Procrastination is the killer of productivity. That makes sense, right? Did you realize though that over the past 30 years the number of self-proclaimed procrastinators has quadrupled? Procrastination, in so many ways, can drain your energy and can also assist you in sabotaging your entrepreneurial success.
Can you obliterate procrastination from your business and personal life? I believe you can. I also believe it will take effort and it’s not something you can put off any longer! Here are some steps you can take, beginning today, to give procrastination the boot:
Hone your to-do list down to no more than five items a day. If you get through those, fantastic! Add on a few more.
If an item on your to-do list is involved (building a new website, writing a book, etc.) then break that item down into smaller increments. Scale the mountain one step at a time!
Get better at your self knowledge and pay attention to those times and those tasks that put you into procrastination mode. If you can uncover what pushes that button you may be able to find ways to overcome it.
Acknowledge that procrastination is present in your life and then give yourself a pat on the back when you make it through your list
Reward yourself for making it through your list. Reward yourself for a job well done. Don’t beat yourself up when you procrastinate, instead look for the root cause.
If you find yourself being overwhelmed by activities, to-dos and by a general feeling of “I don’t know where to start.” Give us a call or leave a comment because our business coaching service could help you get past that and moving forward on your entrepreneurial path.
As entrepreneurs, regardless of our niche area, we are all sales people. It’s true. Without making a sale how would you be in business? Whether you’re a dog groomer, pool service contractor, blogger, or an accountant you need to sell to remain in business.
Here are my tips for using your personality to make that sale:
Be who you are. Don’t try to be someone you’re not just to close a deal. Being authentic is critical in today’s competitive business environment.
Be happy. If you love what you do, this will shine through in your interactions with clients and potential clients.
Encourage others. When you’re making a sale the product or service you’re offering will in some way enhance the client’s life or business, right? Use that as a way to encourage them to reach higher levels of success.
There are myriad other items that go into being a stellar salesperson and I’d be happy to talk with you about this and about ways you can grow your business through your sales processes. Give me a shout if you’d like to learn more!
Do you ever cringe when you get ready to open your email inbox in the morning? I know sometimes I do. Why? First of all because so many emails came in, second because some of them ramble and third because the subject lines have nothing to do with the content.
Here are my tips for upping the chances that your email messages (whether a standard email or an e-newsletter) get read:
Be clear. Are you asking for help? Do you need a response? Are you simply sharing information? Make that clear in the message so the recipient knows how, or even if they have to, respond.
One issue per message. Don’t have a subject line that mentions, “XYZ Project” but then go into the “ABC” and the “LMNO” projects. One subject per email and the subject needs to relate to your subject line.
Be brief. If you can’t wrap up your email in a hundred words or fewer (unless the recipient was anticipating a wordy response) then you might want to pick up the phone. There are times, though when a detailed email response is a great reference for the future, but you need to know when this is the case.
Make sure your grammar and spelling are impeccable. Grammatical errors will make your reader subconsciously doubt the rest of your words.
Steer clear of industry jargon and acronyms unless you are certain your recipient will immediately understand them.
When is the last time you celebrated a small milestone in your business? Many people feel they can only “celebrate” when they close that BIG deal, or when they lose 10 pounds or when they finish writing their book or business plan. Why not celebrate when you close ONE deal or lose two pounds or write a chapter in your book? Marking the progress you make along the way goes a long way in helping you meet those larger goals.
There are coaching clients with whom I work that sometimes suffer analysis paralysis — that need to know each and every single possible outcome of whatever project is on their plate before they can move forward. It is a state that leads to almost nothing getting done and that stymies their overall business growth.
What can you to do celebrate small milestones and why should you? Here are some options:
Not celebrating small projects completed negates their importance. Take a 15 minute trip away from your desk and do something you enjoy as a way to treat yourself for a job well done.
Tell a colleague or share with your coach a milestone. If you work with a coach or an accountability partner and you achieve something he or she had talked with you about, you should pick up the phone an make note of that — after all that is the benefit of having an accountability partner or coach.
Celebrate every new customer! Why? Every customer you bring in is entrusting him- or herself to the services you provide and that means you should celebrate them! How? Note it on your social media pages. Pick up the phone and say a heartfelt “thank you for being part of our client family.
What will you do to celebrate your next milestone?
When is the last time you updated, or even looked at, your professional online bios? If you’re like most people, you set up your online profiles. I know in the rush of take care of my coaching clients and building my business, I don’t always think to go into my online profiles and update them when I have learned a new skill, or start offering a new service or even begin a new endeavor. It’s not always top of mind, but updating our online professional bios should be part of our business strategy.
Take time today to look at your LinkedIn and Facebook profiles and your business page. Here are some items to pay attention to:
If a potential client was seeking you out, does your current bio speak to your unique skills and to the audience you’re reaching out for? Make sure there are key words and searchable terms in your bio that a potential client would use to search you for.
List your top three qualifications and highlight them on your profiles and in the headlines on your social media pages.
Readers have short attention spans. With this in mind, put your most important information at the top of your bio and keep it short. Use bullet points to break up text and focus on your most relevant information.
After you’ve updated your online professional profiles, share that information with clients and potential clients, you can say, “I’ve recently updated my profile to better show the world who I am!” You can even ask, “do you agree?” and solicit insight from your followers — they may have information or a word you can use in your bio that you never thought of.
Being productive is something that an entrepreneur simply must be. Why? As a business owner there are so many tasks pulling you in different directions and you need to know when to say yes, when to work on your most pressing tasks and when to kick back and work on those “mindless” items on your to-do list that have to get done, but don’t take a lot of brain power.
I uncovered these interesting productivity tips:
The most productive day of the week? Tuesday. Schedule your most pressing tasks for that day.
The most productive time of the day? 10:26 am.
The least productive time of the day? 2:55 pm.
The least productive day of the week? Friday. Are you surprised at that? Use Friday as a “catch up” day or a day to call potential clients or to return phone calls. Use it to prepare your to-do list for the upcoming week so you’re ready to jump right in on Monday.
Additional thought from me: When you leave the office on Friday — or any day of the week, actually — leave priority tasks front and center on your desk.
Know your own personally productive times of the day and week and utilize those to your best advantage.
