How many times did you have to postpone something for tomorrow because you did not manage to complete it on time? How many of your tasks are postponed from one day to another, until you realise that they are overdue? This is something that happens to many entrepreneurs and small business owners and is one of the main reasons why their business idea does not take off.
Not being able to focus on work, prioritise tasks or complete them on time is one of the symptoms of the “newbie entrepreneur syndrome”. It starts with the exhilarating feeling that you are the master of your time, accountable to nobody and free to do things as you want and when you want. While the freedom to plan your schedule is one of the top perks of starting a small business, this freedom does not mean you should procrastinate. In the end, your business will not get any clients, you will make no money and you will be forced to seek employment again in order to support your family.
Today we want to help entrepreneurs become aware of the most frequent reasons why they do not complete their daily tasks and get rid of these unproductive habits. Here they are:
1. Unaccountability
Not having a boss is a blessing and a curse at the same time. You can apply your own tactics, build and pursue your own business ideas… but how do you justify the failure to make them happen, and to whom? When you are not accountable, you are unproductive and unmotivated to finish your tasks and to reach the expected results.
The first thing you need to realise is that you are accountable for the success or failure of your business, if not to yourself, to your family and friends – in fact, to everyone who believes in you, supports you and helps you in any way they can. You owe it to them to be determined, stay on track, and go through all your daily activities diligently.
2. Overthinking
You are a methodical person who likes to think things through before they act. This is good – but do not fall to the extreme of thinking too hard and doing too little. If you keep planning things in your mind but never act and get things done, your amazing business idea will remain a daydream which will never come true. Being in business means taking risks – so at a certain point you have to stop thinking and start doing things, even with the risk of failing.
3. No Deadline
Next to a lack of accountability, the lack of a deadline will slowly but surely cause you to postpone tasks and never complete them on time, if at all. You should set a deadline for each task and strive to achieve it. Nothing should be left to chance or to “when I have some time to spare”. Nothing should be considered not important when it comes to running a business. For instance, if you stop paying attention to one of your social media accounts, you will lose followers. If you do not send newsletters on time, according to the schedule you have created, people will think that you lost interest in connecting with them and will unsubscribe. Every action, every task, matters.
4. Too Many Distractions
Your home office should be a place where you focus on work. You should not bring your home cinema system or your video game console in this room. You should not keep your DVD movies collection in the home office, either. As soon as you get bored with a task, or it seems too difficult to complete, you will quickly turn to one of these distractions. In this way, you will never get anything done on time. Instead, create a professional, clutter-free space where you can work undisturbed and you can properly focus on your tasks.
5. No Idea of What You Are Supposed to Achieve
When you have no clear idea of the outcome of any action, you will not be able to structure it, prioritise it, allocate proper resources to it, or get it done on time. It will be a complete waste of time, because you do not have an end purpose – something to look forward to and strive to achieve.
These five habits are common to many underachievers – people who may have a great business idea, but never see it come to fruition. Do not be one of them – plan your time and your tasks carefully and get things done on time.