Why its good to Slow Down: (And Why you need to to)

Sometimes we all just need to slow down, Step back and re-asses whats actually important in life. If you're anything like me it could be our body telling you that it needs a break. It could be your mind experiencing the early signs of burnout. Even if you own your own business, you are subject to the same burnout as everyone else, especially if you're that people pleaser or say “yes” to everyone!

But how do we do that? It's probably been so long since you’ve changed pace that you don’t know where to begin.?

Here are some tips on the best ways to slow down in business:

1. Stop Wasting Time.

If you dare, take a look at your to-do list. Identify one task that you’ve always done that adds nothing to your business. Does it really need to be done? If you’re still doing a task only because you’ve “always done it,” that’s usually a good sign that it should be crossed off of your list.

You should be able to free up a lot of time! For now, use it to slow down. Take a break, call a friend, visit your employees with no hidden agenda and really listen to them (it's amazing what you might learn), take a walk, walk the dog, hug your children, or simply just relax.

2. Get off the gadgets.

If you spend any time on social media, eliminating it even partially can be a huge pickup in time. Getting off electronics and using that time to get back into nature is healing for everyone.

A friend recently suffered from a head injury and his doctor told him to stay off electronics to help his brain heal faster. He limited himself to one hour a day for the first month. What would you do if you had to stay off electronics? My friend read all the books that he'd wanted to read for months, walked more, played golf, cooked more, and far more spent more time with family and friends.

3. Get enough sleep.

If you are sleep-deprived, everything just takes longer. Slowing down and getting enough sleep each night can make you more productive, reducing your work hours. Plus, you just feel more refreshed. You should be getting between 7-9 hours of sleep each night — experts even say that adults that get less than 7 hours of sleep each night , will have far less health problems than those who get 7+ hours.

4. Gain a new perspective.

Slowing down your normal routine can help you to gain perspective. You've probably been fighting fires in the trenches for so long now, that you’ve forgotten why you’re in business to begin with.?I've seen this so often over the last 18 months in particular, you just can't see the wood for the tress.

Dig out your plan - Take time to reconnect with your mission, vision, and purpose.

As you refresh yourself with your mission, this is also a great time to make sure your employees understand their goals too, are you all working towards a central goal? Having everyone on the same page will make for a happier, smoother, seamless environment.

5.?Avoid multitasking.

Almost everyone thinks they are good at multi-tasking, but it turns out there's only a very small minority percentage of people can really multi-task effectively.?Become self-aware of your own habits related to multitasking. Do things take longer when you multitask? Do you make mistakes you have to go back and correct when you multitask? If so, you may be in the majority of people who simply shouldn’t do it.

6. Stop worrying about increasing prices – at least for a while.

If you are really fixated on increasing your charge out rates, or labour rates, you may need to just let them go for a while until you can get your perspective back. Focus entirely on the problems that you actually solve, for who and the levels of customer service that you currently offer. Your clients will always pay for value, you just can't see that when times are tough.

7.?Re-connect with your business’ community.

If there has been no time to connect with your co-owners, managers, customers, and people, slowing down can provide that time. The most important thing is to simply show up and listen. You will learn a lot!

8.?Make time for strategy.

If your business is headed in the wrong direction, you don’t want to waste another second in turning things around! Take a step back to re-visit your plan, and your current strategy, making sure you are working on the right projects, for the right people (my biggest results came from sacking our biggest clients), spend time making sure that you have the right company culture, and that your business goals are in alignment with your values and the big-picture purpose.

9.?Do nothing.

It’s really okay to do nothing when you’re the business owner. You need time to come up with ideas, think about the hard issues, and even daydream. Sometimes even taking this time to yourself can help your creativity and ability to see things from a different perspective. You have to stop working in the business so you can work on the business.

10.?Get better at managing distractions.

If you get interrupted every five minutes, you’re bound to be drained of energy at the end of your work day. Get smart about managing interruptions so you can be more productive. This will free up more time for you to take breaks and slow your pace during your workday.

Try at least a few of these ideas to slow down, search out the support that you need before your mind or your body insists on it.

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Do you need help working out whats missing in your business?

THIS is exactly what we do at Forward Thinking East Lancashire, let us help you to define your future and reach your destination with Passion, Purpose and Clarity.

Click the link above and book a call, let's book a complimentary 90 minute Business Mapping Session.

This is so achievable. Trust me "I did it", so can you. It's all about re-framing your purpose and your mission and then sharing your journey.

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