Perspective of the Day – Nov 2 – Focus on Your To Do List and Not the What If List

What You Feel: there are 100 things to do and when I think about all that needs to be done, I get overwhelmed and stuck

Perspective: Every entrepreneur has a hundred things to accomplish. Some are big picture, some are tactical and some take long periods of time.

It is common for entrepreneurs to come to work and instead of focusing on the tasks of the day, to worry about what is not getting done. This is counterproductive. Focus on the items you have decided to do that day. Focusing on the ninety things that you are not going to do, the things that must go right or what needs to be done over the next few months, is wasted time and effort. Once you have decided your tasks for the day, get them done.

Work the problem. Focus on the items you have determined require your attention that day. What gives the entrepreneur the path toward success is progress. When you come to work with ten things to get done, and you keep thinking about the ninety you are not getting done, you end up with two results. First, you are still not getting the ninety done. Second, you probably are doing a bad job with the ten you needed to get done.

Making progress is what advances the business and creates momentum. Focusing on things that are not on your list, are not on your list that day, or that need to happen, takes away from that progress. When you focus on the risk and bigger picture concerns, it can be debilitating. Focus on the tasks at hand.