Getting Clear, Achieving Focus

With so many priorities in each of our lives and particularly in our careers, it can often be challenging to get clear and truly achieve focus on any single goal. The key lies in focusing intensely, for short periods of time, on singular goals. For example, if you have three major projects, if you do a little on each, you won’t typically get as far, as if you focus exclusively for a day or a week on one at time. This ensures you the necessary attention to cover all the details and strategize for success.

When I sit down at my desk, I have a completion list, and I have learned to focus exclusively on each item until it is completed. If, instead, I flit back and forth across several items, nothing gets finished and wrapped up and I simply have a lot of loose ends back on the list the next day.

Focus to the finish!

Managing Email for Results (Gain an Hour a Day)

With so many ways to get in touch, stay in touch, and be in touch these days, it can be truly overwhelming. Whether you use a cell phone, a PDA, a blackberry, raspberry, cranberry or other fruited combination, keeping up with it all can be an art! Until recently, I had the unproductive and time wasting habit of checking email as often as possible. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to stop and instead schedule twice a day checking. In addition, I trained myself to open and reply in one step rather than opening, reading, thinking about it, reopening, thinking some more, and finally replying. Handling each email once and immediately at opening has saved me a lot of time, limiting my email checking to twice a day has really streamlined my productivity and given back my focus on many other more important activities.
I challenge you to take back control of your communication and productivity by scheduling when you check email, limiting it to twice a day, and handling each email once and immediately upon opening. Remember we used to live without it! We used to do business just as successfully with face to face, voice to voice and snail mail.

Take back your day, take back your success!

Screw It, Let’s Do It

Screw It, Let’s Do It, Richard Branson

A short book and quick read from one of the most creatively successful entrepreneurs ever born. Branson tells it in plain language, how his mantra of believing in himself, faith in all things possible, living life to it’s fullest, and never giving up have created his extraordinary life and can create ours. Just as there really is no secret, it is simply within each of us, so is our success DNA and our ability to design our own lives for greatest satisfaction and realization of our dreams. He is one of the truly original out of the box thinkers that trusts himself, makes fast decisions, and takes calculated risks. Big risks have led to big rewards all backed by bold thinking and an indominatable spirit. Inspiring.

Architecting Your Life – Choosing your Productive Times for Success

I am finding myself working every Sunday and realize that rather than stop that, I am going to begin taking Fridays off. You see Sunday is quiet, and I get a lot more done without interruptions, so it is far more productive for me to keep that and enjoy my Friday off. I know it may sound radical, but after all it is my life! I can architect my life for it to suit me, and you can do the same for yourself. Certainly it helps that I am an entrepreneur and not on the corporate clock, but I am betting there are plenty of opportunities within the confines of corporate structure that allow flexibility that haven’t been explored. With the advent of telecommuting, constructing a unique professional schedule is ever easier. What is your most productive time? Use it for your greatest success!

Yes, I do have a desired experience of a four day work week with that fifth day devoted to reading, research and writing. And I am working toward it steadily. The important thing is that I realize it is all my choice. You see we can each design and architect our lives as we desire, but too often we don’t. Sadly many of us are operating out of default, instead of by design.

Live by intention and purpose, you’ll enjoy it a great deal more.

Follow Up!

Do you know what the single biggest failure in businesses today is? Failure to follow up. It is so simple but so often overlooked. In my first three years in business, I sent every client I made a call to a thank you note. It didn’t matter if it was my first call or my fifth call, I sent a note. This practice created a tremendous buzz among my clients and aided in building my business by referrals. That is the essence of following up. What do you do to follow up regularly?

Beyond thank you notes, I have shared with clients and friends alike that my reputation is truly based on my responsiveness (my follow up) and if they don’t hear back from me from a voicemail or email within 24 hours and usually within 6 hours, please get in touch again. (The Gods of Technology ate it! Aka Bellsouth, Comcast etc.) What is your response time?

I left three messages for a contractor last week with no reply. While I will finish my existing jobs with them, I had two new jobs to refer and simply won’t do it without prompt response. With business as competitive as it is, there are five other vendors to take their place that I can direct my business to. The same is true of my business, if I fail to follow up, they can go and will go elsewhere.
What is your reputation for following up? What sets you apart?