Hey :)
I was on a call with a client recently and we ended up talking about something that comes up a lot more than people admit.
They were in one of those stretches where the work that needs done is the exact work they don’t want to do.
Admin. Compliance. Setup. Chasing information. Cleaning up loose ends. The sort of work that isn’t difficult… but feels heavy.
And once you’re in it for a few days, it starts to mess with your head.
Not because the work is unbearable.
But because you start telling yourself a story: “If I’m running my own business, why am I doing stuff I hate?”
Which is a funny thought when you zoom out.
Because running a business doesn’t come with a magic clause that says, you will only do enjoyable work from now on.
Some things are just part of the deal.
There’s always going to be work that feels mundane, irritating, repetitive, or annoying.
The real problem isn’t that you have to do it.
The real problem is when it starts to feel like that’s all you do.
When you’re permanently stuck in “do mode”.
Head down. Deadlines. Urgency. Clients shouting. Problems landing. Fires popping up.
And the work you actually want to do — the work that builds the future — keeps slipping into “later”.
That’s when people start feeling trapped inside their own business.
So in that call we talked through three lenses I use all the time, both for myself and with clients.
They’re different frameworks, but they’re basically pointing at the same idea:
This isn’t about fixing your life overnight.
It’s about making progress over time.
Lens #1: the “do” quadrant vs the “build” quadrant
Everyone knows the urgent/important matrix.
The bit most people don’t want to admit is this: The urgent + important box never goes away.
If you run a business, you will always have deadlines.
You will always have something that needs done today.
You will always have moments where you don’t have much agency — you’re just in the “do quadrant”.
And the mistake people make is treating that like a personal failure.
As if being in “do mode” means something has gone wrong.
It doesn’t.
It just means you’re in a season where some things need handled.
But there’s a second quadrant that’s quietly responsible for whether you ever feel free:
Important but not urgent.
That’s the business-building quadrant.
That’s where you do the work that makes you ahead of yourself.
Strategy. Systems. Positioning. Marketing. Product. Writing. Sales assets. Hiring. Process. Thinking.
It’s calmer, but it’s also harder to access because there’s no external pressure forcing you into it.
So most people delay it.
And then it becomes urgent.
And then they’re back in the fire again.
The goal isn’t to live in important-but-not-urgent forever.
That’s fantasy.
The goal is simply: Can you spend a little more time there this month than last month?
Progress.
Lens 2: the ABCs (irritating, ok, fascinating)
This one comes from Strategic Coach and it’s brilliantly simple.
You list your work into three buckets:
- A work: irritating work (the stuff you resent)
- B work: ok work (you can tolerate it)
- C work: fascinating work (the stuff you love, the stuff that feels like you)
And it immediately gives you a clearer question to ask: You’re not trying to eliminate A and B overnight.
You’re trying to reduce them over time.
Because there’s always going to be some irritating work in business.
There’s always going to be some “fine, I’ll do it” work.
What you want to notice is:
Is it shrinking?
Is it being delegated?
Is it being systemised?
Is it being automated?
Is it being done by someone else who’s better suited to it?
And if it isn’t, you’ll feel that tension build.
It’s the “I didn’t start a business for this” feeling.
Which usually isn’t a sign you’re ungrateful.
It’s a sign your business is asking you to evolve.
Lens 3: short-term work vs long-term work (80/20 leverage)
This is the one I catch myself using most days.
Some work pays off today.
Some work pays off for years.
Short-term work is often deadline-driven, reactive, and “someone needs this now”.
Long-term work is subtle.
Optional.
Self-directed.
Optional.
Self-directed.
Which is exactly why it gets pushed down the list.
But here’s the trick I come back to when I’m feeling boxed in: Even when you’re in a week of pure “do mode”… try to do one long-term thing alongside it.
Because it changes your psychology.
It reminds you: “I’m not just surviving. I’m building.”
That one long-term thing might be:
- documenting a process
- creating a simple playbook for how you work
- tightening your offer
- writing something that clarifies your thinking
- building an asset you can reuse
- improving a system that keeps breaking
- doing the work that will make next month easier than this month
It doesn’t need to be a massive project.
It just needs to exist.
Because it creates leverage.
And leverage is what eventually buys your time back.
The bigger point
A lot of people measure progress in a single day.
And it drives them mad.
Because some days are just… messy.
You can work hard and still feel behind.
You can do everything “right” and still feel like nothing moved.
So instead of asking “did I win today?”, a better question is: Am I moving in the right direction across weeks and months?
Am I spending more time in:
- fascinating work
- long-term work
- important-but-not-urgent work
…and less time in:
- irritating work
- short-term firefighting
- urgent-by-default chaos
Because if that trend is happening, you’re winning.
Even if today feels like you’re drowning in admin.
A simple way to use this this week
If you’re in that tense, irritated, boxed-in feeling right now:
- Name the season you’re in.
“This is a ‘do week’. I’m in urgent + important.” - Pick one long-term task and give it a proper slot.
Even 60–90 minutes. It counts. - Zoom out when you judge yourself.
Look at the week. Look at the month. Look at the trend.
Because the goal isn’t to never do work you don’t like.
The goal is to build a business where you do less of it over time — and more of the work that makes you feel alive.
That’s the whole thing.
Progress.
🗣️ 👀
Chris.
🗣️ 👀
Chris.