Getting unstuck with your affiliate business can be tough. I’ve personally gone through many times where I was lost and confused, directionless and frustrated. In the beginning especially, it’s difficult to know which direction to take. What products to promote, how to promote them and how to manage your time online can all throw you into a state of confusion and overwhelm. It’s no wonder so many affiliates quit.
Affiliates who do well find products they a passionate about and build their business on a daily basis. The find a reason larger than the money and create a value behind what they do. Even then, they can get stuck with procrastination and overwhelm. See also how to overcome procrastination in affiliate marketing.
Getting Unstuck With Your Affiliate Business – Setting Goals
One of the best tools to defeat overwhelm and frustration is to set short, medium and long term goals. What do you wish to accomplish in the next 10 years as an affiliate? What would your life look like when you have succeeded? Then do the same for 5 years and then for 1 year. Finally, break your large goal down into daily actions which, given enough time will take to to your long term goals. Make these tiny steps easily achievable, so that you can keep a record of them on a daily basis.
When you are feeling stuck, focus on a tiny step which you can do right now, today, rather than the long list of things you might do in the future. Often if you’re stuck and frustrated, it might be because you are looking too far ahead to your long term goals. The result is frustration. Look only to the tiny step in front of you now, and take decisive action.
Once you make a habit out of doing the little things every day, the long term plan comes to fruition because you have created a strategy. Action is always the answer to frustration and overwhelm.
Getting Unstuck With Your Affiliate Business – Changing Your “State”
One of the best tools I’ve learned from the pursuit of affiliate marketing is to become aware of my mental state of mind. I can often find myself in a state of frustration and overwhelm. Sometimes it means I simply need a break, or I’m not in the right state of creativity needed for the work. But more often than not it can be changed by simply shifting my state. See also my post I’ve written on this topic controlling your state of mind.
You can change your state of mind very quickly once you have identified that you need to shift it. Take a break, have a cup of coffee, exercise, music, or a different environment can all effect on your state of mind. Set some goals and identify some mini habits you can create which can be done easily.
Just taking action in a tiny way can have a dramatic effect. I also notice I work better in a clutter free environment. As my desktop starts to fill up with stuff, it adds to my mental clutter.
Decision Fatigue
Decision fatigue is a state of cognitive overload and mental exhaustion that results from the volume of choices and decisions we make. Prominent leaders deliberately cut down on the number of decisions they have to make on a daily basis. For example, Albert Einstein reportedly bought several variations of the same grey suit so that he wouldn’t have to waste time deciding what to wear each morning.
If you’re constantly trying to re-invent yourself in your affiliate business, and jumping from one idea to the next, it’s possible you’re overloading yourself with decision fatigue. Pick a strategy and stick to it for at least 6 months. Don’t jump from one thing to another. If you’re a blogger, stick with blogging. Stop looking for the “magic bullet” if you’re jumping from course to course. Choose a direction and stick at it long enough to get some traction.
Plan your workday the day before. Don’t leave it to chance of how you’re feeling on the day. Have a set pattern of work which you know you’re doing each and every day. That way, you avoid getting stuck in indecision.
