Let me show you below what a wise advertising great John Carlton says.

You work hard.

But you can be too lazy, too.

In fact, it’s in our nature to be lazy.  I often tell people that, if you really want to understand how the human race behaves, you must go watch the gorilla cage at the zoo for a week.  At first, you’ll just see a bunch of hairy apes doing their thing.  But soon enough, you’ll begin to recognize the many traits they share with us. Such as… being as lazy as possible, as much as possible.”

Here is one tactic that actually forces employees to get things done in offices:

Deadlines

Oh, they can be hateful things, deadlines.  Reminiscent of high school papers due, smog tests needed, so-and-so’s birthday coming up (when they expect something impressive from you).

And when you finally study on your own or learn new skills for which there are no deadlines from others, it can be tempting to abandon them.

Big mistake.  As inherently lazy creatures, we need deadlines to be efficient.

Deadlines make your goals become reality.  They form a brick wall in the misty netherworld of “tomorrow” that keeps you in line.

Deadlines should be an integral part of your study [exam success] plan.

The ONLY way to attack a problem… is to roll up your sleeves and dig in.  And have a plan that includes a deadline for finishing it.

This is not a small or minor hindrance in your quest for success.  I recently fielded yet another email from a rookie who claimed to desperately want to become “the best ad writer in the world.”

Okay.  Fine.  But his question reeked of fear – he wanted to know how much time each day he should spend reading books, about writing and advertising, and how often he should copy out great ads in longhand.

Not okay.  Not fine.  This boy is crippled with “can’t let the curtain come up” disease.  A pretty bad case, too.

Unfortunately… he’s got a lot of company.

This kind of question never even forms in the mind of someone truly seeking ad writing expertise.  You’re too busy making your goal a reality.  It’s not “how long should I prepare,” but what else can I do, right now, to make this happen?”

Action, not excuses for inaction.

You want to get into it up you neck, as quickly as possible.

I am brutal about my own deadlines.  I’ve never missed a deadline for a client – never – and I’ll be damned if I’ll treat myself with any less respect.  Even so… and even though I know the power of deadlines… I still waffle and hesitate to make them part of my plan for any project.  Because they can be painful.  You have to forgo pleasures and fun things, sometimes, to meet your deadlines.  You have to stay up late, and concentrate and focus and absorb and retain stuff.  And it hurts.  Mommy! I don’t feeeeel well.  I need to stay home today.

Nope.  Sick or stressed, crashed computer or stalled car, you gotta meet your deadlines.  It’s good for you.  (It’s true – nearly all the really successful people I know… the ones having fun achieving their success… rarely get sick.)

It’s also another of those little secret traits that set you apart from your competitors, no matter what goals you’ve set for yourself.  Setting and meeting deadlines is a major form of taking responsibility for yourself.  You become the “action center point” of any deal, because you’re the guy making everything happen.

And you’ll come to love your deadlines, I promise you.  Because, once you stop stalling around and making excuses and start setting deadlines… an amazing amount of things will start happening in your life.  And you’ll be the guy making them happen.

It happens fast, and it changes your life almost immediately.  So stop whining.  Embrace your next deadline.  It’s your partner.”

— this article is courtesy of John Carlton —

Please Note: Click here to see the article on raj bapna’s site.

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click to read more

A very nice motivating article. Don’t just read it, try to follow it in your practical life. I don’t want to be didactic, I just want to help you, if in case. Just click the image to read this article in full.

Thanks Raj.Similar Posts:

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Planning and Prioritising

“The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine”

–Mike Murdock (Motivational writer)

Use weekly planner which is to achieve your goals  given here.

Instructions to use easy weekly planner easily.

• Make  a list of everything you would like to accomplish today, including tasks that are urgent.

• Give a value to each item on the list. Use A B C valuing system.

A : Must be done

B : Should be done

C : Could be done

• Give a numerical value to each item on the list according to priority.

A 1                          A 2                            A 3

Following symbols can be used.

3 =   Task Completed

-> =   Planned Forward

x =  Task Deleted
=  Task Delegated (Put name’s first alphabet in circle instead of D)

o =  In Process

Avoid Five Excuses in Planning

1.   I don’t have time to plan.

2.   I already know  what I have to do, why waste time to plan.

3.   Planning  doesn’t work for me. I have too  many interruptions.

4.   I feel “tied down” when I have a long list of things I have to do.

5.   I don’t know how to plan properly.

What Management Gurus Say

• Maintain PRO (Planner, Recorder, Organiser) or diary – cum-checklist.

• Please develop the diary habit and you will feel happy, efficient and effective. It is not an easy habit to develop; but then there is no other way to get success  in your life.

• If you do not maintain a diary, chances are there  that you are either not serious about your job or you are wasting too much energy  and time on available activities

A very nice article written by Raj Bapna. I am sharing it here because I too seriously believe in this strategy of planning and prioritising the work in hand. Copyright of this article rests with Raj, I am just spreading the word across. If you want to know more about Raj then click here.Similar Posts:

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