We have all done it. The “okay I just have to do this, this, and
that, and then I’ll work on my online business tasks after.” line
that we feed ourselves.
Some people can do it in that order and be okay with it. Some
people can do it 9 out of 10 times and be okay until the 10th
time. And some people end up realizing at the end of the day that
they still have not done ANY of the income producing activities
for that day and are stuck either burning the midnight oil to
play catch up or end up having a double stack of a to do list for
the next day.
The reason I am mentioning all of this is because I am JUST as
guilty of this as everyone else.
You see, usually I am an income producing activity machine. I
have my to do list all done up and after i get up and have
breakfast, I get to crankin’ on my list of income producing
activities. In case you are not familiar with exactly what IPA
(income producing activities) are, let me give you some examples-
emailing your subscribers on your email lists, advertising your
business, writing blog posts and other ad copy, checking and
maintaining a social media presence on Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, etc. Contacting business leads and engaging with them
via Skype or telephone, or on Facebook messenger.
This is not a complete list, but hopefully you get the idea.
In business online email marketing is still king. Meaning,
building your list is a must, as is engaging with your
subscribers via follow up emails and email broadcasts with
relevant, helpful, and useful content.
The other piece of the puzzle is following up and engaging people
that you are in contact with via social media. You must post to
your fan pages daily and be active in social media groups,
forums, blogs that are related to your particular area of
whatever online business niche you are in.
Some days it is easier than others to get all these things done
and produce all the related content for these daily tasks. Some
days the words just flow through you. And some days you can’t.
Some days it just sucks as you stare at your computer screen and
can not find the words.
Sometimes it can be more than writer’s block. This is an
uncomfortable truth, but a lot of people online, including
myself, have health issues that can impact their daily business
tasks. I know people that have chronic illnesses that really
really kick their ass sometimes and they are out of commission
for days or weeks. That’s just life. It happens, both online and
off.
I am not looking to garner sympathy, I am just being real. I will
use myself for an example- I am a 40 year old male who has low
testosterone. I found out when I was 25 years old that my
testosterone levels were 134 nG/dL (nanograms per deciliter).
Normal low is 250 nG/dL and normal high is around 1000.
How I found out was that I was sleeping 12 to 16 hours, had no
energy etc etc. I was power lifing at the time and following my
diet and training to the letter with one of the best trainers in
the business. He could not for the life of him understand why I
was not progressing past a certain point. So I got worked up by
my doctor and we tested for everything from A to Z. Nothing.
Then (sadly) I researched my symptoms myself and it looked like
low T. Which was weird because I am 6 foot 2 and at the time I
was 285 pounds and was at the time playing around with 320 pounds
on the bench press, pulling 300 plus off of the floor for
dead lifts and squatting 350 and leg pressing 720 for reps. So I
did not look like low T but I FELT like it. So my doc tested my
levels and there it was. Neither of us could believe it. So I had
him test my levels two more times to be sure. It was, in fact,
Low T.
The reason I have low T , come to find out is due to the fact
that I was a premie. I was born 2 1/2 months premature, weighed 2
pounds 2 oz, and was not expected to live through the night. So,
basically, since I was “under cooked”, so was my system that,
later in life, would be responsible for producing my testosterone
levels.
Enough of that- back to today- well, back to yesterday- and my
point-
I continued training with weights and still do to this
day. I am no longer in my 20s so I train smarter not harder and
am not power lifting. I lift weights for general health and follow
a more fitness/bodybuilding program,But I have to be careful still
not to overdo it in the gym. Yesterday was a prime example of
this. I am part of an amazing business called NowLifestyle that
is still in pre launch and is seated in the health and fitness
niche and that is pretty much my only focus at this point.
Whether it is 5 minutes from now, or 5 years from now when you
see me again, I will STILL be working in NowLifestyle. That’s
just a fact.
So- one of the parts that is important to me is to be ” a product
of the product” meaning I try to stay as healthy and fit as I can
for two reasons, one is that I am a nurse by trade and I have to
keep fit to help move people who can not move themselves when I
do work as a nurse. I also keep in shape in order to be a leader
in my NowLifestyle business and lead by example, I just mean
being as healthy as I can be for ME personally. I certainly do
not look like Mr. Olympia, and probably never will, But I take my
leadership responsibilities to heart, and as such, make an effort
to go to the gym 3 to 4 times a week and really watch my diet.
Well that backfired on me yesterday. I got up yesterday, spoke
with my business partner Richard on Skype and touched base about
some things. Then I went to the gym and had worked out. I had
started a new workout program this week. Short version is that I
pushed a little too hard at the gym and, due to my low T- it
TANKED my energy levels for the rest of the day. I got back, was
exhausted, and took a nap, which turned into oversleeping and cut
into my income producing activity time.
So I got some
advertisements out, but fell short on sending emails and on social
media engagement. Also, this blog post should have been done
yesterday. It does me no good to lead by example in my team if I
never get my ads out or engage anyone because I have screwed
myself over physically and sleep through work time. Ya get me???
So, you see it happens to everyone, including me. We are all only
human, and do the best we can with what we have to work with. One
day at a time, one task at a time is all ANY of us can do.
I do have some ways that I was thinking of for me to not have
this type of thing happen to me again. I thought that I could
also share these strategies with you and that they may help you
in your daily efforts.
1) Eat breakfast FIRST. Advertising, marketing, writing content,
and talking with people is always easier when you have a
functional blood sugar level.
2) Always schedule your IPA (NOT the beer! Income Producing
Activities) for when you are fresh. Get these done before your
day has a chance to go sideways on you. After all, the unexpected
does happen. Work and family emergencies, health ailment flare
ups, computer glitches all happen at the worst times. So get the
IPA in early, hopefully before any of these get a chance to drop
in on you.
3) When you do write content, be it emails for your lists, or
blog posts, if you are feeling good that day, like the words are
flowing, take that opportunity to pre write some content ahead of
time and have some on tap for later in the week, month etc.
Having two or three blog posts and email follow ups already
written in advance can definitely come in handy when and if the
unexpected does happen, or writers block comes to visit, you can
just copy and paste what you need and press send.
4) Take 10 minute breaks. Up and out of that chair for 10 minutes!
Stretch! Get a cup of joe or some water. Make sure to set your
timer for 10 minutes so you don’t get side tracked and when that
bad boy rings, get back to it.
5) This should be number 1- stay the hell off of social media
while working!!! I turn off my Skype and Facebook notifications
and silence my phone when advertising, writing blog posts, and
writing other content.
It is WAY too easy to see a post (such as
in the Now Lifestyle private Facebook group) or in my team’s Now
LifeStyle own private Facebook group and get drawn in to liking,
following, and commenting. Then , before you know it an hour has
gone by and you have gone from posting in that group to watching
cat videos. That slope is SUPER slippery and easy to fall down
into. I have done it hundreds of times. Hence why I turn it all
off.
6) For the reasons as stated in number 5, I save social media
marketing and engagement for last after all content and mailing
of my lists is done. It’s just safer that way for me.
7) Wherever you do what you do online, be sure to have a quiet,
distraction free part of your home that you can do it in.
And be sure everyone knows that x amount of time while you are
working is do not disturb time. Sounds kind of like a dick move,
but it is necessary in the long haul for maximum productivity.
In closing, you know your body and mentality better than I ever
will. These above are just examples of what I have been through,
and things I have thought of to prevent myself, and hopefully
others such as yourself, from having these same problems.
Until next we meet-
Don’t Be Afraid, Live Free!
-Seely “The Lion” Clark IV
