From working more productively to living more productively

The pomodoro technique, scheduling a set meeting-free day or putting your smartphone on airplane mode: productivity tips and tricks abound. No doubt you have already tried some of them yourself, with or without success. But according to Mien Gheysens, entrepreneurial strategist and productivity expert, this is not at all what working more efficiently is all about. She herself wants to make the shift from working more productively to living more productively and helps entrepreneurs get back on track.

Describing Mien in a few words is a real challenge, given her track record. She combined her Master in Commercial Engineering with studies in Psychotherapy and Biochemistry, and later a company in mergers and acquisitions with her coaching business. A busy bee with a wide range of interests, Mien was soon forced to plan her life efficiently.

"I myself am not the most efficient type by nature - I have a monkey mind. My head goes from here to there, and that got in my way. So I was introduced to productivity early on and tried a lot of things myself. By trial and error though, it took years to find a system that worked for me."

"I soon noticed: even if you've applied all the typical hacks and structures, it's still no guarantee that the work will happen. Then I started to investigate myself: what plays a role there?" says Mien. "Among other things, energy level and mindset, I discovered. And procrastination - something people often link to being lazy, but that's not the case at all. I thus arrived at five pillars that are important for working more efficiently and that form the basis of my approach."

What those five pillars are? Mien distinguishes them as follows:

• Strategic focus: where do you want to go in the long run, and what should you say no to?
• Operational focus: dealing with distractions and increasing focus
• Structure: planning, how are you going to get it done practically
• Procrastination: discovering and addressing the underlying mental patterns around it
• Energy: boosting your energy and working according to your energy level

More, more, more

One stands out for her - not coincidentally the one entrepreneurs struggle with the most. She discovered that strategic focus is a must, but not just for those who want to be more productive. "That strategic focus helps you get on track to what's important to you. Crucial in my opinion, because there is a dogma of more, more, more. More money, more status, more growth. But for some entrepreneurs, that's not important at all," the entrepreneurial strategist explains.

"Working more productively, therefore, for me is also not about being able to work even more, but about being able to live more. A quote I often bring up: the best memories were rarely on a to-do list. Your life is not about checking off to-do lists lol."

"Working more productively is not about being able to work even more, but about being able to live more."

Because, Mien believes, many founders have forgotten why they started entrepreneurship in the first place. "In a survey I conducted, 94 percent of entrepreneurs said they started their business to experience more freedom. A quarter actually experienced that freedom. That's sad, isn't it?"

"Recently I was at an award show, and what you see on the screen there of the nominees is their name, the name of the company, turnover and number of FTEs (full time equivalent, a measure of total staff strength). Nice, but I know some of them are dead wrong because they are slaves to their company. To me, that is not successful business. Successful entrepreneurship is being able to create a beautiful business without being at the expense of yourself. A business that fits into what you consider a good life for yourself."

"That more, bigger, faster, is a pitfall for many entrepreneurs - including myself," she admits. "Entrepreneurs are often driven people, but that drive sometimes gets in their way, too. By always wanting to move forward, it's hard to stop and enjoy the successes."

"Entrepreneurs are driven people, but that drive also gets in their way."

"Many entrepreneurs can hardly separate themselves from their business. The trap is that they link their self-worth to the value of their business. That they are only valuable as people when they have made so much revenue, or hired so many people. Then they are enormously focused on the growth of their company, while that is not necessarily what makes them happy," concludes the entrepreneurial strategist.

Finding your focus

This is precisely why Mien finds that strategic focus so important. Because only thanks to that focus, can an entrepreneur set his priorities. "It is important to keep looking carefully: what is important to me? Entrepreneurship should be a means to a good life. The biggest tip I can give is: take a very honest look in the mirror. What were your motives for starting your business, and to what extent are you fulfilling them now? Why are you doing all this in the first place? A values exercise is crucial."

"What I often work around is what I call growth gratification. It means finding satisfaction in taking steps in your direction, developing yourself, building your dream life and thinking long-term, rather than instant gratification. Some of that is in your personality, but it's also a muscle that you can continue to develop and train," says Mien.

She herself builds in many moments of reflection to ground her back in what's important. "For example, I do journaling, which means I write down my thoughts almost daily, and once a week I reflect: what successes can I celebrate, what do I want to improve? But I also ask myself the question: what can I stop doing, what do I want to do less of? How can things be simpler? I tend to want to make things too big and too complex, so I challenge myself in that."

"So many entrepreneurs are moving so fast, but in the wrong direction."

You don't necessarily have to do journaling to keep your focus. There are many other options, according to Mien. "A sounding board is a good option, like Rubicon's Circles, to have a check-in moment. Or an entrepreneurial retreat with like-minded souls. I see the latter coming up more and more lately. But how you do it doesn't really matter that much - it's mostly about doing that on a frequent basis. So many entrepreneurs are moving so fast, but in the wrong direction. That's how you discover in time whether you're still doing the right thing."

"And I realize: it's not an either-or story," she admits. "It's constantly figuring out how to integrate your life and business well with each other. You can't just drop half of your clients because there's more time left, that will destroy your business."

"You have to ask yourself how your business can run well without compromising my wellbeing, and vice versa. But today I fear that there is often still too one-sided a focus, and I see it as my mission to do something about that," she concludes.

Looking for help finding or maintaining your focus? Come to one of our sounding board sessions with like-minded entrepreneurs! We already help 180+ Flemish entrepreneurs to build a life that makes them truly happy. We would love to have you there. Schedule a short introduction to the team here.