Here’s the problem with being consistently inconsistent: It doesn’t work. Clever huh? It’s really not, but having a reliable system made up of the little steps is the practice that gets you big results, and it still mystifies many people.
I know it’s tough to stay on track, but I want you to tackle your to-do list the same way every day, every week, every month. The discipline is a good thing. Every morning you have a routine for getting yourself out the door or into your home office. I bet you do the exact same thing the first 45 minutes you get out of bed during the week and a separate ritual for the weekend. Am I right or am I right?
Eat the Ugly Frog First. Eww, right? On so many levels it’s unappetizing. But do the things you don’t want to do first. It is as simple and unappealing as that. By putting the fun stuff second to your admin, correspondence or follow-ups, you put your business above everything else.
Now I want you to do something really wild and crazy. I want you to carve out a schedule that you follow for the week, for the month, for the year. It could look like this: blog Mondays and Wednesdays, send a newsletter on Thursdays, and attend networking meetings in between (by the way you actually have to go to the networking events and talk to people!).
If you don’t eat the ugly frog first, you will start the day with meaningless tasks and before you know it, you are knee deep in inconsistent mode, and then things just get uglier than the frog.
Ok, now here’s where you get really spooked. I want you to consistently work with your support team. I can read minds you know, so get a support team! Have you sent your VA your newsletter in time for her to do her fancy footwork? Have you hired a VA in the first place? How long has it been since you’ve spoken with your business coach? Do you even have a coach?
Think of a car engine: all of the little parts have to work exactly in synch each time you start the car to make it move. Your business is exactly the same.
Ah, well “I’ll do it once I organize my office, I can’t possibly grow my business with all of this clutter!” you say. “I can’t write a new blog until after I return from my vacation in Palermo!” Well, alright, you can go off the map for the next 2 weeks, but guess what happened while you were soaking up the sun? Business happened. Partnerships happened. Someone else delivered their newsletter to your prospective’s inbox while you were posing for pictures, and they closed the sale.
If you are consistent almost all of the time, your business will be almost successful.
“But what about sleep? What about my kids/spouse/book club/down time?” Those are fair questions, and if you read my stuff www.businesswomenontop.com/blog you know the importance of building a team around you who can work when you can’t.
Hire experts like Kenda does with Balance My Life. It means that she gets to spend time to reinvest in herself, her family and her business.
Consistency doesn’t mean that you have to do all the work, it just means that the work needs to be done consistently every day, every week, every month and every year.
So take the challenge; don’t just eat the ugly frog, devour it.
Recently published on BalanceMyLife.ca.