The #1 Key to Time Management

I should start this with explaining that I think there's no such thing as "time management".  Time is time... it is 24 hours a day, 60 minutes an hour, 60 seconds a minute.  You can't change this, manage this, move it, add to it, delete it... it is what it is!  What you can do is manage the tasks and activity within your timeframe.  I use this term in this title because everyone is familiar with it and it's used universally.  I just don't happen to agree with it.

Almost everyone I speak with says that their biggest challenge is not having enough time.  What they really mean is that they are trying to do too much!  We all have the same amount of time, it's simply a matter of what activity we try to fit into our lives.  There's an epidemic happening.  We're unhealthy, unhappy, disconnected from the things that are most important to us and spend very little time with the people and on the things that bring us the most joy.  It's an epidemic that is accepted by society in general and if you're not "busy, busy, busy", then you are seen as not be ambitious or successful.  We are being assaulted by information and images from our different forms of technology, almost on a 24/7 basis, that is adversely affecting our mental, emotional and physical health.  This information overload is something you can control and it starts with FOCUS.

The #1 key to "time management" is FOCUS.  When you're clear on what you want to achieve and what you need to do to get there, then you know exactly what you need to spend your time on.  When your goals and objectives are part of your everyday focus it's easy to determine what you need to do with your time.  Simply ask yourself if what you're doing is getting you closer to the results you want.  The Pareto Principal says that 20% of our actions get 80% of our results...WOW!!!  Imagine if you got super focused and got rid of the activity that's not getting you the best results!  What would you do with all that extra time???

Following are 13 tips that will help you get and stay focused;

1. delegate - This alone will save you hundreds of hours this year
2. say NO! - when you say no to something you're saying yes to something better
3. have a system of accountability - usually a person that won't let you get away with crap
4. allot an amount of time to EVERYTHING - everything takes time so be realistic about it
5. put a timeline to EVERYTHING - assign a timeline to everything you ask for from someone, as well as to everything you promise someone
6. QUIT!!! - know when it's time to call it quits on something.  Not everything is worth labouring over
7. Create and/or participate in a Mastermind Group - there's nothing like the motivation, inspiration, and accountability that a Mastermind Group of trusted colleagues provides
8. Understand that multitasking is a myth - plain and simple
9. Schedule disconnect time in order to be more productive - disconnect from technology, work and people.  Disconnect from technology especially...start controlling IT instead of being a slave to it.
10. Write it down - focus increases with "brain to hand" activity
11. Create a plan to deal with procrastination - get whatever help you need to do this.  One of the worst consequences of procrastination is the way it affects your self-esteem....  no one can beat you up like you can! 
12. Do whatever you need to deal with "perfection paralysis"... even if that means therapy.
13. Plan your activity around your energy - AND... spend time building your energy..  get enough sleep, nutrition, exercise physically and mentally and seek emotional and spiritual inspiration.

I'll look at other aspects of "time management" in my upcoming blogs.  Let me know if you have any tips, tools, techniques or habits you'd like to share regarding this subject.  I'd love to hear from you!

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It's all about me...I mean you... I mean us!!!

How many times have you heard the phrase, "it's all about them"? ... Meaning the client or the customer.  While I do believe that what you "sell" needs to provide outstanding value to your client and your message has to be totally about how your products or services benefit them, that is secondary to what works for you.  In order to build a successful business for the long haul it's essential that when designing your business model it works for you first, and your client second.

If you haven't figured out what works for you yet, take the time to do it now.  It's never to late to start living the life you want. Here are some questions to ask yourself - and answer!... to get you started down your own path.

1. What do you want your life to look like?  Where do you live?  What do your days look like?  What do you want to spend your time doing?  How much free time do you want?... and what will you do with that time?  Think of family, friends, love, health, financial, spirituality, personal development, fun, giving back.  What jazzes you just thinking of it?

Only when you know what you want your life to look like do you get started on your business.  Now whatever business model you design needs to fit into your ideal life - NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND!

2. What do you do?  Why do you do it? Who do you do that with?  Where do you do that? How much money do you want to make?  How many hours do you want to work?  What does your team look like?  What does your product or service look like?

When you design your business to fit your life you will be so much happier!!!  You work with clients that you like, hang out with colleagues that inspire you and are doing things that you feel passionate about.  You will put an end to the 'busy work" and will spend your time with activity that is in line with your overall business and life goals.  When you know what you want your business to look like, you'll say no to those things that don't move you towards your goals, which frees up the time to do what you want to say yes to!

Decide who you want to work with and proactively seek them out.  Decide what hours you want to work and protect your free time like a mama bear.  Being committed to a life and business of your design is the key to your success.

Yes, you'll lose some customers, but you'll gain the right ones!  And what could be better than that?

Have you designed your business, or have you just sort of fell into it by default?  Letting your clients' or other people's agendas decide for you?  I'd love to hear from you.

PS... Stay tuned for details of  my January 2017 Design Your "Lifestyle Business" Bootcamp.

Are you dizzy and seeing white spots?

There was a man who wasn't feeling well so he went to his Doctor.  The Doctor asked "what's wrong?"

He said, "Well Doc, lately I've been dizzy and I'm seeing white spots".

After a thorough examination and tests, several days later the man found out that he was dying from a rare disease and only had 6 months to live.

The man quit his job, started traveling the world and doing all the other things that he wanted to do but never found the time for.  He spent more time with his family and bought a new sports car.  One day he was driving by this famous clothing shop and decided to buy a tailor-made suite and shirt.

The tailor measured his arm length: "Thirty-three inches."  Then he measured his waist: "Thirty-two."  Next was his pant length: "Thirty-four."  And finally the tailor measure his neck and said "I'm going to make you a size sixteen-and-a-half shirt."

The man said, "No, I wear a fifteen-inch shirt."

The tailor measured again very carefully.
"No, sir," he said.  "Look, you wear a sixteen-and-a-half shirt."

The man was very adamant.  "No, sir.  I wear a fifteen-inch shirt," he told the tailor.  "I've worn that size my whole adult life.  I want you to make me a fifteen-inch shirt:

The tailor said, "Well, fine.  I'll make you a fifteen-inch shirt, but it will be so tight it will make you dizzy and you'll see white spots."

So often we so called intelligent human beings become so set in our ways and personal beliefs that we don't see the forest for the trees.  One of the best books I ever read is "Is It Too Late to Run Away and Join the Circus?".  One of the lessons that I learned from that book is that we often don't make a change until the pain of staying where we are is worse than the pain of the change or the unknown.    

We need to recognize the real source of the problem... if it's you, make a change.  If it's someone else, don't give away your power to them.  You ALWAYS have a choice of how you choose to respond to anything that happens to you.  

If you are willing to change, make adjustments, or change your perception, your dizzy spells and white spots might just disappear.

(my version of a story from "Every Day a Friday" by Joel Osteen)

The Old Man, the Boy and the Donkey

An old man, a boy and a donkey were going to town:  The boy rode on the donkey and the old man walked beside him.  As they went along they passed some people who remarked it was a shame the old man was walking and the boy was riding.  The man and boy thought maybe the critics were right, so they changed positions.

Later, they passed some people who remarked, "What a shame! He makes that little boy walk."  They then decided they both would walk.

Soon they passed some more people who thought they were stupid to walk when they had a decent donkey to ride.  So they both rode the donkey.  

Later, they passed some people who shamed them by saying how awful to put such a load on a poor donkey.  They boy and man said they were probably right, so they decided to carry the donkey.  As they crossed the bridge, they lost their grip on the animal, and he fell into the river and drowned.

The moral of the story?  If you try to please everyone, you might as well kiss your ass goodbye.

(An excerpt from "Book Yourself Solid", by Michael Port.)

It is IMPOSSIBLE to make 100% of people happy 100% of the time so stop trying already!!!  Below are just a few benefits of taking the time to figure out who your ideal client is.

• When you identify who your ideal client is you provide the best value possible because they are the right fit for you and your services.  
• Because you know exactly who they are it's easier to reach them, focusing and maximizing your marketing dollars.
• They value you and become raving fans.
• They refer potential clients like them...other ideal clients!
• The more focused your ideal client criteria is, the higher your sales conversion is. That means more business without increasing the number of prospects.

Simply put, you'll enjoy working with your "ideal clients" more because they're the right fit and they'll get more value from you.  A win-win, which is what it's all about!

The client is not always right....for you.

 

Working with the right client will make what you do a joy!  When you love what you do but are working with a client who is not the right fit for you it is a total drag for you and I guarantee it's not so pleasant for your client either.  When you go through the process of figuring out who your ideal client is and you focus on that client you're creating a win-win for all concerned.  So if you're working with a client who is not a good fit for you, fire them or have them fire you.  Here are some indicators that you're working with the wrong client.

1.  They want things for free or are nickel and diming you to death!
2.  Your values are not in line - don't underestimate the importance of this.
3. They complain, complain, complain.
4. They don't respect your time.
5. You find yourself dreading your time with them.
6. They're late to pay you.
7. They try to tell you how to do your job.
8. You can't please them no matter what you do.

When you take on a client simply for the money it's like the old saying: "If you marry for money you will earn every penny of it".   You can lose far more in the long run than the one off payment that you get from a bad fit client.  If they're unhappy and tell others you'll lose more down the road than the cost of one project with them.

When I worked in the hotel industry at a 4.5 star hotel, as Managers we did Manager on Duty shifts on the weekend.  I once had a couple where the husband had maintenance change a toilet seat at 2am because it was scratched, next came a replacement of the phone at 3am, new sheets and pillows followed.  In the morning I spoke to them and explained that although we were doing our best we felt that we were unable to meet his expectations, which we felt horrible about.  Because we wanted he and his wife to have an amazing experience while in Halifax, I felt it best to not charge him for their night with us and to book him in another hotel of his choice for Saturday night which we would pay for, along with dinner at the other hotel, a cab to get them there - all on us...we would even pack them up.   He was a nightmare client for us and I "fired" him without him realizing he had been fired.  From his perspective we screwed up and paid for a great weekend for he and his wife. ( I did feel guilty though sending him to a competitor's hotel :)

Do both you and you non-ideal clients a favour and cut them loose.

2 Ears and 1 Mouth

My plans for today were shot to hell once again by the weather - oh well!  I took some time this morning to clean up my home office a bit and came across my "Thomas Profile".  If you've never had your profile completed I suggest you call Claudina Whisken at Thomas International and get it done asap.  The information you learn in it is sooo valuable and helps you so much when working and dealing with other people.

One of the things that my profile says is that I am so enthusiastic that I times I may talk too much and not listen well  - guilty!  I believe the old saying - "we were given 2 ears and 1 mouth so that we could listen twice as much as we talk".  I make a conscious decision on a regular basis to work on a variety of things I feel need to be improved about myself...both in attitude and behaviour.  It was a great exercise to sit quietly, not in a rush, and go through my profile and recommit to work on this extremely valuable skill - LISTENING!  Nothing makes a person feel better than to know that they have been given your full attention and that you have been truly listening.

Being an enthusiastic extrovert I can sometimes be like a whirlwind or a bulldozer - if I've been like this with you - I apologize - and if I'm like that with you in the future please let me know.  This is my very public commitment to try to listen twice as much as I talk - we don't learn much if we're the one doing all the talking!

Create a “STOP DOING LIST” Today!

This week when you start your to do lists I suggest you create a “stop doing list”.  I would wager that you would see more productivity from implementing a “stop doing list”, than ticking off the many tasks on your to do list.  Early on in our businesses we wear all the hats and juggle a zillion tasks.  As you progress if you don’t focus on YOUR SECRET SAUCE  you will be stuck in the vicious cycle of doing everything, working too long, not being productive and not making enough money!

Here are some areas where entrepreneurs can get buried – get real with yourself and stop the cycle.

Doing your own things like bookkeeping or designing.  Even if you’re okay at these things they aren’t what you went into business for (unless of course they are J).  Delegate them to someone who will do them more efficiently leaving you to the job of business building.

Getting Trapped in Busy Work – spending hours on a facebook timeline photo or making sure all your file folders are colour coded are things that you SHOULDN’T be spending your time on.  How about spending that time connecting with past or future clients, organizing or attending a networking event – which is a better use of your time?

Easy gratification versus long term success – stop focusing on the small things that are easily completed and give you instant gratification by ticking them off your to do list.  Think about one strategic priority that you can work on each day and spend your time taking a bite out of that.

Perfectionism Paralysis – plain and simple this can kill your business!  There is no such thing as perfect anyway – it’s all in the eye of the beholder.  Strive for excellence, not perfection – and sometimes done is better than excellent.  Be selective and decide in advance what level of excellence is required for each job.

I’d love to hear what ends up on YOUR  “STOP DOING LIST” – just don’t do it!

7 Lessons from my Clothesline Obsession

Yes...I am obsessed with clotheslines.  I LOVE THEM!  I am a clothesline-aholic and have absolutely no intention of recovering.  I get great joy from just watching my clothes blow in the wind.  There is a feeling of simplicity and peace that comes from my clothesline.  I can sit endlessly on my deck watching the wind in my clothes (many times with a beer in hand)...and oh, the smell of clothes fresh from the line!

I can't be sure where these feelings come from but I presume it has something to do with my childhood.  I grew up in an extended family environment.  We lived in sort of our own little commune of our family (6 kids), my aunt and uncle's family (4 kids) and my Grandparents.  Our three homes shared a lawn, driveway, well, sheds, wharf...and even clotheslines.  It took great coordination to be sure that all the laundry of the 3 families was done since none of the families had a dryer.  If the weather was even near fine there was always laundry on the line.  My prominent memories are of a diamond sparkled ocean with laundry blowing in the wind beside it. 

My Clothesline after a day at the beach.

Our village was very communal as well - it wasn't rare to come home and find all the laundry sitting in a basket in the kitchen,taken off the line by one of the neighbours if she felt the weather was going to turn...and we did it for our neighbours in kind... this was possible since no one locked their doors :)

A clothesline is a non-negotiable for me - I have a 75 ft one that I use year round.  So it could be the joy of seeing the beach towels after a sweet day in the water, or maybe even a frozen piece of clothing - or at times a full line of laundry on the ground as a result of an aged clothesline that could take no more.... then a new clothesline goes up and we start all over again.

These are the lessons that I have learned from my clothesline:

1.  Doing nothing is not non-productive.  Anything that brings you joy is worth the time it takes to do it even if it may appear to the outsider as "doing nothing".

2. A little extra work can sometimes bring great results.

3. Just because you can't see something doesn't mean that there's not something at work..(have you ever seen the wind?)

4. Looking out for each other reaps rewards all around.

5.  When negotiating, understanding what each person needs and wants is essential and will usually lead to a win, win... (a win, win, win in our clothesline case)

6.  Even when you seem defeated you need to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and continue the journey.  It cannot be perfect every step of the way and knowing this and making plans to deal with it will make the defeat minimal.

7.  Happiness, joy and success and individual - respecting and embracing this of others makes everyone winners.

Urgent doesn't always mean IMPORTANT - 6 Tips to get you to IMPORTANT

Taking control of how we spend our time one of the best changes that we can make for long term success.  We don't really manage our time, we manage our tasks and activities.  Too often our "urgent" tasks are those that have something to do with another person's goals and not ours.  There are 2 types of urgent tasks - 1. those we can't foresee...and 2. those we've put off or procrastinated getting done. 

Stephen Covey's time management quadrant process is a great way to put our activities into perspective.  Start categorizing your tasks within this quadrant and you'll quickly see that most of the activities that will propel you to accomplishing and reaching your goals are Important but NOT urgent...that's why most of us don't get to them.  There's no sense of urgency attached to them and are easy to put off.  Check this out and try it for a week or two and see what I mean. 
http://www.usgs.gov/humancapital/documents/TimeManagementGrid.pdf

Here's are 6 tips that will help you get to those Important activities that will change your business!!!

1.  start saying no...enough already, you really aren't superwoman!
2.  stop being a "time Pollyanna"... you really can't drive 100 km, see a client, drive 100 km back all in an hour - get real with your time!!!!
3. schedule appropriately in the first place- EVERYTHING you do has a timeline attached to it... figure that out when your scheduling anything.
4. stop procrastinating - this is another blog entirely... get help if you need it.. this is such a waste of time, energy, talent and angst.
5. stop allowing another person's priorities to become your priorities!  Know which important tasks you need to do each day and protect your time like a mama bear with her cubs.
6. if you starting setting a deadline on everything you do it will change your world - when you ask for something from someone else, put a timeline to it...when someone asks for something from you, put a time line to it.  When you write a to-do list put timelines to each task.  When you're working on a project put a timeline to each and every task for each and every person.  This alone will change how you spend your time.

Until next time...

Whose Goals are they Anyway???

I work with soooo many clients who say they aren't reaching their goals and are super frustrated.  When we actually get to work looking at those goals, challenges, obstacles, etc., more often than not the goals they were working towards weren't really in sync with what they really wanted.   Goals often conflict with each other because most of us don't really take the time that's needed to REALLY think about what you want ... we're sort of on this ever moving treadmill and anchored to a life of busywork... STOP!!!  Take time to identify what YOU want and I bet you'll be amazed how much more motivated you'll be to reach them.  Grab a friend, an accountability buddy, a coach, create a mastermind group - whatever it takes for you to take the time to think, brainstorm and yes, get feedback.

Here are things to be careful of when setting your goals:

1. Make sure the goals are yours - not your manager's, your spouse's, your friends, parents etc. or society's in general.

2. Your heart isn't in it - you really don't care - you're simply doing it because you think it's what you should do.

3. You're hanging around soul suckers - you know who they are - they are toxic, they poo poo on your dreams - they don't want you to outgrow them.  Find positive, motivated, inspirational and giving people - there are lots out there.

4. You're over extended - you can't accomplish are your goals at once and you can't do everything yourself.  Be realistic - have laser focus on one goal at a time...multi tasking is a myth!!!  Delegate whenever possible.  We all need a support team - figure out what your team looks like for you.

5. It's toooo hard (insert "whine whine" here) - yeah - some things are hard.  Don't be one of the "yeah but" people... or the "if only I could.... but..."  Really???? 

Grab on tight - go for it - be persistent!!!  It's a lot more fun if it's a goal you really want - Good Luck!