Let yourself off the hook

Robert Gerrish At this time of year the world of the solo business owner can go somewhat wobbly. Sound familiar? Thought so. Welcome to what I consider the most uncomfortable few weeks of the silly season. I suggest it’s time to let stuff go.

The end of the calendar year represents an important milestone for many of us soloists as well as for our customers and clients.

"By the end of the year" is a deadline many soloists give their goals. I reckon this method of deadline dating is particularly common amongst what I call the don’t-like-a-lot-of-structure brigade. For them, the end of the year is quite possibly the only deadline that is worked towards.

Because the end of the year is the time by which so much was supposed to be achieved, it’s no great surprise that come late November, disappointment and anxiety can breeze into the office like a bad smell.

So if your deadlines are a bit on the nose, what should you do?

My advice is to get up from your desk. Open all the windows, breathe some fresh air and let the dog out into the garden.

That’s because there really is little to gain by rushing things through just to tick the box. Far better to take a step back, look at what needs to be done to accomplish the task properly and set a new and realistic deadline for achievement.

If you don’t, the chances are you’ll have to redo it all in the New Year anyway.

In a very un-coachlike manner I’d like to invite you to post a comment and tell me all the things you’re not going to achieve this year.

I’ll do the same. I can’t wait.

Until next week.

Love your work,

Robert Gerrish is Flying Solo’s managing director and founder and works as a business coach, professional speaker, business commentator and consultant. He’s the co-author of Flying Solo – How to go it alone in business.

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I have decided to let go of the notion of rewriting my professional speaking brochure. I'm moving the deadline to the end of February 2008. Gee, that feels good! Robert Gerrish from Flying Solo | Read my articles
What didn't I achieve? I still have not worked out selling stuff on ebay. I sit with boxes of stuff I would like to sell, around my desk. I think the postage side of it freaks me out. To try and combat that fear, I have even purchased plastic pre-paid post bag, which sits proudly a top of my pile. And my kids add to it, mum I don’t ever want to read this book, which I have chewed and played with for the last 8 years, how much do you think we can make if we sell it on ebay? Ahhhhhh I am breathing in that fresh air …… Heather Smith from Brisbane
I'm not going to achieve being totally predictable. From a business point-of-view, that is. And being an Aquarian, I give in to my free spirit too much. But bugger it, why not? I will not achieve setting a good routine and will throw the systemisation I was thinking of implementing out the window - before the end of the year! I'm going to go with the flow, and that I'll have mastered by next Christmas! Grant McDuling from Brisbane, Australia
Ohhhhh - I love it! What I'm NOT going to achieve by the end of the year ... getting my office into anything resembling a decent condition. Writing my 'How to Leverage Information Products' book - I'll leave that over until January. Sadly, I'm not going to find enough really good writers to help me with the incredible backlog of work I'm building. 2008 is going to be very busy. Leela. www.leelacosgrove.com
Leela Cosgrove from Melbourne, Australia
Hi Robert,
One of the things that i wont be doing is heading off and scouting locations in NY andLA for both my casting agency and Live entertainment company for comics because the Federal election campaign took most of the tv time and meaning the advertisement and the need for actors were down, severely denting my earning capacity, I am already planning for 2008 and have been for the past month or two so my deadline is really when the new year starts in mid January.
Darrell Dower (Starflex entertainment Group) from brisbane
I'm not going to give up ! Paul from Brisbane

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