sbp8610

We could all get more work done if we were more productive couldn't we?

For a long while I struggled with being more productive and it always killed my work ethic. Every night I would go to bed and I would always think the same exact thing, "Well I didn't do as much as I wanted to today but I'll get a lot done tomorrow". But the funny thing is that tomorrow never comes, it was a vicious cycle that I went through for the longest time... and then suddenly it hit me.

I was at the gym lifting one day and I realized that I was looking too much at the bigger picture. I kept focusing on where I wanted to be in 1-3 months, instead of what I needed to do to get there.

So I'm not sure if this was just something I had trouble with or whether others are experiencing it too, but if you're having the same problems then I suggest you try what I did.

Just try to focus on the now, and not the future. Calm yourself down and realize what needs to be done at this very moment, the most important thing you could do, and then do it. Don't stop half-way through, get it all done before you get up to do anything else.

If it's a big project then tell yourself that you're going to be rewarded after your done.

After finishing this post I'm going to do about three hours of work on one of my big projects and if I get a set amount of work done then I get to go to the local gas station and get myself a cappuccino... I love those things.

Maybe you're reward could be watching tv for a little bit, or something along those lines.

Whatever you have to do, go get it done... don't procrastinate.

Hope this helps somebody!

-Scott

Daniel-H

sbp8610, Thank you for your experience and suggestions. Please, if I could interject:

You are right about how people look at the big picture. It is still important though. It's how you use it to your advantage, by focusing on the "Big Picture" and taking the necessary steps to get there.

First of all most people do not have dreams anymore and are willing to settle. Guess that's no one here or you wouldn't be here... Not just having a dream but a big dream, what would happen if a small dream came true? Think about it. Then when things get tough that's when its time to focus on the Big Dream to remind ourselves why we are doing what we do. With that said, ask yourself Why am I doing this? The big picture, right! The why question is important.

In order to be more productive we also need goals,
The "Big Picture"!, Can you eat a whole elephant from head to toe? No!, but if a plan is made to take a couple bites out of it every day, starting at the head and do what was in your plan, t-h-e-n would you be able to eat a whole elephant from head to toe? You bet ya!

How do you set goals to reach that big picture or dream? Write it down! and add a date to it. After all a goal without an end or date added is a wish. Then slow down, sometimes things are easier to accomplish at a slower pace in turn speeding up the process. Take proper action and manage your time. Most people do not manage their productive time properly.

Persistence and consistency are key to achieving goals. By sticking with what you know or are learning at the time and duplicating the business model that works is more productive than jumping from one task to another or the next best technique. I am sure top money earners don't get scatter brain with information overload. I'll bet they build upon their successful business models one step at a time, according to a plan.

sbp8610, You are right about focusing on accomplishing the "now" tasks to reach the big picture.
Have a cup of joe on me!


Thanks for the post sbp8610.
Daniel

sbp8610

Thanks for the reply Daniel!

There's seems to be a middle ground between focusing on the small picture to get things done and focusing on the bigger picture to keep you motivated.

I just found myself focusing too much on the bigger picture.

You can paypal me $2 for the cup of cappacino I'm about to buy if you want

Michael Thai

How do we eat an elephant? one at a time we need to focus and finish one thing at a time.....

Kenster

Yes I like to say baby-step your way to a million. If you think about any task, however big or small, you can break that task up into very small parts, baby steps if you will. As you break down these steps you realize that even the most daunting of tasks is very doable if you just do it in steps.

So when attacking a larger project, I urge you to take a few moments and break that task up into little itsy bitty tasks and then start accomplishing those small tasks. At the end of the day, you will have achieved your larger goal!

steve-wilkins

Great post! I can totally relate to you Scott, I often would finish my day dissapointed that I didn't get a whole lot done but would always immediatly think ''tomorrow is a new day and ill get up early and get lots done'' sadly that never happened and the less I got done the more I resented my IM career!

That was until I started taking it slowly piece by piece. I got myself a mentor and followed his videos one week at a time completeing little tasks over 9 months until I found that the big picture I was looking at had already been completed in phases over 9 months!

I now had my own blog and sevreal websites set up that were making me money and I had created my own digital product. 9 months previous, just the thought of doing all those things would have stressd me out but by taking it a little at a time I eventually got it done and I like you rewaeded myself most evenings with a treat of tv and a nice cup of tea

Thanks for the post! hope it helps others!
Steve

sbp8610

Hey thanks for all the comments guys!

I was watching tv the other day and someone on there said something like this:

"While the competition is sleeping, I'm up getting things done. Then after I go to bed, I gotta get up before the competition to get a head start on them."

-P. Diddy

...ok so not exactly a quote from someone you would expect. But whenever he said that it really hit me hard, ever since I always think about that and try to get things done because I feel like someone else is out there doing more than me. It's been helping me to be very productive lately.

Kenster

Yes, well Pdiddy or whatever his name is this week is a fricken business mogul and he is right on. Productivity is not just working 9-5 like everybody else. Especially in internet marketing, your mind has to be in the game for much more than that. My best ideas come at the most random times and I am always thinking as I live my life how to monetize things.

Of course everybody needs their personal time, but youve got to work harder and smarter to make the big money. Play like the competition and get the same results. To get better results youve got to play better.

kozmotm

Thanks for sharing this. I had the same problem. I realized that I didn't want to accept the reality, where I was now. So by focusing on the goal, thinking about them , I had the feeling that I accomplished them.

After I accepted reality, things started moving again. I'm closer to my goal than before.