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Chances are that you are among the group of people who have a vision and a plan.  And chances are that you are among the group of people whose plan regularly gets interrupted or trashed because of…well…people, processes and technology that impact your job.

Whether we are doing an SEO campaign, testing a new Google AdWords campaign, or managing an email program, our days are full of distractions.  There are 36 million web pages discussing distractions by phone, by email, by text…. And of course there is a quiz about distractions to distract you.

Getting new customers, clients, or patients is an ongoing activity. While you can skip a day, it needs constant care and feeding.  So here are tips for keeping you focused from our friends at LifeHack, which can be applied to making your SEO campaign pop, your Google AdWords campaign ring, and your social media program purr.

1. Keep your vision/goals in mind

If you don’t have goals for your business, how do you know what you want to accomplish?  Does your SEO program need to have you generate traffic for 1, 5 or 50 keywords?  Does your Google AdWords campaign generate conversions, or just clicks?

2. Reduce the chaos of your day by focusing on 2-3 important tasks 

Remember Stephen Covey’s advice , “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing”? Marketing programs have objectives and ROI.  If you are checking an SEO program report, you know what actions are needed — more content, more backlinks, more reviews.  Or you may be waiting a few weeks to see the impact of your SEO efforts, and you can focus on other priorities today.

3. Do those tasks as soon as possible 

Science studies show that you are most alert in the morning, even if you need a cup of coffee for a kick-start.  Two reasons to do the important things first:  you are at your best and you’ll not be stressed during the day that they aren’t done.  Plus, there will be distractions during your day, so start as soon as possible.  Every delay of a social media or SEO campaign content post is a missed client or customer opportunity.

4. Focus on only the smallest part of your work at a time

Having the big giant goal that takes weeks and months can kill your motivation.  It can be discouraging.  Instead, remember the advice, “How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time.”  Focus on doing small, manageable amounts of work instead.   If your SEO program includes writing 4 blog posts, plan to write the first draft of the first post.  You’ve moved your SEO program forward in 30 or 50 minute increments.  If your marketing program includes getting backlinks, select 1 target today; you can pick the next target tomorrow.

5. Visualize yourself working 

While visualization techniques can be distracting, visualizing yourself actually doing the work (and enjoying it) can keep you focused.  Runners often visual themselves winning — the result — instead, image yourself sitting, standing, talking, writing, analyzing, brainstorming, sharing.  Think of your goal (see #1), select the prioritized task (see #2), and visualize yourself doing a piece of it (see #4).  Relax.  You know your marketing strategy and you know your business. Now visualize yourself executing an SEO program tactic or seeing data from your SEO campaign report.  Aaaah.

Look for our February blog post for an additional 5 tips.  In the meantime, NicheLabs invites a conversation with you about what’s working and what’s not working with your SEO program, Google AdWords, Facebook and LinkedIn paid ad campaigns as well as your website design and social media program.  Reach out to us with our website contact form or by calling 888.978.9254.

And if you need a break from the stress, please check out our client’s Mental Spa Moments.

To be continued…