Do you get distracted with your online business?

20 replies
When you work online, it is the No.1 place in the world to get easily distracted.
You will be working on one thing and then get an email about something else you think you may be interested in and before you know it - youve lost 2 hours of your day!!
The key is to have a plan and stick with it no matter what.
Start you day with an hourly plan eg marketing between 9am-11am
Maybe shoot a couple of videos between 11am and 1pm then take lunch til 2pm.
Work on your website between 2-4pm and then maybe check out those other distractions (emails etc) that would have normally distracted you previously between 4-6pm - something along those lines anyway.
The most important thing is to stay focused.

What are the sort of things that distract you during your normal day - would be really interested to know.
Val & Traci
#business #distracted #online
  • Profile picture of the author thebitbotdotcom
    For sure. I have to write first. Other stuff comes later.
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  • Profile picture of the author Stephen Bray
    Confusion through distraction is endemic
    in IM.

    Checking your e-mail every hour is fatal

    and will turn you from building a business
    into an opportunity seeker.


    Is anyone else getting tired of video

    sales letters BTW?

    I can read a long sales letter in

    around 30 seconds and know
    what benefits it might hold. A
    video may take as many minutes
    to watch.

    Who has that amount of time?


    Stephen
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  • Profile picture of the author Andyhenry
    Sorry but that doesn't work for me.

    I like to enjoy what I'm doing - so I just do the work I want at the time I feel like doing it.

    Sometimes clients have time-scales so I accomodate those but I find planning out my own day like that sucks and makes me less motivated.
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    nothing to see here.

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  • Profile picture of the author Chad Heffelfinger
    I still fight it in general, but it's not as bad as it once was. The biggest difference is I have my important email account and the one that I am subscribed to all the IM list's on. I try not to check the IM list very often and tend not to open up all the Launch emails anymore. If I do, it's from one specific marketer.

    After you hit a certain point in your IM career and you know enough, you don't need to worry about all the "new" launches and products that promise the world, they will just distract you from what it is you need to be doing.

    Pick one thing and "Do It", then move on to the next or scale it up, don't get distracted and start jumping around from one method to the next without finishing what you are trying to do.

    I know it's easier said than done, but it definately works a whole lot better.
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  • Profile picture of the author HarveyDanger
    I solved that problem about a year ago when I created a strictly business email account. I don't check my personal account until I am completely finished with all of my work for the day. The way I stay on task is by creating a to-do list for myself right before I retire for the night. That way I have everything set up, and I know what I need to accomplish the next morning.
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    I get distracted by a lot of things but I'm the boss so what do I care? Sometimes my distractions give me some great ideas. I didn't start working for myself to be a slave to routine.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rob Howard
    Yup - i get distracted big time.

    This forum is my #1 distraction. LOL

    Rob
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  • Profile picture of the author Luke McCormack
    I find the best way to get things done is stay offline until absolutely necessary. For example, I write all my articles whilst not connected to the internet, the same goes for ebooks and niche ideas. Only plug in when you need to!

    Regards

    Nigel
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    • Profile picture of the author Andrew Milburn
      Hi,

      A good tip I find is access your emails morning, lunchtime and late afternoon. Also you can check last thing at night.

      During your working hours turn off things like Facebook, twitter, and only turn them back on if you need to send out a tweet or post, this will save you from wasting time playing on them.

      Turn off all games, and IM

      Also if you work from home, tell your family and friends not to call you between these hours and not to come round for a coffee.

      Set yourself tasks to do each day the night before, this lets you start each day with a todo list and tick each item off as you do it.

      When you have achieved a goal give yourself a reward.

      Hope this helps
      Andrew
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      Helping people with Auction Selling
      Http://www.MyAuctionEmpires.com

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    • Profile picture of the author TelZilla
      Originally Posted by nigelwhittaker View Post

      I find the best way to get things done is stay offline until absolutely necessary. For example, I write all my articles whilst not connected to the internet, the same goes for ebooks and niche ideas. Only plug in when you need to!
      The best thing I ever did to stop the distractions was to unplug my computer from the router. My productivity exploded.

      Now I unplug for 2-3 hours, do my work, plug-in to update my sites and immediately unplug again. I usually stay unplugged most of the day, and toward evening I'll plug-in again.

      Of course, there are days like today, where I had a lot of errands to do this morning and I've stayed plugged in. Hence, it's 3pm and I haven't really started working yet. But I'll make up for it shortly.
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      Don't get so wrapped up in making money that you forget the important things in life.
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  • Profile picture of the author Drudge
    The key is discipline. Make a schedule and stick to it, and if by luck you run ahead of the schedule, treat yourself with something nice like checking an email or watching failblog
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    • Profile picture of the author Helma Maagdeleyn
      It is extremely easy to become distracted if you aren't focused. I was mostly spinning my wheels when I started spending entire mornings or afternoons on marketing, trying to focus on one area but knowing that I had so many other things to do as well.

      The key for me is organization. I spend 15-20 minutes in the morning, with my cup of tea, writing down in a journal what I want to accomplish that day. I take into account the kind of day it is; am I working otherwise? Do I have to visit anyone? Are there any deadlines that I have to keep in mind?

      Just as with housework, I do the things that I don't enjoy in a hurry. Writing articles is first on my list, for when my mind is fresh, and tedious tasks are for later. I also spend 2 hours maximum at a time on the computer, then take an hour to do other things.

      Very interesting responses; lastly, as with sweets, I remove the temptation completely, for other "interesting" biz-ops by not surfing or reading emails. Fortunately, I have great things to focus on, and know that it will only add to a constructive day if I keep myself in line.

      Helma
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  • Profile picture of the author SolarSpain
    Hi Everyone here! My name is Ronnie and I registered 20 minutes ago. I own a Solar Energy Business in Southern Spain - great place for a Solar Energy Company-(320 days of sunshine!)

    Our website & blog generates a few enquiries and i'm happy with that. We are a very pro-active company and knock doors to generate enquiries (we work around our installations - face to face...then move on to new territory and repeat. For me, this is a doddle and obscenely profitable. I was trained to do this 28 years ago - it provides immediate, cheap leads. I speak to 20'ish people a day, make 3'ish appointments and sell one of them (one of the three will cancel before i get back)

    Why am i writing this? Sales fascinates me - i love my profession. Very recently, i decided to set up a blog based around sales - i don't know where this will lead me, i'd like to help people sell more stuff i guess. Along the way, i opted in to a few online marketers to see how things are done on line.

    This is where i could become unpopular - i am apalled by the way that prices are dropped in and then reduced for a wide range of BS reasons. Over the last 28 years i have had to move with the times to stay on top of my game...the general public have wised up! The sales methods i see are so '80's - Only 300 left! I will never offer this again! Send me a testimonial!

    I realise that face to face selling, especially when you have an in demand quality product, such as our solar systems are - is a lot easier than selling online - however, if a professional salesman today spieled his potential customers the way 95% of these online sales letters do - they'd go broke really quickly.

    That's me done...now can anybody tell me who is doing it right online? :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author Trivum
    The book Getting Things Done is a great resource for *you* management (you aren't managing "time" after all, you're managing yourself).

    One of its key concepts is having a list of "next actions," specific things that you have written down - things that can be done in one step ... like "make a phone call" ... "write a headline" ... "research an answer to a problem," etc.

    You have a big on-going list of these "next actions," and when you finish with one "next action," you scan down through your list and see what you "feel like" or what you "can" do next.

    It's a freer concept than most "time management" theories, but you still get a lot done (um ... provided you do it, of course).
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  • Profile picture of the author leclaims
    Keeping a daily routine is virtually impossible in the IM world because there are so many different tasks that can take place at any given time. One minute you're responding to an email, the next minute you're writing articles, the next minute you're working on blog posts, you get the idea.

    The point is there is always something more important or exciting that could cause you to stop what you're doing.

    Instead of trying to develop a routine, I just try to keep up with everything without getting completely over my head with work.
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  • Profile picture of the author lazy boy
    checking stats, favorite forums, adsense, amazon, clickbank, email . . .
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  • Profile picture of the author sdentrepreneur
    I get lots of distractions, mostly the women in my life....haha... I also try to work 50min hours and walk away from screen for 10min per hour to clear my mind and be focused.
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  • Profile picture of the author evanlambda
    The Internet is full of distractions. I like to make a list in notepad of things I need to do in manageable chunks. My goal is to eliminate everything from the list as soon as possible. It sounds simple but it really is a good way to make sure you stay on course.
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  • Profile picture of the author paulie888
    Originally Posted by Val and Traci View Post

    When you work online, it is the No.1 place in the world to get easily distracted.
    You will be working on one thing and then get an email about something else you think you may be interested in and before you know it - youve lost 2 hours of your day!!
    The key is to have a plan and stick with it no matter what.
    Start you day with an hourly plan eg marketing between 9am-11am
    Maybe shoot a couple of videos between 11am and 1pm then take lunch til 2pm.
    Work on your website between 2-4pm and then maybe check out those other distractions (emails etc) that would have normally distracted you previously between 4-6pm - something along those lines anyway.
    The most important thing is to stay focused.

    What are the sort of things that distract you during your normal day - would be really interested to know.
    Val & Traci
    Something like this might help you deal with distractions in a flexible and resilient manner, but at the same time also gives your day some much needed structure. I feel that it works really well especially for people with short attention spans -
    The Pomodoro Technique
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  • Profile picture of the author good2go4
    I find that since I stopped reading all of my emails I can get rid of them in about ten minutes three times a day. I found Skype was distracting but I was also getting new clients from it so I keep that on while I am working but I close down Gmail and my other email account when I am writing. I don't take many breaks during the day because once hubby comes home from work he has the tv on and he is talking to me so I try and get writing done when he is out and then if I have client deadlines, like last night for example, I stay up after he has gone to bed at night and write then as well. I might have to cut that idea down a bit though - it was 4.30am this morning that I got to bed - but I met my deadline, lol.

    This forum would be one of the biggest distractions I have to be honest - I like reading what people have to say and writing from home isn't one of the most social things you can do. I only go on Facebook in the dead of night when I know my grown kids won't be on it because if they catch me they will chat for half the night about nothing and I don't tweet unless I have something useful to say so social media doesn't cause me too many problems.

    Like others here I do have a list of things i want to get finished in a day and if I spend time on here, like now for example, then I know I will just have to put in a few more hours on my writing work later today - so long as the deadlines are met my clients are happy - they don't need to know what hours I actually work, lol

    Just my 2cents
    Lisa
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