🎯 Work Smart Wednesday - December 18, 2024
How to set better goals, why you might like to become two people, and a quote about your self
Work Smart Wednesday
👋 Hey there!
Here is your fortnightly dose of Work Smart Wednesday.
In these emails I will share with you 3 things to help you work smarter.
1. 🏆 How to set better goals
Most people’s goals suck for the same reason - the goal they set is outside of their locus of control.
You need to be able to directly influence the variable you are measuring. You need to be able to control the goal.
For example:
❌Goal: Get 10 new clients per month.
This is a bad goal because I cannot control whether somebody buys from me or not.
✅ Goal: Reach out to 10 potential clients per week
This is a good goal because it is SMART and process-based. I can directly control whether I reach out to 5 potential clients per week. I know the input (reaching out) is likely to lead to the output (paying clients). If I consistently take these actions, I’ve done my part. I’ve succeeded. Paying clients will come as a natural result of my efforts.
This small tweak in how you make your goals doesn’t only improve their effectiveness, it also helps you to take action on the goal more consistently.
Research in ‘97 by Zimmerman and Kitsantas showed focusing on the process rather than the outcome improved performance by 69.97%.
As I wrote back in January last year, when you focus on the process - not just the outcome - you focus on what you can control.
Make sure you goals this year are processed-based. You will achieve much more, much more easily.
🆕 You can now earn my template “29 Templates On How To Say No”.
🎁 Receive rewards for referring your friends 🎁
📩 A complete template for every common request you want to say no to in your business. Reclaim your time and energy, easily avoid time wasters.
This custom template is not sold anywhere, you can only get it by sending Work Smart Wednesday to your friend. I rotate these templates monthly. This template is only available in December.
2. 👯♀️ Why you might like to become two people
Many entrepreneurs wish they could duplicate themselves, wouldn’t work be so much easier if there were two of you?
What many don’t think about is how much better life could be if they split themselves in half. Let me explain:
Many entrepreneurs get "lost" in their business. Their entire life becomes consumed by their business, and they lose their identity. They are no longer their name, they are their business. This often leads to business problems, relationship problems, and burnout.
I am a big believer that, as entrepreneurs, work and life are intertwined. There isn't necessarily a clear split - entrepreneurship is a way of being. You spot problems and you want to solve them. It is somewhat akin to being religious, it is a faith and feeling, and while it can be learned to a certain extent it affects your entire world perception.
Something counterintuitive that can help you not only become a better entrepreneur but also a better partner, friend, community member, and person in general is to treat yourself like two different people.
For example, for me there is work John, and there is life John.
Introducing a routine to "wake up" or "put to sleep" one or the other John helps me to more clearly separate work and life, but more importantly it helps me retain my humanity and sense of self. Life John can sometimes think about Work John - both Johns still exist and sometimes one does bleed into the other - but having a clear boundary helps me to show up as the best version of myself in the correct situation.
Having a separate “life John” allows me to actually go out and enjoy my life, to retain hobbies, and to build relationships, all without feeling guilty. I can say to myself “this is life John’s time to shine". It helps me to switch off from work, as work issues are a “work John” problem not a “life John” problem.
This concept of having two distinct contexts, to split yourself positively, signficantly helped my client Ghayth who then saw his happiness skyrocket and his business run much more smoothly.
Splitting can be painful at first as there is often a realisation that “life you” might not really exist anymore and you may need to rebuild them from scratch.
Are you “work you” or “life you” right now? When should each person come to exist?
Perhaps there is an opportunity to create space for “life you” to enjoy the spotlight for some time over the holidays this year. You and your loved ones are sure to appreciate it.
Here is a clip from a real session with me where Ghayth talks about how much of a difference treating himself as two different people has made for him and his business.
3. 💡 Quote I'm pondering
"Make two people proud: Your 8-year-old self and your 80-year-old self” - David Perell
Your 8-year old self likely had wild dreams and exciting ambitions for the future. Your 80-year old self is likely concerned with any regrets or missed opportunities of the past.
Our present self’s job is to balance the needs, wants, and desires of those two versions of us in the context of our current present life.
It isn’t an easy job, but by being conscious of the three of “us” we can make it all a little easier and do that job a little better.
👋 Want to work together?
When you’re ready, here are 2 ways I can help you:
🔍 Clarity Call - We will discuss your situation and create a step-by-step action plan together so you know exactly what you need to do next for maximum impact
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That's it! I can't wait to hear what you think. What did you find most useful? What do you want more or less of? Reply to this email now and let me know
Also, if you have anything interesting to share, I want to know about it😊
Have a great week,
John
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