1. You waste time on analytics.
Data is a powerful tool to help you grow your business.
But only if you actually do something with it.
Otherwise, it’s a colossal waste of time.
Every minute you spend tracking, organizing, and studying your stats that doesn’t lead you to actually change something in your approach is a wasted minute.
2. You choose editing over publishing.
Editing is where great writing happens.
But…
There comes a point in the editing process where you’re no longer improving your content – you’re just stalling.
As Rick Rubin tells his artists:
It’s not getting better any more, it’s just getting different.
Press publish.
3. You don’t decide.
Nothing happens until you make a decision.
You don’t need more information to decide, the “right” answer won’t be magically revealed if you wait another week, and you’re never going to know for certain what the right move is.
Stop dragging your heels and decide.
Now.
It’s all downhill from there.
As Scott Galloway said:
It’s not the person who makes the best decisions who comes out ahead, it’s the person who makes the most decisions.
4. You do it all.
Doing more is a trap – it won’t make you more productive.
Doing less will.
Every single social platform has more than enough people using it for you to build a business more successful than your wildest dreams.
Just because you see an opportunity doesn’t mean you have to pursue it.
Every item you add to your to-do list reduces the odds every other thing on that list will get done successfully.
And every “no” makes room for a more valuable “yes.”
5. You chase the wrong goal.
If your newsletter exists to get you clients and you only need 10 clients…
Why is your goal to get 10,000 newsletter subscribers?
Aiming for the wrong goal leads to misplaced action, effort, and resources.
Don’t confuse vanity metrics or someone else’s goals with your true goal.
You’ll never be more productive than when your actions align with one clear, specific, measurable goal.
BONUS BITS:
• Here’s my favorite editing tip of all time in 30 seconds.
• Here’s a 3-minute excerpt from my podcast where I give you 5 questions that reveal what you should focus on.
• The Scott Galloway quote above comes from his book The Algebra of Wealth, one of 10 books I recommend if you want to get more clients from your content.