Archive for Time Management
What are your 3 Non-Negotiables? by Lori Radun, CEC
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What do these three scenarios have in common?
- Your 1st grader comes to you and says “Mom, can I get a cell phone please?”
- Your three year old cries for cotton candy for breakfast.
- Your 14 year old assures you she can drive and begs you to drive the car by herself.
Hopefully, in all cases, you would say “Absolutely not!” There would be no negotiating whatsoever with these situations. The limits are set for very good reasons. A six year old is too young to have a cell phone. Cotton candy is not healthy for breakfast. It is against the law to allow a 14 year old to drive a car. There are other situations, with your children, where some amount of negotiating may be allowed. You may bend the rules a little because there is no real harm in doing so. But, as the parent, you decide the limits because you know what is best for your children.
Protecting your time and energy is handled in much the same way. You decide what limits need to be put in place to protect two very valuable resources. What happens when we don’t set boundaries with our time and energy? We over commit, overwork, oversleep, run late, and ultimately, get overstressed. Putting three non-negotiable limits on your time and energy help you to honor some amount of structure in your life. These three limits are designed to help you make healthy choices for your life so you can optimize your time and energy. The three non-negotiables are never or rarely negotiated.
Some examples include:
- I will go to bed by 10:30 every night during the week.
- There is a limit of only 1 extracurricular activity per child per semester.
- I will not exceed 45 hours per week working.
Think about your time and energy. Is your time being spent on the activities that are most important to you? What robs you of your precious energy? What limits would help you get the most out of your time and energy?
Weekly Action Opportunity:
Decide your 3 non-negotiables. Write them down and post them on the refrigerator. Honor and protect them just like you would your children.
A special thank to my friend and colleague Lori Radun, who is our guest blogger while I am away from the office. Thank you Lori for the inspiration to get clear on our “non-negotiables’!
Lori is a certified life coach and founder of Momnificent! Lori’s mission is to empower moms to minimize stress, create high quality relationships, balance their many roles and take action on what’s most important to them so they can have magnificent lives, families and businesses. To join her community of magnificent moms, visit www.momnificent.com.
Going on an Information Diet
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OK, let’s get real. Are you overwhelmed by too much information? It’s a blessing to have readily accessible information at your fingertips 24-7. However, the curse is that there’s an overwhelming abundance of “too much”. So much so that I’m inviting you put yourself on an information diet!
Let me set the stage as to why I think this is important. Last week I had a conversation with a colleague about the impact of being plugged in to so much information. We both agreed that having access to the collective wisdom and brilliance of so many people provides not only inspiration and practical tips, but also calls forth new directions, opportunities and possibilities.
Just like a coin however, there is a flip side. We’ve both found that too much information can become distracting, overwhelming and worst case, it can cause you to question your value, abilities and direction.
If you’re like me, you might often find yourself reacting to what shows up in your in-box feeling obligated to read all of the newsletters, blogs, daily devotions, tips, and inspiration that you’ve signed up for. The challenge is that it can become all consuming to the point you end up working more than you’d like, once again compromising what really matters. Not to mention it can totally diminish your self-worth and esteem.
If any of this resonates for you, my suggestion is that you go on an information diet. Just like you cut back on your food intake to focus on becoming physically healthy, an information diet is about reducing the volume of content you read so you become emotionally healthy and can thrive in your life and work.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting you eliminate everything. I am encouraging you to become tuned in and aware so you can decide what content to decrease as you guard your heart.
Here are some questions to ponder and some potential next steps:
- Does this information add value to your life or work or is it a distraction? If it’s a distraction, consider opting out.
- Are you energized and inspired by the information or do you feel drained or defeated? If you are drained and defeated, it might be time to opt out.
- Do you read the information or do you just delete it? If you’re deleting it you aren’t reading it anyway so clear out the volume of e-mails by opting out.
- Is it all good and yet there’s just too much? Rate what you receive on a scale of good, better and best and opt-out of the good so you have time for the better and best.
Clearing and purging information that is no longer life giving or relevant to where you are in your life and work will have massive benefit to you. It will free you up emotionally because you will have more energy available to focus on what’s truly important. It will also help to eliminate the self-sabotage and allow you to focus on who you really are, not what you think you ought to be.
So what do you think? Share your comments at the blog and share it with your friends, family and colleagues.
Here’s to living freely and lightly!
Taking Care of Business means Taking Care of YOU!
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Remember that song by Bachman-Turner Overdrive called “Taking care of business?” Oddly enough, this song randomly popped into my head this morning so I googled it to find these lyrics:
Taking care of business, everyday
Taking care of business, everyway
I’ve been taking care of business, it’s all mine
Taking care of business and working overtime.
This little ditty could actually be the theme song for every woman out there, and most definitely applies to those of us who work from home as entrepreneurs and Mompreneurs! No matter who you are engaging with, whether it’s in your home, community or workplace, you are most likely “taking care of business” from the time you awaken until the time you get to bed!
And today marks the fact that there are only 100 days until the end of the year. Nothing like adding some pressure!!!
So here’s what I’m curious about. As you “take care of business” are you “taking care of you?” If not, you might be working from an empty tank, reducing the quality of your health, diluting the impact of your results and hindering the quality of your relationships.
Here’s the truth…Taking care of business means you must take care of you! To positively influence others in your life your gas tank must be refueled regularly.
You probably “know” this to be true, so the real question is whether you act in your life as if you believe it to be true. Would others in your life see you as present, loving, and available? Or do they see a woman who is distracted, on edge and unavailable?
What does it mean to take care of you? Read the list below and find one that you’ll commit to in the coming week:
- Go to bed 30-minutes earlier.
- Schedule some quiet time before your day starts.
- Take a lunch break.
- Make time to go for a 15-minute walk around the block.
- Take a hot bath.
- Slow down your pace.
Any one of these activities will become a conscious way to replenish. With a full tank, you’ll be much more effective at “taking care of business, every day.”
What will you commit to? I’d love to hear what you’ll say “yes”. Post your comments below…and Enjoy!
Ideal Life, Ideal Business
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How would you answer the following question, “What does your ideal life and ideal business look like?” If you’re not sure, today’s tactical tips from the trenches will help you take steps toward clarity.
Whether you are a seasoned entrepreneur or just preparing to launch your business, you must make time for both your life and work, because they are not mutually exclusive and both need your attention to experience fulfillment and impact.
Try this step-by-step approach to designing your ideal life and ideal business:
- Decide how you want to use your time bank account. You have 168 hours per week (24 hours per day x 7 days a week.) What are the top 5 roles and priorities requiring your attention consistently?
- Grab your calendar and block time for your personal priorities and commitments first. Include those you already have scheduled. Add those additional activities that you need to block in for you to honor all the areas that matter to you (be sure to include sleep
). - Write down your work commitments that you already have scheduled.
- Determine the remaining hours you have left each week. How much of this time will you use for developing your business?
- Allocate the time you spend developing your business using the following criteria:
- 60% toward “wealth building activities” that will generate new paying clients, new interest and activities that will lead to profitability.
- 20% toward “planning and strategizing activities” which is time spent working with your coach, researching, visioning, goal setting, etc. This will help you move forward with intention and stay focused on your priorities as they shift, change, grow ad expand.
- 10% toward “administrative activities” to keep yourself organized and on top of everything. This would be activities like handling your paperwork, coordinating appointments, setting up your newsletter, delegating to others.
- 10% toward “super service” for your customers or clients to feel connected and supported. You might provide a resource that you found, send a note of encouragement, or a gift when your client refers others to you.
Take 30-minutes right now to explore and apply these concepts. What are you discovering about your ideal life and business? Where are you challenged? I’d love to read your thoughts in the comments below.
And don’t forget to breathe…life is a marathon, not a sprint!
Addicted to Done
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There’s a silent addiction that’s wreaking havoc on the lives and businesses of women. It’s a new term I just learned from my accountability partner who calls it “addicted to done“.
So what does the term mean? It’s an addiction to the adrenaline surge that comes when you experience the awesome thrill of crossing something off your to-do list! It’s energizing and feels great temporarily, yet it’s effects aren’t long lasting and often, it moves you away from the results you really want.
The seduction is that you need to keep it going, so you focus on those easy to-do administrative and logistic tasks so you can experience the thrill again and again. The problem is you’ve spent all of your time “doing” the busy work which is helpful, yet not always priority or moving you toward the bigger vision of your life personally and professionally. You might find “addicted to done” keeping you from engaging and connecting in your personal relationships, and working “in” your business instead of “on” it which can diminish your business’ sustainability and results.
Now I’m not saying don’t spend time on administrative tasks or logistics items. What I am saying is that to create a thriving life and prosperous business you need to consciously choose, again and again, where you invest your time so you get the ongoing intended impact and results you desire.
So here’s an assignment for you:
- Pay attention to the types of activities you are doing. Are they task driven or relational? Are you looking for instant results or building a foundation that will support ongoing achievements? Instead of doing “either/or” identify how you might be able to do “both/and”. The goal is to create meaningful impact today, while focusing on quality of life and business sustainability over the longer period as well.
- Find an accountability partner. Meet with or talk to this person at least twice a month to share your wins and struggles, and to brainstorm next steps.
- Debrief. Spend a few minutes daily to answer these questions, “What’s working?”, “What’s not?”, “What change will I make tomorrow?”
As you move forward with this strategy, you’ll find the thrill of getting things done as you create a fulfilling life and prosperous business at the same time!
Would love to know what you’re thinking…Post your comments below!
