You learn on the job. Instead of spending so much time debating the options and diving into paralysis analysis, you should act.

Those are some of the ingrained beliefs that make me sink deeper into my everyday busyness. Executing takes priority over thinking about why I’m doing it. It’s good to be busy. It means I’m being productive, right? We waste time if we aren’t producing or learning something every moment of the day. However, if we are always busy executing, when do we have time to think about why we do what we do? What’s our purpose?

Who would miss or need you if you were gone? Who would care if your business closed down tomorrow? If you can’t think of a concrete reason for why your business needs to exist, then you’ve likely spent too much time on execution and not enough on strategy. 

I am guilty of this. I should be investing more time reflecting on our business strategy, but social media and mobile devices have trained me to have an extremely short attention span. Halfway through a business book chapter or a video, I have already paused to think of how we should be executing the tactic. In addition, allocating time from a hectic workday to work on the business instead of in the business gives me anxiety because I feel like I’m falling behind when I’m not working, and the to-do list piles up.

If this also happens to you, it’s time to change your habit. After all, if you don’t have a clear vision of your business strategy and why you continue to execute the same thing day in and day out, you’re very busy getting nowhere.

Below are a few examples of pure execution versus strategic execution:

Pure Execution: Writing 10 social media posts per day

Strategic Execution: Your goal is to generate 3 more home sales in the next quarter. Publishing 10 social media posts daily will help you achieve a weekly reach of 10K users in your target audience of prospective new homebuyers. Past performance has shown that this converts 30 to 40 new followers weekly. Of these new followers, 10% inquire about a home listing. With these numbers, you will generate 3 to 4 further inquiries each month and convert 1 of these leads into a new home sale, helping you reach your quarterly sales goal.

Pure Execution: Sending out weekly newsletters

Strategic Execution: You want to grow your weekly newsletter subscription numbers to over 1000 subscribers because your conversion numbers show that 30% of new subscribers buy an item within the first month with the 20% off your first purchase promotion. You are currently at 918 subscribers. You would use the additional profit generated from this initiative to purchase the more expensive fabrics for next season’s collection.

You change the newsletter subscription pop-up to show up earlier and on all pages of your website. You also provide referral incentives to your existing mailing subscribers to increase subscriber numbers.

Pure Execution: Going for a run with no set duration or route one day a week.

Strategic Execution: You’re trying to lose an inch around your waist and have devised a plan to exercise more consistently and frequently in the next 3 months. You would do a 30-minute cardio workout three times per week. This increases your exercise level from just one activity to three sessions weekly. 

Essentially, strategic thinking should answer the question: Why is this a worthwhile investment of our resources and time? What does this activity do for the business in the short, medium, or long term? What’s the point?!

Even if you take just half an hour out of your 8-hour workday to think about why your business is investing in initiatives or pursuing new projects, you will feel more sure of where you are taking the company as a leader. Don’t give in to the busyness of daily execution. Take the time to think of your WHY.