5 Easy Habits To Make The Most Of Your Day

Good habits create successful businesses. What success strategies are a part of your routine?

“Habit: a tendency to do something as part of a routine.”

After interviewing Misty Gibbs of www.myinspirationlounge.com yesterday, I realized again the importance of daily routines as a way of not only meeting business goals but leveraging your effort and time.

Misty just naturally incorporated a few of the following habits into her work every day and is receiving the benefits in the fast-paced growth of her business.

1.  Focus on 3 tasks that must get done everyday for the business to grow. Do these first so your day does not get away from you! Maintenance tasks like checking email, checking stats for your business and keeping up with Facebook and Twitter can easily use up your work time. They are important to keep up with so schedule 15-30 minute increments 2 times per day so you don’t get caught in the time terminator!

2.  Be aware of when you are the most creative and use that time to write or plan new initiatives for your business. Think boldly and visualize by taking time away to dream and step back from your work. It does not happen in front of a computer!

3.  Read, research and connect with others outside of your office space.  It will help your creativity, keep you up on current trends in other businesses and give you the opportunity to better serve your clients. Be sure to choose people that are positive and passionate or online destinations that inspire and are free from negativity.

4.  Ask for support from friends or a business partner to brainstorm new ideas or create synergy in a new joint venture project as part of your marketing strategy and outreach plan. Women are extending themselves and giving of their knowledge and time in unprecedented ways. Connect with other feminine leaders to find out new trends and feel inspired by their energy.

5.  Stand in your truth and value yourself! Every business is unique and the way that women juggle work and family is awe-inspiring. Look at what is working well in your business and put your energy and time in that direction. Don’t drain your energy on what is not working. Let it go! Celebrate the small successes and be able to honor yourself and your gifts.

Take a bird’s eye view of your business and observe what good habits you have in place. Focus on what is effortless and makes work joyful!

Lydia

How to Delegate Tasks Effectively at Work and Home

  This blog is a combination of marketing tool reviews and entrepreneurial lifecoaching.  It is our desire to guide you through the sea of marketing overwhelm – not just saving you money, time and effort – but also keeping you sane and mindful so that you can grow your business with integrity, reliance and joy, freeing you from feeling stuck, under-inspired or overwhelmed.

Do you ever feel frustrated by too much work? Does everyone else involved seem totally unaware of the urgency? Imagine how different your life would be if only you could gain more support for your business-building efforts!

Learning to delegate tasks effectively to support services, to web designers or to other support staff can reduce stress while accomplishing much more in less time. Whether it’s your home or business you want to improve, a few changes can make all the difference in the world!

For example, when you visit a well-run classroom, you’ll find a teacher who has planned ahead for the day, assigned specific tasks to different children based on strengths, and requests help from the students.

The teacher doesn’t try to do everything. Rather, the students are given assignments to be office helper, chalkboard washer, group leader, and more. This works best when the tasks are spelled out on a chart with names assigned to the job, but simply requesting help is also effective.

You can use these same methods in your environment to recruit some much needed help and cooperation.

People intrinsically want to feel useful, so when delegating tasks, use these ideas:

1. Plan ahead.

You can’t overestimate the power of planning. When you know exactly what you want to accomplish, you can express it clearly to your children or employees. With an end result in view, everyone stays on track.

* Make a master list of tasks you’d like accomplished, including the different steps needed to complete each task. Assign these steps to different people so each person in the office or family is working together to achieve a goal, and nobody is overburdened.

2. Match tasks to strengths.

Finding the person whose strength matches each need will not only result in the best product, but also more satisfaction in those doing the tasks. Figure out who the writers, organizers, computer geeks, and artistic people are within your group and let their gifts complement their assignments.

* The same holds true in your family when delegating tasks. Match chores to the child based on age, physical capabilities, and preferences. For example, if you have one child who likes a particular chore, let that chore become your child’s regular job.

3. Make tasks clear.

Take the time to explain each person’s task and the steps needed to finish it. Posting the steps on a dry erase board or chart is an effective visible reminder. If your support staff has clear expectations, you can simply tell them to complete their assigned job.

4. Make Deadlines Reasonable.

When you need something done quickly, especially in an office environment, people will naturally become stressed out trying to do the job correctly and quickly. This will inevitably lead to mistakes being made and you’ll need extra time ‚and possibly extra money to fix those mistakes.

* Let your clients know how long is required to complete the job, and only commit to reasonable time frames. If necessary, hire extra people to help rather than overloading your current workers.

You can keep your home and business running smoothly without frustration or stress. With clear expectations and people functioning in their best capacities, peace and efficiency can be yours! Start getting the results you want today by implementing these tips into your every day routines.

Happy Implementing,
Your coach Christiane 

4 Ways to Get Organized For Good

This blog is a combination of marketing tool reviews and entrepreneurial lifecoaching. It is our desire to guide you through the sea of marketing overwhelm – not just saving you money, time and effort – but also keeping you sane and mindful so that you can grow your business with integrity, reliance and joy, freeing you from feeling stuck, under-inspired or overwhelmed.

Do you feel like the song, “Under Pressure” by David Bowie and Queen? There is so much to be done in a typical workday that it is easy to lose focus and get sidetracked. Having a system in place gives you more time to grow your business and increases your productivity. Christiane and I make lists and use goal sheets everyday to stay focused and organized. Here are ideas for making lists to make your day run smoothly.

• Make daily lists the night before. Prioritize them with a hierarchical system that shows the importance of each item. For example, A=urgent, B=moderately important, C=if there is extra time, D=designate a helper to take it over, E=eliminate it from the list. Create a system that works for you and remember not to take it all on yourself or life quickly gets out of balance!

• A Weekly list prevent items from falling through the crack and keep you on track for the month. It allows you to breakdown larger monthly goals into smaller pieces so that you balance the big picture with the smaller day to day tasks.

• Create a monthly list with specific goals to keep you on track. Goal setting needs to be SMART. S=specific, M=measurable, A=attainable, R=relevant, T=timely. The R for relevant is one of the most critical parts of the goal because it has to have meaning to you. Otherwise you won’t be motivated to achieve it. For example, a SMART monthly goal for me is that I will write 3 articles about marketing and 2 articles about money that are at least 300 words each and post them on our membership site by March 15, 2009.

• Yearly lists are where the fun brainstorming and visionary aspects of your business take shape. Take the time to create projects or products for your clients that you have always wanted to give them. Joy comes through when you have fun and dream! Your clients will be excited by the new offerings and marketing is effortless with a new product or service. Do not be overwhelmed by the big goal because with this system, you break it down into monthly, weekly, and daily pieces.

Peace and Success,

Lydia

How List Making Keeps You Sane

a b c list