The start of a new year can feel like a new chapter in our lives. If you weren’t happy with how 2022 went, then now’s the time to decide to make 2023 different, by working smarter not harder.
Last year was huge for our industry. The residential market was booming – thanks to increases in house prices coupled with low interest rates. Enquiries seemed to be flowing in without effort and everyone was busy. By the end of the year, the number one feeling for most business owners we spoke to was…. EXHAUSTION!
Now after a well-deserved rest, we are all ready to get back to it. However, maybe like us, this year you want to play the game better. Instead of being reactive and overwhelmed, you want to be more in control and have more balance in your life. Rather than feeling like there’s just not enough hours in the day, you want to be more productive and actually achieve some meaningful results.
So how can you do that? After a lot of researching, reading, and listening over the break, we’ve come up with some great tips to help us all play a better game this year, by working smarter not harder. There’s nothing new or extraordinary in here, and you’ve probably heard it all before, but it’s a great reminder to keep us all on track. Hopefully you can utilize some of these tips to hit the ground running in 2023 and feel like you are winning!
Tip #1 – Set Some Goals
For your business and yourself – For the year and each month
So this is an obvious one, but it is so important and really underlines everything else so we’ve made it our number one tip.
Rather than making new year’s resolutions that fade into the distance by about mid February, instead set yourself some meaningful goals that you want to achieve.
Start by investing some time really thinking about how you want your business to look by the end of 2023. Set some big goals then work backwards from there.
Then take stock of where you are now and make a plan or a pathway for how you’re going to get there. Ask yourself, where am I stuck right now? How can I fix that? How can I work smarter not harder?
Do you need to spend more time in certain areas of your business, do you need new skills, additional help, change in business model, or just different clients? And map it out month by month.
Once you know what your main goal for the year is, you can set monthly steps to take along the way. You suddenly have something to strive for each month, and have some milestones to hit. As soon as you hit a milestone, celebrate it! You are actually on your way to achieving that vision.
Tip #2 – Adopt a Success Mindset
Willingness to Succeed
Success takes on many forms and looks different for different people. However there is one common thread amongst all successful people and that is their attitude or mindset. They all have a willingness to succeed. It’s that willingness or desire to succeed that helps them overcome obstacles and push through when they are tired. It gives them the focus they need to see things through. Whatever that might be.
To fuel that desire, you need to know what you want. Which brings us back to the importance of goals and having a clear vision of how you want your business to look in the future.
When you know what you want and why you are doing it, you no longer have to push yourself to do what’s required. You feel like you have extra motivation and a willingness to achieve.
Take Responsibility
Successful people also have another thing in common which is just as important. They take ownership of their life by taking responsibility for their results. Rather than making excuses, telling stories or shifting blame, they realize that the buck stops with them. If something is not working they ask for help or figure out a way to fix it.
Tip #3 – Measure your Progress and Celebrate Successes
Research has shown that success is in direct proportion to your self esteem. In other words, you need to feel good about yourself in order to achieve success. As business owners, it’s only too common for us to focus on all the things that are not going right, or how we can improve or do better next time. When in reality we are probably making steady progress, that we are not even aware of.
There are 2 simple but important steps you can take to ensure this:
- Keep track of your progress, measure it. Back to that goal setting we mentioned at the beginning. Ask yourself, what did I need to achieve this month and did I get there?
- Celebrate the little wins along the way. This is so important and often overlooked because of time pressures. However, even if it’s just an acknowledgement of hitting a milestone, or a nice lunch outing as a treat, it can really go a long way to improving your self esteem and keeping you motivated.
By checking in regularly and noticing your progress, not only will you start to see results but your
self-esteem also improves and it becomes a self perpetuating cycle of success.
Tip #4 – Time Management
One area that is probably the biggest frustration for most business owners is time, or a feeling of a lack of it. If you constantly feel like you just don’t have enough time, maybe you can find a way to restructure your day.
Time is one thing we all have the same amount of. Once it’s gone we can’t get it back. So we need to make the most of every minute.
Delete or Delegate Tasks
A great way to go about this is to sit down and list all the areas that you spend the majority of your time on each day or week. Then highlight the items where you are not investing your time to your best use. Then decide whether you can delete or delegate those tasks to someone else.
Ask Yourself 2 Questions:
- Do I really need to be spending this much time doing this task? Can I reduce the time or just get rid of it altogether?
For example – Spending hours on Social Media that’s not really giving you meaningful results
- Can this task be done by someone else? Is that person an existing team member, a new hire or can I outsource it instead?
For example – 2D Drafting, Sketch Up Base Models or 3D Rendering
Once you remove the tasks from your day that don’t get the results you are seeking, you suddenly have more time to invest in those more important areas of your business or the ones where you can add the most value such as building your business. Then you will be on your way to working smarter not harder.
Tip #5 – Consistency is Key
This is true of just about anything in life. Take elite sports people for example. The main reason for their success (apart from their natural ability) is consistency with their training. When they fall victim to injury or have time off and their training stops, that’s when they fall behind. Then they have to start all over again. They need to have the mindset of pushing through those pain barriers in order to get results and continually improve. It’s the same in business.
When life is progressing as we expect and everything is going smoothly it’s pretty easy to stay on track. However, we all experience times when something happens we weren’t expecting. Sometimes we start to feel overwhelmed by it and get stuck. It can literally stop us in our tracks. The trick to avoid that feeling of overwhelm is to break it down and only focus on the next best step to take. By breaking the problem down, it doesn’t seem so insurmountable anymore. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other and eventually you will get there. It may take a bit longer than originally planned but at least you still have a chance of getting there, rather than giving up altogether. That consistency will serve you well and keep you working smarter not harder.
Summary
As we mentioned at the start, these tips are nothing new. We hope though, they are a timely reminder for you to make a great plan for 2023 and play a better game by working smarter not harder.
About Pitch Box
Pitch Box is a low cost, fast solution that delivers leading 2D Plans & 3D Visuals of your designs when you need it.
Providing 2D Plans, 3D Images, Fly-Throughs and SketchUp Base Models, to residential Architects, Pool and Landscape Designers so you can provide that high end service or improve capacity without the need to hire in-house staff. Ultimately allowing you to be more productive and more profitable.
The company prides itself on exceptional customer service, with a dedicated customer support team based in Brisbane, Australia. Delivering high quality products with a guaranteed project completion turnaround time of only 5 – 10 business days. Unlike many 3D external service providers, Pitch Box’s pricing is transparent and competitive. Our customers know exactly what they are getting, each and every time they place an order. Discover more about how Pitch Box can support your business and get in touch by visiting our website today!
