How you can use changes to your mindset, intentions and habits to free up time for you and your service business.
TIME IS MONEY.
It’s a dead-horse expression. Overdone. Irritating.
But it doesn’t make it any less true. 
Especially when you run a service business like you and me. We’re literally in the business of selling our time in exchange for money.
But time is more than just money. It’s also freedom, quality of life, options, accuracy, vision… A precious ingredient, without a doubt.
So when I returned to my desk after 2 weeks of holiday bliss, my first question was:
What needs to change in 2024 to make it a banger of a year?
My answer was… TIME.
And if stats are anything to go by, it’s your answer too. It’s the number one roadblock for a service business.
Getting caught up in the day to day, juggling tasks and teams, putting out fires left, right and centre. Meanwhile, what was your number one goal for the year… remains unfinished. If only I had more… time. 
How can I make sure I use time to the best of my ability to make a positive change for me and my business?
So, thinking about that as I sat behind my desk, I knew that in order to change that, I had to change 3 things.
Using mindset to unlock time Setting intentions to unlock time Creating habits to unlock time
Because,… NOTHING CHANGES IF NOTHING CHANGES, right!?
How To Use Mindset To Free Up Time
Here’s something to think about:
If you believe you can, you're right. If you believe you can't, you're also right.
What I mean to say is, your mindset matters. But also, thoughts dictate results. Both in a positive and negative way.
So, … it’s obvious. We have to change what goes on inside our head.
Showing up while dragging our feet, heavy with anxiety about what’s coming versus excited and full of energy, is enough to create a very different outcome.
But by crickey, that’s easier said than done!
Saying that our thinking is rather complex is an understatement.
Because thoughts are dictated by our beliefs, past experiences, our upbringing, our cultural background, even our genetic make-up.
Everything we perceive goes through that cognitive filter. Both conscious and subconscious.
So, when using mindset to unlock time is on the wishlist, we have to gain insight into our beliefs and ask ourselves: ARE MY THOUGHTS SERVING ME?
Because the mind is powerful and once we understand, we have the adeptness to change our mindset AND the outcome.
- Be on the lookout for how you show up.
- When you have a thought that doesn’t serve you in what you want to achieve in 2024 , STOP. Write it down.
- Then ask yourself - how does this make me feel?
- Based on that, what actions would you'd take and what result can you expect?
- Now, think about a different thought you could have in the same situation. Based on that new thought, how does that make you feel?
- What action would you take following that new thought and what result can you expect instead?
- Then, ultimately, you decide what mindset you want to move ahead with.
Of course, if that was easy, we’d all be just doing it. Using mindset to unlock time is going to need commitment and patience. It’s an evolution, not a revolution.
BUT YOU DON’T DO, YOU DON’T GET.
How To Set Intentions To Free Up Time
Once you stop your mindset from tripping you up before you even started, intentions become a powerful force for what you want to achieve with your time in 2024.
(Notice I didn't say “what you want to achieve in 2024” - because that is a completely different question.)
Personally, I have a clear and strong desire to implement strategies that allow my business to handle an increase in demand without a linear increase in costs or effort.
I want to expand the capacity, reach, and profitability of my business without proportionately increasing its resources or compromising the efficiency of our operations or quality of client service.
You know… breathe in, breathe out, without breaking a sweat.
But that’s a big ask.
Also, it’s exactly what I would call “scalable growth”.
I’m guessing you’re thinking along the same line because what service provider doesn’t aim for scalable growth?
Setting intentions to unlock time plays an important role in achieving scalable growth, because intentionality brings focus and purpose. It guides your decision-making and ensures that every step taken contributes to the bigger picture.
What that looks like for you is likely to be different from what it means to me, because how we defined our compelling vision for managing our business should be the compass (and your vision will be different to mine). But what we have in common is that we intentionally align our weekly and daily actions with that vision.
Thinking about our desire to free up time, it probably requires us to ask the following questions: What can you delegate? Who can you delegate to? What can you automate? What can you simplify or simply stop doing? What is it that only you can do?
How To Create Habits To Free Up Time
What better way to ensure consistency in setting intentions to unlock time than with daily habits?
What’s more, habits play a crucial role in sustaining change, because it targets
those millions of seemingly small actions we repeat all the time.
Habits hold immense power. They're the silent architects of our daily lives.
They are fabulous in creating a rhythm, a routine that shapes our days. They free up mental space by turning actions into automatic responses and therefore make positive changes to time. (I’ve spoken about creating habits to unlock time in more detail frequently in the past. You can find the links here, here and here. )
But changing your daily habits is not a one-way street.
- You need to implement new habits that will move you further towards your vision
- You need to get rid of old habits that are NOT serving you. They can potentially even stop you from building new habits. I probably don’t need to tell you about the urge to pull back to the familiar. (Just remember: change lies just beyond that resistance.)
Within the context of our desire to free up time, the first habit I want to introduce is this one.
Before I start a task, I want to pause and ask myself: 
I know I can do this thing, BUT SHOULD I? Is it a good use of my time? Or should I delegate it?
I've gotten into the habit of asking myself that question, especially with those smaller tasks where it would only take me a couple of minutes.
Doing this has the bonus that my team learns new tasks that they may never know otherwise. Passing on knowledge to my team is a good thing in a lot of ways (because apart from taking work off my plate, one day I may be unavailable to do it and now they can).
So what habits are you going to create with your time in 2024 that will ensure you create time to scale your business?
In my opinion, it’s the best thing you can do for your business.
Do You Need Some Help With That?
Using habits, mindset, and intentions to free up time isn’t easy. It takes grit and accountability.
If you want someone to help you, or hold you accountable, we can work together on that in the next 3 months.
- I’m not talking about some cookie cutter program, because let’s be honest, we’re all different.
- It’s a road trip with me as your co-pilot.
- You’re the pilot, and we’re starting with your unstoppable vision. Because we have to know where we’re going.
- Then we create a plan that sets your business up for the future. What change do you to implement and what do you think is achievable?
- No jargon, no fluff. Straight to the matter.
So let’s make this your best year yet and go on a business adventure together!
GET IN TOUCH HERE.
