When we think of multi-tasking we picture the busy executive with a phone glued to one ear whilst they are barking orders at an assistant and signing some papers all at the same time. Whilst you may not relate to this particular image of multi-tasking I’m sure you have your own variation! It might go something like checking your webpage statistics, checking emails, twitter and having a conversation on facebook. Many of us spend our days doing more than one thing at the same time but is this the most efficient way to get things done?

Studies say no way! Using your time to do several things at once does NOT improve productivity. Doing many things at once will mean that nothing gets done well or effectively.

So then the answer is doing one thing at a time? Actually I don’t think the answer is as clear cut as that.

Stay Focused

Many people tell you that to become successful in any field, not just internet marketing you need to remain focused on your goals.This is the kind of focus I definitely agree with.

Internet marketing newbies are often advised by the more experienced marketers to work on one project at a time when they are just starting out.Whilst this is good internet marketing advice, sometimes you need a more practical approach.

Staying focused on one project at a time in the beginning will ensure that you don’t miss any critical steps in the planning and execution of your project.When you are doing something for the first time the task takes much longer to complete and the more you do something the better you get at it.

But, in the real world, having several projects in different stages of development will enable you to use your time more effectively especially if you are waiting for a response from someone else before going onto the next stage.For example, if you buy a domain name and make a mistake assigning the dns nameservers then it can take up to 24 hrs for the changes to propagate through the web. If you want to start generating traffic on this site then you have to wait the 24hrs or so until it is live on the web before you can implement traffic generating strategies such as submitting RSS feeds, pinging, social bookmarking etc.

If you didn’t have something else to work on, then any time that you might have been able to use to build your business in that 24 hour period has been lost.

There are plenty of other examples where things on the internet are not instantaneous. Emailing support for help, waiting for approval from a potential affiliate program and of course waiting to see if a PPC campaign will work or not. All of these things can be extremely frustrating for the interent marketing newbie who just wants their website live on the web attracting lots of traffic!Without another project to focus on your will find yourself doing unproductive stuff like overchecking your emails or your Google analytic stats.

So yes you should only do one thing at a time so that you can produce the best possible result but only having one project on the go can waste you a lot of time as well.

Multiple Projects NOT Multi-Tasking

So just to emphasize the point I advise having several projects on the go simultaneously at different stages of completion. BUT, when you are actually working just focus on one thing at a time – multi-project but don’t multi-task!

So how do you manage more than one project at a time?
How do remember exactly what stage you are up to in each separate project?

Systematization is the answer!

Each and every project on the internet has a series of steps that need to be completed.For example: setting up a website involves the same set of steps every time, market research, domain name purchase, website setup …

Using a system of checklists and keeping an up-to-date checklist for every project that you have, keeps you in control.This makes it very easy to stop in the middle of something when you hit a roadblock or you run out of time for the session(when you are trying to squeeze in internet marketing in your spare time this happens a lot).

Excel spreadsheets are my secret to organizational success and I use them to keep track of my actions for a particular project. I have traffic spreadsheets (one for each website) so that I can keep on top of the pieces of content created for a particular project and whether or not I have used them to their full traffic generating potential.

Now, excel spreadsheets might not be your style but choose something that suits your personality and work habits an use it diligently.I used to be a fan of the post it notes everywhere but they are easy to lose and when you spend more time looking for things rather than doing, you soon develop a more useful system.

So if you want to make the transition from internet marketing newbie to internet marketing entrepreneur you will need to have multiple streams of income from multiple websites but don’t multi-task, focus on one thing at a time.