One idea to Build your Business, one idea to Scale your life. Every Wednesday.

Welcome to Winformation Weekly. My 13 years’ experience of growing a business from £0-£100m, and the life that goes with it. All wrapped up, in one winning weekly email.

Simon Says

Winformation This Week…

In this week’s Business Section, I dive into a topic that really gets to me, work-life balance. Not sure about you, but my social media feeds are full of people launching their first business with big, dramatic Insta captions about why they’re doing it. And guess what? “A better work-life balance” is always one of the reasons.

The arrogance of thinking you can start a business, go head-to-head with companies that have been around for a decade or more, and work a cosy 30-hour week blows my mind. Will it be 60-hour weeks forever? No. But at the start, I found it pretty unavoidable. This week, we take a look at Jeff Bezos’ take on work-life balance and what has clearly worked for him.

If there’s one thing I did last year that completely changed the way I work (and the results I get), it was ditching the to-do list. I got this from Dan Martell’s book Buy Back Your Time. Dan is a top business operator, entrepreneur, and author. I’m actually meeting him later this year, so I’ll be sure to share any absolute gems of advice.

But this week’s Life Section is all about what I did instead of using a to-do list. It worked for me, let me know if you give it a go!

Business

Jeff Bezos BIG Lesson on Work-Life Balance

Whatever you think of Jeff Bezos and Amazon, you can’t deny the man knows a thing or two about running a business and living big. Apparently, he gets asked about work life balance all the time, and his answer is pretty fascinating. He hates the term “balance,” calling it debilitating because it suggests a constant trade-off. Life shouldn’t be a compromise. Instead, Big Jeff prefers to talk about work life harmony.

And if you think about it, he’s got a point. A thriving business and a happy home life shouldn’t compete with each other. In fact, that’s kind of the whole premise of this newsletter. “If I am happy at home, I come into the office with tremendous energy,” Bezos said. “And if I am happy at work, I come home with tremendous energy. It actually is a circle; it’s not a balance.”

Now obviously, Bezos is a busy guy. And yes, these days he goes on about prioritising his wellbeing and getting eight hours of sleep a night but was it always this way? No chance. Just look at him 20 years ago compared to now. In the late 90s, he looked like a supply teacher. Now? He looks like a retired UFC fighter. Let’s be real, he has way more time now than he did back then. It’s always important to judge where someone is on their success curve when they’re handing out advice. You want to replicate their behaviours when you’re at the same stage they were not when they’re coasting at the top.

But...I think we can give Jeff a pass. The guy is clearly a genius.

His advice is simple: your work and home life should fuel each other. If one or both is draining you, maybe that’s your first goal for the year, fix it. “Don’t aim for work life balance. Aim for work life harmony.”

Life

It's Time to Bin the To Do List & Do THIS Instead

41% of to-do list items are never completed. Research shows that nearly half of all to-do list items never get done. Even after a solid eight to ten hour workday, that unfinished list sits there, nagging at you and bringing unnecessary stress into your evening. Sound familiar?

The Problem with To-Do Lists

Most people write their to-do lists first thing in the morning, which means we naturally put the easiest task first. It is early, we are easing into the day, and let’s be honest, ticking off an easy task feels productive. But the easiest task is not always the most important one.

Time Over Task, Every Time

The problem with a to-do list is that the focus is on tasks, not time. Life happens in minutes and hours, not in a list of random things we hope to finish. No wonder so many tasks never get done.

The Solution

Schedule, schedule, and then schedule some more.

Instead of scribbling tasks on the back of an old HR letter, move everything into an online calendar. Assign both the task and the time block you think it will take.

This approach is not just about time, it is about managing your energy too. I am at my best from nine thirty to twelve, so that is when I schedule big decisions, key meetings, and tasks that actually move the needle. Learning, reading, and lower energy tasks go later in the day when my brain is not firing at one hundred percent.

To-do lists are written minutes before you start work. Calendars are planned months or even years in advance. One is reactive chaos, the other is structured organisation.

Claim Your Time

The biggest win since I ditched to-do lists? More me time.

I am a dad to two young boys, so my family time goes into my calendar first. Same with gym sessions, lunch breaks, and my afternoon walking meetings. I colour code everything, family time, work, training, because the more colours I see, the more balanced my life and goals feel.

If you do not claim your time, someone else will.

Key Takeaway

There is no such thing as time management, only self-management. Time will pass with or without you micromanaging it. You cannot control time, but you can control how you use it.

Moving from a to-do list to a scheduled calendar leads to less stress, more focus, better direction, and bigger impact. This is how the world’s top CEOs and founders operate and it is how you should too.

Until next week! 

Let’s win, together!