by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Jul 16, 2014 | Organization, Small Business, Time Management
We have all heard that time and again, but it holds true. If you live and work in disorganization, your mindset and output will reflect your surroundings. Sure, we have some disorder or “organized piles” of stuff, but when there is overload, it overflows.
Clutter influences the way you work and the way you live. It impacts your brain. Learn to effectively manage versus just restyling the mountains of possessions, papers, contracts, or whatever lurks in your office or home. Streamline your physical and digital environment for success and focus.
“A recent survey says a disorganized workspace can lead to decreased productivity and unprofessional behavior.” Inc Magazine.
When you create a more structured environment you become more efficient and effective. You are no longer scrambling to locate important papers, files, emails or even your keys. Your time management increases as does your personal and professional productivity. Your setting is not just about physical space but mental as well. If you reside in chaos or mayhem, it does transmit into your work habits and daily living.
Your surrounding clutter competes for your attention, distracting your focus and thought process. I personally must have a clean and organized environment or I will only be thinking of what may be in the sink or if laundry needs folding. Everything has a place and it must be there when I work. Sure, a little OCD but I run my business the same way.
“When your environment is cluttered, the chaos restricts your ability to focus. The clutter also limits your brain’s ability to process information. Clutter makes you distracted and unable to process information as well as you do in an uncluttered, organized, and serene environment.” Princeton University
According to the National Association of Professional Organizations, paper clutter is the No. 1 hindrance for most businesses. Some studies conclude that the average person wastes 4.3 hours per week searching for papers, which adds stress and frustration to the workplace while reducing concentration and creative thinking. Clutter creates chaos, untidiness and ineffectiveness in every aspect your life and has the great potential significantly influence your personal productivity.
When personal productivity declines, every aspect of your life will be impacted.
Fired up and ready to reclaim your productivity?
- Set aside time weekly to manage and organize information
- Clean out your inbox
- Use cloud storage
- Put things in their proper place when you are finished – don’t merely move away. Put it away
- Always organize your desk at the end of the day
- Establish routines for clearing the mind overload
- If you must file, then do it. Don’t let items sit on your desk, counter or inbox. It is disrupting
- Don’t keep things that aren’t necessary or vital to your existence. Aunt Betty’s tattered hair ribbon won’t garner money on on the open market. Loving memories last longer
- “More” doesn’t mean more – it translates into jumble and disorder which means distractions. Clear off counter tops and desk space so you can function.
- Donate to charity
- When you bring in one new item, throw out two
- Work on one room at a time until it “feels” good
- If you haven’t used or viewed it in 6 months, do you really need it?
- Know that your value is not your stuff. It does not define you
- Create deadlines to ensure you stick to your toss it and organize program
- Once you have cleaned and decluttered a room or space, maintain it
Decluttering and clearing out the chaos, both physically and spiritually will help you gain clarity toward a more productive life. Make the time to invest in yourself.
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Apr 17, 2014 | Entrepreneur, Productivity, Small Business, Time Management
Entrepreneurs are always strapped for time! You need more. Want more. Gotta have it but you need to realize the value of your time and how to best use every second, all 86,400 of them.
You can learn to maximize your productivity and feel like a rock star. I’m not talking about just being busy as that isn’t efficient. There is a difference between just using up some time, watching the hours tick by, and truly cranking out some real work that has an impact.
There’s always plenty of tips and tools you can enlist but it really comes down to you and what you are willing to do to best leverage your time, output and true success.
It is a choice. Everyone has the exact same amount of time in their day so it is about how you invest in it. Invest in you.
Achieve your goals and master your To Do list and projects for your greatest accomplishments or merely float through the day, kinda hoping things magically get done. Don’t operate your business like it’s in Disney Land.
You all need some downtime, nap time, and some time, BUT, don’t expect to realize winning results without a plan, focus, and dedication. It just doesn’t happen. Simple as that.
Victory comes at a cost.
Pay it or concede.
Productivity Simplicity
- Determine what is most important: in your day, in your life, in your business. That’s what you need to be doing.
- Make a plan: to achieve these important tasks and milestones. List out action steps.
- Priorities: have them. Understand them. Commit to them.
- Allow time for diversions: it always happens. A sink hole or you are somehow sidetracked but with proper planning, you are prepared.
- Set realistic timelines: if you don’t, you may be scrambling and only half finishing your lists or not putting in 100%. If you can’t give it your all, then it is half ass. Do you want that??
- Tick tock: don’t be ruled by the clock. It doesn’t tell you if you are being more efficient and productive. Your output does. 9-5 doesn’t mean anything if you are just “busy.”
- Create your goals: this helps to keep you on target daily, weekly, monthly. Revisit your list and revise as needed.
- Eliminate your distractions: there is nothing worse than the ping of a notification, TV, phone, etc that will detract your focus. Tune out and turn off. It’s okay. You won’t lose anything but you have everything to gain. Be in the moment and nowhere else.
- Don’t multi-task: it really does impede your productivity, decrease your brainpower, and limits your true attention to get one thing right. Put the emphasis on one project, one task at a time.
- Ask yourself, “how or does this serve my goals?” If something doesn’t really serve you, then STOP!
- Be accountable: yes, your day and how you manage your time is up to you. Own it. Do it.
- Timers: they work! Set a timer for 30 minutes that you will devote to the time on task. Don’t stop. Don’t stray. Just do it. At the end of those 30, take a 5-minute break and then hit it again.
- Break the chains: don’t be a prisoner to your email. Check it at set intervals.
- Review time: every night, review your day, and set your goals/action steps for the following day.
- Sing ME ME: yes, you must give back to yourself and establish a healthy work-life balance. Schedule in a time that is away from work; away from must do’s and have some fun. Refresh and refocus. Your brain needs it.
Michael LeBoeuf: “Waste your money and you’re only out of money, but waste your time and you’ve lost a part of your life.”
There are posts every day about what the most productive people do, 5 minutes to increase your productivity, how the top 10 entrepreneurs get things done, 30-second productivity boost; the list is endless but no matter what the post suggests, it is up to you to find and implement the tips and tools that you will use. The ones that resonate the most to help you increase your efficiency, work-life balance, time management, and productivity. Unless you are ready for a change, to kick it up to rock star status, then all of the recommendations are worthless.
You choose the productivity hacks that work for YOU.
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Mar 25, 2014 | Delegation, Productivity, Small Business
Part of being effective during your work hours is the discipline to spend time on what is truly important even if other things try to steer you off course. Efficiency is learning about your awareness to, acceptance of and ability to determine your real work, the actual tasks and projects that propel you forward versus time suckers, bad habits, procrastination or other low payoff activities that take you away from your personal and professional aspirations. It is a continual building process and without a strong sturdy foundation, you may find yourself with a few cracks, leading to disaster, lost time or missed opportunities.
What are you putting off today and WHY? There are things we hate to do or aren’t all that much of a priority, but what happens when you continually push things under the rug? For one, your To Do list multiplies to such great lengths that some activities just get buried at the bottom.
Procrastination List or To Do list?
Go look at your list, your calendar or wherever you record your tasks and projects. I’ll wait.
How long have some of the items been on the list? Are there any you just file in your head to do, but never make it to a list to get done?
Be honest!! What are you going to do about it? And WHEN?
Stop running away from your lists and responsibilities.
Learn to take action and manage your procrastination.
Melanie Benson Strick, America’s Leading Business Optimizer gives you tips on how to SQUASH your procrastination habits. They are very simple and easy to implement today! Read what she has to say and see if you can’t change up a few of your activities and get more important things done.
“When you find yourself procrastinating high payoff activities because you don’t have time or don’t enjoy doing them, its time to activate a more powerful approach to getting things done.
Here are the four ways to squash procrastination and get her important tasks done:
Delegate. My favorite way to handle tasks that must be done but that drain my energy is to delegate those activities to someone else who enjoys doing them. My motto is if someone can do it better, faster or cheaper than me, get it off my plate.” Melanie Benson Strick
Click to learn about Melanie’s other three suggestions: successconnections.com
What are YOUR tips to manage procrastination?
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Mar 12, 2014 | Productivity, Time Management
Empower yourself for higher performance. Hopefully you are not spinning out of control, missing deadlines and leaving a pile of projects on a wait list.
If you want to be more productive, then you have to make some changes. It takes planning, effort and some realization of where and how you spend your time. Chances are that at the days end, you take time to review what you accomplished and what still remains on your To Do list. If your list is still a bit longer than it should be and you are scratching your head, wondering how does everyone else get so much done, realize that you are not alone.
You can improve. You can increase your productivity.
“When we’re busy, we see that as being productive, when productive is really narrowing down what we need to do.” Cathy Sexton, time management specialist.
Your productivity is partially based on your time management which requires discipline and commitment. There are many hindrances to time management but how you regulate your life, the “time” choices you make and your priorities establish your productivity output. If something is that important to you, then you will get it done; otherwise, you will make excuses. Your success depends on getting the most out of each day.
“What is it that successful entrepreneurs do differently from the rest? How do they accomplish more in the same twenty four hours that are gifted to all?” Brett Relander
Brett Relander’s post: How to Increase Your Productivity as an Entrepreneur clearly outlines 7 simple tips to help you become a more effective and efficient entrepreneur. They are every day cheats you can implement to enhance your productivity and stop wondering how other entrepreneurs are getting it all done. You can do it too!
1. Know your priorities, set long-term goals and break down your activities to achieve your prioritized objectives. With clear targets in mind, you are well-positioned to focus on present jobs and plan for future work. With defined objectives, day-to-day work can be organized in a streamlined manner.
Click to read more: brettrelander.com
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Feb 27, 2014 | Entrepreneur, Small Business
Being an entrepreneur is no easy endeavor. It requires a 24/7/365 days a year drive, dedication and commitment to growing your business. It isn’t a hobby – it’s a lifestyle and you need to be prepared for the ups and downs. Times of scarcity and prosperity but you dive in and do what needs to be done.
The digital environment gives you a broad scope to share your message and your mission. You have a voice but you must have ears to listen and offer solutions. Communicate quality rich content and engage every day, building your communities and your networks no matter how you feel. No matter what is going on in your personal life. You have a business to operate.
“When you reach an obstacle, turn it into an opportunity. You have the choice. You can overcome and be a winner, or you can allow it to overcome you and be a loser. The choice is yours and yours alone. Refuse to throw in the towel. Go that extra mile that failures refuse to travel. It is far better to be exhausted from success than to be rested from failure.” Mary Kay Ash
It was once suggested to be personable, not personal. There can be a fine line depending on your social platform but sometimes a mix of both gives your audience a peek into your life and who you are. You have the opportunity to share a glimpse of yourself, your passions, your dreams and your pains. Keep it real.
“People relate to stories. Tell yours in a way that allows others to connect with you in a real and authentic way.” Rebekah Radice
In this reality of online relationships, your option to share a piece of yourself will also help to build trust and loyalty, showing the person (s) behind the brand.
You are human and not just a logo or a company pushing a widget.
You are as human as your audience; don’t treat them like machines.
Social media is not a conveyor belt to sling blah content to the masses.
Companies come and go every day; it is a sad fact. Many entrepreneurs and start-ups put their “blood, sweat and tears” into growing their business, and sometimes it falls apart. It could be the market, the niche, the financial climate, but it happens. When or if it does, it doesn’t represent failure, but a time to redirect and navigate the changes.
Innovate and review your industry, methods, systems and processes.
- Take a step back.
- Breathe.
- Remove your filters and blinders.
- Change your viewpoint.
- Think about what may be missing.
- Where do your customers live online?
- What do they want?
- Eliminate your emotional ties and think strategy.
- Overlook your struggle.
- See this setback as a challenge to overcome.
- Don’t go down without a fight.
- What can you learn from your present situation?
- Scream “WTF” if you must but keep moving.
- Know that your dream is closer than you think.
What challenges have you faced as an entrepreneur? What measures have you taken to overcome the challenges toward success?
