Start by Stopping
As curious as it may sound, a good deal of critical progress in life and in business begins when you stop doing things. For example, if I want to lose twenty pounds, a good place to start would be to cut out daily fast food and nightly snacks. If I want to get an earlier start to my days, I can start by breaking the night-owl habit. You get the idea.
The rule is just as true in our professions and businesses. Let’s consider just a few examples.
If I want to get a better class of client, then I need to fire my worst ones. Too many of us are client hoarders, despite knowing that it’s far better to have a hundred ideal clients than two hundred assorted clients, including fifty entitled whiners. In your early days of practice, it may be scary to fire clients, but I guarantee you will not only find life far less pressured, you’ll also see improved profitability and cash flow.
If you want to have a more productive team, get rid of everyone except those who are actually there to help you excel at what you do. Unless they are there to amplify and facilitate your personal giftings, you shouldn’t be spending precious resources on them. Somewhere else, out there, is the right place for them, but it’s not in your office.
If you want to improve cash flow, stop spending money on things that have little value. And if you don’t know which things have value and which don’t, stop not knowing!
If you want to increase efficiency and productivity, stop doing inefficient and unproductive things. Every time you walk into a colleague’s office with an idle question, or ask a staffer when a project is due, or walk down the hall to scan something which could be scanned at your desk, you are losing not only money, but sabotaging your productivity, not to mention that of everyone else you bother in the process.
If you want to be more expert at what you do, stop being haphazard about your professional development. Set clear goals for knowledge and skills you want to acquire, and a specific timeline, then stick to it. Expertise doesn’t fall out of the sky.
If your work life and your home life are constantly interfering with one another, pick one to take priority, and be clear about it. If you choose your career over your marriage and your children, at least be clear about the price you’re willing to pay, and if you prioritize family over work, make sure they understand the trade-off, and encourage them to help you work out solutions.
If you end the day frustrated with how little you’ve accomplished, start tracking where you spend your time, down to the minute. If you are really honest with yourself, you will solve your own problem.
These are just seven examples of starting good habits by stopping bad habits. All are within easy reach, yet all of them can be hard to see through. Usually, the secret is an accountability buddy. Be sure to have one, and if you can’t find one, call me!