For the last few years (2019,2020, 2021) I've shared a breakdown of how I spent my time that year. It’s always an interesting exercise and it’s useful for me to analyse how I’m using my time differently year over year. Understanding how your time is being spent is one of the best things you can do to make better choices and plan more effectively for the future.

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Intro/Outro Music: "Synthia" by Scott & Brendo

Every week, my Zapier expert, Warwick, and I do a ’weekly review’ where we run down the list of all clients we’re currently working with to determine where we’re at and what we need to do next. During last Friday’s review, we were exploring whether there’s a better way of managing our workload and I said something that has since stuck in my mind.

I said:

“We need to have a policy of zero-tolerance for inefficiency. We need to always be improving how we do things and not put up with inefficiency just because we’re busy.”

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Intro/Outro Music: "Synthia" by Scott & Brendo

We make thousands of decisions every single day from what to wear or what to eat for breakfast to how to respond to an email or what to work on next. And we should always be striving to make the best decision we can as efficiently as possible.

I put a lot of my productivity down to not overthinking things. Generally, I make quick decisions and move on. Some decisions require more time. But in general, I like making quick decisions so my brain has less to remember and process. The more things I have in the “thinking about” basket, the greater my mental burden and the less brain power I have to focus on my work. This also means you have more mental capacity when something comes up that deserves a bit more thinking time.

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Intro/Outro Music: "Synthia" by Scott & Brendo

As a student of stoic philosophy, I’ve read many times about the importance of focusing on what you can control and how this impacts your happiness and quality of life. The same idea applies to your productivity.

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Intro/Outro Music: "Synthia" by Scott & Brendo

When you come across a new tool or piece of software, it’s easy to sign up for a free trial only to waste a bunch of time after you later realise you don’t actually need the thing you signed up for.

If you’re a business owner looking to adopt a new project management system, or a solo-operator interested in a new screen recording app, it’s important to ask yourself a few key questions before you sign up to a new tool:

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Intro/Outro Music: "Synthia" by Scott & Brendo

Like a lot of business owners, I’m concerned about the ongoing inflation that we’re experiencing and how it’s going to impact the economy. If I had to guess I feel there’s a high likelihood that things get worse, not better, over the next 12-18 months (maybe longer).

As I look ahead, here are some of the things I’m going to be focussing on to ensure my business is in the best shape possible going into these uncertain times. I focus on each of these pursuits already but they are things I’ll be doubling down on as we continue to navigate these treacherous waters.

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Intro/Outro Music: "Synthia" by Scott & Brendo

You’ve probably heard the expression “Perfection is the enemy of progress”. Of course, there’s always a balance with everything and I’m not saying this is an excuse to accept low-quality results. But whatever it is you’re doing, whether you’re choosing what tools to use in your business or you’re setting up a new website, you want to aim for “good enough”. This is the point where you’ve achieved an acceptable result or level of quality based on your requirements but any further progress you make from here, you will probably start seeing diminishing returns. And the question has to be asked, is this a good use of time?

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Intro/Outro Music: "Synthia" by Scott & Brendo

Meditation is a habit I’ve dabbled with on and off over the years. I first downloaded the Headspace app, which was my first exposure to meditation, in 2013. Over the years I’ve gone through periods of where I meditate regularly followed by long dry spells where I don’t meditate at all. As I’ve said on the blog before, I often use habits like meditation and journaling when I feel I need them.

But my attitude towards meditation has changed recently. Rather than using meditation as a way to treat stress or that feeling of being overwhelmed, I now view meditation as a tool to maintain a calm, composed feeling all the time (to the best of my ability).

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Intro/Outro Music: "Synthia" by Scott & Brendo

I was recently reminded of a great quote by Steve Jobs where he said:

“We try to focus and do very few things well. And focussing is hard because focussing doesn’t mean saying ‘yes’ it means saying ‘no’. So we decide not to do a lot of things so we can focus on a handful of things and do them very well”

But this is one of those simple but very important lessons in productivity that often needs repeating.

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Intro/Outro Music: "Synthia" by Scott & Brendo

In this episode of Minor Updates, I share some of the things I've been focussing on in my business and personal life.

0:45 - Business improvements

3:51 - An unfortunate experience

11:48 - Baby Murphy has arrived!

14:00 - We're building a house

17:57 - Wim Hof breathing and cold therapy

20:20 - Wrapping up

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Intro/Outro Music: "Synthia" by Scott & Brendo