On a recent "how to" teleseminar, where I was the guest speaker,
I was asked how I manage to do so many different things. You
see, I have hundreds of websites in different niches. From these
websites I sell dozens of my own products, plus affiliate
products. The answer to that question, that the entire panel of
experts agreed upon, was that FOCUS is the key!
Far too many Internet marketers try to do too many projects
at once. They eventually begin to feel overwhelmed, and then
never finish most of them. The feeling of overwhelm actually
makes you less efficient...TIRED, and less motivated.
It's critical that you develop the ability to operate almost as
if you're wearing "blinders" that don't allow you to see off to
the side. You need to not even think about unrelated things
while working on a project. I do this well partly because I was
trained to "compartmentalize" as a military aviator. At times
I had to block everything out of my mind except the task at
hand… perhaps navigating through very hazardous terrain. There
are times when if you're not successful at the task at hand,
other things that follow won't matter as much!
Many of us operate in information overload. Everyday we get
emails, FedEx packages, and phone calls about some product that
we just can't miss. You need to learn to say, "Yes - I can miss
it! Until I finish this current project, I simply don't need
to take on another."
You need to also acknowledge that if you miss some new course,
or tool, that's being really hyped-up, there WILL be another one
along tomorrow. As fast as things change in Internet marketing,
that tool that's being hyped-up today is somewhat likely to be
outdated in a few months anyway.
Focus is a habit anyone can develop through practice. You start
a project, and pay little attention to things unrelated to
that project until it's done. Now, you get the reward of having
finished that project. That reward could be another income
stream on autopilot, or it could be just the joy of crossing it
off of your "to do" list. Each time you get one of these rewards,
it reinforces the habit patterns that made the reward possible.
Eventually, you develop the ability to really focus, and really
get more done, without it being a struggle.
Back to your "to do" list. If having a LONG list just makes you
feel more overwhelmed, work from several lists. Have a master
list, and then each day pick one or two "must do items" and
focus on those. It will make your task ahead seem much less
daunting.
Another habit that will aid you in focusing, is learning to
delegate and form partnerships. Since a big part of focusing is
getting projects completed, learn to only do those things that
your are most suited for. It's often cheaper to hire someone
else to do things that you don't know how to do well. Having
partners adds an accountability factor. Knowing that someone is
depending upon you to finish your part of a project will make
you stop procrastinating and get it done!
Just as effective as delegating, and often cheaper, is using
software to do routine or repetitive tasks. For your email
marketing, use autoresponders for example. Use software that
automates some parts of building or updating your websites.
An example of a piece of software I use to build webpages for
selling Clickbank products can be seen here:
http://TheRealSecrets.com/unfair/ This software allows me to set
up pages for over 3400 products in the Clickbank Marketplace in
minutes. Tools like this free up vital time for YOU to do things
that software really can't do... like marketing.
While software can't do everything, and I've never seen a
business on full-autopilot, software can allow you to do a
repetitive job in 1/100th of the time. Then you can use your
remaining work time to really focus on a task you must get done.
Do this, and you'll not only find yourself able to get a LOT
more done, you'll find yourself with more free time on your
hands. Try not to use that free time to take on too many new
tasks. Get proper rest and recreation too. It will make you
more efficient and make it even easier to focus because your
mind will be clearer.
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