Just ONE Thing
Take Back Your Time: Make Long Days in the Auto Repair Shop Work for You
Episode 210
with Rick White, 180BIZ
Good morning, good afternoon or good evening. My name is Rick White from One of You Biz, and this is my Just One Thing.
So what I wanted to talk about is 'DAYS'. And I don't mean confused. What I mean is, there are days, right? The days. I came across this quote:
“The days are long, but the years are short.”
Think about that. That hit me like right in between the eyes when I read it, and I thought, oh my gosh, this is such a great Just One Thing topic.
You know what I'm talking about. You feel those days—they just last forever. They don’t seem to ever end.
But at the same time, the paradox is this:
The days seem like they take forever to get through, but boy, the years just happen in a blink.
And I'm going to tell you something—the older you get, the faster they go.
But the paradox isn’t about time perception. It's about how you're living your life—especially when it comes to your business.
You've got this daily grind mentality—where the days feel endless. Constant interruptions. Difficult customers. Parts delays. Unexpected problems. It just kind of overwhelms you.
The mental load of juggling all this while trying to think strategically? It just doesn’t happen.
So you end up stuck in reactive mode. And that makes time crawl.
Then you get to the end of the year and ask yourself:
“Hey man, what did I actually accomplish this year?”
And you're embarrassed. You're disheartened. You didn’t get anywhere near what you were going after.
Here’s the biggest danger:
You’re letting these years slip by without making any real progress.
Later and tomorrow are NOT your friends.
Sure, there’s a time to stop. We should work to live, not live to work.
There will be times when you get to the end of the day and it didn’t go the way it should. That’s okay.
But if you’re letting the years slip by without feeling progress, you’ve got to understand: Busy doesn’t mean productive or fulfilling.
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If you think this message is going to help someone, please share it. We need your help with this.
Also, if you know of a shop that would like some coaching or fresh ideas, we have our Shop Owners Roundtable this Thursday night at 7 PM Eastern. Share the link—Shannon will put it in the chat so you can pass it on.
The other thing happening this week—and I’m super excited—is a webinar in our Pocket Business Genius series. It’s called: From Chaos to Freedom.
If you’re already in Pocket Business Genius, I’ll see you Thursday. Otherwise, if it sounds interesting, click the link. It’s super easy to join.
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So how do you deal with long days and vanishing years?
How do you deal with this constant barrage of reacting, and that disheartened feeling of motion without movement?
It feels like you’re on a rocking horse—lots of motion, but no progress.
Here’s the solution:
You’ve got to create three anchor moments in your day.
These are moments where you intentionally work on your future.
They don’t have to be longer than fifteen minutes each.
But once you start doing them, I promise you’ll want to expand that time—because you’ll love the clarity it gives you.
The first anchor moment is at the very beginning of the day.
Start with intention.
The business and life you want? They’re not just going to happen.
You need:
* Intention
* Attention
* Action
Before any of that, you’ve got to know your destination. You need a plan.
Start the day by asking yourself powerful questions. That focus is what creates momentum.
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The second anchor moment: schedule fifteen minutes every day.
Put it in your calendar. Make it a non-negotiable appointment.
Some of you are thinking, “I’ll just do it later today.” Nope. That doesn’t work.
You’ve got to:
* Schedule it
* Do it at the same time every day
* Make it sacred—like a Do Not Disturb sign
You can tie it to something you enjoy—a cup of coffee, for example.
And remember, don’t sit down and start chasing shiny objects.
Use that time to work on one thing—just one—that will move your business forward.
This is how you shift from reacting all day long to creating something meaningful.
Start that block with:
* Gratitude
* Your key goals for the day
* How you need to show up
* Where you want to go
Ask yourself:
“Is what I’m going through right now helping me get to where I want to go?”
If not—let it go.
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The third anchor moment: end your day with a debrief.
Take a step back and ask yourself:
* What went great today?
* What was a win?
* What did I learn?
Focus on both wins and lessons.
Don’t just learn from your mistakes—learn from your wins so you can repeat them.
And remember: mistakes are just lessons in disguise.
You’re not going to get from here to there in a straight line. You’ll veer off course—and that’s okay.
Step back. Adjust. Keep going.
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Use your tools:
* Apps that remind you of your goals
* Alarms
* Calendars
But above all else—use discipline.
You’ve got to do this every day.
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Let me recap quickly:
* Number one: start your day with intention.
* Number two: schedule fifteen minutes to work on your business.
* Number three: end your day with a debrief.
That’s my time.
Use your discipline.
Have a great week, everybody.
I’ll see you next week in Virginia.
Take care. Bye, bye.
