Clarity will help you get things done. When you’re fuzzy about what needs to be done, you tend to procrastinate. When you procrastinate, you create a backlog of tasks and overwhelm sets in.
Clearly define your tasks and identify only the next action for your task list.
Lisa Pressman, Seeds of Thought. Encaustic on cedar, 15 x 13 inches. ©The Artist
Instead of writing “Promote Exhibit” as a task, identify your next action for each area of promotions. “Promote Exhibit” requires many separate actions–it is not a single task. For example, you might have the following items as your next actions toward the “Promote Exhibit” goal.
Design postcard for exhibit Write blog post describing exhibit Add new contacts to mailing list database
“Next action” means that the tasks on your list do not have a dependent action that must be taken care of first. Always ask yourself: What’s the next action?
Beside each item, [...]
It happened again! I talk to a group of artists about using social media like blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. I tell them that this is part of a marketing program and that, yes, it will take time. I warn them not to get sidetracked using social media and forget to go into the studio–that the studio is always the priority. Still, they grumble, whine, and make excuses. (I had spies at the lunch table after my talk!)
Dionisio Ceballos, Pulsation 16 Yellow. Oil on panel, 16 x 16 inches. ©The Artist
ALL worthwhile marketing takes time. You would love for me to hand you the name of an agent that will sweep you off your feet and whisk you off into the stars, wouldn’t you? You’d prefer that you can just buy a bunch of ads or send out a single mailing and have all of your dreams come true. Yeah, that would [...]
Seeing January 1 on the calendar is enough to get almost anyone’s blood pumping. The thrill of starting fresh! The anticipation of creating new benchmarks and attaining new dreams! Oh, but wait. There’s a lot of crap that you need to get rid of –stuff that might get in your way if it doesn’t drive you crazy first.
What would it be like if the New Year felt . . . well . . . felt truly new?
This week’s action was first inspired by a previous edition of Rachelle Disbennett-Lee’s 365 Days of Coaching newsletter. She wrote:
I have what I call a Clean Slate week between Christmas and New Year’s. During this week, I clean my office, clean out files and cabinets, set up new files for the New Year and wrap up any loose ends. I also review my business and marketing plans and update them with my new goals for the [...]
I won’t say it was easy, but it has been an eye-opening experience to see how my core values fit with my work and my impending book. I always knew that my life and work were forever intertwined, but now I know why.
I have been working with writing coach Cynthia Morris of Original Impulse to help me get my book proposal together by year’s end. At our first session, she eked my values out of me. My list looks something like this (not in any particular order): Excellence; Peace; Passion; Contributing/Giving; Respect; Adventure; Action; Knowledge; Creativity; Efficiency; Family; Spiritual.
Cynthia also had me write out a work schedule on my calendar. I have deadlines for each section of my book proposal through the end of the year as well as daily tasks and other priorities that just have to get done. I thought my weekly task list might be of interest to some of [...]
|
|
