Episode 20: How Small Business Owners Avoid Procrastination and Why Group Coaching May Work For You!
Let’s get off the Procrastination Train! In this coaching episode, Fiona talks about how procrastination has always been a (sometimes unhealthy) habit of almost all small business owners. Listen as she shares her seven tips to help you get things done and be more productive without falling into the trap of procrastination! Fiona also announces the opening of her group coaching sessions! If you’re up to it, learn more about the details in this episode. Listen now!
Topics discussed in this episode:
Introduction [1:40]
Your Mindset [2:28]
Group Coaching [3:16]
Benefits of Joining A Group Coaching [4:03]
Procrastination [6:04]
What was the last business task that you procrastinated on? [7:52]
Seven tips to help you avoid procrastination [8:59]
1. Understand the Lure of Perfection [9:08]
2. Set Yourself a Deadline [13:19]
3. Start Eating That Frog [16:49]
4. Make It Public [18:50]
5. Join a group coaching program [20:29]
6. Plan Your Reward [22:38]
7. Start Small [25:00]
Group Coaching Reminders [27:00]
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Transcript:
Welcome to Episode 20 of the My Daily Business Coach podcast. You know, when I decided to start this podcast I told myself, “Fiona, if you could just come up with ideas for the first 20 episodes, the ideas for the first 20 episodes, you could do it. And here we are at episode 20!
So it feels like a bit of a moment. Thank you to EVERY single person who has listened to this and sent me a DM on Instagram or a text or an email. I REALLY appreciate the feedback and the beautiful reviews that people have left. If you haven't left to review, please do so. It would just really make my day. And it makes it so much easier for other small business owners who might need help to find this podcast. So thank you so much.
Today's coaching episode is all about something that I see everywhere, like in any size business and with business owners who are really well established and have been doing it for years through to those just starting out. It actually impacts everybody and to various levels. But, you know, it does impact everyone. And I thought I would also bring it up now because it's often talked about as a problem. And you will see so many articles kind of highlighting this as a problem. And it's like, yeah, we get it's a problem. But there's not often really tactical solutions given to this problem. Often it's just seen as a mindset issue. And while it definitely can be that, I think it's always great to have actionable things to do to combat the problem along with working on your mindset.
Mindset can be a big part of this issue, but I wouldn't say that it's all of it. I think sometimes we just need some quick tips as well and some quick wins to kind of get through this issue that we struggle with. And also, what I'm gonna talk about is something that I've been chatting with small business owners a lot in the last week or so as I'm interviewing people who are applying for my next group coaching program. So my program, if you didn't realise that I'm doing them, I have done a group coaching program 2019-2020, and this one will be over 2020 and 2021. And so it kicks off at the end of September 2020. In case you're listening to this year's ON, and it's made up of just 10 small business owners from anywhere in the world and myself. And I thought I'd just let you know a little bit more about it, as I've had quite a few enquiries.
So group coaching. Well, you know, what is it kind of in the name. But there are a lot of I don't really want to bag them out, but a lot of bad ones that I'd say that are out there so people can get the idea that group coaching is just like what they might have done before in group coaching, which is really where there's like, say, 40 or 50 or 70 people on a Zoom call, and you have the coach and he or she or they are just answering questions from either a chat box or a Facebook post or something else. And there's no real interaction. And it might just be that whoever's the loudest in the group kind of talks up or the person that's the quickest to put the questions into the chatbox. And I just don't really feel like that's actual group coaching. That's I don't know what that is. It's maybe just like a Q&A or something. But yeah, group coaching the way that I do it is very different to that.
So it's all about really driving genuine connection with the people in the group, which is why I limit it to just 10 as max. And it not only has coaching sessions every single fortnight, we work together as a group of ten with live coaching sessions and also sort of group sessions where we can really dive into the challenges that people are facing and have peer feedback as well as my feedback. You also get one on one coaching time just with me. You get a private Facebook group to have peer support and get feedback on things like homework that I've set. Or maybe you're putting together a new website or something else and you can put it up for the group to give feedback before it goes live. I also paired two people together. So you have a buddy the whole way through as well as the rest of the group. Hopefully we will meet in real life - COVID restrictions permitting. And what else? You get a full access to a library of tools and templates and examples for all sorts of things that you need in business. And we're even doing a business book club. I am really excited about these because if you're like me, you might buy business books all the time. But what tends to happen is either you don't read them or you read them and then you have no one to really discuss your thoughts. So my group coaching program includes the six of the best business books sent directly to your house. And then we have six group coaching calls to discuss these in addition to the normal coaching sessions. So these are on top of the fortnightly calls.
So, yep, that's a bit about group coaching and the group coaching program that's coming up. You can see loads more information on these, who it is suited for, the price, all of that stuff, testimonials over at mydailybusinesscoach.com/group-coaching or if you've got questions or you want to discuss it, you can send me a DM over Instagram and we can set up a free one on one call so that we can go through everything. And I'm just at @mydailybusinesscoach on Instagram.
So back to today's podcast episode. What is this mystery topic? You know, the problem that I believe can be solved with a group coaching program or seeing a business coach or all sorts of things. And I'm going to go through some of the tactics now. It is procrastination. I feel like I need all these sound effects. It's procrastination. And I'm going to talk you through how to beat it. I think there's this idea sometimes. And, you know, hang on, everyone. I know we're getting controversial, but I think there is this idea that we can just manifest things like if we want something badly enough, it'll just happen. And the fact is that, yeah, manifestation and visualisation and all of those things are absolutely fantastic tools - definitely have a place in small business. But there has to be action to back them up. And I think there's this idea that I'm just going to sit right here and, you know, manifestation station and wait for everything that I've ever wanted to come along on a train. And there needs to be work behind it that needs to be put out to the universe. But I'm also going to help the universe by taking action.
I don't know if you guys have heard it, but there's this famous story I think I might have seen in a film once. I think that's where it's come from. But it's about a guy who wants to win the lotto. And he's praying all the time to win it like, you know, "God, send me all this money." basically. And when he gets to have any Saint Peter at the gates, why he hasn't won. And Saint Peter says, "Why didn't you ever buy a ticket?" And I think that is key. You know, you need to be doing the work to help things come to you. And that really starts with reducing your levels of procrastination. But how do you do this? Well, I'm going to help you figure it out in this episode. So let's dive in.
So take a minute and really think about what was the last business task that you procrastinated on. We all have them - the days where everything in your office is absolutely spotless because you suddenly need to clean rather than press on with work or where you're suddenly super social on social media because it's a massive distraction from doing the things that you promised yourself you would get done or you're going out for coffees if you're lucky enough to be able to do that. I'm in Melbourne. We're in second lockdown. So none of that is happening. But you're doing all of these things basically to distract yourself from what you know that you're supposed to be working on. And I should point out here that procrastination can be good in small doses. I'm not saying, oh, you should never procrastinate. You should just be productive 24/7. No, no, no. It can be totally great in small doses because it allows us time to think and create some kind of breathing room. But between tasks or whatever these things are that we've got to get through. But what's not so great is when procrastination turns into an everyday occurrence or where it leads to a whole load of completely avoidable stress down the track.
So if you're finding yourself just not getting things done. Here are seven tips to help you stop being a regular visitor at Procrastination Station.
1. Understand the Lure of Perfection
So you haven't deployed the new website because it needs some tweaking or you have emails to editors in your draft folder and you've started them, but you've never sent them. Or perhaps maybe you've written an Instagram DM to that influencer or that person you want to collaborate with multiple times, but never sent it because you thought it might come across desperate or all sorts of things. There's so many examples of how we procrastinate. If procrastination was a kingdom, its queen would be perfectionism. So that is there and it's keen to remind you that nothing ever do will be good enough. And perfectionism really is a mindset that keeps you trapped in limbo land where you can safely remain hidden and never have your e-commerce site or your course or your membership or your retreat or your photo shoot or your event or your Facebook live critiqued in any way. Then again, you can never have any of those things actually influence your ideal client in a way that guides them to transact with you because you're just not doing them at all. So, yes, you won't get the negative or even just positive, constructive criticism, but you also won't get any closer to traction happening between you and your ideal customer. So you need to stop the overthinking and remove the idea that something has to be perfect in inverted commas before you put it out into the world.
So I have a weekly email that goes out every single Sunday night, Australian time to thousands of small business owners across the world. And this weekly email has been by far, my biggest driver of new client enquiries and brand loyalty. People sign up to the email and they are like, oh, I've been on email for X amount of weeks or months or years. And now I think I need to work with you. And for sure. Out of everything that I've done, that email has been the biggest driver of client enquiries. But these emails are not perfect and my sister likes to jokingly point out my spelling errors each week. But I send them still. I send them week in, week out every single week and they're full of business tips and insights. If you're not on the email list, you can get on it at mydailybusinesscoach.com. But the point is that I send them. I know that my ideal audience isn't going to unsubscribe if I've left a word out or I've stuffed up the grammar or something else like that. Of course I try to make sure that I don't do that, especially coming from an editorial background. But they're not perfect. They definitely have gone out with mistakes in the past or with links that haven't worked or something else. But the point is, don't let the idea of them being perfect stop me from just getting them out there. Likewise, if you've been listening to this podcast, thank you so much. But this is definitely not perfect. I ramble sometimes. I make jokes because I'm recording this right now in my office, in my backyard, and there's no one around. And sometimes I forget that this is actually going to be listened to and at the moment by thousands of people, which is incredible. Thank you. But I do stuff. I tell jokes. I do in jokes with just like myself. I sing. And if you've listened to Episode four, you have heard me like seeing Mariah Carey. And I don't edit that stuff out. I sometimes I think I should have edited. But I don't. I basically record this in one go and I send it off to my amazing editor in Canada - shout out to Scott and my amazing VA, Nezi. And then she helps get it into the world. And I could procrastinate and I could have waited even longer than I already did to put out this podcast, but I'm all about progress over perfection. And this podcast is an example of that. I don't have the best equipment. I don't have a perfectly pimped out podcast studio. But it's getting out there. I'm not letting perfectionism stop me from getting things done.
So take a minute and consider how might perfectionism be behind some of your procrastination. Are you judging yourself before you've even begun something? And how might you just bite the bullet and take action? So that's point one.
2. Set Yourself a Deadline
So I have been a published writer for, gosh, close to 20 years now. And I can tell you that when I first started out, I hit every single deadline given to me by an editor. I was like an A+ student. And as the years progressed and these editors knew that I'd deliver on time, many of them stopped giving me a concrete deadline. So instead of saying things like this is due at X date, they'd say, well, the new issue is out in August. So as long as you can get something to me by June, that would be great. And without a deadline in place, we had an exact date. I floundered and I'd spend days researching, basically just scrolling the Internet. And then suddenly I'd remember that a piece was due. And I frantically rushed to get it in by like the 30th of June. If they said June, I'd be like, oh, it's the 30th of June at like 11 o'clock at night. Here you go. But one of the best things I've found myself as a writer and also in my business is to set a deadline. So I set deadlines for things where there is no deadline. I set myself a deadline. So I set these in a paper diary. I set them in Asana, which links to my Google calendar. And also and this one is probably the best at keeping me accountable. I put them on a two week. I have a whiteboard in my office. I have multiple whiteboards. But I have a big whiteboard in front of me at all times. That has two weeks. Break it down. And I have all of the things on there that need to be done in those two weeks. And I have that hanging above my desk. So there's something super satisfying about crossing a task off that whiteboard or even just ticking them in Asana so that it pushes me to get it done in time. And if things need to be done today, say I've got something that I'm like, okay. That just needs to be done today. I use that tomato timer countdown tool and I have done a podcast episode on that. So you can find that that I do the tomato timer countdown tool and that gives me sort of 25 minutes to just power through and get on with stuff.
So another way to set a deadline, which I've also found useful, is to use the idea of lever deadlines. So levers are the things that you do to help achieve your goals. Now, I did a whole episode on - this Episode 13, so you might want to go back and listen to that one. It was all about how to set your goals and how to use levers to do so. But basically, levers are the things that you do regularly and consistently to help achieve a goal. So say you decide your big goal is to lose weight. Your levers could be exercising and eating well and you might say four times a week. And every Thursday at 10 a.m., I'm going to cheque in with myself to see how this is going. So those two levers eating well and exercising help you achieve the larger goal. And like I said, you could have it's 10:00 a.m. on Thursday that I check in with this stuff and it could be even other things that you're doing in your business. So it could be that you're trying to increase conversion on your website. And so you might save yourself by the 30th of each month or the 29th. 28th. If you're in February. But I will do a full audit of my website and review the metrics and then make changes to the website for the next month to help with conversion and on and on. So like I said, I go more into detail about levers and deadlines and that kind of stuff in Episode 13. And if you're super keen on things like deadlines and goal setting and all of that idea, you might want to check out the book, The Four Disciplines of Execution, and I'll link to that in the show notes. But that's point to set deadlines.
3. Start Eating That Frog
If you have ever come to my workshops or bought my online course, you'll know I mention Brian Tracy's book, Eat That Frog, in my list of business book resources.
And if you haven't read it, go and read it. But if you haven't read it and you just one quick, quick kind of Cliff Notes, the premise of the book is that if you had to eat a frog, it does you no good to just stare at it nor to put it off eating it. Like, if you had to eat a frog, it's best to just get on and do it. And the frog really in his book represents the hardest task. He calls it the ugliest task that you have on your daily to do list. So I can't count how many times I've been working on strategy documents for a consulting client. And I've done all the kind of easy points first, and then I spend way too long procrastinating on the larger pieces of work. And when I flip the script and do the hardest parts first or those that require the most brainpower. I find I get through them. And then I enjoy doing all the easy tasks at the end. So consider each day, consider like the three most important tasks you need to complete. And then look at those three. And get the worst or the hardest or the ugliest task out of the way first. So I use a mini whiteboard. You can tell that I like white boards. It's called a mini memo board. It's a white board. It's very small. It's on my desk. And I write down every single morning. I write down or the afternoon before I write. One, two, three. And I write the things that I need to get done the next day. And then at the end of the workday, I cheque that they've been crossed off. And I do where I can try and get through the things that I that are kind of the ugliest or the hardest first, definitely the third point eat that frog is something that can help you reduce the amount of procrastination that you're doing.
4. Make It Public
So this one's a little controversial. So decide for yourself if it'll for work for you. But one of the best ways that I've found to stay accountable and to stop procrastinating on tasks is to make them public. So that might mean rocking up on Instagram stories or in my weekly email or whatever the marketing channel is and literally telling people what you're going to do, telling them about something. So I'm launching this great thing or I'm telling, you know, even not public public like in front of thousands followers, but even just telling my brilliant VAs, like virtual assistants, that this is definitely happening by this date. And this is daunting. And there's definitely been times that I've said something is out next month and then spent another three months before it gets done. But but but but the extra pressure I feel to get it done is because I've told people so sometimes that's really the difference between doing it and letting it slide. When I launched group coaching the first time in 2019, that was definitely something that I put out there publicly. And I was like, okay, put it out. And it did need to happen. That needs to happen now. And then the same thing happened when I launched my marketing for your small business online course, which launch I think it was like mid 2019 or early 2019. And both of those could have easily just fallen by the wayside for another few months or even years. Let's be real. If I hadn't felt a need to stick to my word. So really making it public and show up to to honour whatever it is that you've said publicly.
5. Join a group coaching program
So I know this sounds like a total sales pitch, but whether it's my group coaching program or someone else's, I found that investing your money and your time into a group coaching program can be one of the best ways to avoid procrastination and get things done. And I've done this myself as well. So I'm walking the talk. This is I think because one, you have paid for the program and often we're incentivised to show up when we've put our money on the table or skin in the game, as they like to say. And number two, because you have other people relying on you to do the work. So in my group coaching program, there are nine other small business owners with you who are seeing every single fortnight the three actions that you say you're going to take because you publicly have to put them up in a forum that we have and we follow up on those. And people will cheque up on how you go on with that thing that you said you were gonna be working on. And you also have work. You have homework that you do after each session. And that means you are working on your business and you're taking action and you're not just busy in the business all the time.
So having these other small business owners around you as well as myself, because I do check in with everybody outside of the calls often like else in their Instagram DMs or Voxer messages or emails. And having that kind of support system can really be the thing that helps you stop procrastinating and start taking real action for whatever it is that you're wanting to achieve in your business. And like I said at the beginning of this podcast, the group coaching program that I ran only opens once a year, and it is open now. So I'm recording this at the start of August. And you can apply right up until September or the start of September. So please do get in touch if that's something that you're keen on. And if you want to find out more and apply directly, you can do that at mydailybusinesscoach.com/group-coaching.
So that's number five. Join a group coaching program or some other way that you're going to really invest your time and your money and have accountability to get off the procrastination ferris wheel will actually start doing more work.
6. Plan Your Reward
So I have spoken before about my love of trash TV. And I'm not going to apologise for it or act like I'm better than I am because I'm not. I love my trash TV and often my reward for getting through a difficult task or getting through whatever it is that I've got my memo board that had to be done that day is a 15 minute session of total trash over my lunch break or just, you know, I have a beautiful hammock that my husband bought me a while ago for Christmas and I might just take an iPad and go online on that for 15 minutes. And it's so small, but it's actually a great reward for me. Another reward I gift myself is buying a new book. So I absolutely love books and I buy them all the time. And with most consulting client payments, I buy myself a business book. And if I hit my annual revenue and profit figures, then I try and take all of January off. So this was something that I could never do when I worked for employed roles like when I was working for other people because I often worked in retail. So in retail, kind of head office in marketing roles. And if anyone is out there listening to this and you're in retail, January is definitely not a time that you get to take holidays. So that is a huge reward to myself. If I hit my goals, my revenue and profit, then I try and take all of January off. And having a reward in mind can be a massive driver to just help you get on with things and and to stop the procrastination. So really, take a minute again and think about, you know, what are you incentivised by?
For some people, what I've just said is like, oh, none of that would appeal to me, but they might have, I don't know, a major shopping spree that they get to go on or some other thing that incentivises them. I have an amazing client and I asked her once, what incentivises you? And she's like, knowing that I can put on Netflix and have a doughnut or ice cream. And that's a small thing, but it's knowing that she can completely switch off for the rest of the evening. So really, think about what kind of reward would push you to take action on something or reduce the amount of procrastination that you're doing in your life right now. So that's number six. Plan your reward.
7. Start Small
And this last tip is possibly the most important of all. Just start small. When I was initially planning out the online version of marketing for your small business, which was a live workshop that I'd sold out the last three years consistently, I found it quite overwhelming. This was my first big online course and I didn't really know where to start. And it wasn't until I took the time to break it all down into smaller steps, right down to which lessons need a PDAF, which lessons need transcripts or Canva templates or something else, that it became something I could see myself getting done between my client work. So often we procrastinate because the task at hand feels just far too big to ever get done. And that was how it felt. It felt like, okay, you usually run these eight hour workshops and you've got interaction all the time. I limit them to 16 people. So you have 16 people giving feedback and you can give feedback to them. But in an online course environment, it's very different. So that was totally overwhelming. But I did feel, oh, my gosh, this is so big. How am I going to get it done? But instead of thinking of it as a whole task, consider breaking the task down. SJust asking yourself, what is the next one thing that I can do now to move this forward? What's stopping you from just doing that one thing right now? Like, start small and that can really, really help when it comes to procrastination.
Look, I totally get it. Stopping work for short bursts can be absolutely fantastic for your mindset and your mental health. It has to be said. But stopping work altogether because you're just putting off what could potentially elevate your business is harmful. And it only leads to future stress. You'll be up late at night thinking, why didn't I do that? Why didn't I do that? Why didn't I do that? Trust me, I have been there. So I really hope that the tactics that I've discussed in today's podcast actually help you get more done and feel more in control when it comes to growing your small business.
If group coaching is something you’re keen on investigating please get in touch with me via IG @mydailybusinesscoach or email the team hello@mydailybusinesscoach.com. You can see everything about this program over at mydailybusinesscoach.com/group-coaching
So, that is it for today’s episode. If you want to dive into this further, please check out the shownotes for this podcast over at mydailybusinesscoach.com/podcast/20 (as in the numeral 20, 2, 0) where you can find a full transcript of this episode.
If you enjoyed this episode I would be forever grateful if you could share with your small biz friends and provide a review on iTunes.
Don’t forget to hit subscribe so you get all of these great tips and tools as soon as they land.
I hope you have a good week, that you are safe and sane and that things are looking up for you, no matter where you are in the world. Thanks, see you next time!
If group coaching is something you’re keen on investigating please get in touch with me via IG @mydailybusinesscoach or email the team hello@mydailybusinesscoach.com. You can see everything about this program over at mydailybusinesscoach.com/group-coaching
So, that is it for today’s episode. If you want to dive into this further, please check out the shownotes for this podcast over at mydailybusinesscoach.com/podcast/20 (as in the numeral 20, 2, 0) where you can find a full transcript of this episode.
If you enjoyed this episode I would be forever grateful if you could share with your small biz friends and provide a review on iTunes.
Don’t forget to hit subscribe so you get all of these great tips and tools as soon as they land.
