One of my favorite lines in 30 Rock, a show full of one-liners, is uttered by Jack Donaghy, Alec Baldwin’s character:

I’m the Sisyphus of Reaganing.

Reaganing, in the show, is where you have a day where you make no mistakes. It’s the “perfect game” of business.

It’s a deep joke. You need to know a little bit about US politics during that time. You also need to know who Sisyphus is.

Sisyphus, if you don’t know, was condemned to pushing a boulder up a hill, just to have it roll back down, after a life of hubris in which he tried to cheat death.

Futile labor, for all eternity.

Don’t you kind of feel like that running a business sometimes?

Are Solopreneurs Modern-Day Sisyphus?

I often think about how running a business can make us feel a bit like Sisyphus.

Have we condemned ourselves to futile labor after having the hubris to escape the grind of a 9-5?

I don’t think so. For one, we didn’t incur the wrath of Zeus. And unlike Sisyphus, we’re not actually cursed.

Our problem is completely fixable – we just need to know what to fix and how to break the cycle.

Introducing the D.A.D. Framework

The way I see it, you can “get the boulder to the top of the hill,” so to speak, through 3 fixes:

1. Documentation. Having SOPs means you’re not reinventing the wheel or struggling to perform routine tasks.
2. Automation. For some tasks, you can make the machines work for you, ensuring your business keeps moving even when you’re not at your desk.
3. Delegation. You don’t need to do everything for your business, nor should you.

When you have these 3 things in place, everything becomes clearer. You know what to prioritize. You can spend your time wisely.

As a result, you’re not constantly putting out fires, working long hours, or checking your email at the playground.

But it could be hard to know where you’re struggling the most, or what you should work on first.

So what you should do?

How to Start

First, keep a pen and paper next to you during your work week. When you do something, write down all the tasks.

OR if you’re not a pen and paper kind of person, record yourself doing tasks and then have AI create a step-by-step list. Dictate what you’re doing.

No matter what, this will help you get a handle on the things you do in a work week. Most crucially, it will show you the things you don’t realize you do, or how often they steal your time away.

And if you’d like a little help figuring out where to start, I’ve got you covered.

The Overwhelm Diagnostic

I’ve put together a simple, 6 question quiz that will give you some insight into how chaotic (or calm) your business is.

Then you’ll get a complete blueprint for how to fix it using the D.A.D. Framework.

Sound good?