How To Work Less But Earn More

I’m Adrian Fleming and I’ve realised that as a busy entrepreneur…

Time is never on your side, but that shouldn’t stop you and I from making more with less…

…that way we can choose how we want to spend our time rather than be in a position where we have to do something, which is not good as an entrepreneur.

So I’ve decided to help fellow entrepreneur’s with these…

11 tips

1Do something where you are not paid for your time

People get caught up in the concept of an hourly rate, this is a way to commoditise you and what you do, however this is a very silly way to buy or sell.

For example what I can do in an hour is very different to what other people can do. In an hour of my time on marketing or entrepreneurial strategy I can deliver serious value but…

…in other areas I’m just not, “a good fit’ for example DIY, yes I can do it and if I have to I’m neat and tidy, but I’m not fast and so my productivity is low.

By the way I don’t enjoy DIY either, so don’t even ask for my help in this area…

…in fact a good friend of mine who’s an electrician jokes that I try and fix everything with a hammer, which is not far from the truth.

Do what you do well and put a value on the job, not the hours, this way you can work less and earn more.

2Don’t try and do too much

People make the mistake of getting organised by using a list, which is on a basic level fine, but…

…when the list gets long the chances are it will actually slow you down and cause you to procrastinate.

I find the best possible way to manage things is to set out a “To Do List” of no more than three things at a time and…

Now I get that it’s not always this straight forward but you’ll be surprise that, if you use a simple list of only 3 things and block out as many other distractions until they are done…

…like email and phone calls, then you really do much more in less time and this means you work less and earn more.

3Stop focusing on success and

start defining desired outcomes

If you set yourself a goal or specific set of criteria that define success or failure, you’re likely to get frustrated and disheartened from time to time.

What I like to do is set a desired outcome and look at small results as I move towards that outcome; let me give you and example relative to working less and earning more…

If you have a customer and they have an expectation based goals or a specific set of success criteria it will be hard to measure the true value of something…

…for example if you set out a budget for Facebook Ads and your goal is 1,000 new leads in the next 7 days…

…then this is good in so much as you have metrics and a deadline, but it’s far from serving your customer well.

If I were dealing with that customer I would be looking to, in the next 7 days, define a solution that can generate not just now, but in the future…

…a methodology or system for generating new profitable leads.

The difference here is that I may be able to get 1,000 leads, maybe more, but what I know is that the outcome of the project is something that can be used, over and over again and…

…refined over time too because just getting 1,000 leads may be unrealistic, under achieving, a waste of money as the leads don’t buy and the reality is

…outcomes are business focused and profitable and over the 7 days you can see what works, what doesn’t and that way…

…focus on this, not just numbers and when you do this, and have a system in place at the end, it’s far easier to work less and earn more.

4Know what you need to deliver

As an entrepreneur and marketer I really do focus on the principle of know what your customer wants but give them what they need because...

…what they need gets results and entrepreneurs live in a results based economy.

Helping a customer and adding value to them is about helping them realise what they need too and this in turn will help you.

When you know what you need to deliver you are focused on that and can move aside other things that are likely to take up time and divert your attention…

…this reduces waste and this means you work less and earn more.

5If you need to, take a break

You can’t be performing at your best all the time, so if you are not being as productive as you know you can be take a break and come back to something later on.

When you accept that you may need to modify your “To Do” list to take account of your productivity and potential creativity this will help you improve both of these characteristics.

I work quite a bit, in fact maybe too much, but a work day is a day when I’m working well, even if it’s on a Sunday…

…not governed by what most people consider to be working hours.

I also know that I may produce fantastic work at 4pm through until 7pm, but other times may not be quite as productive and that’s OK too.

If you work when you are at your best then you can work less and earn more.

6Don’t strive for perfection

Perfection is a hard target to hit and as such I want to start off by doing the best I can fast because…

…I know that “out of the gate” I can get things going and maybe as much as 80% right, then get feedback from others which means…

…I can reduce any wasted time and see what I need to change in order to deliver what I need to deliver.

If you try and have the perfect solution you will slow down your results, so get feedback fast and this way you will work less and earn more.

7Create a “Not To Do” list

Having this type of list is great because it really can exponentially improve your earning potential.

On this list you can have simple things like checking email all the time, answering your mobile, checking social media and…

…simple things like that through your work time which in turn improves your focus.

But equally it also works for preventing you from doing things you are not good at…

…don’t enjoy or don’t want to do, as none of those things will benefit your earning potential. Saying…

no

…is the solution to many a problem and knowing when to say “No” is a skill that I encourage you to not just master but document in a “Not To Do” list.

If you only focus on what you should be doing then you will work less and earn more.

8Get others to do it for you

We live in a global economy and you can use human resources you never use to have access to, that way you can take on more work and just manage it and…

…all without the headache and stress of having staff and the overheads associated with them.

Simply put, if somebody else is doing your job and you are managing them you can scale up the volume of work and…

…scale down you time to do the work meaning, you can work less and earn more.

9Work smart

Following on from tip 8 look at ways you can use technology to speed up what you do.

You will be amazed how easy it is to find ways to deliver what you need to deliver and by…

…not striving for perfection all the time too, this allows you to work less and earn more.

10Batch your work and tasks

Have you ever noticed how disjointed things have become nowadays?

The time when you sat at your desk and just got on with things has long gone for most of us and so…

…the ability to set aside time to do specific things one after the other is a sure fire way to improve your productivity.

Think about the things you regularly do and partition time and resources to do them all together.

It could be something like your accounts, it could be writing and managing social media, it could be working on ways to improve your own skills…

…whatever it is don’t bounce around jobs and tasks as this is inefficient, that way you will work less and earn more.

11Before you start something get some inspiration

Have you ever wondered what the best way to get the most energy for a task is?

Well here’s my secret and that’s get inspired before you start it.

Before a meeting, on the way to it in the car, I will listen to something I know will put me in the right frame of mind to do a great job.

I will also make a note of all I want to achieve from that meeting because the outcome is what’s important.

The same can be true in other areas of work too.

If I’m writing copy then I listen to or read some great copy for inspiration.

If I’m looking for a new design for some packaging then I search out some ideas.

Simply put, I know who gives me energy and where I can get inspiration and this means I can…

…“turn on” what I need in just a few minutes meaning the next few hours will be as productive and valuable as possible which means I work less and earn more.