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Winning Without Losing Series: New Ways of Doing Old Things
Winning Without Losing, the CMI award-winning book as “the best book for New Managers,” explains 66 strategies on how to be successful in business, without neglecting your personal life. Martin Bjergegaard and Jordan Milne interviewed a variety of successful entrepreneurs, and through their search they found that the key to a happy and successful life, is a healthy work life balance.
Every Saturday for the next 7 weeks, we will be sharing unique strategies that aim to inspire how you can achieve success without sacrifice.
This week, the selected strategy is chosen from the “New Ways of Doing Old Things” chapter of Winning Without Losing.
New Way of Doing Old Things #2: Make a “Today” List
One of the potentials of entrepreneurship as opposed to other jobs is freedom. People long for flexible work hours, afternoons off and the ability to pick up and leave to do something fun at the drop of a hat:
‘I could set my own schedule.’
‘I could work from the beach or from the skyscrapers in Tokyo.’
‘I could pack up and travel the world.’
As you have probably noticed, the path to reaching that dream is tantalisingly difficult for the vast majority of those who try. Entrepreneurs typically work more hours and take fewer holidays than those at corporate jobs. A recent poll showed that 72% of entrepreneurs in the UK worked more than 50 hours, 59% worked more than 60 hours, and 32% put in more than 70 hours each week on their business. Holidays are few and far between: the same poll showed that 14% expected to be hard at work every single day for the next year. Only 53% would take even 2 weeks off.
One reason we entrepreneurs work so many hours is because there is no one telling us to go home or defining our work schedule. We make our own hours. Something that in theory sounds like the Life of Riley turns out to be the opposite. Each one of us is often the toughest boss we will ever have.
One of the biggest reasons that entrepreneurs take the leap and go off on their own is the idea of Freedom. However,going off on your own doesn’t make you as free from work as you’d think, because when you have no restrictions, you may tend to overwork yourself.
Being one’s own boss manifests itself in many ways. You have to leave a Friday night party early because you are guiltily aware that you have to work in the morning. Another afternoon passes and you have again missed out on picking up your kids from school. Your friend is getting married and you can’t go to the bachelor party in Vegas. The list goes on. Frustration mounts. Is this really how you want to live your life?
It doesn’t have to be like this. There is another way.
Stever Robbins knows this way. Equipped with a Harvard MBA and a BS in computer science from MIT, he has played a key role in 9 start-ups, 5 IPOs, and 3 acquisitions. He has had more than his share of experience and knows which pitfalls to avoid. Stever explains one very helpful concept to entrepreneurs who can’t seem to stop working and whose work days seem to be never ending:
‘Decide in the morning what you will consider a full day’s work ToDAY. When you have done that, you can stop thinking about work. one of the reasons people find themselves preoccupied with their work even when they get home is that they never stop and define for themselves what it means to have done a full day’s work. So they are always thinking – what else needs to be done overall, not what needs to be done today?’
The “To-Do” list is a common concept, but it can tend to make you feel stressed about the things you need to accomplish. Instead, break it down into a more realistic “Today” List, and achieve what you need to in short bursts.
There is another very successful businessman who puts this principle into practice. N. R. Narayana Murthy is a self-made billionaire. The founder of Infosys, one of the largest IT services companies in India, he holds board positions on some of the most powerful companies, foundations and institutions in the world. He also holds 26 honorary doctorates.
Ranked as the 9th most admired CEO/chairman by the Economist Intelligence Unit – alongside Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Warren Buffett – Murthy was also the most admired business leader in India for 5 years in a row. Time magazine placed him on the list of Asian heroes who had brought about revolutionary change and had the most significant impact on Asian history in the past 60 years, alongside Mahatma Gandhi, the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa and Muhammad Ali.
Not unlike the Dalai Lama, Murthy is very grounded, calm and happy. You might think that someone with such enormous responsibility would have trouble living in the moment. Mr. Murthy, however, does so with ease. When asked how he stays stress free after coming home from work and how he is able to focus completely on his home life, he shares his method:
‘When we were much smaller, we would write a set of tasks to complete or make some progress on for that particular day. This is something I still do to this day, so when I leave the office, as long as I feel that I have given my best on those tasks and made progress, I am in a position to spend quality time with my family. When I come home with clear satisfaction that I have shown my passion and moved in the right direction, I have a sense of joy and inner peace. I have a sense of accomplishment, of self-worth. Therefore, when I see my family I can give them my full attention.’
So instead of trying to tackle your ‘forever’ list, purposefully make a ‘today’ list. Do the tasks. Feel good about it and then go pick up your kids, go on that trip or stay at that party as long you want. You’ve earned it.
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