What Are You Actually Building For?

I actually enjoy doing the school run. Not because sitting in traffic is glamorous, but because being able to do it is one of the reasons I wanted a business in the first place. Somewhere along the way, most of us forget the reason we started. In this video I break it into three parts: 1. The deal you made with yourself. 2. How that deal quietly gets broken. 3. The assembly test. ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 Why I enjoy the school run 00:55 Intro 01:45 The three parts 02:15 The deal you made with yourself 04:09 What's your version of the school run? 04:40 The hustle advice, and where I disagree 05:50 What the data says about long hours 06:35 The boss you built 07:50 What it's doing to UK business owners 08:20 The assembly test 09:30 Work expands to fill the time 10:30 When is enough, enough? 12:00 80 years of Harvard research 12:20 The real story behind the deathbed quote 13:40 I'm not trying to escape work 15:40 What's your school run? 16:30 The exercise I want you to do 18:30 The goalpost keeps moving 📚 Research mentioned • John Pencavel, "The Productivity of Working Hours", Stanford (2014), using First World War munition workers • Simply Business, survey of 749 UK small business owners (2023) • C. Northcote Parkinson, The Economist (1955): "Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion" • Alois Stutzer, "The Role of Income Aspirations in Individual Happiness", Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization (2004) • The Harvard Study of Adult Development, running for over 80 years • Senator Paul Tsongas and the letter from Arnold Zack (1983/84) 💬 What's your version of the school run? Tell me in the comments. I read all of them. 🔔 New videos every Thursday at 7pm. Subscribe so you don't miss one. Build the business, live the life. #BusinessOwner #WorkLifeBalance #Entrepreneur #Mindset #Productivity #SmallBusinessUK #FamilyFirst