Letting Go of the Day to Day

Getting bogged down in the mundane aspects of day-to-day life is the easiest way to become mired in the “small stuff.” If a sole proprietor or individual constantly try’s to “micro manage” their activities the end result becomes a drop in productivity and not getting anything accomplished for that day, week or even month. Although there are a few areas where productivity and micro managing do take a back seat to work/life balance, productivity is the way to move forward. In many instances (such as taking the kids to a Saturday soccer game or having a glass of wine with the spouse) day-to-day activities do improve productivity and work/life balance. There are, however, many other areas where this is not the case.

I’ve Always Done It This Way

Getting into a routine can be a good thing for a family getting their day going. Getting into a routine for a small business or individual can be the death of productivity. The routine is a good way to turn out product on an assembly line but, in most startup companies today, it can have a negative impact on creativity and the aforementioned work/life balance. If an individual is used to spending half an hour answering routine e-mail, first thing in the morning, their mind becomes mired in that action. For most people, this generates a stopping point which makes it harder to move on to more productive activities. This process might also be equated to an individual sitting down to a second cup of coffee and their Blackberry after they get the kids off to school.

Ultimately, the individual is starting their day all over again after they finish this routine task. The general result is productivity taking a dive as the individual works to get back into a productive mentality. Although figures are not available on the composition of typical e-mail, it would seem that saying that a majority of the mail is simple or unrelated mail that somebody else could just as easily return is valid. Outsourcing to a Virtual Assistant could be a solution to answering these e-mails and other smaller day-to day tasks after they become acquainted with your operation/life. Ultimately, this lets you, as the creative person, go about increasing productivity or generating a work/life balance for you and your family.

Breaking the Mold

What is really going on is that the business or life you have created is at a point where it needs to evolve in a way that keeps you moving in the desired direction without becoming stagnant. In order for productivity and work/life balance to be optimized you need some help. Not to the point where a full or part time employee is needed but somebody that can help to structure a few elements to let you keep to the core elements that enabled the project to succeed in the first place. Outsourcing these elements is a means to a certain evolution of the work/life balance building process.

Extending the example from earlier, a virtual assistant might be able to confirm appointments for the next day while you are pursuing the day’s appointments. The idea being that instead of being stuck behind a desk or coffee table you are working on another aspect of your business or life. Productivity is increased and, hopefully, some time has been freed so that you can take some time for yourself or, in the case of a self proprietor, your business concept in general .

Finding the Dams

All of this is well and good, but where do the day-to-day productivity dams exist that are taking up your time unnecessarily? In your assessment you should be careful not to think that an activity is unproductive. A daily commute, for instance, can lead to increases in productivity because there is a certain amount of “me time” to think about your day (and of course you never talk on the cell phone when you drive, right?)

Instead, try thinking of it in terms of what you could be doing and if somebody else could be doing what you are currently doing better and more efficiently. Check out the website for some ideas on finding those areas. Perhaps there are quite a few FAQ’s involved in your day. Could your web site or an outsourcing service deal with them better? Perhaps Juniors’ birthday party might be better planned by a children’s party planner. Often these folks are right in front of you. You are just not seeing the trees through the forest to reverse the analogy.

Don’t Be Afraid

As an individual or sole proprietor it is easy to get caught up in the “I” mentality. Only “I” can do that part of the project. In reality, you are not the only person that can get the job done. You are just afraid to lose control of what you have built, professionally or personally. The fact is, you have already lost control by getting bogged down in the day-to-day. You have lost the big picture that productivity and work/life balance offer. If you think about some of the mundane aspects of your daily life and how outsourcing them may help, you will have the time you need to take a step back and look at where you are and where you could go.

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