Are Your Business Best Practices Helping You Succeed?

April 11, 2018 By

Setting yourself up for success with business best practices.

When I first began working for myself there were a few things I knew I wanted. I wanted to take off every holiday I had off when I worked for someone else and then the few that I didn’t get. I wanted to take the Friday before a long weekend without having to put in a “request for time off” form that I knew would be denied. And I wanted to to be able to take advantage of nice days and be outside from time to time during my workday.

You know, all of the things that I couldn’t do having to work for someone else, I wanted to give myself the liberty to do. In addition to that, I knew I needed a structure, a routine and a way of doing business. So I also set up some best business practices for myself to help me succeed.

Business best practices make all the difference to your success.

I looked up best practices to see exactly what others define it as and here is what Wikipedia says:

“A best practice is a method or technique that has been generally accepted as superior to any alternatives because it produces results that are superior to those achieved by other means or because it has become a standard way of doing things, e.g., a standard way of complying with legal or ethical requirements.”

I know where I got the term best practices, I used to work in a law firm so it made sense to me. And it makes sense to have best practices for a business as well as a life! It fits a lot of scenarios. Though not many people have them. It could be why so many people and businesses struggle or are frustrated because they aren’t living the life they want or have the success in business they expected. By having your best practices in place, you’ll be setting yourself up for massive success.

How best practices can make the difference for you.

Best practices are for you to use to set your business up in a way that works for you. Especially if you are a solopreneur or owner of a very small business and you wear a lot of hats. It is something that helps you stay on track with all there is to do with running a business, accountable to getting things done and seeing actual results.

When you set up your best practices and follow them, your business runs so much more smoothly. It’s almost like you have a secret weapon of success in your back pocket. Best practices help you execute your business plan and day-to-day operating activities. Not to mention it is something that keeps you on time, knowing your schedule, what you can and cannot say yes to and basically running a successful business.

Setting up your best practices.

This is a big topic which I could talk about for a long time. When I work with clients we spend a good amount of time setting up best practices for them to follow. I’m going to share several key ones with you here:

  • Determine your work hours. This includes your hours of operation, when you are open for business to come in and when you will be taking care of any administrative activities like bookkeeping, filing, cleaning and things of that nature.
  • Create your schedule. Once you determine your work hours you can then determine your schedule. If you have a brick and mortar business, when will you be there working and when will you be doing your administrative tasks. If you have an online business, when will you go into your home office and when will you leave.
  • Layout your time off. This one is a challenging one for most business owners. And it’s one of the more important best practices you can lay out. Will you work weekends, nights, holidays? How much vacation will you have? When is your off time when you can be with those you love and do fun things for yourself?
  • Use a calendar faithfully. Now that you know your work hours, the time you’ll need to work on the business, your schedule and time off, put it in your calendar and honor that. Sure sometimes things may need to be moved around, that’s called flexibility, just make sure things don’t get ignored over and over again.
  • Put together an operations manual. This will include everything your business does to market, sell, provide services/products and be profitable. It’s a tell-all kind of manual. If I were to walk in and have to start working immediately, this manual will be able to tell me what to do, how to do it and when to do it.

Best practices as your framework for success.

If you think of setting this up as daunting, I invite you to think of it as setting up your framework for success. It’s a business operations piece that will give you solid legs to stand on and build from.

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” — Walt Disney

Click To Tweet

I’ve worked with a number of solopreneurs and small business owners to set up their own best practices. It’s something that can be started quickly. Schedule a free Best Practices Session with me and you’ll be well on your way to creating success in your business (and your life too =)

Filed Under: Business Mastery, Business Planning, Productivity, Reaching Goals, Structure Tagged With: , , ,

Is it time for a new mindset?

April 4, 2018 By

What causes you to feel stressed, overwhelmed or guilty?

So many women struggle with feeling stressed out, overwhelmed and guilty over everything they feel they have to do, but aren’t doing. And it’s not because they aren’t trying, they are, there just isn’t enough time for it all.

Many of my clients are women business owners who are taking care of their homes, families, running their businesses, and saying yes to just about every request asked of them. And not one of them have ever said “I’m so excited I have so much going on.” No, what I hear is “I’m so stressed out.” Or “I’m so overwhelmed I don’t know what to do first.” Or “I feel so guilty because I can’t seem to get things done.”

And the first thing I ask them is always this: “how do you want to feel?” Because you and I both know no one wants to feel stressed, overwhelmed or guilty. What I hear a lot of is “I’d love to feel peace of mind.” I just love that. And I also know, that they can get there. How do I know this? I’ve been in their shoes more than I’d like to admit. But admit it I will. It’s often something that helps others see that they can turn things around in their lives too.

Imagine that you can change how you feel.

Close your eyes and imagine what it would feel like if you could create the kind of life that you love, one that you can say “I’m so excited to have so much going on” and have it be amazing stuff that you truly want to have going on.

Do you have that picture? Can you see yourself in the place that you imagine? Great! Keep that in mind and take one thought that stresses, overwhelms you or makes you feel guilty and then let go of the stress, overwhelm and guilt.

Here’s how:

  • Close your eyes
  • Think of that one thought that stresses, overwhelms you or makes you feel guilty
  • Imagine yourself in a place that feels really great to you
  • Breathe in deeply
  • Breathe out and say “I let go“

Notice how you feel in the moment. I bet you’ll feel better than you did before. It’s a matter of practice and remembering how you truly want to feel.

“Good vibes attract good lives” –unknown

Click To Tweet

Good Vibes Only

It’s easy to keep saying “I’m so stressed”, “I’m so overwhelmed” and/or “I feel so guilty” and it takes some effort to remember to choose to take a breath and let go. However, when you think and feel good vibes you will find yourself in a better mindset more often than not!

Have you given this a try and are still struggling? Is there something that is stressing you out, overwhelming you or making you feel guilty? Schedule a private 1/1 complimentary session with me and we’ll create some good vibrations for you right away! =)

Filed Under: Business Mastery, Business Planning, Empowerment, Personal Development, Productivity, Reaching Goals Tagged With: , , ,

How to get what you want

March 28, 2018 By

Over compromising almost always leads to you not getting what you want.

Do you pride yourself on being accommodating to others? Are you someone who will go along to get along?

Well, it could be what is keeping you from getting what you truly want. When you accommodate others over what it is you want, what actually happens is you are compromising yourself.

Now, I’m not saying a compromise isn’t a good thing. It often is a mainstay in a negotiation. Though when you compromise on many things in your life and your business just to accommodate others you will never get what you want.

Ways you may be compromising yourself.

Let’s say you have a client who is always asking for an extension of time. Your policies are that clients must complete their service by a certain date and that no additional extensions will be granted. Yet, each time this client engages your services they always ask for more time. And you say yes.

You have laid out your policies that you require a non-refundable deposit to begin working with a new client and they ask if they could roll that into their payment plan. And you say yes.

In negotiating to work with a new client you know exactly what it is you will say yes to and what will say no to and they ask for something you don’t want to do. And you say yes.

In each of these circumstances you are compromising yourself and in that vain you can never get what you want.

Attitudes are the forerunners of conditions. – Chinese Proverb

Click To Tweet

How to stop compromising yourself so you get what you want.

If you have kids or even a dog, if you always say yes to them when you mean no, then when you try to enforce “the no” you find it won’t work. I know, I have a Bernese Mountain Dog and as long as I do what I plan to do he’s awesome to train. The second I don’t (hey, he’s really adorable), all heck breaks loose. He’s not inclined to come when he’s called if I keep going over to get him. It’s the same with kids, they will wear you down and you’ll never be able to get what you want. Such as a well-behaved child or pet.

It’s really a mindset on your part. You have to be the one to say this is what I want and this is how I’ll get it. So when a client asks for something that you have already told them they can’t have (so to speak) and then say yes, why would they not push (I mean ask) for more?

Here are several ways to stop compromising yourself:

  • Honor what it is you want. It’s perfectly ok for you to say this is what I want. You don’t even have to have any reasons and you don’t have to explain anything to anyone.
  • Practice saying no. And again, you do not need to offer any explanation for your reason. Though if you feel better doing so, create several phrases that you feel comfortable saying. Read this is you would like some suggestions on how to say no.
  • Listen to your intuition. When you are asked to compromise on what you already said you didn’t want (or wouldn’t do), your intuition pops up. You may feel it in your gut or a little voice will say “ya but…” listen to that.

By accommodating what you want first more often, you’ll be able to get what it is you want for yourself and your business. And just to be clear, it’s not that you’ll never compromise with others, or give in. You’ll be more in tune to how your behavior hinders what you want for yourself.

I know this can be challenging, especially if you have been compromising yourself to accommodate others. So, schedule a private 1/1 complimentary session with me and we’ll create as way for you to be able to easily honor what you want, say no and listen to your intuition.

Filed Under: Business Mastery, Business Planning, Empowerment, Personal Development, Productivity, Reaching Goals Tagged With: , , ,

How to make things count

March 14, 2018 By

Kim RavidaAre you a box checker?

Meaning, are you a checklist maker and do you love checking things off?

I do! It gives me a lot of satisfaction to check something off. Kind of like a jolt of the happy drug or something. I love to make lists, agendas, and To Dos and even better I love to check things off.

If you are like me, you probably know exactly what I am talking about.

But…are you checking the right boxes?

Last last year I came to realize that while I was a rock star at checking things off my list, I wasn’t actually checking a lot of things off that really mattered.

What I mean by that is that I had loads of things on my list and got loads of things done, but not what truly would help me get to where I wanted to be.

It occurred to me that while I was checking off the boxes, I wasn’t checking the right ones off. Are you doing the same thing? And are you wondering what that means for you? It means that you won’t ever reach your goals in the ways you probably want. It means that you are wasting time, perhaps avoiding and definitely not making things count.

You are great at counting down the days and the To Dos yet not great at making the days and the To Dos count.

“The past has no power over the present moment.” – Eckhart Tolle

Click To Tweet

Ways to make your days count!

Before we talk about applications let’s take a moment to accept where we are and look to where we want to go. Let’s not beat ourselves up over lost time or any of that. We’ll start where we are and go from here.

Ready? Here we go…

  • Begin with a visualization of what you want. Take a deep breath and close your eyes. Ask yourself what it is you truly want in your business and in your life?
  • Jot down your vision on paper. By documenting what you want you have your end game and you can begin to break that down to actionable steps.
  • Create a timeline for each goal. Some goals will be short-term goals and some will be longer-term ones.
  • Determine where to start. After you have created your timeline, you will now work backward. Write down the very first step you need to do in order to make your days count.
  • Draft a monthly, weekly and daily agenda. By looking at the month, week, day view you’ll know exactly what it is you need to do and by when to work on making things count.
  • Get busy. It’s time to make your days count! You have your visualization in your mind and on paper along with a timeline, you know where to start and you have your list!

Make your days count.

One of the best ways to make your days count is to do a daily and weekly review. At the end of each day and each week, take a look at what you accomplished and what you need to move forward. This gives you a nice road map to be able to see where you are at a glance and it also serves as a way for you to make sure you aren’t being too quick to count things down and are really making things count. Another thing it does is to help you see all you have accomplished!

By putting these strategies into action, you’ll soon eliminate those activities that are time wasters and energy drainers in your day and make every day count!

Would you like personal help making your days count by doing the right things? I’ve helped many business owners get clarity over their days so let’s do it! Sign up for a private 1/1 complimentary session with me and you’ll be able to make every day count!

Filed Under: Business Mastery, Business Planning, Empowerment, Personal Development, Productivity, Reaching Goals Tagged With: , , ,

Mistakes are what makes you the best!

March 7, 2018 By

Do you hate it when you make mistakes?

You may be saying, “what kind of question is that, of course I hate it when I make mistakes.”

And you wouldn’t be the only one. As human beings we quite hate making mistakes. It makes us feel useless, stupid, maybe even unqualified. It may cause us to think others will look at us differently and that we may end up losing out on something we want because of it.

Looking at mistakes differently.

But what if I told you that your fear of making mistakes could be the one thing that is holding you back? Back from getting what it is you really want out of life, and/or business?

When we are afraid to do something, we rob ourselves of the sheer enjoyment of doing something new. Of proving to ourselves that we can do something we at first thought we couldn’t. Look, before you know how to do something, of course, it’s going to be challenging. And that’s just great. Because if it wasn’t you wouldn’t feel such joy upon doing it and even mastering it. Cool, right? You bet!

Mistakes are what make you great!

Take a moment and look back at a past mistake, one that you know lead to you triumphing in your life or your business.

As you remember that mistake, how did you feel after you overcame it? What did you learn from it? How did it change you? How has it continued to change you? See mistakes, if you can embrace them, have the power to bring you to the best version of yourself.

Ever said “I’ll never do that again”? Sure you have, who hasn’t? Well, that’s because you have learned from your mistakes. Remember Yoda’s teaching to Luke? “There is no try.” And that’s because you must do, whether imperfect or perfect. In order to get something done, you have to do it.

Do or do not, there is no try. -Yoda (Star Wars)

Click To Tweet

How will you embrace your mistakes to make yourself great?

In the event you are still a little skeptical, here are a few suggestions to consider and even try out:

  • If I do this, what is the worst that can happen?
  • If I do this, what will happen for me because I did it?
  • Even if I do this and it’s not perfect, I am still doing it.
  • There is no failure in trying, failure lies in not trying.
  • What if I succeeded in ways I can’t even imagine?

Can you see how there truly is never any mistakes or even failure? And that your fear is really just holding you back from all the greatness you desire?

So tell me, how will you embrace your mistakes to make yourself great? I would love you to share that with me. Simply post below and if you’d rather share privately, my email is kim@kimravida.com. Here is to your mistakes making your great!

Still struggling with this concept? Did it hit a nerve? Would you like to break through what is holding you back? Let’s do it! Sign up for a private 1/1 complimentary session with me and you’ll walk away with the one thing you need to have the success you want!

Filed Under: Business Mastery, Business Planning, Empowerment, Personal Development, Productivity, Reaching Goals Tagged With: , , ,

A day in the life of a business owner

February 28, 2018 By

Kim Ravida

All business owners aren’t the same.

Let me start off by saying each and every business owner I’ve ever worked with or even met, are similar yet not the same. That’s a good thing and maybe not such a good thing.

How so?

When we look at role models or people to emulate, we often perceive them as what we think they should look like. A lawyer or banker may wear a blue suit. A hair stylist may wear colorful clothing. And a dog groomer may wear old jeans. But what if the dog groomer wore the blue suit? Would you think to yourself “that’s weird”?

And because each business is different each will have specific to them systems, processes and actions. If you are a lawyer, banker, hair stylist or dog groomer than perhaps you may do what they are doing but what if you aren’t? Well, you already know that answer, you’ll do what works for you.

When we look to others to mold our businesses, it can often help, and it can also hinder. So even if someone does exactly what you do, it’s best for you to do you. And that means creating systems, processes and actions specifically geared to you and the results you want to achieve with your business.

Just be yourself. Be honest, work towards a goal, and you’ll achieve it. Emraan Hashmi Reed

Click To Tweet

Stepping (and staying in) into your own shoes.

Speaking from personal experience as well as client experience there have been times when it is good to do what another business owner has done or is doing. Yet, remembering that all business owners have different need and wants and personalities is key to your success.

A day in the life of a business owner who is a dog groomer will be different than one who is a hair stylist. Yet, they may have similar operating systems, processes and the way they interact with their clients. And a day in the life of a career or business coach will absolutely be different from the groomer and stylist. So if you are trying to run your business like the way someone else has, you more than likely will struggle.

So then how to operate your business your best way? By knowing exactly the kind of day you need to have. A day in the life of your business!

What does a day in the life of your business look like?

Start at the beginning:

  • What is your business?
  • Who do you serve?
  • How do you serve?
  • What things do you need to do every day that keeps your business operating (marketing, admin)?
  • How do you do those things?
  • Who does those things?

Look at all the things that goes into you running your business (even if you have loads of help). Then you’ll have your day in the life of a business owner and that’s you!

Not sure about what it is you do, should be doing or could be doing to be the best business owner you can be?  Sign up for a 90-minute Business Success Blueprint Session with me so that you can get clear, create (or tweak) your systems, processes and actions to achieve your desired results easier and faster.

Filed Under: Business Mastery, Business Planning, Empowerment, Productivity, Reaching Goals Tagged With: , , ,

Are You Realistic Or Are You Optimistic?

February 7, 2018 By

www.kimravida.com

Hey now, what’s the difference?

The dictionary states that being realistic is: having or showing a sensible and practical idea of what can be achieved or expected. And being optimistic is: hopeful and confident about the future.

So then, do you really need to be one or the other?

I say no. I say you can be both realistic and optimistic. And I see a lot of good coming from both.

How to use both to get ahead in your life and business.

Have you ever been accused of being too realistic, or even too optimistic? I have and it got me thinking.

If I’m too realistic, does that hold me back? What if I’m too optimistic, does that mean I’m engaging in pie in the sky results? The answer, is probably. =)

So, how can you use, say, a middle ground of being realistically optimistic to get what you want? Recently, I’ve been working with my clients to not set goals. Whoa, what, now?! You read that correctly.

Every choice you make has an end result. Zig Ziglar

Click To Tweet

My clients work on being at choice and choosing to set the results they want.

Here is an example from one of my clients who wanted to increase her income:

By March 31, 2018, I will have made an additional income of $5,000 by signing up 3 new (or previous) clients. I will do that by achieving the following results:

  • Create a clear message for my audience so they understand what I offer.
  • Attend two in-person networking groups per week with the end result of meeting 1-2 new prospects to connect with personally.
  • Invest 30-60 minutes a day in two on-line networking groups I’ve determined are the best fit for me.
  • Make a “can’t say no” offer to those prospects that I know will be a good fit and will get great results.
  • Monitor my actions and my mindset to hold myself accountable to taking daily actions in order to reach my end result.

Is this realistic? Yes, for my client, it is. Her services price point are in line with reaching her wanted results. Is it optimistic? Yes, she is hopeful and confident that she will be able to take the actions needed to have her reach her end result.

So while technically you could call the above goals, we talk in terms of results. Since results feel more concrete and yes, realistic. Then, this makes it possible for my clients to be optimistic since they have set really great actions and measurements for success.

Have you been struggling to reach the results you want?

Why not use the above as a guide and determine exactly what results you want. Once you have done that, you can list out your action steps. Here is a tip, keep your action steps clear and only have 5-8 of them. Any more and you’ll create overwhelm which creates confusion, which keeps you from taking daily action.

Remember, it’s about getting results, not about doing 100 (or more things). The less is truly the better.

What is your first step, then second and so on that will give you what you want? I’d love to hear about it. Please comment below.

One thing my clients say is that it’s easy to reach the results once you know what to do. If not being clear on what you need to do or the order in which to do it in, is a stumbling block for you, let’s fix that. Schedule your 90-minute Business Success Blueprint Session with me now. At the end of your session, you will have your concrete plan of actions to reach your desired results.

Filed Under: Business Mastery, Business Planning, Empowerment Tagged With: , , ,

I’ll do just one more thing

January 31, 2018 By

www.kimravida.com

 

Are you that person?

How often do you say “I’ll do just one more thing?”

I used to say that daily and one more thing lead to one more and so on. Before I knew it I had added about 100 more things to my to-do list and it still wasn’t complete. And I was working way more than I had planned to. This is called the Squeeze In Syndrome. You know, like I’ll just read one more email, make one more phone call, write one more blog, do one more thing on my list even though I don’t have the time to do it. I’ll just do that one more thing anyway.

If you find yourself saying “I’ll do just one more thing” and often feel stressed out, overwhelmed and exhausted then I recommend you stop doing it right now. Essentially what you are doing is just too much and it’s not going to help you succeed.

I love this photo of the emails, because a lot of us get caught up in doing just one more email…let’s see how doing just one more thing can hurt us.

Too much of a good thing is still too much! -Kim Ravida

Click To Tweet

Hidden Dangers of Doing Too Much.

I live on a main street. It’s a busy street for periods of the day and lots going on. The other day we were at home relaxing when we heard a very loud crash. No screeching of the brakes to warn that something was coming, just a loud crash. Having lived here for some time, we knew what that meant. A car accident. My husband bolted out the front door to see what he could do to help and ended up helping the guy who drove his big F-150 right into a parked car (small compact car) nearly pushing it into a nearby house.

Thankfully everyone involved was physically ok. Though the young kid whose car was demolished probably wasn’t seeing it that way (side note: he said he just got the car – oh my heart breaks for him). Anyway, that aside, the driver of the truck admitted he fell asleep!

He said he’d been trying to do too much. He works as a local fire fighter and had just worked several long shifts and wanted to to spend time with his son and take his son to hockey practice when he fell asleep and ran into the parked car.

Now, I’m someone who can always empathize with others. It’s part of what makes me a great friend and coach. I so felt for each of the parties involved. The dad who was trying to do too much, work to provide for his family, be a good dad, take time to be with his son and the young kid that now has a totaled car because someone was trying to do too much that he ended up exhausted.

It’s time to stop.

This outside view gave me a big pause to think. I don’t usually fall asleep at the wheel as I don’t usually do a lot of driving, but I do often fall into the habit of doing one more thing that ends up sacrificing family time, self time, home time, etc.

It’s time for us as a society to stop doing too much. And to stop expecting others to do too much.

I write and coach my clients a lot about being productive and how to let things go and/or just say no so you would think I would find it easy. I know it isn’t. Yet I am committed to doing it. What about you?

How to just stop.

As you know I love to give practical steps to doing things and not just talk about doing them. Here are several steps to help you go from squeezing in things to do to actually creating a great, do-able to-do list and get things done.

  • Create a master personal to-do list. Do a brain-dump and get everything out of your head in one place [see this link].
  • Create a business/work to-do list. Same as the personal one, only this is just business tasks.
  • Start deleting. What on that list do you think you need to do but if you looked at it objectively you could just delete it, go do that.
  • Streamline your lists. What do you need to do this month, week, day.
  • Schedule it in your calendar. Create time each day in your calendar for you to spend time to get your action items done, then go and do them.
  • Ask for help. Whether it is help from your family or an assistant, sometimes things on your list aren’t really for you to do.

In order for you to be successful here, think about what is most important to you. Maybe your children, family, spouse, personal life. When you do one more thing that takes away from what is most important to you, how does that help you honor what is most important to you?

Hint:  It doesn’t and you end up sending the wrong message to both yourself and those you love.

Tell me what is it that is most important to you, then keep that in mind when you find yourself doing just one more thing.

I’ve been where you may be, having a hard time saying “I’m done for the day”. If you would like help here, schedule a 30-minute complimentary Productive Planning For Success Strategy Session with me. You’ll get clear on your prioritized list, a clear schedule of getting things done and peace of mind about feeling ok with letting things go!

We respect your email privacy.

Filed Under: Business Mastery, Business Planning, Productivity, Reaching Goals, Time Management Tagged With: , , , , ,

The best time to do it is now

January 24, 2018 By

 

The best time to do it is now.

There is one thing I took a long time to get through my head and that was, just do it.

Yes, the Nike slogan that is as motivating as it is popular. Those three little words:

JUST DO IT.

And doing so can make such an impact to your business. I know it did to mine.

Truly, the best time to do what you want and need to do is now. As a former procrastinator, I know if can be hard to just do it. So her are a few tips to help you get going.

How to just do it.

First, what is it you need to do? Second, go do it. Easy, right? It is so you have no excuses. Comment below on what you just completed.

But…if you don’t know what it is you need to do here are your starting steps:

  • Do a brain dump. Make a list of all of the things you have in your head. Just start writing, do not worry about priority or order. The goal is to get it on paper or on an electronic list.
  • Classify business or personal. Go through and put a “B” or a “P” next to each item so you can easily see whether it is business or personal.
  • Delete as you go. You may realize as you classify your tasks that things you wrote out you either do not want to do or do not need to do. That’s awesome, just put a line through it.
  • Re-write your list. Get two pieces of paper or open a new window and mark one business and one personal and begin to write down your business tasks and your personal tasks on their own designated spots. Again, deleting as you go (yes, you will start to notice that lots of what you wrote doesn’t need to be done).
  • Prioritize your lists. This is where the just do it begins. I like to use $ for tasks that will help me make money (I am in business after all) so I go through and put a dollar sign next to the actions that will bring money into my business. Then I use the 1, 2, 3 system to help me see what is next. I also estimate as best as I can how long I think something will take – will it take me 30 minutes or less, 60 minutes or 90 minutes (I like to work in those 3 time blocks).
  • Schedule your tasks into your calendar. Once you know what you need to do and how long it will take you, you can easily schedule them to get done and then, you guessed it, JUST DO IT! =)
“Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.” ~ David Allen

Click To Tweet

Use the motto: If not now, when?

I like to ask myself “if I am not going to do this now, when will I do it?” It gives me time to pause and to be honest, will I have time to do it and if not, perhaps it’s time to let it go.

You may gasp at that, a lot of my clients do. It’s hard to give things up, especially if we have talked ourselves into thinking we have to do it. Yet, when you do, guess what happens? You actually have more time to just do those things that will make the biggest impact to you.

So let me ask you, if not now, when?

Tell me the task that you have been putting off and what your next step for it is, is it to just do it or to let it go?

I’ve been where you may be, having a hard time just doing things and even being ok with letting things go. If you would like help here, schedule a 30-minute complimentary Productive Planning For Success Strategy Session with me. You’ll walk away with a prioritized list, a clear schedule of getting things done and peace of mind about letting things go!

We respect your email privacy.

Filed Under: Business Mastery, Business Planning, Productivity, Reaching Goals, Time Management Tagged With: , , , , ,

Why it is so easy to pile things to do on our plates?

January 17, 2018 By

kim ravida

 

Have enough?

As business owners, it’s easy to have loads on our plates (er…desks). We all have enough things to do, places to go, and items to manage.

And why is it so easy to end up with our proverbial plates piled higher than we even stand? Well, lots of things and one stands out among them all…the inability to say no.

No is a single and complete sentence. Yet, so many business owners feel they have to offer more and more specifically, they have to say why they can’t or don’t want to do something.

So they end up saying yes, hence the high piles of things to do, places to go and items to manage. And no time for doing what they truly want.

Saying no to something is actually much more powerful than saying yes. Tom Hanks

Click To Tweet

How to say no.

If you found yourself saying “yup, that’s me, I just can’t say no.” Let me tell you that 1) it’s ok for no to escape your lips often and 2) no one will die if you do (not even you =).

True you might feel bad, but you’ll get over it and it gets easier. I was a serial YESer. I’d say yes to everything. I did it because I wanted people to like me and think I was helpful. Only a funny thing happened, I ended up not liking myself and I certainly wasn’t as much help as I could have been to those I said yes to because I resented saying yes.

That’s no way to be respectful of yourself or others. I discovered my reason for yes after working with my own business coach and the second I did, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders. I felt freer than I ever had.

How to say no easily is simple, p-r-a-c-t-i-c-e! You need to practice saying no. Here are a few for you to practice with:

  • Short response: No.
  • Feeling the need to say more: No, thank you.
  • Wanting to expand it a bit: No, I won’t be able to help you (do that for you) with that.
  • Said succinctly: No.

There is no reason for you to be sorry.

You will notice that no where in your practice material are the words I’m sorry. Because I’m sorry has no place here. We are accustomed to using “I’m sorry” as a habit. If you really, really, really want to offer a reason for your no, be honest and to the point. Here is the thing, you either DO want to say yes or you DON’T and when you don’t the respectful response is no (full sentence, end of conversation).

If you do feel sorry, why is that? What is it you feel you need to do or be for yourself to feel good about your saying no? Give some thought to that. My guess is you’ll discover what it is I discovered which for me was I wanted to be liked, ultimately that lead to a fear of not wanting to be rejected. Once I discovered that and knew that truly no one can reject me (that only happens because of how I feel), saying no became easy.

The result of saying no.

There are many benefits to saying no to things that are not for you to do, you have more time, you get more things done, you feel better, you truly enjoy what you are doing, you no longer need to complain, you no longer need to feel bad about yourself and not getting to the things that are most important to you. You get so many benefits.

What is one thing you need to say no to right now? Go and do it. And here’s a tip, you can say no even if you already said yes. It’s called “I changed my mind.” And like with no, it’s a complete sentence. and yes, in this case, you can say “I’m sorry, I changed my mind.” Because here it fits. Though you certainly do not have to say I’m sorry ever in these instances.

Give this a shot and I’d love to hear from you about how it goes, if you would like to share your experience here, post in the comment section below.

Are you having a hard time saying no? Let’s practice together, schedule a 30-minute complimentary Productive Planning For Success Strategy Session with me. You’ll walk away feeling confident about saying No without any guilt!

We respect your email privacy.

Filed Under: Business Mastery, Business Planning, Productivity, Reaching Goals, Time Management Tagged With: , , , , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »