Do the most important thing first in your business day.
Do you ever get to the end of the day and feel like pulling your hair out, having a meltdown or simply just giving up and taking root in your bed under the warm, safe covers?
Seriously, it’s such a horrible feeling when you get to the end of the day and feel like you’ve pretty much achieved a grand total of nothing.
I’ve definitely had those days. In fact, in the first 2 years of my business, that’s pretty much how I felt most days. Yet, I was super busy. I didn’t understand it.
That’s when I decided it was time to eat frogs for breakfast.
(Just to let you know this post does contain affiliate links – I only recommend things I love)
Let’s talk eating frogs for breakfast – Do the most important thing first
Don’t panic, I’m not going to make you eat real frogs for breakfast. Unless you want to of course.
Several years ago I read a book that changed my life and my business. The book is Eat That Frog – Get more of the important things done today by Brian Tracy.
I love Brian Tracy’s work and I kinda feel like he’s a grandad figure giving me life and business advice.
The idea is that if you eat the biggest frog first thing in the morning, everything else will be easier.
I have this book now on my kindle and I refer back to it regularly (definitely an investment buy).
In this post, I want to share 5 of the key ideas with my own twist.
Know what you want to achieve first
Don’t randomly pick your frogs. Get super clear about what you want to achieve in your business first. Grab a FREE copy of the Ideal Business Workbook to help with this.
Once you’re clear on what you want to achieve – What do you need to do in order to achieve your ideal business?
Of those tasks, which is the most important task today?
That’s your frog – Do your most important thing first.
Plan your day in advance
I believe planning your day ahead of time is essential if you are to achieve success in your business and get the important things done each day.
I have an hourly to do list. I fill in essentials that are time specific. For example, meetings, what time I have to pick my son up…
Then I schedule in time to complete my most important thing first.
I only move onto the next task once the most important thing has been done.
Do this and you’ll always achieve something important each and every business day.
Consider the consequences
What will happen if you don’t do your most important business task first?
Probably nothing major. Your business will more than likely just carry on as it is now.
What happens if you don’t do the most important thing first for a month?
You’ll probably have a business that is failing miserably.
What happens if you consistently, every business day, do the most important thing first?
You have a very good chance of succeeding in your business and seeing constant results.
At the very least, you’ll go to bed each night knowing that you’ve achieved something important.
(This was a big wake up call for me).
Motivate yourself
Just having that feeling that you’ve achieved something important in your business each day is a great motivation but sometimes it can still feel like you’re a long way off your ideal business.
Try giving yourself rewards as you achieve different things in your business.
Through my years of coaching, one thing I often noticed was that people were taking time out, away from their business on a regular basis before the work was done. I definitely did this in the early days of my business.
Maybe it’s coffee with friends that turn into 3 hours aways from your business, a shopping trip, a spa day with your sister.
Now I’m not for one minute suggesting that you can’t do these things. I love doing things like this. But do the work first.
Maybe that will mean getting up an hour early to complete your most important thing first before you go out for the day. Or maybe, you can set yourself a target – When you’ve completed a big project, treat yourself to a day at the spa with your friends.
Another idea for rewarding yourself could even be something like putting a set amount of money into a jar every time you complete a key IMPORTANT task. Then using the money for a special treat such as a day out, holiday, new equipment for your business, a shopping spree.
Use the things you like as a reward for putting in the work first.
I know that when I start my day with a treat like going out with a friend for coffee, I don’t feel like getting on with my work afterwards. I’ve missed that key time to do my most important thing first.
What will keep you motivated?
Single focus on your most important thing
I’m such a scatterbrain. I’m easily distracted and I know it. That doesn’t help me to create a successful business and get things done.
So over the years (and it’s an ongoing process), I’ve deliberately eliminated as many distractions as I possibly can from my business day.
Once you’re ready to start your business day – HAVE A SINGLE FOCUS – Your most important business task for the day.
Follow it through to completion before you can move onto anything else.
Note: I tend to only be able to really focus and concentrate on one thing for a short amount of time, so I break my important tasks down into smaller chunks.
Example, today my most important task was to write this blog post and schedule it. That takes me a good couple of hours at least to write it, add images, sort out the SEO, edit it… So I break it down into chunks.
- Fill in the blog template (plan out the post)
- Write the post
- Take a break
- Create images for the post
- Take a break
- Add images
- Sort out SEO
- Take a break
- Edit and schedule
My breaks are very short. Maybe I’ll put the washing out to dry, make myself a cup of tea, do a quick tidy up job. (under 5 minutes)
Once my most important thing for each day is done, I’ll take a longer break and maybe take the dog for a 10-minute walk. The break’s good for me and good for the dog.
Then it’s back to work on the next most important thing for that day and so it continues.
Even if you only complete one thing from your to-do list, you’ll always have worked on your most important task that will impact your business success.
Let’s do a recap
- Read the book, definitely read the book Eat That Frog and if you’ve already read it, read it again.
- Get super clear about what you actually want to achieve in your business – Grab a copy of the FREE Ideal Business Workbook.
- Plan your day in advance – Schedule in your most important thing first.
- Consider the consequences – What will happen if you don’t get your most important things done today? What will happen if you do?
- Motivate yourself – What will motivate you to consistently complete your most important things first?
- Single focus – Keep your focus on that one, most important thing until completed.
So there you have it. That’s just a little taster of why I absolutely love this book. I’d make it compulsory that everyone from the age of 13 read it and then read it yearly.
So until I gain world domination and make this the law, I’ll just recommend it to you. Because you’re super important to me and I want you to succeed in your business and feel that sense of achievement every business day.
Buy the book on Amazon
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Wendy
