Avoid Paralysis of Analysis
In business you’re flooded with information from marketers and experts.
Some of it piques your interest but eventually you simply get stuck staring at all of it; “Is this the right thing to do next, or is that the right thing?”
That’s Paralysis Analysis! And before you know it, hours, days, even weeks can go by and you’re still stuck in the exact same place—nowhere.
The truth is, analyzing information creates a “feeling” of work and it creates the illusion of progress when it’s really just another insidious form of procrastination.
So, here are some important tips that can help you bust out of Paralysis of Analysis:
Tip #1: Unsubscribe from those unnecessary lists, set inbox rules, and find an expert who can answer your questions quickly. Limit your information influx and you’ll have a lot less stuff to analyze!
Tip #2: Don’t over-think your business, keep it simple. I don’t mean to oversimplify things here, but remember that building a marketing plan around your business consists of a few key concepts—a validated “niche” idea, a strong and effectively written offer/message, a proven strategy for building your own list or distribution, and the ability to execute the plan. So, focus on grabbing insight on those key concepts but don’t get sucked into spending hours and hours analyzing every possible approach to doing these things—pick a technique, confirm it with a coach or expert—then Get To Work!
Tip #3: Get To Work! That’s right, nothing moves you out of being stuck in paralysis quicker than getting moving…just start doing it! You’ll learn more and gain expertise faster than you can by reading more stuff and “thinking about” it. In the words of those killer athletes over at Nike, “Just Do It!”
Analyze yourself for a minute. Are you spending more time studying and contemplating information more than you’re actually doing real work? If so, you’re stuck in Paralysis of Analysis.
It’s time to get moving! Go get to work!
Tags: Business, Entrepreneurship, Marketing
April 7th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Amen to that. We all find excuses not to do what needs to be done right now. It’s odd that down the left side of the page I’m writing this on is a list of books that tempt mightily. It would be so easy to see the solution to any number of problems in those titles when all that is really needed right now is to start working on the problem at hand by doing the most productive thing at this moment. That list is almost paralyzing in its allure. Guilty as charged Your Honor. I’ll be getting back to work now.
April 8th, 2009 at 6:39 am
Joe-
Thanks for the comment. I think maybe I need to take the books off the left side, tempting aren’t they! Keep focus, man.
Jeff
April 14th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
That is so true. We want so much everything to be perfect and optimized.
I think nobody gets it optimal the first time. Only one thing will get you to optimal: testing.
So let’s get to work and test to find better.
April 16th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
Man I really needed this kick in the butt today many many thanks!
April 16th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
Having a consuming thirst for all veins of information I have to say Jeff your thoughts are very timely. I have decided to achieve maximum success through the investment in your mentoring program and I am surely looking forward to the positive outcomes and more.
I will narrow the scope and look to stay on target without getting distracted by the myriad of temptations.
April 17th, 2009 at 5:09 am
Getting involved in social media and trying to read everything that comes along seemingly helpful sucks you into a vortex that is difficult to escape.
The advice to unsubscribe to newsletters is a good idea. (shudder, shudder)
Does one ever completely finish reading their email?
I would like to turn it on one day and hear “you have no mail”!
April 17th, 2009 at 9:10 am
I have been a sufferer of “analysis paralysis”. Glad somebody put a name to this ailment. Although I’m not completely cured, I find that projects and tasks usually stand in line in the order of importance and deadlines. If something important has an immediate deadline it gets priority. My deadlines are scheduled by my managers, clients, husband, children, somebody other than me. These also fluctuate constantly. I schedule myself personal time on weekday evenings after 5:00 PM and on Saturdays. I tell myself not to worry if my day’s list doesn’t get done that day. My advice is stick to your schedule and enjoy whatever you’re doing right now.
April 17th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
I think we all get information overload. Getting rid of excess email is a big part of the solution. Thanks for the post!
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:49 pm
Great points - so often poeple get wrapped up with creating their own spreadsheets that spend valuable time reinventing the wheel or failing to use best practices.
A perfect example is small business users who use QuickBooks to manage inventory. While QuickBooks can tell you how much you have, it cannot tell you when to order and how much to order.
To over come this limitation, many get into a process where they export and import data between QuickBooks and Excel.
Not only this a waste of time but they are not using tools that can do the analysis in three clicks of the mouse in format that is much more powerful they can implement in a spreadsheet.
Poor inventory management is among the top reasons for small business failure; however, there are now tools that make optimizing inventory easy and rewarding - taking away this paralysis.
July 3rd, 2009 at 6:26 am
While people may have different views still good things should always be appreciated. Yours is a nice blog. Liked it!!!