How NOT to Lose Your Marbles When You’re Juggling a Dozen Projects

Summary: Right now I'm working on a stack of projects. These include: * A property development launch for my property marketing company. * The launch of a new home study program on women's health issues - by a PHD on such issues. * Complete marketing strategy for an air conditioning company wishing to access the building market. * Complete marketing strategy and sales copy for a seminar tour. * Over 10 one on one clients who work with me personally on their strategy. * And a slew of "background" miscellaneous stuff to keep our businesses going. One of those is producing content for you! So, in this article, I thought it would be valuable if I covered a few essential ground rules. Call it the "Busy Person's Guide to Being Productive Without Losing Your Marbles": 1. Follow the 3D's - Do it, Delegate it, Dump It. Whenever something new comes across your desk or inbox, you have to make a decision - what to do with it? My first inclination is always to dump it. That means not responding to emails... SMS's and even phone calls. I know it can sound rude not to return calls (and I don't always ignore phone calls) but it's a viable way to handle a busy work schedule. If I can't dump it, delegation is the next option. This is an area where I can definitely improve. The best business people are absolute masters of delegation! Finally, do it myself. Almost always it will go into my schedule to be actioned at an appropriate time. 2. Unplug - I've taken email off my phone and off my iPad. Same with Facebook. Why? To manage my mental bandwidth. Like you, I only have a limited number of productive hours in a day. And I found that having email and Facebook on my phone led me to constantly checking them both. Not good! Because each time I'd chip away at my mental focus. I could never really recharge. 3. Think - I have a regular practice of brainstorming and mind mapping what I'm working on. This forces me to think through the implications of a decision - before I make the decision. By doing this, I anticipate problems before they arise. Of course, I am not perfect at this. And of course, I do fail to anticipate every problem. But many a problem has been prevented because I've taken the time to think things through. 4. Work to blocks of time. Let's face it: your list of "to dos" is probably infinite. There's always something to work on. And frankly, it can get overwhelming, right? I feel your pain. Which is why I work in blocks of time. This takes my focus OFF the endless items I'm working on... and onto a simple metric - time. I work in blocks of 60 minutes. 50 minutes of that block is work. 10 minutes is rest. I take my break for lunch so I can recharge and renew. Then, in the afternoon, I will usually get another block of 60 minutes. Most days this leads to working 6 quality hours. Since my focus is ONLY what I'm working on during each time block, it means I keep the overwhelm demons at bay. You should try it. Experience it for yourself. Then shoot me an email with your thoughts or post your comments below. MARKETING BLITZ UPDATE Almost half the spots are taken for Marketing Blitz. I'm really looking forward to this gig. It's the first time I've done a one day program for so few people. Especially at such a low investment - only $997 for the day. Marketing Blitz If you've been thinking of joining us but haven't decided, you'll want to check out the short info video I've put together. In this video I cover all the essential points of what the day is about... what I'm going to be covering... and what you can expect to get out of it. Marketing Blitz If you have any questions about Marketing Blitz - or if you want to give me feedback on the content I send you - please post your comments below or shoot me an email at support@moreleadsandcustomers.com. I check all emails and comments myself. And I respond to them all, too. Warmly Alexi