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How to cut down on the work you don’t like

What it is

A clever way to get rid of the work that you hate doing.

Why it works

A sizeable chunk of running a small business involves doing work that you don’t really like doing.  You don’t need me to tell you how draining that is!

This is a neat way of getting rid of at least a little of that hard work without resorting to outsourcing (which costs).

What you do

Well, I guess part of this is easier said than done, but it’s worth having a go nevertheless.

  1. Work out what some of the tasks are that you really dislike; this should be easy!
  2. Pick the worst task on the list
  3. Ask yourself:
    • Would anyone notice if we just didn’t do this task at all?
    • Who would notice if we didn’t do it?
    • Would they care?
    • Can we do a cut-down, quicker version?
    • Can we be a leader rather than a follower and do it differently?
  4. Trial ignoring or doing a skinny version of the task
  5. What happened? Did the world fall apart or was it all OK?
  6. If needs be, revisit your skinny version and try a new one that’s still not as onerous as the original. Stuff like this often needs a few iterations.
  7. Remember that even if you only shave a few minutes off each task, it all adds up to a happier you.

This article first appeared on the The Business Bakery blog.

Julia Bickerstaff advises small businesses through her consultancy The Business Bakery and is the author of How to Bake a Business.

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