Marketing Survival Newsletter - RELAX, BECOME MORE PRODUCTIVE
Sometimes you just have to wait until you are inspired before you can do something. I’ve been thinking about this newsletter for nearly 4 months, and today I finally found the inspiration to write it. You might think that this is a bad thing, putting something off until one is ready. You might say, "if I ran my business that way I’d be out of business before I got around to doing what needed to be done." Well, you’re partly correct. If we ran Third Party International with the attitude of only doing things when we were inspired, we would probably be out of business too. After all, we manage marketing campaigns and they have to run like clock work. But, having said that, I will suggest that most of what we (the collective We) do, as business people, is done at too fast a pace.
We seem to work in constant anxiety, with the fear that if we don’t get it (whatever It is) done immediately, the world will collapse.We are conditioned to believe that feeling of anxiety is what motivates us, but in reality it is what hinders us and in some cases kills us. If we were only able to relax, slow down, and accept the natural course of life, our work and products would for the most part improve in both quality and quantity.
Which brings me to the subject of this newsletter. A subject that is seldom discussed, but should always be required study for anyone in business. That subject is – relaxing.
Let me start with the simple dictionary definition for
"Relax" 1:
“Less tense, less rigid, less severe, to make soft or enervated,
to relieve from nervous tension, to become less intense, to seek rest or recreation.
“
"Sure", you say ,"I barely have time to do what is required each day in 10 to 12 hours. How would I schedule time to make less tense, or relieve from nervous tension? Besides, what has TPI’s Marketing Survival Newsletter got to do with relaxation? The fact is, although our job at Third Party International is to conduct market research, do strategic planning, design marketing plans and implement them, our real goal is to make your job easier, and in turn allow you the opportunity to - relax. If we can achieve that, we will not only provide you with a service that improves marketing and sales, but also one that helps you make your life better and consequently makes your overall company run smoother, better, and more profitably.
It is a fact that as a business person, your attitude, energy level, attention, and over-all effectiveness are all directly related to how much stress or tension you experience. Even the body is affected by the reaction of the nervous system to stress. Psychosomatic illnesses are, after all, illnesses brought on primarily by stress.
Many studies have shown that stress related conditions in the work environment are a contributing factor to men dying younger than women. As more women begin to climb the corporate ladder (or open their own businesses), those women begin to suffer stress related illnesses, similar to their male counterparts. We are a product of our environment, and in many cases our environment is killing us.
So, what is to be done?
We all have jobs to do, and we have commitments. In many cases your company’s existence depends on you doing your job. At least you believe it does.
Personally, I first confronted this belief in myself over 20 years ago. I was a young man, running my own drafting/engineering company. We had about 25 to 30 people on staff, had 6 to 10 design/detailing projects in progress, with a total value of over $10M at any one time. I firmly believed that every one of those people, and every one of those projects depended on my performing to the highest level at all times. A client would call – I would jump, a project needed overtime – I was there, an employee needed encouragement – I was there. I firmly believed that I should never ask anyone to do anything I wasn’t doing, and eventually I found out that I couldn’t do it all.
Worked Into Exhaustion
I found out when my mind and body finally said what my mouth wouldn’t say – enough. I worked myself into exhaustion. I was still coming in 10-14 hours a day. I was still doing everything I thought I needed to do. But, I wasn’t doing any of it very well. My attitude degenerated, my communications became short, and I became irritable. Finally, it became obvious that although I was working harder than anyone else, I was having such a negative impact on myself and everyone around me that the net result was also negative.
Some years later, after I closed that company and started and closed a few more, I learned the secret to higher productivity. That secret is relaxing. Now, I’m not talking about working less (although for anyone working more than 50 hours a week I would highly recommend it), I’m not talking about not caring about your work, and I’m definitely not talking about producing less. In fact your work will probably improve, and your productivity will probably increase. What I am talking about is making a mental adjustment that allows you to relieve yourself of the worst burden most business owners and managers carry. The burden that comes with the belief that we have to do it all, that our actions carrying the whole company.
If you can come to the realization that by allowing yourself time-out from your job you will benefit your self and your company, you will have made a mental adjustment that will result in a more relaxed attitude for you, and a more productive environment for everyone around you.
If you stopped doing what you do today, very little would change.
Sound silly? Think about it. If you could just get rid of the feeling that everything is dependent on you. Wouldn’t that take a huge burden off your shoulders ? In reality, very little is dependent on you. If you stopped doing what you do today, very little would change. Oh, you say, my company would close, I would go broke, my life and the life of those I work with would be ruined.
Don’t give yourself so much credit. The fact is, I have had several companies become successful and several more go down in flames. In the end, everyone I worked with, my family, and friends all survived. Almost all, very well in fact.
The More I Relax, The More I Produce
Today, in my position as CEO of Third Party International, Inc. and President of a non-profit group, I have realized that the more I relax, the more I produce. The more I relax, the more others produce. In fact, it seems that if I simply attend to what I can do very well, others always pick up where I might have left off. Certainly, some things don’t get done, but the important things always seem to get done. Activities like my newsletter get done much later than I might have originally scheduled. But, the result is always better than if I had forced it. And, what if some things are late? I, or someone like me, made up the schedule in the first place.
The argument can be made that if I produced my newsletter exactly every three months as originally scheduled I would create greater results. But what would my communication be like. Strained, efforted? And what would be the quality of my writing?
Most of you reading this newsletter are in high tech fields, many are in software development. As confirmation of my hypothesis that most things can be put off, let me remind you of the consequences of not making product target release dates. How many companies have gone out of business for not making their release dates? How many more have gone out of business for not producing quality product? I rest my case.
So, rather than telling you about some hot new marketing idea, I encourage you to take a moment to un-plug, and regenerate. Recharge your physical, emotional, and spiritual bodies. This can happen anywhere, anytime. It’s nice if you can take a vacation, but know that you can stop anytime, and take a moment for yourself. Know that you can simply let go of what your mind tells you must be done, and accept what can be done.
Contemplate what relaxing would look like for you. Maybe it’s mediation, maybe a run, maybe a good book, maybe creating music, or maybe it’s simply putting off some of those jobs that have to be done, until you feel inspired. Whatever it looks like for you, I am confident that if you allow yourself time to relax in the midst of the chaos, you will feel better, produce better, and inspire those around you to higher achievements.
Now, let’s see. What was I supposed to do next. Phoning, another article, a business plan? Ah yes, music. Now that’s an inspired thought.
~Nick Vasilieff
This newsletter was written by Nickolai N. Vasilieff; freelance writer and marketing consultant specializing in high technology industries.
For more information see www.nvasilieff.com. To contact Nick with questions or feedback, call 503-267-6339 or email vasilieff@mac.com.
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