We are about to put the cap on another year – another decade in fact, and I for one have a number of projects left unfinished. My goal for the new year and my challenge for you is to find ways to increase your productive activity.
One of my favorite sayings is “How In The World Do You Eat An Elephant? One Bite At A Time!” It’s that first step into a dauntingly huge project that is the hardest. Speaking of accomplishing the impossible, here’s an even better story I found.
Here are my steps to a more productive 2011:
- Outsource Anything That Can Be Outsourced – I like doing a lot of different things, setting up WordPress web sites, producing videos, doing voice overs, playing with photoshop graphics, etc. The problem is that with over 200 affiliate web sites now I could spend all my time just doing those things. It’s amazing what you can get done now for just $5 at fiverr.com.
- Focus! I like to think I’m pretty good at multitasking. The problem is there are several studies now that show it’s more productive to spend focussed time at one task, then move to the next one.
- Start With The Most Difficult Task – Procrastination is a killer. That one looming uncomfortable task, project or phone call can be an incredible drain on your energy level and psyche throughout the day. Bite the bullet and get it out of the way early.
- Use Leverage To Your Advantage – Find a complementary business to share client recommendations or advertising space. Find someone in your same business but non-competing geographic area and share ideas. Instead of trying to get a million people to come to you – go to where a million people already are congregating (Facebook, huge forum sites, etc.)
- Spend some time each day learning something new – new information, new skillset, etc.
- Finally, if you really do have that next “great idea” don’t put it off. Set aside 30 minutes a day and take small bites at it. Markus Frind, founder of Plenty Of Fish began building the site in 2004. He says he would come home every day and force himself to write code for 30 minutes before doing anything else. He currently has a whopping 3 employees and brings in $10 million dollars a year.