As any good Online Business Manager will tell you – juggling is an essential part of the job! With so much going on every day you need to be able to keep all those ‘balls in the air’ so to speak.
Whether you are juggling balls or projects, here are a few tips to help you out:
Decide what you are going to juggle.
Balls? Beanbags? Apples? Recommend that you start with something simple, don’t attempt to juggle chainsaws on your first try! (Saw a guy do that on America’s Got Talent the other night, yowza… had to cover my eyes.)
What you decide to juggle will make a big difference in your success (and enjoyment!) Don’t attempt to juggle all the pieces of a huge project in your business if you are already overwhelmed, stressed or new to the task at hand.
Start with 3 items and build up from there.
Any juggler will tell you to start with 3 items, and slowly build up to 4 or 5 when you are ready.
One of my favorite productivity strategies is to pick 3 things each day that you want to get done. Pick those that are closest to the money – the ones that you *really* want to finish and will bring you (or your clients) closer to increased revenue. Work on those first, and then dive into any other projects (time permitting). This is a great way to ensure you are making progress in your business and not getting caught up or distracted by your giant pile of to-dos… and not actually accomplishing anything by the end of the day.
Get rid of distractions.
It’s really hard to juggle when you are constantly being interrupted by email, phone, kids, barking dogs, etc. Find yourself a quiet place where you can relax and focus. Close the office door. Shut down your email (and Twitter account!) Maybe play some nice music in the background.
Get help if need be.
If you are buried in ‘to-dos’, perhaps it is time to pass a few of those balls along? Again, it’s really hard to juggle more than a few things at a time… if you have lots of balls to juggle give yourself a break and explore hiring someone to take a few off your plate.
When you are frustrated step back and take a breath…
If you are feeling frustrated and stressed out you will start to drop the balls! The best juggling occurs when you are calm, focused and ‘in the zone.’ Stop for a moment, take a short break and come back to it when you are feeling re-energized.
Juggling is meant to be fun.
There is a reason that clowns like to juggle – it’s fun! This may sound wierd, but I actually get alot of enjoyment out of the online business ‘juggling’ that I do – it’s the OBM geek in me, hehe. When i’m in the zone, juggling away and getting lots of stuff done I love it! The hallmark of a great OBM is how much they enjoy juggling…
And for you business owners in the crowd – if you don’t like juggling or it’s getting to be a bit much for you, perhaps it is time to hire an Online Business Manager? Check out the OBM Directory for a list of top notch folks.