Got a goal? Write it down!

“A goal without a deadline is nothing more than a wish,” says Rosalind Gardner, the multi-millionaire affiliate marketer who literally wrote the book on affiliate marketing, Super Affiliate Handbook. That line shook me like a thunderbolt. Why?

Time Sickness

In my years as a tailor, I often laughed inwardly at three customers with their last-minute crunch-time need for clothing alterations. They are sisters who show up the night before Easter or a dance or a wedding needing alterations on an outfit they just purchased. Their whole family suffers classic time sickness.

I laughed because I regarded myself as having recovered from time sickness. Some recovery!

Always Late

When my well-organized daughter calls and we plan our errands, I tell her when I can be ready to go. Turns out she knows she can expect me a half hour after that. The weird part is *I* didn’t know it! I’m eyeball deep in dreaming I get things done–but with poor results, I’m now realizing.

Affiliate Marketing vs Time Sickness

According to Rosalind, an affiliate marketer takes 7 big steps:

• market research
• build a site
• add content
• monetize the site
• market it
• manage the business
• grow the business

All seven involve many actions, right? If you’re like me, you feel overwhelmed almost from the get-go.

I either set a work goal unaware it would take FOUR people all day to do it, then fail and feel useless. Or I feel whatever little step I take is inadequate. Or I guess how long a job will take and I’m way off. Whether the “hour” job takes ten minutes or a week, I don’t even NOTICE so I never learn better!

Score: Time Sickness 1, Affiliate Marketing 0.

My Cure–And I Do Have One!

Today I woke up with an idea to log my time. Sure I’ve heard this idea before, probably in Getting Things Done by David Allen. Never mind. Rosalind’s line about goals, deadlines and wishes hit me where I live. I’m ready for real, measured action–the kind that makes her a multi-millionaire.

24 hours ready for affiliate marketing action.

Here’s my time log I created in Note Pad and printed out with FinePrint. I’m recording my actions in fifteen minute increments from today on until I KNOW how long it takes for me to do the simplest or most complex things. I included a place for the top six goals for the day. I never get six daily goals done, so maybe this is ridiculous. We’ll find out, eh?

Today's top 6 goals

The Rewards

First, no more impossible goals that I beat myself up for failing. Second, lay out do-able goals and track my progress so they get DONE and I build my affiliate marketing business. Third, reach my necessary income goals–no more just wishing! My daughter’s look of surprise when I show up on time? Priceless.

Best,

P.S.

Thank you, Rosalind Gardner, for sending me that thunderbolt. That’s a life-changing lesson for me. Did you mean to teach that in the Super Affiliate Handbook? I bet you did.

P.P.S.

While all the links in my post are meant to help you, some are affiliate links, which means if you click and buy, I could earn money.