Many business owners we encounter are right on the edge of burnout. They are working fifty or sixty-hour weeks, working during recitals and soccer games, and taking on the weight of their never-ending to-do lists. This is unsustainable.
In a recent interview with Co-owner of Covenant Plumbing, Lori Stickling, and Adi Klevit, Lori shared that she had struggled with issues that challenge many business owners, including task management, time management, delegation, and holding a leadership role. Adi and Lori discuss these challenges and share solutions that helped Lori go from working fifty-hour weeks to setting a reasonable schedule and taking vacations – all while growing her company.
Five Efficiency Tools That Prevent Burnout
These five strategies are designed to help business owners reclaim their time. They require work to implement, but once in place can help prevent burnout.
1. Document your tasks
What do you do daily, and why is that task list never-ending? If this is a question you ask yourself, it’s time to document your tasks. There are many ways to do this; some are more organized than others. We recommend utilizing a program like ClickUp or another project management tool to document your daily work.
By documenting what you do in a day within a task management platform, you are also recording tasks that you can later assign to another person. This brings us to the next tool:
2. Delegate
Look over all of those tasks you complete in a day. Are there any that should be accomplished by someone other than the business owner/CEO? If the answer is “yes,” it’s time to delegate.
Delegation looks different, depending on what resources you have. Here are three commonly used delegation tactics:
– Assign the task to a team member.
– Hire someone to accomplish the task.
– Utilize a system or automation tool to accomplish the task.
All of the above tactics are valid as long as the result is that you are not doing the job, but it’s still getting done.
3. Step into your role
One concept that Lori shared during the interview is that she really stepped into her role as CEO at her company and allowed her team to do the same. Taking ownership of your role makes it easy to determine what you need to do, what others should be doing, and how you can all work as a team.
4. Build business systems
Systematization builds efficiency and enables growth without spending even more time in the office. This article provides three steps you can take to get started with creating processes and procedures for your company. This article shares a “how to” for building systems.
Systems create stability, automation, and eases workloads. Building those systems takes time on the front end, but they benefit you and your team from there on out.
5. Create accountability
Every process must have accountability built in to ensure it is completed. There are many ways to create accountability, including:
- Setting up metrics that monitor whether or not something got done.
- Building a reporting system.
- Creating a checklist in project management software so a manager can view it.
- Creating a culture of collaboration so that check-ins come naturally to all who are part of a project.
Building accountability into your systems ensures your team continues to coordinate and move the business forward.
Are you ready to build business systems and create more time for yourself? Get in touch with the Business Success Consulting Group team. We are here to help.
