Mass Traffic Attack: Mass Traffic Attack - Part 9. Removing Distractions

Removing Distractions

Some people are incredibly focused; they seem to have an almost natural ability to
determine which tasks need doing and then single-mindedly complete them.
Unfortunately, most of us are not like that, and I include myself in that number. When you are running an online business it is all too easy to get distracted. Sure, computers are great, without them we'd be stuck with having to run offline businesses, and using the internet is a great way to make money.

The problem is that there are so many distractions that computers and the internet can cause. Even without going online there are any number of great computer games we could play - “I'll just play the next level before I get down to work”. Once connected to the
internet a whole new world of distractions can open up. There's interesting web sites to be visited, forums to check on, Facebook, Twitter and all the social networking sites.

Add in email and instant messaging and we're still barely scratching the surface of all the potential distractions. That's the problem, we all have interests outside of internet marketing and a social network of friends we'd like to catch up with. In fact, this is just another form of procrastination, delaying what we should really be doing.

Sometimes we justify to ourselves that it's OK to look at news sites (“I need to know what's going on”), financial sites (“just check my portfolio”), or even Internet Marketing forums such as the Warrior Forum (“it's OK, it's business related, maybe I'll pick up some new ideas”).

No! No! No!

Because a quick “5 minute check” becomes an hour, becomes 2 hours and you've lost your initial enthusiasm to work. Separate your work time from your play time, or you are just not going to succeed. You need to take an honest look at yourself, and make a list of all the computer related things that stop you from getting on with your work.

Here's a list of a few potential distractions:

Computer Games
Web Sites unrelated to your business
Social Networking Sites such as Facebook Email
Instant Messaging (Skype, Windows Messenger)

It may be that none of those are an issue for you, and you are quite able to separate your 'work time' from your 'play time'. That's fine. Then this advice is not for you. If however any of those can and do distract you from getting on with your work, then here's a list of things I suggest you do:

Computer Games - uninstall them. Yes really, I've done it myself
Browsing Web Sites - only open up web sites that you need to look at for that particular task you are working on. If you are especially prone to getting distracted by the attraction of “web surfing” then close your browser down as soon as you have finished checking whatever it was you needed to check
Social Networking Sites - the ONLY occasion when it is OK to have Facebook, Twitter etc open during work time is if, and ONLY if, you are using them for something related to marketing. If not then close them down
Email - this is of course vital to our businesses. Set aside a time when you will deal with BUSINESS emails, when you have finished doing that, then close down Outlook, Gmail or whatever you are using.
Instant Messaging - unless you need to have a business related chat with someone then don't
open them up. Skype is a work killer; it's all too easy to get into long and unnecessary
discussions. If you need to chat with someone then schedule a time, but do not allow yourself to be interrupted
One final tip - only have those programs or windows open that are related to the task you are currently doing. If you're not doing anything that needs an internet connection, close your browser window. If you have finished with that Word Document - hit the “X” in the top right hand corner!
If you are particularly disorganized (and be honest with yourself) then please don't
continue reading this book until you have read the above section again, and applied the practical tips. This is very important; I can tell you from experience that until you organize your own work space and computer you will get nowhere fast with your online business.
Before I finish this chapter I just want to share with you a couple of tips that I use to make sure I get things done on time. I mentioned a few pages ago about using a “To Do List” or a “Task Manager”. You could use the “Tasks” part of Microsoft Outlook, many people do and that works well for them. However, they tend to be pretty organized folks in the first place, and this section is aimed at those of us who are maybe not quite so organized!

I DO use Outlook, mainly because I am pretty mobile; I go out a lot and I travel quite a bit too so I synchronize all my Outlook stuff with my smartphone. So it's pretty handy for
keeping track of things when I'm on the go. One tip I'd like to pass on if you're going to use Outlook - don't use the 'Tasks' section for your tasks!

It's too easy to make a list of tasks that you want to do and they appear in front of you day after day, you haven't actioned them yet and the list of overdues gets longer and longer. Yep, been there and done that. Instead of using 'Tasks' list all your tasks in the Calendar part of Outlook as appointments with a start and end time. That will greatly focus your mind on getting them done at the intended time.

I'll see you in the next chapter - AFTER you have applied everything from this chapter you'll be ready to write your first article!

Mass Traffic Attack - Part 1. Introduction

Mass Traffic Attack - Part 2. Why Write Articles?

Mass Traffic Attack - Part 3. Organization and Preparation

Mass Traffic Attack - Part 4. The Right Mind Space

Mass Traffic Attack - Part 5. How To Overcoming Procrastination

Mass Traffic Attack - Part 6. Gain An Efficient Work Space

Mass Traffic Attack - Part 7. An Efficient Work Space

Mass Traffic Attack - Part 8. An Organized Computer

Mass Traffic Attack - Part 9. Removing Distractions

Mass Traffic Attack - Part 10. Writing Great Articles

Mass Traffic Attack - Part 11. Structure