I’m always working on something.
Whether it’s writing an email, reworking a sales page for the 10th time, crafting a new offer, batching social media content, working with clients, or updating a product I made a while ago.
This might look overwhelming to many people.
More.
Some might fall into the trap of working on their stuff indefinitely, trying to get it “just perfect”.
Yet this is the least productive task you could probably spend your time on.
That 100th revision won’t make the difference. That one typo you fixed in your 2,117-word email won’t make you more money. That logo you redesigned won’t magically land you more clients.
Creating more content, launching more offers, and talking to more people. Now that will make you more money.
Which brings the question: how do you handle saying to yourself “it’s good enough” and just go with it.
My answer?
Public deadlines.
See, I’m a big procrastinator.
Always have been and always will be. I never get anything done unless it’s absolutely necessary. This has put me in a lot of trouble in the past. But it didn’t need to.
I realized it last year that I could use this to my advantage.
How?
By setting deadlines.
Whether artificial or real—setting deadlines is the secret to getting things done. Especially for a procrastinator—they get extra productive when those deadlines come close.
So imagine I have to write an email that has to be published by 8pm.
There’s no way I’m procrastinating on that one when the clock strikes 7.30. Neither will I avoid researching a topic for a coaching call an hour before I’m supposed to hop on the call.
But there’s one problem.
What if there is no deadline?
Imagine if you wanted to launch your newsletter or create and sell a new product. It’s your own project. You don’t have a boss to tell you when something is due.
But you do have (potential) customers, readers, followers, or whatever you call the people who like your stuff.
The solution?
You announce that you’ll be launching a new product before you even start creating it. Tell your followers that your course will launch in 2 weeks. Even stronger. Announce that your product is available for early purchase at a discounted price.
Now you have no choice but to 1) create a sales page 2) write those promotional emails 3) create a curriculum 4) design your product 5) figure out your pricing and most importantly 6) get everything done in 2 weeks.
No time to mess around. No time to procrastinate. And no chance for you to “keep gathering information and not take action”.
Now I’m sure this might not be possible with everything in life.
But so far I’ve found a way to apply this trick to everything that’s functional and important in my life.
Try it out for yourself and see how much you can truly get done in a short amount of time.
On another note.
If you’d like to discover my framework for writing high-converting emails that keep your readers engaged and coming back each and every day, without having to spend hours writing them (in fact, you could easily start writing emails in less than 5–10 minutes), then check out Email Valhalla here: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla