As an international business with clients all over the world, travel has always been a big part of my life. Every year I’d hop on a plane to visit our freight partners and clients and attend some of the big freight forwarder networks. When international travel ground to a halt, the networks were cancelled. But now they’re back!

So much so that I’m spoilt for choice. Over the next year, I’ve got the opportunity to attend networks in Thailand, Dubai, Dominican Republic, Athens and even China hopefully. The world is opening up again and it seems the freight industry is jumping right in. I can’t wait to get back out there, networking, making friends and doing what Millennium does best – building relationships. But I won’t be attending all of them.

You see, I’ve been in business long enough to know that you have to work smart, not hard. If you say yes to every opportunity that comes your way, you’ll end up overworked and overwhelmed. And more is almost never better.

You see, it’s the classic 80/20 rule. 20% of your efforts will deliver 80% of your results. You just have to figure out which 20%…

When it comes to attending networks, there’s no denying that we get business from every network we attend. But I can’t be everywhere. As much as I love the jet-setting lifestyle, I’ve got a business to run and I’m needed in the UK.

When it comes to choosing which networks to attend, I have to choose carefully. I have to focus my efforts on the actions that will bring the biggest results. On the 20% that brings 80% of the results. And that’s what you should do too.

Do you know what 20% of your actions bring you 80% of your results? Or are you working hard instead of smart?