The Superpower of Compartmentalizing Your Thoughts

The Small Business show episode 376 for Wednesday, April 20, 2022. Greetings folks and welcome to the Small Business show here at BusinessShow Co the show where we are small business ing every week. And when we say we, we don't just mean us. The two of us, Shannon and me that host the show, we mean you too. We're all small businessing every week. Sponsors that are also small businessing or businessing depending on the size of their business include Rate Tracker presented by SkySale Solutions at Sky-Sale S A I L.com RateTracker and HunterDouglas.com SBS. We'll talk more in depth about each of those. Hunter Douglas has got some rebates for you they want to share and Rate Tracker is going to be able to get your merchant processing presented in a way that you actually understand it and you don't get screwed. So some great stuff from some great sponsors for now. Here in Durham, New Hampshire I'm Dave.

Hamilton and here in Lafayette, California, I'm Shannon Jean. Excited. Had a little rain last night, a little snow up in the mountains here. It's amazing for this time of year in California. So having a good day?

Oh, that's right.

Yeah. Yeah.

What's that the second time this year it's rained for you?

Yeah, I think so. We're supposed to rain again Thursday.

Oh my goodness.

I'm. It's a, it's a miracle.

That's great. So that's exciting.

Yeah, yeah, it's good.

It helps keep the fires down.

Right.

Because that's right.

That's the next season we roll into out here in California Fire season.

Yeah. Yeah.

Hopefully this fire season is not as exciting as last year's was, I think.

So there is if, if, if for nothing else, there is less to burn.

Right?

Well, there's that.

Yeah. Fair. Yeah.

So it's good. But things are happening. Things are good. You know, we're, we do a pre show ramble that I think was really productive for us today. We're gonna have some new things coming your way.

You started talking about different names for the show. I know I brought that up last week and we've got, we've got some good ones cooking. If you've got a name for us. Feedbackusshow co. We'd love to hear your thoughts on. Or maybe you want us to keep the existing name. This is, it's your call. Let us know. It's actually, you know, we'll make the.

Call kind of your call. We'll make it Together, certainly.

Speak now or forever hold your peace.

There you go. Yeah.

Feedbackusinessshow.co Hey, I was looking around this week at small business stuff, and there's HR 3807, which the House passed this week. $55 billion fund that'll help. That is targeted at small businesses. Now it's targeted at specific small businesses. They've got 42 billion of this fund for restaurants, food trucks, wineries, breweries, and bakeries. And this fund has been created, you know, partially because of the, you know, lingering changes from the pandemic, but also. And I realize some of these things are lingering changes from the pandemic, but things that. Very real things like inflation, supply chain issues, continuing labor shortages. Right. Like, businesses are going to need more. And so like I said, 42 for people in the food and drink Service, and then 13 billion will go to gyms, event venues, theaters, transportation contractors, and sports teams. Now, hopefully we're not talking about professional sports teams.

I doubt that. There has to be some. They've been making a lot of money with minor league.

Yeah.

Yeah.

But like, but I thought this was. This was great. And they said that you can go and apply for grants from 2500 to 25,000 in several cities and counties already. So. So there you go.

That's great.

Yeah.

Well, we'll see. You know, hopefully that I'm always a big fan of getting back the money that we're paying the government.

Yep.

Because you can't forget the government has no money.

Right.

They have.

It's our money.

Right?

Yeah, it's our money.

Yeah, we get some of it back. Maybe.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, maybe, maybe.

But we're recording this the day after we paid our personal income taxes. So, you know.

Yep, Yep.

I see lots of. And the IRS posts on Twitter yesterday.

Yeah.

So.

But yeah, I think.

I think everything that I got in, in payroll, protection, I wound up paying back. So there you go.

Well, it kept. Kept things going, I guess.

Yeah, no, it was good to have it while we had it. It's all given back. Those weren't loans, by the way. Those were grants. But, you know, they. They come get it other ways, you see.

Yeah, no, I think it's great. And, and I think that, you know, I have mixed feelings. I'm not a big fan of government. I think, you know, the farther up you get in the. In the chain, the more disconnected they are from our. Our lives. But, you know, helping businesses, especially those ones that were really impacted.

Yeah.

You know, I think is. It's always a good thing And, And I think.

Yeah, restaurants and theaters, man, like the.

You know, like that.

That's a huge part of what got hit really hard. So.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And, you know, one thing I'd love to see as well is. And I know money is great, but also some kind of commitment. I think it could be a powerful message if, if you were in local politics or state politics especially, would be, you know, I'm committed to eliminating, you know, X number of rules and regulations related to your business.

Oh, interesting.

X number of, you know, red tape or paperwork or fees or this kind of thing. Because I think that's a big challenge at least, especially in California, I should say. Not at least, but especially.

Oh, yeah, that's right. Oh, you guys are.

Yeah, yeah.

You guys are lousy with stuff.

It's to do anything, you know, here and with. And so I think that would be a way that. To gain lots of support and you wouldn't have to necessarily, you know, write a big check, you know, giving money back. But you're going to let these businesses keep some of their money.

Yeah.

And lower some of the fees that they're gonna.

But that's how it used to be just to be. I mean, you know, those of us that. That don't live in California, that don't choose to live there, we're all petrified of having nexus defined in California for our businesses.

Right.

Because as soon as nexus is defined, then you have to start paying, you know, taxes. And, and the. The lowest amount that you'll pay is 800 bucks a year just for the privilege of having nexus in California.

And that.

That'd be the first thing to wipe out.

Right.

Because it takes about five minutes to.

File, you know, oh, it's super fast. They take my money very quickly and.

They want 800 bucks. And even though, okay, it's not a lot of money, but when you're. I mean, I run multiple businesses and every time I pay, you know, I know you pay more net this kind of stuff, but you want to start something new and you're not even sure it's going to work and generate still 800 bucks. It's still 800 bucks.

That's it.

And it's just a barrier to entry. So I would love to see more of that.

I think I would love to see more or less of that, depending on how you look at the less taken. But that's relatively new In California last 10 years, I think, because the state was out of money. So they looked at, okay, well, look, there's all these out of state businesses that are doing business here, we can go get them. And here's how we do this. And I think, unfortunately, that that is going to only get worse before it gets better. Not just in California, but everywhere.

Yeah, that's correct.

Because of online businesses. I mean, I used to joke that people would say, well, where's your business, incorporated? I said, have you ever noticed when you're driving from, like around here in New England, we change states all the time. I can drive to Maine in 10 minutes. I can drive to Massachusetts in about 30 minutes. And they'd say, you probably don't notice it, but when you cross the border, there's a little crack between the two states. That's where my business lives is right in between the cracks of the states. Because at the time, 20 years ago, an online business had no home, it had no taxable home. You could sort of pick and choose. And I would say, well, I incorporated in Texas, which has very, very favorable franchise tax rules. And meaning, I don't think I've ever paid the state of Texas anything. And that's legal. Like, I'm not screwing them. I'm not doing anything against the law. It's just how it works. And so I was like, I just organized there and that was it. And you know, that's been chipped away at by all the other states since then. And I think that it kind of has to because they're losing also in the last 20 years, they've lost all the brick and mortar tower. Not all, but lots of the brick and mortar taxes that they were getting. And so it's got to come from somewhere, you know.

Yeah.

And I think over the last couple of years that sales tax equation has been solved. Meaning, you know, you're paying sales tax, but.

But that's not business. Like here in New Hampshire we have a business enterprise tax, which, oh yeah, I now have to pay. I honestly, I didn't used to have to pay it, but they changed the, the way you define nexus and now it's like, oh, guess what? You know, and, and of course, they changed it a number of years ago. I think last year I paid about 13 grand in. In business past due business nexus fees and penalties and interest and all that crap. But yeah, it's not just sales. You're right. The sales tax thing has mostly been solved.

Mostly. Yep.

But the, and the other fees.

But like the whole nexus tax franchise taxes are the. That's the thing that I think we're gonna see get worse before it gets better.

So, you know, if you're thinking about it, you want to, especially your local and state, you know, politicians, assembly, you know, different state representatives, those are folks that really have a direct impact on your business. And you need to seek those people out and support them, the ones that you, you know, agree with on the way they manage things and, and be fit. You know, you got to be physically responsible. Like California's just, you know.

Oh, yeah.

Thing. Because there's just a gazillion people here and all this. It's its own set of problems.

But sure, yeah, every state's different, which is how it is.

But.

And states do need to operate. I mean, they need the money from somewhere, but.

Yeah, that's right.

That's right. But getting involved, you know, meeting those people, they want to talk to you, especially if you're a business owner, you're a stakeholder, you are considered a higher level of a voter if you own a business. And if you tell them that and reach out, they'll listen for you and you can share these thoughts with them. And I would encourage you to do that if, you know, you need to. You need to speak out and protect your interests. And that works.

It can work. Yeah, for sure.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

More people they hear from, the more.

People they hear from.

Yep. That.

That they want to get elected the next time. So.

Yeah, most, you know, the thing is, most small business owners don't have a lot of time. And, you know, we're going to talk about compartmentalizing your time here today after the, the sponsor break. But that's.

Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no. I got to stop you there. You can dismiss me on things about state taxes and that's fine, but we never call it a break for sponsors. Our listeners don't. They're not getting a break. We are telling you about people that, that, that, that are. Yes, they're paying us, but they are also companies that, you know, we are happy to present to you. So it's not a break.

It's not a break. We use their services as well.

Yeah, sure, that's right.

It's good stuff. But, yeah, that's one of the things. Compartmentalizing a little bit of time to reach out to your local representatives can really help and can get your voice heard and actually promote your business as well. Because they like success stories and they want to help people in their districts and that kind of stuff.

Yeah, yeah.

Good stuff.

Well, it is. We do want to talk about compartmentalization. And first, it is time for our sponsor segment. If that works for you, Mr. Shannon Jean.

Yeah, it does. I'm ready.

Yeah.

All right. Our first sponsor for today is Rate Tracker, presented by skysale Solutions, your trusted payments partner. I can't tell you how important it is to have a trusted payments partner. Actually, I can, because I already have. We ranted about this on an episode not that long ago about payment partners that both Shannon and I had had in the past that were not to be trusted, that tried to screw us, to be perfectly frank, who were out there obscuring all the fees and hiding the way that they charged us. And all that is. And, you know, payment processing is confusing as it is. And then when you have companies that are actually literally out to, like, mislead you, it's terrible. And this is why I am so thankful that Rate Tracker is here. Because Rate Tracker is a free solution. Free which allows you to easily and automatically understand your bottom line, credit card processing, rates and fees every month. Like I said, Rate Tracker is a free and simple way for you as a small business owner, to know your costs to accept payments so you don't get lied to or taken advantage of by your payment processor, because there's too many of them out there who are literally doing just that. And so with Rate Tracker, it's just super simple. And you can understand your cost to accept payments. And Rate Tracker provides you with free access to trusted payment experts like skysale Solutions, which can give you free advice on how to optimize your payment acceptance program. And with RateTracker there, you'll know that experts like Skysale Solutions are treating you right, because Rate Tracker is going to show it to you. It's a perfect fit. Here. Visit sky-sale.com ratetracker to sign up for the only service that's dedicated to helping you know your numbers, keep track of your payment processing costs and will alert you immediately if there's ever a rate increase. Our thanks to Rate Tracker, presented by skysale Solutions for sponsoring this episode. Next up is Hunter Douglas, because Hunter Douglas is here to help you live well, to be perfectly at ease in comfort and in style. And Hunter Douglas does just that with their innovative window shade designs, their gorgeous fabrics and and control systems so advanced they can be scheduled to automatically adjust to their optimal positions throughout the day. And you gotta go to hunterdouglas.com SBS and you can see the way that you can enjoy the view outside the window while protecting your privacy inside. You can see the superior insulation that these shades provide, keeping you warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. And lowering you temperature utility bills. And you can see the way these shades diffuse harsh sunlight to cast a beautiful glow across the room. And then you'll learn about Hunter Douglas power view technology, which is what lets you set your shades to automatically reposition for the perfect balance of light, privacy and insulation morning, noon and night. You can learn how to live beautifully with Hunter Douglas, enjoying greater convenience, enhanced style, and increased comfort in your home throughout the day. And right now, for a limited time, you, a small business show listener, can take advantage of generous rebate savings opportunities on select styles. Visit HunterDouglas.com SBS for details. That's HunterDouglas.com SBS and our thanks to Hunter Douglas for sponsoring this episode. All right, now that we've compartmentalized the conversation about the small business grant and then had a tangential, unexpected, unplanned, compartmentalized conversation about business franchise taxes in each state, and then we compartmentalized our discussion about our sponsors. Now it's time to compartmentalize a discussion about compartmentalization. Is that right?

That's pretty good.

Okay.

You've boiled it down.

Well, I don't know if it's boiled down. That seemed pretty long winded to me. Maybe what I did was I compartmentalized a conversation about the various compartments of this episode.

Yes, There we go.

There we go.

I want to talk about this because, and I was spurred into this to, to be transparent, this great podcast called how to Take over the World.

Okay.

Which I really like. And it talks about leaders, good and bad, and how they, they have done things, everything from Napoleon to Putin to Walt Disney, all this stuff. And one of the traits many of them, if not all of them shared is how to compartmentalize. And I thought about my own life and all the highs and lows and, you know, small business in, in my businesses and everything. And I was like, man, if I didn't compartmentalize, I would have gone insane. And so I want to talk about it today and, and talk mainly about the why it's important, but also then about the how, you know, some tips and tricks to, to get better at it.

Sure, sure.

So, yeah, yeah, I think I, I think it'd be worthwhile.

And I've never heard of this show, how to Take over the World. I, I, I, I'm gonna, it's pretty good. I'll put a link in the show notes.

Yeah, yeah, that's cool.

I've enjoyed it. You know, it's just one guy and he's kind of talking about some stuff I think he Read from a couple books or something learned about and it's, but it's, it's, it's, it's worthwhile, you know, but for me, like I'm a, I always say I'm a top line person. I'm always looking how to generate more sales and that's my solution to solving every problem. Sure, it doesn't work all the time, but I'm running around, I talk about managing by walking around a lot and just, you know, talking to everybody and putting out fires. Problem solving mentality. We did a show on that, you know, a little while ago.

Yeah.

And there just seems like there's thousands of things going on that require our attention and you know, hundreds of decisions that you. That need to be made all the time for small business owners. And if, if we can think and focus about how to compartmentalize those things, not only does it make us better business owners, but I also just think it makes us better people and spouses and parents and friends and so I want to touch on, on that a little bit as we walk through this.

No, that makes sense. Yeah. I find it super valuable. You know, I don't think on this show we've ever called it compartmentalization, but we've talked about spotlighting the idea of focusing on something while you're focusing on it and then not thinking about it when you're focusing on the next thing and being present for all of it. That, to use, you know, terms that are, that are popular these days. Right. Like there's a lot to be said for that. Like you said, not just in business but in your personal life with your kids and your, your spouse and all that good stuff.

Yeah, yeah.

If you can, if, if you can folk or think about this topic and then put in practice some of the things that I'm going to share with you, I think it can help. It certainly has helped me all the way around because, you know, I can remember coming home from work, but I really didn't come home from work.

Oh yeah, that's a. There, there you go. Coming home from work and not coming home from work. Yeah, there's, there's a title for the show in there, for the episode in there somewhere.

That's right. And you know, and to your point, being present with whoever you're speaking with and interacting with is really powerful and important and, and let's face it, required with your family and that kind of thing.

Yeah.

But compartmentalizing can help you with that, help you focus on someone and one of the ways to be Successful is to be able to really focus on whoever you're interacting with, whether each a client, an employee, your husband or wife or your kids or partner, whatever. Those people want your attention, and if you can't give it to them, it's going to be harder for you to connect on another level that is required to be successful.

Yeah, I agree. Right.

See, I'm totally distracted now because there's a great title somewhere in here. Like. Like something like, I was thinking, your body's home, but your head's at work.

Right.

You know, or you. You left your head at work. There's something in there. I don't know. I don't know what it is.

Or you could flip it and you left your head at home, you had a problem in the morning, or there's something going on with one of your kids. You know, there's a phrase that I love, not to segue too far, but.

I heard this from FedEx.

Yeah.

A FedEx rep that I had years ago, and he said. I don't know if he was the first one who said it. Probably not, but it was. You were only as happy as your unhappiest kid.

Oh, as a parent.

Yeah.

And I was like, wow. And I've revisited that in many ways, and it is really true. So you can show up to work or your office, you know, your facility, and be back at home and really not connect and not be, you know, not be there. So compartmentalization can help you with all those things. And back to that, you know, how to rule the world or whatever that podcast.

Yeah.

How to take over the world. Some of the most brutal dictators in the world are masters at compartmentalization. You know, they could destroy.

They were sociopaths. I mean, sociopaths. Let's be fair. A sociopath is a master at compartmentalization. I think that's sort of the core of the definition.

Right. Is.

So we don't want you to go that far.

Don't go that far.

We want you to realize the power in it. And for me, with compartmentalization, the biggest thing, it helps me from feeling overwhelmed. And there are times when I start stacking all the requirements and things. Even now, when my life is less complex than it used to be in many ways, you start stacking up all the things you've got to take care of. And I've got to speak at this event. I got to come up with this. I want to launch this and all these things. It can be overwhelming. And so thinking about, okay, I've got to Parse these things out separately can really help you. I also think it makes you a better leader. And part of being a leader is having the sense that when people look at you, they feel like you are in control.

Right.

I think. And the more you are surrounded by chaos, disaster, you know, problems, and the more you can compartmentalize and focus on each individual thing, the better you are perceived as a leader. And when you're perceived as a leader, you know, you have good leadership skills, it helps make you a better leader. And people will follow you more because you can come in and you're like the fire, you know, the firefighter. You can come in and just go, okay, let's what, what's the problem? And you maybe have a department head or an employee that's flipping out. Okay, let's break it down into the essential sector, you know, things. And, and you can solve it or at least present a possible solution that they can try.

Well, that, yeah. Then that's often the key to problem solving is just saying, hey, let's, you know, what's one thing that could be different than just living with the problem forever?

Right.

Like, you know.

Yeah.

And, and try something.

You try something.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And you can't panic, you know?

Right.

But if you're, if you're in a meeting and you start talking and it's just one problem after the next after the next, it's just as you, I'm sure, have had before. It's just not productive.

No.

So you can be the leader that helps your other people, other people compartmentalize things and break it down. Okay. What's going on in the sales? What's, what's problem in the tech department for me, my, you know, background and how do we solve this and what logistics problem are we having? And okay, let's try this. And you don't even have to be the one who comes up with a solution, but it helps if you can facilitate coming up with that solution. And it, it makes you a better leader.

Definitely.

And it makes you look more in control, like I said.

Yeah.

Even if inside your head is just spinning around like, oh my gosh, what are we going to do? This is a nightmare, you know, and I've got a story. I'm going to share you about that.

Okay.

And so the other part, I.

We have to wait. The story folks, just bear, bear with us. Bear with us. Yeah, we got a story coming.

It's worth, it's worth the wait. I've mentioned here on the show before, but I want to Walk you through these steps.

No, it's good.

How and the why.

Yeah, no, I get it.

I love the concept of managing by walking around. And when you're walking through your sales department or whatever, in my case, the technical warehousing, you know, the customer service, when you close that door from one department to another, you need to really talk about being present, and you need to focus on those people and really shine the light of your attention on them. How's it going? What's going on? Great. Oh, that's good. You know what problems are coming up. Compartmentalizing helps you do that. You don't want to carry those problems or even successes. If things are going great in the sales department, but then you walk in the next room and the technicians are up in arms because sales is done, something that causes them a lot of problems, we need to focus and help them feel like their problems are important, too. And you want to help them solve those.

Yep. So.

And I think it.

It.

Compartmental. Compartmentalization. It's one of those words. The more you say it, the more it sounds like nothing. But it. It makes you more productive dramatically. It's a massive shift on productivity if you can break things down into. Into smaller chunks. And then finally, I think one of the really key things that we talk about on the show a lot is support from your spouse and your family. And, you know, there's a lot of people out there. And I've used this. I've had this conversation lately with a few people that there are folks that go out in the business world and are great and they're just on and everybody loves them, but by the time they get home, they may be burnout on it, and they just want to shut down, and they're just not present. And I've been there. It's.

Some days that's what you wind up with.

Right.

You're burned. You're done.

Yep. Yes. Yeah.

So learning how to compartmentalize, which is we're going to talk about next, is can help you at home dramatically. And I always say you should treat your family members just like your customers, just as good as your customers.

Yeah.

Just think about it.

Yeah.

Your relationships will improve. You know, you compartmentalize things, shift your focus to the people at home just like you do at work. It can really pay off.

And if you can't do it automatically, you know, for a. Oh, yeah, that's okay. Well, you know, find tricks. I found, you know, I've worked from home for a long time, you know, decades, but I have worked Away from home. And there's something special about that commute, right? That drive home is a perfect time to extract your brain from whatever you were doing at work before you immerse it in whatever you're going to be doing at home for the evening. Driving is a very meditative, hypnotic thing where your brain, hopefully you're not asleep while you're driving because that's super dangerous. But your brain is not as actively engaged. You're engaged with driving, but that's it, right? You're not, theoretically, you're not on the phone. You're not being presented with new problems or new input. You're processing some of the existing input. And then hopefully you get a little moment where you're not processing anything and then you get home and you can sort of engage with that, with perhaps a much fresher mind. I found that taking a shower at the end of the day can be valuable in the same way because it's that same sort of hypnotic, meditative thing. I'm alone, I'm not at work. I am technically at home, but I've been at home all day. But I'm not engaging with the family quite yet. And if I need it, that shower can be a perfect little thing or you can go for a walk or something. But give yourself that and it doesn't need to be long. There's a beauty of working at home and not having a 90 minute commute each way. So don't do that to yourself. But give yourself 10 minutes of not work and you'll find that your evenings with your family can be a whole lot more refreshed and active and energized and all of that stuff. So just, you know, find your thing, whatever your thing is. It's, you know, these days I've been playing my drums at the end of workday and I'll, you know, I'll play for a half hour and it's great because now then I just go home. It's like, okay, perfect.

Yeah, yeah.

Even you're like signaling to your brain like, okay, now it's, now it's a shift.

It's a shift. Right?

Yeah.

Change what we're doing.

Exactly, exactly.

I like it.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So I really believe that compartmentalization. Can you learn it? I think you already know how to do it. Your, your mind knows how to do it, but I think you can also train it to, to do it better.

Right? Yeah.

And one of the things I, you know, we're all our, our minds are visual learners. No matter what. It's no matter who you are, if you can think of it in pictures, it really can help you achieve things. And one of the things I like, you know, to do with comp. To compartmentalize is really think of that. Your mind has these separate rooms. You know, just. It's a great analogy. When you get done with one task or idea, whatever it is, close the door and move on down the hallway to the next thing. You know, remind yourself that, hey, those things are.

Are.

Are safe back there. They're. You know, when I need to come back to them, they're going to be. They'll be there when I'm ready to deal with them. You don't need to think about them right now because they're. They're closed off, and they're fine. I've read other people that talk about. It's like, I'm going on a trip, and I only load things in the car that I need for this one task, you know, this one idea.

Yeah, yeah.

So whatever works for you. It's just like the taking a shower, playing the drums, driving home. Think about these tools that can help you, you know, be actively compartmentalizing, because if it's not happening naturally, you're going to have to train yourself a little bit more.

Yeah, everybody's brain is different, but you got to find your things that allow you to immerse yourself in any given task, project, whatever it is, and then get out of that and go immerse yourself in the next thing.

That's right.

Multitasking doesn't work.

It's a myth. Multitasking, it's just BS it kills your productivity. The much more powerful system is to compartmentalize and focus on one thing at a time. Get that to the point where you can set it aside. It doesn't have to be done, but you're gonna achieve something towards that, and then you're gonna move on. And there's just a ton of tools to use, especially with technology, you know, whether it's a notepad app, you know, on your phone, or even just a pad of paper you keep in your pocket. Timers. The tomato thing. What's that?

The Pomodoro method.

Pomodoro method where you. You give yourself 20 minutes, and when the thing rings, you stop, and you go on to the next thing. Yeah, whatever you want to carve out that time for the one thing that you need to work on. Like, for me, the Reminders app on my phone is just a lifesaver because I am so easily distracted. It's ridiculous. You know, I'm always like squirrel, but I can grab my phone, set a reminder. Hey, remind me at 2 o' clock to do X. You know, and it just whatever. It works to you. Whether it's a to do list. Some people love those. I'm not as huge a fan. I still do it, but I'm much more productive with a to did list. And if you don't know what that is, just go to BusinessShow Co and search for to did and you can see what I have to say about that. I think breaking down larger tasks.

I want to share a tip though. Especially if you're using an iPhone, which I know a lot of people are using these days. I find if I am using Siri to set to remind myself of something, if I don't tell it a day or a time, it disappears into a black hole. It's still there, but it will not be at the top of my list. So I'll say, siri, remind me to prep small business show today or tomorrow. I mean, you can say whatever day you want, but saying today or like you said at 2 o', clock, that's fine.

I put a time on it because I found if I just say a day, it kind of, I don't, you know, it doesn't remind me.

Well, that's.

You.

You don't like to do lists. I, I love to do lists. I can, you know, I compartmentalize my life by a to do list. And it's like, okay, I just go down it and I'm really, you know, I'm moving things around. But, but if I don't say today, then it's not on my to do list for today. It's on my to do list all the way. At the bottom, it's like, well, that's not going to help me. Yeah, I'm never going to see it.

Yeah.

So, yeah, just if you're, if you're using it that way, say a day or a time or a date, even if you care to, but some temporal anchor. Otherwise you will not get any benefit out of this at all.

Yeah, makes sense.

Yep.

And then the last one on my list is really, if it helps you. Setting schedules to get specific types of work done, I think is really powerful to help you compartmentalize. So if you need to write or create content, you know, okay, I'm going to write from 8am to 9am every single day or I handle, you know, customer service from, you know, noon to 2, whatever it is, set those schedules and try to stick to them as much as you can and close out those distractions other that would, would interact with you. Don't check your email, you know, turn off all those crazy notifications on your phone. I mean, that, that's Apple, you know.

And we're Apple fans here. Apple's focus modes in the latest operating systems. Game changers for me, I can, like when I'm podcasting, right now, I'm in podcasting focus mode. The only people that I can get messages from are you because you and I do this show together. Paul Kent because he and I do gig gab together, our musician show, and John Braun because we do Mac Geek gab together. My family's messages don't get through no one else's messages. And I could be even more granular and have a small business show focus and a gig gap. But I haven't like, it hasn't been a problem yet, but it really makes a difference because that way if you need me while we're doing the show, like, hey, Dave, I'm running out of time or, you know, whatever. Yeah, I see those messages, but I don't see the messages. You know, it's not like all or nothing like it used to be a year ago. It makes a huge difference. Like game changer.

Yep, it is. Yeah.

That's great. That's good. I need to get better at that.

Yeah. You know, when it's funny. We were doing a show on our Matt geekb show sometime over the summer, last summer, and while all of this stuff was in beta and John, my co host there, asked me, so what do you think about this focus mode? I'm like, yeah, it seems stupid and too complex. I don't think it's going to click. And then, I don't know, a month later, I actually dove into it a little bit more and was like, oh, wait, wait, wait, wait. I was so wrong. It's so easy. So I, I recommend checking it out.

Yeah, that's cool. Yep.

So those are, those are my tips I, I want to share, you know.

Yeah, well, you promised us the story, man.

I'm gonna show you. So let's call it the Million Dollar Distraction.

Okay.

And we used to host these big parties at one of my businesses and we had a big, huge, massive warehouse and we, you know, we'd carve out a big section and have a big Halloween party. And I can remember trying to, you know, oh, it's gonna be great. We're having, we invited everybody, suppliers, you know, partners, you know, our advisors, customers. It was just a lot of fun, you know, once a year kind of thing. And I can remember getting served with a bunch of legal documents the day before we had this party, and all hell you know, kind of raining down on me about, oh, wow, I didn't know we had this problem until that day.

Right, right.

And that's how those things go, folks. Random Tuesdays.

Yep.

Yeah, that's right. And then, you know, as a young business owner, I, you know, okay, I've got all these people coming. They, you know, they all want to talk with me, see me, you know, interact with me. I've got to be positive. My. My wife was there. I had a new, you know, little kid. And, you know, getting through that first night and being able to not be so freaked out, talk to people as if everything was going to be great and tell my story. You know, how we say this? Because I always convince myself I'm always telling my story and how it's going to work out. And it was the first day of what would be like two years of hell going through. If you've ever been through a really large legal battle, especially as a small business, you know, where you're always short on cash and all this kind of stuff, it's just a horrific distraction, and.

That is the understatement of the year. And I wish I couldn't qualify that, but it's brutal.

Yep.

That's how it works.

It's, you know, those. They have those seminars, and at the end, you know, you walk through your coals or barefoot on a bed of coals or whatever, I really felt like looking back, I felt like I was doing that for two years. And I can imagine. I can remember just actively having to force myself to walk in the door every day and be upbeat. And, you know, I didn't know if my business was going to make it through this battle.

Sure.

But I, you know, I was like, I've got to keep focused for these people and for my family. And a couple of times during that whole thing, I recalled not even wanting to look at myself in the mirror. And I was like, wow, man, I just cannot. And I've told this story in more detail in the show, but I sure, I started telling myself, this cannot be the defining moment of my business career.

Right.

It can't be. And even got to the point where I would force myself to look in the mirror as I was getting, you know, you get ready and all stuff in the morning. And even took it another step where I would kind of pound myself in the chest and be like, I can get through this. I can get through this. And I tell this story now because it was incredibly difficult and not to. And I don't tell it to. To, you know, make myself look better, because it wasn't. I made a mistake and I paid the price for it.

And.

And, you know, there. There was no way to go diagonal. And I thought I was a shortcut, and it just wasn't right. But it did turn out to be, you know, a really turning point in my business career because I learned if I could compartmentalize this, it's just another problem I had to solve. And I. Even at. During arbitration with this, you know, massive global company, I finally just said, what's it going to take, guys? And they, you know, and they threw out a number that they just thought was just impossible. And I said, okay, okay, it was a million dollars. We'll pay you a million bucks. I just knew. And I told my attorneys and everything, I go, we just have to. Have to do this because I need to go back to work tomorrow and I can figure out a way to make a million dollars. That's another problem altogether.

Yep.

But I cannot sit and fight this battle every day and be so distracted.

Oh. Cause you're not gonna make. You're gonna make zero fighting that battle.

No, that battle of, you're right, I'm wrong, whatever. Okay. That was one thing, but it was like I, you know, and so compartmentalizing my life, I felt that's where I really learned how to do this.

Yeah.

And it served me very well. I don't recommend anybody ever pay, you know, write a million dollar check to learn that lesson.

But, no, I don't think anybody would choose to do that. You were in a scenario where, at least from your perspective in that seat at that moment, that was the best path out. And it worked out okay for you. Like, in fact, it worked out great for you. You said it wasn't going to be the defining moment of your career. I would argue the opposite. I think the success of getting through that has been hugely defining for you.

It has, it has. Now that I'm. I can look back on it, of course, 15 years later or whatever, I can kind of, you know, talk about it as a lesson, but right there, you know, back then, it was so raw. I just couldn't. It was just brutal.

Right, right.

No, I get that. I don't mean to dismiss it.

Focusing and learning how to compartmentalize will help you because especially small business owners, you know, things are going to happen way beyond your out of your control that are going to seem like disasters. And it's up to you to stand up and be a leader and talk. Okay, we're going to get through this. This is just another problem and we're going to figure it out. And as everything goes to hell around you, you're the one you want everyone to look at to you. You don't want to. You just can't be running around crazy. You just, you can't. You have to be the leader. And learning how to compartmentalize better will will help you be that better leader. So that's. Yeah, that's my story. And you know, I would love to hear tips about, you know, things that you've done in your, your business career that have taught you how to compartmentalize and ways you've, you've done it. Business or feedback at BusinessShow Co is where you share it or go to BusinessShow Co Facebook. We've got a lot of activity up in the small business support group and we'd love to see you there.

Yeah.

And let us know what, what more you would like to see there too from us. This is, you know, we, we see this as a community, although I, I will be the first to admit that we have not been excellent at cultivating our community. But we see it as that and so we want to do better. Let us know and post about it there. Post about it, you know, feedback at business show. And if, if our Facebook group isn't the place that you would like to engage with us, tell us what is. Do you want to like, do you want a discord group? Do you want a slack group? What do you, what are the things that come to mind as, as you say? Oh, here's how I want to like be involved with, with this community. Let us know because we want to make that happen for you. Feedbackusiness show. That's what we got for today.

Right?

Anything else?

All good, man.

All good.

I've learned a lot talking through it with you.

Yeah, no, it's good to talk through this stuff as well. Yeah, absolutely.

Yep.

Well, today is one of those days, Shannon, where I have literally scheduled almost every minute of the day and I am now one minute behind schedule. I, I scheduled 75 minutes for this show. We wound up taking 90 because we had quite an extended pre show discussion, which is fine. There's always a little bit of fudge room in it. But yeah, I had a lot to do today and I'm having surgery on my arm in the morning and so there's some things I want to get done before they slice me open. So that's how it goes. That's what we got. Thanks for checking us out. Checking us out. Thanks for checking out our sponsors. You can see sky sal.com, ratetracker and hunterdouglas.com SBS and Keep Living that charm life. We'll see you next week.