Podcast episode (Ep. 384) by John Jonas arguing that New Year's resolutions fail because dates don't cause lasting change; instead he urges immediate action—especially for entrepreneurs and small business owners—to hire help now and get organized by onboarding new hires with short screen-recorded training videos (Snagit, Loom, Screencast-O-Matic, etc.).
Chapters
Welcome to the Secret Sauce of Outsourcing podcast that's dedicated to making you better at outsourcing. This is episode 384. New Year's resolutions are over. Yeah. So it's early February as I record this and New Year's resolutions. Most people have given up at this point. It's really interesting. My wife goes to the gym, and every January, the gym is packed. In December, there's nobody there. And in January, it's crazy, crazy busy. You can't even find a parking spot. And she knows, and we all know, that come from February 5, the gym will be empty again. It'll be just back to normal. And I always just think about these resolutions. It's such a sham. We decide that as of January 1st, we're going to be a different person. That, like, we're going to go to the gym, we're going to stop eating so much sugar, we're going to quit whatever it is. And yet we know it doesn't work. It never works. Data is overwhelming that people stick with their resolutions. Three to six weeks, and then they're done, and that's it. Because there's nothing magical about the date of January 1st that makes you change as a person. And if what you're resolving to do isn't strong enough to do on December 14th, it's not strong enough to do on January 1st either. If you're not. If it's not strong enough to make it through the holidays, well, it's not strong enough to make it through the dark days of February where it's cold outside. But that's not you, and that's not me either. You're an entrepreneur, a small business owner, and you make things happen. You get things done, you make changes, and so do I. If you or I need to make a change in our lives, we make that change now. Because it doesn't make sense to wait another six weeks to make that change. That change has to happen right now. If there's a change that has to happen in the business, well, now's the time we make the change. Because why do I wait longer to make that change when it's going to affect things? Now, if any of this resonates with you, now's a good time to hire an ofs. Not procrastinating until you're ready or until you're organized. I hear this too often, like, oh, I'm not organized yet. You're never going to get organized. There's nothing different about six weeks from now than right now with regards to your state of organization or this never changes. What will change? It is hiring someone now and then getting organized as you start to work with them. It's amazing how easy it is to train someone once you've hired them versus how difficult it is to create training when you don't have someone to give it to. You want to know how I onboard someone once I hire them? I create a five minute video using Snagit. Now you could use Loom or Tiny Take or Screencast, O Matic, whatever it is to record your screen, your computer screen and your voice and your mouse and what's going on. And I'll just walk them through the process and say, here's what's going on. Or maybe it's a 12 minute video, or maybe it's a two minute video. Whatever it is, it only takes me as long as it takes me to do the thing or to think through it or to talk about it as it does to provide the training. Such an easy way to get organized once you've hired someone. So resolving to do something doesn't make lasting change. I resolve to hire someone this year. Well, this year never comes. There's only now. Now is a really good time to hire someone.
