Confusing Activity with Productivity

Posted on November 2, 2009 by John Larson

Every day, I sit down and start to work. At the end of the day, I reflect back and see that I didn’t really get much of anything done. I was busy all day, but nothing of value got done…

Why Not?

Because I regularly confuse Activity with Productivity.

Productivity

Productivity is the execution of events or processes that accomplish progress towards goals. Productivity is getting the RIGHT stuff done. Productivity adds Value to your life.

When I am productive, I end the day feeling good about what got done. When I am productive, I can see the pile of un-done, important work shrink in size. When I am productive, my bank account gets refreshed.

Productivity is the science of Getting Stuff Done. But it is getting the Right Stuff done that is important.

Activity

Why do I see just random action, or even focused action without connection to any goals, as effective, or even desirable at all? I can sit all day long, checking email, surfing around a bit, shuffling papers, day-dreaming (I mean brainstorming) and KNOW that I should be doing something else – and yet, not do it.

What’s with that?

What am I trying to avoid? Do I see that real productivity is somehow going to interfere with my freedom? My freedom to choose what to do? My freedom to be a lazy slug? My freedom to spiral into mediocrity?

Solution

I’m certainly the one in charge of my day. What better way to use it than to move down the road a little farther?!? After all, if the goal is worthy, the journey is fulfilling.

The solution is to train my mind to reject activity to pass the time. The solution is to train my mind to use age-old, proven tools to keep myself on track. The solution is to grow up and get on with life.

Start with the End in mind. Make a Written Plan for how to reach that End. Break that Plan into Daily chunks. Put that Daily Chunk before me so I can focus on it. Take the first step, this day, on today’s most important activity – being productive.;

My Goal?

What is my goal? At this stage in my life, I only want to run strong after the Lord. I’ve raised my family, I’ve had my career, I’ve made my fortune. Now, I have the time-freedom and the financial means to accomplish things I passed over in the years behind me.

I can now hear the voice of the Lord calling me to help other people get their lives in order by getting out of debt. I have the knowledge. I have the skills. I have the Attitude.

I now need to develop the tools.

Conclusion

If you spend your days in foggy confusion, being busy all day, but in the end, doing nothing, then you need to fix it.

What do you really want out of life? What is the most important thing you can be doing, this minute, to make a difference in your life and the lives of others? What should you be doing, Right Now, to get farther down the road to your goal?

Mark it down. Keep it posted. Get Stuff Done.

JohnL

 

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Don’t Miss those Important Dates

Posted on September 21, 2009 by John Larson

Your business runs like a clock, and uses a calendar. Important dates come and go. When you hit deadlines, all is well, and you probably don’t notice.
But miss one? BAM~ and you are in hot water.
i missed a date just last week. I let THIS Domain expire – without knowing it. Oh man, did that hurt. I had thought I transferred all my domain registration to my main provider. I guess I missed this one.
it took about a week of calling somewhere to get it re-registered, and here we are, back up again
What did it cost us, besides the domain fee?
This direct site isn’t all that active, I’m sorry to say, so there wasn’t much lost here.
However, we host some of our eBay photos on this domain, so those items had no photos. We probably didn’t sell any of those items over the past week. How do you measure what didn’t happen? You don’t. We’ll never know.
What did we learn?
First, we learned that the reason we left that other hosting company was still valid. Their support and front office operations seem to be run offshore. We talked to “Rachael” “Mike” and “Lena”. But, they weren’t. The support response was friendly and polite, but relatively ineffective. I’m glad we left.
Who are they, you say? That’s for another posting when I can do some research on other hosts.
Secondly, I reinforced the need to put automatic ticklers in place for all, and I mean all, my important dates.
I screwed up. We got over it. But, we can prevent future gaffes.
What are some of YOUR important dates? What will you do to keep them in front of you?
JohnL

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Staying Healthy – Self & Business

Posted on June 22, 2009 by John Larson

I’ve been beset by health topics the past few weeks. Doctor test results, Physical pain and restrictions, and general pills and procedures have focused my thinking on maintaining health. Then, a trip to the ER and resulting Treadmill Test for the old ticker.

Turns out I’m OK, but that doesn’t end the concern.

I naturally thought about how my personal health affects the health of my business. Then, about business health in general. How do you measure and improve it?

Attributes of a Healthy Business

What is it about a business that marks it as healthy? What characteristics make it ready for the long haul? What are the indicators to watch for to remain healthy?

1. Profits – At the end of any given day, a business has to be making a profit, or it won’t survive. Look at GM and Chrysler, lately. They have sustained massive losses over the years. They can’t make it up in volume. They finally had to bow to the truth and file Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. I don’t foresee those losses ever being earned back, let alone being paid back to the out-of-luck lenders.

Make sure you have a suitable bookkeeping system in place, and stay up-to-date on the entries. Be sure to pull an Income Statement every month, or every quarter at the latest. This statement allows you to look back on how your operations fared in the marketplace.

Profits? Good news. Are they enough? That’s the next indicator.

2. Plan – Do you have a Business Plan, and are you keeping up with it? Do you regularly review the Plan’s action steps? Do you update the Plan with new information? Are you keeping pace with the projections? If not, why not?

Do you have a Weekly and Daily Plan to work from? Do you know what you are going to be doing, today, to improve your business?

3. People – Are your employees helping your business, or are they hindering it? Do you have a hiring plan in place, or do you hire randomly? Do you have a defined and routine employee evaluation process? When you find an employee who is below par, do you coach them to improvement? Do you replace them if it doesn’t work out? Or do you collect dead wood – holding on to dud employees for a later fire sale when you go out of business?

4. Customers – Is your customer base growing? Are you serving more and more customers with better and better service? Do you have a Referral program or Loyalty program in place? Does your sales process capture customer information so you can follow up with them with later contacts?

What Else Measures Health?

This basic list of attributes will help you start measuring your business health. There are many more you can use depending on your business.

What are some of the ways YOU measure business health?

JohnL

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Putting In the Time

Posted on April 30, 2009 by John Larson

Every day is a new opportunity to start anew. Today was no different. I began a new day in a new way.

I usually get the coffee started and then open the house & curtains, and get the paper. Then I sit down at my PC and start the day.

Today was different.

After opening the house, and before sitting at my PC, I put in a few minutes just thinking about what needed to be completed by the end of the day. I thought about what processes I would employ during the day. I thought about how to avoid the time-sinks that each of us has – mine unique to me, but identical to yours.

During this time, I also thought about what I wanted this week to look like at the end of it. How would it stand up to backward scrutiny? What did I want to be able to write down as accomplishments during a weekly review?

 

That few minutes of reflection helped me stay on track for longer than usual, and I got quite a bit done that I might not have, otherwise.

I put in the time pre-planning my day.

What’s the big deal? Doesn’t everybody do this?

No.

Most people go through the day allowing random circumstances and events to sway their course and dictate their responses. Most people do NOT plan their day, but allow others to do it for them. In fact, most people EXPECT to have others tell them what needs to be done, and when.

The problem with this for the entrepreneur is that there is nobody to do this for you. Sure, the customer will have plenty to tell you, but that core response is why you are in business. In order to make your business more effective and you more successful, you have to spend time outside of customer-satisfying activities to plan and do improvement projects.

If you don’t take the time, you won’t do the work. it will slip away until the daylight fades with your willpower along with it. The lost opportunity to do SOME-thing to improve will cost you in the long run.

Put in the Time every day, to figure out at least ONE project you can complete that will have a positive effect on your business. Just One.

I’m going to do it again in the morning… How about you?

John L

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Searching for a Product to Market

Posted on March 27, 2009 by John Larson

(This is a response I wrote to a friend who asked, “I want to sell online using drop-shipping. How can I find a product to sell during a recession?”)

 Congratulations on stepping out for more independence. We’ve been selling online for about 5 years, and find the freedom and flexibility it gives us to be wonderful. I hope you can weather the frustrations (like you’ve encountered early) and reach some profitability. I’m happy to help as I can.

We personally don’t do any drop-shipping, but we try to own and ship our own products. However, I usually advise that you begin by selling a product that people buy… (An author once wrote about writing… “I usually try to leave out the words that people don’t read…)

Success in online marketing is the same as in a regular store: Have the Right Product at the Right Price at the Right Time.

I’m  pretty confident that just about anything you select as viable will continue to sell during recessions. If you had a regular store, then I’d worry. But, the Internet is such a great, big, pool of potential customers, that you’ll pretty much always find plenty of people whose life-decisions have included your product as an essential purchase.

75px-Georgia_Aquarium_-_Giant_Grouper_edit[1] But, selecting products (or first markets) is the most important decision to make in launching any business. Online is no different. I usually advise that you begin the process by writing down areas that you enjoy or that you know something about. You can sell what you know better than what you know nothing about. Credibility and authority are vital in an online business.

For example, I know about and enjoy tools and wood-crafting, but I don’t much enjoy fabric and sewing. (Sandi does.) Both are sort of crafty and creative, but different people are attracted to each of these areas, and not many are attracted to both. This begins to define an available market for me to try to serve. Your list should include several to choose from. 

Next, I think of all the kinds of problems, or solutions to problems, or gaps in what the market offers inside this market area. I try not to think from my own perspective, but from the general public. (A fisherman doesn’t bait his hook with food the fisherman likes, but with food the fish like…)

I look online for forums or blogs that specialize in my selected market, and I review the postings and comments – looking for these gaps or opportunities. Look on Yahoo Answers to see what people might be looking for to buy. This is all valuable research that will help you zero in on the right products to evaluate.

Then, you can begin to evaluate products in terms of price, profitability, and marketing methods.

Your Market comes before Product. Potential Profits come before Products.

Now, removing your own thoughts and feelings about what might be “cool” or desirable, select your product(s) to begin selling. Your market should determine the products, not you. You are only one out of the potential thousands of customers you need to please.

I hope this is helpful. Please let me know how else I can help.

John L

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