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Time Management

Why Technology May Not Be The Answer To Greater Productivity

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I have a confession to make. I’m a gadget geek. I love new technology and all the things it provides. I can now communicate faster and in more ways than ever. I can make a phone call, send a text message, leave a videogram, forward an email, blast a tweet, like a Facebook Page, and even just drop by your office for a friendly chat.

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Yet, I’ve noticed something profound lately. It’s actually harder to get a hold of people now than ever before. I’ve got all this technology, but I can’t get a hold of you about the meeting tomorrow. Why is that?

The growing problem is technology fatigue. We have so many things vying for our attention, that our mind just tunes them out. It tunes them out, that is, until they interrupt us with a flash of the screen, a beep, or a ringing in our ears.

Then our conscious mind must stop what it is doing and send it’s very limited focus unto this source of interruption.

Constantly throughout the day, the interruptions come.

Our mind deals with them in one of two ways.

We either focus on the source of the problem, or we try to ignore them.

But our course of thought is always challenged.

And our productivity suffers.

I suggest a better way.

Why not plan out your week, prioritize your day, and focus your time – on paper.

Then turn off all of the distractions for a while and focus on one productive thing and get it done.

That’s the premise of my new Kindle eBook, Get a Life.

Unlike technology, paper doesn’t constantly interrupt us.

It sits there waiting for our attention.

It gives us control.

It helps us get things done.

My new book comes with 9 template downloads.

Weekly planners, daily planners, & time management sheets.

Free downloads, that can help you get more done, on time, with less stress.

For greater productivity, get a copy today and… Get A Life!

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Innovative Solutions To Common Problems

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I was viewing an informative video interview of Senator Bill Bradley this morning that was conducted by Skip Prichard, the CEO of Ingram Publishers. While the main interview was based around Senator Bradley’s new book, We Can All Do Better, what really intrigued me were some side notes along the way about training for basketball.

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It seems that Bill (former NBA star for the Knicks) had trouble finding other kids to play basketball with growing up, so he came up with some unorthodox ways to practice. He executed jumps with weights in his shoes, put cardboard in his glasses so he could not look down, and dribbled through stacked chairs that stood in for opponents. These simple innovations allowed him to excel at common tasks in the sport and take his game to a new level.

As I thought back to my days in high school playing basketball with friends, I was intrigued by how cool Bill’s ideas were. I remember that by finding better ways to execute common plays, a short player like myself could have a decided advantage over taller opponents. I wish I would have thought of those cool “hacks” while practicing at home.

It’s with this “innovative” thought in mind that I would like to share with you three quick tips that can take your daily “productivity” game to a new level.

1. Clean Off Your Desk. If you are like me, you probably find yourself inundated with junk mail, bills, advertisements, notes, and a whole list off assorted items that for some unexplained reason all end up on the top of your desk. To battle this “in your face” enemy takes planning and a can do attitude. In this helpful video post, I’ll take you through a quick process of creating a recycle bin to quickly overcome this scourge.

2. Set a Daily Plan. Productivity starts with a plan. While there are many solutions on the market, I’ve found that having a simple daily planner on my desk lets me get started quickly. I just write down my top priorities for the day and then quickly put together a to-do list. It only takes a few minutes but can save me hours of frustration later. You can download our new Top 6 Daly Planner here and learn how it works.

3. Work in a Focused Manner. Once your daily plan is completed, take one of your major items and work on it in a focused manner. Our 48 minute solution will cut out distractions, and get you reaching your goals quickly and easily. You’ll just need a timer and the quick instructions here.

Overall: Finding some innovative tips and tricks can help you make the most of your day.  The downloads are free and you can be up and running in just a few minutes. Why not take a few minutes now, grab some supplies, fire up the printer and get started.

Question: What innovative solutions have you found to increase your productivity?

How To Finally Get Things Done!

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I want to come clean and be real honest with you. I struggle with to-do lists, productivity programs, and time management plans. While all these tools are great, at the end of the day, I feel like a failure more often than not. I truly struggle with how to get things done.

It’s not that I don’t try hard, but distractions get in the way.

You see, I have a lot of disruptive habits that rear their ugly heads all throughout the day. If I come near a computer screen, I automatically have to log in and check Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and of course, E-mail. If I hear a beep on my phone, I instinctively must pick it up and see what tweet, post, or e-mail has just come in. If I walk past a candy bowl, I must pick up a few and take them with me.

I know I’m not alone at this. You may find yourself succumbing to the same temptations.

Habits are formed when a cue causes us to CRAVE a reward. The minute we respond to the cue a familiar routine starts until we receive our reward.

Advertisers, marketers, and software companies know this about us, and put Cues in our way all day long.

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Walk into your local mall. You’ll see temptations in all of the front windows, but the most insidious thing is the smell of the Cinnabon store at the end of the entrance hall, with the fan blowing the smell of hot and delicious cinnamon rolls to everyone who walks in. If this doesn’t get you, try driving down the street past the lovely green mermaid of Starbucks, or the tempting Golden Arches of McDonalds.

Once you see, hear, or smell the CUE, the craving will start. If you don’t get the intended reward, you’ll get frustrated. Sheer willpower can overcome some of these, but if you aren’t careful, you’ll be sucked in.

These habit loops play in our heads constantly… Cue, Craving, Routine, Reward.

I decided it was time to take action.

Instead of being a victim of these productivity killing bad habits I would create a new habit.

A habit so strong, it will overpower these common ones.

A habit built around a strong craving we all have.

A craving so powerful it will empower us.

Day after day, it will guide us.

Through thick and thin.

To WIN!

Yes ladies and gentlemen, I’ve taken our popular daily planner and done something so simple, yet so remarkable, it will take this lowly piece of paper to new heights.

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This change is subtle but powerful.

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I’ve taken our top six priority boxes and put a check box in each.

When you have accomplished a task you now have a place TO CHECK IT OFF!

This simple box will empower you through the day. Each time you see a task, the checkbox will instill a craving so strong you must take action. You will not be able to do another thing until you can take a pen and put an X in the box.

You’ll start with the top left box and work your way down. Each task has it’s own checkbox. Task after task will be accomplished. These insidious little boxes will drive you nuts if they aren’t filled in in a timely basis.

Your productivity will soar!

But that isn’t the best thing. I have one more driving force that will power you through the most difficult task. You see, when you get all six checkboxes filled in, you can go to the top of the document, where all the world can see, and click the WIN Checkbox!

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You have WON the day!

You can fire up We are the Champions and dance around your desk.

You have done something so remarkable that it is worth celebrating.

You have completed all of your top six tasks for the day!

Finally an answer to the question: How To Get Things Done!

Everyone loves to win!

You can do this!

Download the TOP SIX DAILY PLANNER FOR WINNERS and get started!

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Bonus: I’ve also added a daily diet tracker to the bottom. If you are counting calories, carbs, or weight-watcher points, you can track them here and WIN again!

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Power Users: To get the most out of this planner be sure to pick up Charles Duhigg’s great new book, The Power of Habit and download our helpful Habit Change Worksheet.

Question: What tasks will this allow you to accomplish?

A New Beginning

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Over the past few months, I’ve been preparing to take a major step in my life and develop a full time business from writing, speaking, and product creation. To take what I have learned here on the blog and create a business platform. My current job is ending at the end of June, and I look forward to having the time to do some of the things I’ve always dreamed about.

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One of those dreams is becoming a professional speaker. I’ve been involved with Toastmasters International for over 15 years and in that time, I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to many different organizations and in different venues. I’ve also met a lot of Professional Speakers after going through the Pro-Speak program with the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Speakers Association.

Through it all I’ve come to realize how important it is to develop my own unique speaking platform. I need to put the program pieces together for meeting planners, business organizations, and speakers bureaus.

With that in mind, I’ve spent the last month looking at my expertise and also my passions to develop a seminar that can be packaged as a whole or in separate pieces. I spent hours looking back over hundreds of blog posts and articles to see what has been popular and has generated the most conversation.

I took a piece of paper and listed all the subject areas.

I moved them around and crossed some off.

I took the remainder and sorted.

I asked more questions.

The end results surprised me.

First there were 10, then 7, then 5.

The words were all powerful concepts.

As I finished up, I sorted the words and an acronym formed.

The first letter of the five words formed a word with a multitude of meanings.

The word was LIGHT

It stands for…

  • Legacy
  • Impact
  • Goals
  • Habits
  • Time

These five words are clear and concise and are in proper order of execution. The are simple and easy to remember. They will make up the content for a powerful personal growth seminar. When followed in order, they can radically change your life. This is truly what I want to write and speak about.

Here is a short synopsis…

  1. Legacy: Picture yourself standing outside of your own funeral. What are people saying? What things have you left behind that will outlive you? Have you raised a family? Have you developed friends? Have you written a book, made a movie, or given a speech? What joy have you created for others to share? When you start with the end of your life, you can work backwards and see the milestones and goals that got you to where you were at. Planning your legacy before you die, will help ensure that your dreams and plans are fulfilled.
  2. Impact: Each one of us has the capacity to change the world. To make an impact. To change things for the better. The secret is to start with Impossible. To start with a goal so big that it seems impossible to accomplish. A goal so big that you can’t do it all by yourself. A goal that impacts others. When you have a goal this big, life becomes an adventure. It becomes fun and exciting to get up in the morning.
  3. Goals: While it’s important to have a large impact goal, the secret to getting through your week, is to have smaller weekly and daily goals. When you take a few minutes at the beginning of the week to plan out your activities and list your goals, you are much more likely to accomplish them. Once you have the week planned out, if you take a few minutes at the beginning of each day and fill in a daily planner, you’ll be on track for great productivity.
  4. Habits: Researchers have found that over 40% of our daily activities are done from engrained habits. If these habits do not match our goals, we are doomed to fail. Modifying your existing habits and creating new ones will ensure that you accomplish your priorities. The secret is to find what existing triggers and rewards are driving your activities and use a unique technique to modify them.
  5. Time: Once you know what you want, and have your goals and habits lined up, you need to schedule the time to accomplish them. Using our focused time techniques, you are able to blast through your daily activities with a minimum of distractions and watch your productivity soar.

This seminar will have a workbook and individual planning sheets to get you up to speed quickly. Starting with where you want to go and working backwards, you are able to set goals and milestones to help you get there. Then we take a look at your existing habits and give you some helpful techniques to help you modify them to match your plans and a schedule to accomplish them..

This seminar will be available in a half day version and a weekend workshop.

Since this is in the planning stages, I would love to get your feedback…

If you have a couple of minutes could you answer the following questions in the comments?

1. What do you think of the acronym LIGHT?

2. What would be a good name for the seminar?

3. What changes or additions would you suggest?

Thank you for your help. Stay tuned this week as we look at some of the secrets to create and change habits.

2012: Let’s Get Started

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It’s the New Year and time to get back on track. Resolutions are not enough. We need some solid goals and action steps for the New Year to get us off our “buts” and get going.  To help you get started, I’ve compiled a list of some of the best goal setting tools and information in the Personal Development arena. These powerful action based tools can help you get a great start, and make 2012 the best year yet.

  1. Twenty Steps. The first place to start is to determine your top goal for the New Year. Brian Tracy talks about a simple technique to help you find your top goal in his book, Success Secrets of Self Made Millionaires. It’s actually rather simple.

He devised a simple four step process that anyone can take to get started on this path to success. Here are the instructions…

  1. Take out a sheet of paper and write down ten goals you would like to accomplish in the next 12 months. Things you want to have, do, or become.
  2. Look at all ten goals and ask yourself this question. If you could only accomplish one goal on this list, but you could accomplish it in 24 hours, which one would would have the greatest impact on your life? Brian says in most cases it will jump out at you. Write the goal down in bold writing and set a completion date.
  3. Turn the paper over and write down twenty action steps to accomplish this goal. This step will be easy at first but will become harder as you progress down the list. Don’t stop until you have filled in all twenty.
  4. Each day take at least one action step to accomplish your goal

To make this easy for you, we have a free worksheet to get you started. Just download the  two sided MS Word document called the Top Goal Worksheet that has ten boxes on the front and twenty on the back. Unzip it, and open both sheets in Microsoft Word. You can add text to the document in Word or print it plain to fill in with a pen or pencil.

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When you are ready, print it front and back on both sides of a sheet of letter sized paper.

To fill it out, just follow the four steps above.

You’ll find complete instructions here

If you are having trouble with your Top Goal, you might want to go through Michael Hyatt’s Life Plan first

2. Goal Setting Toolkit. Now that you have your top goal written down, along with some action steps to take, you’ll need to keep this goal top of mind. The easiest way to do this is to write your Goal(s) down using our Goal Setting Toolkit. This kit includes 9 different pocket sized cards that you can take with you in your pocket or purse. You can stick the cards up at work, at home or even in your car.

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You’ll find complete instructions for using this kit here along with the free download.

3. Daily Planner. Now that you have your goals set and your action steps listed, it’s time to take daily action. This is where the daily planner comes in. This one sheet, MS Word document has a place at the top for your top 6 priorities for the day as well as a complete section for creating a daily to-do list. It’s simple to use and it will keep all of your priorities listed in one spot.

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You’ll find complete instructions here.

Overall: These three items should get you started for the year. Why not take some time today to download them and put yourself in the driver’s seat for the New Year.

Question: What Is Your Top Goal For The New Year?

The Shocking Truth About Goal Setting

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Goal setting is rather simple. A goal is simply a dream written down. If you take this written dream and break it down into action steps, you have an achievable goal. Do one action step at a time and before you know it your goal will become a reality. You can use this plan with almost anything… weight loss, writing a book, running a marathon. As you can see, goal setting is easy.

However… if goal setting is so easy, why don’t we all have buff bodies, books on the bestseller list, and ribbons from the Boston Marathon?

Why can’t we stick to our goals once we set them?

The shocking truth is we give up way too soon.

At the slightest bit of trouble we bail

We can’t stick with it

We give up

We fail

But why?

Why do we stop?

Why can’t we keep going?

Why do we stop when we’ve just got started?

Why does it feel impossible to complete the task?

I’ve pondered this topic for years. It seems like such a simple problem, but it isn’t. In talking with others it is a rampant problem. It’s widespread. It affects professional people and lay people alike. While there are many factors at play, I’ve found three that will really trip you up. Here they are…

The Truth About Goal Setting

1. Broadcasting To The World That You Set A Goal. I used to think this was a smart thing to do. Why not have all your friends hold you accountable for that goal that you set? But from experience, I’ve found that two things happen.

  • Your friends or co-workers will tell you a thousand reasons why you will fail. You’ll get a barrage of negative messages. Some of your friends may be jealous that you are attempting something new. Others may have had a bad experience in the past. You’ll hear things like… Diets always fail, Running will blow out your knees, Nobody will want to read what you write… I’m sure you’ve heard many things like this. Negative messages can stop you cold.
  • You’ll get the same emotional boost from telling everyone what you are going to do as you will from actually doing it. So when the first day of the goal comes, you may find yourself dreading it. Instead of wanting to accomplish the goal, now you have to do it. Having to do something becomes a chore quickly. The joy disappears and you end up hating yourself for taking on the goal. You look for excuses or just hope everyone forgets about it.

Solution: While it’s great to have someone hold you accountable, it’s best to confide in only a few people and these people need to be positive motivators. This is where a good coach or mentor comes in. Positive people will help you move forward. Negative people will tear you down.

2. Focus on the future instead of the task at hand. While a goal is just a dream written down, many people continue in the dream stage way too long. To actually accomplish the goal, you need to write it down, break it into action steps, and focus on the action steps , one at a time.

Focusing on the finished goal can stop you dead in your tracks. While it’s good to focus on your progress from time to time, to get the job done, you need to break tasks down into small actionable steps. Things you can actually do. Then schedule time to do them.

For example. Lets say you want to do a weight training regime to get six pack abs. Focusing on the six pack abs will give you an initial motivation, but you need to focus on the individual exercises to move forward. Focusing on the 50 pushups at hand or the 12 rep bicycle crunch will move you along. Creating a schedule and a checklist will keep you on track. The six pack abs will come with time, if you perform each exercise in your plan over time.

3. Trying To Accomplish a Goal All By Yourself. The hardest person to motivate is yourself. While you may have great intentions, your internal voice can constantly find excuses and diversions to knock you off track. Procrastination will raise its ugly head. Finding a good coach or mentor is key. They will help you create a strong personal discipline and be there to monitor your progress.

Look at any championship football or baseball team and you will find a great coach. While the individual players need talent, a great coach will add motivation, drive, and determination. If you truly want to experience greatness, find a great mentor or coach with your best interests at heart.

Overall: Speaker Myles Munroe said it best, When you announce to the world you are going to do something, it is obliged to test you. The criticism and challenges will come fast and hard. If you are not prepared, it will knock you down cold.

Why not give yourself an advantage. Keep your goals close to your vest. Announce them after you have accomplished them, not before. Find a trusted coach or mentor to help you get there. Focus on the individual steps and your goal will take care of itself. The truth about goal setting is this; we can easily be our own worst enemy.

Question: Have you experienced challenges and criticism after announcing your goals?