When you’re working in online marketing it’s easy to obsess over optimization. In fact, it’s encouraged. But there’s something most marketers miss.
You see, learning to maximize conversion ratios and opt-in rates is only the beginning of optimization. When you really put on the eyes of an optimization strategist you quickly start to see things in the eyes of an ardent life hacker.
Optimization is all encompassing.
And that’s what I want to talk to you about today. Because when you take optimization off-screen, and start applying it to other aspects of your business… well, that’s when your success can really take off.
Below are just a few of the most important areas of your life you might want to think about optimizing:
3 Easy Areas of Focus to Start Optimizing Your Life:
Yourself!
Most of your problems can be solved by looking inward. And when you’re a busy beaver of a business person it’s easy to forget to take care of yourself. But if you don’t, no one will. And you need to stay in the game if you want to win. So…
If you haven’t already, take some time to unplug with a pencil and paper to prioritize what’s important to you. It’s amazing what scribbling things down by hand can do for your clarity of mind. Then once you have a well-rounded set of goals (health, wealth, social, societal, spiritual, etc.) start focusing on implementation.
If you need help with goal setting there’s a great Zig Ziglar audiobook that can get you on the right track.
Your Team
Around here, we always say our people are our biggest assets. But if you don’t focus on employee engagement you risk turning them into a massive liability. So…
As soon as you’ve taken care of yourself, start thinking about how you can make life more enjoyable, meaningful and successful for the people around you (both at work and at home).
You’ll see payback in spades.
Also read: Making the WordPress Admin Area More Client Friendly
Your Cash Flow
Speaking of valuable resource, the obvious elephant in the room is cash. As much as nobody likes to admit it, Wu Tang Clan had it right (CREAM). Now pay attention… (or you’ll pay much more dearly in cash)…
First, zero in on both your income and expenses. If you aren’t intimately familiar with how money is coming in and going out of your life then you are in trouble (you might just not know it yet). But don’t stick your head in the sand! If you’re a bit overwhelmed by finances find some help. There are lots of accounting nerds around who will be happy to share their expertise with you – just ask around.
The point is, cash-flow optimization is a must, and when you can effectively allocate capital and resources you open yourself to much more opportunity.
And there you have it!
Of course as I said before, the ability to optimize is ever-present. But you have to start somewhere and the above three ideas should be enough to get you going. They really are the foundational aspects to long-lasting health, happiness and well-being, if you ask me.
Seriously, when you start to turn optimization expertise to the offline aspects of your life and your business, you really set yourself up for long term success. You establish habits and processes that can put best practice implementation on autopilot.
Despite what you might have read on Tech Crunch, most businesses are built brick by brick. So start today and focus on optimizing one thing at a time. Think critically about what you’re doing and what habits you could foster to consistently improve.
That’s how you optimize your life.
Let me know in the comments below how you plan to improve your off-line processes!
Author: Jeff Waite
