Do you have a never-ending task list? One problem that many entrepreneurs face is that their businesses can’t run without them. That’s a problem! Are you expected not to have families or vacations? Everyone needs time away to reset, but many entrepreneurs have turned in their 9-5 for a 24/7. How can we change that? How can we help business owners streamline their processes and determine what tasks are essential for them to perform?
Mike Michalowicz discusses how entrepreneurs can make their businesses work for them in his book, Clockwork. Michalowicz suggests that business owners perform a detailed analysis of their task list. It can be enlightening to see all of the tasks you do in a week. Chances are, there is a lot of work that you are doing that is not in your zone of genius. Once you have a full list of your tasks, it is time to evaluate what you can trash, transfer, trim, or treasure.
What is Trash, Transfer, Trim, or Treasure?
Forbes says, “Many entrepreneurs feel like they’re constantly busy—yet they never seem to have time to get the deep, visionary work done. This is often because their attention is constantly being diverted for any number of reasons: questions from members of their team, calls from family, and social media alerts. The first step to saving time is seeing where your time is going”
Michalowicz suggests business owners consider what he calls Trash, Transfer, Trim, or Treasure to determine what tasks are essential to the entrepreneur. Business owners are encouraged to write down and analyze their weekly tasks:
Trash: Can I trash this? Is this a task I can get rid of altogether?
Transfer: Can I transfer this? Is there someone else on your team who can do this task?
Trim: Can I trim this? Can I spend less time on this particular task?
Treasure: Can I keep this task? Is this task something I like to do? Is this task something only I can do?
How Do I Implement the Necessary Changes?
After determining which tasks can be trashed, transferred, and trimmed, business owners decide to implement changes as needed.
First, anything that can be trashed will essentially go away–these tasks are not needed anymore, so delete them off your list.
Next, anything that can be transferred will be delegated to team members with the knowledge and skills to perform those tasks. Set them up for success. Create a system for training to document tasks and delegate them seamlessly. What does this mean? It means finding an efficient way to train others to perform a task. We suggest creating video training and documenting those tasks in a digital format so team members have access to reference them at any time. Through video and detailed standard operating procedures (SOPs), you’ll never have to explain how to perform the task again. Learn more about delegating tasks here.
Trimming tasks may take a bit of creative thinking. Look at systemization and automation to cut down on the time you are spending on a task. For example, how could you trim a meeting? You could create a recurring meeting agenda to keep team meetings on task. You could also do the meetings less frequently or leave after your portion of the meeting is complete.
Just as business is constantly growing and changing through efficiency, automation, and systemization, so will your task list. As your company grows and changes, so too will your tasks and SOPs. What worked last year may not work now. We encourage a System Mindset, where we acknowledge that systems are always changing and it’s important to update them to ensure efficiency. Erin discusses more useful tactics from Clockwork in her video, How Clockwork Helped Make My Business Work for Me!
