Are you Proactive or Reactive with your time?

So when I first started out with my business I was a little like one of those guys and has all those sticks with the plates on top of them, and they are running from stick to stick keeping that plate turning, get more and more frantic, until finally one of the plates drops, which normally leads to all of them coming tumbling down.

Well for me it did anyway. :-)

I was always putting out fires, struggling to get stuff done, and at the end of the day I would be exhausted, and frazzled, but have not much at all to show for it.

Now, I know exactly what I am doing when I sit down to work, and I work with totally focused attention to get that thing done. And I get more done in a couple of hours than I used to get done in a day.

So what changed?

Well, I learned a few things, and one of them was about Proactive time versus Reactive time.

Most of us work in reactive time...

We are constantly reacting to things, getting distracted, getting pulled of course, and wasting so much time and brain space on the things that aren’t moving us forwards.

What we need to be doing is working in Proactive time, just solely working on the next most important thing we need to do, to the exclusion of everybody and everything else.

That means just you and your computer/notebook, and a scheduled period of time to get a job done, and just going for it.

When you work like that you are continuously knocking the ball out of the park because your ability to focus means you are succeeding and, the bonus, you are getting more free time as well.

So how do you start working Proactively, rather than reactively?

Well, I’m going to give you 6 steps to get you there.

1. Identify exactly what it is that you need to do to move your business forwards.

Maybe it’s content for the next month. Maybe it’s a new email sequence. Maybe it’s a lead magnet or a website.

Whatever it is, write it down and them break it down into the steps you need to take to get it done, and identify what it means to you to have finished it.

2. Work out how much time each of these tasks is going to take you.

This is important, because a job will take you exactly how much time you allow yourself, so if you don’t give yourself a deadline it will drag on and on and on.

3. Block time out in your calendar to work on these tasks.

Even if it is just an hour a day, put it in there and commit to using that time for the tasks you set.

4. Identify your blockers, stoppers, urges and habits which might get in your way.

So who and what are going to try and stop you from spending this time you have committed to the task on the task?

What habits and urges do you have that might distract you from getting the task done?

5. Let those close to you (the stoppers) know that you are unavailable during these time periods and ask them to respect you in this.

Let them know that by doing this this way, you will have more time to spend with them later.

6. Turn off all notifications on your computer, put your phone on silent or turn it off if that is a total distraction for you.

Remove all things that might remove your attention from what you need to be doing.

Your brain is going to tell you things, like you need a break, you need to take a break every 20 minutes to work productively, you need to make sure that no one has responded to your latest FB post.

Don’t listen to it.

Especially the bit about needing a break every 20 minutes.

That is pure baloney...

I can work intensively for hours without a break because I know I can.

If breaking for coffee is your habit, have one as you sit down.

Go to the toilet before you start, and every time your brain tries to trick you into stopping (because with you working so hard there is the ever-looming threat of you having to get into discomfort) just tell it that everything is going to be okay, and keep working.

7. Get to work. Do not stop, Do not pass go, and do not collect $200 until your allotted time is up.

Now one of the hardest parts about all of this is planning and working out what you need to do and planning when to do it. As a part of my course The Simple Success Triad Training I create a planner to help with this, and a training that shows you how to use it.

It helps you work out what you need to work on, and then plan out how and when you are going to do it.

If you want it and the training, and you are in my FB group, The Fully Booked Coach, all you need to do is ask for it, or comment PLANNER below the video I have done on this subject and I’ll get a copy off to you.

If you are not a member of my group, go to https://donnajoyusher.com/fully-booked-coach to join, and once you’re in there, let me know you want the planner.

Hope you got something out of my method for creating Proactive time