10 Steps To Limit Procrastination & To Get More Things Done Today
by U.S. SBA Entrepreneur of the Year & Cofounder of Fears & Clark Tulsa Commercial Real Estate Group – Clay Clark
Today we all live in a very busy world with numerous distractions. If my cell phone isn’t ringing with an inbound call from a prospective commercial real estate tenant, my inbox is receiving an email from another client inquiring about our services. If my email and cell phone aren’t receiving messages, somebody is updating their facebook status and my phone is being noticed about what updates and incredible things my family and friends are up to. Twitter, Facebook, Emails, Text Machines…when will the constant contact stop? Never. In fact I predict that the amount of communication clutter that we all receive will only increase over time, thus to help you I have put together a list of “10 Steps To Limit Procrastination” caused by communication overload and to get more things done.
Step 1: Determine Your Daily Goals
1. First decide what you want to get done today.
2. Write these items down on a piece of paper. Writing things down has a way of “magically” transforming an idea into its physical equivalent. It becomes real once you write it down.
3. Determine and write down all of things that you need to have in order to get these goals done. Do you need a protractor? Do you need a cell phone? Do you need a web nerd? Do you need a real estate professional, 2 contractors and a screwdriver? Mentally marinate on it, then get moving like a U-Haul Truck.
4. Organize your list by priority. Work on the most important things first.
5. Take action immediately. “Procrastination kills motivation.” – Napoleon Hill
Step 2: Plan Everyday In Advance
Don’t let your day just happen to you. Write down what you are going to accomplish today and then do it. Grab a functional pen (or writing device of any kind) and a piece of paper. Write down what will be accomplished and then begin working at the speed needed to get everything on your list done. As an entrepreneur, I discovered many years ago while starting my first business (A T-Shirt Printing Business), that people do not generally really care whether my business succeeds or fails. Thus, I have to care. If I am swamped, and I am “too busy” to close deals, the bills still keep coming. You must decide what you are going to accomplish everyday, and then you must work with a REAL SENSE OF URGENCY.
Make a To-Do List for each Year, each Month and each Day and hold yourself accountable to hitting all of your self imposed deadlines. You can do it.
Step 3: Determine Whether Each Task Can Be Delegated
There is a universal success law referenced by countless motivational speakers and time management trainers called the 80 / 20 rule. Essentially the belief is that most people get most of the things done that really matter during about 20% of their working hours. The other 80% of their time is consumed by bogus, mind-numbing work such as fixing the fax machine, or buying ink cartridges. Your day cannot be consumed by this, if you are the boss, the leader or the decision maker. You have got to delegate this off to someone else, unless you are the one at the bottom of the totum pole at this point (at work). Take a moment today and write down a list of the things you did yesterday and determine whether they should have been delegated or not.
Step 4: Think About the Long Term & Not Just the Short Term
Americans love to borrow money to get the items “they want and need today with no money down.” Americans love to pay huge amounts of interest (a dumb tax) on the items they buy because they simply cannot delay gratification at all. However we all must come to the conclusion that when something comes into your life something must come out. When you check e-mails all day and delay getting sales closed, your time is being used up. The work still remains however the time you have left to get things done has diminished greatly. You must ask yourself before you do anything during your day this question, “Does the thing I am about to do get me closer to or farther away from my long term goals?” Before watching that chain e-mail video joke, ask that question. Before buying that new fleet of company vehicles. Before signing that massive commercial real estate lease. Ask the question.
Step 5: Sort Things By Importance
There are endless things being thrown at us all. Facebook updates, opportunities to invest, potential parties, Chamber memberships, Club memberships, requests to sit on a Board, volunteer drives, etc…The question is, “Does participating in these activities relate to the achievement of your yearly, monthly and daily to-do lists?” Chances are most things do not. When you write up your to-do list, sort it by importance and knock out the most important things first. If you have downtime (which you should not), then you can ponder joining a new group, or committing your FREE TIME to doing something else.
Step 6: Preparation. Make A Plan & Then Work the Plan.
Have you ever started a big project and then you ran out of paint? After you return from painting you realize that your screw gun has run out of juice and you can’t find the battery charger. After you buy a battery charger, you realize that you don’t have anymore nails. We have all had these moments due to lack of preparation. Before starting any task, make a to do list of the items that you need to get the task done, and make sure you have them on hand. Then start. Starting and stopping is horrible for efficiciency and mental focus.
Step 7: Only Work On Things That You Are Good At.
After Christmas each year my wife assembles all the toys. My wife assembles any furniture we ever buy. My wife programs electronics. She is good at these things. She like these things. I do not. I like making my kids laugh. I like “blaring” Justin Bieber and having a dance party with them. I like making smoothies. These are things that I am good at.
At the office, I don’t check my own emails. I do not fill out forms. I do not check the mail. I do not fix printers or any technology. I do not know how our phone system or servers work. However, I have a staff that does know these things. I am great at building relationships, training, selling, turning abstract concepts into clear action plans and managing people. Thus, this is what I do. Refuse to do the things that you are awful at and that you do not enjoy. Focus on doing the things that you do best. You will be much happier.
Step 8: Take Every Task One Step At A Time.
Currently my project is to “reinvigorate downtown Tulsa in route to filling up Kanbar Properties with performing leases.” This is big task for sure. Can it be done? Yes. It can be done one step at a time. I must build relationships with nearly 50 business owners. This can be achieved in 10 days from my estimation. I need to inform the city of Tulsa of our comprehensive plan, so that they can become energized about it. This can happen in 15 days from my research. I need to contact national tenants and convince them that moving to downtown Tulsa is the best thing for them and their business based on our affordable cost of living, our numerous entertainment venues, our great schools and our overall quality of life. This will take nearly 4,000 calls. Which our team can have completed in about 2 weeks at 100 calls per representative. This will happen. Daily we will take small steps up the mountain and you can do the same for you and your business. Start where you stand and begin to move.
Step 9: Do the Most Important Tasks First
As a general rule, the hardest tasks are the ones that will pay you the most. The hardest and most difficult tasks produce the biggest results. Get the tough work done early in the day when you are mentally refreshed and filled with a sense of energy and enthusiasm. Don’t let your day become consumed with bogus busy work. Focus on getting the most important work done first. Get it done right away when you start your day and your day will be filled with momentum.
Step 10: Block Off Large Intervals of Time To Devote To Accomplishing A Task
Don’t set yourself up for failure. If you need to make a proposal, block off 2 hours to make that proposal. If you need to making 15 calls, block off 1 hour to make those calls. You must block off the appropriate time needed to get things done without being interrupted constantly. Imagine playing basketball and being interrupted by non-step cell phone calls. Imagine watching a movie and then watching in horror as your date gets up three and four times per half hour to respond to text messages. She (or he) then comes back and asks, “what did I miss?” This is awful. It kills the mojo. It kills the focus. It kills the mood of the movie. It kills momentum. You must focus on doing on thing until that thing is done.
by U.S. SBA Entrepreneur of the Year & Cofounder of Fears & Clark Tulsa Commercial Real Estate Group – Clay Clark
It’s all about figuring out what you want to get done. I wish it was more complicated and more “sexy.” I wish I had a formula that was super “deep,” I wish it was “magic.” At the end of the day it all really comes down to figuring out specifically what you want to get done and thing writing these daily goals on your to do list NOW (as the thoughts come to your head).
Find commercial and residential real estate in Tulsa, Oklahoma at Fears & Clark Tulsa Commercail Real Estate. 918-481-2080
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posted Thursday, October 7th, 2010
posted under: Blog, Real Estate 101 tags: asset, Comedic Rapport Building, commercial real estate, Decoration, Development, Development Property, Diversified Portfolios, Fears & Clark Oklahoma, Fears & Clark Real Estate, Fears & Clark Worldwide, fears clark tulsa, Industrial Development, Industrial Property Lease, Investment Property Lease, Investment Property Sale, Multi-Family Lease, Multi-Family Properties, Multi-Family Property, Multi-Family Sale, Office Property Lease, Office Property Sale, Oklahoma, Oklahoma real estate, Pool Annexation, Properties Lease, Properties Sale, real estate in tulsa, Tulsa Commercial Listings, tulsa commercial real estate, warehouse
