How Does Your Work Space Look?

Did you know that having a cluttered and unorganized desk is a huge factor in time management?

When your desk is unorganized it is hard to find the items that you need quickly.  You will end up wasting time sifting through piles of paperwork, envelopes, school notices, art projects bills..etc just to find one document you need at the moment.

By organizing your work space you will notice that  you  become more productive!  You will be more productive and feel less tense because you will be looking at an orderly desk as opposed to a desk piled with paperwork.

Over the next few weeks I’d love to challenge you all to work to get your desk in order.

Why not carve some time out of your schedule after you are done working and start to organize your desk.  I will say that to TOTALLY re-organize and declutter your work space you should start off by taking everything off of your deskand then wiping the desk down with a good cleanser.  Ohh, don’t forget to peek behind the desk (you never know what may have slipped back there.

Post here and let me know if you are up to the challenge of decluttering your desk.  It may take some time to complete but it will be worth it.

Let us know what you need to do, what you have questions about and be sure to let us know how your desk looks before and after the cleaning.

Have You Revisited or Created Your Goals Lately?

I always encourage women to make an effort to spend time setting sharp and clearly defined goals. One of the beautifully empowering things about goal setting is that you can measure and take pride in the achievement you make as you get closer to your goals. By setting goals, you will also raise your self confidence as you recognize your ability and competence in achieving the goals that you have set.

The process of setting goals allows you to choose where you want to go in life. By knowing precisely what you want to achieve, you know what you have to concentrate on to do it.

Remember, your goals are the road maps that guide you and show you what
is possible for your life.

Here are a few action steps for you to take into consideration when working on setting and pursuing your goals:

• Make sure you set goals that you can realistically reach. Striving to be perfect is not a realistic goal. Striving to eat healthier, exercise more..etc. is a realistic goal.
• Break your big goals up into bite-sized chunks. If your ultimate goal is to launch a new website before September, break the goal down. Work 1st on asking for others to give you the opinions on possible webmasters, make a list of what you want your site to look like, contact certain webmasters, ask for price quotes etc. They key is to take small, thought-through steps to reach that ultimate goal.
• Set a specific time-frame to achieve your goals.
• Write your goals down and force yourself to be very specific about them. You can then refer back to your goals list and you can see how you are measuring up. It is an empowering feeling to set goals and achieve them.
• Celebrate! When you achieve a goal or overcome a hurdle that brings you closer to that goal, CELEBRATE you and your accomplishment!

You can accomplish just about anything you ask of yourself. Make your goals specific and clear. When you know exactly what you intend to do, you’re well on your way to getting it done.

Balancing Your Home and Business Life

For moms who work from home, balancing the home and business sides of their lives can feel downright impossible, especially when the reason they began working from home was so they could spend more time with family. However, many home businesses actually fail because moms don’t manage to balance business and home life. How can you juggle your family’s needs, your business needs and occasionally find some time for your needs without being a super hero?

The first thing any mom should do to achieve balance is to get the family involved. If your children and husband support you, you will find that they interrupt less often and are more likely to pitch in to get household chores done. You’re probably thinking that will happen the day the moon turns to blue cheese, right? However, if you mention that you need to get a major project done and will be able to buy a pizza and rent a video when you are paid, you may be surprised at how quickly everyone pitches in to help out.

If you have young children, they may not be able to understand the concept of waiting for a reward. To get your younger children involved, try explaining what you are doing in very simple terms and having them help you. Set up a small desk or table for your toddlers and add crayons and paper so they can help you with your work by drawing some pictures or writing a letter. Children that are a bit older can put stamps on envelopes and seal them, paperclip papers together or do other simple organizational tasks.

Of course, no matter how supportive your family and friends are, they are not going to be happy if you work 15 hours a day. Make sure that you ask for uninterrupted time to do your job or run your business, but also make sure that you schedule time for your family and friends. While you are making up that schedule, don’t forget your significant other. If you sit at your computer all evening after the children are tucked away for the night, you may end up with some serious relationship issues!

Once your family and friends are involved and you’ve scheduled time for them in your life, it is time to consider a few ways to make the most of your valuable work time. While you may be tempted to work non-stop during the time you have dedicated to your business, you should actually try to take some breaks. Taking a half-hour walk or having lunch away from your desk can really help you recharge your mind and keeps your body from growing stiff and tired. When you sit back down, you can do so with a clearer view of your goals and fresh energy and focus.

Also, don’t be afraid to make a “to do” list for your business. Write the four or five items you absolutely must do on your list and promise yourself that you will get them done before you visit your favorite forums or check your email. This can really help you get more work accomplished in less time.

So, although you may not have super powers, you can still have a home life, a business life and some time for yourself. The next time you are feeling overwhelmed, take a deep breath, ask your family for some help and try out a few of these great ideas for balancing your life.

The A-Z of Staying Motivated

With the countless negativities that we encounter on a daily basis, at times roadblocks pop up in front of us that can throw us off track and knock the wind out of us, our dreams and our desires.  Here is an A-Z list of positive ways to stay motivated: 

A – Achieve your dreams. Avoid negative people, things and places. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”

B – Believe in your self, and in what you can do.

C – Consider things on every angle and aspect. Motivation comes from determination. To be able to understand life, you should feel the sun from both sides.

D – Don’t give up and don’t give in. Thomas Edison failed once, twice, more than thrice before he came up with his invention and perfected the incandescent light bulb. Make motivation as your steering wheel.

E – Enjoy. Work as if you don’t need money. Dance as if nobody’s watching. Love as if you never cried. Learn as if you’ll live forever. Motivation takes place when people are happy.

F – Family and Friends – are life’s greatest ‘F’ treasures. Don’t loose sight of them.

G – Give more than what is enough. Where does motivation and self improvement take place at work? At home? At school? When you exert extra effort in doing things.

H – Hang on to your dreams. They may dangle in there for a moment, but these little stars will be your driving force.

I – Ignore those who try to destroy you. Don’t let other people to get the best of you. Stay out of toxic people – the kind of friends who hates to hear about your success.

J – Just be yourself. The key to success is to be yourself. And the key to failure is to try to please everyone.

K – keep trying no matter how hard life may seem. When a person is motivated, eventually he sees a harsh life finally clearing out, paving the way to self improvement.
L – Learn to love your self. Now isn’t that easy?

M – Make things happen. Motivation is when your dreams are put into work clothes.

N – Never lie, cheat or steal. Always play a fair game.

O – Open your eyes. People should learn the horse attitude and horse sense. They see things in 2 ways – how they want things to be, and how they should be.

P – Practice makes perfect. Practice is about motivation. It lets us learn repertoire and ways on how can we recover from our mistakes.

Q – Quitters never win. And winners never quit. So, choose your fate – are you going to be a quitter? Or a winner?

R – Ready yourself. Motivation is also about preparation. We must hear the little voice within us telling us to get started before others will get on their feet and try to push us around. Remember, it wasn’t raining when Noah build the ark.

S – Stop procrastinating.

T – Take control of your life. Discipline or self control jives synonymously with motivation. Both are key factors in self improvement.

U – Understand others. If you know very well how to talk, you should also learn how to listen. Yearn to understand first, and to be understood the second.

V – Visualize it. Motivation without vision is like a boat on a dry land.

W – Want it more than anything. Dreaming means believing. And to believe is something that is rooted out from the roots of motivation and self improvement.

X – X Factor is what will make you different from the others. When you are motivated, you tend to put on “extras” on your life like extra time for family, extra help at work, extra care for friends, and so on.

Y – You are unique. No one in this world looks, acts, or talks like you. Value your life and existence, because you’re just going to spend it once.

Z – Zero in on your dreams and go for it!!!

Do you see any letters up there that you need assistance with?  Are there any letters up there that really speak to you?  I’d love to hear your thoughts.  I have to say that “Z” feels really great!!

Tips For Creating More Focus

Hi There -  All you all geared up to get more focused?

Last week I spoke about the importance of creating and keeping your focus.  This week I wanted to help you by giving you a few tips:

•  Each day create your list of things that must be done before days end.  Stay focused on each task individually and check the tasks off as you complete them. 

•  Create a plan of action – To achieve and stay focused on your goal you should clearly plan it out.  Don’t just think it, write it down. Ask yourself, “What will I need to do to get from where I am today to where I want to be?” Your strategies to get to where you want to be may change as time goes on,  but keep your eye on the goal.

•  Surround yourself with a good support system.  Try using the buddy system and surround yourself with people who will encourage and challenge you. Being accountable to someone other than you is a great motivator to get a job done.

•  Concentrate on not jumping from task to task and allow yourself to take refreshing breaks between tasks to rejuvenate your mind, body, and spirit.

•  Stay Focused When you work at home:   it can be very easy to lose focus on your work and find yourself doing chores around the house that need to get done or pretending to “work” when you are actually reading blogs or forums.  The time you spend procrastinating can be spent completing the work you are putting off.  When you stay focused and get your work done, you’ll be less stressed and you’ll find you are much more balanced.
 

Focus Is The Key

 When there is much to be done, it can be tempting to try and work on it all at once.
Yet rarely is anything ever gained by taking that approach.  The most effective effort
is focused effort.  Do one thing and do it well, with total focus, until the job is done.  — Ralph Marston

Staying focused on one task and seeing it through may be challenging, but it is a very important tool to use.  The art of staying focused will allow you to finish projects quickly & more efficiently.  Yes, I admit that this takes planning, practice and at times being totally alone, which may require delegating tasks to others, but it is worth it and will pay off.

Many things can disrupt us as we are trying desperately to stay focused on a particular task.  There may be external factors such as interruptions from your family, boss, coworker, telephone, etc.  There may also be internal distractions in your own mind such as the voice that’s reminding you what else you need to do.

Being more focused takes many people outside of their comfort zone and in our mind we will create all sorts of things that will cause us to lose focus and ultimately sabotage our own success.  Being and staying focused takes practice.  What helps is to keep identifying what stops your focus and experiment with ways of overcoming those issues.

Many people today share a common thread – Taking on everything and trying to get it done by yesterday!  It seems as though success or failure is measured by our state of busyness. We know we can’t possibly do everything at once, so it is very important to focus on what matters at that particular moment.  Using a planner or calendar and dividing your day into what I call “Time Chunks” could help with staying focused.  Block off hours of your day to dedicate to specific tasks and just watch the progress that you make.

Too many times, we stare at our plate that is filled with tasks for both business and home and jump from task to task, tire ourselves out, and find many of our tasks undone.  Try to focus on one task at a time and see it through.

As you remain focused and get closer to your ultimate goals, be sure to celebrate your milestones.   Make you milestones known and be sure to share your successes with others.  As you achieve one goal (whether it is large or small), you can see better and believe more easily in the accomplishment of others goals to come.

Let us know how your focus is and over the next few weeks, I will be sharing tips on how to gain more focus and keep it.

Learn The Art Of Saying “No”

How many times have you agreed to do something that you actually didn’t want to do? A project, something for your friends? Even your spouse? All you had to do was say no, but you just couldn’t get the the word to come out. So you end up doing it…and later resent it.

Here are a few ways you can politely let others know you are not available to help them. You don’t have to just tell them no and leave it at that.

- If the task is something you are interested in doing, but don’t have the time to commit at that moment, tell them that it is something you are definitely interested in, but you will need to review your schedule. This gives you time to decide if you can commit to the project or if you must turn it down.

- Resist the urge to immediately say yes by telling the person that you need to look at your schedule before you can commit to them. Let them know that you want to be sure their project is getting your undivided attention.

- You can also say something along the lines of “That sounds like a great idea, unfortunately, I don’t have time to help you with it at the moment. However, I do have time available on this date.”

- Make it very clear that you value their time so you are not comfortable taking on the project at this time. You won’t feel you’ve done your best due to the fact that your schedule is already full. Then offer them the next available time you do have open.

You can’t possibly be everything to everybody. The sooner you realize this, the less you will feel like you are being pulled in a hundred different directions.

In order to keep moving towards your ultimate goals you need to know when to say no and when to push things off your plate. It can be hard, but in the end you will be happier, gain more respect from those requesting your assistance and get more done in the long run.

2008 Is Here – How Ready Are you to Tackle it?

It’s that time of the year again; when we make a New Years resolutions.  If you are anything like the majority of people in this country (83%  to be exact), you probably made and broke a resolution before the end of January last year. 

 Say to yourself “This Year Is Going To Be Different!”  This  message is all about how to make a realistic resolution and keep it. We’ll get you to your ultimate goal – whatever it may be one step at a time.

It doesn’t matter if you resolve to loose some weight, stop smoking or, start a new business, carve some more time out for yourself.  Together we will get you there.

2007 Reflection

The end of the year has always been a time for looking back to the  past, and more importantly, forward to the new year to come.   It’s a wonderful time to reflect on the changes you want and need to  make and resolve to follow through on those changes.

Here are some questions to get you started in your reflection.

1)  What did I learn? (skills, knowledge, awareness, etc.)
2)  What did I accomplish? (Create a list of your accomplishments and achievements).
3)  What would I have done differently? Why?
4)  What still feels incomplete or unfinished to me?
5)  What were the top 3 significant events of the year past?
6)  What do I feel especially good about?
7)  What were my biggest challenges/roadblocks/difficulties?

Carve out some time to reflect, learn and grow from the past year. This will prepare you for a positive New Year ahead.

Action Steps

Here are a few action steps for you to take into consideration when working on setting your resolutions.

1) Make sure you set goals that you can realistically reach. Striving  to be perfect is not a realistic goal. Striving to eat healthier,  exercise more..etc. is a realistic goal.

2) Break your big goals up into bite-sized chunks. They key is to take  small, thought-through steps to reach your ultimate goal.

3) Write your goals down and force yourself to be very specific about them. You can then refer back to your goals list and you can see how you are measuring up. It is an empowering feeling to set goals and achieve them.

4) Celebrate! When you achieve a goal or overcome a hurdle that brings you closer to that goal, CELEBRATE you and your accomplishment!

5) Get a goal buddy, coach, friend or partner to help you along the way!

You can accomplish just about anything you ask of yourself. Make your goals specific and clear. When you know exactly what you intend to do,  you’re well on your way to getting it done.

So, submit a comment and let us know what your resolutions/goals are for 2008!

The Dirty “P” Word: Procrastination!

There are many reasons that you may procrastinate. Poor time management, anxiety about a certain task and being bored by a certain task are just a few of the reasons that people procrastinate. In the end, procrastination usually leads to more stress.

Here are some tips and questions that you can ask yourself that will help you to overcoming procrastination:

Can you approach the task differently? Always be mindful of how you approach tasks. Ask yourself: Do I need to use a different technique? Will a new way of approaching this task make me feel better? How can I get some JOY out of starting this project? We all work in different ways and are inspired by different things. Find what works well for you and go with it.

Be sure you have what you need: Make certain that you have the right information, equipment and energy level to enable you to complete the task.  Don’t attempt to start on a project unless you have all of the tools necessary to complete the project or at least to get it to a good stopping point.

Plan, plan, plan: Did I say Plan? The time we spend in preparation and planning to see a task to completion is imperative. 

Break it down: Big projects can feel overwhelming. Break them down into the smaller subparts. You’ll get more done if you can do it piece by piece.  By using the Break-It-Down method, you will find that even the most dreadful tasks can be done in small increments.

Boost yourself up: Give your own motivation a good boost. Trust in your strengths. Take a moment to reflect upon other tasks that you have accomplished and feel good about! Keep reminding yourself that you can be successful!

Reward yourself: Celebrate and let yourself enjoy the completion of your tasks (large or small). It is important to never minimize your accomplishments.

Overcoming procrastination can be done and it usually involves both better organizational and time-management. You can start overcoming procrastination now and in the process, feel much better about yourself. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be surprised at how much joy, exhilaration and sense of accomplishment is on the other side of procrastination.

P.S.   Every time you feel like procrastinating, picture yourself finishing the task that you are procrastinating on.

So, have you been procrastinating? 

Kepping kids busy as you work from home

Most of the clients that I have come to be for help in learning how to perform the ultimate juggling act of work and being a mom.

So, how does a work from home mom manage to keep her children happy and busy while she is trying to get her job done?

First, you need to let your children know when you are not to be disturbed. Set up a schedule that includes playtime and work time and remind them that if they don’t disturb you while you are working, you will be able to give them your complete attention during playtime. As a reminder, use a do not disturb sign on your office door when you absolutely cannot be interrupted.

Of course, it is easy for your children to behave while you are working if they have something to do. Fill a box with games and toys that can only be used while mom is working. Make sure you add a new puzzle, coloring book, or small toy on a frequent basis, to keep your children interested. Set up a small desk or table for your toddlers and add crayons and paper so they can help you with your work by drawing some pictures or writing a letter. Children that are a bit older can put stamps on envelopes and seal them, paperclip papers together or do other simple organizational tasks.

For moms who really need peace and quiet, but have small children, a mother’s helper can be a great solution. Since you will still be in the house, you do not need a fully trained baby sitter to help out. Instead, look for a teen who has babysitting experience, but likes kids. She will probably be happy to watch your children while you work for the cost of a few good after school snacks and a few dollars.

Finally, sometimes it’s just not possible to keep your children quiet and content while you are working. If your child is ill, you may just need to decide to take the day off. After all, the reason you are working from home is to have the flexibility to be there for your children when they need you!

Be sure to check out the Real Life Guidance to Balancing Work and Family  report.  It shows you how you can balance your work and family time without letting any of those balls you are juggling fall on the floor :)

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