The World According to Mitch Fanning

Being a marketing guy, I’ve spent a lot of my time understanding how to get your attention. I think it was Seth Godin who once said, “In an attention economy, marketers struggle for attention. If you don’t have it, you lose.”

It’s true.

Modern life is overloaded with demands on your attention. Right now you’ve got: people trying to sell you stuff, work to do, people to call, new messages on Facebook and Twitter to read, people trying to sell you MORE stuff, e-mail to check, TV to watch and errands forget about. Everyone has too many things to do, and too little time to do them all.

So what’s my point, right?

(more…)

REALLY.

When I joined Facebook back in 2007, I didn’t think it all the way through.

And now I have to do something drastic…

By mixing business and personal in the same account, here on Facebook. I was no good to anybody. Here’s a few highlights:

* Personal friends and family who weren’t interested in my business found themselves with lots of marketing messages. I’m amazed at anyone who ’stayed a friend” – but that’s another note all together.

* Business partners, associates, etc., got a bunch of confusing personal updates when they were trying to get work done. So much for “Market to Message Match.”

So, here’s what I’ve done:

I’ve set up a “Page” at Facebook where I’ll be focussing on the “Business” and “New Media” side of Mitch. You can see it here (please click to “like” it as I need 25 “fans” to claim my customized URL – /mitchfanning…yes, I’m begging).

It should be a fun place to meet up and chat.

Here’s the link one more time.

In the meantime, I will be using my personal Facebook profile for close friends, colleagues, and of course, family only.  I’m sure this move will offend a few. Please understand it is certainly a drastic move – but one I needed to take.

Didn’t mean to offend – sorry if I did.

Respectfully yours,

Mitch

This is part 3 of a series, which outlines some of the systems, principles, and tools I’ve used over the past 10 years to fine-tune my routines to increase productivity and results.

In part one, I talked about the Entrepreneurial Time System (via The Strategic Coach). In part two, I discussed the One Goal System as well as the mind-map tool MindNode. Today, I’m going to end the series with some of the principles and tools I use to determine what tasks get done.

Being Effective vs. Being Efficient

What you do is more important than how you do it.

Being effective means doing things that get you closer to your goals. Being efficient is performing a task (whether or not it gets you closer to your goals) in the most economical manner possible. Being efficient is important, but only when applied to the right things. Over the years, this has been my biggest obstacle, but it’s really the key to achieving ‘rock star’ results. To find the right things consider the following.

Think 80/20

In 1999, after reading The 80/20 Principle (affiliate) by Richard Koch, I did my own 80/20 Analysis in the hopes of increasing personal productivity. After my first attempt, I concluded most people (including yours truly) aren’t natural analysts. Even if they are, you can’t always stop to investigate the “data” every time you need to make a decision.

My solution? Just “think 80/20” by asking: “What 20 percent leads to 80 percent.” Like 80/20 Analysis, we always assume there is a possible imbalance between inputs and outputs, but instead of looking at data, we simply guess.

Funny enough, these few outputs (the 20 percent) usually are the same things we excel at and are passionate about. It’s what people complement you on. For example, having meaningful conversations with business people and writing about online marketing and business is my “20 percent”. All of my tasks flow through these two focus areas. The rest I try to eliminate or delegate.

Incidentally, I try and do most of my 80/20 Thinking on Buffer Days. However, most of my “20 percent” or focus activities get done on Focus Days.

Applying Limitations

Twitter enables its users to send tweets, which are text-based posts limited to 140 characters. What if everything you did had limitations. Have too many goals? Limit them to one. Have too many projects? Limit them to three. Have too many emails to respond to? Limit your email responses to five sentences. You get the idea.

Not only do I put limits on activities I engage in, I also put time limits or deadlines on all work-related activities. When you apply a limitation you force choice, which improves your effectiveness. As a result, your productivity (outputs and results) increases naturally over time. What should you set limits on? Anything you want. However, keep in mind, when you first set a limit on something, It’ll be a fairly arbitrary number. It takes time to see what works for you.

Single Tasking

Multi-tasking is a joke.

For those of you who think you’re a ninja at multi-tasking it just means you have no focus. Sure, you can multi-task at the project level (work on more than one project at a time), but not at the task level. Once you’ve determined what you’re tasks are, on any given day, work on one task at a time until completion.

Index Cards (Tool)

The most effective productivity tool I use costs less than a cup of coffee. Every evening (or morning), I select the 2 or 3 tasks that will move me closer to achieving my one big goal, sub-goal, and weekly goals (with short and clear deadlines) and put them on a 3 x 5 index card. I try and achieve at least 1 or 2 by 12 Noon. Why an index card? First, due to the limited amount of space, it forces you to write only the really important stuff. Second, it fits nicely into my pocket.

Improving Your Game

It’s my hope that by applying some of the ideas I’ve outlined it will help you establish and fine-tune your routines in an effort to become more productive. Keep in mind, these are just guidelines, not hard and fast rules. What works for me may not work for you. I’m not a productivity guru. I’m just a guy trying to improve his game.

Good luck with yours!

About the Author:

Mitch Fanning is VP of Strategy & Business Development for Fruition Interactive, an authorized member of Social Media Club, and founding member of Social Media Club Niagara. He’s spent 10 plus years working with businesses of all sizes, from global brands to some of Canada’s fastest growing Internet companies ranked in the PROFIT 100. Follow Mitch on his adventures in new media here at [mitchellfanning.com].

Photo credit: dimnikolov

This is part two of a series, which outlines the systems, principles, strategies, and tools I’ve used over the past 10 years to fine-tune my routines to increase results and productivity.

In part one, I discussed the Entrepreneurial Time System (via The Strategic Coach). Now that you have a framework to work with, you can start creating and fine-tuning your routines.  However, before you can fix routines and habits you need a focal point – something to work towards. In part two, I outline some principles and tools I use to decide what to focus on.

System Reset

I’ve been setting goals since I was 16 years old.  However, up until recently, my goals were mostly financial or based on something I was driven to do.  I also ended up taking on too many goals at once, which spread out my energy and focus and motivation.

One Goal

A few years ago, I found a solution.  I started using the One Goal System after reading The Power Of Less (affiliate) by Leo Babauta.  Simply put, you focus on one big goal (at a time).  My deadline to achieving my one big goal is usually six months.  Any longer, I lose focus and enthusiasm.  Any shorter, it’s not worth my efforts.  Incidentally, I do my goal setting on Buffer Days.

Bucket Thinking (focus areas)

With one goal in mind, you then create “buckets” or “focus areas” as filters for determining what projects and/or tasks to focus on.  Any additional work that comes in is pushed through these filters.

In my case, my buckets or focus areas are:

1. Online Marketing (Fruition Interactive)
2. Online Publishing (blogging, writing, etc.)
3. New Media Education (Social Media Club Niagara)
4. Buffer (planning, clean-ups, new skills)

Incidentally, the first three “buckets” are areas I work on during Focus Days with the exception of the “Buffer bucket” (always have a bucket for the stuff that has to get done, but isn’t directly related to producing results).

Three Projects

Using these buckets, you now have a way to separate what project and/or tasks to work on.  As a rule, I never have more than three projects going at one time.  I define “project” as anything that takes a day or more to complete.  If you can do it in a few hours, you can add it to your list, but a project is typically something that takes several tasks to complete.

Mind-Maps (Tool)

I use mind-maps to keep track of project lists. I love mind-maps, because I can break out my thoughts by priority in a non-linear way.  I use MindNode on my Mac, but there are tons of such apps, so pick one you like.

Staying on Target

To ensure you stick with a routine, first establish your one big goal – something you’re passionate about.  From there, use a tool like mind-mapping to pick your top 3 projects and weekly priorities.

Stay tuned for part three.

About the Author:

Mitch Fanning is VP of Strategy & Business Development for Fruition Interactive, an authorized member of Social Media Club, and founding member of Social Media Club Niagara. He’s spent 10 plus years working with businesses of all sizes, from global brands to some of Canada’s fastest growing Internet companies ranked in the PROFIT 100. Follow Mitch on his adventures in new media here at [mitchellfanning.com].

Photo credit: flattop341

Fall is upon us.

Entrepreneurial Time System is a trademark of the Strategic Coach Inc.

For kids, it’s back-to-school.  For the rest of us, it’s a time to get back to work and settle into a routine.  Some of my most rewarding achievements have come from establishing routines in an effort to become more productive.

Perhaps it’s a result of being a former college athlete, but over the years, I’ve used many of the same routines and rituals I once used in sports – in business.  For example, I split up my week into game days and practice days.

What follows is part one of a series, outlining the time system I’ve used over the past 10 years to fine-tune both my weekly and daily routines.  In part two, I’ll discuss the principles behind my routines along with the tools and how I put them into practice.  Keep in mind, these are just guidelines, not hard and fast rules.  What works for me may not work for you.

The Entrepreneurial Time System (via the Strategic Coach)

I was introduced to The Entrepreneurial Time System (created by Dan Sullivan and Babs Smith) in 2000 (as a member of the Strategic Coach).  The system has given me a simple framework for developing effective weekly and daily routines. The system calls for dividing your days into three distinct types – Free Days, Focus Days, and Buffer Days.

Free Days

A Free Day is a 24-hour period, in which I don’t engage in any business-related activities.  In my experience, to perform at your peak during your game days you must be rejuvenated.  When you run out of energy, you don’t have the creativity to seize opportunities.  You also become boring, having only one thing to talk about: work.

Sundays are my default Free Day.  During my free days, I spend time with family, close friends, watch movies, and read.

Focus Days

A Focus Day is a 24-hour period, in which I spend 80 percent of my time on the activities that create results.  These are my game days.  On Focus Days, you concentrate on your most important business-related activities, relationships, and opportunities.   What should you do on your Focus Days?  Think about what you do personally that makes the greatest contribution to your company’s bottom line.  Imagine how productive you could be if you could spend a day attending to just these tasks, without interruption, and with full preparation and support.

My focus day activities involve having meaningful conversations with clients about their business and writing (strategy documents, proposals, contracts, emails related to income generation, blog posts, online media).  Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are my Focus Days.

Buffer Days

If Focus Days are game days, Buffer Days are my practice or rehearsal days.  On Buffer Days, I handle all of the details that would otherwise distract my attention on a Focus Day.  I use these days to catch up, clean up messes, delegate, do research, and learn new skills.  Most importantly, I use them to do the necessary planning that will ensure that nothing intrudes on my Free Days & Focus Days.

Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays are my Buffer Days.

Putting into Practice

This system might seem complicated, but in action, it’s fairly simple and straightforward.  Over the next 90 days, put these concepts to work and watch both your level of rejuvenation and overall productivity sky-rocket.

About the Author:

Mitch Fanning is VP of Strategy & Business Development for Fruition Interactive, an authorized member of Social Media Club, and founding member of Social Media Club Niagara. He’s spent 10 plus years working with businesses of all sizes, from global brands including NBC.com to Canada’s fastest growing Internet companies ranked in the 2009 PROFIT 100.  Follow Mitch on his adventures in new media at [mitchellfanning.com].

Photo credit: Strategic Coach