Comments on: Planning What's Realistic (and Doable)

By: 3 Ways to Overcome Inertia

3 Ways to Overcome Inertia — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 16:02:01 +0000

[...] caught up in perfectionism, procrastination, fear (of both failure and success), over-planning and analysis paralysis (to name just a few of the mental obstacles that can get in the way of starting something). [...]

By: Your Best Business Asset: An Accountability Partner

Your Best Business Asset: An Accountability Partner — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 14:01:57 +0000

[...] to keep me grounded in reality. I can talk myself in or out of anything, so if I’m trying to make decisions, there are times when it’s easy for me to talk myself into doing something that might not the [...]

By: 9 Traits of a Successful Entrepreneur

9 Traits of a Successful Entrepreneur — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:01:54 +0000

[...] Knowing where you’re going is the first step to achieving your dreams, and a clear vision and plan will help you reach them. Even as conditions change in and around your business, always have a [...]

By: Erin

Erin — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:02:16 +0000

I use Labels in Google Apps – Once an email is dealt with, it gets filed. The benefit with Gmail is that if a response comes into my inbox, it gives me the full thread. This way, once I’ve replied I get it out of the inbox so it’s no longer distracting, and if there’s a reply, I never have to go digging in archives for the original thread.

I use Tungle (disclaimer: I’m from Tungle) to eliminate scheduling hassles. It lets me send meeting invitations that propose multiple times, and then handles everything – time zones, double bookings, replies and even updating my calendar. If someone wants to meet with me, I can send them my Tungle.me link and let them propose times. It literally saves hours every week. More importantly, I’m not distracted all the time with those emails – “Tuesday doesn’t work me, but what about Wednesday at 3 or Thursday at 12?” – you know the ones.

Finally, I use a good old fashioned to-do list (pen & paper) to keep my priorities in order. It helps me “see the forest through the trees” :)

By: Amber Weinberg

Amber Weinberg — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:18:05 +0000

I also think if you’re wrestling with unprofitable projects, or projects you don’t want to do – don’t accept them. I try to only take on the projects I’m going to enjoy – which is why I stopped designing awhile ago so I could spend all of my time coding in CSS/HTML which is what I really love to do. I keep my iCal open so I can see when everything is do and schedule everything out, as well as the To Do list in iCal to hold the projects I want to add to the portfolio, clients who owe me money and the daily marketing tasks I try to tackle :)

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:51:01 +0000

Thank you for putting in words the struggle I seem to face everyday. Now if I just follow your guidance.

By: Project Management Hut

Project Management Hut — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:39:31 +0000

Here’s another one:

I must drop any project that is of no value.

Finishing stuff is an excellent thing to do, but killing unprofitable projects is better than finishing them.

And another one:

Make fast yet informed decisions. Procrastination is the enemy of success.

By: Mike Mesh

Mike Mesh — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:25:33 +0000

I can certainly identify with pen and paper and just roughing out what can be done. Computers connect to Google that leads to every distraction possible. That was the main reason I got involved with writing MeshWrite so that I could flip to a distraction free view and concentrate on what’s important. No one solution is right for everyone and I certainly use my fountain pen and a pad of paper with my computer switched off if I really need to think about what really should be done next!

Good article. I will certainly keep an eye on your future posts. :-)