This may be the year you decided to add a new service or branch out into something entirely different than what you were doing before. If things aren't quite going as expected - don't fret and definitely don't quit! Sometimes the habits we've come to know as a method to the madness don't always translate to all lines of work. Maybe you need a new social media strategy or change the way to manage business overall.
Pinpoint the Problem
Many of us have the bad habit of doing everything else except for what we really need to do. This is especially true when we hear someone make a comment about something they noticed. While knocking things out ASAP is always a good habit, it can take away from other time-consuming tasks.
For instance, anyone who has a blog should get into the habit of checking for dead links. I've been guilty (hell, even as we speak) of doing this and it was extremely embarrassing when a potential sponsor or anyone else that provides money-making opportunities points this out. One way to remedy this is to do a free broken link check at least twice a month.
Manage Time Better
Recently, I let go of a pretty counteractive habit. For over a decade, I've spent hours per week perusing gossip blogs and message boards. The latter is a true time killer because there are often many topics to explore and change by the minute, in some cases. To add to my misery is watching TV and by the end of the week, this adds up to hours in the early 10s. While it was worse when I had cable (20+ hours) and a job I hated, the time could've been put to better use in order for my business to succeed.
You may benefit from an online timekeeping system or you may want to take the manual route. One benefit to online timers is your clients may feel better about seeing how you use your hours. Otherwise, once you experiment with ways to save time, you may find that you can slash certain tasks in nearly half the time.
Stop Listening to Naysayers