First of all, I am going to promote that you learn how to procrastinate. Procrastination is part of the devils work, unless of course it is part of your wonderful business plan. I procrastinate. I am very good at it. I choose when to procrastinate and on what subjects I want to procrastinate the most. So should you. In fact, if your business model is experiencing some very troubled times, I recommend that you learn how to procrastinate a lot. We will call this technique, "positive procrastination." I did not develop this technique. I borrowed it from someone else. It works wonders.
Every business model has junk it must wade through. Some junk is more critical to manage than others. Some junk needs to just go away and quit dominating our daily energy. A good example of this kind of junk is an irritating employee. Someone who is not productive yet produces a constant energy drain for the types of things they bring to the table that do not belong on a winning team, is a great example of an irritation that needs to be surgically removed. I have no problem cutting someone like this loose. Good-bye. Go find something else to do. Go find a better match to your employment life. Bye-bye.
Every business model has junk it must wade through. Immediately get rid of the junk that does not need to be there. Those kinds of decisions are usually very easy to make, unless you are mentally under water with too much stress. If too much stress is on the table, likely you have developed some defense mechanisms strong enough to hide that stress from yourself. I am good at hiding my stress from myself. My wife sees it long before I actually identify it. I once-in-awhile do a check up for myself. I pay attention and listen to my wife talk about stressful things. I check to see if she is talking about me. I am a strong personality and she knows that. She will usually approach me in a rather stealth mode to give me hints and suggestions. If stress is on my table, she is very careful how she tells me I am stressed out. I will see and hear little signs coming from her that will be hints that I need to manage my stress factors a bit more carefully. I pay attention to those hints like I am not paying attention to those hints. Find your method to manage stress and issues. Get some form of check and balance laid out so you can keep the monitor alive and well. Manage your stress better. Usually your health and attitude will tell you what is going on with stress. If you are splattered by discontent, everyone will be giving you hints! Open your eyes! It might be time to make some serious changes.
We will start to fix our troubled state of mind by learning how to procrastinate properly. First of all, your mind is already full of troubled thoughts. You do not need one more to be added. You have enough on the table right now. Take on no more new tasks. None. Learn how to say no, right now. The answer is "No." You do not need to add any explanation to the answer, "No." That answer will suffice all by itself. Quit trying to explain yourself away. When someone comes into my office when I am at the discontent stage of my business dealings, overwhelmed with discontent as they ask me to consider a new promotional idea or for an extra day off...my answer is "No." Quit feeling guilty about, "No." Ten years from now nobody will care about that little answer at that little moment. "No" will suffice for now. We will work on getting more balance at a later date when we get our discontent under control. For now, "No." Take nothing new on.
Are you taking notes? If not, why not. You need to take some steps that are described in this message. Do not commit them to memory. That is part of the problem. Take notes. Your notes should look something like this: This is serious business...Enthusiasm is necessary to produce...Let's catch some air, learn how to properly procrastinate...Every business model has junk...Find your method to manage stress and issues...it is time to make some serious changes...Learn how to say no, right now...Take nothing new on...Quit using your memory to solve your problems...Take better notes!
Now we are on track. We do not want to take anything new on because we need to go to work on the stuff that is already out of control. We need to focus on the old junk first, before we make some new junk. Let's stick to the current fires we are trying to avoid. New stuff added might work a lot like gasoline on old flames. Let's find some water instead of gasoline.
The first step we are going to do is list the issues of most concern. Make a list of five issues that are the most troubling issues. Write them down on a list. I hate them, too. They plague me just as much as they plague you. Here are some of mine from the past. One, the IRS planning to seize my business and my home. They produced a warrant. Two, an employee suing me for poor treatment with a hearing scheduled with the labor board. Three, two furniture delivery trucks totaled in two separate accidents just four weeks apart from one another, injuries included. Four, a rare wind storm ripping the entire roof off the top of one of my furniture store facilities, followed by unbelievable rains. Five, going to the bank asking for a quarter of a million dollars to survive a few more months with no immediate ability in sight to re-pay that loan. None of these real items produce stress. Wrong. Stress was running off the charts. My business model is splattered with discontent when these things happen.
Stop adding more new things to do. Begin to work on the things that are broken. Some business repair is waiting for some new directions to occur. It is time to rest the mind when the mind shows no signs of being able to rest. It is time to learn how to 'positively procrastinate.'
You made your list of the 5 most important things you need to tackle right now. Once they are listed on your paper, place a date you will begin to go to work on them right next to each one on the list. If next Tuesday is when you set the date on the number one item, then next Tuesday is when you will begin to solve that number one challenge. No sooner. You get to forget about it until next Tuesday. Go fishing, do something else. The most important thing you can do when discontent is out of control is to rest your mind. Forget about the items that are driving your worries off the charts. Do something you enjoy. Procrastinate on purpose. Schedule a time for a later date to tackle those issues on your list. Get them out of your mind for a little while.
Do not be stupid, however. If you have a court date set for you to attend on Monday with one of your pressing business issues, for goodness sakes do not 'positively procrastinate' it until the following Tuesday! Be smarter than that with your procrastination plans. You need to improve your batting averages with this repair attempt, not destroy the game altogether. Be smart when you 'positively procrastinate.'
Next, when Tuesday comes around, make sure you jump into your issue with full force. Make a mess of it. Go ahead and try some stuff you might otherwise not do. Just jump into the problem with all of your mind and body. Attack it to kill it. Get it turned upright and get 'er done. Mop it up, clean it out, change its look, process its paperwork, find its funding, develop its plan, kill its grip or destroy its discontent. Go fix it. It was not meant to be fun. It will likely be no fun. It is Tuesday, go jump all over it. Shock the people around you about your determination to eliminate that issue. Make sure everyone knows it is going away. Parade your effort to fix that problem. If someone reminds you that you have another problem, #3 waiting on your list, you just turn to them and say that problem is scheduled for repair on the third Tuesday of this month. I am working on this one for right now. Then get back to number one and continue to kill it. Take it down. It is Tuesday. That is when you said you would attack it. Until then, enjoy the fishing. You will not have time to fish once you start your repairs. You will be consumed by the challenges you will face to correct the ills of number one.
While you are attacking the number one challenge your business is facing, keep an eye out for help. Help is everywhere if we are looking for it. Be open to accepting help. Help is not a weakness, it is a strength. Learn how to add more strength to your business model. Ask yourself the question, "Are we having fun, yet?"
Good luck changing your discontent into more enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is what your business model needs to operate well. Killing the challenges that kill enthusiasm is a very good thing to do. Make a list, set a date, go fishing and come back on fire.
Until next time...
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