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Stop Procrastination: 5 Steps on how to get things done today!
Have you ever looked at your list of things to do and just wanted to run away? Procrastination sometimes does get the best of us self-employed people. Everything seems to be a priority therefore we tend to put some things on the back burner. The point is, if the items on your to-do list have to do with marketing your business to attract clients then you don’t want to ignore them otherwise your pipeline of prospects will be empty in 6 months or less.
Every now and then Procrastination rears its ugly head into my business. Sometimes I think that the to-do list is so overwhelming that I tend to go into an avoidance mode rather than a mode of just dealing with it. Does this happen to you? Realistically, you can’t ignore marketing yourself. You’ll have to just bite the bullet and do what it takes.
Let me share with you my personal action checklist that takes me from procrastination to action:
- Prioritise: The best way to get moving is first sort out what your return on investment either financially, time-wise or resource-wise is for each item. Secondly, sort them in order of what will reap you the most benefits i.e. clients and revenue from the littlest output on your part and thirdly, start with that one and work down your list.
- What’s getting in your way? Sometimes, procrastination is about something getting in the way. It could be you don’t have every piece of the puzzle enabling you to move forward and accomplish something. It could be that you don’t know how to do one aspect but is it absolutely necessary to your success? Whatever’s holding you back, just get clear of it.
- How long will it really take? I sometimes find that I delay on a marketing task because I anticipate it taking longer than it really will. To get past this, look at the task and ask yourself realistically how long will it really take. Then, take out the to-do list and write down the time it will take you to complete it next to each item i.e. 30 minutes, 1 hour etc.
- Schedule it! Open your calendar and find time slots that correspond to the time allotted for each task on your list. Schedule them as if they were client appointments you are unable to cancel.
- Just do it! Once you’ve got the task appointments schedule in your diary, just do them. You’ll power through them like you’ve never done before. It’s actually pretty cool.
When marketing yourself, take notice of when you start slipping into procrastination mode – it happens to everyone, believe me. Prioritise the tasks on your to-do list and focus on the ones that'll get you the highest return on investment. Make note of what’s getting in the way or what piece is missing and solve the issue accordingly. Establish how long it will take to get each task done and then schedule tasks into your diary. At this point you’ll have no excuses for not doing it.
Remember with marketing there is never a point at which you can say, “I’m successful now so I don’t have to market any longer.” You’ll notice that every successful entrepreneur never stops marketing. In fact, they are always adding new things to their existing marketing plans. Do the same. Always be marketing and you’ll always have clients.
For help to facilitate your strategic planning, please contact me.
If you'd like to use this article in your own newsletter or on your website, you are welcome to reprint it in its entirety with an active link to our website and the following author information:
"By Deborah Jackson of Jaxon Marketing. Learn more about how to identify and communicate your uniqueness here: http://www.jaxon.com.au"
Strategic Planning for 2010 - getting your Road Map ready
How many of you have got on the road and then realised you didn’t really have a clue where you were going?
Realistically – that’s not going to happen is it? Most of us get in the car with a clear understanding of where we are going and what we are likely to face on our journey.
Driving without a bit of forethought is going to end in tears somewhere along the way – either with no fuel left in the tank, hopelessly lost or in a ditch somewhere.
Sadly, it is not unusual for small business owners to launch in to the journey of a new year in precisely this way. Any wonder that so many businesses run out of fuel half way through, lose their way or, worst of all, end in a figurative ditch.
If you want certainty in 2010, to arrive at your destination and to do it in style, you need to plan things. Sure you have a business plan that you gave to the bank so they would give you your loan, but is that a precise set of milestones that will guide you through 2010?
A business plan is a great overview but a strategic plan is a clear step by step guide for this year. A business plan sits on your shelf and is dusted off for presentations and where you need to communicate the overall vision and mission of your business and as such it is, of course, a vital tool in your business arsenal. A strategic plan is a detailed road map to grow your business.
A strategic plan should never be far from your finger-tips. It should address the three vital questions:
- Where are we now?
- Where are we going?
- How do we get there?
Where are we now looks at your mission and core values, where are we going considers our vision and the competitive advantage we have identified and how do we get there addresses the key considerations of goals, objectives, strategies and scorecards.
Questions to ask:
- Where do you want your business to be in 5 years time?
- What does your company do best?
- Are you passionate about your business?
- Who are your competitors and what are they up to?
Involve your key people in the planning, get outside help to facilitate the process, ensure everyone has the information needed to plan properly, take into account different thinking styles during the planning process and most importantly ensure you end with agreement on the way forward.
Finally and vitally, agree on actions, responsibility and ownership for those actions and the timeframes and milestones for achieving the strategic plan.
The strategic plan is a vital and powerful tool for success and should resonate throughout your organisation. From the largest company to the smallest home-based operation every business should have a strategic plan if they want to succeed.
A strategic plan allows you to reconnect with why you started your business. Successful entrepreneurs don’t leave anything to chance. Growth is their choice and they plan every step of the way. A strategic plan is the start of a new, bold and exciting chapter in your business calling.
As we launch into 2010, look closely at what your company is, what you want it to be and how you are going to get it to its destination by the end of 2010.
For help to facilitate your strategic planning, please contact me.
If you'd like to use this article in your own newsletter or on your website, you are welcome to reprint it in its entirety with an active link to our website and the following author information:
"By Deborah Jackson of Jaxon Marketing. Learn more about how to identify and communicate your uniqueness here: http://www.jaxon.com.au"
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