Take Some Action!

These are some comments I’ve read on blogs in the last hour:

“Great post! I’m going to think about that and maybe add it to my blog as well.”

“These are great ideas. When I start my blog, I will use them.”

“It’s something I’ve been considering for ages. I’m still not sure, but will see what other people say in these comments.”

These are all examples of procrastination! And it strikes me that procrastination is a pandemic in the blogging business, as I seem to constantly read these types of comment.

So why is this? I’ve been thinking about that, and I wonder if it’s because we have too much information available to us. I could spend my whole day reading other blogs which offer me advice about how to be a better or more successful blogger. I couldn’t possibly implement every idea or suggestion, even if I wanted to. I wonder if this is the problem for people?

Here are some symptoms of procrastination:

• A to do list that contains sentences like “Decide re whether to buy John Smith’s E book”
• An inbox full of emails you want to go back and read again
• Half a dozen half completed posts in draft
• Using phrases like “When I……………I will” a lot

The trouble is procrastination will kill your business. The only thing that can prevent it is to make decisions and take action, and that’s easy when you have a clear understanding of what your blog or brand stands for.

Here’s one tip that I use to prevent procrastination:

“Only ever handle a piece of data once”

So what does that mean? It means:

• If an email needs a reply it gets one as soon as I read it, and then it’s trashed
• If I read a post that suggests I should do something, and I agree, I do it there and then
• If I see a product that looks right for me and good for my business, I buy it right away
• These can only work if you segment your day properly – see Managing time effectively as a blogger

Taking action doesn’t mean you have to do everything – making a decision NOT to do something is fine, as long as you actually make the decision and move on!

Don’t get caught in the procrastination trap. Make some decisions and take some action now! What do you have swirling around your mind that you’ve been thinking about? Why not do something with it, right now?

Also have a look at:

1/ More time for blogging – two hour blogging sessions

2/ How to get your partner on board with your blogging

3/ Starting to make money with my blog