Thursday, March 20, 2008

The most exhausting part of business growth

What is the single most exhausting part of any business?

Inaction.

I'll explain. Many of you surely have a long list of things to do as part of your business. You have emails to return, marketing to do, articles to write, books on craft to read, research on writer's conferences, writer's clubs.

And then you'd also like to have time to write.

Simply reading through the list you're beginning to remember things you still need to do, but haven't yet done.

What I have found as a business owner is that I can get so wrapped up in my to-do list that I am exhausted thinking of what needs to be done. Rather than sitting down for an hour and pushing through that deadline-I keep thinking about it. I let the weight of the deadline exhaust me to the point that I don't even touch the project.

That was my day yesterday. I truly had many things to get done. I had to take 2 daughters to ballet, run to the grocery, meet with the manager where I teach, teach for 2 1/2 hrs, get my hair cut, and homeschool the girls.

But when the day was over, in fact as this week is almost over, I think "What did I do productive to build my business."

Oh I did plenty. I wrote my to-do list. Considered the implications of the survey I just ran, worried about how I was going to get a project done that's looming on my desk, I remembered those 13 submissions I'm judging for the Genesis Writing Contest are waiting for my full attention. I scratched out notes on how to revise a proposal I'm working on, I cleaned the kitchen.

And by the time the kids went to bed at 9:30 I was thoroughly EXHAUSTED. I still had to put up the blog [something that I truly give a great deal of time and effort to writing], answer a few pressing questions, and encourage a friend going through a tough time.

But what did I really accomplish?

Not as much as I should.

So look at your own schedule and decide what you're going to get done. Then don't think about it-DO IT.

You'll find it really wasn't as exhausting as you'd thought it would be.

Your Coach for the Journey, Tiffany Colter

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