Whether you’re just starting out or a seasoned entrepreneur with multiple businesses, I believe your core values and role need to be crystal clear. This is especially important to provide context when you reach the point of streamlining.

Revisiting and refining is also critical – because the world and your life can change so much… so fast. When I learned to fly, the old gyroscopic compasses would drift slowly, almost imperceptibly. If I never “re-caged” I could end off miles off course. The same can happen in your business – and the best defense is a set of core values you can re-cage to.

#1 – Your Value

Your time is worth far too much to spend it on menial, repetitive tasks you hate.

As a CEO you must have a clear understanding of what your time is worth. Your role is to be the brains, heart, and soul behind the entire operation. Recognizing your time IS actually more valuable than others’ isn’t your ego talking (well, for most) it’s just practical. 

I’m willing to bet you started your entrepreneurial journey at least partially to gain independence, flexibility, and to share your personal genius. Doing tasks you have to but that drive you crazy can lead to a downward spiral. When you burn-out, your business could quickly follow suit, and that impacts more than just you.

I recommend using an online calculator like the one on wallethacks.com or clockify.me.  Compare the income you need (or want) in a simple budget worksheet with the hours that ensure you can take care of yourself and your family.

Next, any tasks that can be streamlined for less than your hourly rate should be! I refer to the options you have here as ECAD – eliminate, consolidate, automate or delegate (it’s the military past; I couldn’t help but make up an acronym).

Don’t limit yourself to strictly business tasks here. For example, I was spending hours each week planning and preparing meals because eating healthy is important to me (plus, I kinda like to cook). When business picks up, I outsource by purchasing pre-made salads and ordering local meal prep services a couple nights a week. Consider how much extra focus you could gain by hiring a personal chef, a housekeeper, or a personal assistant to run errands. Think about how much more of your full attention you could give family if you don’t have to constantly multi-task.

My upcoming ‘Bandwidth Builder Boot Camp’ course will provide accountability and walk you through the steps of streamlining your business leveraging this ECAD concept. If you’re interested in being a beta tester or getting a massive discount on the initial launch you can sign up here.

What are your favorite hacks for ECAD’ing business and household tasks? Tell me in the comments!

#2 – Know Your Real Purpose

Constantly evaluate why you’re doing what you’re doing. 

Long and short-term goals in your business are great but there must be a higher purpose to power you through the tough stuff. 

This is similar to features and benefits in copywriting and marketing. Features are usually tangible, the benefits not as much so. For example, Ruth Soukup (one of my favorite entrepreneurs) often shares her original goal was making enough money so her husband could quit his job. The benefits were much bigger and hard to measure – less stressed husband, huge confidence for her, the flexibility that being an entrepreneur gave her to make time for family and self-care, and the ability to use her God-given gifts to make a difference in the lives of so many she’s inspired.

Every time you are tempted to grow, consider the benefits not just the features. Remember, there is always a trade-off. Can you serve your higher purpose and the people in your life best by staying small, or do you have to grow to make that real? So many small business owners have figured out this balance and you know it when you meet them. They may seem stuck, but oftentimes it’s clarity.

#3 – Have High-Level Situational Awareness

Seeing your time and financial commitments at a glance is key for confident decision-making.

Our tendency is to track our schedules, tasks, and to-do’s separately, compartmentalizing.  We often do this with budgets, too.

This is a great skill in a lot of situations. As a pilot in a combat zone, I would compartmentalize personal issues to be sure I had 100% of my focus on the task at hand. Limiting or filtered views are great for helping us focus during work hours – or avoiding thoughts of work during personal time. 

That said, you’ve probably heard from many speakers and authors; we all have only 24-hour days. Likewise, there can ultimately only be as much money out as there is money in.

For me, the financial piece is important but time is where I floundered.

After constantly being told my family and friends “you’re doing too much!” is that just because you can fit it doesn’t mean you should. Plus, everything takes longer than you think it will (don’t worry, I can paper holder out in 20-minutes… after gathering the tools, running to the hardware store for spackle, and not including touching up the paint!).

Consolidating your schedules can be a huge help in making sure you don’t just go all…the…time… I think a lot of people don’t do it because it seems redundant.

I love block planning at the higher level, then having a more detailed to-do list that supports each block. 

Don’t forget to block free time, too. I personally suck at this. My husband likes to be spontaneous in our time off – and for a long time I hated it. To me, no commitments meant I could pack my day with my choice of activities. Then it would irk me when I had to cut my project short because he wanted me to come along on a last-minute unplanned activity. I had set myself up to be frustrated someone wanted to spend time with me – which is an obvious fail. 

I have tried a ton of calendar apps and planners over the years – and I have to say my favorite so far is still a combination of my Rocketbook Panda Planner (hardbound), OneCalendar (mobile app), and OneNote (mobile & desktop).

I fill in the planner in weekly and daily – and add to the monthly when I set appointments further than a week out. Anything that has a set time I duplicate on OneCalendar so I have an alarm. When I do the weekly plan I duplicate anything on the app that in the planner.

When I need to evaluate big changes, I turn to Excel. For example, starting school, a new long-term commitment during my work day, or maybe I want to build a better habit like exercise or one-on-one time with each of my boys.

I have two main tabs on the sheet. The first helps me calculate how many hours I’m working and my daily blocks.  On the other I consolidate all my big activities like vacations and holiday schedules on a 12-month calendar.  I update and print that quarterly (and give to the hubby).  Feel free to download my Hourly & Annual Schedule Spreadsheet Template for free!

#4 – Have A Clear Direction 

A clear, realistic plan for your business and personal goals is crucial.

What will it look like and how will you get there? A roadmap or plan will help you delegate and give autonomy; it will help you focus and avoid shiny objects, and enable you to align and prioritize your efforts.

Breaking a big plan down into small steps is how everything gets done, don’t let anyone tell you different. You can set yourself simple measures and checkups to stay on track, but the timeline is less relevant than to just keep moving forward.  

I want to emphasize this cannot just be in your head. I have worked with so many visionaries who are constantly frustrated by this. I promise, even if you don’t need it in writing everyone else does. It doesn’t matter how articulate you are in explaining. Without a document, diagram, or at least a list, the only thing you can be sure of is that what you see in your head is NOT what anyone else sees. Employees may not meet your intent, and your vision will be extremely hard to advocate for and champion (for example, with investors). Worst, if the message is slightly off everyone can lose credibility.

My favorite kind of roadmap is the simplest.  Draw out a timeline under cartoons of what each phase does.  If there are multiple parties that contribute to milestones, draw them in with some arrows. 

Having something as simple as this to go back to can be huge. Seeing your progress will motivate you. Seeing what’s left will keep you from doing the headless chicken dance. It’s not limiting but focusing. It can also help you avoid micromanaging because if major milestones are being met, you can let your team handle their own issues. I also suggest having a sandbox or parking lot for good ideas you just can’t fit…yet. 

#5 – Set and Respect Boundaries

Don’t compromise your integrity or your values, money will come and go.

Putting your core values in writing can be incredibly empowering.

Boundaries can be set for how you accomplish any and every task you do, what kind of people you work with, and the amount of time and money you spend.  If you are constantly pushing the boundary it’s a good sign you need to change something. 

Viewing tasks and interactions within the context of boundaries can lend a quantitative (even if it’s a bunch of binary yes/no’s) measure to help you recognize when your scope is creeping. Leveraging automated notifications, timers, and alarms can help you do the same with your budget and schedule.

It may not always be the easy path, but employees and customers will likely respect you more for sticking to your values.

Get Clear

I hope you take some time time to build a clear understanding of where you stand in these areas and it gives you the confidence and motivational boost you need to keep doing those things!

Would you like to see a downloadable workbook to help you work through how well you know each of these things for yourself? Let me know in the comments.