Action vs. Motion – Which One Are You Doing?

31 Jan Action vs. Motion – Which One Are You Doing?

When it comes to your business, can you tell the difference between “getting things done” and really “getting things done”? The former, I call “motion”. It is the day-to-day errands, starting things and never finishing them, researching, filing, even learning. In other words, when you invest in the motions, you’re seeming to get things done, but you are no closer to achieving your goal. The importance is to balance your motions with the other critical part of business growth: action.

Let’s look at the definition of each term: motion and action – to get a better understanding of how to differentiate each and what they mean for your business.

According to Webster’s dictionary…

Motion is the process of moving or being moved.

Action is bringing about an alteration by force.

Action is important because it is how you create change. When you are in motion, you “look” busy, but the reality is you’re not moving any forward toward bringing your goals to fruition.

To make sure you move from the motion phase to truly spurring action, then you need to establish goals.

As a general rule, your time should be invested in 80% action activities and 20% motion activities. For example, you may need to research a new product idea (motion), but then you need to start putting things into action and start planning the product development, coordinating with product teams, creating a marketing plan, etc.

The best way to determine if you are in the motion or the action phase is to ask yourself, “If I do this activity every day for 7 days, will this get me closer to my goal?” And, if the answer is “yes” then you are in action mode and working toward where you want to be in your business. But, if the answer is “no” then you are stuck in motion and risk not getting to where you want (and need) to be.

For example, if your goal is to grow your sales by 25% and you spend every day this week researching new product ideas you are in the motion phase. It is true that you may be more knowledgeable about how to launch the new product, but what are you doing with that knowledge to get results? At some point, you have to transition to action and start investing in tasks that will enable you to leverage what you have learned to start increasing sales.

This week take a look at your calendar and categorize which tasks are motion and which are action. Then focus on getting more done by spending your time wisely and doing 80% action activities and 20% motion tasks.