Create the List: He first he made a list of all the things that he was doing. Family, marketing, data entry, washing hog barns, visiting contract growers, finance, etc. Every item regardless of how small went on the list, and it was long. It was too long to get everything done. Sound familiar?

Instead of a to-do list he created a Stop Doing List. He took everything from the first list and prioritized it based on how important it was to his current role as owner and CEO. It was hard to let go of some old tasks that at one time seemed important. But he looked at the list based on his role on the farm, he knew someone else should be doing them.

Delegate or outsource: The stop doing list was then delegated to others on the team or outsourced off the farm. It was hard to let go of some of the tasks because they were fun and familiar, but he knew it was for the best.

Create new time habits: By now Dick had created some extra time so he could work on his business. Dick figured he needed just 39 minutes each week with no distractions, no cell phones, no meetings, no nothing, so he could deeply focus ON his business. This time was set aside and it was sacred. It occurred at the same time and location each week, regardless of the season or production. Why? Since Dick needed more time he needed different time habits. This new habit of setting aside time greatly increased his ability to conquer his goals.

Goals: The next thing Dick did was focus on his many goals. He made his goals SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant to the success of the farm, and Time-specific. These goals helped him focus on what he needed to do.

Shrink the change: Instead of taking on the entire goal at once he broke each down into easily digestible bites that he could accomplish in his weekly VIP meeting. Since he only had 39 minutes he needed to have small bites.

Track the Progress: Finally, Dick tracked his progress towards each goal with a timeline and note history so he knew whether he was on track or not. He also told his partners of his goals so he would be accountable to them.