December 28, 2020
Make Productivity Your New Year Super Power
A new year is upon us (thank goodness!), and after what we’ve been through, I want to make 2021 a fresh start for so many things. One of them is my business productivity.
I’m making a commitment to achieve something that moves my business forward – every day. No excuses.
It sounds doable in principle, but we know that life happens – and there are plenty of reasons why consistent business productivity in practice can get sidetracked. As women in business, we are busy. We’re not only working on our businesses, we’re running households, keeping kids on track, and a million other things.
But I’ve realized that incorporating business productivity into our days doesn’t have to be a time-sucking, stress-inducing experience. To maintain your sanity, you only need to get clear on your primary goal and take as many small, simple steps that you can every day to move the needle.
Business productivity break down
Here’s an example that’s not related to your business. Say you want to lose weight. Your small step for the day could be to skip that second (or third) piece of pizza and do 10 (or 20) squats. Simple, yes?
An example relating to your business could be starting a blog that helps to promote your products or services. Your one small step could be writing just 100 words – less than half of a double-spaced typed page.
If writing isn’t your forte, you may believe that there’s no way you could just sit down and do that. You think: I need time to figure out what I want to say, how to “brand” my message, how much to write, when to schedule the posting for best visibility, etc., etc.
In truth, you’re likely searching for any reason to avoid writing because you believe you’re not good at it, it will take forever to do and ultimately not be good enough.
Stop right there. If you suffer from perfection procrastination, I’m going to administer some tough love here and now.
You simply can’t function in business and be a perfectionist. If you are, you miss opportunities and waste incredible amounts of time (sometimes years!), not to mention creating mountains of needless stress and anxiety.
If you’re a procrastinator, you probably think you’re protecting yourself (or your business) by endlessly tinkering with ideas and tactics for the perfect plan, web site, product or service, etc. It can feel safer to hold on to it until you’re positive that it’s amazing.
I know you know the truth – procrastinating lets you avoid the potential for negative feedback or, worse yet, no customer or client interest at all.
Part of owning a business is accepting our strengths and weaknesses and doing what we need to do, even if we feel like we don’t know what we’re doing at first.
That’s why I love this idea of consistent business productivity. It’s all about action. The first try and even the second one may suck, but the important thing is to do. When you do, you learn. That learning leads to improvement, and then suddenly you have a new skill set that will accelerate your potential to succeed.
When you create anything – good or bad – you take a step in the right direction. You have “something” to work with and make better. Apply consistency of effort, no matter how little or much time you have on a given day, and you are on the road to progress in your business.
This approach sounds deceptively simple, I know. How could small steps add up to any real headway toward your goal? Much more than you think, actually. Here’s why.
Productivity starts with discipline
The most important part of achieving any goal is discipline.
While being disciplined may not be fun at times, the upside is enormous. It sets you up for more and better choices, helps you improve your skills, and gives you more flexibility. Lack of discipline leads to the opposite: fewer choices, less control, and inadequate or mediocre skills at best.
Which set of standards do you want?
When practiced consistently, discipline helps you create habits that eventually become part of your routine. Habits become automated into your day, so much so that not doing them never occurs to you.
Developing discipline will also benefit you in two other important ways.
First, you’ll be taking actions that will build momentum. Back to the weight loss example: If you cut back on less-than-heathy food and move your body more every day, you’ll start to see results. That will motivate you to continue that behavior and do even more.
Second, when you build discipline into one part of your life, that practice tends to influence other areas of your life, too.
Watch the number on the scale drop, and the next thing you know you’re planning a new social media campaign for your business. Or writing a book about your business journey to build your thought leadership. Or taking steps to scale your business for a bigger entrepreneurial chapter in your life. Success breeds more success.
Productivity ends with results
You don’t succeed in business (or fail) overnight. Your eventual outcome is the culmination of hundreds and even thousands of small, simple steps you take every day.
That’s why, in 2021, I am committing to business productivity to make progress toward my big business goals. Depending on the day, I may be able to only finish one small 10-minute task. Or, maybe I’ll be able to put multiple hours into a big initiative.
What matters is that I’ll be consistent, doing what I can every day – and not torturing myself with judgment or guilt over what doesn’t get done.
Will you commit to consistent business productivity in the new year? I hope so… and, if you do, I can’t wait to see what you’ve accomplished by next December!
In our women’s business mastermind program, we are about to implement an accountability partner feature. To learn more about the mastermind group, please visit HERE.
Do you have questions about how you can succeed in your business and accelerate your journey toward reaching your goals? I invite you to learn more about From Startup to Success coaching packages. Begin with a no-cost 30-minute consultation to discuss where you are with your business and where you want to go.
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