​“I think I will cook before I write that blog.” “I will get to organizing my planner after I hang out the washing.”
Have you ever found yourself saying these things to yourself? Do you find that you are always very busy but never seem to get to the very thing that needs to be done to accomplish what you have set out to do? We all have been students at the school of procrastination and some of us maybe advanced students of this school so much so that we find that we never seem to get anywhere or achieve anything that we would like to achieve. There are reasons why most people will procrastinate.
There are 4 major reasons for this habit:

• 1. Wrong Goals: Sometime the goals that we set for ourselves can either be too high or too low. When they are too high it seems too daunting and overwhelming to start anything. When the goals are too low it is not challenging enough, and we then tend to put if off as we then know that we can get it done in less time.
• 2. An unclear focus: “Weak and scattered thoughts are weak and scattered forces, whereas strong and concentrated thoughts are strong and concentrated forces.” – John Kehoe. When we do not have a clear vision that helps us jump out of bed, we find it hard to focus on the tasks at hand.
• 3. No action plan (NAP): Only 1% of the population lives their life on purpose. They have a carefully laid out plan for what they want to get out of life and how they would like to get there. When we do not have a plan, we tend to just go through life not knowing where it is going.
• 4. Mental barriers: Mental barriers such as fear and doubt can be quiet debilitating and will often steer us away from the very actions that will help us build our strength against those fears and help us reach our goals.

I may have painted a very grim picture but there is hope. All these behaviors are learnt and can easily be unlearnt. The best advise here would be that if you do find yourself procrastinating all the time then go back to your drawing board and spend a good time on the goals that you have set yourself and ask yourself if they align with what you believe and your vision and that you are not living someone else’s vision. Have you set yourself a massive to do list that may seem unreasonable and unrealistic? What is it that you fear and why? Be honest with yourself and put this all down on paper and work through every aspect of what you have listed till you reach a plan where there are no more excuses.

Guest Author : Pooja Kelkar  WWW.REALINEYOU.COM.AU

What's the most effective way to grow a business during this most unusual time?

You might think that the answer is to sell to more clients/customers, but that's only one piece of the puzzle, it is not necessarily the most important part of the equation. That's where client/customer connection and retention comes in.

Once you've created a killer product/service/education and you have identified your target market, it’s important to dedicate just as many resources to retaining existing customers as to selling to new customers. The statistics show us 75% of your business comes from your regular and existing clients/customers.

It’s important to help client/customers see value and achieve goals using your product or service. But there's more to it than just answering their phone calls and helping them onboard. It's about creating a process from the very beginning that fosters communication, trust, and mutual growth.

Your client/customers are in lock-down, now it is more important to stay connected, we need to find different ways to let them know we are here to support and service them. You can offer phone and email support to your customers, it is now time to increase your customer support to reassure them that you can still be reached to assist them no matter where they are. Social media is a great place to start, you can keep them posted on activities you are creating, you can offer special packages for when we get back to business. You can still support them with products and product knowledge they may require. Connecting virtually or online, you can offer the option to chat via Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and other instant messaging platforms. You can also offer video conferencing options through Skype or FaceTime, so your customers can get that "face-to-face" feel without actually being there in-person. The most import thing is to let them know you care about how they are during this pandemic. 
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Don’t offer them a discount instead send them a Voucher to use when things return to normal “whatever that looks like” it’s not to discount your service/product it’s to let them know you are thinking about them and their health and wellbeing. Let them know you appreciate their support and that you care about them. The most import thing is to let them know you care about how they are during this pandemic.

Guest Author:  Karen Galbraith  https://body-and-sole.com.au/