Overcoming Procrastination

One of the biggest challenges to being self-employed and owning your own business is getting over time management procrastination. It’s just so easy when you’re the boss to let things slide until it’s an emergency and you must absolutely get the task done. Here are a few tips to get out of this habit and start being productive today, not tomorrow.

Challenge yourself to something achievable but challenging. Sometimes we procrastinate because the task seems too large to manage. For example, you have an information product to create and just don’t know where to start. Rather than putting “create information product” on your task list, break the project up into several smaller steps. The first one could be, “Outline information product” or “Choose title for information product.”  These smaller, more attainable goals are easier to accomplish and don’t feel as if they’re looming over your head.

Reward yourself (with a day off). Work hard, play hard is the cliché, right? Well take advantage of it. Make a to-do list at the beginning of the week and promise yourself a day off, where you do something fun, when the list is complete.

It’s easier to commit to this reward if you involve other people. For example, if you make an appointment for a massage on Friday, well you had better have your task list done by Thursday night or you’re going to have to cancel on your masseuse and she’ll never book you an appointment again for cancelling at the last minute. You’re making yourself accountable.

Identify distractions. Find out what you procrastinate with. Do you watch television? Run errands? Surf the net? Determine what distracts you. Spend a day or two working, or procrastinating, like you usually do and simply take note of what you do other than work.

Eliminate distractions. Once you know what you’re using to procrastinate then it’s time to get tough. Eliminate the distractions. For example, if you find that you often let household chores deter you from being productive, schedule a time for household chores. Give yourself thirty minutes at lunchtime to get a chore list completed and then go back to work.

Use tools to help you. Time-tracking tools, both online and off, are great for helping you stay on task. You can for example use something as simple as an egg timer. Set it for thirty-five minutes. Work for thirty-five minutes and when the timer dings, give yourself ten minutes or so to stretch, walk around the block, put away the clean dishes or something other than work and then go back and set the timer again.

Get creative with these tools and ideas and use them to help you stay on task and stop procrastinating.

Self-Motivation Tips

Developing self-motivation is something you may not have thought about before you started to work from home. Most work and life structures have been set up to provide motivation from an outside source.

For example, if you work at a job outside the home, instant motivation would be provided by the fact that you are working in a monitored environment where there is not much other to do than work. And so you work.

When you go to school, instant motivation is provided by a teacher who checks to make sure you have done your assignments.

But when you work from home, you don’t have an instant motivation source on tap. In fact, if you have your own business, it may be time to learn a whole new set of skills you haven’t used previously.

The good news is that self-motivation can be learned. It’s not something that will come naturally to all of us, but with a little work and time you can develop it. Here are some tips to help you get started.

#1 – Be strict with yourself. Set a work schedule which means when you sit down to work you are working. Be firm with yourself and don’t get distracted by any other activities. If it helps, set a timer to ring once your work time is finished. It’s also important to try and work at the same time each day so that you can form a work pattern where both your body and mind are prepared to work.

#2 – Finish one thing before moving on. Ideas and creativity are the fun part of running a business but the other more mundane tasks need to get done as well. If you start a new project, see it through and don’t stray from it. Avoid the lure to move on to another more exciting project. This can lead to you taking on too many things at one time and not completing anything to its full potential.

#3 – Know what you want. It’s difficult to develop self-motivation and direction if you’re unsure about what you’re working towards. The first step for anybusiness should be to write out a clear business plan and goal plan on paper. This is your new business map and will serve to keep you on course and moving in the right direction.

#4 – Reward yourself. It’s easy to let our smaller achievements go unnoticed. But keep in mind that starting a running a business is a big achievement on its own. Take a little time to reward yourself for a job well done. If you finish a big project, treat yourself a meal out or that new book you’ve been looking forward to.

Small rewards can lead to increased motivation by giving us something to look forward to and strive towards.

If you’re lacking a little direction or self-motivation, don’t beat yourself up. Take comfort in the fact that it may not be something you’ve had the chance to develop previously. And use the tips above to start instilling a pattern of motivation in your mind.

Common mistake #1: Operating without a plan

Planning and having a business plan are your primary roles as an entrepreneur. In fact, business experts recommend you spend at least 25% of your time as a business owner planning. To begin a business without a plan, and to continue without analyzing and changing your plan as you grow, is a sure way to struggle to succeed. It’s like heading out for a drive and not knowing how to get where you’re going.

So what’s the cure? Plan! Start with a business plan that outlines your audience, competition, vision and mission, product or service and marketing strategy. Once you have a plan, schedule time into each and every week to plan your business. Analyze what’s working, what isn’t and where you’re going to go from here.

Common mistake #2: Managing your business instead of leading it

As asmall business owner just getting started, it makes sense that you may be the one person who does everything. However, as you grow that practice isn’t going to continue to make sense; you’re going to run out of hours or end up eliminating tasks that are necessary to grow your business.

You don’t, for example, spend all your time invoicing and bookkeeping if your time could be better spent coaching clients and bringing in profits. Leading your business means knowing that it’s better to focus on your specialized skills and hire or outsource to others for their specialized skills. Leading means building a team of people to help you grow your business rather than trying to do it all yourself.

Common mistake #3: Not having a system

The most successful entrepreneurs have a system that keeps them productive. It may be something as simple as using Outlook to prioritize your tasks and then not closing the door to your office until they’re all completed. It may be something more complicated. The point isn’t what system you use – that’s going to be personal to you – the point is to have a system that helps you stay organized and productive.

Common mistake #4: Overextending yourself

It’s so easy to have your fingers in too many cookie jars. When you start experiencing business success, you want more – it’s only natural. So you start other businesses, you launch new products or services and you partner with others. Unfortunately, all this activity pulls your focus in many directions. The result is that you’re only able to devote a small part of your attention to each project rather than your full attention to a single project, and that affects your success.

The cure? Make sure, before you take anything new on, that you can devote your full attention to the project and give it the focus it deserves.

Common mistake #5: Trusting the wrong people

Trusting the wrong people doesn’t mean you’re susceptible to scammers, it means that you’re putting your faith and commitment into people who are not going to help you grow your business. This includes partners, employees, contractors and even services.

Mistakes That Stifle Success

Before you take any steps to forge a relationship with anyone, assess whether it’s going to help you grow your business, set goals for the relationship and establish measures to track and evaluate your success.

If you’ve already made one of these mistakes, not to worry. They’re survivable and may even lead to bigger and better opportunities. Don’t be hard on yourself. Mistakes means you’re actually pushing yourself and striving to achieve your goals, and that in and of itself is a wonderful thing.

Time Management

Time management can be the single biggest challenge to working from home and being a successful entrepreneur. Learning to overcome these obstacles can be the key to managing and leading a successful business.

What are time management obstacles and what causes them? Many things cause time management obstacles including:

1. Perfectionism – Many people use perfectionism as a crutch; a way to stay busy doing what they know how to do and to let the rest slide. For example, you’re a skilled writer but detest accounting, which means you spend days on a sales letter and your books are so messed up you don’t know who owes you what or how much money you’re making or losing.

2. Procrastination – This happens for a number of reasons. If you’re facing burnout, then you’ll likely feel like avoiding anything related to your business. However, if you’re facing a task you don’t want to do it’s much easier to procrastinate.

3. An inability to say no – Guess what; not only should you not be doing everything – you can’t! And if you try to, something’s going to give. You’re not going to be able to devote your full attention to your business-related tasks, they’ll suffer and your bottom line will suffer.

4. Lack of planning – It’s easy to become caught up in tasks like

* Social networking
* Email
* Phone calls
* Checking stats and website analytics (This is important but you don’t need to obsessively watch the numbers)
* Surfing the net, reading blogs and industry information

One quick email check can turn into a full hour of back and forth email correspondence and before you know it, your entire schedule is off for the day. Planning, and sticking to your plan, helps you stay on track.

To overcome time management obstacles, consider these four steps:

#1 – What’s stopping you?

Look at what’s holding you up. Is it procrastination? Perfection? A lack of planning? What’s getting in your way?

#2 – Prioritize and set goals

Prioritizing and goal setting are two very important components of time management. Goal setting is easiest to accomplish when you set a goal that is attainable and measurable and when you break it down into smaller manageable goals.

Creating a task list is another item that, as strange as it may sound, needs to become a scheduled part of your day and your week. You’ll want to spend a bit of time prior to Monday morning creating a list of tasks and goals for the upcoming week. Keep in mind that some days may be set aside as planning days, days off or meeting days.

#3 – Schedule your day, week and month

Make sure you have time to accomplish the goals, tasks and priorities you’ve established. Set aside the time you need by planning your days, weeks, and even your month out.

To make this process easier, and to lighten your load, there are time management tools like a PDA, desktop scheduling software and the good old fashioned paper calendar, which can help you establish and maintain time management success.

#4 – Get help

Finally, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, it may be time to seek outside help. Consider hiring someone to manage the tasks that seem to get in the way. Often these are the administrative tasks. You can outsource them to a virtual assistant to lighten the load. You can also hire a housekeeper if daily chores are a distraction from your business. And don’t forget about technology. Many tasks can be automated.

Overcoming your time management obstacles is easy when you are able to acknowledge what they are and why they exist. From there it’s merely a process of planning how to overcome them and using the right tools to get the job done.

Business Goals

Calvin Coolidge once said:

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

Who can disagree with that?

Many, many successful people have touted that persistence and dedication is what has led to their success. Success doesn’t come without pitfalls and when we hear about a successful entrepreneur we often don’t realize that a lot of the times their outcomes have been more negative than positive – they’ve simply been persistent and “pressed on” until they achieved their dreams.

If you’re stuck in a rut or are finding that your persistence is starting to wane a little, these tips will help you build it up once again.

# Visualize your goals – When you’re stuck it’s often difficult to see beyond your current place. But simple visualization can help you “see” into what the future may hold and keep you on the persistence track. Take a few minutes each day (preferably at the start or end of the day) and visualize where you’d like your business to be in a year or two years’ time. Be realistic but also positive in your visualization.

Imagine what your improved business will mean to your life. See yourself as a successful entrepreneur achieving your goals. Visualization techniques have worked for many entrepreneurs and can help you move forwards in your business.

# Design a vision board – A vision board is a back-up to your visualization. Many of us have difficulty imagining a situation which isn’t tangible at the moment; this is where a vision board comes in. All you need to create one is a simple pegboard and pictures of your ideal situation. These can include your dream home, perhaps something representative of being debt free, motivational quotes, pictures of your family – anything that will help you stay on track and motivated.

# One step at a time – When you drive in the dark you can only see at most two feet in front of you at anytime, but eventually you’ll end up at your destination. Just like driving in the dark, you don’t need to see much further ahead in your business. If you concentrate on the big picture too much, you may struggle and feel overwhelmed. Instead concentrate on small manageable goals that you can achieve one step at a time. Once you achieve a small goal, then go on to the next one – slowly, a few feet at a time until eventually, like the car driving in the dark, you end up at your destination.

# Attack from all angles – Persistence can slip even the most dedicated entrepreneurs at times, and to gain it back you may need a full-force attack. This means placing yourself in the very best possible position to achieve success.

# Look after your physical health. Take time out to avoid burnout. Do the things you love in order to stay positive. And appreciate what you currently have in life.

All of these things will help to put you in a state of mind that is open to success. Staying committed and persistent as an entrepreneur is not an easy feat and the healthier you are overall, the easier achieving that goal will become.

Keep Your Back Happy

Sitting in front of a computer for hours on end isn’t great for the back. But for many of us this is an inevitable part of business as online entrepreneurs. However, this doesn’t have to spell disaster for our backs. With a few simple techniques you can ensure you keep your back happy and remain productive at work.

#1 – Get up. It’s important to take regular short breaks during your work hours. You can aim for five minutes every hour. During the five minutes, get up and do a few stretches, walk around the room and take a few deep breaths. All of this will help you remain flexible and give your muscles a much needed break.

#2 – Happy core = happy back. Research has shown that our core muscles play a big part in the health of our backs. Our core muscles are the “trunk” muscles in the center of the body. A few simple but effective core exercises are:

Superman – Lie on your front with your forehead touching the floor and your arms and legs extended (in a “superman” position). Gently lift your right arm (keep it straight) and at the same time lift your left leg (keep it straight). You only need to lift a few inches off the floor for the exercise to take effect. Lift gently, in a controlled manner then lower to the ground and repeat with the opposite arm and leg. Work up to ten repetitions.

Plank – Lie on your front and then get into an all fours position so that your body is supported on your knees and elbows (as if you were a dog or cat). Then gently lower your legs so that you are supporting your lower half using your feet. Think of a plank position. Keep your body straight and don’t arch your back. Build up to one minute.

Crunches on exercise ball – An exercise ball is very effective for working the core muscles. Do a simple crunch by supporting your upper half on a ball rather than the floor and gently crunch up for ten. Keep your breath controlled and your chin off your chest. Aim for ten repetitions.

#3 – Consider Pilates – Pilates has been proven to help many back ailments. It’s a very gentle form of exercise which will help strengthen your back and core muscles. However, form is paramount in Pilates. Learn the exercises from a registered Pilates instructor and where possible opt for a few private sessions before joining a class. Pilates can be a great all-round exercise for your health and back but without proper form you may end up doing more harm than good.

#4 – Lose the weight – Carrying around extra weight can be hard on the back and joints. Losing a little weight can help relieve the pressure off your back and joints. If you’re overweight, start by taking a few regular weekly walks and slowly cutting down on a few extra calories. Small changes can add up to big results.

Back pain plaques many of us but with a few small changes you can improve it and in some cases get rid of it all together. These tips will help you get started.

Challenge Your Limiting Beliefs

One of the key factors most successful people attribute to their success is their mindset. Our fears, limiting beliefs, negativity, and lack of confidence can all prevent or hinder us from achieving our greatest dreams. However, challenging your mindset may be the greatest achievement of your life. Here’s why you want to challenge your mindset and some food for thought.

Do you fear change?

Many of us live and die by a task list, a schedule, goals and a plan. When things happen that aren’t scheduled or planned it throws us for a loop. Sound familiar?  Change can actually be, and most often is, an opportunity. It may be an opportunity for wealth, for growth or it may simply be an opportunity to learn – when you take advantage of change you push your boundaries, you open up a whole new world of possibilities and you make room for something bigger in your life. Contemplate whether you fear change and what you can do to embrace it instead.

Do you allow yourself to think outside the box?

Innovation stems from thinking outside of the box and if you stop to take a look around you, innovation is extremely profitable.The most dramatic example might be the airplane. Before the Wright brothers stopped to think about what was possible, people assumed flight wasn’t. What about landing on the moon? Talking on the phone with someone halfway around the world or chatting with them on your computer?

Now these are all technology-based innovations, but there are a million products and services just waiting to be pondered and put into action. Give yourself “what if” time. Contemplate the possibilities without any limitations. Don’t think about what you need to make something possible, not at first; just think about what is possible – dream about what is possible.

Explore your limiting beliefs

Have you ever thought, “I can’t”?  Of course you have, we all have. That’s the easiest type of limiting belief to recognize and eliminate. Now, whenever you think, say or feel that you can’t, stop yourself and think, feel and say “I can.”  Other limiting beliefs are more difficult to recognize. We’re talking about those beliefs you grew up with that permeate your life, though they may not be true.

For example, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer is a common saying amongst some families, but is it really true?  Is it true for you? Of course if you’re rich, you’re probably thinking, “I hope so!” The point is to recognize the beliefs you have and to examine them to see if they’re true and if they’re limiting you from being and accomplishing all that you can. If they are, explore how you can change that belief into an empowering one that supports you and your goals. They say that you can change your reality and it starts with your thoughts and beliefs.

Understand that your thoughts are 100% under your control

There’s an amazing sense of empowerment when you realize that you can control your thoughts. It can mean the end of negative self-talk, closed mindset, and self-doubt. Of course, it takes time to recognize all of the limiting thoughts and learn how to change your mindset, but it is an effort that is well worth the time and energy. You can control how you perceive events, how you react to challenges, and how you relate to others. When you’re able to change your mindset and control your thoughts, a whole world of opportunities opens up for you.

Mindset is a powerful thing. It can lead us astray, drive us from our strongest hopes and desires or help us fulfill our biggest dreams. Taking time to cultivate a positive mindset can change your life.

Balance Your Work Schedule

Once the holidays come around it seems schedules and staying on task fly right outside the window. Not only do you have your regular business tasks which may increase due to the holiday season, but family is often off work and out of school. And then of course there are the holiday festivities, which means preparation time. Is balance possible, or do you just throw up your arms and give into chaos? Don’t give up! Here’s how to balance your work schedule during the holidays.

Set realistic goals

No matter how you might like it to be otherwise, there are only 24 hours in a day, and it may seem like there are actually much less. While a standard week’s goals might be to implement a marketing strategy, hire a contractor, and bill 20 hours of work, during the holidays you’re going to want to cut back and focus on the essential tasks, the tasks that make money. And your goals may need to be reduced. If you normally bill 20 hours of coaching, for example, then you may need tocut back during the holidays and bill only 10 or 15.

Alter your schedule

With family in town, or if you’re traveling out of town and have holiday outings to tend to, it’s likely that your schedule is going to have to change. If for example, you normally work from 9-1 during the day, then you may want to shift your hours to when family members are asleep or are less active.

Automate and seek outside help

While the holidays isn’t a great time to try a new contractor, it is a great time to hand off some work to someone you’re familiar with. Hiring a new employee during the holidays only makes it harder on you and they may not be as available as you’d like. And remember how wonderful technology is.

You can schedule your blog posts and email marketing in advance. And you can use a voicemail and an email autoresponder to let customers and prospects know you’ll get back to them. This means you won’t miss potential business and you can enjoy family time without having to be chained to the phone.

Balancing your work schedule during the holidays can be difficult. However, it is possible with a little planning and dedication. You’ll want to cut back, focus on specific and attainable goals, goals that are directly related to your bottom line. You may also need to adjust your schedule and of course take advantage of technology and your contractors – they’re there to help! Lighten your load as much as possible and enjoy the holiday season. You deserve it!

Be A Better Decision Maker

Being a good decision maker can help you in business and life. It’s been said that highly confident people make decisions clearly and stick to them rather than changing their minds or being indecisive.

And even if decision making doesn’t come naturally to you, it is a skill which can be built on. Here are a few tips to help you:

#1 – Start small. Even making small everyday decisions will help you accomplish the bigger goal. Small decisions such as what food to eat at a restaurant are not to be underestimated. A good way to start is the next time you’re eating out, look at the menu and decide what you’d like to eat. Then put the menu down and don’t change your mind. Don’t ask your companions what they’re having and base your decision on that – make the decision on your own and then stick to it.

Small steps like this can be empowering and help you to tackle the bigger decisions to come in the future.

#2 – Approach decisions logically. Many of us tend to make emotion-based decisions rather than logical ones. In business this can spell disaster. A good way to help you approach decisions in a logical manner may be to write down a list of pros and cons.

Simply grab a sheet of paper and label one side pros and one side cons. Then list all the good and bad points of your choice. Logically think through your comments and then make your decision. This way you can leave emotions out of the equation and concentrate purely on the facts.

#3 – Cut yourself some slack. Making decisions is a skill which can be learned but even pros don’t always make the right choices. Realize that making decisions effectively takes confidence and is a great first step, but your decisions may not always be the right decisions. If you happen to make the wrong decision, give yourself a break and take comfort in the fact that you thought out your decision clearly and logically and made the best choice possible at the time.

Being a good decision maker takes time and practice. However, it’s a worthwhile skill to develop. Making decisions regularly may help build your confidence level and also help people know where they stand with you – two great entrepreneurial qualities.

Here are a few healthy eating for success tips:

#1 – Eat Breakfast – It may sound like common sense but eating breakfast really does make a difference to your health. When we sleep we fast for many hours, and breakfast helps to kick-start our bodies. A good breakfast will help your concentration span and energy levels, and will stop you from going into a “dip” where you’ll reach out for less healthy foods.

Good sources of breakfast include lean proteins such as eggs, yogurt and cottage cheese as well as complex carbohydrates such as whole wheat breads or cereals. Oats are also a fantastic way to start the day. They contain slow release carbs which will keep your energy levels steady throughout the morning. Add a little fruit to any of the above and you have a healthy balanced breakfast.

#2 – Eat Snacks – A few healthy snacks at the right times, mid-morning and mid-afternoon, can make all the difference to your energy levels and waistline too. Snacking on a regular basis may help you avoid overeating during your meals, or worse – eating the wrong foods.

Healthy snacks include low-fat yogurt, dried fruit, fresh fruit, or a handful of nuts and seeds. Any of these snacks can be taken with you on the go on busy days.

#3 – Eat More Fibre – Fibre has been proven to be highly beneficial to the body. Not only will it help you maintain regularity, it also helps keep you feeling full – a sure winner for those who want to lose a little weight.

Add fibre to your daily meals in the form of “good” carbs which include whole wheat pasta, brown rice, whole grain cereals and breads. Fruits and vegetables are also great sources of fibre.

#4 – Eat Your Greens – Your mother was right, eating your vegetables does make you healthy – particularly leafy green veg. Packed full of antioxidants and vitamins, vegetables provide fibre and so much more. They can also add variety to your meals and help to keep you feeling full which is great if you’re trying to lose weight.

For the best benefits include a variety of vegetables as well as the green leafy vegetables like broccoli and kale.

#5 – Stay Hydrated – Being dehydrated may make you feel sluggish and just generally put you in a low mood. Aim for eight glasses of water a day and cut back on caffeine where possible. Drinking enough water will help you feel great and help your body run smoothly– many ailments from a simple headache to feeling tired can be put down to dehydration. And many of us walk around mildly dehydrated on a daily basis. Drink your water to avoid this trap.

Eating for success takes a little time and planning but it can be done. It’s easier if you plan ahead and make sure your pantry is stocked with healthy foods and snacks. Planning your meals may also help. A healthy balanced diet may improve your life and your business in the process.