How To Combat The #1 Killer of Productivity

What is it?

Perfectionism.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Thriving Business <newsletter@thrivingbusiness.com>
Date: Wed, Jan 2, 2013 at 6:05 AM
Subject: [BTS] How To Combat The #1 Killer of Productivity
To: Jorge <jorge.saguinsin@gmail.com>

Trouble viewing this email, click here. Issue # 152 - January 1, 2013 Dear Jorge, Happy New Year!  It's hard to believe that it's 2013 already.  As you celebrate the New Year, it's time to review the many things you are grateful for from 2012, and also to plan for the 12 months that are ahead. In today's Main Essay, I teach you a simple process that will allow you to easily achieve your goals in 2013 by combating the #1 killer of productivity.  This is the most profound strategy I've ever used in my life for getting massive amounts of work accomplished in the shortest time possible.  So I highly recommend you try this strategy out for yourself. In the Check It Out section, you learn about a special "Wake Up Productive" program that is available this week only from Eben Pagan.  If you want 2013 to be the year that you super-charge your productivity and finally achieve your goals, then I highly recommend you check out Eben's program.  We hope you enjoy this issue of the Thriving Business Newsletter. Cheers, Denise Gosnell Publisher ThrivingBusiness.com Inc. How To Combat The #1 Killer of Productivity So You Can Easily Achieve Your Goals In 2013 By Denise Gosnell I'm the type of person who tends to be a perfectionist.  It is my natural instinct to keep working on a project until it is good as it possibly can be.  Perhaps you can even relate to this yourself? Over the years as a business owner, I've learned that perfectionism is actually the #1 killer of fast business growth.  In today's tough business landscape, you have to be able to change and implement fast. And if you get stuck trying to make every single project perfect, you will generally only achieve a small fraction of what you could have accomplished during that same time period. I've learned the hard way that it's better to have something "good enough" that you can start selling, versus something outstanding that you never actually start selling because you're stuck trying to make it perfect. In my quest to overcome perfectionism, I have tried nearly every time management process out there for getting things done as fast as possible, but with a quality level that I could live with.  And there are certainly tons of time management and project management processes that each person can benefit from. But if I had to choose just one time management process to use for the rest of my life, it would definitely be the one I originally learned from Dan Sullivan of Strategic Coach. Here's how that process works. Step 1:  Finish The First 80% As Quickly As Possible Focus on getting the project 80% completed as quickly as possible (i.e. the first version). In most cases, once you get started and finish the first version of a project, your judgment will be that it is 80% done.  In other words, you will generally evaluate the quality of it and rate it as 80% of where you would like it to be. And this is usually true whether you have spent a ton of time preparing for the project, or whether you jumped right in without preparation. So think about that for a minute.  This is a really profound concept.  Whether you jump right into a project without any preparation at all, or whether you spend days or even weeks preparing to start it, you will still feel like it is 80% finished in nearly every case once you actually jump in and complete the first iteration of it. If that's true, then why in the world would any of us ever want to waste valuable time preparing to start?  It would be better to just jump right in and get started, and focus on finishing the first 80% (the first version) as quickly as humanly possible. In doing so, don't worry about being perfect.  Just focus on getting the first 80% done. And to be clear, this doesn't mean that you have to personally be the one getting the first 80% done.  It just means that you have someone get the first 80% done. Step 2:  Evaluate Whether It Would Be Worth The Effort To Make Improvements Then, evaluate whether it is worth spending time to improve the project.  In the majority if instances, the 80% will be good enough and you can consider the project to be finished. And if it's not, you can keep going with Step 3. Step 3:  If The Current Version Isn't Good Enough, Focus On The Next 80% If the current version (at 80% quality) is not good enough, then you focus on getting the next 80% done of the 20% that remains. You can either have the person who did the first draft keep working on it based upon your feedback, or you can now put your own personal touches on the project to make it better.  The key point with this step is to again focus on getting the next 80% quality level done as quickly as possible (without focusing on being perfect). And again, once finished, you evaluate whether or not it is good enough.  If so, the project is done, and you can move on to another project. If it is still not good enough, you can proceed to Step 4. Step 4:  Repeat Step 3 Until The Project Is "Good Enough" You simply keep iterating through the process described in Step 3 again on the remaining 20% until it is "good enough".  When determining what is "good enough", just ask yourself how much difference it would really make if you went with this version versus spending time on an improved version. If your customers would be happy with current version or it is otherwise good enough to serve the intended purpose, then why waste the time to keep going just so you would feel it is "perfect". Once the project is good enough to consider "done", then you can roll it out and move on to your next project.  That's where you can build some serious momentum. I know those 4 steps may sound simple, but can actually work wonders in your business and your life.  If you take the time to think about these steps carefully, you will see why perfectionism and procrastination are actually your worst enemies, and why this process can combat them once and for all.  The results you will see are nothing short of amazing.  At least that's what happened to me when I put this process into practice. That's why I highly recommend that you give this strategy a try and watch your own productivity soar for the rest of 2013 and beyond. And once you see that it really works for you, please share this strategy with everyone on your team so that you can super-charge the results for your entire company. Jynell and I wish you continued success for 2013.  We always enjoy hearing from you too, so please keep your comments coming and let us know how we can help you. To learn other ways to increase your revenue in the coming year, make sure you sign up for our special Business Mastery Training webinar. And if you haven't signed up for our free business startup and growth eCourse yet, I highly recommend you check it out too.  Thousands of people have been through this free program, and simply rave about it. Your Thriving Business Assignment Here is a summary of the process that I use to super-charge my productivity: 1.  Finish the first 80% of the project as quickly as possible.  Don't worry about being perfect. 2.  Evaluate whether it would be worth the effort to make improvements.  In most cases, the first 80% is good enough and you're done. 3.  If the current version isn't good enough, focus on the next 80%.  Do another set of revisions to finish the next 80% of the 20% that remains. 4.  Repeat step 3 until the project is "good enough". Check It Out! It's a new year, and you've got a new chance to make something BIG happen for yourself. Eben Pagan has opened up a special "New Year Class" of his Wake Up Productive training. This course is guaranteed to dramatically increase your productivity... both in business and in your personal life. Go read this letter to get the details and register today, because registration for this class is only open this week: How To Double Your Productivity Register today, and learn how to double your productivity - and make sure your New Year's resolution happens! Today's Video Inspiration Embrace the past and you can Live for Now... Words of wisdom among many in this uplifting, inspirational song for the New Year. A must-share for sure! Click here to watch "This Is The New Year". Look What Others Are Saying Dear Denise and Jynell Thanks indeed for the useful tips you have been sending to me on how to make it big in business. Albert Share Your Thoughts Let us know your thoughts on today's issue. Post your comments here.   Forward this email to a friend! 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Jorge U. Saguinsin

"Be the best, do your best, expect the best"