So, this is Christmas - Melanie Miller - The Profit Lovers

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So this is Christmas... and what have you done?

So this is Christmas

And what have you done

Another year over

And a new one just began

And so this is Christmas

I hope you have fun

Those are the words to Jon Lennon and Yoko Ono's "So this is Christmas (War is over)". I don't know why, maybe some weird repressed memory, but I have a physical reaction to this song. And, not a good one.

This song makes my guts churn

Sorry to be so graphic, but it makes my guts churn. Maybe, just maybe the line "and what have you done" is a little too punch-you-in-the-face-cause-you-did-nothing, for my liking. (Also, for anyone who doesn't know the songs origins, it was written about the end of the Vietnam War)

So what have you done?

The longer I am alive, the shorter the years become, and this year felt very short. Very, very, very short.

While bugging my Members Club gals about their final projects for the year, I was forced to cop to my own failings. Nothing like a bit of Members Club to mirror back some accountability.

Last-minute hustlin'

Realising I would be finishing yet another year with no BIG wins on the board (meanwhile my sister grew and birthed a HUMAN!), I thought I would get down to business, or busy-ness. Weird. I never looked at those words like that before. Business ... Busy-ness... hmmm..

Anywho, when you're nearing the end of the year the temptation to write off your plans and head for the greener pastures of 'next year' is hard to ignore. Fresh new stationery, fresh new dreams... fresh new Plan and Track.

But don't go there just yet!

I decided not to be the worst example of a business coach and Profit Lover by digging in deep and crossing projects off my list. Here is how I tackled them;

1) Chose the top 3 MUST DO projects
2) Brokedown each project into annoyingly small steps
3) Allocated an estimated time to each step
4) Attacked the smallest project first
5) Kept on attacking...
6) and attacking...
7) and did some napping...
8) and then attacking

I am three of the four projects down, and I feel like some kind of productivity hero when all I did was show up and do the work.

Honestly, it's a good feeling to cross those big projects off, and taking the time to plan out my attack AND assign times to each task, that is a productivity hack you need to steal. I could see that it was entirely feasible to finish those projects by mid-December, just in time for the summer holidays and my sister's wedding.

What if your projects are HUGE!

Set a goal to get to a certain point by Christmas (unless you're in a peak season like wholesale or retail, in which case, sell! sell! sell!) Reaching 50% or even 25% will give you something to feel good about as the year comes to an end.

What if you didn't have any projects?

Errmmm... I don't know how that's possible? I guess a business already at peak profit and running like clock-work probably doesn't have any projects, but for the rest of us.. you should have had a few.

If you didn't, 2020 is your year! What's the vision? What are the goals? What big project do you need to dive into to reach your goals and your vision?

Want the tools I used to cross off some major projects?

1) Click Up

I was casually dating Asana for years, we liked each other, but I could never shake the feeling that something was missing. Asana showed up on dates, held my task lists safely, but didn't go above and beyond to win my heart.

Then I met Click Up, an introduction from Coach Pamela (the worlds BEST reinvention coach) had me dubious at first, but with some persistence, and an open mind, I fell in luuurrvveee...

The best thing: estimated times and actual-time tracking!

2) Toggl

When you know your productivity is woeful and you're just a big ol' bag of human flesh and bone absorbing oxygen but achieving nothing Toggl will set you straight.

A simple Chrome extension will pop up like your own personal coach reminding you to track your time, and when you do track your time, you will get a helpful report at the end of the week to show you where you're investing your time.

Just knowing you have to answer to Toggl, well it makes you do the things that will impress Toggl.

3) Profit Lovers Plan + Track

Obvs. I rely heavily on this fine piece of spreadsheeting to set my goals at the start of the year, assign monthly projects and track progress.
The new Plan and Track is ready... but I also have a 15 Minute Profit Fix video to accompany it so I will send the link to download through soon.

Ok, gotta run... I have projects to complete and the countdown to holidays is on!