Bad news seems to be everywhere the last few months with financial houses going bankrupt, buy-outs, bail outs, the stock market's ups and downs and consumer confidence sinking. These economic woes are out of our hands and to avoid falling into the pitfall of despair; here are 5 tips to remain positive in an economic decline.
1. Avoid TV: Don’t watch the evening news! More often than not, now throughout the first quarter will be scare tactics 101. All of the reporting of economic woes is simply enough to paralyze most business owners. Replace your typical television time with something productive such as learning a new skill or mastering an old one that can be beneficial to your business.
2. Re-visit the Master Plan: Go back to your business plan! It’s easy to get segway into other channels, but stick to your core. Relive the experiences that made your company vital to begin with. Extrapolate on that foundation and go back to your principal focal point. It will not only re-energize you, but will breathe new life into your team.
3. Re-acquaint Yourself with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: Something easily overlooked and often forgotten are the basic needs all human beings must have met in order to be productive. Remember to get the 8 hours of sleep, eat the major food groups and spend at least 5 hours a week in the gym. It’s not only essential for you physically, but mentally, as well.
4. Remain Guilt-Free: You haven’t committed a crime being in business for yourself or focusing on the latest sales goal, now is not the time to go soft or put your career and business vision on hold. Yes there are some serious economic crumbles going on around you, however stay focused and continue to push yourself to the top.
5. Simplify: Put down that blackberry every once and a while, stop multi-tasking and ease up on the self-imposed time pressure you’ve created for yourself. Streamline and prioritize what needs to be done and when, and tackle them independently of each other rather than all at once. You’ll get more accomplished devoting 100% to each task rather than diluting your focus across multiple channels.
What are you doing to keep a positive outlook amidst all of the economic bad news that is dominating conversation lately?
Posted by Pierce Mattie on December 11, 2008 5:20 AM
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