Working on the business requires a higher-level approach so every morning, set aside forty-five minutes without Internet access.

You need to focus on working on your business as opposed to in it. 

When you’re operating the business, you spend time putting out fires and keeping everything running as it should. Working on the business requires a higher-level approach. Every morning, set aside forty-five minutes without Internet access. Devote this time exclusively to activities that improve your business—nothing that merely maintains the business. 

Think forward motion … What can you do to keep things moving ahead? 

Consider these areas: 

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT. This is work that grows the business. What new products or services are in the works? Are there any partnerships or joint ventures you’re pursuing? 

OFFER DEVELOPMENT. This kind of work involves using existing resources in a new way. Can you create a sale, launch event, or new offer to generate attention and income? 

FIXING LONG-STANDING PROBLEMS. In every business, there are problems that creep up that you learn to work around instead of addressing directly. Instead of perpetually ignoring these issues, use your non-firefighting time to deal with the root of the problem.

The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future by Chris Guillebeau