Dorothy from grammology
grammology.com

@ Jamie, when I went to Malmesbury, England (near Swindon), I had a slice of pie in the hotel, and it just happened to come with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Seriously, it was the best ice cream I’ve ever had! Vanilla gets a bad rap sometimes, but let’s not forget it’s by far the most popular flavor for a reason.

I went back later for more ice cream, but it was never the same again – it just tasted like regular ice cream. Oh well, maybe I’ll find it someday.

@ Christy, great question, but to answer it well would take far more space than is available here. Also, a lot depends on the specifics of your personal situation, which I know nothing about. But let me give you a short answer here. It essentially boils down to this: (1) identifying the most critical tasks, and (2) being efficient at getting them done.

#1 is about knowing how to run a business. By reading IttyBiz, you learn things like “spend four times as much time on marketing as you spend actually doing your thing.” That’s an example of identifying the critical tasks. It’s about doing the right things.

#2 is about time management. Unplugging the TV, batching similar tasks together, avoiding perfectionism, and so forth. It’s about doing things right.

Chasing those two big rabbits is very hard, no question about that. But if you look at where people fail, it’s usually with #1 or #2 above. I know this isn’t exactly a personalized action plan, but hopefully it will help you assess whether you’re on the right track.

@ Alex, that’s a very common fear, but I think you’re doing the right thing by chasing it anyway. If a better rabbit comes along, you can always change your plan, but you have to at least be chasing something to stay in the game.

@ Keena, so you’re a “meta.” You’re chasing a rabbit that will help other people chase their rabbits. Good job! I know what you’re talking about, from having read Akemi’s blog. That’s funny about the Nuttall’s Cottontail!

@ Vered, it’s certainly the first time you’ve seen me use profanity to this degree, but you’ve seen some WTFs here and there. I have to customize my post for Naomi’s readers, you know. :) You’re right, being willing to change your plans is important for anyone.

@ Johnny, that’s a funny image with the planes refueling! Not sure who you want to smack, but I’m @hnuttall and Naomi is @ittybiz on Twitter.

“be ready to change your plans when necessary.” This is an important point. You need to be flexible enough to change direction if necessary, and you need to be aware of the other options out there so that you know which new direction to choose.

This is of course true not just for business owners and entrepreneurs but also for more traditional careers.

I myself thought my big rabbit was the “answer”, and then when I posed some open-ended questions to my subconscious and “higher self” (and did a lot of thinking about all the rabbits), it turned out my big rabbit was really only small – or maybe I got bigger? Anyway, now I am chasing a new, very young rabbit – Career Realignment. In this process I take a look at your soul/Akashic record to determine your soul purpose, origins, gifts and challenges to get you to a particular herd (?) of rabbits (which suit you at a soul level) from which to begin your chase. I clear any issues out of your record so that you can begin your chase without lugging around the kitchen sink and all sorts of other useless junk! Then, your guides tell me which particular rabbits would be the awesome bunnies to chase. We can even continue to give you pointers on chasing these rabbits – and stay with you until you’ve actually caught it! How cool is that?!

I figure I spent the better part of 8 months figuring out which rabbit would be the best one to chase. As it turned out – I didn’t even see this shy rabbit until the end of the process and when I did I shouted, “Eureka!”. In the career realigment process that eight months could have been reduced to less than a month. Now I can have this rabbit – and it fits in quite well with the former rabbit I was chasing. This is something I would have never believed was even possible.

Blessings,
Keena

PS I used to chase another rabbit – which I still love – as a biologist. Did you know that there is a Nuttall’s Cottontail Rabbit?!?! Check it out! http://www.bentler.us/eastern-washington/animals/nuttalls-cottontail-rabbit.aspx
PPS I found you through Akemi

That said, I just keep my nose to the ground and snuffle along letting scent and intuition guide me.

I like your analogy, but I’m looking for the practical side. Yes, being open to suggestions, ideas, concepts … I’m with you on that, but that’s not a doing step … well it kind of is; I hope you get my point.

If circumstance requires the chasing of two big ass rabbits simultaneously, HOW does one do it effectively (meaning results-producingly) w/o total and utter burnout (which really just means losing both rabbits)?

@Tracy: Excellent point. Sometime we are so focused on the rabbits runnig away from us that we fail to notice the one at our feet rubbing up against our legs. Okay, maybe that’s a cat, but you get the point. It’s important to not chase after the rabbits simply because they’re running away.

Then I took a new job, which occupied all of my focus, and after a while I realised I’d caught one of the beggars without trying. I enjoyed the work I was doing (Illustration-based Graphic Design), and wanted to continue working in this field when my work contract ended (which by the way, was yesterday!). So that’s where I’m headed next.

It’s important to realise when you’ve lost focus. It’s also important to know that you can’t necessarily fix things overnight. Advice like this post is a good start.