Marketer of the Day with Robert Plank

Learn Some Self Control!

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Keep reading for a 10 second exercise that will boost your productivity…

I bought a laptop before the Hawaii trip, because I’ve been on planes before to go to seminars and hate the waiting on the plane, where you’re not able to move around much.  I’d have so many ideas for articles, but all I could do was write down the chapter titles on a piece of paper.  I definitely wasn’t going to write out articles by hand and retype them… total waste of time and easy way to get bored.

So, I bought a laptop for the flight.

If you’ve met me at seminars you’ve probably never seen me with a laptop.  That’s because for me, seminars were my only downtime from computer.  I don’t take nights and weekends off, I sure as heck wasn’t going to do MORE marketing during my only vacation.  I’d queue up lots autoresponders and e-mails before the trip so my business wouldn’t take a hit.

I like to sit down at my computer, get my marketing work done, then get off the computer.

So why did I buy a laptop?  Wouldn’t that wreck that system?

Nope… because I’m making an effort to exert some self control.  I set a simple rule in my head that I’m only going to use the laptop in 14 minute spurts, to either write articles or whip up PowerPoint presentations for videos.  No browsing forums or checking e-mails.

How do YOU get self control?

It’s simple.  Pick a task that takes up most of your time and kills your productivity:

  1. Checking e-mails, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
  2. Reading forums.
  3. Watching TV or playing computer games.
  4. Leaving the computer too much.
  5. Incoming phone calls.

Then choose one thing you wish you did more every day:

  1. Write one blog post or article.
  2. Write one chapter of an e-book.
  3. Write one sales letter.
  4. Write autoresponder e-mails.
  5. Send a joint venture proposal.

Now you’re not allowed to do that one habitual productivity-killing task at ALL (the number you chose), until you do the thing on your wishlist (the letter you chose).

If you chose “1” and “A” then your 1A productivity task is to write one blog post before you even check e-mails.  You turn your compulsion into an advantage… uh oh, someone might have e-mailed me something important.  There might be a pressing customer service issue waiting… better write up a blog post and PUBLISH or SCHEDULE IT (important… finish what you start) before you can check that e-mail.

Sure, you tell yourself you’re only going to check for new e-mails, but you’ll start deleting and archiving some, replying to others, and the next thing you know it, 30 minutes have been wasted and you still don’t have that article.

Or if your big habit is checking the forums, and you have a sales letter to write, then you need to be on a 2C schedule today.  Finish that sales letter and have it live on the page with the order button, or submitted to your client (whichever applies) before you check the forums.

Multi-tasking is a productivity killer.  Switching gears is a productivity killer.  Be aware of this, like I was when I bought my first ever laptop.

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