Written by: HBR Publishers
Web Site: http://www.home-business-reports.com
Date Submitted: 07/30/2005
You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.
Too Many Projects Lined Up?
Do you have many, many new online projects lined up? Are you able to focus on just one project at a time and follow it all the way through to completion?
If you love the Information highway as much as most of us, you are probably guilty of continually starting new projects BEFORE finishing the old ones.
Are You Cluttering Your Computer With Too Many Incomplete Projects?
If you keep doing this, you will eventually end up with a lot of great but incomplete projects that are just sitting around on your hard drive. You may not believe this, but at one time we actually had over one million project files on each of two different computer systems. A great many of these files were projects that needed completion.
Projects, projects, projects…
What Type Of Projects are we talking about here?
Your projects may be in the form of a newsletter you need to finish, an ebook you started last month, or a profitable piece of software that you now need to complete and promote.
Sound familiar?
How do you quickly complete projects?
We believe the ONLY way to bring your projects to completion, is to learn how to “focus” on only
“one” project at a time.
Why you need to learn how to focus on one project at a time
Do you know that when you are buried in unfinished projects, stress that damages your health can be the result? Just think of how relieved you would feel if more of your projects were completed and bringing in money. It is time to learn how to focus.
Is there really a way to stay focused?
You are not alone and there is a way to stay completely focused on one project at a time. Below you will find the focusing methods we use that definitely work:
How to focus on a project
Get a piece of lined paper and write down every task that you need to do, while “prioritizing” (most important) and “numbering” each task item.
You now have a to do focus list.
Where are you going with your project?
After making and reading through your to do focus list, you can plainly see where you are going with a project and exactly what you need to do to complete it.
Force Yourself
You will need to literally “force” yourself to stick to your “to do” focus list.
Let that sink in.
How To Start Out Each Morning
Every morning, BEFORE checking and answering your email, read your “to do” focus list to start you out in the right direction for the day.
If you go straight to your email and start reading the offers and announcements about new products, you can get so sidetracked and another day will be gone before you know it. So, do not think I will just take a quick look at my email before I start anything else. You can literally waste hours looking at this offer and that site and on and on it goes
down the information highway again.
What about important email?
Yes, it is important to check your email in the morning and throughout the day to find out if any of your customers need assistance with any of their purchases. However, you must find a way to quickly scan your morning email ONLY for those types of emails.
It is definitely better to read over your to do focus list BEFORE turning on your computer for the day.
And because you have already “prioritized” your tasks, it will keep you very aware of what is really important and what you should be doing. Otherwise, you can get lost each and every day on that intriguing information highway that is calling you.
When you complete a task put a line through it or a check mark next to it. You will experience a great feeling of success with each completed task. Ah, the joy that comes when you actually complete a good project and make money from that project.
If you follow these focus suggestions, your multiple online business projects can be finished much quicker than otherwise.
Highly Successful People
Did you know that only about 3% of the population use “to do” focus lists and only about 3% of the population are highly successful?
It is interesting to note that this means that 97% of the population may not be focused enough to know where they are going or what they are attempting to do.
Are you going to strive to be in the 3% or the 97% rating?
Warning
If you are extremely busy on the Internet, you may end up with several “different” to do focus lists :o)
All you have to do in that case is purchase a few (dozen?) clipboards.
Put your to do focus list sheet on top of each clipboard, and then clip pertinent printed information or notes to the “back” of the to do focus list as you create or collect it. That way everything is grouped and not that far away from you so you can get to it quickly and easily.
Smaller Clipboards
Another way to use this focus method is for learning how to use new software or other material. Get a very small clipboard. Write down, step by step, the operating instructions and other learning notes and clip them on the clipboard as you go. In case you do get sidetracked, this is a handy and quick way to refer back to what you are trying to learn.
Staying Organized Also Helps You To Focus
We suggest purchasing a “huge double” Rolodex type of file in order to get organized and stay organized. There are a lot of these filing systems listed for reasonable prices on ebay. Some of them even come with tons of blank index cards in them already.
How We Use Rolodex Type Files
Every time you join something, or purchase something, or have something important to remember, you will just jot down all the information “onto an index card” and file it alphabetically in your Rolodex type file. The reason for the “double” one is that on one side you will keep your personal information and on the other side you will keep your Internet information.
You can make up your own “tabbed” index cards for any subject you want. Subjects can be “Software”, “ebooks”, Memberships, Yahoo email addresses, ebay id”s, etc. When you purchase a new piece of software,
ebook, or other product, write down all of the information on an index card and file it. This method does work well.
If your computer crashes, you will have all the contact information, dates, company names, etc. that you need to quickly set up again. If your computer hasn”t crashed yet, it still could at any unexpected moment. So it is much better to be prepared than not.
Filing The Index Cards
If you have a relative or friend that knows how to file, you can let them file the index cards for you. Collect the index cards in a little box next to your computer and when it gets full, hand your helper the box of cards to be filed. If you don”t have someone to help you file, just do it yourself while you are waiting for your computer to start up in the morning.
Another Great Way To Get and Stay Organized
Purchase and keep next to your desk an 11 1/2″ by 9 1/2″ accordion filing book that has alphabetized tabs. You can get them on ebay or at most stationary stores. Keep one for personal papers and one
for Internet papers. You can put these accordion files sideways in a box right next to your desk.
When you need to file something quickly, it is easy. If the paper you want to file is about your dog”s shots, you just file it under “d” for dog. If it is a paper you printed out from the Internet that you want to read later
or save for project researching, just file under “p” for projects and you can get to it any time you want. When it is time to file your stack of papers, maybe you can get that friend or relative to help with this task too.
In Summation
Now, these focus methods do not always work for everyone all of the time…but when they do, they are very good for directing you toward success on the Internet.
In the future, when ideas pop into your head for “new” projects, you can quickly and easily sort, file, and find them when you need to focus for completion.
Why we wrote this article
If we can share our methods of success with other online creators, we will have given back to the Internet only a fraction of what we have received.
Copyrighted 2005 by HBR Publishers aka www.home-business-reports.com
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