Do you find that, week in week out, the same task will sit on your things to do list because you never seem to have the time to get round to it? This is a pretty normal situation to find yourself in, and it’s kind of OK if it only happens every now and then, but I bet you have things on your list which stay there from month to month. Now that is a problem.
What tasks are staying undone for so long? Usually it’s the ones that relate to you strategically growing your business. By that I mean the big stuff like doing a marketing campaign, going to some different networking events, developing a new service and so on.
So why do they stay sat on the list?
Because they take “effort” to do them. The reason why you aren’t getting round to doing that “effort” can be down to one of a few things…
1. It can be because you feel it needs several hours to do and you struggle to find the gap in your diary to do it.
2. It could be because it’s something you might not really want to do, so basically it’s outside your comfort zone.
3. You don’t actually feel it’s important enough so you are de-prioritising it down your list. This is actually a symptom of number 2 as you are basically letting yourself off the hook because you aren’t really that keen on doing it.
Let’s face it, you are a busy business owner and pretty much every week is busy. You tell yourself that things will ease up next week so you can do XYZ then, but the reality is that you still have a hectic schedule when next week comes round and XYZ stays undone.
You might be thinking that I’m describing an average business reality so what’s my point.
This kind of hamster wheel situation/behaviour is likely to result in you missing your targets for the year, because you simply aren’t giving yourself a chance to grow.
Are you serious about growing your business? I mean REALLY serious about it? Serious growth requires serious action and not getting the big things done is going to cause you some serious disappointment.
OK, so how do you fix it?
Step 1: Take ownership for your outcomes. If you want to grow then you are the only one that can make it happen. It’s time to step up and take action.
Step 2: Break the tasks down into smaller ones as you’ll find it much easier to get them done. This is key.
Step 3: Keep track of your progress. You will naturally improve the areas where you are measuring your performance.
Step 4: If you do have a comfort zone challenge around some of the things you need to get done then always keep an eye on the bigger prize and incentivise yourself when you take the action.
So what task has been sat on your things to do list for far too long? How can you make it happen in the next 7 days?
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