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Converting Overwhelm into Productivity in 7 Simple Steps

Guest post by: Loretta Love Huff

Article Overview: People seem to be overwhelmed with finding and acting on potential opportunities for their business. Fearful they might miss out on something, that grab at anything that looks like a remotely attractive possibility, but this leaves them feeling unproductive, exhausted and still unsure of their future.

Converting Overwhelm into Productivity in 7 Simple Steps

People seem to be overwhelmed with finding and acting on potential opportunities for their business. Fearful they might miss out on something, that grab at anything that looks like a remotely attractive possibility, but this leaves them feeling unproductive, exhausted and still unsure of their future. Here are seven tips to help you focus and become more profitable:

1. Have long-term and short-term goals that you're working toward.

Having a long-term view of your life and business helps you create a filter against which you can make your day-to-day choices of how to allocate your time, money and energy. It gives you direction and purpose plus the motivation required to keep going when things get tough. I call this your Dream Destination and supports you moving through life quickly and definitively.

2. Only set goals that are important or critical to you in some way.

Sadly, people sometimes take on goals that others have set for them. If you set a goal for something that seems ‘cool' but doesn't really have a place along the path to your Dream Destination, it will suck the life out of your dream and cause you to detour to unnecessary paths.

3. Decide before you end your work day what your priorities are for the next day.

For those of you who struggle with ‘time management' issues, this one key will change your life. Rather than walking into your office and dealing with what comes up (even if you have a to-do list), you'll risk working on lower priority tasks. So, before you wrap up one day, review your to-do list (if you have one), consider your Dream Destination and then choose what your top priorities are for the next day.

4. Just say "No".

Practice saying "No" to both requests you get and to the ‘shiny objects' that float by tempting you with the allure of something attractive but that isn't on your priority list. It it's not your ideal client, don't pursue it. If it's not in your current or needed expertise, leave it alone.

5. Work on one project at a time.

Clean your desk of all distractions. Move the piles to another location (or take the time during non-work hours to file them away). Create some physical and mental space for your creativity to arise.

6. Determine exactly what you are paid to do.

Make sure you know how you make money. For me, it's speaking, coaching, writing and developing programs. For your business, is it selling products, adding people to your team, creating niche websites that sell? What?

And specifically what do YOU contribute to that process? Is it making calls to prospects, writing copy for your website, consulting with paying clients?

Spend your time doing those things.

Then...

7. Delegate everything else.

I know I harp on this, but it's critical to your success if you want to grow beyond your current state.

Gather a team around you to take care of the administrative tasks and other items that don't require your specialized skill set. Create systems and procedures that you can hand-off to other people so you can focus your efforts on the activities that are the closest to getting money into your bank account.

Focus applied to the right priorities is the key to your success.

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Article Tags: advertise small business, leadership coaching, leadership training program, small business consulting, social media for business



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