15 hour workweek

Hola lovebugs,

I get asked this question a lot. So you know what dat means…

Time for an article about it.

El questiono in question:

Is it really possible to have a six figure business and not work full time hours?

What about in the beginning when you first start out?

Here’s my story:

Yes it is possible. Yes it is doable.

I’ve never worked full time in my company – I worked as an editor for business.gov.au as a cubicle job for years before I stopped to have a baby. During that time, I just fit in my company wherever I could manage it with self-care regulations in tact – I worked on my company during lunch hours, my commute and at night time (before my 9:30 self care bedtime). I didn’t get six figures within my first year – but my business doubled each year in size and ended up becoming my family’s sole income after my daughter was born.

I’m now the CEO of a company that does about 3/4 of a million dollars in revenue each year. We have no full time staff.

I work 2-3 hours a day. During really crazy busy times, I will work 5 hours a day for 5 days a week (for a whopper of a 25 hour work week) – but I don’t do it that often or for that long.

I never work nights or weekends.

My priority is spending as much time with my family as possible, and having a gorgeous life WHILE living my soul purpose and helping as many people as I can.

And yet, even with that schedule, my business continues to grow at a pretty amazing rate.

I’m going to be sharing with you what I get done in those 15 hours each week, and also my secrets to reducing your hours.

What I Get Done In My Work Week:

  • Managing my team and assigning what needs to be done
  • Write my weekly blog post article (sometimes 2 or 3)
  • Write my ezine note
  • Run a team meeting with my staff to make sure we’re all on track
  • Check in at the Academy and make sure it’s all working beautifully
  • Do interviews
  • Educating myself – reading and IMPLEMENTING business and marketing books and programs
  • Creating marketing plans and strategies
  • Setting weekly/monthly goals and checking in on yearly goals
  • Do focussed bursts of activity on Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // Pinterest
  • Creating new programs and bonuses for Academy members
  • and most of all, focus on the Big Project (whatever the company is focussing on at the time). For example, right now we’re finishing up the redesign of the 2014 editions of the Create Your Amazing Year in Life and Business workbooks. These are our yearly best seller and take a whole lot of work to pull together. This year we’re also offering it as a lush, large, full colour printed book on Amazon as well. It’s taken a huge amount of effort to do the full redesign. It’s been five years since I created them and they needed a refresh, and they are looking SO good!
    With these big projects I’m always creating new content/audio/videos, planning out the strategy for them, writing sales pages and project managing their birth into the world.  These big projects end up taking most of my time each week.

The Secrets To My 15 Work Week

1. Fucking Focus

“Great,” I hear you saying. “I know, I know, I’m supposed to focus. Seriously, that’s like the most overused productivity word ever.”

To which I say “That’s nice, but are you fucking doing it?”

(I say this with love of course.)

Here’s what it looks like when I turn up and focus:

I turn up to work. I know I have 2-3 hours of dedicated work time before I need/want to get back to my family.

So I turn up every day and say to myself:

“What do I need to do today to drive my company forward? What can I do that will make maximum impact with minimum effort?”

Seriously, MAKE SURE YOU ASK YOURSELF THOSE DAMN QUESTIONS.

2. Commit to paper what you need to do and look at it constantly as you work

I have a pad of paper beside me everytime I sit down to work. On it, there’s a list of all the things I want to do today. I always write way more than I can achieve, because that keeps me motivated.

And I refer back to it constantly.

“Am I on task right now? Is this the most important thing that needs doing right now? Am I getting distracted?”

If I’m not crossing things off my list, I’m distracted and need to get back to the things that matter.

3. Eliminate Distractions

Either turn off your internet, go somewhere without wifi or use the Self Control App to block access to social media.

Seriously people. I’m doing more work in my 2-3 hours than you’re doing in you 7-12 hours of pussy footing around online.

I’m saying this with love. Again.

I’m saying this because I know that if I DON’T focus using the above principles, it will take me three times the amount of time to do the same amount of work.

4. Update your business & marketing knowledge

I try and spend 25% of my time upgrading my business & marketing knowledge by reading books & doing programs.

Most of all, it’s not just about accumulating knowledge, it’s about IMPLEMENTING it. I always have action steps written down every time I am learning something, and I implement it straight away.

By learning new things, your mind and your business open up to whole new vistas.

Invest in yourself, yo. And start implementin’!

5. Grow your money mindset

I’ve talked before about clearing your money blocks. It’s an ongoing process – I’m constantly opening up to new vistas of what is possible. For Academy members, make sure you check out my recommended reading list in the Academy for the best money mindset books.

It’s funny, I just read Forbes’ magazine from earlier this year on the world’s billionaires. And it totally made me think “HOLY DING BAG! THEY ARE PLAYING SO BIG! I AM ONLY PLAYING IN HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS RIGHT NOW!”

I was just so inspired to read too about how so many of them are engaged in philanthropy and are doing such big and wonderful things in the world.

If you think “rich = selfish” or that the lottery is the only way for you to get to a million, I would really recommend shifting your money mindset and start reading money books.

6. Use accountability to keep you honest

If I am lagging on getting my shit done, I use public accountability. I post in one of my mastermind groups my list of things to do that day, and say I’ll check back in in one hour with how I’ve gotten. And you can bet your ass I work my tooshee off in that hour. I don’t wanna turn back up in an hour and be all “YEAH LOL NAH DID NUFFIN.”

It’s like productivity as performance art. And it freakin’ works BIG TIME.

7. Robots Are Our Friends: Automate FTW!

Systems are a damn good thing. Whatever you can do to automate, do it nowsville.

For example:

  • have a bloody great standard operating procedures that documents everything that needs doing in the company
  • have canned responses for all your frequently asked email questions
  • have a designated time of the day for you (or your VA) to respond to all emails/FB messages instead of backing and fro-ing
  • write checklists for everything you do (for example, I’ve got a launch checklist and sales page checklist that I refer to everytime I create them)
  • use LastPass to save all your passwords
  • use Basecamp for project management instead of emailing back and forward with team/contractors
  • have automatic scheduled emails set up for e-courses and downloads.

Basically, whatever happens often in your business – create a system around it and try and make it as efficient as possible (i.e. needing as little time from you or your staff as possible).

Extra resource: I talk more about this in the Shining Six Figure Team System if you’re interested.

8. Passive income, sales that don’t require you or high end services

Either concentrate on more high end, higher-priced services, or on creating passive income (i.e. products) that don’t need your energy everytime they are bought. Or have sales that don’t require you – having staff that enable you to keep leveraging your business to the next level.

9. Don’t say YES to everything

I don’t say yes to every interview request I get, or JV request. I don’t say yes to every work opportunity that comes my way (i.e. to sign with a book licensing agent, or speak at a conference.)

I don’t say yes because I know that everything has an opportunity cost. If I say yes, it takes away time and energy and brainspace to work on other things – things that could be more lucrative or more on soul purpose.

And if opportunities aren’t being presented to me that I want, I actively go after the ones I do want and make them happen instead.

10. Have good support

I have a good team that doesn’t drop the ball on things. I know I can rely on them. I’ve assigned them to do all the things that don’t actively need me in the equation. At a certain point, your time becomes the most valuable thing in your company, so anything you can do to have support to help you row the boat and keep it sailing brilliantly is a good thing. (I talk more about creating a great team in this resource if you want to know more.)

11. Mantra

This is my abundant work week mantra:

Maximum Impact

Minimum Effort

How can I turn up today and help the most amount of people possible?

How can I shine my light in the biggest way possible?

Worthy words to live by.

I’m wishing you love, abundance + wisdom,