1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:04,960 Once you know what you are working towards, then every decision you make you 2 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:09,000 can put it through this filter of is it moving me closer to this thing 3 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:11,439 that I'm working towards. Is it moving me closer to my vision? Or 4 00:00:11,519 --> 00:00:14,000 is it not moving me closer to my vision? Because if it's not moving 5 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:17,160 you closer to your vision, it's taking up time that could be spent moving 6 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:22,679 you closer, so it's actually moving you further away. Welcome to Imperfect Action. 7 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:26,559 I'm Steph Taylor. For years, I read all the books, downloaded 8 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:30,519 all the freebies, and did all the courses, but it wasn't until I 9 00:00:30,519 --> 00:00:36,600 started taking imperfect action that my business had its first million dollar year. Imperfect 10 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:42,640 action is about doing things before you're ready, prioritizing consistent action over perfect action, 11 00:00:43,079 --> 00:00:47,520 and moving forward even when you're not sure you're doing it right. On 12 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:52,079 this show, you can expect mindset advice, actionable marketing tips and strategies to 13 00:00:52,079 --> 00:00:56,320 build a business that brings you more profit, more freedom, and even more 14 00:00:56,399 --> 00:01:00,840 joy. Are you on the list to get my Daydaily Businesses? Every day, 15 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:04,159 I'll send you a bite sized prompt designed to help you grow your business 16 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:08,159 in a more intentional way. Sign up at Steph Taylor dot Co, forward 17 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:15,239 slash DBB, or at the link in your show notes. Hey, welcome 18 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:19,599 back to In Perfect Action. This is episode seven hundred and twenty five. 19 00:01:19,359 --> 00:01:25,280 Seven things that are wasting your time in your business. Seven time wasters that 20 00:01:25,519 --> 00:01:30,719 are slowing down how quickly you are growing your business. When I survey my 21 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:34,280 audience twice a year, one of the biggest things that comes out every single 22 00:01:34,359 --> 00:01:40,200 time is that there's just not enough time in the day to do all of 23 00:01:40,239 --> 00:01:45,000 the things required to grow your business. And I can totally relate to that, 24 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:48,680 like, there is no shortage of things that you could choose to spend 25 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:53,760 your time doing every single day. But unfortunately, not all of these things 26 00:01:53,799 --> 00:01:57,120 are created equal. Not all of these things are going to have the same 27 00:01:57,359 --> 00:02:02,680 impact on your business growth and the direction that you're taking your business. So 28 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:07,400 today I'm going to share seven things that are potentially taking up your time that 29 00:02:07,519 --> 00:02:12,000 aren't the best use of your time. Number one, putting the cart before 30 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:14,919 the horse. So what do I mean by that? By that, I 31 00:02:15,039 --> 00:02:20,960 mean getting bogged down in figuring out the little details like, oh, which 32 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:23,599 email marketing platform should I use? Where should I build my email list? 33 00:02:23,599 --> 00:02:28,840 Should I be on Instagram or TikTok or YouTube shorts? Which podcast host is 34 00:02:28,879 --> 00:02:30,919 the best? I see that one a lot, and there's actually not a 35 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:34,360 whole lot of difference between all of the different podcast hosts. Oh, which 36 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:37,360 tools should I use to edit my videos? What color should I use for 37 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:42,800 this graphic? What font? All of the little details that don't really matter 38 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:47,159 so much, the things that aren't gonna make or break your success as much 39 00:02:47,319 --> 00:02:51,919 as getting the main thing out there. So what do I mean by that? 40 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:57,319 I mean choosing which podcast host. Spending days weeks choosing which podcast host 41 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:01,680 to host your new show isn't gonna make a difference once you get your podcast 42 00:03:01,759 --> 00:03:06,639 out there. But it feels a lot more comfortable to spend that time researching 43 00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:12,080 because there's not as much risk involved in that as recording a podcast episode and 44 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:15,120 putting it out into the world. And once you start recording those podcast episodes, 45 00:03:15,319 --> 00:03:21,039 you'll be so excited to get them out there that you'll realize it doesn't 46 00:03:21,039 --> 00:03:23,360 actually matter. I will just figure out which host suits me best. So 47 00:03:23,879 --> 00:03:28,919 I guess it's really what I mean by that is making the unimportant things more 48 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:34,840 important than the important thing. Okay, like once you start recording videos, 49 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:38,919 you will just figure out how to edit them. You'll just want to get 50 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:40,840 them out there into the world, so you'll learn how to edit them, 51 00:03:40,919 --> 00:03:45,439 or you'll hire an editor just so that you can get them out there faster. 52 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:49,960 Now, Seth Godin has this beautiful question that sometimes I like to reflect 53 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:53,400 on if I'm doing a bigger project, what has to be right before the 54 00:03:53,439 --> 00:03:58,240 rest can matter? So, in other words, what action do you need 55 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:03,120 to take before these little details even matter at all? And is worrying about 56 00:04:03,159 --> 00:04:09,680 these details just a form of procrastination that feels more comfortable for you, right 57 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:15,479 than taking that scary action and risking what could potentially go wrong when you put 58 00:04:15,479 --> 00:04:19,279 that video out there or you record that very first podcast. Okay, number 59 00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:25,439 two, The second big time waster is waiting around for inspiration to strike before 60 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:29,800 you take action. Now, if I only recorded podcast episodes when I felt 61 00:04:29,839 --> 00:04:33,279 inspired or when I thought I had something worthwhile to share, we'd be at 62 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:38,399 probably episode twelve, not seven hundred and twenty five. Right. It is 63 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:41,519 now just part of my routine. I have this task on my to do 64 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:46,079 list that repeats where I need to record a podcast episode and the episodes don't 65 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:51,439 get skipped, right. We haven't skipped an episode in probably well over a 66 00:04:51,519 --> 00:04:56,040 year now, and that's how it got to seven hundred and twenty five episodes. 67 00:04:56,120 --> 00:04:59,600 That's how it all grew. But I'm not talking about consistency. I 68 00:04:59,639 --> 00:05:01,720 know assistency is important, and I've talked about it a lot on this show. 69 00:05:02,079 --> 00:05:05,160 What I'm talking about is this kind of waiting mode that we can get 70 00:05:05,240 --> 00:05:09,399 into where we're like, oh, I will start that, but I can't 71 00:05:09,399 --> 00:05:13,360 start it just now because I'm not inspired, and that ends up wasting a 72 00:05:13,399 --> 00:05:16,959 lot of time. It ends up wasting a lot of mental energy that you 73 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:20,199 could have put to much better use. If you just started taking that action, 74 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:24,439 you would be a lot further forward than if you're sitting there, thinking, 75 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:29,120 planning, waiting for the right time. Now, I know that even 76 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:31,480 with this show, for example, I often will struggle to find that inspiration. 77 00:05:31,879 --> 00:05:35,000 But I know that as soon as I start taking that action, the 78 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:39,920 inspiration comes to me. But I have to take that action first before it 79 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:45,480 arises. Now, when I start recording, great, that's when I generally 80 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:47,199 just figure out what I'm talking about. I've got an outline, But once 81 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:50,720 I hit record, it becomes a lot easier than sitting there waiting for that 82 00:05:50,759 --> 00:05:55,759 inspiration to hit the record button. And I could wait for that for a 83 00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:59,279 long time. Number three, the third thing that is wasting your time is 84 00:05:59,279 --> 00:06:03,519 busy task that feel productive but that don't grow your business, like checking your 85 00:06:03,519 --> 00:06:09,920 emails five times or more every single day. I deliberately tell people that I 86 00:06:09,959 --> 00:06:13,199 am bad with emails, and I think I even have an auto responder that 87 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:16,519 says this. I reply to my emails in batches because it is so much 88 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:21,839 quicker than context switching, then doing one task and then quickly checking and replying 89 00:06:21,839 --> 00:06:26,079 to an email and then moving to another task. That takes up so much 90 00:06:26,079 --> 00:06:30,439 more time because you're constantly having to change what you are focusing on, rather 91 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:33,800 than sitting down and replying to one batch of emails in one go. I 92 00:06:33,839 --> 00:06:39,560 also generally will work with my phone on do not Disturb so that notifications come 93 00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:43,319 through cool. It doesn't derail my focus and it doesn't waste my time. 94 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:47,199 I guess. A big question also to ask yourself around this is could somebody 95 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:53,279 else do this thing? And if the answer is yes, then consider delegating 96 00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:57,399 that task. Another thing to ask is does this task need to happen. 97 00:06:57,519 --> 00:07:00,720 Is this actually producing a measurable result? And if it's not, then I 98 00:07:00,759 --> 00:07:06,000 would consider deleting the task. Okay, number four. The fourth big time 99 00:07:06,040 --> 00:07:12,120 waster in your business is trying to make everything perfect before you release it into 100 00:07:12,199 --> 00:07:15,240 the world, or just get it out there. Honestly, Once it is 101 00:07:15,279 --> 00:07:18,000 out there, then you can see what works. Then you can see, 102 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:21,560 oh, this is successful or this is not successful, and then we could 103 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:26,199 iterate from there, rather than waiting for it to be perfect and never getting 104 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:30,399 it out there in the first place. You won't know what works until you 105 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:33,399 have it out there and you can get that feedback loop. Right. I 106 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:36,040 love to think of this as, you know, a digital camera versus a 107 00:07:36,079 --> 00:07:39,759 film camera. A film camera you could point, you could shoot, you 108 00:07:39,759 --> 00:07:42,920 could take a photo, but you won't know for weeks whether the photo was 109 00:07:42,959 --> 00:07:45,680 any good because you have to wait for it to come back and then you 110 00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:47,600 can see, oh, it was out of focus or it was under exposed. 111 00:07:47,879 --> 00:07:51,079 Whereas a digital camera, you take a photo and you can see instantly, 112 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:55,560 oh the horizon's wonky, let me take that again. That is what 113 00:07:55,639 --> 00:08:00,240 taking action is like. It's like having that instant feedback of something's broken. 114 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:05,639 Great, let's fix that. I used to spend an hour creating a single 115 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:09,600 podcast episode, outlining it, recording it, editing it so it was perfect, 116 00:08:09,079 --> 00:08:11,800 and it would take up so much time, three episodes a week, 117 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:16,759 Right, But then I've realized, you know, my audience doesn't care whether 118 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:20,800 I say like or or uh, but they do care that I'm producing good 119 00:08:20,839 --> 00:08:26,639 content. And for me to produce good content, I can't be spending an 120 00:08:26,639 --> 00:08:30,800 hour on every episode. Now I don't edit my episodes anymore. But back 121 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:33,559 when I did, I realized, oh, I could save a lot of 122 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:37,360 time by just leaving in the filler words. Now, the other thing where 123 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:41,200 I see people getting stuck is editing captions, making them perfect before they can 124 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:45,000 publish that post to Instagram, recording their course content. They can get so 125 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:48,960 stuck on making the slides perfect and the outline perfect and the recording perfect, 126 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:52,799 and it ends up becoming this thing that takes so long it never gets out 127 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:56,240 there into the world. Back in episode seven hundred and fifteen, I talked 128 00:08:56,279 --> 00:09:01,600 a little bit about how you can use imperfect action and as a framework to 129 00:09:01,679 --> 00:09:05,440 get out of this place of being stuck and overthinking. So, if you 130 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:07,519 want to listen to the full episode. Dm me on Instagram. I'm there 131 00:09:07,519 --> 00:09:11,720 at Steph Taylor dot co. Send me seven one five, seven hundred and 132 00:09:11,759 --> 00:09:15,399 fifteen as the number and I will send you the link to that episode. 133 00:09:15,399 --> 00:09:18,279 You'll also find a link to that episode in the show notes below. Okay, 134 00:09:18,679 --> 00:09:24,720 number five, number five the fifth time waster over complicating every single task 135 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:31,320 in your business and every single project. I love Tim Ferriss's example from his 136 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:33,480 book Tribe of Mentors, where he talks about how when he sat down to 137 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:37,799 write the book, he kept over complicating it, and he came back to 138 00:09:37,799 --> 00:09:41,759 this question, what would this look like if it were easy? And in 139 00:09:41,799 --> 00:09:46,519 his in that situation, the easy version was to interview a bunch of people 140 00:09:46,519 --> 00:09:50,399 who had been successful in their field and compile that into a book. What 141 00:09:50,480 --> 00:09:54,720 would this look like if it were easy? So often I see this with 142 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:58,320 online business owners, especially when it comes to something like creating a course or 143 00:09:58,360 --> 00:10:03,279 launching a pot. I see them trying to go from zero to one hundred, 144 00:10:03,799 --> 00:10:07,240 instantly, trying to add all of the bells and whistles into their first 145 00:10:07,279 --> 00:10:11,279 launch, and then they get so overwhelmed because there's so many different things to 146 00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:15,440 do, and it never ends up happening. So rather than that, what 147 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:20,519 is the minimum viable version of this? For example, if you're creating an 148 00:10:20,519 --> 00:10:24,840 online course, could you potentially teach that online course as a live workshop first 149 00:10:26,279 --> 00:10:28,919 to test the idea and to test the content before you go and spend six 150 00:10:28,960 --> 00:10:33,240 months outlining and recording and creating all of it. Could you potentially teach it 151 00:10:33,279 --> 00:10:37,440 as a group program instead, where you're teaching it week by week, instead 152 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:43,600 of spending twelve months outlining some kind of course that you've never taught before. 153 00:10:43,919 --> 00:10:48,000 Right. For example, with this show, for so long I put off 154 00:10:48,360 --> 00:10:52,879 doing YouTube versions of each episode because I thought that it had to be this 155 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:56,879 perfect quality video with awesome editing, you know, all of the jump cuts 156 00:10:56,919 --> 00:11:01,360 and the cool text that comes over the top. But I thought, you 157 00:11:01,360 --> 00:11:03,440 know what, let's keep this simple. I record it with my webcam, 158 00:11:03,440 --> 00:11:07,799 which is pretty good quality, and let's just see if people want to watch 159 00:11:07,799 --> 00:11:13,399 the video versions first before we go and spend even more time editing the video 160 00:11:13,519 --> 00:11:16,600 versions to make them look really fancy and go and create some kind of crazy 161 00:11:16,679 --> 00:11:22,360 editing process. Okay, Number six. Next thing that is wasting your time 162 00:11:22,399 --> 00:11:26,080 and your business is saying yes to things that you don't want to do coffee 163 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:28,360 catch ups. Oh. I used to say yes to all of these, 164 00:11:28,399 --> 00:11:31,279 and you know, it felt like just thirty minutes in my calendar, but 165 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:35,440 then it was thirty minutes of driving and then finding a park, and then 166 00:11:35,519 --> 00:11:37,600 it would be I'd get back and I'd have to try and get myself back 167 00:11:37,639 --> 00:11:41,399 into the flow of work. So generally I say no to coffee catch up. 168 00:11:41,480 --> 00:11:45,879 Now collaborations. I say no to a lot of collaborations that come my 169 00:11:45,879 --> 00:11:48,559 way because they don't excite me or I don't think that they're going to be 170 00:11:48,639 --> 00:11:52,799 the best use of my time. All of these things fill our calendars, 171 00:11:52,799 --> 00:11:54,720 they make us feel like we've got some purpose and we're busy and all of 172 00:11:54,759 --> 00:12:01,840 that, but they don't necessarily move them. They can be a massive time 173 00:12:01,879 --> 00:12:05,639 waster. And another question this is also actually from the book Tribe of Mentors 174 00:12:05,679 --> 00:12:11,039 as well from Tim Ferriss's book. I can't remember exactly who came up with 175 00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:13,840 this or who shared this, but the question that I reflect on is would 176 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:16,600 I say yes to this if it were tomorrow, If this thing that I 177 00:12:16,600 --> 00:12:20,879 am committing to today were happening tomorrow morning, would I still want to do 178 00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:26,000 this, and that's been a really good gauge because a lot of the time 179 00:12:26,039 --> 00:12:28,600 we think a month from now, oh, I'm going to have so much 180 00:12:28,639 --> 00:12:31,000 more free time. I'm going to be able to do all of these things 181 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:33,120 that I want to do. But in reality, that free time is going 182 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:35,759 to fill itself as well. So would you say yes to this thing if 183 00:12:35,759 --> 00:12:39,039 it were happening tomorrow, Yes or no? And if it's a no, 184 00:12:39,279 --> 00:12:43,360 then maybe consider saying no to that thing all together. This also goes for 185 00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:46,360 tasks that you don't want to do. For example, if you are creating 186 00:12:46,399 --> 00:12:50,240 content for TikTok because everyone out there is telling you you need to be on 187 00:12:50,279 --> 00:12:54,399 TikTok otherwise your business isn't going to succeed. But you hate doing that, 188 00:12:54,519 --> 00:13:00,200 then consider deleting that task. I'm a big fan of deleting things that they're 189 00:13:00,639 --> 00:13:03,600 not lighting me up, not moving the needle, that get them off my 190 00:13:03,639 --> 00:13:07,360 plate. If you're considering working with a client that you don't want to work 191 00:13:07,399 --> 00:13:09,879 with, maybe they're a painful client, or they're exhibiting some red flags, 192 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:15,240 or you're just not that excited about working with them, you can say no. 193 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:20,039 When you say yes to the wrong client that takes up space that could 194 00:13:20,039 --> 00:13:24,440 be filled by the right client. And I know it feels really scary because 195 00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:28,799 you're saying no to potential income, but by opening up that space, you're 196 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:33,799 allowing something better to come into its place. And then finally, number seven, 197 00:13:33,879 --> 00:13:37,240 the seventh time waster in your business is not knowing what to focus on 198 00:13:37,360 --> 00:13:41,279 at any given time. So chasing all of the shiny ideas, being really 199 00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:45,519 scattered, working on whatever you feel like working on, but not really moving 200 00:13:45,519 --> 00:13:50,879 forward on anything in particular focus gets you there a lot faster. And I 201 00:13:50,919 --> 00:13:56,480 say this as somebody who has ADHD who struggles with focus. Unfortunately, focus 202 00:13:56,600 --> 00:14:00,320 is incredibly important and if you are like me where you struggle to find that 203 00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:05,200 focus, that is where having external structure can be really helpful, having systems, 204 00:14:05,240 --> 00:14:09,799 having a team to support you, having external accountability, Like I would 205 00:14:09,799 --> 00:14:13,080 not be able to focus on creating these episodes if I didn't have that external 206 00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:18,519 accountability of my podcast listeners expecting a new episode from me every Monday, Wednesday, 207 00:14:18,519 --> 00:14:22,399 Friday. It also helps knowing what your vision is for your business and 208 00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:26,320 having that clarity for your business model, because once you know what you are 209 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:31,080 working towards, then every decision you make, you can put it through this 210 00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:35,080 filter of is it moving me closer to this thing that I'm working towards. 211 00:14:35,159 --> 00:14:37,679 Is it moving me closer to my vision? Or is it not moving me 212 00:14:37,759 --> 00:14:41,279 closer to my vision? Because if it's not moving you closer to your vision, 213 00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:43,240 it's taking up time that could be spent moving you closer, so it's 214 00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:48,879 actually moving you further away. Okay, So I have a free work book. 215 00:14:48,879 --> 00:14:52,000 It's called Escape the Messy Middle, and in that workbook you will get 216 00:14:52,039 --> 00:14:56,039 complete clarity on where your business is heading so that you can start to grow 217 00:14:56,080 --> 00:15:01,519 your business with more intention and focus. You can grab that ebook at Stephtaylor 218 00:15:01,559 --> 00:15:03,639 dot co. Slash EMM will pop a link to that in the show notes, 219 00:15:03,919 --> 00:15:07,799 or you can send me a DM on Instagram. I'm there at steph 220 00:15:07,799 --> 00:15:11,679 Taylor EMM. Just one word those three letters in one word, and I 221 00:15:11,679 --> 00:15:15,559 will send you the link to download that free workbook. Now, if you've 222 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:18,360 learned anything from this episode or any of the episodes that I have shared so 223 00:15:18,559 --> 00:15:22,480 far, I have two little favors to ask of you. Firstly, please 224 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:26,240 tell a friend about this episode, hit the share button, copy the link 225 00:15:26,279 --> 00:15:30,559 and send it to them. Somebody who is maybe starting out in business, 226 00:15:30,679 --> 00:15:33,720 or somebody who have been in business for a little while. They might be 227 00:15:33,759 --> 00:15:37,200 spending time on things that aren't really moving the needle on their business. So 228 00:15:37,279 --> 00:15:41,519 share this episode with them because it's how I get to help more people. 229 00:15:41,759 --> 00:15:43,759 And the second thing that I would love to ask is if you haven't yet 230 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:48,919 left a rating and a review in Apple Podcasts, please do so. It 231 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:52,360 takes thirty seconds. I read every single one of them. It means a 232 00:15:52,399 --> 00:15:54,360 lot to me, and it means a lot to my team as well. 233 00:15:54,399 --> 00:15:58,480 We put so much time and effort into creating this show, and you know 234 00:15:58,519 --> 00:16:00,399 it's a free show, right We're putting a lot of value out there for 235 00:16:00,519 --> 00:16:06,360 free. So I really do appreciate every single reading and review that comes through. 236 00:16:06,799 --> 00:16:07,879 Thank you so much for listening. Catch you next time.