The 8-Hour Workday Habit

          Have you ever heard of the game called Superfection?  It's a timed game, where you fit pieces together into the shape of squares on a board.  If you do not get all of the pieces on the board before the time is up, the board pops up with a loud "kapow" and the pieces go flying.  I had it as a child, and spent many hours beating the timer.  Recently, my daughter pulled the game out, and I heard the familiar sound of the timer, the "kapow", and her squeal as she played.  Of course, my son and I had to get involved.  I remembered that my best time was 60 seconds, and the challenge was set.
          Amazingly, I recalled the skills I had developed when I was younger and was quickly able to bring my time down to 59 seconds.  My son was impressed with how calm and deliberate my hands were as I played.  My kids are still working on it.  Then my son had an intriguing idea.  What if we set the timer to only have 60 seconds on it?  What would happen when we weren't just beating our time, but we were under pressure to beat the game's "kapow?"
          As a small business owner, you put in as many hours as your business needs to be successful.  You often have 12 to 14-hour days, and never a day so short as 8 hours.  As a matter of fact, you could say that you are in the habit of working long hours.  The thing about habits is that they become ingrained.  We perform the habit's motions but lose the meaning.  
          Business owners in the habit of working long days lose a sense of time.  Since they are "at work" most of the day, tasks can take as long as they need to.  If you are in a service business, appointments can run long, because your day is booked in units of customers instead of units of time.  You just start at the beginning and work until you've seen all the customers on you schedule for that day.  This can be true of other business types.  The mindset is on completing the task, not on the time it takes to do it.  
          While giving the customer or task as much time as it takes may seem like superior customer service, in reality, it leads to inefficiencies and waste.  The customer may not appreciate that you are consistently late to start their appointment (because of the overlap from previous appointments), or that their appointment with you runs long.  Taking longer to complete tasks most often does not mean that you did a better job, it just means that it took longer and so your day stretches on.
          Another effect of an endless day is that you begin to mix your personal activities with your work time.  Since you are never home and never have time off, you begin to take care of your personal emails, bill paying, phone calls, and maybe even errands during business time.  This is a matter of survival, right?  If not now, when?  The result is that you always have a working mindset.  You never give yourself down time, you never feel you are away from the business, and burnout drags you down further.
          I propose that you take a different approach.  Set the timer to as much time as you want to give your business in a day, before you start your day.  You may even set a reminder to go off an hour before your day ends, so that you can take stock and wind up your day.  Start with a 10-hour day, because cutting too much time off too quickly will lead to frustration.  Since you are creating a new habit, you will have a learning curve.  Plan on struggling with it at first, but just like a diet, forgive yourself and start fresh with the next day.
          You will need to clear your personal activities off your work day calendar.  You will need to schedule a reasonable day.  You can use tools from The Busyness Habit to help.  Be firm about the timer and end your day when it goes off.  You will be amazed at how quickly you will adjust to the day, and your new habit will be to go home at a reasonable hour.
          Playing Superfection with the threat of the "kapow" caused me to go back to some old struggles.  My hands were shaking and I had trouble getting the pieces to fit together.  But then, I took a deep breath, reminded myself that I could to this, and went back to calmly beating the timer.

Photo courtesy of marketplaceadvisor.channeladvisor.com

The Busy Habit

          As a small business owner, you know what busy is.  Often, you are wearing multiple hats and performing jobs in which you have little or no training or background.  You know you'll figure it out eventually, or grow your business and hire someone else to do it.  In the meantime, you are spending a lot of time learning new skills and, well, running a business.
          Busy is an attitude, not a state of being.  Creating habits to help you stay organized and manage your schedule can reduce your stress level, and give you confidence in your day.  You will probably have as much, or more, to do; but you will feel like it is manageable.  

• First, write out your to do list, highlight the important tasks (no more than five), cross off the rest, then store the list in your drawer.  The To Do List exercise is a good tool to focus your thoughts and help you keep your eye on the big ticket items, but you can burn a lot of time tending to it and a long list can make you feel defeated before you've even started.  At the end of the day, get out the list and rewrite it for the next day, adding any tasks that came in during the day, but save the highlighting for when you are fresh the next morning.  Put a big check mark next to completed items and enjoy that satisfying feeling.  
• Second, set realistic expectations early and often.  Your customers, suppliers, and employees may demand more from your business than you are prepared or capable of giving.  Know your limitations, communicate that, and then stick to them.  You may have to get in the habit of considering your calendar and capabilities before you accept a new obligation.  Practice saying "sure, but can I get that to you tomorrow (or another reasonable time frame)?"
• Last, use your email program to organize and schedule your time, then commit to sticking to it.  Most programs come with reminders, tasks, and the ability to move emails to your calendar.  Categorize your emails and tasks during your To Do List exercise.  Block time on your calendar for administrative tasks, phone calls, meetings, and follow up.  When you are obligating yourself or your business, open the calendar and use it.

If you keep these three points in mind as you work through your day, how you spend your time becomes easy.  Just like a diet or new exercise regime, being organized is a habit.  The initial effort takes time, but eventually it will become a background part of your day.  If you find yourself slipping, or you have a "busy" day, take a deep breath, remember that tomorrow is another chance, and forgive yourself.