Focused Action Required for Online Business Success
One acronym for F.O.C.U.S is Follow One Course Until Successful. Focused action can also mean turning your back on the audience so you can guide the orchestra to produce beautiful, melodious, well-coordinated music.
Last week I attended the 8th Grade Graduation Ceremony of one of my young friends and a segment of the ceremony was a musical piece by the 8th grade band…and what a beautiful selection it was! As I watched and listened my eyes were captured by the movements of the teacher who was conducting the band.
Her back was to the audience and her attention was focused on guiding, by the movement of her hands and the baton, the orchestra so that each member of the band knew exactly when to come in, and when to play louder or softer. This ensured that we, the audience, derived the best enjoyment from the musical piece.
As entrepreneurs we are the band leaders or conductors of our orchestra – our business. Just like a band with several different instruments, there are many parts to our business and we have to decide when to give each part our undivided attention so we can create music – profits – for online business success.
Focused action is an ongoing challenge for many of you as it is for me because of the distractions, online and offline, in running a business. The decision has to be: Will I turn my back on those distractions and focus on my business for specific time periods?
One of the things that has helped me to get better results and accomplish more online business success is to set aside time- blocks where I give focused action to my business for 90 minutes to 3 hours, without interruption. I take a break for 15 minutes then go for another 90 minutes or more.
This is one of the strategies taught by Helen Raptoplous in the 30 Day Productivity Challenge membership. If you'd like to learn more productivity strategies to renew your focus, you're invited to join Helen for a FREE actionable teleseminar on Thursday, June 23, 2011 at 4:00 p.m. EST. Go ahead and register at http://budurl.com/HRprod.
In the meantime, why not set aside 90 minutes when you turn off everything except your computer or whatever you need for your specific online business and spend some focused time working for your online business success? The last time I did this I had incredible results in moving forward. I'd love to hear your incredible results.
And- just like conductors practice for hours and hours- we need to plan to insure that we have all those instruments coming in “on cue” and “in tune”.
1I like the F.O.C.U.S is Follow One Course Until Successful. I agree with it but also sometimes there is a balance point where you have to let something go Its a tough call usually the thing is most people quit long before they should.
2Enjoyed the post Yvonne
Hi Yvonne,
Wow what a powerful post. I love the acronym and it’s so relevant!
I work best in time blocks too. I usually do 60-90 minutes and then take a break. If the project requires more time, then I allocate 3 blocks of 60-minutes with 10-15 minutes break in between. What I think most people tend to do is to skip those breaks.
For me they are essential as it helps you mentally take a break and come back refreshed!
Thanks for this great post!
3Diana
So very true, Roy. How disappointing (and disruptive) it would be if we fail to practice regularly and find that some of our instruments are not working properly when it’s time to play! Our actions have to be consistent in our business, and we will only get better and closer to our goal if we work at it consistently.
4Knowing when to let something go is so important, Roberta. Unfortunately, as you mentioned, success would often be achieved if people just tried one more time – practiced just a little harder – before they gave up. Thanks, Roberta.
5Thank you, Diana. You mentioned something that is so very important – taking breaks! People who don’t suffer from severe fatigue and all sorts of aches which they blame on working. Our mind and body really need those breaks. “…it helps you mentally take a break and come back refreshed!”
6Love this post! I have such distraction issues and I am getting out the timer right now!
7I have to use time blocks or I call them, block out times. lol
Great post Yvonne and analogy — focusing on our business is key and distractions can rob us of gaining ground towards our success.
I always feel so much better when I can accomplish tasks and goals. Even when my block out times is for family and friends, which is also just as important!
8I had never heard of that acronym before and I especially loved your orchestra conductor analogy, Yvonne! I often feel bad about “turning my back” on others, but I need to make sure I do so; otherwise, i wouldn’t get anything done!
I was using the Pomodoro method of 25-minute blocks, but I’ll definitely try your 90-minute block suggestion as well! =) Anything to keep me focused!
Awesome post, friend! =)
9LOL, Maureen! I can relate to those distraction issues and purchased a time for just that reason last year. Thanks for stopping by.
10We wear so many hats, Lynn, that it’s so easy to forget to allot time to personal matters (hope we never forget the spiritual ones) and family should be a priority. As I was writing this my daughter walked in to my office and needed my opinion on something. 🙂 We just have to use good judgment and balance.
11I’ve never heard of the Pomodora method, Sam. Can you share more on that. You know, many of us who are a little ADD or any other title like that may actually prefer 25-minute blocks of time whereas that would not work for me as I take a little time to build up to a point where I can just keep going. I’d encourage you to try the 90-minutes and post your thoughts. Thanks, Samantha.
12Absolutely, Yvonne! The Pomodoro method was named after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer the creator of the method used in university. In the method, you work for only 25-minute chunks of time and get 5-minute breaks. Every four Pomodoro sessions, you get a longer break of 15 minutes!
Your 90-minute method has been working really well for me this past week! Thanks for the suggestion! =)
13Thanks for the explanation of the Pomodoro method, Samantha. I’m also excited that the 90 minute time blocks are working for you. I’ve been doing that this morning in working towards completing my goals for June, but it’s time to take a break. 🙂
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