Are we Ever Really DONE? How to maintain a “continuous improvement” mentality when you feel you have already worked hard

Working hard is needed; some days are better than others, though. As an entrepreneur, we have HIGHS some days and LOWS other days. Sometimes we get into a RUT.

Question: How do all “those” people make it look so easy?

Answer: Hard work, consistency, and self-care.

Hard work:

Don’t be afraid of hard work. A “lucky break” happens when you are prepared (AKA work really hard at being ready) and opportunity knocks.

Consistency:

I just spoke with an entrepreneur who is also a mom of small kids. She has a propensity to bounce around with different interests. What’s missing? Consistency. A plan and clear and steady steps to get there.

Self-Care:

In the Productivity Success Cake Model, HEALTH commands the base/bottom layer. Without health we have nothing. Yet, we ignore our health. We are so good at “tricking” ourselves that we can ignore the body’s messages. The body always wins, so my advice is to tune into your needs before you end up in chronic pain, etc. That’s REAL! For example, over the last week I’ve been feeling a virus coming on. Today it exploded. I have been hydrating and cutting all calls short. I have been asking my family for help.

Bonus tip:

If you feel tired, burned out, exhausted, and yet, you say “I need to continuously improve!” then the BEST course of action is to REST. Put self-care at the top of the list. Go out in nature. Draw. Meditate. Sing. Do the OPPOSITE of being productive so that you have the mental stamina needed to….

  1. Focus on outcomes: Assess where you are and use this pinpoint to compare your later outcomes, this will help you see results much more easily and efficiently. It will also give you a steppingstone to start from on your next improvement.
  2. Set standards: if you are of a continuous improvement mindset, it’s important that you set out the standards of work upon which you will always deliver. These might come in the form of a checklist or simply a few notes, but will help guide you in terms of what is “good enough” and what needs to be worked on to improve.
  3. Stay curious: To improve every day, its crucial you stay curious. Asking why to most things will spark desire to improve and push you to be better each day. What are others doing that you’re not? How can you be achieving that little bit more? Where are you on the leader board of achievers today?
  4. Celebrate the failures: We all fail. When you do, remember failures are treasure and should be treated as such. They provide insight into “what ifs” and “what could have been done differently” and are valuable to the process of improvement. Take time to celebrate achievements but even more time to reflect on failures as these will be key to understanding how to move forwards. Fail big, fail often, and fail better!
  5. Get lean: cut doing things for “doing things” sake. Question what is being done and strip back processes to be as lean and efficient as possible. This will save you time and energy, which can be focused for another aspect of your day that may have a greater outcome.

Although sometimes exhausting and somewhat unrelenting, having a continuous improvement mindset will take you to places that you never imagined possible. Others with a fixed mindset may also reach the top but you will reach it before them, having learned more and having done it more efficiently and effectively. Keep striving and you will always keep thriving.

I’ll leave you with this quote: – “Success is a process that continues, not a status that you reach. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.”