My house is surrounded by dozens and dozens of trees. Twice a year, my house gutters get clogged with seeds in the spring and leaves in the fall. When the gutters clog with such clutter, the rains come and the water cascades off my roof like a waterfall. One year the waterfall filled up a window well and then pored into my basement. This year I said "no more" and got leaf filters installed on my gutters. While not cheap, I at least have peace of mind.
That got this business coach thinking. What clutter is clogging up the gutters (daily operations) of most business owners? What junky "stuff" is clogging up the flow of business and productivity? What clutter is causing owners to feel "flooded" and "overwhelmed"?
"What is clutter?", you ask. At The Growth Coach, we define clutter as the low-value, urgent, unimportant tasks (the trivial many) we entrepreneurs routinely and habitually handle each and every day. It's the low-value stuff that consumes our days, clogs our creativity, reduces the flow of meaningful work, and ends up drowning out our productivity. Bottom line, it's the wrong kind of work for an owner and leader.
We all have clutter, some more than others. For some examples, clutter could be: checking and responding to email throughout the day, reading the paper, chatting with co-workers, handling paperwork, surfing the web, answering the cell phone no matter what, doing other people's jobs, messing in the factory, roaming the office, repeatedly checking your Blackberry, listening to the radio, solving the problems others created, doing mindless trips or chores, doing administrative or hourly type of tasks, putting out fires, etc. Many of these activities are just habitual and tension-relieving and not goal-achieving. Be aware of your clutter.
Realize that 80% of your results come from only 20% of your talents and activities. Therefore, wake-up to the fact that 80% of your daily activities may well be unimportant stuff...clutter! Sorry, but you probably already know this deep down to be true. Stop wasting your time doing the wrong kind of work. Think of the time you could free up for more important, strategic opportunities to grow your business and profits as well as spend more time with your family. Commit to clean out the clutter from your gutters!
Spend 15 minutes now and write down all the clutter in your professional and personal life. What is wasting your time and talents? What work should you NOT be doing? What is steering you away from critical priorities? What diversions and distractions are robbing you and your company of greater productivity? Look honestly at the list. Accept the truth and acknowledge the clutter. Commit to eliminate or delegate the 80% of your activities (clutter) that produce minimal results for your business or career.
Instead of creating a "to-do" list each and every day, we at The Growth Coach strongly encourage our clients to create a "not-to-do list." You should do the same. Start giving up tasks that are not worthy of your time...either delete those tasks all together or delegate them to others.
Choose instead to focus on the meaningful 20% of your talents and activities that drive the vast majority of your results and success. At the Growth Coach, we call these the "vital few" tasks that produce money, save money, or keep your customers happy.
Work smarter, not harder! Commit to give up the "clutter" in your professional and personal life.
Daniel M. Murphy
President, Founder & Business Coach
The Growth Coach
Business Coaching Franchise System
Certified Business Coaches Throughout North America