Some days there are barriers – barriers that impede your ability to do what you need to do.

    Maybe it’s people not getting back to you with information or materials that you need.

    Or your own energy levels.

    Or your head being so chock-a-block that you’re unclear yourself on what’s most important. 

    The list goes on.

    But if you are ready & willing, and you have what you need, then you can proceed.

    And, for most people, the earlier in the day the better. For numerous reasons that include:

    ➔ You’ve had sleep.

    ➔ Your willpower hasn’t been depleted. 

    ➔ If you accomplish something significant, you’ll feel better than if you took it easy and just did some fairly trivial stuff.

    ➔ The sooner you do the important stuff, the sooner you can reap the benefits of that important stuff.  You can’t get a return on investment unless you make an investment. You can’t (or shouldn’t) reward yourself unless you’ve done something worthy of reward.  You can fool other people but you can’t fool yourself.

    ➔ And then there’s the fact that you just don’t know what might happen – I was reminded of this recently by a tweet that said: “Quest of the day: accomplish all the necessary tasks before the next power outage in Kyiv“.   

    And the situation has worsened since with the onset of winter and the continued attacks by Russia on the power infrastructure. Puts things in perspective eh?

    Focus on what’s important. On what can have the most impact on your business. Every day. And earlier in the day when possible.

If you’re wondering how to rate yourself at doing the important stuff, here’s a simple exercise:

    For 5 working days:

  • Track if you’re starting the day with a clear view of what your most important task is.  It’s a simple yes/no.  Give yourself 1 mark for each day you answer “yes”.
  • Track if you complete that most important task.  Give yourself 1 mark for each day you do.

Then score yourself between 0 and 10!

    PS:  If you want to receive content like this blog in my twice-weekly email, sign up here and you’ll also get my ebook – “Get Off The Hamster Wheel: The Smart Small Business Owner’s Productivity Bible“.  You’ll read it in less than 15 minutes.