If you’re reading this on the day it was posted (November 14, 2019), you’ve got 48 days until a new decade begins on January 1, 2020. Do you have any New Year’s Resolutions planned?
Here’s a better question: Why wait?
If you’re planning to make improvements, whether personally or professionally, there’s no time like the present; I’ll show you how to get started, easily, TODAY!
When you think about it, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to expect that you’ll instantly change your ways overnight. You’ll go to bed with ALL your bad habits on December 31, and magically wake up the morning of January 1, with all new good habits? Uh-huh. Yup. Sure you will.
I think it’s great that you’ve got plans for improvement, but let’s give you an honest fighting chance at success.
It’s fine and good to set New Year’s resolutions. But, rather than waiting until January 1, start implementing one or two or three baby steps towards your ultimate goal, NOW! ⏰
This way, by the time 2020 comes around, you won’t be starting from scratch. Instead, you’ll already have adopted some new good habits, and your chances of success will be infinitely greater.
If you know in your heart ❤️ that you need to make some serious changes, but you feel yourself resisting and avoiding, here’s why:
In our crazy distraction-filled world, we are all constantly bombarded with information—some good, some not so good—and we’ve trained ourselves to “filter out” almost everything. After all, who has time to stop and try to differentiate the good stuff from the bad, and then to take the precious time that is required to put good, newfound knowledge into action? ♀️
Most REALTORS® are always in “reaction” mode, and they rarely —if ever—proactively set aside time for business planning. Think of yourself like a pinball, bouncing around haphazardly. Sure, you try to control the flippers as best as you can, but that’s not exactly PLANNING.
If this is YOU, let’s fix that right now. Here’s your first baby step towards having a far more organized business in 2020, and beyond:
Start by re-reading last week’s post Rules and Routines.
Set aside an hour (or 30 minutes, or 10 minutes), every week, for Business Planning. I’ll tell you what to do with this time in a minute, but first, you have to promise to follow the rules, as follows:
Master Rule #1 – If I set a Rule, I MUST follow it.
Master Rule #2 — I agree to treat ‘Appointments with Myself’ with the exact same level of respect as I would treat an “Appointment with my MVC (Most Valuable Client).”
I will prepare myself mentally beforehand, I will start on time and finish on time, I will turn off ALL distractions, and I will give the task my FULL attention for the FULL duration of the Appointment.
Master Rule #3 — I will set recurring appointments for the same time and the same day. This rule ensures that you will form a habit, which is an essential part of the process.
You can decide the duration of the appointment and exactly when it will be. In this case, I suggest you start with a once-weekly appointment. Mornings are best, but you decide. If it makes you nervous to begin with an hour, start with five minutes, or whatever. I don’t care. Just get this habit started!
You won’t get much accomplished in five minutes, but if you follow all the rules, you’ll probably be surprised that you start to look forward to your Business Planning Appointment, and you’ll quickly expand the time.
For starters, I don’t suggest planning more than one hour per week or more than once per week. You can expand it later, but wait until you feel the urge to spend more time on it. I guarantee this will happen, but let it occur naturally. Do not spend more than the pre-determined time on your Business Planning Appointment. ⌛
Have you agreed to follow ALL the rules? This is essential. If you don’t follow the rules, you will NOT succeed. That I can guarantee.
Example: Your first Business Planning Appointment starts in five minutes, but you’re in the middle of doing something else, and you want to finish that first. OK, you’ve blown Rules #1 and #2. You fail.
If you want to succeed, you MUST honor the Rules!
Now is the time. To respectfully borrow from a famous phrase:
“It’s one small step for you. One giant leap for your business.”
I’m serious about this. Please stop reading this and schedule this vitally important recurring ‘Business Planning Appointment’ right now. Don’t worry about what to do with it, just yet. I’ll tell you when you come back.
(The theme from “Jeopardy” playing in the background)
OK! You’re back! Congratulations on making your first baby step towards completely recharging your business in 2020!
I’m dead serious about that statement, my friends. EVERY journey begins with a single step, and you just made your first step!
Now, what do you do with this time you’ve set aside? Simple:
- Make a list of ALL the stuff you want to do better
- Prioritize your list
- Be specific about each goal that you want to achieve
- Working backward, figure out each step you will need to accomplish to achieve each of your goals
- Take the first step towards your top priority
- Focus on one step at a time
- Book more Appointments with Yourself to Get Stuff Done, as needed
Stick to your game plan. If it’s one hour per week, and if you honor your commitment, I promise you will be amazed at how much progress you make BEFORE January 1.
Happy New Year, everyone!
