In the initial stages of their careers, many financial advicers find that, with little revenue coming in and less than a full load of client-facing work to do, they spend the majority of their time on operations and marketing as they try to establish their practice. As a result, an advicer often has the capacity to say “yes” to any opportunity that comes along as they try to keep busy and (hopefully) improve their cash flow. However, as the advicer’s practice grows and their calendars start filling up, they can find themselves at a point where they don’t have enough time to start doing anything new until they stop-doing something else. Which begs the question: Is there a systematic way for a financial advicer to determine when it makes sense to say “no” so they can say “yes” to something else?
In our 138th episode of Kitces & Carl, Michael Kitces and client communication expert Carl Richards explore the concept of a “Stop-Doing” list (as opposed to a “to-do” list), various ways to figure out what should go on that list, and how advicers can go about executing the list (so they can go on to doing the things that can move their practices and the profession forward).
From a conceptual perspective, saying “yes” to something also means saying “no” to something else. For instance, saying yes to taking on an operational duty might not leave time for going to more networking events. Yet, while saying “no” isn’t always easy (especially for many advicers who were attracted to the profession in the first place specifically because they like to help others), one effective way to get more comfortable saying “no“ to an item on a “stop-doing“ list is to identify and stay focused on a much more meaningful “yes“. By having a strong sense of what their ideal practice would look like, advicers may find that it gets easier to filter through those things that impede progress toward their goals. (Not coincidentally, this is also a useful way advicers can help clients stay on track with their financial plan when clients are tempted to overspend or make detrimental changes when markets get scary).
By gaining clarity on a deeper “yes”, an advicer can start to identify the best things for them to stop doing. One approach is to determine the dollar value of an hour of their time, and from there, make a list of all the things that they do for their business and identify those tasks that they can outsource at a lower rate. Another method is to conduct a time audit by installing a time-tracking app. As while there might be a menu of small tasks that an advicer might love to take off their plates, the real power of a comprehensive time audit is in the ability to identify large chunks of time that an advicer may be spending on low-value activities (I’m looking at you, TikTok!).
As Parkinson’s Law posits, work will expand to the point where it completely fills an advicer’s calendar. Ultimately, by conducting a time audit and making a connection with a deeper “yes“, advicers can gain a better understanding of how they’re spending one of their most precious resources (i.e., their time) and figure out what they should stop doing so they can start doing things that will move their practices forward!
