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Do you focus on one project, or several at the same time in 80/20 mode?

by shopmunity
18 replies
Last week at our SEO round table we had an interesting discussion about whether to start one project only and put all your time and and energy into it vs. doing several projects at once in 80/20 mode.

The basic argument was, that not all projects succeed / not all products are accepted by customers and so changes for a "big winner" among your projects is of course higher if you start several projects.

On the other hand the question is, whether you get distracted so much with different projects that none of them really work.

What do you think? What is your experience?
#80 or 20 #focus #mode #project #time
  • Profile picture of the author ahmadashfaq
    I once read somewhere, male can focus on 1 thing at a time, contrary to this females can do multiple things at a time, like watching TV and talking on telephone...

    I tried it myself and it was true, i was only able to either watch television whats gng on in it or listen to the call..
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    • Profile picture of the author shopmunity
      Ha yeah and I turn down the music when I park my car :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author creativesb
    Sadly I try to focus on too many projects at once so I don't get anywhere. But now I found a great opportunity and focus on only this one. I hope I'll be more successful this way.
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  • Profile picture of the author Zanesta
    I find myself better focussing on one project
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    • Profile picture of the author sttbs
      I think it all depends on the value of the projects. If you have one big project accounting for 80-90% of the revenue, then you should focus on it. If you have multiple projects with similiar value, then you should learn to multitask. haha. Get comfortable being uncomfortable.
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      sttbs
      Shark Web - providing website design and seo services

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  • Profile picture of the author Russell Shor
    Me think 1. G'luck ;-)
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  • Profile picture of the author Trey Morgan
    When I focus on one thing at a time, I tend to be a lot more productive and the quality of my projects are a lot better.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      No one is 100% effective or focused at all times.

      I tend to do best when I have one main project, that gets 80% of my efforts, including my peak times. The other 20% goes into other projects, maintenance, etc.

      There are also periods of time in many projects where all you can do is wait for some event to happen. Rather than stewing over them or constantly checking in, it can be very good to have another project to work on as a distraction. Just don't get so involved/distracted that you forget your major project.
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  • Profile picture of the author MoneyDan
    Banned
    Originally Posted by shopmunity View Post

    Last week at our SEO round table we had an interesting discussion about whether to start one project only and put all your time and and energy into it vs. doing several projects at once in 80/20 mode.

    The basic argument was, that not all projects succeed / not all products are accepted by customers and so changes for a "big winner" among your projects is of course higher if you start several projects.

    On the other hand the question is, whether you get distracted so much with different projects that none of them really work.

    What do you think? What is your experience?
    Focusing on one project will always be better. Always always always. You will work at a faster rate and you will produce a better product.
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  • Profile picture of the author art72
    Definitely focus better on one project more intuitively than when my ideas are all over the map. Funny, never really heard males can only focus on one thing at a time, but I'd be inclined to believe it to be true, as I was in mid sentence talking to my wife, and the minute I started closing and saving my 'Word doc' for a project I'm working on... And a few other windows... It was dead silene. Once my widows closed and my work was saved, I picked up right where I left off.

    So for me, 80/20 rule definitely applies.
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    • Profile picture of the author Peter Lee
      Focus on one that you know works really well is my best advice. Then set yourself a time frame like 3 months because if you don't chances are that you can take results too seriously which can cloud your better judgment. Then the only reason you can fail is if you quit for any of these reasons.
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  • Profile picture of the author Insano
    As a startup I focus on 7 projects at the moment, will define in short which one is driving most value and look for ways to scale it up.

    What I found important over the years is to invest a bunch of planing before I even "open the doors" of a website.

    - For whom is the website
    - What is the visiting persona looking for
    - How to engage the visitor in interaction with the website
    - Ways of monetization
    - What are the core features necessary from the begining
    - Is there an option to scale the model up

    Once I have everything set, Im developing the first version, work on SEO, SMM, drive traffic and adapt to the "in field" situation...
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  • Profile picture of the author QueenMelanie
    yeah I do 80/20 , maybe more like 70/30 . It helps my mind to have other things to focus on throughout the day rather than always concentrating on the single project..
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  • Profile picture of the author TheWriteOne
    It is better for me to focus on multiple projects then get narrowed down to a single project. Whichever looks more promising. It really boils down on how you handle things, try starting with just two. If multiple projects hit, you could hire other people to help you out.
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  • Profile picture of the author ajanadawa
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    [DELETED]
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    • Profile picture of the author discrat
      As Marketers sometimes you cannot help but to tackle more than one project at a time.

      If things are to be done in a reasonable period of time it is going to happen.


      - Robert Andrew
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      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
        Whether you tackle a single project or multiples, here's something I got from various interviews with former US presidents...

        The trick to getting things done is to compartmentalize - when you are working on Thing A, work only on Thing A. When you switch to Thing B, put Thing A out of your mind and focus only on Thing B.

        Not always easy, but gets things done.
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  • Profile picture of the author jay761
    I think being focused and having clear goals is important for instance I have the Evernote app and write my tasks what I have to do that day to move forward. I also use google timer where I do solid work for 20 minutes at time without distractions. I think if you are good with time management you can work on numerous projects as long as you have clear goals to reach.
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  • Profile picture of the author Evan H
    It wasn't until I really focused on 1 main project that I started seeing results...

    I remember trying to juggle a couple of different niches at once, which just ended up costing me more time and money...

    But everyone works differently...
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