrocketed.

2. Delegate

3. Put a system in place

4. Get clear on the impact you want to make

5. force vs influence

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