selective procrastination
Procrastination has a bad reputation! Most people feel that any type of procrastination is a bad idea. The old saying “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today” is good advice, but not always. In fact, you can make a friend out of procrastination, and it will reward you handsomely.
You have probably heard of the Pareto Principle. Also known as the 80/20 Rule: 80% of your revenue comes from 20% of your customers. 80% of the clothes you wear come from 20% of the clothes you own. 80% of your customer service problems come from 20% of your customers. And it goes on and on.
How about 80% of your results come from 20% of your activities? In most cases it’s true, isn’t it? If you document how you spend the minutes and hours of your work week or month, and which of those activities actually impacted your bottom line, you should find that the majority (dare I say 80%) of your bottom line and income come from very few of their activities (dare I say 20%).
If that’s the case, start postponing the 80% and prioritizing the 20%. Sure, many of your 80% type activities will need to be completed at some point. But they should NOT be your priority.
The best thing you can do RIGHT NOW to impact your results is to identify the 20% of your activities that drive the most results and start prioritizing those activities. In other words, procrastinate 80%.
You will be amazed at the results. I tried this early in my career, and it was the point where I went from perpetually earning $60-$70K per year to consistently earning over $100K in annual earnings.
Identifying the 20% of your activities that actually drive results can have a powerful impact on your success!
How can you identify that 20% of your activities that you can focus on and that 80% that you can leave for selective procrastination? Through accurate analysis, meticulous sales forecasting, and reviewing the history of sales success within your company.
Whether you’re self-employed or an executive in a sales-driven business, taking the time to find out where and when sales were made and why can help you identify where you need to focus your activities to enable sales success and sales numbers that continue to grow.
Remember, taking the time to assess what you need to do in the future will give you the tools you need to solve whatever solutions selling problem you’re struggling with, and the results will take your sales revenue to a whole new level.
