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Business owners wear a lot of hats. For the fitness entrepreneur, there seems to be even more.
Coach, Leader, I.T., Retention, Programmer, Friend, Mentor, Social Media Director, Accountant, Payroll Specialist, Director of Marketing. How many more do you think you could add to this list?
The good news is we can create a few systems around our workload to make the management of the hats a little easier. We say it all the time to our athletes: “More is not better. Better is better.” There’s no glory in adding more hours to your work. Here are a few quick wins to add more work to your hours:
1. Multi-Tasking is a myth…well, sort of.
Seriously. I hope we’ve finally moved beyond glorifying the multi-tasker. It has been shown over and over and over again to be a giant myth. In fact, the result is not only decreased productivity – it’s decreased cognitive function. Not only do you get less done, but the work you do get done is some of your worst.
There’s a big BUT coming: You can multi-task your lowest (or nonexistent) cognitive load items. As I’m writing this, I’m sitting in the bottom of a squat. I may go for a light 1-mile jog with my head coach later today to chat about programming. If you’ve ever chatted on the phone with me for business coaching, there’s a really high likelihood I’m down in a Samson Stretch.
TAKE ACTION: Set up your environment to only do 1 task at a time. Only have one browser tab open at a time, use your phone’s “Do Not Disturb” function, or – when you’re training – only train.
2. Define Your Communication.
You can probably relate: As I’m writing this, a class is about to start. If I walked across the gym, I would be approached by at least 15 athletes, a couple coaches, and one or two kids asking where is the sidewalk chalk.
BUT, all of these interactions would be social. High-fives, good jobs, and fist-bumps. No one asking about class schedule, membership holds, or the next specialty class. Why? Because everyone knows those items belong in my inbox. I’m not trying to be a jerk – I’m trying to provide the same level of service to every athlete, every day. I couldn’t possibly keep track of every one-off request. See: #1.
TAKE ACTION: Unless you’re aware of some magical software I’m not, your inbox is the only method of communication that can be tagged, prioritized, time-stamped, and put into threads. Kindly request that every in person discussion, Facebook message, text, or written note be moved to your inbox.
3. Batching.
This one changed my life. In essence, Batching is the opposite of Multi-Tasking. Batching means that, when you focus on similar activities, your productivity is compounded. By scheduling blocks of time for a single activity, you’re actually able to accomplish more in less time.
Here are a few examples:
- Email is broken into 3, half-hour chunks. AM, noon, and evening.
- Anything related to finances occurs on the 15th and last day of every month; taxes, reconciliation, payroll, forecasting – anything that involves numbers.
- Content creation happens on Fridays before noon.
- Only get the (snail) mail in the morning on your way to the office, not right when you get home.
TAKE ACTION: Start with one batch. Maybe it’s email. Stick to it for a week or two, then add another batch. Once you get the hang of it, begin to block out that time in your schedule. Let those around you know about your Batch Schedule.
4. Inbox Discipline.
This can mean different things for different gym owners. For some, this might mean actually checking your email. For others, it may mean that you’re OK with turning this into a batched activity.
Whatever it is, your goal is: Inbox 0. Inbox 0 means that you’re trying to get the number of messages in there to zero. Every request had been addressed for the day. Nothing lingering.
I, personally, LOVE Google Inbox. Anything that I can’t address today, I can snooze until tomorrow. If a request requires that I’m at a certain location, I can snooze messages geographically. It’s awesome.
TAKE ACTION: Where is your inbox game lacking? Do you live in there or never check it at all? Set some rules, schedules, and batches around your inbox. Shoot to get those messages to zero every day before bed.
5. Facebook (or general consumption) Discipline.
The unfortunate fact of the matter for fitness entrepreneurs is that social media is no longer social. It’s a primary hub of business. It’s also the primary hub of non-productivity, negativity, and general nonsense. While I’m not advocating that you leave the platform, I do advocate that you use it as a business tool.
Using social media as a tool means you’ll need to create some rules around it. Here are my rules:
- Negativity gets an immediate “unfollow.”
- Delete the app. Requiring a sign-in via your mobile browser ensures you’ll only get on there to be productive.
- Set a time limit. Remember batching? Do it for social media as well.
- Don’t consume on social. Choose 1-2 trusted sources for news and training advice. Don’t get distracted.
- Don’t compare yourself. – remember: social media represents the absolute best part of peoples’ lives. It’s not reality. Don’t compare yourself, your salary, your gym, your content to anyone else’s. Be a creator.
TAKE ACTION: You should probably delete the app off your phone. You can manage the business page through “Pages.” Any other activity should be important enough to go through the login process. Don’t let people FB message your personal account for business purposes.
How many times have you told your members to “just step through the door”? Productivity is a lot like that. Give yourself 1-2 quick wins and build upon the habit.
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