You might be working like a maniac on your business but could use some help deciding how to focus on income producing activities.

After all, that’s why you’re doing this in the first place – to create time and financial freedom.

Chances are you have felt like a hamster on a wheel as you build your business.   Your little feet are going so fast, you’re scurrying here and there and everywhere … but, you’re not getting anywhere in your business but to the point of exhaustion and overwhelm.

Ever happen to you?

These tips and strategies will help you get focused and productive every day.

And that’s important, because here’s what happens to most who are working online …

• You start out excited about the possibilities – you are energetic and ready to go
• You are eager to learn everything you can – more skills, more ways to market – more of everything
• Suddenly you have ten or twenty things you are working on – and it’s all good because it will all help you business grow – but
• Now, you are becoming exhausted and overwhelmed and you begin to procrastinate. You are easily distracted by more training, new software, plug ins, apps and you suddenly become that little hamster … going lickety split in circles
• And then, instead of being productive every day, you are accomplishing little or nothing in your business

Didn’t you imagine a life of ease when you first got started working from home?

No alarm clock to get you out of bed, no commute to the office,  you can work in your pjs, decide when to  “clock in” instead of being told when and where and what to do.

….  Aaaaaaah, the good life of an online marketer.  Freedom and ease and fun is what you pictured, because heck, you see those leaders walking on the beach, going on month long vacations, taking off with their families in the middle of the day to roller skate or see a movie.  Right?

You decided to start your online business because you desired that kind of lifestyle and the good news is that it WILL be your lifestyle.   It’s coming to you.

The not so good news is that for a little while, there is no ease. There is work, work, and more work to be done.

So the first thing you have to decide right now is this:

Are you willing to put in the time right now so that you can take off the time later?

Oh, I could be like many of the gurus out there and paint a pretty picture of a bed of roses and rainbows, eating bon bons and drinking pina coladas at the beach.

But, I want this message to be as real as possible.

Here’s the reality …

There will be days you want to quit.  There will be days you want to crawl back in bed and hide under the covers.  There will be days you scream – you cry – you almost toss your computer out the window.

But hang in there, for it’s part of the journey, the process, the roller coaster ride to success.

So, if you are still reading this after the reality check I’ve shared, you’re ready for some strategies to be more productive.

So, how do you stop this craziness?  How do you get off the hamster wheel and actually be more productive every day?  How do you get laser focused on income producing activities … and what are they exactly?

You have 24 hours every day and if you subtract 8 for sleeping and 8 for family, errands, eating, exercising, reading, etc., you still have 8 hours to work.  (I know, it sounds like a job already, but for now, you are the CEO and the employee and your job as the employee is to get the work done every day – or you won’t get paid!)

Here’s how to be more productive and focused on income producing activities to grow your business.

STRUCTURE

An unstructured day is the ultimate dream, but for now, your day must be very structured.

Decide when you are most creative and energetic.  Some are early birds, some are night owls.  You need to know when you are most alert and able to focus … and set 2-3 hours aside during that time to laser focus on your business.

This is the time to turn off all distractions (yes, even Facebook) and zero in on getting the tasks done that absolutely are the most essential for growing your business.

You don’t answer the phone,

You don’t reply to emails or text messages or chat messages.

Turn off the dings if they are too distracting. Whatever the issue is that is dinging away will wait. You can deal with it when your work is done.

Unless you clock in as if you were an employee – you will allow anything and everything to distract you.

Here’s an important tip for working during this block of time.  Be sure to take five minute breaks at the end of each hour.   Set a timer if needed to remind you to get up, stretch, drink some water , walk outside for some fresh air , take some deep breaths.  A five minute break will increase your energy and rejuvenate your mind.

PRIORITIZE THE TO-DOS

If you’re like me, you have a never-ending to-do list.  This is where the overwhelm starts to creep in and suck all of your energy and attention.

The following exercise will help you organize and accomplish all that you desire to do.

Make a list of all the things you feel you should get done every day in your business.  All, not just what you are currently able to do, but all those things that are always in the back of your mind that you’ve gathered as important to do to grow your business.

Think of it as your “to-do wish list” filled with everything you would love to accomplish and put into action.

It’s a huge list – right?  And, realistically, it can’t all be done in one day, no matter if you only sleep 4 hours.  It’s a gigantic list.

Now you are going to number each item on the list with a 1 or 2.

The 1’s are the daily tasks that are essential income producing activities.   Income producing activities in online direct sales are any activity that gets people or traffic to your capture page, sales presentation, and/or order page.

What are income producing activities?

Unfortunately, training is not an income producing activity, at least not yet.  It’s easy to spend hours on training and I promise you, you are not going to miss out if you miss a training.  It turns into an income producing activity is when you take something that you learned and create your own content from it.

These are income producing activities:

1.  Creating content every day. 
Blogging is a great platform for your content.  If you aren’t a blogger, create a Facebook note.
Create videos.

2. Syndicating your content.

Syndicating is sharing your content on Social Media platforms such as Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube.

3. Placing ads. 

If you have more time than money, use free ads by posting on Facebook and other social media platforms, or by messaging people, phone calls, getting out and talking to people.

If you have more money than time, then invest in paid advertising.

The tasks left are your list are #2’s.  They are tasks that require some extra time to implement because you may need to learn a bit more, practice doing them, get things set up before you can really cross them off your list.

The #2’s are what you will do AFTER your #1s are done every day, as you have time.  And, they are to be accomplished one at a time, whether it takes one day, five days, two weeks or even longer to get them done.

Tackle the #2’s one at a time.  Not ten at a time.  Why?  Because trying to tackle all ten things at once will only confuse and exhaust you.  Nothing will ever be finished, accomplished, or set into motion because everything will still be in preparation mode.

One at a time is the best way to tackle the #2’s.  You’ll gain confidence as you accomplish each one.

If you follow these two strategies of structuring your day and sorting your income producing activities from all the rest, you will feel less overwhelmed, have more clarity and focus and will begin to see results in your business.

What is your biggest distraction as you work on building your business?

 

Trisha
p:  573-881-6715
f:   facebook.com/trishajbarnes
s:  Subscribe to the Naked Hippies Newsletter

P.S.  We live the Freedom Lifestyle. We can work from anywhere we choose to be. We can be across the country visiting friends and family, walking on the beach, climbing the red rocks in Sedona, or parked in a campground. And we can still work ON our business. This business does not require me to punch a clock, sit in commuter traffic wasting hours we could be spending together, waking up at some crazy hour just to make it to work. We get to work with people we choose to work with, whose company we enjoy. We are the CEOs of us – the Naked Hippies!

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Riding the Manic Roller Coaster of Internet Marketing
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