How To Work Less And Earn More - Adrian Fleming

How To Work Less But Earn More

I’m Adrian Fleming and I’ve
realised that as a busy
entrepreneur…

Time is never on your side, but that shouldn’t stop
you and I from making more with less…

…that way we can choose how we want to spend
our time rather than be in a position where we
have to do something, which is not good as an
entrepreneur.

So I’ve decided to help fellow entrepreneur’s with
these…

1
Do something where you are not paid for your time

People get caught up in the concept of an hourly
rate, this is a way to commoditise you and what
you do, however this is a very silly way to buy or
sell.

For example what I can do in an hour is very
different to what other people can do. In an hour of
my time on marketing or entrepreneurial strategy I
can deliver serious value but…

…in other areas I’m just not, “a good fit’ for
example DIY, yes I can do it and if I have to I’m
neat and tidy, but I’m not fast and so my
productivity is low.

By the way I don’t enjoy DIY either, so don’t even
ask for my help in this area…

…in fact a good friend of mine who’s an electrician
jokes that I try and fix everything with a hammer,
which is not far from the truth.

Do what you do well and put a value on the job,
not the hours, this way you can work less and earn
more.

2
Don’t try and do too much

People make the mistake of getting organised by
using a list, which is on a basic level fine, but…

…when the list gets long the chances are it will
actually slow you down and cause you to
procrastinate.

I find the best possible way to manage things is to
set out a “To Do List” of no more than three things
at a time and…

Now I get that it’s not always this straight forward
but you’ll be surprise that, if you use a simple list
of only 3 things and block out as many other
distractions until they are done…

…like email and phone calls, then you really do
much more in less time and this means you work
less and earn more.

3
Stop focusing on success and
start defining desired outcomes

If you set yourself a goal or specific set of criteria
that define success or failure, you’re likely to get
frustrated and disheartened from time to time.

What I like to do is set a desired outcome and look
at small results as I move towards that outcome;
let me give you and example relative to working
less and earning more…

If you have a customer and they have an
expectation based goals or a specific set of
success criteria it will be hard to measure the true
value of something…

…for example if you set out a budget for Facebook
Ads and your goal is 1,000 new leads in the next 7
days…

…then this is good in so much as you have
metrics and a deadline, but it’s far from serving
your customer well.

If I were dealing with that customer I would be
looking to, in the next 7 days, define a solution that
can generate not just now, but in the future…

…a methodology or system for generating new
profitable leads.

The difference here is that I may be able to get
1,000 leads, maybe more, but what I know is that
the outcome of the project is something that can
be used, over and over again and…

…refined over time too because just getting 1,000
leads may be unrealistic, under achieving, a waste
of money as the leads don’t buy and the reality is

…outcomes are business focused and profitable
and over the 7 days you can see what works, what
doesn’t and that way…

…focus on this, not just numbers and when you
do this, and have a system in place at the end, it’s
far easier to work less and earn more.

4
Know what you need to deliver

As an entrepreneur and marketer I really do focus
on the principle of know what your customer wants
but give them what they need because...

…what they need gets results and entrepreneurs
live in a results based economy.

Helping a customer and adding value to them is
about helping them realise what they need too and
this in turn will help you.

When you know what you need to deliver you are
focused on that and can move aside other things
that are likely to take up time and divert your
attention…

…this reduces waste and this means you work
less and earn more.

5
If you need to, take a break

You can’t be performing at your best all the time,
so if you are not being as productive as you know
you can be take a break and come back to
something later on.

When you accept that you may need to modify
your “To Do” list to take account of your
productivity and potential creativity this will help
you improve both of these characteristics.

I work quite a bit, in fact maybe too much, but a
work day is a day when I’m working well, even if
it’s on a Sunday…

…not governed by what most people consider to
be working hours.

I also know that I may produce fantastic work at
4pm through until 7pm, but other times may not be
quite as productive and that’s OK too.

If you work when you are at your best then you
can work less and earn more.

6
Don’t strive for perfection

Perfection is a hard target to hit and as such I
want to start off by doing the best I can fast
because…

…I know that “out of the gate” I can get things
going and maybe as much as 80% right, then get
feedback from others which means…

…I can reduce any wasted time and see what I
need to change in order to deliver what I need to
deliver.

If you try and have the perfect solution you will
slow down your results, so get feedback fast and
this way you will work less and earn more.

7
Create a “Not To Do” list

Having this type of list is great because it really
can exponentially improve your earning potential.

On this list you can have simple things like
checking email all the time, answering your
mobile, checking social media and…

…simple things like that through your work time
which in turn improves your focus.

But equally it also works for preventing you from
doing things you are not good at…

…don’t enjoy or don’t want to do, as none of those
things will benefit your earning potential. Saying…

…is the solution to many a problem and knowing
when to say “No” is a skill that I encourage you to
not just master but document in a “Not To Do” list.

If you only focus on what you should be doing
then you will work less and earn more.

8
Get others to do it for you

We live in a global economy and you can use
human resources you never use to have access
to, that way you can take on more work and just
manage it and…

…all without the headache and stress of having
staff and the overheads associated with them.

Simply put, if somebody else is doing your job and
you are managing them you can scale up the
volume of work and…

…scale down you time to do the work meaning,
you can work less and earn more.

Following on from tip 8 look at ways you can use
technology to speed up what you do.

You will be amazed how easy it is to find ways to
deliver what you need to deliver and by…

…not striving for perfection all the time too, this
allows you to work less and earn more.

Have you ever noticed how disjointed things have
become nowadays?

The time when you sat at your desk and just got
on with things has long gone for most of us and
so…

…the ability to set aside time to do specific things
one after the other is a sure fire way to improve
your productivity.

Think about the things you regularly do and
partition time and resources to do them all
together.

It could be something like your accounts, it could
be writing and managing social media, it could be
working on ways to improve your own skills…

…whatever it is don’t bounce around jobs and
tasks as this is inefficient, that way you will work
less and earn more.

11
Before you start something get some inspiration

Have you ever wondered what the best way to get
the most energy for a task is?

Well here’s my secret and that’s get inspired
before you start it.

Before a meeting, on the way to it in the car, I will
listen to something I know will put me in the right
frame of mind to do a great job.

I will also make a note of all I want to achieve from
that meeting because the outcome is what’s
important.

The same can be true in other areas of work too.

If I’m writing copy then I listen to or read some
great copy for inspiration.

If I’m looking for a new design for some packaging
then I search out some ideas.

Simply put, I know who gives me energy and
where I can get inspiration and this means I can…

…“turn on” what I need in just a few minutes
meaning the next few hours will be as productive
and valuable as possible which means I work less
and earn more.

How To Work Less And Earn More - Adrian Fleming

How To Work Less And Earn More - Adrian Fleming

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