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5 Steps to Optimize Your Time and Maximize Your Results

Pushing for growth and excellence isn’t always a good thing.

We think driving for results is what gets results.

We’ve been so conditioned to push, push, push.

As if pushing for growth and excellence is always a good thing.

In reality, diminishing returns start to set in once you’ve crossed the point of maximum yield, where pushing harder doesn’t get you better results but negative returns.

Diminishing returns is a concept from economics. The graph below depicts this phenomenon:

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Will doing more really get you the result you want?

Sadly, many people think if they’re not getting the outcome they want, like more clients, more sales, more email subscribers, or more followers, etc., they just need to do more.

Yes, to a certain extent, it is a numbers game.

• If you want to get more clients, you need to prospect more.
• If you want more sales, you need to get on more calls.
• If you want to grow your email subscribers or followers, you need to tell more people how you can help them.

But at some point, diminishing returns will set in.

Especially if you’re a one-person business, this point is likely to happen sooner than you think.

Even more so if you’re a working mom like me who’s juggling multiple hats and responsibilities.

You’ll get tired, your content just won’t be as fresh, and you may even start making mistakes.

You may come across as desperate and needy on sales calls, and the DMs you send out will just come across as salesy.

Then what happens?

You don’t get the clients, sales, email subscribers, or followers that you want in the first place.

You need both quality and quantity.

Does this mean you shouldn’t play full out for your dreams?

Of course not.

I’m all for going after what your heart desires. It’s what I help working moms do!

Maybe you’ve heard the phrase,

"Focus on the quality, not the quantity".

Well, I don’t agree with that entirely.

Because you do need to also have some level of quantity to get the results you want.

You don’t get good at writing by only writing a single piece of content and expecting it to go viral.

Many creatives have spent years practicing over and over again to master their craft before they even got noticed, if at all.

But not too much.

At the same time, you also need quality.

So it isn’t quality over quantity, but quality and quantity.

Yes, I like to think in terms of ‘and’ rather than ‘this or that’ (it’s so limiting).

The key is to know how much is enough - both in terms of quantity and quality.

What’s the Goldilocks point of quantity and quality then?

How do you know when the quantity and quality are enough?

How can you tell you’re at the point of maximum yield where it’s better to just step away rather than push yourself further to get even greater results?

Here are 5 steps to help you figure this out.

Step 1: Pause to feel what your body is telling you.

We feel emotions through our bodies.

Is there a specific part of your body that is tired, tensing up, or uncomfortable?

Take this newsletter for instance.

It’s called Sunday Digest for a reason - it’s supposed to be sent to you every Sunday.

You may (or may not) have noticed it’s Monday when this gets sent.

Why?

Because I didn’t get it done yesterday.

Was I lazy?

Do I not respect deadlines?

Is this just a frivolous hobby for me?

No, no, and no.

I made a conscious decision to send it out today.

Why?

Because I was falling asleep while typing it last night.

I literally fell over my keyboard trying to type out the newsletter.

Step 2: Pay attention to the kinds of labels and stories you’re telling yourself.

If you looked inside my head last night as I was trying to get this newsletter out, you would’ve heard all the unkind things I said to myself, like,

• ‘You can’t even stick to sending out a newsletter on time, you’ll never make it.’
• ‘You’re just not serious about your side hustle.’
• ‘How can anyone trust you or depend on you if you can’t even get this newsletter out like you said you would?’

Would you say this to your own kids or someone you care about?

When it comes to emotions, most people think only of the ‘negative’ emotions - like fear, anger, hate, jealousy, resentment, shame, etc.

But those are just labels and stories we give to how we feel.

Emotions on their own are neither good nor bad, they just are.

They’re vital in helping us navigate through danger and life in general.

Step 3: Assess the potential consequences of stepping back instead of pushing forward.

At first, I didn’t really catch myself saying all those unkind things.

Instead, I believed all those stories.

So I pushed harder, but the words just weren’t coming.

It got to a point where I was forcing myself to type something, anything, just so I could check the box to say I’ve sent the newsletter out on Sunday, just like I promised myself I would.

I’m all for keeping promises to yourself, it’s important.

But I felt in my heart it wasn’t going to be anything good or useful to you if I wrote it for the sake of checking a box.

The intention wouldn’t have been right.

I send these newsletters out to share lessons and insights I’m gaining along the way with the intention that it will help you somehow, in some way.

Forcing one out with the intention of just getting it done would be a waste of your time and mine.

I knew the newsletter wasn’t a matter of life or death.

It also didn’t mean I’m inconsistent because I missed this newsletter.

After all, I’ve been sending emails to my subscribers for years.

Who says consistency must be measured only weekly, every Sunday, via a newsletter?

Me.

Which also means, I can change what that story means!

Step 4: Change the narrative of what you’re making this mean and decide what you’ll do.

So I decided to go to bed and write to you today instead.

Yes, a day late.

I told the little negative voice in my head that what they were saying wasn’t true.

There have been many things I’ve ensured got done, no matter what.

Like catching a flight, making sure my kids got home safe every day, or getting a critical project at work done.

But this newsletter was something I felt could wait a few hours.

My body was protesting it needed sleep. So was my mind.

That’s how I know when I’m past the point of maximum yield and it’s better to just step back.

Step 5: Review how you feel about this decision

I was glad I decided not to push forward and took a step back instead.

Someone told me recently that I have a tendency to push hard.

And I should learn to lean back.

I know that about myself. It’s what’s helped me achieve success.

There’s nothing wrong with going all out for something you really want.

As long as you know how to recognize when it’s actually more productive to step back because you’ve gone past your point of maximum yield.

This will prevent you from crossing into the negative returns territory.

Not knowing where this point is is what causes people to burn out or have a breakdown.

Writing this newsletter today felt so much easier with a fresh mind and a rested body.

To summarise...

The next time you’re in doubt about whether you’ve gone past your maximum yield point, just apply these 5 steps:

1. Pause to feel what your body is telling you.
2. Pay attention to the kinds of labels and stories you’re telling yourself.
3. Assess the potential consequences of stepping back instead of pushing forward.
4. Change the narrative of what you’re making this mean and decide what you’ll do.
5. Review how you feel about your decision.

That’s it for now.

Talk to you again soon. Have a great week!

Sharon