Yup, it’s hard to really keep things organized and moving forward smoothly.

As business takes off, you will find the things you’ve done in the past get you buried. And it’s hard to figure out what should be done before what.

When I’m managing a lot of projects, (and when am I not?), I try to prioritize them based on a few things:

1. How much time will it take?

This is especially important when you first start out. You want to focus on things that are going to line your pockets the fastest because you need to pay the bills! You also want to make sure you can do it along side everything else you’re doing without making anything else suffer.

2. What will make me the most money?

Again, money isn’t everything, but it sure helps – especially in the beginning. You can always do charity work later.

3. What am I excited most about?

If you can concentrate on things you are excited about first, that is optimum. You will find more energy for it and will be more passionate about it. In turn, you will probably get to a positive cash position faster! But be careful of ‘bright shiny object syndrome.’ That is, don’t just jump into something because it looks cool or excites you.  Make sure it helps your bottom line.

4. How will it affect the whole as I roll it out?

Will it take away from other things that I am doing? You don’t want a project to consume you so much that something else that you’ve worked hard on suffers…

5. Is it essential that I do this NOW?

All of us should have short term and long term strategies and goals. You can’t do everything now. Focus on what will get you where you want to go fastest now. Reserve the other stuff for later.

Post from: EveryJoe

Get it done faster. Part 1.

Although we’re already halfway through January (where’s 2007 going?!?!) it’s still as good a time as any to look at our goals.

In fact, you should be assessing goals constantly. Goal setting isn’t a time-specific activity. You don’t have to set goals only at certain times – be it at the beginning of a new year, every quarter, every month, etc.

Steve Pavlina points out that setting goals is about improving your present day moment. In essence, you only live in the present moment. If setting a goal improves your present moment, and thinking about it later on improves that present moment, it’s a goal worth keeping.

With that mindset, why would you ever limit yourself to setting goals at a certain time of year? Why would you only do it infrequently?

Set big goals. Go for it. There’s no harm in doing so. Big goals will usually give you a more positive feeling than micro-goals because they’re more meaningful and impactful.

But break big goals into mini-goals. Many people fail to achieve their goals because they become too daunting, too unachievable, too long-term. Breaking goals into mini-goals provides you with digestible chunks that’ll be easier to handle.

It’s a combination of benefiting from the positive nature of big goals and handling the tasks at hand that need to be accomplished.

What you’ll discover is that the sum of the goal’s parts is smaller than the whole goal itself. And each mini-goal will provide more positive bang for its buck by being a part of something bigger.

This post is part of our Business Channel Theme Day on goals for 2007. Please check out the rest of the posts at Home Biz Notes.

Post from: EveryJoe

New Year’s Resolutions Are For Liars