How to decide what to do (or not) in your business or profession when you are very busy
Surely you have seasons when you are so busy that you can hardly even breathe. You spend the day doing a thousand different things, dealing with different topics and, however, sometimes when the day or week ends you realize that you have not done anything from another world, that you have not been very productive that we say and you You despair thinking that if you are now as you would be if you had more clients or more commitments. Or the second alternative, that you are very busy and you don't even have time to get bored but, in reality, it is not the type of life you want. Does it ring a bell?
This has happened to all of us, some from time to time and others almost always. The point is that being very busy is not always synonymous with being efficient and finishing things or having results. Nor of having the career or business that you really want. What is really important is not if you are very busy or not, but:
1. What are you busy with?
2. Do you really want to be so busy?
1. It seems that we are educated with the idea that you have to always be busy because if you are not lazy.
Saying that you are very busy sounds and looks great, but maybe there is someone who does the same as you with better results and in less time and people think that they do not work or how they can earn a living (it is not necessary to remember the typical Spanish custom of staying until the boss leaves even if you have nothing to do and criticizing those who leave soon even if they have done a thousand times more than you).
Being busy is not synonymous with doing a good job or having good results and, in fact, on many occasions it is one more form of self-sabotage. For example, when you don't want to think or do something. A very good way to avoid doing something is to justify yourself by telling yourself that you have a lot of work and that you will do it later. Why? For fear of something. You are postponing it indefinitely and instead of taking the bull by the horns and putting yourself to it, or simply dismissing it, you excuse yourself saying that you have a lot of work. This is where the question you are busy with has its relevance. Are you really doing the best you could do? Better stop to think what you want to achieve and what you need to do to achieve it, instead of working and working without analyzing results.What matters is not the hours you work but the results you get from that work.
2. I have repeated this many times but it is worth bearing in mind: that you can do something does not mean that you have to do it.
As the owner of a business that is doing well, there are many things you can do, things that work and that can generate more clients and more income, the question is whether you want to do them. So a priori almost everyone would say, of course, who does not want more customers and more income! It depends… If having more clients means having less free time, having to travel more to give talks or spending a lot of time outside giving courses and workshops, right now I don't want to.
And the same happens in your professional career. Once you get to a point where you make a living instead of following the “path” that you are supposed to follow, stop to think if you really want to do it, if it fits the lifestyle you want and if you really need so much money, customers or sacrifice as you think…
I have always said that the main reason for taking the risk of establishing myself was the lifestyle that allowed me, being able to go to breakfast with a friend, go looking for my son at school and attend his activities, take vacations when want and do what I want with my business. That means rejecting opportunities that could generate more income for me, or working with fewer clients to have more free time. But it is what I want and it does not mean that I am going to sit idly by, I am always doing things and training, because I also need to see that I evolve and fulfill objectives, I simply select very well what I do and what I do not do.
The important thing is that you are clear about what motivates you: achievements, money, free time… Any option is valid but until you are aware of what you really want you will not be able to make progress to achieve it. So tell me, what do you really want? Tell me in the comments.
I leave you with the story of the banker and the fisherman, perfect for this article:
“An expert banker was on the dock of a small Caribbean town when a fisherman arrived in his boat.
Inside the boat were quite large yellow tuna and the banker praised the fisherman for the quality of the fish and asked:
- How long has it taken to fish them? Very little. - replied the fisherman, so why didn't he stay longer fishing? I could have fished more - asked the banker. Yes, surely, but this is enough to satisfy the immediate needs of my family - said the fisherman. But then, what does he do the rest of the time? After fishing, I rest a little, I play With my children, I take a nap with my wife and, at night, I meet with friends to have a good time talking. I lead a calm and carefree life, said the fisherman. I am a business expert and could help you develop yours. You would have to spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. So you could fish much more than now, increase your profits and buy several boats,You might even have your own fleet of fishing boats. Then, instead of selling the fish to an intermediary, you could do it directly to a processor, and even open your own processor. And when that happens you would have to leave this town and go to the capital, where you would run your expanding company. But how long would it take to get all that? - asked the fisherman. Between ten and fifteen years - said the banker. And then what? Then comes the best, you could announce an initial offer of shares and sell your company's shares to the public. You would become a millionaire! And then what? - He asked smiling to the banker. Then you could retire. You go to a small town on the coast, you rest, you sleep late, you fish a little, you play with your children,You take a nap with your wife and you get together with your friends and family to have a good time. Isn't that what I already have?
