Is Procrastination
Paralyzing Your Business?
"If it weren't for the
last minute, nothing would get done."--Anony.
Are you a procrastinator? Do you
put things off until the last minute until you have to rush to get
them done? Does it cause you untold anxiety? Does it drive your
family nuts?
Are you paralyzing your business
because of it?
If so, this article's for you.
As a procrastinator of long
standing and the owner of a dot com company, I recently made a
starting discovery: Procrastination and the Internet do not mix. This
medium is for the "movers and the shakers," not the
"wait and seers."
The revelation caused some deep
introspection and has had a profound impact on my business. I'll tell
you how in just a moment.
First, let me say that if you're
putting off starting or growing a business, the fastest way to do so
is by understanding WHY you're putting off the necessary action.
"I don't have time," or
"I just haven't gotten around to it," are lame excuses that
won't get you anything. To get your "rear in gear," you
need to understand the root of the problem...the REAL reason why
you're putting off doing what needs to be done.
Here are some that dot my past:
1. Little or No Belief in the Idea
Several years ago, my husband
talked me into starting a business opportunity with him. It was a
sound company with a long history, but I just couldn't muster the
same enthusiasm as my spouse.
While he worked hard to cultivate
leads and make sales, I kept the books. While he went out and talked
to strangers, I counted and cleaned the inventory. And while he made
phone call after phone call, I made sure all the sales materials were
in good shape and tallied up the gas mileage.
In short, I kept really busy doing
everything I could to keep from being on the front line with him.
Why? Because I had no belief in the
product. Unfortunately, my charade didn't fool him, and it became a
source of friction between us for several months. When he finally
grew tired of "going it alone" and decided to quit, I
breathed a sigh of relief.
The Lesson: If you don't
believe in something, don't pretend you do - not even to please
someone else. There are too many ways to make money doing something
you like - go find one of them and stop stalling for time.
2. Being a Perfectionist
Perfectionism and procrastination
often go hand-in-hand. Now I know this seems crazy to a logical
person of action, but it's true.
Rather than start early to make
sure everything is "perfect" upon the deadline, the
procrastinating perfectionist will spend her lead time thinking of
the grand and glorious presentation, and how she's going to
completely upstage everyone else. Then she'll get started at the last
minute, fully expecting to complete her masterpiece AND meet her deadline.
In the end, she'll either lose
sleep to bring her vision to life, or apologize profusely for having
fallen short of her lofty goal.
The Lesson:
While I know it goes against everything you know, LAY THE FOUNDATION
EARLY, then go back and add the details later. You'll be far more
please with the results, and be awake enough to enjoy the oohs and aahs.
3. Cadillac Idea, Chevy Budget
This is an extension of perfectionism.
It goes like this: you have an idea
for a business. You know EXACTLY how you want it to be, down to the
last detail. It's marvelous, it's one of a kind.
And because you have such high
standards, you won't settle for anything less.
You start doing some research...and
find you're WAY out of your price range. Since you won't settle for
anything less than your ideal - no compromising - you put your idea
on the shelf and do nothing.
Here's a true story:
Betty danced and taught dance for
many years until she quit to raise her family. Once the kids were in
school, she took a clerical job to help make ends meet; but she never
enjoyed it as much as she had liked teaching dance. So after her long
hiatus, she decided to return to the dance world.
Her ultimate goal was to have a
home business by transforming her garage into a dance studio. In the
beginning, however, she had no cash for such a renovation, and she
refused to go into debt to make it happen. Instead, she got on the
phone and called around, and managed to rent space during the off
hours in a couple of competing dance studios.
She kept her clerical job and
taught dance at night and on weekends, steadily building her
enrollment. By the third year, she was able to quit the day job and
move the studio to her house. It was her primary income for nearly
twenty years until her recent retirement.
Meanwhile, her youngest daughter
blossomed into a talented ballerina who danced with several
international companies.
A perfectionist in all things,
Abigail found that the garage studio paled in comparison to the
commercial studios she'd danced in during her travels.
At one point, she, like her mother,
left dancing to become a wife and mother. When she longed to return
to the dance world to teach, she decided that nothing short of a big
commercial studio would do. After doing a little research, the
sticker shock forced her to put the dream on the shelf.
She would settle for nothing less
than her ultimate goal.
Today she works as an insurance
salesperson, her ballerina days a distant memory.
The Lesson: While having big
dreams is great, setting goals too far out of your reach creates
anger, frustration, and inaction. Break your goals into smaller,
manageable chunks. Instead of having your ultimate goal as Phase I,
make it Phase V or VI, with distinct steps in between. Don't think of
it as settling for less; think of it as a building a foundation of greatness.
4. Not Fully Understanding Part
of the Process
A lot of people will do almost
everything they need to do to get the job done, then stop just short
of the finish line because they're not entirely sure of the next
step. The end's in sight, they can see it, but they don't know
precisely how to get there from here. So, they either tread water or quit.
This was part of my problem in
launching my website.
I spent months and months reading,
researching, lurking, and trying to figure out how to set up and
market my website. I bought the guru books and completely redesigned
my site -- three times. While I tweaked and poked and prodded, I saw
other sites grow and flourish, and I began to wonder what my problem was.
One day, I happened across a
website that I had visited and bought from a year earlier. Since the
product was good and would be of value to my visitors, I emailed the
owner and asked if he had an affiliate program.
His answer? "What's an
affiliate program?"
My first thought was "where
has HE been?"
Then it hit me like a ton of bricks.
While I'd been learning everything
I possibly could about marketing a business on the web, he was making money.
While I subscribed and faithfully
read scores of marketing ezines, he was marketing...and making money.
And while I was trying to figure
out which of the thousands of marketing ideas to try, he was busy
maintaining top search engine rankings and, you guessed it -- making money.
You don't have to do everything you
read about. Just DO SOMETHING - DO being the operative word here.
A few days later, I bought and
devoured "Make Your Knowledge Sell!" (http://myks.sitesell.com/nifty.html)
by Ken Evoy and Monique Harris. In it, Monique talks about marketing
your creations, and gives a laundry list of what to do: Monday do
this, Tuesday do this, Wednesday do this, etc.
This "follow the dots"
approach really worked for me, because I finally knew where to begin.
Being "Marketing Challenged," I had so immersed myself in
"how to market on the web" that I'd gone into information
overload and couldn't figure out where to start. A little direction
was all it took.
The Lesson: Sometimes it's
hard to admit that you don't know everything. But if you want to
succeed, you have to follow the steps for success and not avoid the
parts you don't like or know nothing about. Either hire someone to do
them for you, or learn what needs to be done AND MAKE AND FOLLOW a
plan of execution.
5. Not Being Organized
Another procrastinator
characteristic. Often, it's because we've taken on more than we can
handle and can't devote the appropriate time to any one task.
Here are some tips for getting organized:
A. Handle everything ONCE.
Emails, paper, requests, etc. Act up, file, or dump. Don't leave
things hanging around, cluttering your desk, office, house, or mind.
B. Plan your day. Set aside
time every day to plan what you need to do the next. Make it
"do-able" -- don't overload your schedule.
If you constantly find that you
can't get everything done, either get some help or take a good look
at your schedule to eliminate time wasters like unproductive
meetings, chit chat, or routine tasks that are better delegated or outsourced.
C. Break large projects into
smaller pieces. Trying to do it all at once creates confusion and
stress. Plan it out, then assign due dates for each piece.
D. Allow time for interruptions.
They happen. Figure out when yours occur most often (Monday morning,
Friday at 4pm), and plan to be available during those times. You,
your staff, and your customers will be very grateful for your consideration.
E. Assign deadlines. If you
don't, it won't get done.
So, now that you understand some of
the reasons why you might be putting off starting or growing a
business, address the situation and move forward. Get yourself out of
the way, and get on with the business of business.
Good luck! |
