10 ways to kick ass

About two years ago, I hit the wall.  I was burned out and ready to quit.  I decided to try changing things rather than quitting—a last-ditch effort to live a happy life.  Things have changed, and I’ve lived to tell about it! John and I shared a few of the ways we turned things around here at The Mighty Mo! at this year’s WordUp WordPress conference.

[pullquote]“As to the methods there may be a million and then some, but principles are few. The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble. – Ralph Waldo Emerson”[/pullquote]

Here are our top 10 changes we’ve made to get more done and have more fun doing it:

1. Do not check email first thing in the morning.  Instead, create a list of 1-3 things that are important to your business AND that can absolutely get done today.  Put that list next to your computer.  Only work on those three things.  Invest the first 3 work hours every morning working on those items.
2. Create a bid calculator and USE IT ON EVERY BID!
3. Make decisions!  Just leap.  Don’t look.  Go with your gut.  I am very conservative when it comes to business and money, and I still jump into the fray regularly.
4. Find people you trust and TRUST THEM.  Make a list of these people and keep it next to your computer.  Trust a lawyer, payroll company, accountant, insurance agent, and bookkeeper.  Delegate.  Find work that can be delegated and delegate those things to the people you trust.  What is batchable?
5. Put your contact form to work with Zapier. Get real about your sales funnel and put it into action!
6. Spend 1 hour per week working ON your business.
7. Check email once per day in the afternoon or evening.  Zero out your inbox at that time.  Do not check your email again until the next once-per-day email check.
8. Forget about goals: Build scalable processes (Pivotal Tracker, Lowrize, Base, docs.themightymo.com)
9. Schedule a weekly “Gut Check”… with yourself, your business partner, a trusted friend…
10. Engage in the conversation on TobyCryns.com.