Create some space?????
We are all duty-bound and time-crunched, right? So our favourite refrain is, “I’m too busy.” And whether this is true or a handy excuse doesn’t matter. We believe we are time-crunched; therefore, we are.
Would you like to get off that merry-go-round?
Remember Oprah? Her personal coach was Martha Beck. And Martha Beck had a saying. The three B’s. (No, I was not a huge Oprah fan, and I still have no idea who Ms. Beck was. Recently, I was exposed to her 3B process and fell in love.)
The 3Bs stands for Bag It. Barter It. Better It. There are three ways to create space.
Bag It
Say there is something in your life or your business that is driving you bonkers. You hate it, your energy constantly gets depleted when you do it, and it never adds even a bit of joy to your life.
Bag it. Stop it. Remove it. Don’t do it. The same goes for any activity in your business which fails to live up to its potential, drains resources and has minimal chance of ever being successful or cash-bearing.
Bag it. Stop it. Remove it.
Barter It
We all have things we must do, don’t especially like to do and view the time spent doing the something as a poor choice of our time.
Immediately, cleaning the house comes to mind. So too, for many, is meal prep. The cleaning industry and the take-out sections of grocery stores are two areas that have seen phenomenal growth over the last ten years. Women everywhere who are not interested in domestic engineering know that a clean house and full tummies are generally pretty important. They found a better way — paying someone else to do it, so they can concentrate on what gives them the most pleasure. (generally, but not always, their career or business)
Smart business people understand there are some skills they can’t do well. (Website development, marketing, lead generation, and proposal writing are common ones) So, they find the money to pay someone else (or they trade services with someone) who enjoys doing those things. It’s a win-win for both.
Bag It and Barter It BOTH free up valuable time for you. Valuable time to do the things you always wanted, have been on your to-do list, or start stuff you only ever dreamed about. In other words, you suddenly DO have the time to do it. You are no longer ‘too busy.’
Better It
This is where the fun begins.
This is where you look at the things you love to do and commit yourself to being better. Maybe it’s gardening, painting, writing, or exercising. Or perhaps it is taking your business products and services up several notches, writing that book or even tinkering with some continuous improvement ideas inside your business.
Time is an artificial construct.
We have all the time we need. What we don’t have is an effective way of using that time. As a result, we all waste an inordinate amount of our day. Years ago, it was chatting at the water cooler, smoking in the lounge, drinking at the bar. These days it is endless social media scrolling, mindless gazing at live streaming and texting. Our priorities have been shifted because our dopamine levels are always triggered.
For years, I have put off writing the book that is buried in my soul. When I heard about the 3 Bs method, everything fell into place. I now have a way forward to get the book completed and published.
What about you? What can you bag or barter in order to free up the time you need to better some part of your life or business? How best can you create space? Wanna chat?
