Is that apostrophe correct? I have no idea. It looks wrong, but without it the word would be "Tos" and that doesn't seem right either. I need to look into that.
See that? That last line right there? That's a classic case of an "I need To". These plague our everyday lives. Procrastinators and heavy planners especially suffer from them, but you'll hear everyone say it about something if you hang out with them often enough. They may need to call someone, mail something, look into something, talk to their accountant about something, read a specific book or article, see a movie or any other thing that would improve their lives or businesses, but they haven't found the time to do. Not yet. But they are often reminded that they "need to".
These lists tend to grow. Some are more important than others. For example, I need to make business cards for "Little Creek Rentals, LLC". But do I really? How often do I find myself in a situation where the card for that specific business would have added a client? I still have HFP cards from years ago. So, the "need" is questionable, but I really should. The "shoulds" get pushed back even further than the "needs to's".
In order to make the business the business cards I need to finalize our logo design. So now you wind up with the ducks in a row problem. You need to figure out the order in which things need to be done in order to properly do the things you need to do. Then, you need to get some estimates, need to decide who will print the cards, or ship the package, or what time of day to make the call. You need to decide whether or not it's all worth the cost and then you need to actually get it done.
These things pile up. After awhile they can become overwhelming.
The first trick is to separate the needs from the shoulds and the wants.
After that, put the needs into categories. Some of the needs lead to an ultimate goal need, as in our business card example. So, the business cards are the ultimate need category. Once you decide which of the main needs are most important, start tackling the needs you have to take care of to accomplish that ultimate goal. Some needs are also time sensitive. Are you entering a film into festivals? Maybe those festivals have upcoming deadlines and you need to set up your Withoutabox or other festival entry service page. You need to get on that need right away.
Is one of your needs the need to start saving some money or paying off debt? You should get on those right away because time wasted there is interest lost. Do your research, but do it as soon as you can.
Is one of your needs new equipment or office gear? That may involve seasonal sales that you should take advantage if you can. If you're going to rush into this one because of a sale, however, be sure it's a need and not simply a want. Saving money on something you want, but don't need and later may not actually use is really just spending money. There is truth in the idea that you have to "spend money to make money", but spending money to save money is really based on whether or not you would have bought the product at the higher price anyway. If you not, all you did was spend money.
Have a headache yet?
The need to's will always be with us. The trick is to keep up with them so they don't become the "I wish I hads" or the "I knew I should haves". Those can really sting in hindsight.
This is, of course, a case of me giving advice I need to hear myself. Lots of times these blogs are just me sharing an observation of my own shortcomings in the hopes that I can save a reader or two the time it took me to figure these things out.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go have some lunch before it's dinner time.
See that? That last line right there? That's a classic case of an "I need To". These plague our everyday lives. Procrastinators and heavy planners especially suffer from them, but you'll hear everyone say it about something if you hang out with them often enough. They may need to call someone, mail something, look into something, talk to their accountant about something, read a specific book or article, see a movie or any other thing that would improve their lives or businesses, but they haven't found the time to do. Not yet. But they are often reminded that they "need to".
These lists tend to grow. Some are more important than others. For example, I need to make business cards for "Little Creek Rentals, LLC". But do I really? How often do I find myself in a situation where the card for that specific business would have added a client? I still have HFP cards from years ago. So, the "need" is questionable, but I really should. The "shoulds" get pushed back even further than the "needs to's".
In order to make the business the business cards I need to finalize our logo design. So now you wind up with the ducks in a row problem. You need to figure out the order in which things need to be done in order to properly do the things you need to do. Then, you need to get some estimates, need to decide who will print the cards, or ship the package, or what time of day to make the call. You need to decide whether or not it's all worth the cost and then you need to actually get it done.
These things pile up. After awhile they can become overwhelming.
The first trick is to separate the needs from the shoulds and the wants.
After that, put the needs into categories. Some of the needs lead to an ultimate goal need, as in our business card example. So, the business cards are the ultimate need category. Once you decide which of the main needs are most important, start tackling the needs you have to take care of to accomplish that ultimate goal. Some needs are also time sensitive. Are you entering a film into festivals? Maybe those festivals have upcoming deadlines and you need to set up your Withoutabox or other festival entry service page. You need to get on that need right away.
Is one of your needs the need to start saving some money or paying off debt? You should get on those right away because time wasted there is interest lost. Do your research, but do it as soon as you can.
Is one of your needs new equipment or office gear? That may involve seasonal sales that you should take advantage if you can. If you're going to rush into this one because of a sale, however, be sure it's a need and not simply a want. Saving money on something you want, but don't need and later may not actually use is really just spending money. There is truth in the idea that you have to "spend money to make money", but spending money to save money is really based on whether or not you would have bought the product at the higher price anyway. If you not, all you did was spend money.
Have a headache yet?
The need to's will always be with us. The trick is to keep up with them so they don't become the "I wish I hads" or the "I knew I should haves". Those can really sting in hindsight.
This is, of course, a case of me giving advice I need to hear myself. Lots of times these blogs are just me sharing an observation of my own shortcomings in the hopes that I can save a reader or two the time it took me to figure these things out.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go have some lunch before it's dinner time.
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