DO IT NOW!

For those of you (especially newbies) who spend too much time reading, thinking, and worrying, and fail to take action, this is for you:

DO IT NOW!

That tough decision you've been putting off, making that dreaded sales phone call, hiring that contractor, sending that email, building that website, writing that sales page, et cetera... - don't put it off any longer - DO IT NOW!

Make a prioritized list of important things you need to get done and start at the top and just do them - actually take the time to get a pen and paper and write these things down.

Don't multitask, focus on one at a time. I can't tell you how good it feels to cross things off the list as they're done. Sounds simple, but I've always believed it has a profound psychological effect that is beneficial for effective time management.


Also:

Pareto's Law - 80% of the output comes from 20% of the input.

Locate that 20%, focus on it, perfect it, and make a system out of it. Then replicate it many times over.

Parkinson's Law - A task will swell in perceived importance and complexity in relation to the time allotted for its completion.

With each of the things on your to-do list from above, give yourself an unrealistic deadline for its completion. This will invariably force you to only focus on the most significant aspects of each task so that you can get it done efficiently and effectively instead of spending hours weighing your options. Absolute perfection is not necessary. And this is coming from a huge perfectionist. I have to consciously force myself to put these things into practice or else I get bogged down in meaningless minutiae.

I have all these written on a whiteboard by my desk to serve as constant reminders to abide by these principles in every aspect of my business. Trust me, it pays off - physically, mentally, and psychologically.

It is so easy to forget these and slip back into my old slow time-consuming useless methods of doing things, so it is important to consciously keep yourself in check.

Ask yourself several times a day: "If I get only one thing done today, will this one thing make me feel like I've accomplished something to grow my business?"

Similarly, ask yourself if the task at hand is income-generating or if it is simply busy work to make yourself feel like you're getting something done. If the latter, eliminate it immediately!

Most of these concepts are from The 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss, another book I'd highly recommend. Grab it on Amazon here .

Aside from all that, to the newbies who are suffering from information overload, stop buying the next shiny object (all the WSO's) and reading threads here on WF and just pick something and take action today!

"Excuses aren't explanations, explanations aren't excuses."


To your success,
John T. Williamson