What Are You Trying to Be More Present For?
I was on a call this week. A handful of us, talking about technology and automation and AI, all the stuff people are buzzing about right now. Everyone was sharing what they're trying, what's working and what's making them nervous.
At one point, the conversation turned to why we're even building any of this in the first place. I said,
"It's about being more present for the things that matter."
I've been thinking about this conversation ever since.
The reason this question has my attention is that almost no one is asking it before they buy the next tool. We're all swimming in tool conversations right now. Conversations about presence are a lot rarer.
The filters approach
When I work with my clients, I help them set up a small set of filters they can run their business decisions through. Filters are questions you ask before you say yes or no to something. Anything that might come into your business gets held up against the filters first: a tool, an offer, a hire, an automation, a partnership. Most decisions get a lot easier with a filter system in place, because you already know what you're looking for before something shows up at the door.
I learned this approach years ago from a business friend, Summer Slevin, who helped me think through my own business operations. It's been part of how I work ever since.
This question, what are you trying to be more present for, is one of those filters. It's the one I start with when we're talking about technology specifically.
Why the presence question lands differently
Here's why it works. Most business owners reach for tools for one of two reasons. They've got a problem and they're hoping the tool will fix it, or they're feeling behind and they're hoping the tool will catch them up. Both are fine reasons. Neither one tells you whether the tool is worth your time, money, or attention.
The presence question gives you a different starting point. You're asking whether the tool is going to clear a path for the part of your work that actually matters to you. That's a much smaller question to answer than "does this fix everything" or "does this make me modern."
So who is this filter really for? Anyone whose business has more in it than one person can hold in their head at once. That's most of the founders and small business owners I know. The ones who got into this work because there was something they wanted to do, and now they spend a lot of their week doing things that aren't that.
Where I see this with my clients
Picture a therapist who started a private practice to help people heal. Now her week is full of running a website, a newsletter, three social channels, a billing system, and a scheduling tool, with only a sliver of time left for actual client work. The realtor I know got into real estate because he loves people and houses. His calendar is half admin and half showings. He didn't sign up for the admin half. A coach who came to teach a method she'd developed is stuck inside funnel software, trying to make a course platform behave.
Every one of those people has the same problem. The work they wanted to do is competing with the work they didn't sign up for.
When I ask my clients what they're trying to be more present for, I get answers I didn't expect. Some say their kids. Others say their craft. A few have said they want to be more present for their own thinking time, because they haven't had a free hour to think about their business in months. One told me she wanted to be more present for sleep. That made me laugh and then it made me think. Sleep is a fair answer for a lot of business owners I know. So is unhurried reading, or a lunch you don't eat at your desk.
I tell my clients there's no wrong answer. The filter wants you to name the thing that, if you got more of it, would make you feel more like yourself. Truer is better, even if the truer answer feels small or unexciting.
When to use this filter
Use this filter any time something new is about to enter your business. That's an easy call when there's a price tag attached or a hire on the line. It's a harder call when you're about to say yes to something and you can't quite say why.
The thing about this filter is that it grows on you. Once you start asking the question, you stop being able to not ask it. You'll be in the middle of a Tuesday and a tool will pop up in front of you and the question will pop up next to it. What am I trying to be more present for? That answer might not be ready every time, and that's fine. The filter doesn't always tell you yes or no. Sometimes it just slows you down enough to remember why you're doing any of this in the first place.
If you haven't asked yourself this question in a while, this is a fine time to. You don't need to have an answer right away. Sometimes the answer takes a few days to surface. Other times it's already obvious and you've been avoiding it.
What's the thing you'd like to be more present for? Tell me in the comments. I read every one.
FAQ
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Start with one question: what are you trying to be more present for? It might be your people, or your craft, or just being home for dinner. Once you know the answer, every tool decision gets easier. You can ask whether a tool clears a path for that thing, or whether it adds another layer of work.
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Most tools get bought because someone has a problem they're hoping the tool will fix, or they feel behind and they're hoping the tool will catch them up. Both are fine reasons. Neither tells you whether the tool is worth your time, money, or attention. Without a way to decide, the tools pile up and the work that mattered to you in the first place gets crowded out.
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A filter is a small question you ask before you say yes or no to anything new in your business. Set up two or three of them, and run every decision through them. Anything that wants in gets held against the filters first: a tool, an offer, a hire, an automation, a partnership. Most decisions get easier when you already know what you're looking for.