You know that sweet feeling of anticipation when something great is about to begin? Jumping on a boat of your new adventure you might start feeling a bit excited at the prospect of what life is yet to bring. Great. You’re in the right state. Now, start doing the work.
The essential ingredient for success lies in ongoing progress. To achieve that you need to move. Promptly. There will be obstacles on the way and lots of them will be unforeseen — to account for that save time from the start.
Simplify, simplify, simplify. Everything. Whatever you do. Find shortcuts. Yet don’t compromise on quality. Optimise your time. Use tech and outsource as much as you can.
If you’re short of time and money — use Google and YouTube to find out more efficient ways to do what you do. Yet, don’t sit there for ages either — check what you need and apply that knowledge. If whatever you’re learning there you don’t need right away — you’re wasting your time.
Utilise other people’s expertise. Copy-paste, don’t re-create what’s already out there. Watch and copy established competitors to adopt the best practice.
Have a BIRD VIEW first.
The vision is the key. A system lines up in the perfect order the moment you know what you’re after. And a motivation seems to come on its own once things are clear.
We often delay the start when we don’t know what to do. Then we gather some knowledge but soon after get overwhelmed in routine.
That’s why we need to have a bigger picture first, and always get back to it to check we’re aligned with our course of action.
So start with the ultimate outcome in mind. Sit back, relax and see yourself on the imaginary success screen when you’ve reached your desired destination. What does it look like? Feel free to write that down.
Action Plan.
It might well be that you don’t know yet, consciously, how to get there. And that’s fine. But that person in the projected future had figured the steps out. So, let your imagination loose for a moment and watch what they’ve done just before they’ve accomplished their major goal. And what they’ve done to achieve that milestone. And so forth. Continue going backwards until, eventually, you figure out the first step.
It’s ok not to know all the steps outright — your current plan and vision will likely evolve. As you move ahead, you’ll naturally figure the best approach out. The important bit is to have an overall map before you get set on a journey.
Remember, it’s always: a big picture first, then milestones, followed by projects and only then, these projects will naturally break into tasks.
A task isn’t an End Goal.
One of the reasons many people get stuck is because they start with a step-by-step action plan from the outset. As a result, they create tremendous to-do lists. The issue with that approach is that we don’t always know what we need before we have practical experience dealing with that particular project.
On the flip side, the moment we get absorbed by the process and, as a result, often, overwhelmed, our minds stop thinking straight. Working smart doesn’t always have to be hard.
When we start with the vision we might not know all steps in advance — and that’s not required — yet we focus on the outcomes versus becoming fixated on the tasks, we also stay motivated, and allow ourselves flexibility, choosing the most efficient route. Having a full-scale image in front of us provides a fresh perspective.
To be efficient — drop your attempt to complete everything you thought was required. Your job is to concentrate on the essential steps that’ll bring you to the desired results in the quickest way possible.
Perfect PLANNING, failed EXECUTION.
Don’t worry about creating a perfect system or excelling at planning. Well, unless you’re a town planner. Jotting things down sometimes is just enough — see what’s natural for you. By the end of the day, all that matters is what you’ve managed to accomplish, not which tools you’ve used.
Systems will develop over time once you’re more familiar with what you do. So, don’t overstress about that in the early days.
Routine and discipline, though, are crucial from the start of any endeavour — no matter your talent or aspirations, if your input is close to zero your output will equally be pretty rounded.
PRIORITIES. Get well-acquainted with them.
But before learning their names — have the VISION of which ones to entertain. Adopt a growth mindset — become a fanatic of an outcome.
- Do major things first — the rest might not be required.
- Don’t start a new task until you’re done with a task on hand.
- Refrain from jumping to the next logical task that’s ‘quick’, just to tick it off your list. That’s what prevents people’s growth making them stuck in the routine. Who cares whether you’ve done all the seemingly required steps? And whether you’ve got to a destination in three hops instead of 30?
- Equally, be mindful, that if you’re constantly in a hurry to get things out of your way — you’re in the wrong business. As an entrepreneur, you should be enjoying what you do.
Yet, you want to be hyper-selective, dealing only with the most relevant stuff that best reflects your skill and the value of your time. For that, focus on a desired result, addressing the tasks that’ll get you there.
However, remember, success requires both — goal and process orientation. While determination to achieve a desired result is a driving force behind any endeavour; the process orientation is crucial to maintain your focus and reinforce your passion.
START from NOW — you can always correct past later, if required.
Once you’ve created a new part of a routine, apply it right away. Yet don’t worry, updating the entire system backwards immediately.
For instance, one day I went to my content calendar to write down some ideas and figured a couple of extra tags would help my sorting the records more efficiently. Given I was in the middle of doing something else and it’d be quite a long list to update — I used the new approach immediately for my fresh entries but ignored the old ones for that moment.
Similarly, another example. Let’s say you’ve been a member of a professional Whatsapp group. Eventually, you get caught up with things. A month later, when you return to that group, it may feel that you completely lost track of what’s going on. Given the volume of fresh updates, going backwards will keep you always behind. But, if you start now and make it your routine to check updates first thing in the morning — you’ll catch up quickly and get ahead of the game. Consistency sometimes beats the volume.
Don’t sit on a task forever. Remember, you have a PRIVATE LIFE.
When in doubt — make the best choice quickly and keep moving. Amend things later if required. Don’t get stuck unnecessarily.
Stop trying to complete everything. Remember, it’s always better done than perfect.
And always keep in mind what you’re aiming to achieve.
Doubtfully, to be a slave. Probably, not the idea your unconscious would fancy either. If it’ll get a hint that your activities make you unhappy — be rest assured it’ll find a way to sabotage your success. So, leave time to enjoy the rewards.
Create the rewards each time you’ve achieved something. Celebrating milestones is equally as important as arriving at them. Shall you not appreciate all the effort you put in, how do you expect others to do that? Only honouring your success reinforces your drive to move forward.
