How to Work Less Than 4 Hours/Day -Starting Tomorrow
Updated: Sep 15, 2020
Written by: Agnese Rudzate, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Do you know two reasons why most business owners start their entrepreneurial journey? Financial independence. Time freedom. Do you know what happens a couple of years in their business? They might have reached their financial goals, but they are overworked.
No time freedom! They work harder than ever and their dream of having this independent lifestyle vanishes once the next day comes with a never-ending to-do list, meetings, team management. It’s understandable that we want to supervise our business, be aware of processes, systems, and teamwork.
But how about time freedom? Is it possible to have a thriving business and work 4 hours per day or less? If this has been on your wish list, keep reading to learn steps that will get you there. Just make sure to implement them today to save more time starting tomorrow.
1. Prioritize.
It can be quite challenging to understand what truly matters because often, everything seems important and urgent. For better clarity, let me teach you a couple of things that will help you put things into perspective faster and preciser.
Getting clear on your goals and vision at this moment will help you create more clarity around your action steps in order to reach them faster and more effortlessly, saving time and overwhelm. These goals should be things you want to focus on right now, a couple of things that need your attention. Instead, they are not lifelong mission statements; instead, they choose achievable focus points that are important to you in the next couple of weeks.
Creating a daily action list that supports your goals is crucial to move closer towards your goals. By choosing just 3-5 things every day that doesn’t take longer than an hour each will leave you with a prioritized list that will get you closer to your goals for this month. If, for some reason, you are not able to finish your daily tasks, be sure to consciously ask yourself what actions are most important now instead of carrying them to the next day. Sheryl Sandberg advises using Ruthless Prioritization as a Key to Great Work instead of good work.
2. Delegate.
No one is doubting that delegating and outsourcing tasks can save time, but does it save money? If you have ever worked for someone other than yourself, you might have experienced that draining feeling of doing pointless tasks with no obvious result. You don’t want to be that kind of boss who gives their team tasks to fill their working hours. Why?
Because you are paying for their time. So you might as well choose wisely to ensure that tasks you delegate or outsource are well-defined and important, meaning they don't waste your money and your or your team’s time. And most importantly - they bring tangible results to your business. If the task doesn’t require your genius, anyone can do it.
3. Automate.
Repetition is the keyword here. Every business has processes that are repeating themselves daily, weekly, monthly, and so on. Why not save even more time by automation part (if not all) of them? This will not only bring in efficiency, increase productivity, but also eliminate human error. It is an amazing innovation that technologies have provided to us - it streamlines the workflows and processes to provide better visibility. When you notice something you do more than once that adds value, this is where you have a chance for automation. It might be scary to trust technologies, but there is no time in the world that is worth the boredom and money waste on repetitive tasks.
4. Eliminate.
This part is the one you should approach with caution and also the one to not fear. Getting rid of things is fun and freeing, so it is with useless tasks and processes that have been in your business for no obvious reason. All they do is waste your time and eat up on your sanity. For example, meetings. They are usually held to define the problem - which is highly ineffective and unproductive. Instead, meetings should only be held to make decisions about the predefined situation. To avoid time-wasting chats, be sure to get clear on the agenda first and stay on the topic.
Now you have to do your part. Don’t just leave this article without trying to implement things that can be life and business changing.
Step aside for a moment and do a little self-audit. Notice what needs to be moved into the priorities list to reach those business goals faster, what can be delegated to create more space for your genius, what can be automated to avoid repetitive tasks, and what eventually needs to go for good.
Let me know which of 4 steps are you taking already and which ones your wish to get better at?
If you are ready to finally create well deserved time freedom for yourself, book your call and
Agnese Rudzate, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Agnese Rudzate is a Business Productivity Coach and Time-management expert with a professional background in Quality Management and Empowerment Coaching. She has turned her lifelong passion for organizing into her mission, helping women gain the confidence, clarity, and time freedom they deserve by providing action steps, tools, and customized strategies. Agnese is a firm believer that anyone can achieve business or personal goals through a deeply focused effort, which is based on her coaching. Through structure, systems, and processes that bring results, Agnese teaches her clients to manage their business with ease, create time freedom, and scale in profits.
