What could you do with an extra 40+ hours a month?

Hey there,

Question: What keeps you tied to your business almost 24/7?

Answer: All those little interruptions you have to deal with, because, well, nobody else can or will.

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What if those interruptions didn't need to happen nearly as often?

What if some of them didn't need to happen at all?

What if the time you spend dealing with all those little interruptions actually added up to a week?

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In the first newsletter, we covered how you can remove that all too common source of interruption - Frequently Asked Questions. And last time we covered systemising how to handle phone calls, so that anyone in your team can do it.

The Disappearing Boss is all about getting you away from your business without worrying about what might happen, so today, I'm going to take you through 4 more simple, straightforward ways to rid yourself (and your team) of unproductive interruptions, that could get you well on the way to taking that first short break.

• Get someone else to answer the phone.
• Set up autoresponders for emails so nobody feels ignored.
• Use a calendar app to control who can book your time, and when they can book it.
• Automate your invoices and payments, so you and your clients can concentrate on creating value.

But first, I want to convince you of something.

People like automation - when it's done right.

It's a truism in small business that "people buy from people". We usually take that rather literally - that we should always deal with prospects and clients "in person", but I think things are much more nuanced than that.

On the one hand, yes, people like to buy from businesses that feel human, that have a personality - even when they know that what's behind that personality is a vast, impersonal machine.

On the other hand, people like convenience and they like to be in control. They want to be able to do things for themselves really simply.

It's only when they can't carry on by themselves that having a human to call on becomes critical.

But - if you're spending all your time handling stuff that could be automated, you're simply not going to be available for when flesh and blood really counts.

So the thing I want you to realise, is that it's perfectly OK to automate some of your interactions with the people you serve.

In fact, automation in the right places, done the right way, can deepen their relationship with you, and free up you and your team to show up fully as real live human beings when that's what really matters.

So, here are 4 'automations' that can help you do just that:

1) Get someone else to answer the phone (potential time saving = 5 - 8 hours per month).

Now you've systemised how phone calls are handled, you don't have to be the only person that deals with them. It doesn’t even have to be someone in your team, you can now confidently outsource it.

To begin with, a simple messaging service (such as answer.co.uk) works wonders, because the phone is answered promptly by a real person, and a message texted and emailed to you immediately. The caller gets a response immediately, from a real person. You get to choose when to answer the call, without making the caller feel like you don’t care.

And if you make sure more than one person in your business is able to handle calls, just this can be enough of a buffer to free you up for a day off.

2) Use a calendar app to control who can book your time, and when they can book it (potential time saving = 15 hours a month).

There are several of these apps about. Most let you set up different types of meeting and different schedules for booking them, so you can confidently balance your diary between work that's 'on the business' and work that's 'in the business'.

For example I have every weekday morning blocked out for writing, plus the rest of Mondays and Fridays for between-meeting client work. This doesn’t mean I can’t book anything at these times, it just means nobody else can book me without consulting me first.

The other big benefit of using a calendar app is that it removes all that to-ing and fro-ing of trying to find a good time to meet up, and gives the other party the convenience and control they crave. Just send the client a link to your schedule.

Most apps include reminders and the ability for the requester to reschedule, so you get fewer no-shows too.

Once you've seen the benefit of this for your own work, you could go further and let your team set something similar up for themselves, so they can take control of their time too - even between each other. For example they could use it to block time out to concentrate on getting core client work done.

3) Set up autoresponders to messages (potential time saving = 10 hours a month).

It might feel wrong not to answer emails in person, but actually people prefer a timely automated response to no response. And just because the response is automated doesn't mean it can't reflect your business personality.

Autoresponders can be set up for messaging services like WhatsApp and texting, as well as for emails. So you can make sure all bases are covered.

Use your calendar app to set aside times to go through and answer them, perhaps first thing every morning and first thing after lunch.

Then turn notifications off. If something is really urgent, people will call.

4) Automate your invoices and payments (potential time saving = 10 hours per month).

However you take payment for your services, making the process as automatic as possible doesn’t just save you time (often time you’d rather be spending with your family and friends), it can also improve cash-flow, as invoices are raised on time, and paid on time.

Best of all, it means that all your conversations with clients can be about the work you are doing together.

The simplest 'automation' to start with, is to set up repeating invoices in your accounting system for regular invoices. That way you only have to set things up once and the accounting software will raise it, approve it, send it, even send reminders.

Next, sign yourself and your clients up to a direct debit service such as GoCardless, so that all invoices (even one-offs) can simply be paid on the due date.

You will pay a small percentage of the invoice value for this service, but that cost is more than offset by the positive effect on your cashflow and the time you save chasing. GoCardless also enables clients to pay invoices online on receipt if they wish, so even if a client hasn't agreed to a direct debit, this service still makes getting paid on time easier.

Finally, do the same for your own payments to suppliers.

If you do just one of these automations, this'd be the one I'd recommend. It's sooo liberating, not just of your time, but of your mind.

Conclusion

Each one of these actions will save you significant amounts of time immediately.

Altogether they could give you back as much as 43 hours a month.

Not only that, if you also apply some of these actions to your team, you save them time too. Perhaps as much as 25 hours a month. Each.

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What could you all be doing with that extra time?

How many more clients could you comfortably take on?

How much time could you spend working on your business instead of in it?

How many late nights or weekends could you free up?

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That’s it.

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Here’s what I hope you learned today:

• A well-designed automation is always better than a no-show human.
• People like automation that makes their lives easier. And, if you make life easier for the people you serve, you almost always make your life easier too.
• 'Automation' doesn't have to mean expensive software. Sometimes it can just mean sharing the load of a job with other humans.

The most important thing any of these actions do is put you back in control of your time.

So you can start actively carving out enough time and headspace to work on your business not in it. Or spend a week away from it.

None of it is rocket science and none of it is expensive. You just have to do it.

Pick the thing that's easiest to do, and do it this week.

Let me know which one and I'll send you a nudge in a week's time.

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Thanks for reading!

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