It’s a known fact that the fastest shortcut to success is to model others who have already made it. Did you also know that success is about patterns and habits? Your daily, weekly, monthly, and even yearly patterns are a roadmap of clues to why you are making it (or why you might not be.) Uncovering your patterns can provide valuable insights into what is working and what isn’t. It can also provide the foundation for some very simply changes that can have profound results. Let’s take a closer look at three ways you can discover your unique patterns and what you can do with that goldmine of knowledge.
#1 Keep a Time Diary or Journal …
I know, you just groaned audibly at this idea, but it works. It is a lot like asking someone on a diet to keep a food journal (been there, did that and boy did I discover a lot!) We operate in only a state of semi-consciousness most of the time and don’t pay absolute attention to where all of our time and energies are going. The fastest way to get a real handle on your time management is to document for at least a week, where your time is being spent. No fudging here, you’ve got to be honest. If you are spending 2 hours on email first thing and then another hour at lunch on social networking but none of that is profitable activity, it is time to either delegate it or eliminate it.
You’ll be able to rapidly identify your time robbers and energy vampires and take appropriate action. Oh and before you say that you can’t afford to delegate, I urge you to a) put a real value on your time and b) find out what a VA (virtual assistant) costs. In my experience you can find VA’s from $6/hour to $75+/hour. Aren’t you worth at least twice that?
#2 List All Your Marketing Tools …
Then sit down and write out the plan or strategy you have in place. Aha! I thought so, you have a whole arsenal of tools, but no plan or strategy. Well trust me this is one of the fastest ways to stall out and nosedive into failure (or at least non-profit status when you file as a profit based business.) Tools won’t get you there. I don’t care how many you have, how beautiful they are, how state of the art, without a plan, without winning strategy, without clear goals, without measuring and monitoring, you are just a very busy (but not very productive or profitable) person.
Please, get a plan together. When you can’t do this alone, then turn to a trusted mentor (yes, I do this all the time in my own business which is what allows me to do this for others in theirs.) I have created systems and formulas for success so have many others. We each created these the long hard way from months and years of painful profitless experience. We have shortcuts, will you explore them?
#3 Discover Your Peak Productive Times . . .
And exploit them! I am an avowed Early Bird, at least in the winter months, summer sometimes I’ll shift to being a bit of a Night Owl. Generally my most productive time is first thing in the morning until about 10 or 11am when I need a break till 2 or so and then can go back at it until dark. Dark makes me shut down. How about you? You have patterns that you can leverage. Create your schedule to take advantage of your peak productivity and allow yourself down time when you aren’t as productive.
Don’t be afraid to indulge in power naps if that works for you. Many top executives, CEO’s and legendary entrepreneurs find this practice astoundingly effective and can literally reclaim an extra hour or two with just 20-40 minutes of shut eye midafternoon. The key is to find what works for you. Everyone’s biorhythms are different and they will differ seasonally and with age (wisdom). Find yours and you can literally map your success.
– – – – –
For more great ways to roadmap your success, head over to www.superchargesuccess.com and claim your free secrets to marketing that feels good and gets great results. And when you are ready for your very own customized success blueprint, find Melissa Galt at www.melissagalt.com.
