lizmckeonwrites just do it! A word on procrastination fromLizMcKeon
So many successful beauty business owners struggle with procrastination – putting off until tomorrow (and tomorrow and tomorrow) what you should do today. Are you one of them?
It’s understandable. If you’re like many other salon owners and managers, your ‘to-do’ list is so long and overwhelming, you aren’t sure where to start or how to tackle everything on it. But the fact is, procrastination doesn’t help. For one thing, you don’t get done what you need to get done. Or, you do the menial unimportant things, while the big, important ones are looming over your head all day, or even all week.
Unfortunately, it’s the big things that have the most potential to affect your business – and increase your income. So, how do you stop procrastinating so you can become more productive and make more money?
When you learn to effectively manage your time, you stop procrastinating, start making more money and begin to enjoy life more. Procrastination, the proverbial ‘thief of time’, is a form of self-sabotage: you are simply handicapping yourself.
the solution
By now, you know I wouldn’t write about a business problem without presenting a solution. Here, in no specific order, are some reasons why we just can’t seem to get things done, and suggestions for overcoming them.
Confusion and fear – fully understanding the task ahead of you will eliminate the confusion that keeps you from getting started. Lack of understanding brings fear of failure. If you understand the task, and what needs to be done to complete it, you can better meet the challenge without fearing failure.
Lack of planning – plan your work and work your plan. Lack of planning leads to the procrastination trap. Make your plan specific. How will you accomplish this task?What is the best way to go about doing it? Develop a plan to start the project, to refine it, then to finish it.What is the deadline? Can you realistically meet it?What will happen if you don’t? What will happen if you do?
Failure to analyse – what does the task entail?What is the objective?Why are you doing it? Instead of attacking the entire task at once, divide it up into manageable pieces and analyse the pieces. How does one fit into the other? How does each piece make up the whole?
Lack of priorities – one of the best ways to establish priorities is to arrange tasks into three categories: very important, important and not very important. Tackle and complete the ‘very important’ list first. Then start on the ‘important’ tasks and don’t stop until those are done. By the time you get to the ‘not very important’ stack, you might find that you don’t even need to handle it anymore.
Taking responsibility – make a commitment to someone you trust and respect, because making a commitment to someone else motivates you to accept responsibility and achieve targets.
Believe in yourself and your business – it’s easy to procrastinate if you’re feeling low or sorry for yourself. Build yourself up, reassure yourself of your strengths and capitalise on them. You get more done when you believe you can do it.
Always do what you say you will – have you noticed how much of your time is wasted in chasing up people who said that they will do something for you and then don’t? If you always do what you say you will – you will not only save your own time but the other person’s time as well. They won’t have to waste time chasing you.Your own personal example will give you the moral authority to expect others to deliver according to the agreed decision. Indeed, if you are a business leader you should insist on it, otherwise you cannot make things happen.
Fatigue – psychological and physical fatigue have the same effect – both will sap your will. Your mind and body need to be rested and sharp to meet the challenges of the day.
Lack of vision – a task can be more easily completed if you visualise it completed.Your ability to hit the target is limited only by your imagination. So, when it comes to visualising the completion of a project or task - see it, hear it, touch it, smell it, taste it - work will fill the time available to complete it. By making less time available to complete a task, you will spend less time completing it.
If you want to be successful in business you need the courage not to evade unpleasant situations and the practical wisdom in order to deal most effectively with them. ‘Nothing will come of nothing’ least of all any form of business and personal success. Just do it!
Liz McKeon is a Business Coach and Trainer, specialising in the
Beauty Industry. For information about on-line Business Seminars, One to One Mentoring and upcoming BusinessWorkshops, visit
www.lizmckeon.com or telephone 00353 1 892 8007
60 GUILD NEWS
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