What is the real cost of inactivity in your business

How much will you get “Done” this week? How many things can you tick off your to do list? How much output can you create? 

But more importantly, how much hustle will it take, how much of your multitasking, task switching brain power will it take up?

And when all is said and done on Friday…how much will it have moved the needle in your business?

Now look, I am someone who gets a lot of shit done.

I am productive.

I run two global businesses, write books, host a top 5% podcast, am training for a marathon, oh and I am a single parent to a 9 year old.

When I am inspired, when I am in flow, I can get a lot done, but it took me a long time to realise that getting a lot done wasn’t enough. I had to get the “Right stuff done”

There are some tasks and activities in your business that you do every week that literally make no difference to your profitability or impact, and yet we still do them.

But the big juicy tasks that could exponentially grow our business ventures sit on our to do list untouched because we never seem to find the time to get round to them.

I call these Gold List Tasks…the tasks which help you to sparkle…cheesy I know, but they are the tasks that create light, in fact they put a spotlight on you, helping you to amplify your message, your vision, your offerings.

But Gold List activities require focus, energy, and a certain amount of fearlessness.

They often find their way to the bottom of the pile, not because we don’t have time to do them, but because they are complex and often can’t be done in one sitting. They often require other stakeholders involvement, or they require a great deal of thinking on our part…and who has the head space for proper thinking what with all the other crap we have to do in our business.

The Gold List items take on a life of their own once they get started, they build momentum, they garner buy in from other partners, and once they are completed they are an asset in your business…but they require work, and we all went into business so we didn’t have to work, right?

You see, it’s like fitness stuff…and trust me I know a lot about this, I’ve been running a fitness business for more than a decade.

Lot’s of people go to the gym, they start up running, they aim for 10,000 steps…but the BIG project they probably need to focus on, they are avoiding. It’s the person that does an hour of step aerobics and then doesn’t move for the rest of the week. It’s the person who plays an hour of rugby, but them celebrates with a pizza and 4 beers.

It is easy to convince yourself you are doing the work, when actually you are just playing lip service to it.

I’m not throwing shade here, fitness, well being, weight loss, they are emotive topics, and everyones journey towards their goals are different. And business is no different.

So few business owners have any business strategy training. They go into their chosen field to make a difference, because they enjoy the work, because they see a gap in the market….and then it comes as a bit of a shock when they realise growth doesn’t just happen by itself. And thats when the frustration sets in, the questions as to whether it is even worth it.

There is an opportunity cost to not taking action on the BIG things, but there is also a cost to not having clarity over what those BIG things are.

There is a financial cost, but also an unmeasurable cost to your health and wellbeing.

The thing is, productivity gets a bad press. Particularly since the pandemic when we are all just so fatigued with life stuff. We don’t always feel like we have the energy to be productive…and yet, when we focus on the important tasks in our business without distraction, when we set up working patterns and processes, we can afford to work less, and not more. 

In 2020 I created, launched and sold more than 15 online programmes, including one ironically on productivity, all while dealing with the pandemic and homeschooling my daughter, I even managed to spend 2 months on a Greek island writing a book….and I had my best financial year ever!!

It showed what was possible when under pressure, but it wasn’t entirely sustainable.

In 2021 I created, launched or sold just 4 programmes, and worked half the time…and made a similar amount of money.

In an ever changing world we have to create security for ourselves and our businesses, it is too easy to be pulled in multiple directions by new concepts, strategies or tactics. When we focus on building out the foundations of our business we create a “home”, a “home” we can come back to when things get tough…so we are not having to reinvent ourselves over and over again when things get rocky.

So I ask you this.

What will you work on this week? Where are the gaps of knowledge that are preventing you from making progress on the BIG things? And who do you have in your team, ensuing that you play to your strengths and make the progress that you truly desire?

It is not simply enough to be productive anymore.

Perhaps it’s time to Go Big or Go Home.