In the
Power of an Hour chapter of my
book, I included
27 tips to get back on hour a day.
So in no particular order, here's another 9 tips to help you 'get back' an hour a day so you can create your Power Hour.
9 More Tips To Create Your Power Hour
TIP #1
Develop Your Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Think of all the questions you get asked every day – by customers and staff, and I know you're answering the same question multiple times.
So grab your phone or some butchers paper and brainstorm all these questions. Then record the answers on your phone and give them to a staff member to type up or use some AI tech like Otter to transcribe it.
Do a quick edit, add your business branding and then place them on your website and internal server for your customers and staff.
Now you can reduce time on the phone or email by first stating 'please check out the FAQs on our website and then come back to me if you have any further questions'.
And if they do, simply update the document.
You'll be amazed at how this can reduce the number of phone calls and emails you receive simply because you're educating customers and staff about how your business operates.
TIP #2Develop Your 'So What Happens Now' Document
I initially developed this idea whilst working with building designers to help them explain the lengthy process to get plans approved, and now it's one of the first documents I help my coaching clients write.
Too often with new customers, we use jargon, complicated documents or don't provide them with any information about the process we've started working together.
This is because we THINK they should know what happens because we've TOLD them.
Now I don't know how good your memory is, but as we're already so overwhelmed with information coming at us in all directions, let's not add to that.
Instead, put yourself in the shoes of your customer and develop the 1 page infographic which quickly and easily outlines what will happen and when; as well as what they need to do versus what you'll be doing and when.
Again, this not only reduces questions coming to you, but also your time from answering the same thing, over and over again.
TIP #3
Spend 15 Minutes A Day Designing Your Systems.
Spend
15 minutes a day designing procedures for every position within your small business which may mean your first task is to document your organisational chart with your name probably in most or every position.
15 minutes mightn't sound like much, but I believe there's a system in everything, you just have to find it.
If you spent 15 minutes a day working on your systems (procedures), that's an 1 ¼ hour you weren't doing last week.
And this is all about getting the knowledge out of your head, and that of your team, into simple documented procedures which everyone can follow.
Otherwise, you'll continue to be doing lots and getting nowhere; and if you ever want to grow or sell the business, I hate to tell you but systems are essential.
TIP #4Be The Tortoise, Not The Hare
Don't always be in a rush to agree to everything.
Instead, take a breath and see what saying yes actually means – for you and your business.
Acting as the tortoise even for 5 minutes is better than always being the hare.
Because whether you believe me or not, we CAN'T do everything and there's a price to everything we do.
So if you say YES, then you can't whinge about the consequences (time away from family, more stress etc) because that's the price you accepted when you said yes.
TIP #5Use A Timer To Focus Your Time
Use a timer to limit (or focus) your time on a particular activity and then stop when it dings; or in my case, when I see the sand fall to the bottom of the hourglass.
If you find yourself going down the rabbit hole and losing all track of time, this is a simple way to not only keep you focused but when it dings, you can then decide to either keep going if you're on a roll (and your diary allows this) or you stop and congratulate yourself on what you've done and then you move on to the next activity.
TIP #6
Know Your Numbers
Spend time working out your financial numbers to ensure you know how much it costs to keep the doors open (which includes paying yourself).
There's no point delivering a product or service if, at the end of the day, you don't even earn $20 per hour; regardless of the amount shown on the invoice.
TIP #7
Hold Quarterly Meeting Away From The Office
Every quarter (ie four times a year), take at least one day out of your small business, preferably in a different location and with an independent facilitator, to strategically review your numbers and key priorities against your annual business plan to determine any adjustments needed, and then reset the focus for the next 90 days.
Otherwise, you'll get to Christmas and wondered where the year has gone.
TIP #8
Use Post It Notes
I know we're in a world of tech and that's great.
BUT there's so much power in using pens and post it notes – especially for designing systems and to really see how many tasks are on your To Do Lists.
Like many people, I'm a very visual person so my wall and whiteboards have post it notes on them to track the status of tasks and ideas; and it's why I use them in coaching and workshops.
Post It Notes are the quickest and easiest way to design procedures because you can immediately see mistakes, duplication, bottlenecks and gaps.
And whilst you want tasks/ideas listed in task management software and the like so your whole team can see what's going on in the business; I know the best way to get people out of overwhelm is to use Post It Notes to show why this is happening.
Because until you truly see, on a wall or whiteboard, the magnitude of someone's workload instead of looking at lists on a computer screen, it's actually very hard to understand it or help them see a way through it – to make it more manageable.
TIP #9
Start With Your 3 Important Tasks
I'm big on the number 3 – so much so I wrote a whole chapter about it.
Eg I develop 3 key priorities for the year, and then drill that down to 3 priorities for each quarter, month, week etc.
This can also be applied to new products/services by developing a good, better and best option, in other words a cheapest, middle price and premium option.
Research tells us most customers and businesses will gravitate to the middle option because they don't want to be seen as the cheapest or the most expensive.
So apply the same thinking to completing your daily tasks – focus on the 3 most important to build a simple profitable business you actually love – and then deal with whatever else has come through the door or email.
