When is the last time you saw the bottom of your to-do list?
How often do you accomplish everything you set out to do each day?
How often do you beat yourself up for not getting enough done?
What if the problem isn’t that you should be more productive?
What if the real problem is there is too much on your to-do list?
Take a look at your to-do list. Could anything be delegated or deleted? Sometimes things are on our to-do list so long, they become irrelevant. Is there anything you can delegate or outsource? I understand your hesitation to outsource. Your budget is tight. We’ve all had the unpleasant experience of hiring the wrong person which created more work to do.
Then there are those who we admire who seemingly do everything in all parts of their business without looking (or sounding) the least bit flustered. Perhaps running a business is Childs play to them. For most of us, running a business is hard work, regardless of how passionate we are about what we do. The list of things we should do and want to do seems endless. You’re reluctant to outsource tasks you really want to learn to do yourself. Besides, I don’t know about you, but I enjoy learning new things.
How about a compromise? What if you hired someone for an hour or so and ask them to teach you how to do that task? Things like bookkeeping, creating social memes in Canva, setting up MailChimp, video editing, websites, etc. At worst, you would discover there is a lot more to that task than you thought and outsourcing is the best way. On the other hand, your investment to have someone teach you how to do something could help you gain the skills and confidence you need to do that task.
Aside from the various books I read and courses I take, I have hired people to teach me a couple times. One person talked through the ins and outs of starting a Facebook group. I’m currently debating hiring someone to finally help me break through the mental blocks I have about video editing. I’ve always considered myself tech savvy, but video editing is just my undoing, and I’m determined to conquer it. Taking another course or watching another video tutorial may not be the right answer. (In the case of me editing videos, it isn’t.) Sometimes we just need someone to take us by the hand and teach us.