Staying Focused Can Be a Challenge...

As business owners, Small Business – Home Based Business – Network Marketers, staying focused can be a challenge. When we go into business for ourselves, life is still going on around us. When we become our own bosses, we are perceived by those in our circles (family and friends) to have a more flexible schedule than those with traditional jobs or careers.  As true as that is, it’s false at the same time.

Though self-employed you do not have a boss, office manager or corporate America dictating what to do and when to do it, you actually have MORE responsibility. The weight of success vs failure rests solely on your shoulders, along with all of your other responsibilities in life. They are all distractions that can absorb you and cause you to lose focus on YOUR BUSINESS.

Distractions you might get lost in are:

As entrepreneurs, we all went into business for our own reasons. These reasons are important to us and to our families. We must also remember without focus and discipline in getting “work” things done, our success will hang in the balance. Focus and discipline are easier when we work for someone else because we are held accountable for our tasks and responsibilities in a daily manner but working for ourselves with no one looking over our shoulders makes it harder to be accountable for what HAS to get done.

You have Your why

The reason you wanted to be your own boss is your WHY. What is that? Is it worth you being focused every day? Be sure to have a visual of that WHY where you can see it. Create a collage of images, maybe it is family, traveling, free time, no boss and so on. Whatever it is, place a visual reminder in your workspace where you can see it.

Organize Your day

Be organized within your day. Be sure to set “work hours” so you have time you can count on to be “focused”. In order to get support, share this with your family, friends, downline, and team. And if you are like me in a service-providing career, be sure to share it with your clients/customers. If you have small children, and you are responsible for working from home, you’ll be a bit more flexible with them, but ask everyone else to respect your boundaries as they would with any other place of business.

You Have a Job

Don’t kid yourself. Having your own business and being your own boss – you have a JOB. You are the one running the show and you are making up the rules. Because of this, staying focused is even more important than ever. You and your family, along with your business, rely on you. This is where discipline and focus are so important. In the beginning while you are still building your business foundation, you might have to make personal sacrifices and miss out on certain things so that you are setting your business up for success.

Time Management/Structure

Having a clear layout of time allotted for certain tasks is a MUST. Setting up an accurate working calendar is imperative. Sit down and block out time for your daily routine tasks AND be sure to indicate your “OFF TIME” so you can close your business door and have time for yourself and family/friends. Be sure to include any daily “errands” and account for travel time within your block. Once your “life” tasks/must-dos are calendared, review your open spaces and start filling in daily routine things such as social media. For example, set aside 30 minutes a day for social media and for emails set aside 30 mins in the morning and 30 mins at the close of the day to check and follow up on emails. Now that you have those essentials blocked take a moment to review open spaces on your calendar. Is there a pattern to open “working hours”? (We will fill these in during the next step.)

Project Management 

No matter whether you are a solo-prenuer or you work with a team, you need a reliable project management tool. You can always use the proverbial “yellow pad of paper” or the “stickie” method, but these will not help you with productivity and time management. We at SFSB have used many project management methods and platforms and the one we as a team all love is TeamWork. There are a lot of features to help business owners and teams. Organize your projects & tasks and indicate due dates on your list and then fill in open spaces on your calendar for the week/month in whatever way your projects & tasks list requires. REMEMBER, making a call or returning calls are individual tasks that need to go on your list and on your calendar, too. Having time ear-marked specifically for tasks that can be allows you to be focused and get them done! Get them Crossed Off your daily to-dos. When you get things done you are motivated to do MORE. Keep milestones for daily activities – monthly achievements – annual goals.

Non-productive Tasks

If you find that you are spending too much time doing non-productive/revenue generating tasks – delegate them. Find a VA service like VA-a-GoGo or a team member who can take over performing those tasks so you can stay focused on the tasks only YOU can do as you build your business. Things like training a new recruit, following up on new downline, keeping your database up to date, formatting and sending your newsletter, setting up your appointments and so on. Get help with tasks that take too much focus off of building your business foundation. This is true for ANY business.

Reward Yourself

Be sure to reward yourself as you focus and reach your milestones, achievements, and goals. Even the smallest job well done IS A JOB WELL DONE! Celebrate it. Remember to choose rewards that the family can enjoy with you at times – they are in it too

Finding and Keeping a Balance
While Staying Focused

It is hard to always be focused on your business. When you make the rules, it can be hard to hold yourself accountable. Keeping a balance between work and the freedom you wanted by becoming your own boss is tough. It is so easy to say, “I’ll do it later” and then take off to play – on the flip side it is so easy to stay so buried in your business that you never take off to play. How do you stay focused on your business and still maintain a balance between life and work?