Time Management for Fitness Business Owners Made Easy

A quick Google search for “how do I increase productivity” produces 210,000,000 results come up…

“Productivity hacks” produces 16,3000,000 results.

Seems that there a lot of people out there searching for ways to be more productive, get more done and have more time to spend on the things they really enjoy.

But, let’s cut to chase…the only reason you want to be more productive is to achieve a result, right?

If you could sit around wasting a few hours a day and accomplish everything you wanted there would be no need for an increase in productivity.

What is productivity?

I can’t, in good conscience, sit here and tell you that I’ve got everything figured out when it comes to mastering your time and getting stuff done.

There are lots of lessons learned, many the hard way, and methods of the super productive that you’ll discover in this article.

Right now, at the time of writing this, there are methods that are being implemented in my own day to enhance my ability to be productive.

Let’s just look at the root word in productivity. The literal definition is “the state or quality of producing something”. Another definition is “the effectiveness of productive effort in industry, as measured in terms of the rate of output per unit of input.”

Essentially, productivity = the results you get with the activities you do in the time you do them.

Before we even talk about hacks, tips or methods of increasing your output it’s critical that we know the goal we are trying to achieve.

Wouldn’t it suck to spend all this time honing in your productivity only to miss your goals or accomplish the wrong goal?

Goal Setting For Productivity

Start with the end in mind…

Before we create the plan and the path to reach our goals we have to be able to clearly see the outcome we want to accomplish.

Think about the result you will get if you are more productive. How will you tell if what you are doing is working?

There are 4 types of goals (we refer to them as Rocks with our coaching clients) you’ll be working with:

• Metric-based
• Habit-based
• Project-based
• Phase-based

***From here on out we’ll use the term Rock to reference goals.***

Metric-Based Rocks

These Rocks are indicative of a number or variety of numbers that mean the most to your business that quarter or that align with the current objective of the business for that period.

Examples include total clients, gross revenue, new clients, profit margins, retention, etc.

Habit-Based Rocks

Much like you would introduce new habits for your clients making changes to their lifestyle, nutrition or activity you may choose to create a new habit that makes you a more effective, productive business owner.

These Rocks are created to help you jumpstart, and hold you accountable, to creating a habit. You won’t end the habit at the end of a quarter, when the Rock is complete, rather this serves as a period to focus on this new habit so that you can create your ‘new normal’.

Examples including completing a % of your marketing activities, hitting X of Y weekly meetings with your team, etc.

Project-Based Rocks

If you’ve got a large project looming for the quarter or year that will require a large chunk of your attention and is critical to meet the objectives you’ve set for the business it’s appropriate to create a Rock to complete this project.

Examples include creating and implementing specific systems, redoing your website, hiring and onboarding a new team member, launching a new program, creating client experience programs, etc.

Phase-Based Rocks

There are times where you can’t complete a project or initiative in one quarter so you break it down into phases and work to complete each phase on time. This is where Phase-Based Rocks are handy.

These are also the trickiest to manage because you have to be able to adapt to changes in the landscape of the plan as you go while staying on target and keeping the objective of the plan in your sights at all times.

Examples include moving your business to a new location, starting a second facility, adding a new Core Offer, etc.

Setting SMARTR Rocks

That’s not a typo! We felt like SMART goal setting had something missing.

You’re likely familiar with the acronym:

• Specific
• Measureable
• Attainable
• Realistic
• Timely

We added one letter to the end that makes a huge difference, especially for High Performance business owners, like you…

RESULTS-BASED!

This is the key to it all. What is the one result you are looking for out of setting this Rock. What results, outcomes, etc will you experience in your business when it’s complete?

If you go back up to our previous section the this aligns perfectly with the 4 types of Rocks you can set!

When setting your Rocks make sure you clearly state them…

Examples:

• Metric-Based: Average Monthly GR from $20k to $25k by DEADLINE
• Habit-Based: Complete Weekly Review Meeting 10 out of 13 times by DEADLINE
• Project-Based: Sales System is developed and documented by DEADLINE
• Phase-Based: Complete Phase 1 of Opening a New Facility: Have 3 Locations Identified times by Deadline

Now you’ve got a framework for setting and stating your Rocks!

Create The Plan; Act On The Plan

Your target is clear, you’ve got a GREAT Rock set, now what?

Many people fail at accomplishing their goals because they lack a clear plan. They hope that by setting the goal it will somehow manifest itself.

Your next step is creating a solid plan of action and give yourself milestones to accomplish your goals.

Internally, our Coaching Partners use a SMARTR Rock Planning Sheet to guide them. I can’t give that to you today, but I can share how it works and how to set it up on your own.

Here are the Rock planning steps:

1. Name The Rock
2. Create Your Milestones/Key Steps
3. Build Your Timeline/Set Deadlines
4. Identify The Owners/Key Stakeholders
5. Track Your Progress

As you navigate the plan through the quarter, working to achieve your goals, this plan will help you identify when you are “On Track” or “Off Track”.

If you’re “On Track”, keep going! Things are happening just as you planned and you’re on target to accomplish your goals.

If you are “Off Track”, usually because you missed a deadline or milestone, it’s time to regroup. Step back and look at what has to happen for you to get back “On Track” and then implement your plan to get there.

Being “Off Track” isn’t a Rock killer, it’s an opportunity to figure out when you need to find help from your team, business coach, mentors or peers to get you back on track.

Share these plans with your team and your mentors so they can help you along the way and hold you accountable to accomplishing your goals. Remember, you’ve identified this as the MOST IMPORTANT item to address in your business. Treat it that way.

Productivity Myths

The first place most business owners start when they think about productivity is time management. And most continue to fail at managing their time.

Instead of fighting the same ol’ battles and losing may I suggest you shift your focus to Priority Management?

There’s a good chance you’ll never wipe everything off your to-do list and get every task that is fighting for your attention completed.

Trying to manage your time so that you get ALL THE THINGS done is a guaranteed way to fail.

As a business owner, your list will continue to grow, the challenges will continue to pop up and new issues will be thrown at you from every possible angle. It comes with the territory.

It’s critical that you understand your TOP PRIORITIES and focus on those in your daily and weekly activities.

After going through the previous sections and setting SMARTR Rocks and creating your SMARTR Rock Plan you’ll have a great idea of where most your time is spent for the next 90 days.

If you’re still trying to figure that out… the answer is ON YOUR ROCK!

But, you can’t focus all of your time on the Rock. You still have to train your clients, deliver your services, sell, market, manage, etc.

The first and best place to look for what other priorities you have besides your Rock is your position description.

Running your biz by yourself and don’t have a position description? That’s okay, your top priorities are likely Gross Revenue and Operating Margins in your business. Those two financial metrics will help you ensure you’re growing and hitting your bench marks.

If you have a team and don’t have a position description for each person that may be your next Rock 😉 It’s critical that everyone knows what they are responsible for and how they will be assessed. It’s not enough to just tell them, they have to be able to see it on a sheet of paper and reference as needed.

And yes, you even need a position description for yourself…in all the roles that you fill in your business.

Priority Tracking

To help manage your daily activities and keep the most important things at the center of your attention, at all times, we created a priority tracker for our Coaching Partners and members of The Academy.

If you are using a system for planning your day and week, and it’s working, keep on using it. If you want access to our resources join The Academy.

It’s also possible to create your own, but why do all that work when we’ve done it for you 😉

The Priority Tracker is broken up in sections:

• Weekly Highlights and Headlines
• Rock Status
• Metrics
• Marketing Priorities
• Daily Action Items
• Misc Notes

Each section has it’s own purpose, but having all this information at your disposal keeps it top of mind and allows you to plan your day and week according to your biggest, most important priorities.

Creating Space For Planning

All this is great, but if you don’t create the space and time to use the tools and plan your priorities it’s all for nothing. It’ll get thrown into the pile of planners, hacks and tips you’ve tried in the past to get more done and achieve your goals.

A huge shout out to FR Coaching Coordinator and Success Coach, Julie Hatfield for the creation and optimization of most of this productivity method. She’s one of the most organized and productive individuals that I’ve ever met.

It’s no accident either, she uses the method we’ve outlined here to get so much done. And it’s not just small tasks to check off a list!

One of the steps she’s put in place is a “Weekly Review With Self” meeting. At the end of each week she will block off 30 minutes to review her week, check in on her Rock progress and outline next steps for the following week.

This allows her to focus on areas of improvement, areas where she’s excelling and set her activities for the next week.

You may be thinking “Ryan, there’s no way I have 30 minutes for this…”

And I’d tell you that I thought the exact same thing, but was wrong. You are too…

There’s no way you DON’T have time for this 30 minute meeting. It helps you get clear on next steps, identify where you are off track and even celebrate your wins.

If you’re questioning the value, it may be a good idea to set a Habit-Based Rock!

Now What?

Your productivity won’t rapidly increase overnight and your business won’t automatically start doubling in size by using this productivity method. It takes work, practice and discipline to realize the benefits.

Having tools and resources in place that give you structure, eliminating the need to create them on your own, give you a jumpstart. That’s what you’ll get inside The Academy.

But, if you want an ever faster path to success you can get access to all of our tools and resources designed to help you become a better business owner and increase your productivity by joining a coaching program.

There’s a program for you, no matter where you are in your business. The next step is finding out if it’s a good fit and what program may be best suited to help you maximizing productivity and achieve your biggest goals.

Schedule a complimentary Discovery Call today!