When you’re growing a business for yourself, it can be difficult to make choices. The amount of information put in front of us each day is overwhelming, and if things aren’t already flowing smoothly for you, it’s easy to be distracted by the different methods, courses, and products that are available - even if you’ve already invested in things you haven’t finished using or learning.

The fear of not doing the right thing, not going fast enough, or not having enough information - and therefore thinking that something else might be the solution - is an issue for many. If you feel like you’re being pulled in different directions and you’re not sure what you should focus on and what you should ignore, here are some ideas to consider so that you can choose what will serve you best:

1. You have to know what’s really going on in your business and what’s holding you back.

If you haven’t taken time to evaluate what you’re doing that is moving you forward and where you’re stuck, you’re not going to know what you need to spend time on. It’s very easy to fall into the trap of working on what you’re already good at, because those things are what make you confident. But that’s not going to allow you to grow, so you’re not doing yourself any favors if you’re sweeping the things that are holding you back under the rug or worse, you don’t know what those things are.

2. It’s not about how much work you do but the quality of the decisions you make.

People tell me all the time, ”I think I just need to work harder!” Interestingly enough, it’s rare that those people are lazy, which is one of the only reasons that someone needs to work “harder”. It’s usually much more productive to make better decisions and then to work efficiently based on that information. Without making quality decisions about what you need to do, it can be easy to feel like you’re doing a lot, but that doesn’t always translate into getting a lot done. Being busy is not the same thing as being productive. Besides, most people desire to get ahead by working less, and the only way to do that is by knowing what will solve your problems and what will move you ahead.

3. You must assess what is worth your time and effort.

Once you know what you have to do, you may be faced with making decisions about what method, mentor, product, or service you will use in order to make it happen. You will also have to decide whether it’s something you will do yourself or if you will delegate the task to someone else. In order to make these decisions, you have to know what’s worth your time and effort. Time is your most valuable asset, so taking a look at what it will take time-wise to get something done can help you decide what to do. Money is also a factor; you may have an option to do something yourself or to invest in having someone else do it. 

But just because you can do something yourself or it wouldn’t cost you to do it doesn’t always mean that’s the best use of your time. It’s possible that spending money so you can focus your time on something else is a better way to go. You’ll only know by evaluating your options and really looking at the time and effort involved rather than just looking at the surface and the price tag.

4. What makes the most sense for someone else might not be the same strategy that works for you.

It’s ok to consider what works for someone else, but it doesn’t automatically mean that’s the solution for you. You have to be careful of making decisions without going through the evaluation process to see if whatever it is you’re looking at is truly a good match for you. People often make the mistake of going with their “gut instinct,” which has been proven to be a poor method of decision-making. Instead of making decisions based on your emotions, use a combination of logic and intuition. Put your options in front of you and make a business decision like the CEO that you are.

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Ultimately, you’ve got to allow time for whatever it is you’re implementing to run its course before deciding if you need to change your plans. So once you’ve made some quality decisions, ignore the rest until enough time has passed to where you can do a proper assessment of its effectiveness. How much time can depend on what it is - it’s all about collecting enough data to be able to assess.