Have you ever noticed that some aspects of your business feel like they pull you in?   Emails, phone calls, small tasks, and other activities that come with a business are often in that category.  But have you ever stopped to think about whether or not they’re truly moving the needle in your business?  We call this business gravity, and Bradley shared how to recognize it in this video.

man holding a clock looking upset while peering out from behind a tall stack of paperwork

URGENT, BUT NOT IMPORTANT

How can something be urgent if it isn’t important?  Many tasks in our businesses are this way. The “ding” of an email catches your attention, and you consider pausing what you’re doing to answer before you forget.  However, you find yourself with just a few emails answered an hour later, and wonder where the time went.  Business Gravity often feels urgent, whether or not it is productive for you as a business owner.  When you are considering handling tasks like this, consider only doing them at specific times in the day.  This will help you focus on a different type of work.

IMPORTANT, BUT NOT URGENT

Just like “urgent but unimportant” sounds like an oxymoron, so does “important but not urgent.”  However, the most important work you can do as an owner tends to carry less business gravity.  After all, going over your important numbers may not feel urgent, but it is extremely important.  So is taking the time to plan your day, communicate intentionally, and thinking about your business.  You have to pull yourself away from those other tasks that vie for your attention in order to focus on what matters most.  Similar to what Bradley shared in another recent training, “It’s Not How Hard You Work,” you have to focus on needle moving activities.  Otherwise, your business will eventually plateau or even decline.

FIGHTING BUSINESS GRAVITY

You can fight the pull of those unimportant tasks using some of the methods shared above.  Other ways to do this are implementing simple planning tools along the way.  Bradley often shares how you can do Sunday Night Planning (join our Facebook group for FREE access to this tool – check the welcome post once you’re in!) as a way to take control of your week before it begins.  He encourages owners to step outside the day to day operations of a business in order to think about how it is doing, ways it can be improved, and more.  If you are intentional about priorities in your work as an owner, you’ll begin to feel the pull of business gravity less and less.

MORE RESOURCES TO FIGHT BUSINESS GRAVITY

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IT’S NOT ABOUT HOW HARD YOU WORK

If you’re like most entrepreneurs, you work really hard. You probably have days where you look back and think, “What did I even work on?” But it’s not just about how hard you work. Keep reading or watch…

BOOK COVER THE 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE REF THE COVEY MATRIX

Bradley referenced The Covey Matrix in this training.  It is from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. No matter how competent a person is, they will not have sustained and lasting success unless they can effectively lead themselves, influence, engage and collaborate with others and continuously improve and renew their capabilities. These elements are at the heart of personal, team, and organizational effectiveness.

text end owner dependence with two men discussing numbers on ipad

Do you feel like your business relies solely on you, even though you have a team?  Are you constantly worried about the day to day of your business?  If you step out of the office, is your mind still there?  When was the last time that you took more than a day or two off, and truly didn’t work?  Will you ever be able to end the owner dependence in your business? Keep reading…