I have to be honest. Since starting this blog about strategies to help get things done, my productivity has plummetted. Every time I take on a new project, I find my business suffers while I figure out what I'm doing. I knew I was going to write this post; yet, here I am finishing it six hours before post time. How did I get behind so quickly?
Other days, I'm a master task killer. Look out list. Here I come! Those are the days I practice what I preach and manage to overcome all obstacles to success. Those days feel really good. Why can't I get things done everyday? I am trying to run a business. Right? Maybe these will sound familiar to you too.
Fear
It's true. Even the best of us will avoid working on something important if there's the remotest possibility we will fail. After all, when we do fail (from sitting around doing nothing), we will be able to say we didn't actually try. It's a way we try to preserve our self-esteem. We all need to take some time to face our fears. Once we admit that we have them, we can remind ourselves why we thought it was worth starting a small business in the first place.
Vision
When people talk about vision, they usually mean the "big picture". Entrepreneurs don't usually have a problem with that type of vision. Dreamers get into business because they can see what they want it to be. The problem is in the details. Your list contains large projects like "make a website for my business". Not only does this tell us nothing about how much work is required, it leaves the average business owner at a loss for where to start. Your vision for your company has to include the details. Break down your dreams into steps that you can accomplish one at a time. If you lack knowledge, your first step is to research the rest of your steps. Fuzzy visions can bring a business to a standstill.
Interuptions
If it's not on the list and it's not an emergency, it can wait. Screen your phone calls. Listen to the voicemail and decide if you need to call them back immediately or if it can wait until after work. How many people will call you at work because you have a small business who wouldn't call you if you had a job? If it's not UPS or a client at the front door, don't answer it. Your friends wouldn't stop by to chat if you were working for somebody else. You don't have to let them steal your time because you work for yourself. If this is a really common problem for you, take some time to let friends and family know when you work.
Procrastination
Sometimes this comes out of fear. Other times it's just avoidance because we don't want to do the work. We can make tons of excuses when we're procrastinating. Do you find yourself straightening your desk when a presentation is due because your work space is just to cluttered to work? Use your todo list to overcome procrastination. It doesn't just tell you what you need to do. It tells you what you don't. Stick to your list. If you won't put it on the list, it should wait until the list is done.
Distractions
This issue can be particularly trying if your small business is run from home. Dishes? Laundry? Groceries? Kids? It's not that these things don't legitimately need to be addressed in your schedule, but business work time is business work time and home work time is home work time. Obviously, you can't control everything, but set aside specific time to work on your business. Some people find it effective to establish an office area so they actually have to "go to work" during that time.
Multi-tasking also falls into this category. Multi-tasking is just working while distracted on purpose. This problem is best controlled by focusing on the task at hand to the exclusion of everything else. Pretend you only have one item on your todo list. It's not your email checking that will suffer if you try to write a business proposal at the same time. It's the business proposal that will take forever to complete and not be as well though out. I really recommend that you stop trying to accomplish more by cramming more work into every second. Concentration is key to getting tasks done both quickly and well.
And these are just five factors that effect small businesses. They overlap like crazy and I'm sure you thought of a million related issues in your own business. What issues are effecting you? How do you overcome your obstacles to getting things done?
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