I encourage you to focus on what you’ve achieved every day, but what happens when you’re having an off day and you don’t feel like you’ve achieved much?
Okay, this is a business blog and this is a business post but let me just share a little story about weight loss with you.
I’ve been overweight to some degree for the past 15 years. There was a point where I was getting on the scales 2 or 3 times a day and every single time the number went up, I’d feel annoyed with myself, upset, frustrated and inevitably because I felt negative about this, I went and ate something. Not a logical cycle I know.
I finally got to grips with this cycle and realized that I needed to look at things more long term. Even if I’d eaten really well and got a good amount of exercise in, the scales didn’t always reflect this weighing myself daily or even weekly.
So this is what would often happen. I’d lose 4 pounds over a 3 week period and then I’d put on a half pound on the 4th week. My focus would immediately be on the weight gain and my destructive cycle would kick in.
When I focus on my long term weight over the month, 3 months, 12- months, the picture is positive.
The same story pans out in my business too when I focus only on each day.
Over the years I’ve definitely put things in place so that I am productive every day. In particular, my rule to Eat frogs for breakfast (do the most important things first).
The whole point of writing this blog is to help you in your business and the only way I can really do that, is by being honest with you and that includes sharing my own struggles.
I have days where I simply can’t get my act together. They happen the most when I’m out of a routine for whatever reason or I’ve got a lot going on outside of my business, particularly if it’s negative stuff.
I can’t focus and everything seems to take a lot longer to do. Today’s been a bit like that.
My son has a hospital appointment later today. He was ill through the night (nothing major) and it was a real struggle this morning to get him off to school. I drove him in rather than him taking the bus which meant I was about an hour late getting started. I had my food shopping delivery Which I still haven’t completely put away, my kitchen is half painted but on a positive note, I have put the washing out that has been in the washing machine (wet) for two days.
I share this with you because it’s easy to look at other people and think they’ve got it all together. And most of the time that’s not the case.
It’s certainly not the case for me at least. However, I’ve been in business (this business) for 8 years now and I know myself really well. I’ve learned to work with my strengths and my weaknesses.
Being successful in business is not about being perfect or having it all together, it’s more about knowing yourself, your own strengths and weaknesses, working with them consistently and being the best version of you (even on off days).
If you can relate to my story, keep reading. I’ve got some powerful tip for you that will help you to focus on what you’ve achieved long-term.
Focus on what you’ve achieved over a 12-month period (at least)
Note, if you’re just starting out in business, just go back as far as you can. For everyone else, focus on what you’ve achieved long term in your business. I recommend at least 12-months.
this means that even when you’ve had a day where you’ve not been as productive as you would like, you are still able to see how much progress you’ve really made.
Below are two tips to help you to focus on the bigger success picture rather than just focusing on a day that hasn’t got quite how you would have liked.
2 tips to help you focus on what you’ve achieved long term
Before I give you my tips I do want to say this. Always celebrate your days that do go well too and anchor the feeling. To anchor your feelings, simply focus on them and send a mental message out into the universe saying “This is a great day and I love this kind of days. I want more of these days.”
You anchor a boat to keep it in that place. That’s exactly what the aim of anchoring your positive days. It helps you have more of those days.
1. Keep a journal to record what you’ve achieved
Success journals are incredibly powerful. They serve as a detailed record of your successes and progress over time. They force you to focus on your successes. From a law of attraction point of view, what we focus on the most, we attract into our reality. So if you want to attract more success, focus on your success now. It’s also a wonderful way to keep you feeling positive and motivated.
If you’ve been recording your successes for a few months and you have an off day, take a look through your journal and just look at what you’ve achieved already.
At the end of each day, write a note about what you’ve achieved.
Some days, you’ll have loads to write and other days, you might struggle to find anything. Always try to write something.
I’ve had many days where I’ve written things like. Got up, fed myself and my son, got my son to school, looked at my social media pages. This happened a lot in my early days.
I also had many days where I’d worked ridiculously long hours but really didn’t have much to add to my success journal. This is frustrating and why even on my off days I follow my rule to do the most important things done first.
So right now my big focus os on my blog, building my audience and monetizing it.
If I’m having a really bad day and can’t get focused, even if all I do is put a title into my editorial calendar, that is a success. It’s a step towards meeting my goal of publishing 2 goals per week and scheduling 3 weeks in advance.
Now that’s not my ideal scenario and the chances are I will end that day with a load of things still on my to-do list, but it’s still a success.
Your goal: Buy a nice notebook and dedicate it to recording what you’ve achieved on a daily basis.
Chart your progress toward your goals
Start by creating smaller goals within your main goals.
One of my current goals is to publish 2 blog posts weekly and have 3 weeks worth of posts scheduled.
On my progress chart, I track my progress on the posts scheduled.
To have 3 weeks of posts scheduled, I need to have a total of 6 posts scheduled in advance.
On a weekly basis, I aim to write at least 3 posts meaning I increase my scheduled posts by one per week.
Another example of charting your progress would be for your sales targets for the year. You can break the chart down to your monthly goals, but be sure to focus on your progress rather than how far you still have to go.
Things that help when you’re having an off day
- Know that it’s okay. If you find that you’re having more off days than productive days, I encourage you to seek help. I offer productivity and accountability coaching which can really help you to stay focused and productive. It also helps you to feel like you’ve got someone in your corner supporting you.
- Try hypnosis downloads (please note there is an affiliate link included. I recommend this company because I love it and use it myself). One of the first downloads I bought was Improve concentration and focus. If I find myself having more days than usual where I just can’t get my head together, I make a point of listening to this download a couple of times a day. Another download pack I recommend is the 10 steps to a stellar success mindset pack.
- Try EFT (Emotional Freedom techniques) – You can watch my How to do EFT video, watch and follow along with a few of my EFT videos. As a general rule of thumb, tap out what you don’t want and tap in what you do want. Example: Tap out “I feel like I can’t get my head together today.” Tap in “My mind is clear and I can focus.”
- Go and do something completely different – Sometimes you just need to get out, go for a walk, meet up with a friend, go to the cinema… I often find that allowing myself some time out means I come back with a real focus.
- Sleep. Yes, even if it’s during your work time if it’s what you need. Read my post Sleep to improve productivity.
Focus on what you’ve achieved recap
The biggest thing I want you to take away from this post is that it’s okay to have off days. You’re a human being, not a machine. You’re also not just a business owner, you’re probably juggling a whole load of other things too.
- Know your strengths and weaknesses then work with them
- Keep a success journal to record what you’ve achieved each day
- Chart your progress and focus on what you’ve achieved rather than how far you’ve got to go
- Try my productivity and accountability coaching if you feel you need extra support
- Use hypnosis downloads
- Practice EFT (emotional freedom techniques)
- Take a break and do something completely different
- Get some sleep.
As always I wish you every success in your business.
Wendy xx
P.S. Download your free copy of the Ideal Business Workbook to gain clarity and focus in your business and activate the law of attraction to deliberately attract the business you desire.
