What one daily task/routine has been most key to your success?

by detomaso

Posted: 14 years ago 25 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

I believe that everyone needs a good set of daily habits, or routine, or system -- call it what you wish.

What is the one thing you do each workday that makes the biggest difference in your career? You notice that you succeed when you do it consistently, or your income drops if you only do it sporadically.

It could be one of these (fictitious examples):

"I have to go to bed at 10pm, so I can wake up every day at 5am, and force myself to work for at least 2 hours before 8am."
"I write at least one article for my site every night after dinner."
"I do one hour of SEO every day before noontime."
"Every day I search online and email/blog-post at least 3 new potential opportunity partners."
etc., etc.

I come from a sales background, and we know that if you make X number of prospecting phone calls per day, it leads to X number of appointments, which leads to X number of sales, which leads to X amount of money in your pocket. If you fall short of that, your income is negatively affected.

In your IM career, what tasks/habits do you HAVE to do each day in order to help you grow your business?

#daily #key #success #task or routine

SanjeevM 14 years ago

I find that weekly and daily planning (both) are a huge boost to my productivity. Add to that a weekly review of what actually happened as against what you planned would happen.

If you do this regularly, you will find yourself moving ahead fairly fast (assuming you know the how-to of online business building.)

Sanjeev
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Tsnyder 14 years ago

Without fail... each night I make a prioritized list
of the things I need to do the next day. My rule is
that the list must be completed before I allow myself
any "play" time.
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Seo Mall 14 years ago

I like to write my day plan on a sheet of paper and then strike out what I've done)) I must confess, it gives me great pleasure!

But the most difficult task is to wake up at 6 am. But I do it everyday, even on week-ends. Sometimes I think that early wake-up is really the key to success
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jaygonsalves 14 years ago

@Tsynder, @detomaso

This is good advice and what I am terrible at. Thank You for the idea to start making routines, habits. I have a wealth of computer knowledge and can build/write sites in a few weeks but I fall off and so do my priorities.

@detomaso

how do you prospect online? on blogs? or phone calls? what are your comments like?
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- detomaso 14 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by jaygonsalves
  
  @detomaso
  
  how do you prospect online? on blogs? or phone calls? what are your comments like?
  
  Honestly, I'm pretty new to this. So I'm focusing on things other than prospecting at the moment in IM.
  
  Offline though, I have been in sales for 27 years. And my comment in the OP is absolutely true about the need to track your "have to" tasks. I always stress the need to prospect every day, without exception. Thus my idea for this thread -- to discover what people feel is similarly needed every day for an IM business.
  
  Thanks
  
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WriterWahm 14 years ago

I write every day. It might be for my site, a guest post or some ghostwriting. Whatever the purpose, I write every single day.
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Chambers 14 years ago

- Meditation
- Exercise
- Taking Action

That's three
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Clandog Banned 14 years ago

I smoke the Hookah, Shisha or whatever you call it with double apple with nice hot cup of green tea on the side. Its funny, when I stop doing that sales stop. Lol.
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jaygonsalves 14 years ago

I have this friend that is such a goofball but makes $180k/year in software sales and is the top guy at his company. I was on linkedin and read what people said about him, and that was that he was the most consistent prospector they had ever met and stuck to his scripts. Also followed up but it was the prospecting and "always makes his calls" that made me realize, if this goofball can do it, and succeed, then that is what I am going to do!
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Noel Cunningham 14 years ago

For me it's simply sitting down on a Sunday evening and making a Plan for the week. Sometimes I neglect this and when I do I never get anything done

At least if I put it down on paper it becomes "real" and I think subconsciously theres more of a chance of me getting stuff done.

Also I couldn't live without my Daily To Do List & at the end of the day my Did List. It's good to be able to look back at the end of the day and reflect on what you actually achieved.
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sarah87 14 years ago

getting my clothes ready for the next day, all laid out and ready to go. i also make a weekly plan of what i will be having for lunch and dinner
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- ProPowerSEO 14 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by sarah87
  
  getting my clothes ready for the next day, all laid out and ready to go. i also make a weekly plan of what i will be having for lunch and dinner
  
  Do you really plan out your meals for the whole week?
  
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ProPowerSEO 14 years ago

To me the number one must do daily is me is updating fresh content daily and distributing articles to the right places.
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WebPen 14 years ago

I've found that if I don't wake up, I don't get a whole lot done.

So waking up is probably the most important thing I do all day.
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AdwordsMogul 14 years ago

I'd say writing, meeting new business contacts, and simply promoting stuff.
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Jeff Schuman 14 years ago

My daily to do list. I try and accomplish at least one meaningful thing each day to move my business forward.
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werpetalpushers 14 years ago

I wake up early!! I feel that I am most productive in the mornings. I prepare a to-do list, being able to mark things off of my list brings me great satisfaction throughout the day.
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- cashp0wer 14 years ago
  
  I am very adamant about writing my to do list each and every night for the next day. I do find if I stay up too late I don't work as well the next day so I do make sure I'm in bed no later than 11. Having a list to go by helps me tremendously.
  
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  detomaso 14 years ago
  
  Thank you for the replies everyone. Getting up early and creating to-do lists sound so simple, but as is apparent in this thread, they are a key to getting results for most people.
  
  Thanks
  
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Will Edwards 14 years ago

This is no joke, but the most important thing I do for my business every day is to walk the dog along the beach or on Exmoor. That's when I get to do my best quality thinking.

Will
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focused 14 years ago

I also enjoy a daily walk if the weather permits.
Besides the health aspect, it's also a time to calm
the mind and a time for reflection.
It works wonders. Feeling refreshed and recharged,
it's easier to tackle the tasks that need to be accomplished.
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- chris1093 14 years ago
  
  I have found it so important to plan tomorrow today. Every night before I go to sleep I write down what free time I have tomorrow and I fit in my most important tasks for the day.
  
  Also like Noel said further up the thread I also like to make a sheet that lists the activities that I did that day and how long I did them. This way I can see if I am creating a bad habit like spending too much time reading emails or forums like this one here
  
  Thanks
  
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Victoralexon 14 years ago

Writing a to-do list where I later check the items that I have finished.
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smartiewriter 14 years ago

Making a list of things to do or achieve before I sit down at the computer. This saves so much time. If I don't make a list, I usually spend hours surfing the web with no direction.
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