by Tapiwa Matsinde
Busyness and working hard are often aligned with an assumption of making progress. That, however, isn’t always the case. In fact, they could be doing just the opposite by lulling you into a false sense of productivity and distracting you from nurturing the specific tasks that are moving your business forward.
As entrepreneurs, the demands of running a business means the time we have to spend on our various business tasks is already precious. There is only so much we can do and working hard by taking on more and more things that keep you stuck in the same place is counter intuitive.
You want to direct a higher proportion of that energy towards the tasks that are bringing in real results. To do better with what is working. Not simply taking on things because you feel you should be doing them or because it’s what others say that as a business owner you should be doing.
Doing better means regularly reviewing and refining what is working. Pay close attention to what you’re spending your day-to-day working time on, making a note of what is really making a difference to your progress and revenue growth. Go through your analytics, data, and finances and observe things such as: where you’re paying customers are coming from; content that’s connecting; partnerships that are transformative and lean into strengthening the related tasks. Instead of taking on more, turn up the dial on the things that are having an impact, and remove, minimize, or outsource that which just takes up time.
When adding a new task to your workload, question why you need to do so, and what benefit you hope it will bring to your business, then test it out for a few months. If it works, great you can then focus on improving its efficiency. If it’s not working let it go and free up that valuable time to put towards improving those tasks of your business that have proven themselves.
Working hard on the things that don’t serve our business goals is the path to frustration and burnout. So, let’s be mindful of how and where we spend our time in our businesses. Don’t do more, do better on the things that help you manage and grow your business successfully.
Tapiwa Matsinde is the founder of atelier 55 an award-winning platform that shines the spotlight on Africa’s designers and creatives by sharing the stories of their work. Tapiwa curates for and advises organisations, galleries, and museums interested in African design, connecting them to designers for global opportunities that increase their visibility. Through her brand consultancy Let Us Tell Stories Tapiwa helps startup and established creative entrepreneurs develop and grow international standard brands that command attention. Tapiwa is the author of several books including Contemporary Design Africa the first art book to showcase and survey a generation of innovative designers from across the continent and beyond who are putting the diverse expressions of African design on the world’s stage. Tapiwa’s podcast Behind The Design introduces an inspirational series of conversations with some of Africa’s exciting designers.
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Behind The Design Podcast - https://www.atelier55design.com/category/podcast/
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