A little distraction that goes somewhere

Hi Driver’s

Today’s post is less about cars and more about my journey and what it’s like being self-employed.

I meet a lot of self-employed/small business owners in my travels and most of them fall into one of two categories (perhaps not all the time but occasionally).  Category A works all the time.  They roll out of bed over to their laptop and sit there until they go back to bed 18+ hours later.  Category B has a really hard time not getting distracted.  Some of us that work for ourselves oscillate between these two.  

Today, I’m managing to fall a little bit into both categories.  I started work as soon as I woke up at about 5:55am.  But, I’ve also found time to make a nice lunch, straighten a few things in the kitchen and leisurely research some background information for a workshop I’m giving. 

The trick is to stay focused even when there isn’t a deadline or immediate sale to be made.  If the cars are clean, the ads are up, the reports are done, the cars inspected etc. it can be frustrating waiting for the phone to ring or for someone to walk onto the lot.  When I was really young I worked a short stint at McDonald’s; back in the day when it was “the job” to get on your resume.  They had a saying: “time to lean: time to clean”.   As most business owners will tell you there is always something that can be done if you want to grow your business.  What they may not tell you unless they’re feeling particularly honest is that sometimes it’s hard to motivate yourself when you don’t have a deadline or customer in front of you. 

I’ve learned the importance of the list and the plan.  Whether it’s just to keep your personal life focused or if you’re a business owner – having a plan or a goal that you can focus on when you don’t really feel like focusing on the task at hand will keep you motivated and on task.  Even if you need a daydream break – we all do – your daydream likely be shaped by that goal and becomes less “wasted time” and more “productive exercise”. 

I start every day with a list.  I have the big list of all tasks and that’s kept on an online project management system; but each day starts with a pen and paper list that details what I need to accomplish this day.  Sometimes I blow through it before lunch – other days I never finish – but I am able to stay focused.  Not having a list is like going to the grocery store hungry with no plan for the weeks meals: you’ll come home with 4 roasted chickens and bag of jujubes. 

For that matter, going car shopping without a list is similar.  When someone uses our personal shopping services we go through a questionnaire with them that covers to obvious basics: automatic or 5-speed; truck or hatchback; budget etc..   But, we also ask questions like: do you like to camp; do you have children requiring car seats, if so how many; do you drive mostly in the city?  The result is a really complete list that we use to focus our search.  Without it we would be getting distracted and wasting everyone’s time.  If you’re car shopping for yourself – creating a similar list should be your first step.

OK – now that I’ve made this relevant perhaps I should get back to my list.  

Happy Driving!