Why a structured work week is your key to working less

Hello, and welcome to another episode of The Simplify Business with Brinie Podcast.

I'm your host, Brinie, and this week guys, I'm talking all about why a structured work week is the key to you working less.

Now for those of you who have been following all of my things, you know that there's been some big changes in my world and, in order to move forward with Business. with Brinie, what I've decided to do is poll my audience in my free Facebook group, you can go and find that link in the show notes and ask them what their biggest frustrations they are experiencing as a passion-fuelled, service business owner.

So two weeks ago, I did some free training around the third biggest frustration which was all around "three strategies when the work is becoming overwhelming" because that is a frustration.

This week, the second biggest entry was that you feel like you're working all of the time.

And so the free training that I've done over on my Facebook page and the Facebook group, which you can go and watch, is showing you why a structured workweek is the key to working less.

But what I have found when I work with my beautiful clients, or when I'm more when I'm running any kind of free group, is that there seems to be a lot of pushback when I start talking about "building a structured workweek"

And at first I thought that I was doing something wrong that that I was talking about it incorrectly. But what I've since come to realise is the whole concept of building a really structured workweek, gets a lot of pushback because of the women that I get to work with.

Okay, so if you're still listening, this is for you today.

And what I want to do is with this podcast episode, have this as a bit of a precursor to watching that free training. Okay.

Pushback when talking about "A Structured Work Week"

This is some of the pushback that I get when I talk about building a structured workweek.

#1 So the first pushback is usually from someone who really has a full time job who really wants to try to try these. And when we talk about building a structured workweek, there's this whole pushback of "wait a minute" and "no I don't want this to be real. I just want to know that I could"  I don't I don't want to make my life more hectic. I don't want to stress myself out. I just I just want to start this business and know that I could do it. inject a bit of joy into my life"

And I love that. I love that and that's where that fear comes from that I'm going to make this a really big deal for you a really big thing.

Okay, now I want to be clear I'm absolutely not. But we will get to that in a second.

#2 The second biggest piece of fear I get is around "No No Brinie You know if I'm if I build a structured workweek that makes this real, this is a thing. This is a thing and I don't want this to be a thing. You know, like I'm not ready to run a business. I don't want to be a business owner. I just this is an idea I had and if I keep it at arm's length, it's not really real"

Okay. Now that fear.

I have I have had that fear myself.

And what I can say to you is we will move you through that but you have the business no matter what you do.

If you have a service (and you can have a little chuckle at yourself while you're listening to this)

if you have a service and there is money exchanging hands, and my friend what you have in your hot little hand is a business. Okay?

And you have a choice on how you operate it.

That's with you, okay, it doesn't matter how I define it.

It is real and it is happening.

You will living it you're actually doing the thing you want to do.

You just don't want to tell yourself that you are and that's a that's a great problem to have.

But and I'm going to show you how you can implement a structured work week.

#3 And the third biggest one I get is "Brinie. You don't understand. I can't have a structured workweek because my life is really chaotic. I've got the kids I've got a full time job. You know, I cannot commit to doing something on Monday night. Yeah, because I just don't know what my life is gonna look like"

Guys, the reason I am so open about my background is not because I want you to know all the things that I've done. Okay, it's because I need you to understand I've lived that life. I've lived that life a number of times.

I still I still live that life. Okay. I am a woman running a passion-fuelled, service business, who has two small children whose husband does not want to be retired out. He loves his job. So for the mornings, I'm a single mum.

I'm doing all of the things.

I do all the school afternoon activities.

My kids I'm sick, I'm with them.

I'm with them on the weekends doing all the activities doing all the sports runs.

I want to be the mum in the P&C.

Okay, so I my life is not I'm not working 40 hours over here.

So I get you I feel you and what I want to say to you all with this fear of a structured workweek is it's a concept.

It isn't actually *Mondays you do this * Tuesdays you do this.

That works if it's your sole business, and I can help you with that.

But this concept of a structured workweek is I need to get clear on three things.

Three things, okay.

1. The first is you need to understand why you're doing your business. 100% your Why. Why are you doing this? Okay, 
2. You need to understand what your definition of success is. And you're going to hear me talk about this a lot. Because I am someone who was raised with a number of different definitions of success, none of which as I've since learned, have any bearing on how happy I am or on what success really is. Okay, you are not going to hear me tell you that $ figure coming in the door is a definition of success. If at some point in the future, you are working with me I will make you write down a piece a number on a piece of paper that's more for measuring your marketing and to help me move forward not because we define success by numbers, okay, what is your definition of success and just so I can explain to you a little bit more about what that means for me. Nowhere written on my computer staring at the face each and every day. Is there $1 figure okay, my definition of success is making a living, helping people and being fully available to my family when they need me. Okay, that's my definition of success. So what is your definition of success?
3. And then thirdly, thirdly, we build your business around that okay? Seriously, we backwards engineer this thing. We don't start with a 40 hour work week and whittle it down. And what I mean by that is you need to get really clear on how you make money and what tasks make you the cash. What tasks are the ones you actually need to do to bring money in the door and then we back within your knee that work around the life that you want to have. And this works if you want to bring in $100 a week. $500 a week, $1,000 a week it's all the same? Because then we become fixated on making the business work for you.

It's your business and your life.

It's all absolutely possible.

But we work from a different starting point.

And the reason I wanted to jump on and have a chat with you about this today is sometimes I feel people can shut off when they hear something.

I know I used to and I think "that's not for me. That's not the life I want to lead."

But if you can take anything away from today is that you are amazing.

Okay you if you have this concept in your mind, if you aren't already dabbling.

If you are generating income from this (and I know some of you listening you do smash your income goals), you're doing it, you're doing all of the things.

Let's just work smarter.

Call yourself whatever you want to call it. I hate the phrase small business because it makes you feel used to make me feel like what I was doing was important.

If any part of what you do brings joy to yourself or joy to someone else, what you do is important and needs to be treated as such.

Okay, so shoulders back. You've got this and you can absolutely build a business around the life that you currently have.

Okay, I'm gonna leave it there.

What I want you to do is to mark down those three things.

1. why are you doing this
2. what is your definition of success?
3. what do you need to do to bring money in each and every week?
4. Okay, then come across and join my free Facebook group. Let me know. 

I'll be sharing this podcast episode in there. And you will be in a group of like minded business owners who are passion-fuelled, service business owners trying to run a business just like you.

Until next week, everyone have a really wonderfully productive week, but, most importantly, keep doing what you love. 

Bye

Brinie

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