There’s this moment people have in business where they look around and think, How on earth is everyone else keeping up but them?
Sure, there’s plenty of key decisions you have to make as an entrepreneur; there’s no doubt about any of that, but what’s going on with all of these competitors just doing everything better than you?
It feels like other companies are moving faster, pumping out more content, staying on top of customers, replying instantly, and somehow not burning out in the process.
And yeah, sure, it’s so easy to assume they’ve hired a huge team or somehow unlocked an extra six hours in the day.
But, like, that’s rarely the case. Believe it or not, but a lot of the time it’s just automation doing quite heavy lifting in the background.
Maybe that’s a surprise, maybe not, but nowadays, it’s a lot more accessible, and most people can automate on any budget, too.
But no, you don’t have to be a superhuman, or actually afford a team, and no, chances are your competitors are just doing some smarter automation rather than doing it manually.
So there’s the Whole Reality Behind “Being Efficient” these Days
Alright, so that was a bit of a mouthful, but being efficient nowadays it’s entirely different than how it was three years ago, five years ago, ten years ago, and you get the point.
But yeah, efficiency has changed so much. It used to mean planning better and thinking ahead, but now it’s more like having a tech-assisted routine that does the remembering for you, which is honestly pretty amazing.
While sure, there’s still the expectation to get more work done, it’s at least a bit easier, and not as challenging to juggle like it used to be.
Those Small Tasks Add Up Pretty Fast
Seriously, here, it’s wild how much time disappears into the smallest tasks. You know it, you’ve experienced it yourself, they’re easy, but wo,w can they actually take up a lot of time.
For example, it’s sending reminders via email that you’re typing up yourself rather than using an appointment reminder tool, it’s manually going in and updating calendars, following up with people multiple times, reconfirming appointments, checking if a client got the instructions, manually plugging in and emailing invoices, and this list could just go on forever.
But you see how much manual labor is there just from these small tasks? Well, these jobs seem tiny but multiply like crazy across a full week.
Once they stack up, they drag the entire workflow down.
Hence, why automation is great because it frees up a lot of time and mental space, and yes, your competitors are definitely taking advantage of that, so they won’t feel so overwhelmed.
Working Smarter is Basically the Only Real Advantage Left
Well, you need to keep in mind that expectations are changing, just like efficiency is. So, as you already know, the pace of business isn’t slowing down; basically, it’s just speeding up here.
Plus, customers expect fast replies, clear updates, consistent communication, and, honestly, a near-perfect experience even when running a small operation.
Yeah, that’s the expectation, and it’s not going to change anytime soon. And this is exactly why automation supports that without forcing anyone to work around the clock.
And that’s why competitors feel like they’re “everywhere” even though they’re not actually working more hours.