Catalyst Action Tip

If you’ve been finding yourself stalled and distracted the past few weeks, you’re not alone.

Mark Richtermeyer, CEO of the Spitfire Group, is acknowledged to be a wildly successful serial entrepreneur. But even he isn’t immue. He spent a full day pouring over his company’s financials and nothing else. Then he interviewed potential sales people who were all so anxious they were offering to work on straight commission.

So he absorbed their anxiety too.

When he took a step back, he realized his entire view had narrowed in and he’d been focused on himself. As a result he’d joined in on the anxiety even further.

I’ve learned over the years that ‘navel gazing’ only breeds more anxiety. It’s time to shift your focus!

Ask yourself:

“What are 3 trends in the marketplace that I can leverage?”

Grab a piece of paper and note them down. Even better, get your mind stimulated by the work others have done for you – go get yourself a copy of 2008 Entrepreneur magazine’s December 2008 issue on trends to spark your imagination.

Create a list of the top 10 ideas that come to mind and spend at least an hour every day focused on what is possible. That will keep you heads up in the daylight and ahead of the pack in locating your opportunities.

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I wish I could tell you that there are ‘perfect’ environments and set ups for getting your work done perfectly. There aren’t! YOU need to create them for yourself, whether you’re in a home business, in shared office space or you’ve got the corner office to yourself. So, you need to know what make YOU productive or distracted.

I find myself nostalgic at times for the ‘real’ world – an office where I arrive at a set time, leave at a set time, and was undistracted by other things in my environement. A feeling of relaxation washes over me with the ‘memories.’

The irony is that there were plenty of distractions in those offices too.

Ask yourself:

“What are the trade-offs I’m making by how I use my office set up?”

Grab a piece of paper and note them down. I very specifically asked about ‘trade-offs’ because there definitely are several – things you’re aware of about your current set up, that you’ve forgotten may have actually solve annoyances where you were before.

AND solutions you thought you’d taken that have bred unexpected challenges of their own.

List them so you can weigh them and solve them this week – and get your attention and energy back where you’d rather have it during the times you’ve set designated for ‘work.’

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