During a coaching conversation with my client David recently, he mentioned several times how he wished he had time to do this or that.
“All the administrivia is eating up my day. If I could just find time to get to those couple of exciting projects, I could really make a difference in the growth and future of the business.”
First, let’s define “administrivia.” It’s the doing of things that create small, incremental moves forward, but may or may or not drive the growth of the business. Administrivia can include:
• data entry
• returning phone calls
• scheduling appointments
• serving on a committee or board for a networking group – and having multiple responsibilities and tasks/to do’s
• creating packets of any sort
• typing up notes
• populating a project management system
• filing
• enter information into your bookkeeping software
• stuffing, stamping, and sealing mailings
• lots and lots of other little things
Next, let’s go back to my earlier blog post about scheduling thinking time. If we take thinking time one step further, it becomes action time – or project time. This is time when actual work or projects get started, are kept moving, and get finished. When they are finished, do as Seth Godin advises and SHIP! Shipping means releasing the product to your clients, or rolling out the new initiative, or launching that existing program to the new niche audience you uncovered during your thinking time.
Action time – which is populated from your “I wish” list, adds tremendous value to your business. These aren’t little piddly tasks – you’re scheduling precious time to get important work done. And you either leave the administrivia for later – OR you hire someone to do it for you.
There’s a popular saying (from a popular book by Brian Tracy) that encourages you to eat your frog – meaning: do the difficult or important activities FIRST. The same goes for important projects – do them FIRST and give them priority in your schedule.
The administrivia will get done – either by you or (hopefully) by someone else.
Get into the habit of scheduling action or project time. Pay attention to the initiatives you get off the ground. Pay attention to what you’re rolling out. And pay attention to what happens to the bottom line when you get serious about (1) scheduling thinking time and (2) tackling that “I wish” list.
Never thought about your “I wish” list? Struggling mightily with the administrivia in your business? We can help! Let’s work together to get you UNSTUCK so you can release your creativity and do your best work. Contact us at (704) 553-8082 or [email protected].
So right! Getting the administrivia (great word, by the way) done can be a challenge, especially if we tend to procratinate. Blocking time is effective & even pleasant because I can focus on the admin stuff as I would any other project, & afterwards see & feel an immediate improvement.