Staying Focused: Marketing Made Simple

Staying focused in a social world is becoming more and more complex every day. It's not uncommon to be inundated with tweets, facebook posts, IM's and other communications throughout the day. Although I feel that I've done a reasonably good job of managing these "updates", I have to admit that it's quite distracting.

Those who are successful with online marketing or marketing in general have learned to focus. I've been working towards improving my focus each day and reminding myself that I'm in control of my schedule. I know this is easier said than done. That said I wanted to share my strategies for staying focused on your most important marketing projects and getting them done.

Here are my tips and strategies for staying focused, being productive, and getting results.

1. Write down all of the goals and tasks you have. I never realized how exhausting it can be to keep a mental list of everything you need to do in your head. For a long time I've been in the habit of writing my goals and tasks down every day. Although my goals don't change daily, my tasks do.  The great Earl Nightingale once said that, "you can't manage time, only tasks." And he was right.  Each day, write down the top 3 - 6 things that you must complete to move you in the direction of your goals and don't go to sleep until you've accomplished them.

2.  Turn off the noise.  You don't have to unplug completely from Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Pinterest, but you should schedule time each day to login and interact.  When you establish times to engage, you'll be much less reactive and more in control of your time.

3.  Every day, spend a few minutes prioritizing.  If you've created a list of tasks, you're half way there.  The second step is to prioritize your list.  Start with the tasks that take the least amount of time to complete.  Are there a couple of tasks that you can knock out in a few minutes?  If so, get them done.  You'll feel a great sense of accomplishment and have a shorter list to work from.

4.  Team up with others to complete your goals.  Staying focus can be easier when you share the burden.  Be open to working with others and holding your partners accountable for specific goals and outcomes.  not only does this ensure completion of given tasks that others are responsible for but can help you stay motivated and on track.

These are just some of the ways that I stay focused on my marketing projects.  What are some of the techniques you use?  Do you have your own incentives to complete a campaign?  What other techniques do you use?  Share your strategies with other readers of the Marketing Blog!