The TOP Performance Blog

40 Rules To Live By For Business Success

by Scott Scholz...

As we get bogged down in our day-to-day business lives, we lose sight of the basics which make successful businesses flourish.  Here are some friendly pointers.

Take a few minutes to review these 40 common sense guidelines and then work diligently to integrate these rules into your approach in running your business.

1. As the owner of the business I will only focus on the things that I do uniquely well that drive profit to my company and delegate everything else.
2. I will always say please and thank you.
3. I will always show up to all meetings on time.
4. I will always finish what I start.
5. I will always do what I say I am going to do.
6. Our customers will be provided with a unique experience that they will not find with our competitors.
7. Our appearance and performance will exude professionalism.
8. I will not be afraid to start from scratch.
9. We might not always be perfect, but we will always be good.
10. At times I will forget common sense and use my imagination.
11. I understand that the internet is merely an aid; people still want to talk to people.
12. I will strive to be more personal.
13. I will simplify things.
14. I will be successful if I can create value for my customers.
15. I will be kind, humble and honest.
16. Anything that I share with my employees needs to be shared with complete honesty or not at all.
17. I will be reasonable at all times.
18. I will not compromise out standards.
19. I will handle all situations calmly.
20. I will strive to make our future greater than out past,
21. I will not waste energy by getting angry
22. I will forget about commodity and focus on relationships
23. I will forget about our losses and focus on our opportunities.
24. I will not think about the future, I will focus on today.
25. I will forget who I was and focus on who I can be.
26. I will forget about what is missing in my business and focus on what is available.
27. I will maintain dignity and grace under pressure.
28. I will always be proactive and not reactive.
29. I will not be afraid to break out of my comfort zone.
30. I will never forget that word-of-mouth is the best advertising.
31. I will only plan around what I can predict.
32. I will be on my customer’s agenda instead of always being on mine.
33. I will strive to make my customers fell that they are part of a unique community.
34. I will always remember that I have competition.
35. I will try to simplify the lives of my employees and my customers.
36. I will have plans and deadlines for all of my goals.
37. I will forget about the event and focus on the response.
38. I will not be mean, petty or rude.
39. I will look at what everyone else is doing and see something different.
40. I will never wait, I will act.

We cannot change the world. We cannot change the economy. We can only change ourselves.

"An unfortunate thing about this world is that the good habits are much easier to give up than the bad ones."- William Somerset Maugham 

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Scott Scholz is a Registered Financial Consultant (RFC) and Financial Architect with a step-by-step process that secures confidence, abundance, opportunity and control in your business and life that enables you to freely choose what to do, where and with whom.  To learn more, visit: http://www.scottscholz.com/.
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How to Stay Motivated and Reach Your Goals

by Gareth Barrow...

Motivation - We're all chasing it, but few of us understand it, or why we lose it in the first place.

What Is Meant By Motivation?

Motivation is the natural desire to reach a goal, combined with the passion and energy to work toward achieving that goal. Individuals who are motivated have a desire to take on new ventures and fulfil the requirements necessary to complete the task.

Motivation is a characteristic that we all require in order to achieve anything in our lives. Without motivation, we would all simply give up at the slightest inclination of adversity. Motivation is the instigator that inspires and encourages us to be our best. Someone who is motivated will do anything it takes to be successful in achieving their goals. Motivation can change your life by inspiring you to get everything you want out of life, no matter what other people try to tell you.

It is possible for someone who is stricken by poverty to become motivated and turn everything around into a life of abundance.

Motivation gives us the passion that we need to begin exploring our options in life as well as the courage to see these dreams through to reality. If you are unhappy with your current situation, it is most likely due to the fact that your current situation does not motivate you. You must take it upon yourself to determine what it is that you truly want out of life. Think about the type of lifestyle that you want to lead and the kind of career you want.

Once you know what makes you happy and change your life centre, you will be excited to jump out of bed each and every morning. Why We Lose Our Motivation

Three primary factors lead to the loss of our motivation, they are:

1. Lack of direction. You will not be motivated to achieve your goals if you do not know what those goals are.

2. Lack of confidence. Believing you will fail is the best way to ensure it.

3. Lack of focus. Not knowing what it is that you want will lead to wondering if you even want anything at all.

Tips on How to Stay Motivated

When you lack motivation, you also lack ambition, enthusiasm and zest. Motivation makes you feel as if you are full of life and ready to do anything you have to in order to reach the goals that you have set out for yourself. Once you find your motivation, you will be happier, you will have more energy and you will be able to see the positive results clearly in your mind.

You need to enhance the motivation within you and awaken your inner power to push yourself in the direction of fulfilling your dreams, no matter how great or small they may be. Here are a few tips to help you find your motivation and hold on to it:

1. Set goals. If you set goals for yourself, finding the motivation to reach those goals will come easier.
2. Finish everything you start. Make a promise to yourself that no matter what happens, you must always make it to the finish line.
3. Mingle with like minds. Positive attitudes seem to be contagious. Surround yourself with likeminded people who possess the motivation that you seek.
4. Do not put off for tomorrow what you can get done today. If you procrastinate, you will become lazy and lose all motivation to succeed.
5. Never give up. Patience and persistence to keep going and stay strong no matter what comes along will give you the motivation you need to succeed.

Constantly remind yourself that you can succeed. Visualize your goals and how happy you will be once you have everything you want.

Some Famous Quotes:

1. "Make Every Obstacle an Opportunity"
2. "Turn Every Negative to a Positive"
3. "Fortune Favours the Bold"
4. "Nothing Ventured Nothing Gained"

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Gareth Barrow is a writer, Webmaster and fitness enthusiast. View more interesting and informative articles on Fitness, health, weight loss and muscle building. Discover fitness tips, diet advice, lose weight and generally become healthier! For further information on men and women's fitness and the latest fitness training tips visit: 24 Hr Fitness.co.uk.
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Couples Communication: Six Super Simple Guidelines to Improve Your Ability To Listen

By Peggy L. Ferguson, Ph.D.

Good listening skills are important to a relationship.  Although most people have heard of "active listening", the definition of active listening is a source of confusion for many people.

Sometimes called "reflective listening", active listening involves making sure that you heard what was said by repeating it back.  Consciously listening to the other person to make sure that you heard what they actually said is reflected in these various terms.

When teaching couples how to change how they talk to each other, active listening is stressed.   Much of the time, a big part of the communication problems that couples experience involves poor listening skills or habits.

In order to communicate effectively in your most important relationships you must be able to accurately "hear" what is said. 

You can't have effective communication without good listening skills.  And you cannot be good at solving problems together without good communication skills.

An absence of effectively listening, means that the message sent or intended is not the same message as the one received by the listener.  Although this may happen for a lot of reasons, a simple absence of listening, is a major culprit.

A number of things can get in the way of good listening including assumptions that tells the listener that s/he does not need to listen past a certain point, a failure to pay attention or succumbing to distractions, and rehearsing what your response will be.  The listener may assume that he/she knows what the other is going to say, and may thus attend to just enough of the message to confirm his/her belief.

At other times, a listener may be tuning out what the other person is saying while s/he tries to come with his or her rebuttal.  Both of these scenarios are setups for the condition where couples dig themselves in deeper and deeper trying to be understood and not realizing that neither is hearing what is actually said.

When there are problems with focus or attention, the issue may be deliberate or non-deliberate lack of listening. 

To be a good listener, practice these guidelines:

1. Pay close attention to what is going on.
2. Concentrate on what they are saying.
3. Maintain eye contact without staring.
4. Don't interrupt.
5. Don't worry about what you are going to say until s/he is finished.
6. Practice active listening.

Active listening is an especially helpful tool in the presence of perceptual "filters".  Each partner comes into the relationship with a history of other interactions, communications, unique meanings, and personal experiences.  This collection of experiences and beliefs, attitudes, mood states, relationship event histories colors the information that we consume in the present. 

This emotional, attitudinal, and relationship background constitutes perceptual "filters".  These filters are uniquely one's own.  No two people have exactly the same filters.  The more long lasting and influential the experiences or the events, the more likely the filters will persist over time, and the more heavy the influence they play over perception in contemporary events.

You can improve your ability to listen by practicing reflective listening.  You can begin to override your filters by using this technique and by looking at the assumptions that you have been making about what is being said and looking for patterns.  Some people have filters about abandonment fears.  Others are ultra-sensitive to criticism.

An active listening technique that is helpful is the use of the phrase, "What I hear you saying is..."  This is only one example of reflective listening and feedback.  Any clarifying question could serve as active listening.  The point is that when you clarify a message, you are making sure that the message that you have received is the same messages as the one that was sent, or intended.

Sometimes the process can still get derailed when the paraphrased "what I heard you saying" message is met with "that is not what I said", and then an argument ensues over which one is correct.  Couples get derailed by arguing about what was actually said or not said in the first place.  This is easily remedied by each person first and foremost 's messages. 

It helps to not concern yourself about who is right and who is wrong.  A good phrase to remember for this situation is, "actually, what I intended to say was..."

Reflective listening feels awkward, unnatural, odd, stiff, and just plain weird.  It does however, have a number of benefits that make it worth practicing and learning.  Some of those are the fact that you can eliminate most of your arguments by making sure that the message that is received is the one that was sent.

Another is the fact that by carefully clarifying messages, you can discover your own themes in filters that color how you take in the contemporary events in your life.  Once you identify your sensitivity to certain messages and themes, some of the power of those filters can be neutralized. 

If you know that you are sensitive to abandonment messages, you don't have to panic when your partner says, "I'm starting to get angry in this discussion.  I'm going to take a break and go to the store."  In the past, instead of hearing that, you might have heard "I'm mad at you and I'm leaving you". 

If you have identified abandonment fear as a filter and your partner leaves in the middle of an argument, you can reassure yourself that your partner did not say that s/he was leaving you forever.

When you can actually hear what is being said in your conversations, you are less likely to engage in circular arguing, with each volley of verbal assaults setting up more miscommunication.

Communication exercises and training that have an active listening component are especially helpful.

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Peggy L. Ferguson, Ph.D. is a therapist in private practice in Stillwater, OK.  She is also a writer, trainer and consultant.  For more information, visit:  For more information, visit: http://www.peggyferguson.com
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Stress Free Living With Ten Practical Tips to Save Time

by Linda Hampton (http://www.keytostressfreeliving.com/)

Are you stressed for time?  Do you feel like the number of hours in one day just isn’t enough for all your activities? 

Well, here are several practical ways that you can do to save time without making sacrifices:

1. Sticking to your schedule for the day.  There’s a lot to be said for being organized and strictly following your itinerary.  When you have it mapped out, you focus on the current task instead of worrying about keeping them all in a balance.  It’s a good idea to know all your family members’ plans too.  That way, you help each other out and nothing is set aside.

2. Planning meals for the entire week.  When you’ve listed down all the ingredients for the meals that you will prepare, it means that the grocery trip would only be done once.  Rushing to the store is avoided.  When you’ve planned your meal, it also means that you’re not as tempted to go to the restaurant.  You save both time and money as a result.  If you need some help with your planning, you can search recipes online.

3. Keeping lists.  Honestly, it feels so good when you cross off the items on your list.  Keeping a list helps keep you on track and lets you avoid making mistakes or worse, forgetting about a task altogether.  It lessens your worrying too.

4. Being organized.  This saves you the most time.  When you know where things are and how each aspect fits into the picture, you’ll get rid of the stress associated with your responsibilities.  Staying organized is the key however, since it’s very easy to get your things all in a clutter.

5. Getting errands done in a single trip.  To accomplish errands the most efficient way, get them all done at one time if possible.  You can’t imagine the wasted minutes or hours that are spent waiting for the next task.  When you interlace jobs with errands, you’re exposing yourself to the risk of getting distracted.

6. Delegating if you can.  There can’t be a way for you to accomplish all the tasks yourself.  Thankfully, we have family members and co-workers who can assist us.

7. Eliminating distractions.  Don’t do too much multi-tasking.  You will find that when you’re working on the computer, turning off the social networking sites will actually mean that you’ll have more time for them later on.  Doing so also has the desirable effect of maintaining the quality of your tasks.

8. Knowing when to say no.  Sometimes, you will be required to accomplish more than one person could possibly do.  I suggest that you decline properly and either delegate or reschedule the task.

9. Using idle time wisely.  When you’re commuting or waiting for a meeting to begin, there are many productive things you can do.  You can respond to text messages and emails, plan your report, or make the shopping list.

10. Grouping similar tasks.  If there are tasks that you can do simultaneously, then you better schedule them to be accomplished together.  While talking on the phone, there are chores that you can do.  Or you can rearrange and clean at the same time.

Saving time means that you can have more time for things that are most valuable to you.  Managing one’s time also means that you can keep your lifestyle.  Apply these ideas and you’ll soon find that you have a lot of time for yourself.

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Linda Hampton RN, MSN a Wellness and Stress Management Breakthrough Life Coach is the publisher of a free 5-part e-course full of revealing information to help you deal with the stressful changes in your life.  For more information, visit http://www.keytostressfreeliving.com/.
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Boost Your Happiness Level With These 7 Tips

by Brenda Campbell (http://www.attractsuccess.com.au)

What if you woke up one morning and saw a sign above you that said "happiness bus - jump on here for the ride of your life"?  Would you excitedly jump on or would you pass, get up and just face your day?

Happiness is within the reach of any person who desires it.  It truly is there for you to just reach out and grab hold of and here are seven tips to boost your happiness level, whatever that may be.

But why would you bother?  Surely it is enough to just cruise along with life, taking it as it comes and if you are unhappy, that is just your fate in life.  You may be surprised to know that there are happiness experts who study and teach happiness, sometimes known as positive psychology.  These experts hold the view that happiness is a choice; you can choose positive emotions, you can choose to let go of fear, anxiety and sadness and you can choose to pursue happiness.  Most people believe that happiness is important and is worth having not just for the individual but for society as a whole.

Happy people earn higher incomes and are more productive, they have longer and more satisfying relationships and more friends, more energy, better health and even longer life.  There is evidence that individual happiness is a key factor in organizational performance so any employers reading this might want to explore happiness further.

The best possible news is that you can train your brain for greater happiness.  Read on to find out how.

1. Create the habit of keeping a daily journal. 

This might take a while and some discipline and every day that you do it will make it easier to continue.  When you get to 90 days it is very likely that it will have become a habit.  Your daily journal should be primarily about the positive things that occur in your life and that you appreciate about yourself.

2. Develop gratitude by adding to your daily journal a minimum of three notes about things for which you are grateful that day. 

Write down the things that people did that you appreciated, anything that made you smile or that you felt thankful for.  Talk to others about what happened and reinforce gratitude in your life.

3. Use your daily journal to identify the things that you can see are your strengths.

You might find that your writings about what you appreciate in yourself show some of your strengths and you can also ask trusted friends and family what they see as your strengths.  Use your strengths to make your life more enjoyable, for example, when you must do something that you do not like, approach it from the angle of your strengths.  Build on your strengths at every opportunity.

4. Give generously of acts of kindness.

Decide every morning how you will give at least five acts of kindness that day and be on the lookout for opportunities.  Doing this just feels so good and other's are very appreciative.  It is like giving and receiving gifts all day long.

5. Have fun!

I know that sounds a little crazy and looks obvious - happy people have fun right?  You know what though?  Sometimes we just stop being playful and exercising our sense of humor and again, it is just about practice.  So be on the lookout for happy people with whom you can have fun and practice being funny.

6. Be still with yourself - meditation, yoga and such pursuits calm the mind and give you time to see life from a different perspective.

Meditation can also help you to release fear, anxiety and sadness giving you room to allow happiness in.  Meditation, by the way, can be a lot more simple than you may think.  It can be as easy as watching the waves role in and letting all thoughts drift away in the process.

7. And finally, create yourself some habits like meditation, yoga or exercise.

The creation of habits reinforces your belief in yourself to be, do or have anything that you want, including happiness.

So now you have the secret formula to happiness, you know why you would bother and you know that it is possible to be happy, even if you are usually unhappy.  The choice is yours - reach out and grab hold with both hands or let another day pass.  Have fun with these seven tips and be happy.

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Brenda Campbell is an experienced coach and mentor who works with people all over the world to assist them to achieve their dreams and desires.  For more information, visit http://www.attractsuccess.com.au.
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How to Listen to Your Inner Self and Create Your Own Brand of Success

by Gary Jordan Ph.D.

These days, it seems like it's becoming harder and harder to be a human being rather than a human doing. 

"Action" is the buzzword of the day (every day)

In an article I read recently, the author was discussing the oft-asked question, "What are you willing to do to be successful?" The answer, she wrote, (as often expected from those of us serious about obtaining life success) was, "Whatever it takes."  She challenged this answer by adding, "…as long as you still love your life."  

I would like to take her challenge even further. 

First of all, let's look at the question itself.  It asks, "What you are willing to do," not what (or who) are you willing to be, in order to be successful in life.  Society places an intense focus on external achievement as a measure of success (money, recognition, status, etc.).  Along with that is the push for us to constantly market ourselves, our business, our website, our blog, etc.  It's not hard to see that it becomes all too easy to lose sight of how to be rather than how to do.  We all know there is surely no lack of things to do.  

I would propose to you that learning how to be is equally, if not more, important than learning how to do! 

It's important to know when to stop, when enough is enough, when getting, achieving, conquering, no longer has a place on the priority list.  We can all learn to recognize success in life as being comfortable within one's skin, with the journey one has taken, and with the friendships one has made and sustained.

Defining success as a human being rather than a human doing requires the ability to tune out the constant barrage of external demands on time, talent and resources.  It requires the ability to turn inward, to reflect, and to determine with one's own internal set of values and standards what is worthwhile and what is a waste of the precious resource of time.  It means defining a life of success based on quality rather than quantity.  

Recently my wife's 99-year-old aunt passed away and left a lesson for us all.  She was a dear, sweet and loving woman who had truly mastered "being."  Her wish for her friends and family, as quoted from her memoirs was, "That we become content with just being.  It is not a matter of trying to fulfill a social role; it is a matter of becoming wisdom itself." 

So where do we begin?  How do you learn to slow down and just take it all in? 

Try this exercise.  For the next five minutes:

• Stop. Breathe. Listen. Rest.
• Reflect on who you are in this moment.
• Identify three internal measures of success for yourself.
• Listen to your inner values and where they're guiding you.

When you take the time to live right now, in this very moment, you allow yourself to reconnect to your true self and gain the wisdom to let go of the things that, in the end, really don't matter, and to cherish those things that you take for granted.

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Gary Jordan Ph.D. is a clinical Psychologist in Texas. 
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Use the Economic Downturn to Position Your Business For Success

by K. MacKillop

For any business in the early stages of operations, the current economic downturn provides a unique opportunity to really examine the details of how your venture is running.  

Flat or declining sales are a struggle for any existing business, but a serious analysis and making appropriate changes will not only keep your venture afloat but will also prepare you for explosive growth once the economy improves.

Financial Management

The first step is to re-evaluate every expense, line by line.  Look for any cost that could be reduced or eliminated altogether.  Ask yourself how reducing the expenses would directly affect the actual work product of your business.  Eliminate any expenses that does not directly affect the sales cycle. 

Next, evaluate direct costs.  Check with suppliers for better deals -- remember, their sales are probably down as well, and they are motivated to retain existing customers.  Consider alternative vendors.  If nothing else, you may find a better deal that your current vendor is willing to match.

If you provide perks to your employees, be sure to communicate any changes before they are implemented.  Most workers will understand, and many will be grateful to still be employed, even if the free snacks and ballgames are cut out for a while.  

If you must cut staff, be as sensitive as possible.  Don't make any promises about the future and be sure you comply with any clauses in your employment contracts and manuals.

Marketing

Marketing is often one of small business's highest expenses.  While these costs should be evaluated, cutting marketing should be the last resort.  Marketing drives sales, so it may require more marketing to achieve the sales you need during a recession, not less.

Every marketing effort should be evaluated for its cost-per-objective and cost-per-sale.  That is, if your marketing objective is to increase website traffic, every promotion related to that objective should be evaluated in terms of results -- how many more visitors are you seeing for every dollar you pay?  And how many of those visitors are being converted to sales?

You will likely find that some efforts are far more cost-effective than others.  Consider shifting some of your marketing budget to these elements that produce more actual sales.

Planning

During slow periods, entrepreneurs also have some breathing room to plan for future growth.  Consider any changes in your market or industry that are likely to occur during and after the downturn.  Re-evaluate your mid- and long-term plans to be sure they still make sense.  

Identify projects you and your staff can work on during the slow times to prepare the business for growth. For example, if you plan to expand to a second location or to increase staff, develop any missing or inaccurate standard operating procedures (SOPs), update the employee manual and training program, and work up the numbers on exactly the level of sales needed to make the growth possible.

Conclusion

An economic downturn can be a great opportunity for a motivated entrepreneur.  Don't twiddle your thumbs waiting for sales to increase, but use the time to tighten the belt and prepare for future growth.

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K. MacKillop is co-founder of LaunchX LLC and authors a small business startup blog.  For more information, visit http://www.launchx.com/.
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Six Steps to a Smooth Running Operation

by David Hilton, MBA, M.Ed. (www.FreedomBusinessCoaching.com)

Managing a profitable company can be extraordinarily frustrating.  There are constant interruptions and problems to be solved, often requiring long hours of personal effort. 

Supervisors hang at the door complaining about employee problems, impossible production goals or departments that don’t communicate with each other -- all counterproductive to a well-run operation.

These problems result in lost sales, reduced quality, expanded delivery times and customer complaints.  Typically, the manager jumps to solve the problem.  But when the problems don’t go away, frustrations mount, leaving the manager wondering…

The solution to all problems lies within…

Yes, it sounds very Zen, and it did start in Japan.
 
Dr. W. Edwards Deming helped transform Japan into an era of economic boom after WWII.  Using Deming’s BUSINESS SYSTEMS approach, Japanese companies organized and grew by defining methodical processes or procedures of the business to deliver goods and services to customers effectively and efficiently.

“If you cannot describe the detailed steps of your business, then you do not know your business.”

So, how do I solve this?

First, stop blaming people, the economy, customers, or the competition.

When a problem lands at your door, consider it a sign that the business operation needs help.  Recognize that any problem or frustration is usually due to a missing system or a weakness in a current system. Look within the business to solve the problems faced by the business.

Six systems based steps to problem solving: 

1) CLEARLY UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM

Write down what is bothersome, when it happens and why it is a problem.  If others are involved, bring them into the conversation, and give them an opportunity to present their views.

Flowchart the problem as it currently exists.  This will reveal missing steps in the business process, miscommunications between departments, or if procedures are not being followed.

For each step in the flowchart, ask these questions:
o    Have responsibilities been assigned and staffed?
o    Have performance standards been established, monitored and measured?
o    Are the facilities, forms or equipment able to support the processes?
o    Is administrative support sufficient?

2) FIND THE TOTAL COST OF THE PROBLEM

Determine direct expenses caused by the problem.  For example, paying overnight shipping charges on supplies because there is no way to know supplies are low.

Add in lost revenues.  For example, sales that are lost when calls go unanswered during the lunch hour.
Consider the personnel costs caused by the problem.  Is the problem causing overtime?  Or, is it stressing staff causing high turnover and overtime is incurred to cover when short staffed? 

Add in the Opportunity costs.  Opportunity cost is measured by the sales lost because management is unable to develop a new aspect of the business.  For example, developing a website for internet sales is missed because management was busy focusing on problems in the shipping department.

3) WRITE A DESIRED OUTCOME THAT IS SPECIFIC AND CUSTOMER CENTRIC

Now, write out the dream scenario in terms that benefit the customer, delivering on their cares and concerns.  For example: “orders will be shipped accurately, timely, and in packaging that looks good and protects items, with a shipping invoice that confirms the ordered items and how to return an item.  Send an email notification upon shipment with tracking information.  After two business days send email with thank you and coupon for reorder.”

4) FLOWCHART

Now, write out the process to achieve the desired outcome in flowchart form.  For each step in the process establish the responsibilities and the staffing requirements.  Set performance standards, determine how they are to be monitored and measured.

5) COST OF IMPLEMENTATION

Estimate a cost to implement the new system defined above.  Are new facilities, forms or equipment required?  Is additional staff needed?  Will the wage rate increase because more qualified employees are required?

6) TO SOLVE OR NOT TO SOLVE?

Now subtract the cost of implementation (step 5) from the total cost of the problem (step 2).  Solve problems when COST OF IMPLEMENTATION is less than the COST OF THE PROBLEM.
 
Following these 6 Steps will help you minimize the frustrations in your business.  You will reduce the “blame game” by seeing problems that can be solved through creation of systems or systems improvement.

“We should work on our process, not the outcome of our processes.” - W. Edwards Deming.  Only by taking a systems approach will you begin to eliminate the frustrations in your business.  Both the problems and the solutions lie within our business.  they guide

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David Hilton is president of Strategic Vision Business Development Corp. - they guide business owners of small and medium sized businesses to take their companies to the next level of business success.   For more information, visit http://www.FreedomBusinessCoaching.com/.
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Save An Hour Each Day... Get Organized!!!

by John Erdman

What does your desk look like?  A toxic waste dump?  A bomb exploded?  Burglars ransacked your office?

In corporate America, most business people associate a messy, disorganized desk or office with being productive, effective and efficient.  Are you a member of this club? 

Did you know that most people are wasting an hour each day looking for “STUFF” that’s lost on their desk? 

How about you?  (Do you wish it was “only” an hour?) 

And it always happens at the most inopportune time.  How many times last week did you call someone up, ask them a question, and they responded, “Hold on a second and let me find the letter/file/proposal. I know it's here ... somewhere.”  And five minutes later they come back and sheepishly said: “I can’t find it; let me call you back later.” Thus, beginning another round of telephone tag and stretching a quick five-minute conversation into a five-day odyssey. 

If you want to get ahead in life, make more money, and even get home for dinner every once in a while, follow these 6 steps and you’ll be organized.

Step #1:  Schedule an Appointment with Yourself

For most people, it takes about 2 hours to get organized.  Write it on your calendar, and leep the Appointment!!! 

Step #2:  No Interruptions

Turn off the telephone, close the door (or put up a Do Not Disturb sign across the entrance to your work space), and allow no interruptions!  Think of this session as a meeting with your boss or most important client.

Step #3:  Bring a Dumpster

Sixty percent of the stuff on most people’s desk can be tossed.  So keep the papers, documents, and files you need, and throw the rest away.  Remember: Don’t succumb to Cleaner’s Remorse.  (Going thru the trash and pulling out the stuff you just threw away because you think you may “need it again”).

Step #4:  Pick up a Piece of Paper

Now that you’ve closed the door and turned off the phone, pick up a piece of paper - any piece will do - and ask yourself these 3 questions:

1. What is it?

2. Why do I have it?

3. What am I going to do with it?

If you can’t come up with a good answer, throw it away!!!  You can also use what I call the “measles theory,” meaning when you pick up a piece of paper put a red dot on the upper corner.  When you are handling a piece of paper on your desk and it looks like it has the measles, it is definitely time to act on it, file it or throw it away.

 Step #5: File Your Papers

If you really need to keep a piece of paper, file or proposal put it in a properly labeled file folder.  If one doesn’t exist, create one on the spot.

 Step #6:  Record Your To-Do’s on a Master List

If there’s work to do, note it on your Master List, which is a to-do list written on a big piece of paper - like a legal tablet.  You can also record your tasks inside your contact manager like ACT! or Outlook, or your Smart Phone. 

Before you know it, your desk will look like the flight deck of an aircraft carrier, and your garbage can will be filled to the brim, overflowing, and spilling onto the floor.  You’ll be organized, efficient and productive.  You’ll spend your time doing things that make you successful.

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Jonn Erdman, a Business Development Consultant, helps your business develop a "Top of the Mind" consciousness and avoid becoming the best kept secret in town.  For more information, visit his website at http://www.ideal-companies.com/.
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Comment Below:  What did you love, learn or disagree with in this article.  Thanks for your feedback!

Overcoming Information Overload

by Alicia Rockmore & Sarah Welch

In this age of information, overload is a universal concern. 

According to a study done by UC Berkley professors and their students, each year, 250 megabytes of new data is generated for every man, woman and child on earth.  That's enough information generated to fill roughly 30 FEET of books per person per year.

The endless stream of emails, instant messages, phone calls, coupled with the piles of magazines, newspapers and regular mail take a toll on even the heartiest among us.  Psychological researchers have found that the constant barrage of "informational clutter" leads to higher levels of cardiovascular stress, impaired judgment, and a noticeable drop in civility to others.

If you find that you are drowning in this sea of information, you need to learn how to stop swallowing and start swimming!

Alicia on "Establishing Boundaries"

"The most important step in taking control of the information flowing your way is to set up clear rules for what information you will and won't review.  Every day there are approximately 2.5 billion emails exchanged, 1,000 books published, 20 million words of technical information recorded, and 260 million minutes spent on the phone. 

You cannot possibly digest everything that comes across your path.  Trying is like drinking from a fire hose - dangerous.  So let go of the notion that you will be a failure if you miss something in the onslaught.  Instead focus on the relative handful of topics that truly matter to you."

Sarah on "Creating Filters"

"Creating filters is essential if you want to have the bandwidth to absorb truly important material.  It's safe to assume that 20% of the information you are presented with during the day is critical and the remaining 80% is not.

Break incoming materials, phone calls, emails and other data into two groups: (1) need to know and (2) nice to know.  You can use technological filters to identify significant data, have others sift through the detritus for you, or evaluate it on the fly.  But before you open anything, evaluate it!"

Taming the Beast

Here are steps that will help you establish meaningful boundaries and create useful filters.

#1: Use Technology Wisely

Information can be distributed to you in any format you choose, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  The sad fact of the matter is, the more formats you adopt, the more information you will receive (it's a bit like major highways - the more lanes they build, the more traffic grows).  But you can take control.

Select one dominant technological format for receiving information about a particular topic.  For example, you can choose to receive crucial facts about a high-profile work project via phone or in-person only.  Match the immediacy of the delivery format with the importance level of the incoming information.

#2: Unsubscribe

If you're feeling overwhelmed, take a portion of the information you voluntarily receive off the table.  Review the magazines, email newsletters, and newspapers you subscribe to and reduce the total number by 50% - 80%.

Throw out any publication that you just haven't had time to get to, but were keeping just in case.  Take two minutes at the start of your week to unsubscribe to any automatically generated email or newsletter you don't want to receive - or relegate it to a junk email folder that you automatically delete once a day.

#3: Unplug

Schedule regular time to unplug.  Be completely unreachable for at least 30 minutes during every work day - at lunch, after dinner, or at the start of your day.  Hit the "do not disturb" button on the phone, shut down your email, sign off of instant messenger services.

Whatever information is sent to you in that window can wait . Use your "free" 30 minutes to clear your head, free associate, walk, connect with a friend, or simply to think.

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Alicia Rockmore & Sarah Welch are the Co-Founders of Buttoned Up - dedicated to helping stretched & stressed women get organized.  For more information, visit http://www.getbuttonedup.com.
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Comment Below:  What did you love, learn or disagree with in this article.  Thanks for your feedback!