In June, I finished up my second one-year term as the president of NAWBO Cleveland. In July, I took some time to breathe. In August, I realized I had about 8 hours a week “extra” in my schedule, so I vowed to use each and every one of those hours wisely. See, I know ALL about Parkinson’s Law . . . and realized that [...]
“My schedule is so packed – I’m exhausted 80% of the time,” exclaimed a friend of mine, a business owner I greatly admire. Someone who, frankly, really has her $%!* together. See, the thing about being productive, effective, and efficient is the target keeps moving. The time management skills that got you this far aren’t the same ones you need as your business grows. [...]
The way to really grow your business is to stay in your Zone of Genius, doing the work in which you excel and moving the rest off your to-do list. Let’s face it – you can only do so much by yourself. At some point, you run out of time and mental capacity! After all, when you try to do EVERYTHING, something suffers. Your [...]
... And Have More Time to Enjoy Summer “If you had an extra hour each day, what would you do with it?” Whenever I ask this question, responses vary . . . kayaking, spending time with kids, reading, taking a bath, virtual happy hour with friends, and the list goes on. Seldom, very seldom, do I hear “work more”! It’s so easy for work to [...]
"What would you need to do to be able to leave the office an hour earlier each day?" That's a question I asked a client last week. Here's his response: CLIENT – "I own my own business; I can leave whenever I want." ME - [PAUSE] CLIENT – "Well, I mean, I just don’t leave early very often, because I want to make sure [...]
"I just can’t!” Admit it - sometimes we can just get so overwhelmed that making one more decision or doing one more thing is impossible to imagine. I’ve hit this point recently, and last week two of my clients did also. Is this procrastination - or do you just need a break? Here’s the Wikipedia definition of procrastination. “Procrastination is the avoidance of doing a [...]
“I just can’t keep up with the emails and phone calls!” My client (we will call her Becky), a financial advisor, shared this concern with me last week. In two days the number of emails, phone calls, and text messages increased from about 30 per day to over 250. Clients were calling freaking out about the market. They were calling wondering if they should [...]
Many of my clients have been in this “new normal” for a few weeks now - and are starting to fall into a routine. Routines are good - they allow you to regain some control over your day (which certainly helps reduce the stress) and they allow you to be more efficient since you don’t have to think about everything before you do it! [...]
I start most of my workshops asking the attendees what they would do if they had an extra hour each day. The #1 answer . . . sleep! WOW - even though I know that answer is coming, it still shocks me each time. How frustrating that we have created such a busy life that our basic need for sleep isn’t even being met! [...]
We are more than halfway through January and I’m curious . . . where are you with dedicating time to your Q1 goals? Have you been majoring in the minors (doing all the little check-‘em-off-the-to-do-list tasks) and running out of time to work on your important strategic objectives? I get it - it can be really satisfying to check off 6 tasks in 20 [...]
