927: ACTION SATURDAY (create your "not-to-do" list!)
What could you achieve if you stopped focusing on the wrong tasks? In this transformative episode of Action Saturday, our host Brian Lofrumento challenges you to rethink your to-do list by creating a "not-to-do" list. Drawing from his early entrepreneurial experiences, Brian reveals the importance of tracking your time to identify non-essential activities that drain your resources. Learn how to focus your efforts on what truly moves the needle, whether it’s during revenue season or strategic planning periods.
Discover how different seasons and stages in your business journey demand different priorities. By aligning your actions with your goals, you can make every quarter your most productive yet. Brian shares insights on recognizing shifts in focus, from revenue-generating activities to foundational work, especially during quieter times like Q3. Prepare to revolutionize your productivity and make significant strides in your entrepreneurial journey with actionable tips and personal stories that highlight the power of intentional effort. Don't miss this chance to refine your focus and maximize your impact!
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Hey, what is up?
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Wontrepreneurs and entrepreneurs all over the world, it's Brian Lofermento here, host of the Wontrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast, and this is going to be a very simple yet very actionable Action Saturday episode.
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That really the impetus is on you to sit down and put in the work that we're gonna very briefly go over here today, because today's action is all about creating a not-to-do list.
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Yes, you heard that right, we all have our to-do lists, but what I would argue that we equally need to prepare for the week, for the month, for the quarter, is a not-to-do list, and you've heard me on so many occasions here on this podcast talk about the importance of tracking your time and understanding where your time and your energy and your resources are going.
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I think that us, as business owners, I feel like when we use the term entrepreneur, we get away from the fact that we are chief executive officers.
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We are business owners and in order to do that, we need to track all the things.
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We need to track where our money is going, we need to track where our resources are going.
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We need to track what is going on digitally, like traffic to our website, if we're growing our social media accounts, if that's something that you're investing in.
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But of course, we also need to track our time, and when you know where it is that you're spending your time, then, and only then, can you start being more strategic and more intentional with it.
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And so I firsthand know this this is really the inspiration behind today's Action Saturday episode is that I know firsthand.
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When I was a newer entrepreneur gosh, probably the first few years of being an entrepreneur I was spending my time on a lot of different things that didn't actually move the needle forward, that didn't actually bring me the tangible results that I was looking for.
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And I think when we talk about having a not-to-do list, it's important to recognize that at different stages of our business journey, at different stages of our personal development journeys, at different stages of life and different seasons of the year, there's always different times where we are prioritizing different things.
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For example, I love revenue season.
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That is the time of year where I just say, okay, it's money-making season.
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This is the time of year where we have to focus on all the activities and only the activities that bring revenue through the door, whereas at other times I'm more in strategic planning mode and I'm planning for the next year, for example, here towards the end of Q3, that's what I love to do is that Q4 should be a very profitable quarter.
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That is almost universally true.
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When it comes to businesses, q4 is a very rewarding time, and so for me here in Q3, I really love focusing on the foundational elements.
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For most of my customers, especially here in the United States, q3 is summertime, things slow down, and so there's a different set of things that I work on.
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I work on the foundational elements that are going to start paying off come the new year, come Q1, come making money through Q4, I'm setting up those foundational elements, which spoiler alert that's going to tie into tomorrow's Solo Sunday episode.
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I'm excited to talk about those foundational elements and really share some insights with you.
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But at the crux of today's episode really is that recognition of hey, here's what I'm spending my time on, here's the results that I'm actually interested in pursuing and measuring, and here's the tangible ways that I will say, hey, look, I'm moving forward.
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And with those two things in mind, you have to sit down and look at where that that misalignment is and look at where you can say, hey, I'm not going to spend time on these things.
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I remember when I was a newer entrepreneur.
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It was working on my website, it was looking at all these different tools and making the perfect email signature and all these things that I was working on, and that's why today's episode is about picking out the things that you should not be working on, picking out the things that are not going to move you forward in the direction of whatever metric it is that you're pursuing for the next 30, 60, 90 days.
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What I really want you to do is sit down and say look, if this is the one goal that I'm interested in whether it be revenue, partnerships, relationships, referrals, foundational elements, operations, customer fulfillment, onboarding, hiring, whatever it is that you're interested in Okay, get clear on that.
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And then make sure you're also clear on what are the activities and the actions that will move you closer to that.
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And then this Action Saturday episode is all about also creating the list of what not to do, and have that list visible.
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Have it on a post-it note on your computer monitor.
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Have it on your Post-it note on your computer monitor, have it on your desk, have it on your desktop, your digital desktop.
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Have it somewhere where you're always going to see it, so when you sit down and you inevitably start working on those things you're not supposed to be doing.
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You see your not-to-do list and you stop working on them and you start focusing in the direction of your goals.
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That's it for me in today's episode.
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I know it's a short one, but remember, these Action Saturday episodes are designed to be short so that you get a quick listen and then you actually go do the work.
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So get out there, take action.
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I'll see you right back here tomorrow.
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