Last Updated on July 1, 2023 by Nadim Alamuddin
Have you ever wondered how two people who started on the same day, in the same company, who have been given the same tools and the same training, may end up 90 days later with completely different sets of results? It’s fascinating really. Of course, to entertain this example, we need to assume that both persons have had similar backgrounds, neither having any experience in whatever business they’re in…What key ingredient would you think is missing?
Why do you think this may happen? If you brainstorm on some reasons, you may come up with a few…but, what I really want to discuss today is one thing. What do you think is that key ingredient? And when I mention it, you’ll probably say, “oh yeah, I know what you’re talking about!”
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So What’s So Critical For Your Business’ Success?
The key ingredient I’m thinking about is FOCUS. You may say “It means paying attention to one thing, right?” That’s what most of us would say, that by focus, we mean to concentrate all our attention to do one thing. People think focus means saying yes to the things we need to do. But that’s not what I’m here to discuss. To me, focus is to say no to all the distractions that swamp us on a daily basis, even if they are good ideas that can help boost business. If we don’t structure ourselves, we end up spending too much time on this and that, and soon, the day passes by and we have not accomplished any of the tasks we wanted to do. Sounds familiar?
We all do this. Look at the internet. How many times have you accessed the web looking for something in particular, only to click link after link until you wonder why you were accessing the net in the first place?
FOCUS is to work on the tasks that are critical for your business and say NO to all the distractions. Click To TweetWhatever business you’re in, you must concentrate on doing one thing at a time. Do not allow yourself to get distracted. Some people can do multiple things at the same time and are successful. Good for them. But in general, you’ll find that most successful people in this business are focused on one thing at a time.
Focus On Income Producing Activities
Let’s dive into this a bit more. What should you really be concentrating on? How about taking a notepad and making two columns. Write “Income Producing Activities” as the left column title and “Non-Income Producing Activities” as the right column title. See what I’m getting at?
Grow your business by focusing on Income Producing Activities, as if your life depends on it! A lot of people have gone further than the above chart, by listing the days of the week and using it as a planner, ticking the activities being worked on everyday. You can do whatever you want with this, as long as you’re comfortable with the results and you’re keeping your focus.Of course, in the above picture, I have noted down a few examples of income-producing activities. If you want to have more examples, I found a suitable “Slideshare presentation“ about it.
Now, Categorize Your Activities
Now that you have your columns labelled, categorize the tasks / activities you have done today by fitting them in the correct column. Some people may say, “I’m working on my business 5 hours a day but I’m not seeing any results!” Hmm…odd…now, what activities are they really doing? When we do this exercise, we usually find out that they’re spending most of their time in non-income producing activities!
In a lot of opportunities, blogging is considered a long-term lead generating vehicle, but for this exercise, it is a non-generating income activity – it means that by blogging today, I have not had any sales. Sure, you still have to do it, as it will generate leads and some of these leads will buy your products, but you should still list it as non-income producing, as I have entered it in the above picture.
Next, Prioritize!
You need to prioritize your activities on a daily basis. Put all your Income Producing Activities first, such as building your list, coaching your new members, up-selling, advertising, promoting your business, etc. Next, put down any non-income producing activity that still would benefit your business (blogging, listening to mind-set audios, reading a chapter from a Tony Robbins book, etc.).
Once you have categorized your activities for the day and prioritized them, start by working on the first income producing activity until it is complete. Then, move to the next one. If you do this right, you should not spend more than 2-3 hours of focused activity for your business per day. This is why we signed up to home-based businesses! We don’t want to end up working all day to see no results at the end! We want to spend focused time so that we have time for our families, our leisure, etc.
Say No To The Noise!
In closing, just FOCUS. Say no to the noise, do not get distracted by anything other than what you are working on. Stay on course. You need to just do whatever your business is teaching you to do and don’t ever quit! There are no secrets to success! You just need to work and focus and you will be successful.
This was an experiment just to explore the possibilities of why two people that started the same day and were exposed to the same tools & training may have different results. It may or may not have any bearing on what you are experiencing in your own business. For all intents and purposes, it is best NOT to compare yourself to anyone. I have written a similar post regarding another key ingredient to get the results you want in business. Read about it here.
Have you read the following posts?
- Stunning Image Sites That Make Blogs Stand Out
- Have You Figured Out What Your “WHY” Is Yet?
- From Zero To Blog In 5 Steps
- Use These Strategies To Be Perceived An Effective Leader
I leave you with this advice: Strive to be your best. Be a better person tomorrow than the person you are today.
How do YOU maintain focus in your daily activities? Please share your comments below.
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