Are you doing things for the first time EVERY time?

Reinventing the wheel is a common mistake that robs entrepreneurs of time, energy, and opportunity. An uncomfortable sense of déjà vu is typically an excellent clue that you’ve fallen prey to this results killer. For example, you may notice that you:

• keep creating emails to different people that all say essentially the same thing
• come up with a great idea, then forget what it was, then remember it, then forget it…
• are in the midst of struggling to write a blog post when you realize you wrote a fantastic article on this same topic a few months ago and could just update that earlier work. (Now where did you file it….?)
• know you downloaded a great image from Flickr for an earlier blog post, but – after wasting time looking for it – are forced to conclude that you didn’t save it for future use.

Sound familiar?

If so, you’ve got a lot of company; unfortunately, it’s not the sort of company that will spur you to greater achievements.

If you’re serious about joining the ranks of really successful entrepreneurs, you get to become serious about leveraging your time and activities. That means inventing the basic wheel once, then tweaking it so you can appropriately use it again and again.

Here are some ways to start getting into this productivity-boosting habit.

• Look back over your sent emails to determine what recurring questions you’re answering. Create generic responses to these questions so that you can quickly select and customize the appropriate template at need.
• Evaluate what sort of questions you’re constantly being asked by prospective clients and strategic allies. Include these questions and the answers to them in an updated FAQ/Frequently Asked Questions page on your website. (In the case of strategic allies, it may be appropriate to provide them with a PDF, instead.)
• If your periodic forays into the back room of your WordPress website or aWeber email-marketing account make you feel like you’re starting from scratch every time, start a file of “miscellaneous technology tips” that you can refer to when necessary. (My own file on this topic is quite long.)
• Start files (computer or hard copy) to capture good business ideas, whether they pertain to marketing strategies, blog topics, or anything else. Use a text document, a spreadsheet, or any other form that allows you to collect ideas in one accessible spot so that you’re always able to tap them quickly and easily.

What other ways of systematizing your business have you developed over time? How have they saved you from frustration, wasted time, and missed opportunities? Please share the wealth by letting the rest of us know what you’ve come up with!

And if you feel you’re stuck in your own personal groundhog day, where you go through the same motions over and over and over and over…Start using the no-charge Take Action Now System™ to get unstuck. Just go to the box in the upper right corner of this page, and you’ll get your copy immediately.

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