This Is Your Grandfather’s Business

BY Feb. 14, 2011 13 Comments


To be clear, this isn’t your grandfather’s business, but if you want to be successful you should treat it like it is.  One of the major differences between your grandfather’s old business and yours now is the growth in technology and the amount of distractions.

As the years passed by technology was growing constantly. Cable and satellite TV were becoming popular while your father was building a business and, just like today, quickly became distractions for the successful business owner. Don’t run your business like your father did.

Therefore, take after your grandfather. Distractions existed of course, but I’m willing to bet your self-employed grandfather didn’t spend 20 – 30 hours per week watching TV or playing video games. He didn’t spend useless hours on Twitter or Facebook, and Stumbleupon didn’t offer an enticing button to give your finger a workout.

Say Goodbye to Distractions

If you have issues staying focused, consider tracking your time for a few weeks, either through a simple spreadsheet, or with a free program like rescue time. Here are 10 other ways to boost your productivity.

Just like budgeting your money, you need to know where you currently stand before you can develop a plan to reach your goals. Be very clear on how you spend your time versus how you want to spend your time.

To keep from getting distracted when writing this post I’m using a program called ommwriter. At its simplest, it’s a free program for the PC or Mac that takes up your entire screen. As you type, the buttons fade away. You’re left with a sparse background and relaxing music if you like.

Omwriter is only a text editor so you aren’t even distracted by spell check or all the options in Microsoft Word or Apple’s Pages. There’s plenty of time for that once your thoughts are on the page.

Take a lesson from your grandfather and don’t let distractions tear you away from building a great business. Tune everything out, set priorities, and stick with them until they’re complete.

What are you doing to shut out the distractions?

Online Business, Tools for Success
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  • http://www.omnificdesign.com.au/ Graphic Design Melbourne

    Great stuff, Justin. However, I just want to say that there are times when I do welcome distractions like my children asking for my time or the need to stand up and stretch. Without these, I believe I would have burned out a long time ago.

    But, I know what you mean about focus and I do go for that. I focus on the goals listed on my marketing plan and stick to it like glue. This has brought me to where I am today, which is getting where I want to be slowly but surely.

    - Wes -

    • http://coachradio.tv Justin

      Great point, Wes. I love those distractions, too. I used to work at home and it was difficult to tell my kids I couldn’t play outside with them. Because of those distractions, it took me forever to do things.

      Now that I’m in an office, I can spend less time working (distraction free) and more time at home.

  • http://worthycellphone.com Dana

    It is a great learning to focus. Yeah, our grandfather era is very low of distraction so the focus is very sharp back then. I think we can create an environment like that to gain our focus.

    • http://coachradio.tv Justin

      Any tools to share how you do it?

      • http://worthycellphone.com Dana

        No use any special software but if need my focus, I usually lock my self in my room.

  • http://DarrenMonroe.com Darren Scott Monroe

    Hey Ben good post man. The key to me is being able to prioritize especially online or your DEAD. too many shinny things to take you off center.

    • http://coachradio.tv Justin

      Thanks, Darren. I’m glad you enjoyed the post. I love simplification.

  • http://www.scales4industry.co.uk/ Tina @Counting Scales

    Hey Justin!

    Awesome article dude, well written post. I’m very impressed, it is true you should treat it like it is your grandfathers business. Excellent ideas you have shared, thank you, you are amazing!

  • http://www.journeydigitalmedia.com Seth Waite

    I don’t use any software or something special, I just make sure that when I am in an extra productive mood I hammer out lots and lots of work. Even if it’s 2:00am or if its 1:00pm.

    I find when I’m in the mood and then get 2 or 3 days worth of work done at once. There’s no point to forcing something that just isn’t going to happen.

  • Peter J

    Glad I’m not following the footsteps of my grandfathers business, because i know what happened to that one – actually, when it got into the hands of another person.

    I think I’ve gotten to a point where i question to much how people can live their lives without being very productive during the day. Staying up till 1:00 at night working is awesome; if your aiming for a higher goal.

  • http://www.everydayseo.co.uk Will @ Every Day Seo

    I find writing a simple list of things that need doing is a great way to avoid distractions. I just work through the list until completed. Then splurge on Facebook, Twitter, TV!

  • http://www.webuildyourblog.com Andrew @ Blogging Guide

    Shutting out distractions takes a lot of discipline. What I do is that I jot down what I need to accomplish for the day and mark it once it’s done. Seeing unmarked things to do keeps me focused because I know I still have things to do.

  • http://www.bargainbathroomcentre.co.uk/ Chris@ Heated Towel Rails

    Shutting out distractions is definitely a mission. Especially when kids are in the house it is the worst because kids will assume that we are not busy. A lot of dedication and commitment is required to avoid these distractions.