Quieting the Clappers: The Number One Revenue Generating Strategy – Focus and Follow-Through
Does this ever happen to you? You sit down with a clear list of things to do for your business. You’ve even been watching my videos and reading my newsletters – so you’ve highlighted the revenue generating activities. Even better, you’ve planned ahead so that you can get a jumpstart on projects and not get left behind.
But the next thing you know, you’ve opened e-mail and there are a million tasks staring at you. Suddenly you look up and three hours have gone by and you’ve only crossed one thing off your to-do list.
I have a name for those other tasks that just seem to pop out of nowhere and take your attention. I call them the clappers. They want your attention so badly that it seems like they are calling your name and clapping at you until you take care of them. If you are always giving in the clappers, you aren’t getting anything crossed off your to-do list. Chances are that you aren’t making the money you’d like to make either.
Here’s what this looks like specifically. You sit down to write your newsletter for this week. But before you know it, you are caught responding to e-mails, dealing with a client issue and ordering new pens for the office. That lovely block of time that you had for the newsletter is now gone forever. And you’ll probably end up rushing through it the night before.
So what is the number one strategy for generating more revenue. Get clear on the tasks that are the most revenue generating. Focus on getting those tasks done. Follow- Through until the tasks are completed.
So how do you quiet the clappers so that you can focus on what is truly revenue generating?
Here are six tips to help you do just that.
1. Cut out the Interruptions. Turn off your e-mail, your skype and your phone. These are the main clapper culprits. With them turned off, you’ll finally be able to focus on the task at hand. Keep them off until the task is completed.
2. Check E-mail at Allotted Times. Set time aside to check your e-mail at the beginning and end of your day. Don’t check and respond all day long. You’ll be responding to clappers all day and you won’t be able to cross anything off your to-do list. When you do check your e-mail, create a to-do list of what needs to be done. Plan those tasks into your days.
3. Just Get Started. Many times we allow the clappers to distract us because we are avoiding the task that is on our to-do list. Perhaps you haven’t written your newsletter because you hate writing and you don’t know what to write about. What I’ve noticed is that if I just get started, those tasks I’ve been avoiding become easier to handle. At the very least, I understand the questions that I need to ask someone else. Just getting started on the important task and shutting out the clappers is the first task.
4. Follow Your Plan. Often when you are doing a revenue generating activity, you aren’t putting out a fire. Therefore that activity could be postponed or avoided all together. It takes discipline to stay focused. But trust your plan and follow-through on the task that you said you were going to do when you said you were going to do it. If you just try this strategy for a couple of weeks, you’ll notice that your stress goes down and your income goes up.
5. Stop doubting yourself. Often you’ll make a decision about which task is revenue-generating and then you’ll question yourself. That questioning wastes valuable time and it leads to you focusing on the clappers instead of the task at hand. Make a decision about what task is most important to get done. Trust that if another task is more important, the universe will course correct for you. Follow through on that task.
6. Evaluate on Mondays. Spend some time on Mondays planning out your to-do list of the week. What is coming up for you and what are the most important tasks to get done now so that you are on track for the weeks and months ahead. Then get clear on the tasks that need to get done this week. Also get clear on the tasks that you can delegate or outsource. Sometimes the key to keeping the clappers at bay is to delegate or outsource the majority of them.
Don’t let the clappers get you down! Just use these strategies to focus on your revenue generating activities and actually cross them off your list. Let me know how you are doing by leaving a comment on the blog.
