8 Small Changes to WORK LESS and EARN MORE

In today's fast-paced world, the desire to achieve financial success while maintaining a healthy work-life balance is more prevalent than ever.

The good news?

You don't have to resort to drastic measures to make this a reality. By making a series of small but strategic changes in the way you approach your work, you can transform your income potential and create a sustainable path to success.

In this article, we'll explore eight small changes that will help you work smarter, not harder, and ultimately put more money in your bank account while working fewer hours.

Change 1: Use The Focusing Question

Gary Keller's powerful question, "What's the one thing I can do that, by doing it, will make everything else easier or totally unnecessary?" is a game-changer.

Take time to ponder this question. Go for a walk and step away from the office.

Think of this ONE THING like the Big Domino that effortlessly knocks over all of the other small dominos.

What’s that task for you?

This approach prevents distractions and channels your energy into the ONE action that will create more time and energy for you once it’s complete.

Change 2: Embrace the 80/20 Rule

The 80/20 rule, also known as the Pareto Principle, holds true in many aspects of life, including your business. Identify the 20% of tasks that contribute to a substantial 80% of your earnings.

For example, some things you could do are:

Change colors and animations on your website
Answer customer support emails (admin work)
Close your eyes and hope that you’ll magically make more money

Or you could:

Create valuable content for your audience
Email a special offer to your list
Create new products to sell
Collaborate with other creators who share your audience

See the difference?

By focusing on these high-yield activities, you're leveraging your efforts for maximum impact. Streamline your approach to these tasks, dedicating your energy and time to actions that directly contribute to revenue growth.

Change 3: Set Clear Work Hours

If you want to work fewer hours, start by working fewer hours.

In an ideal world, how many hours do you want to work? 10, 20, 50?

The importance of work-life balance cannot be overstated. Set specific work hours aligned with your peak productivity. Think about when you’re most productive. Are you an early riser? Or are you more alert in the evenings?

There’s no wrong or right, it’s just what works for you.

By following a defined schedule, you'll avoid the pitfalls of overworking and ensure time for personal pursuits. Designating focused work periods will optimize your efficiency and effectiveness during the week.

Change 4: Implement Time Blocking

Time blocking is a proven method to optimize your productivity. Break your day into segments, each dedicated to specific tasks. Minimize context-switching and maintain your focus on income-generating activities during their respective time blocks. Allocate segments for strategic planning and tackling high-value tasks that often get sidelined by day-to-day demands.

Here’s a peek at how I time block my calendar:

Personally, using big time blocks gives me a visual representation of my day so I know what to focus on and when.

Change 5: Set Firm Boundaries

Effective communication is key to success. Clearly communicate your availability to clients, colleagues, friends and family.

Set boundaries to safeguard your personal time and maintain a healthy work-life balance.

For example, when I’m in my Work time-block, I’m working. When I’m in Family & Friends, I’m with family & friends. Period.

Building your business isn’t just about making more money, it’s about having a life too.

Change 6: Leverage Digital Products

I love digital products for a couple of reasons:

They don’t require a lot of upfront storage, packaging, or shipping like physical products
They cost little to create and are easy to update
You can sell them to anyone, anywhere, at any time
There is no limit to the amount you can sell

Investing time in crafting digital products like e-books or online courses is what allows you to create passive income sharing your knowledge online.

These assets allow you to earn while working less, breaking free from traditional time-for-money models.

By reaching a broader audience, you expand your potential for income growth and (over time) you’ll be able to have less and less engagement with this system so you can put your time where you want.

Change 7: Create Efficient Systems

Efficiency is a cornerstone of success.

Design streamlined workflows for repetitive tasks by leveraging automations to reduce your manual effort. Doing this will free your time for high-impact activities.

By allocating your energy to tasks that directly contribute to income growth, you ensure your efforts are aligned with your financial goals.

Change 8: Craft Smart Templates

Templates are a secret weapon for optimizing your workflow.

Develop templates for frequently used documents, such as proposals and emails. These templates save time and maintain consistency in your communications.

Customize each template to suit the situation, striking the balance between efficiency and personalization.

Here’s an email template I created for my podcast:

Subject: You’re published!

Hey NAME - James here.

I’m excited to announce that your episode on the Profit Your Knowledge podcast went live today!

It’s now available on every major podcasting platform, I’ve linked to the 3 most popular below…

Please share your episode with your audience so they can hear your message!

If you want to get more earballs on your episode, consider leaving my podcast a review (only applicable on Apple Podcasts).

This article shows you exactly how to leave a review - How to Leave a Review and Rating on Apple Podcasts (businessinsider.com)

Regardless, it was great getting to know you and I thank you for your time!

James

I made this because I do a lot of interviews and was sending essentially the same email to every person letting them know their episode was published. Now, all I need to do is copy this template, put it into an email, add their name, and send.

I have multiple templates and a solid workflow in place for my podcast production so what used to take me 20-30 minutes now takes me 5.

That’s the power of templates!

Conclusion:

As you embark on your journey to work less and earn more, remember that success is built on foundational shifts. By embracing these eight small but impactful changes, you're paving the way for a future where remarkable results are achieved with less effort. Your work-life balance will improve, and your income potential will soar.

Stay committed, stay focused, and here's to your journey of working less while earning more.

Until next time!