Small Business Essentials

I dropped the ads from my site.

In the end, it had nothing to do with the aesthetics or the influence, but with clarity. I simply felt the ads were distracting me from my true, internal reasons for having this site, and I couldn’t let that happen. The ads were removed, my purpose for this site has been reaffirmed, and all order has been restored.

Which brings me back to my continued goal of Less for 2008: Less Noise. By taking the time to reflect on my true goals and eliminate outside influences in my decision, I came up with the right decision for me—and that is what "less noise" is all about.

What is noise? Noise is the activities going on around you, the distractions hiding your message, the things keeping you from your focus, clarity, and true self.

Reducing Actual Noise

I don’t know how anyone works from a coffee shop. I suppose if I had some sort of writer’s block, I might head to one to energize myself to get going again—but for the most part, that amount of action and sound is completely distracting to someone trying to work. Instead, I work from home, where I can have the house as quiet as I want and not have to worry about my silence being invaded. If controlling your environment is not possible, try these ideas:

• Don’t listen to music.
  I know someone is going to come on here and tell me how their music makes them work better, but for the most part, it does not. (The one exception might be music without lyrics, played softly, but even that is not always effective.) What happens in reality is that your brain is going into overload trying to stay on task while also processing the words to the song and whatever else is going on. This kind of mutiltasking actually makes you slower and more prone to mistakes. So turn that music off and learn how to enjoy the silence.
• Wear earplugs.
  If you have no choice but to work in an office or a noisy location, bring some earplugs with you. Of course, don’t use them in any situation that might be dangerous, such as while riding a bike or driving a car, but feel free to use them when your yackity cube mate just won’t shut up.
• Soundproof your home office.
  Even if you don’t live near an airport or a busy freeway, reducing the noise in your environment can help you concentrate better and reduce your stress levels. There’s strong evidence to support the idea of noise inhibiting learning and causing stress, such as this study on children and noise done by my alma mater, Cornell University.

Quieting the Noise in your Head

External noise isn’t the only thing distracting you. For many entrepreneurs, the constant swirl of ideas and passions makes concentration nearly impossible. To clear your head so that you can concentrate more, try these new habits:

• Use a notebook system.
  It doesn’t matter if it’s an actual notebook with a pen, 20 notebooks, bits of scrap paper, or a file on your computer: writing things down will get them out of your head and make room for you to process the things you are currently working on. Think of it as a mental filing system—by putting your thoughts on paper, you allow your mind to free itself of the burden of trying to remember them. Many people love the Getting Things Done system for this.
• Find a quiet place.
  Some people go for walks, meditate, or practice yoga; I do all my best thinking in the shower. The purpose of this is to find a space in which you are free of noise and distractions in order to internalize your thoughts and solve your current challenges. When I am under the greatest work stress, I have gotten a great deal of clarity out of hot shower or a extra-long run.
• Listen to yourself.
  Many times, a struggling business owner will seek out the answers to get through the next dip by hiring consultants, callings colleagues, or spending hours on Google. These activities often add to the noise and stress, not reduce it. Instead, try internalizing your search and reflecting on your current progress and goals. You may find that you have more of the answers than you think! This process also allows you to adapt your business to current challenges while avoiding any "me too" behaviors or opinions that will draw you away from the core of your business.

Taming the Electronic Noise

All of the electronic devices we depend on can add to the noise in our lives that is keeping us from greater productivity. To tame that beast, turn it off! You can live for an hour or 2 without checking e-mail, IM, Twitter, or your phone messages. There are very few times in life where picking up the phone on the first ring is actually important.

Eliminating Behavioral Noise

In my next post in this series, I will go more into the nuts and bolts of eliminating unnecessary activities and actions from your daily life. For now, focus on time management and wasting less time as a way of eliminating behavioral noise—by removing unnecessary actions from your daily life, you will help eliminate the noise from your business as well.

Filling the Noise Void

What happens when the noise is gone from your life? Your signal to noise ratio increases, making the message and path of action more clear for you. That is the goal—to help your brain eliminate or reduce the noise in your life in order for the true message to come through clearly. The entire process of eliminating noise from your life will help you to achieve clarity and confidence in your business strategy and execution.

A Note About This Series

In case you missed it, this series started with Less, Part 1: Time.

Photo by BarelyFitz.