What am I supposed to be doing today?

It seems like an easy question but, for most of us it is not. When we, as business owners, entrepreneurs, artists, craftspeople and freelancers begin our day it is imperative that we know where to start.

In order to know what to do today, now, this moment we need to have determined where we want to go. So how do we do that? It’s easy – spend some time daydreaming.

It’s easier than you think. Set some time aside at least once a year to think through where you want to be in 12 months. You don’t need to have all the answers. You don’t even need to have a strong sense of how you are going to get there. This is the moment that you let yourself dream.

Give your imagination free reign. Don’t worry about being realistic. Don’t concern yourself with what business gurus might write or that last motivational speaker preached about. This is your time to dream about what is important to you.

Our dreams are as different as we are from each other. Sure they may follow some loose guidelines but what we want, why, and to what end can be varied and unique. That’s what makes our enterprises so individual.

Take, for example, these three bakeries. The first bakery is owned by someone with a bookkeeping background. They hired a baker and a retail manager. This person may have dreams associated with profit & loss statements and may wish to be the best “boss” possible to the brilliant baker in their employ. The second bakery may be owned by someone with a retail background who bought the bakery from their grandmother, who got it from her mother. This person may have dreams associated with the public, their clientele, and keeping the family honor in tact by serving neighbors they’ve known all their life. The third person may have gone to culinary school, fell in love with the smell and feel of baking. This person may have dreams associated with spending as much time in the kitchen as possible and seeing the smiles on other’s faces when they smell and taste the baked goods they’ve created.

So who is right? They all are. Be honest with yourself. Decide what it is that made you want to be a painter or a carpenter or to own that bakery. There is no wrong answer, unless it is not a truthful one.

Once you have your dreams on paper or screen, then work through your next year’s business plan with them in mind.

We know that we have to consider all facets of our company. We cannot simply bake. We must consider cost and profit and insurance and all of the other things that come along with it. But, we cannot simply consider profit either. The most successful people are those who know what they love to do – what they are good at. They recognize what they are not as good at and get the proper team together to fill in the holes. We are only as good as our administration.

So what’s the next step? Take out that list of things that need to be completed for your business to thrive. Consider where you fit in the bigger scheme of your company. Then make sure the other items are covered by someone who loves to do them as much as you love to do what you dream about. In other words delegate! Not only to free your time to do what you love but also to make sure each task is being completed by someone qualified and enthusiastic about doing so.

Vet your team. Stay in touch with each member and determine what their dreams are. When you have a team that is doing what they love (including you), you will find ways to not only succeed but also to attack problems, find solutions to obstacles and drive your goals forward.

So ignore what you’ve heard. Take a moment each year to be a day-dreamer. Then check in with yourself and your team periodically to make sure your dreams are being realized. From there you can plan your year, quarter, month, week and pretty soon you know exactly what you need to do today! Better yet, you are starting your day, living your dream, with No Worries.

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