
I had a stress meltdown recently. Not that this should have come as any surprise–after all, I run myself ragged; I spend way too many hours in front of the computer, the phone and other people, and not enough hours resting, exercising, trusting. Meltdowns for me feel like a mini-volcano: the anger, stress and frustration start to rise in my body, beginning somewhere in my stomach, like a lava flow about to erupt through my throat. I feel simultaneously pulled in all directions and yet too paralyzed to move in any one of them. I thought the issue was that I needed to systematize what I did (I do). Create some kind of operations manual (I should). But I couldn’t wrap my mind around it, as I couldn’t see the forest for the trees.
Then my friend, colleague, and strategic cattle prod, Dawn Fotopulos of Small Business How 2, pointed me to an article written six years ago by Jim Collins–and I was whisked into the world of the “stop doing” list. WOW! What a life-saver.
This is the basic premise. You receive two phone calls:
- The first one says you’re about to receive $20 million dollars–no strings attached no taxes. In other words, enough money that most of us would never have to work again (if we chose not to). Whee!
- The second phone call tells you you have only 10 years to live–no bargaining, no miracle cures, no extra wishes from a magic genie. In other words, the impetus to make every moment count because you know they are limited.
Now here’s the $64,000 question: Assuming you choose to continue working, what would you stop doing?
Think about that for a minute. Most strategic plans are about what you would start doing–like a series of flimsy New Year’s resolutions for your company, most of which drop off after the first few weeks. This gets you to think about what you would stop doing. If you have only a finite number of moments, what would bring you the greatest joy, the greatest sense of fulfillment, the greatest positive impact on your communities? Are you doing any of that now? Does any of what you want to do generate money for you? You may find, as I did, that you’re buried under a mountain of administration, bookkeeping and management of your business, rather than spending more of your time with above-the-dashboard thinking and creativity.
Once you identify what you would like to stop doing, you can then create a viable plan for how you can stop doing it. This may not happen overnight, so be prepared for a time of transition. For example, I’ve been drowning in social media upkeep (among other things). No time to check out followers, maintain profiles or research groups I might want to belong to. I don’t need to do the research and upkeep myself: My time is better spent having actual social media conversations because that’s what nourishes me: learning from and being in dialogue with other like-minded entrepreneurs. Having identified what I want to stop doing, I can create a plan to delegate those tasks to my VA.
Looking at my different lines of business through the lens of my “stop doing” list, I now have a powerful foundation for setting my goals for the coming year. I see where each of the strategies I adopt, and the tactics I employ, fits within the goal of getting things off my plate. It creates a system for my business that, ultimately, won’t need me to run it. And when I have that, I’ll have a salable asset and the most wonderful gift of all: total and complete freedom of choice in how I spend my time.
[…] I learned a couple of years ago to try a different kind of strategic planning. One more aligned with acknowledging where my talents–and passions–were developing. […]
I’ve started on my no-do New years resolution stop list. Thanks Nina!
Radical – the stop-doing list – I’ve started mine so that I can STOP!
Yes–stopping can feel GREAT. Like you’ve finally gotten off the hamster wheel and have time to actually breathe. What are you planning to stop, Kacee?
Okay Nina, I’ll throw myself at the mercy of the court here. After reading your story I find myself ALWAYS doing or wishing what I should be doing and NEVER actually following through with what I should be doing. It takes a little kick in the butt to get me going,sad to say.
A no to do list is now about to be in progress. I realize the transition will take some time. Time is on my side.
Thank you Nina
Manuel, you’re in good company, so this court has lots of mercy for you. 🙂 While doing the coming year’s strategic planning, I looked at the frightfully long list of tasks for the past year and saw how much didn’t get done. Some of it was because I had piled so much on my plate I didn’t have the energy to get to it. But many other things didn’t get done because, on reflection, they really weren’t priorities. They were just make-work. Or, new priorities arose as the year progressed and my goals shifted. Watch the language you’re using: often, when we say there’s so much we “should” be doing, we’re talking about the tasks we don’t really enjoy, or that fulfill others’ vision of success (not ours). If you’re not getting to the things that truly are essential for your business–like filing taxes or having proper website terms–find a way to delegate them. For entrepreneurs, implementation and follow-through can be one of the hardest things because we’re pulled in so many directions and have to wear so many hats all the time. But you don’t have to do it alone. A business coach can be a huge help in getting you to stay focused and weed out the opportunities that are like “bright, shiny objects”–enticing and sparkly when you first see them, but not worth much in the long run. Let me know how you fare!
[…] I’ll leave you with one of my favorite posts as you think about the year to come: “What Can You Stop Doing?” […]