Should Do vs Could Do

There are so many things you could do in your business. It doesn't matter what area of your business you look at. You will realize that there are tens, if not hundreds of actions you could do. You could do more blogging, and you could do more Facebook ads, you could do more prospecting, do more podcasting, and more networking. 

I have worked with over 600 online entrepreneurs, and I have seen those brilliant ideas, complicated funnels and amazing tools everyone could use to help their business. It is even more visible when you're a smart cookie who actually could do all of this with a snap of your fingers. I've worked with so many brilliant people that could implement the "could do's" so efficiently. One day they have just learned about a new funnel, tool or tactic, 48hrs later, they have it implemented. And that is impressive, kudos for speed of implementation. I'm all for quick deployment of ideas to test the hypothesis and see if that works. 

But having the "could do mindset" is often destroying the business-building process. It causes overwhelm and burn out FAST because it is a wrong perspective to look at things. 

You will always find things you could do in your business, and it is never-ending. Most of us start their own business because we want to make an impact and because we want to have freedom and flexibility. The could-do approach causes the opposite - you're always busy, doing a low-value, low-impact work implementing the could-do tasks. And unless you like being overwhelmed and never reaching your goals, this approach is not something you should continue doing. 

The more healthy, productive and strategic perspective is to have a "should-do" attitude. This approach starts with a question "what SHOULD I do" to achieve X. What should I do to fix Y. It goes back to the upstream decision-making process I explained - you focus on the things that are the most important, actual cause of the success or real reason for things happening down the road (or stream). 

The should-do thinking pattern helps you pause for a second and think about what will make a difference in your business. It will save you from jumping onto an opportunity before deciding if that is a fit for you and your business. Even if an opportunity looks amazing from the outside, it doesn't mean it is amazing for your business. Should-do mentality will help you focus on the high-value, high-impact activities that bring real change. 

The next time you are strategizing or considering tackling an activity, ask your self a question: is this something I could do, or is this something I should do? Is this going to move the needle in my business? Or - how Ben Hunt-Davis says - will it make the boat go faster? Be honest with yourself. Separate the sexy, colorful, shiny stuff you are tempted to do from the stuff that will make a real impact on your business.