The Art of Staying Focused

bydec944

297 followers

14 years ago

I am probably older than most in the business and had a previous life as a successful organizational leader so hopefully I can bring something to the subject of  "focus."  I just read the blog post by Fallulah and had a similar conversation with a local group last week and thought I would post a few bits of how I find focus on a daily basis, as a lack of focus will kill your productivity and financial rewards.

• We must have a plan.  It doesn't require elaborate planning like a company business plan, but you need to know how, what, where, when and why you are doing something and whether you have the resources to get it done.  It doesn't matter how much you want it if you can't get it done.
  
• I really need  to schedule tasks.  This is a task driven business. "A" must come before "B".  For example, you need to find your product before you find keywords; you need to find keywords before you write articles, etc..  I know many people think being self employed in IM means never having to act like you do when you work for a company, but the same tactics in a company that make you successful are used as a self employed I-Marketeer.  You can't free-wheel growing a business. You just get to do them on your own terms, which is the beauty of this.
• Pick a productivity process that works for you.  We all have cells, smartphones, software, productivity suites, websites, etc.  They are all productivity tools but can become the bane of our existence unless we have a process for integration or overlying methods.  These tools in and of themselves are not productivity devices;  they are tools.  I actually use a method by David Allen called "Getting Things Done".  It's outlined in his book (most libraries have it) and it is not for everyone.  I started using it years ago while still a corporate geek and it saved my life and I owe much of the past two years success to it;  but it is complicated and is not for the organizational faint of heart.  It took me a year to master it.  But pick the one right process for you.  It need not be complicated.
• In the words of PotPieGirl, stay away from the shiny objects.  I love logging on to WA.  I have it on my calendar every day, but I only log on when it is scheduled, when I have conquered the day or when I am just plain stuck.  WA can help lead  to a business revolution for each of us, or it can become a very dark back alley if we hang out here too much looking for a fix.  Our fix is in our business.  Our support, friendship, shared success and failure is here on WA.
• Always remember why you are on WA.  It is not a social site; it is a business site. Don't turn it into a shiny object.   It is to learn, which leads to knowledge, which leads to financial rewards.  I think it is one of the most invaluable tools in the business but it, like any board, can become your shiny object.

Hope this helps someone with focus.

Good marketing,

Judy