The Secret to My Success (and Yours Too)

Someone recently asked me, “how do you stay organized with so many different things on the go?” This is kind of a funny question, and as I responded to them I thought this would make an excellent blog post that likely many of you can appreciate.

I don’t know if this sounds like you or not, but truth is I don’t know if I would consider myself organized or not. Currently I run one primary business (One-to-1 Fitness), I’m building another here with Profitable Personal Trainer, I’m working on some entirely new marketing ideas for a retail store I’m involved with, I run two body building events annually, and at any given time I usually have 3-5 ideas on how I can grow, change or improve any and all of the above. Currently I have 5-6 direct projects I’m working on and various items in various stages of completion (I actually think of these items as still being in the creative process.) Today I’ve already had 2-3 new ideas on how I can grow various parts of the different businesses; yes it’s true I quite likely have ADHD. This both a gift and a curse, with so many ideas the question becomes what do I do first? I think this is what many of you can relate to, the overwhelmed feeling of not knowing where to begin, the fear that it creates, and the only thing you are certain about is that you want to succeed.

If you want to achieve your dream in the fitness industry or any other I want you to carry this one thing forward with you right now, don’t be afraid to imagine, and if it seems like a good idea at the time, just start doing it!

This blog isn’t really about time management because even though I do outwardly appear to most of the people around me to get a lot done the potential for so much more is still there. The truth is as humans there’s only a select breed of us that can concentrate and work with high efficiency for long periods of time, and most of us that are not like that burn out or become incredibly frustrated trying.

Here’s how I have achieved everything and I believe this can work for you too:

1)      Keep a journal, ever heard me refer to my 1 or 2 million dollar notebook? My journal comes with me almost everywhere. Just about anything that is on my mind, comes up that day or whatever goes in that book. I have dozens of ideas written in this book. if I ever come up short I just start thumbing through the pages until I find one of the many I either haven’t done or it sparks my mind to begin thinking of a new one. Sometimes this notebook just serves as my memory; important must do items, a phone message, an important number, whatever it goes in my book. This way I can just rewind the days and if there was a notable event or situation I will find a hint of it there, no need to remember it, no need to let it contribute to the overwhelming amount of daily stress we all face.

2)      Keep a big list. That’s right, the master “To-do” list. But don’t keep it on your computer, your handheld or any goofy website like www.tadalist.com, you will never look at it if you do and it will never get done. Instead keep it written on paper on your desk, or on a white board in front of your desk. Write all the things you need to do on this list, order them if you wish, prioritize if you wish, though none of that is necessary. Just throw it all on there. Aside from adding items DON’T pay any further attention to this list at all! I’m serious, I mean that.

3)      The big 3-4, critical mass for your day. I think it was Tim Ferris that talked about this, or maybe Dan Kennedy. Take a small piece of paper, about a quarter page as a maximum. On this page write the 3-4 things from your master list that you will focus on today. By only having 3-4 items it’s not nearly as intimidating as your big list, and it’s much more difficult to procrastinate on only a couple of items. You and I both know a dozen other things are going to come up so having more than a couple critical things on your “To-Do” list for the day will make it unlikely that anything at all get’s done. Yet just like the small things we suggest to improve our clients health even getting 1-2 things done each day really adds up. Look at your master list, how many items does it contain, if you only get one thing done each day (so 25% of or daily list) or thirty things crossed off in the next month, how different do you imagine your business will be?