I have severe ADD and have found conducting business efficiently has always been a major challenge. Procrastination is an integral component for those who have Attention Deficit Disorder. The tendency to get distracted and to feel like there is something more interesting to pay attention to is a constant determent.
Soon after launching my business development firm in 1991, I found I had to create systems in order to accomplish even the basic tasks that are required of me as an entrepreneur. I began by assigning specific days of the week to focus on specific tasks that would keep my business operating smoothly.
On Mondays I call new contacts to set up face-to-face meetings; Tuesdays I attend business meetings and speak at a service organization; Wednesdays and Thursdays I conduct my business development courses; Thursday evenings I attend other organizations events such as chamber events, to constantly meet new contacts and on Friday mornings I meet four new contacts for one hour each, to exchange business cards and keep the new resources of contacts continuously flowing.
When the Internet became available to small businesses in 1995 and then the advent of search engines, it became nearly impossible to stay focused. I would search for information about a company I wanted to talk with and an hour later I couldn’t remember what I had started to search for. When it became too overwhelming, I would catch myself getting up from my desk to do household chores such as the dishes or even dust, rather than making the phone calls I needed to do.
It was much easier to procrastinate on basic tasks and make an excuse justifying it in my own head that I would be able to catch up later in the week.
Most of these tasks are what every entrepreneur has to accomplish:
- answering emails;
- returning phone calls from a week, a month and even three months prior until all of the calls were complete;
- creating marketing materials;
- booking speaking engagements;
- checking inventory;
- updating my website;
- trying new advertising methods each month
After many years of conducting my business, I found it was more difficult to stay focused because of the routine of it all. I decided one day that I had to set daily goals for each of the tasks I have to accomplish.
As an example, I realized that when I make 20 approach calls to new contacts, I would end up with at least one new client with at least one new client. I wanted to increase my revenue, so I decided to make no less than 20 dials a day. There are always days where instances would interfere with my routine, but I will try to make it up so I have 100 new dials completed by the end of the week.
We are often are own worst enemy when it comes to conducting our business. Most of us started out by having a job and a boss who would tell us what we need to accomplish. But as an entrepreneur, we have no one to keep us on track. There in lies the biggest challenge for most entrepreneurs. We can put things off and no one knows nor cares.
But when we do all we can to ensure our success; we are the ones who reap the rewards. By creating small achievable goals as well as systems to help us keep our focus, we will be more likely to reach the level of success we desire.
