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There's No Time To Procrastinate

Written by: Tom Long

Article Overview: Why do people procrastinate and how can they break out of the habit?

There's No Time To Procrastinate

There are very few people in this world who don’t procrastinate. They procrastinate about different things and for different reasons. Now, I know what you’re saying, “Can’t we cover this next month?” My point exactly! When it comes to business, it is my experience that the one area many businesses procrastinate in is marketing, and this is one area where waiting until next month could mean the end of your business. There are a number of reasons why businesses delay their marketing efforts:

* They spend so much time and energy planning what they are going to do that they forget to figure out how they are going to do it.
* Marketing is a task they don’t know much about, so they are intimidated by it and avoid it altogether.
* They are afraid to fail . What if they spend money and they don’t see an immediate return? What if …what if…what if…?
* They are afraid to succeed. What if their marketing weapons work and bring in more business than they can handle? Are they prepared for that?
* They are perfectionists. They won’t do something unless they know it’s perfect; therefore, most projects take a long time or are not even started.

Whatever the reason for procrastinating marketing efforts, I have a few ways to help motivate you and get you on the right track.

* Set realistic expectations. First and foremost, determine whether you can afford what you are planning and whether you can realistically find the time or resources to “fire” your weapons.
* Set priorities. Your marketing plan may include several marketing weapons. Establish a timeline for launching each weapon and manage their use efficiently and effectively.
* Have external accountability. Once you set your priorities, ask someone, whether it is a coach or a friend, to hold you accountable for completing your tasks. Get feedback from them too on the quality and effectiveness of your marketing efforts.
* Distinguish between what’s urgent and what’s important. Implementing your marketing plan is important and urgent. Therefore, it deserves your undivided attention and even warrants turning off your email and letting your calls go to voicemail while you work on it.
* Reward yourself. Each time you complete a task in your marketing plan, reward yourself with something you like or like to do.

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Article Tags: coach, different reasons, different things, external accountability, long time, marke, marketing efforts, marketing plan, money, perfectionists, priorities, realistic expectations, timeline, weapons



Related Forum Posts
Books that should be written - [quote:1m0dcpd7]"The Idiots Guide To Sticking With One Thing At A Time and Not Doing Something New All The Time" [/quote:1m0dcpd7] I myself am a 'constructive' procrastinator... I don't know if I'm alone in this. I have about six or seven projects I'm working on at any given time. I get one project almost done... then my interest is piqued by another project and I work on that... I get burnt out and move to another...I know I do this so I have it arranged such that once I get bored or burnt out with one project, I can step right back into project 1 - or 2 or 3, and get that a little bit more done before moving on to something else. As long as you're organized and know where all your reference material/idea sheets are when you're ready to get back to work on each project, it should be fine. I also find that by stepping away from a project - I still work on it in the recesses of my mind so that when I go back to it - it's with some good ideas that I wouldn't have had if I'd continued on with it originally. Maybe I should write a book on how to Procrastinate Constructively... I've actually thought about doing that...because most people procrastinate, don't they...and very few are ever able to stop.
Re: UPDATES: New Campaign! New Layout! New Ideas! - We've also expanded the list for Contest and All-Time Leaders. It's great to now see David and Yinka on the All Time list and recognize the contributions they've made to the forums!
No B.S. Time Management - A great book I read on Time Management is No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs by Dan Kennedy.
Re: Half of 2011 is gone - It's flying by so quickly! Still have plenty to do that I wanted to have done by now. Time to really step it up!
Re: Alexa Ranking Goals - This is a real juggling act! Time spent promoting my site is time away from developing products and looking after my clients!!


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