Time to better your best self.

The time has come to better your best self. Time, it’s elusive. It never comes back. You can’t make it, you can’t find it.

Time is one of the most sought after “things” in life and in business.

Have you ever said:

• I need more time
• Where did the time go?
• How can I make more time?

Yes, and probably a whole lot more.

Time, like money, is actually just a tool we use to live our lives well.

Do you need me to say that last part again…live our lives well.

So amidst everything that is going on in your life and in the world, it is time to better your best self. 

How to better your best self.

I knew you were going to ask.

Your time is the #1 thing for you to get under control. I talk a lot about that in my Productivity Actions series I did in February. I strongly suggest you read the beginning actions.

Set aside about 30 minutes in the next week (now would be good) and write out everything you were doing before you had to stop doing it all.

As you are writing things out, how do you feel about those activities, to-dos, and tasks? If you are feeling good put a smiley face at the end of them.

If you aren’t feeling good about them, put a question mark at the end. 

Leave it for at least a day. When you come back to it, read it over and determine if you still feel good about those things you felt good about or did your feelings about them change?

What about the ones you questioned?

Does what you were doing fit into who you want to be now and into your future and what you want to be doing?

If those activities don’t, you simply do not go back to doing what you didn’t like doing.

So maybe it’s not that easy. And now you have very valuable information in which to use as you reenter your life as you want it.

Changing how you have been before and what you have done takes courage. It’s out of that that you are able to better your best self.

Use your time well.

So then, how do you want to use your time well? I like to look at time as containers that we fill.

Time containers are simply time blocks magnified. Too many business owners “block time” to get things done. What they do not do well, however, is being super clear on what they are going to do in those time blocks.

When you change the way you look at your time, such as using time containers, your time changes.

Look at your list, if you aren’t willing to give anything up, where will all of that go? Remember a container will fit only so much. After which, it is overstuffed and the lid will not close.

One of my clients is a business owner with three children, 6, 9 and 12. Yes, her life is busy. She realized that she doesn’t want to go back to the life they had been living before.

She now sees that being frazzled, stressed out and maxed out does not serve 1) herself, 2) her family and 3) her business. So she is making changes.

You only have so many time containers that can fit into your life what do you really want them to be?

Your action right now is to figure that out. Are you game?

Need help?

Do you want some help? Sometimes trying to figure out where to start is a stumbling block. Let’s clear that up for you. Schedule a free 30 minute complimentary session. Click here to schedule now. We can look at your list and talk through where you might be stuck on how to better your best self.

Work/Life Blend.

Today, I’m going to show you how to create a work/life blend right now.

Work/life blend is something you have been doing already. You just don’t know it.

Work/life blend is when you blend your work and your life to create a cohesive life experience.

Most of us need to work or we want to work for a multitude of reasons.

If a client tells me they want more work/life balance, what that tells me is that one area of their life is taking up way too much time and they are unhappy about it.

And yes, it’s usually work related. They have thrown their life out of whack. The best way to get it back to rolling smoothly is to blend in more of what they are missing and/or wanting.

By the way balance as a noun means an equal distribution. And in our lives, we rarely have an equal distribution of the areas in our life. Another important reason for blending in what we really want and need to be happy.

Examining the Wheel of Life

A tool we use in coaching is what is called a Wheel of Life. You rate on a scale of 1-10 your current level of satisfaction in specific areas.

It’s a big circle with specific life categories. After you rate your categories (more on that in a minute), you can see how life is a little (or a lot) bumpy. 

It’s a great tool to see where to put your attention to first and blend that area into your life for a smoother ride.

Here are what is on a traditional Wheel of Life:

• Family/Parenting
• Personal Development
• Health & Wellness
• Spiritual Awareness 
• Relationships
• Personal Finances
• Fun & Enjoyment
• Career/Profession

Keep in mind that each of those areas, can have their own separate wheels to use as well. For now though, just focus on the Wheel of Life in regards to helping you create a nice work/life blend.

Using the Wheel of Life.

If you have found yourself wanting more “balance” in your life, take each of the above categories and rate them. 

On a scale of 1-10, 1 being you are unhappy with where you are and 10 being you are ecstatic.

After you have rated all of the areas, look at what area of your life you scored the lowest in. That is a place for you to blend into your life. 

To give you an idea of what a Wheel of Life Tool looks like, below is a Wheel of Life image courtesy of iPec Coaching. iPec is where I received my professional coach certification. All Rights Reserved.

How to blend what is missing into your life.

I’ll give you an example from my own life.  You may be able to relate. I love my work and can spend hours in my office.

Yet, I was noticing I didn’t have much down time and began feeling frustrated. The story I was telling myself was that I had too much work and so I had to stay and get it done.

By doing that, I compromised my fun and enjoyment category because, well, I wasn’t having any. 

Enter the Wheel of Life and discovering my Fun and Enjoyment rating was at a 1. That was great information for myself.

Next I went about seeing how to blend in fun and enjoyment into my life.

I started slow.

I decided that each day I would read 15 minutes of a book I enjoyed. Then I slowly moved that time to 30 minutes until I got to spend an entire day reading.

I’ve got to tell you that initially, even though I wanted to read more, the idea of spending an entire day reading was so foreign to me. It didn’t feel good and it certainly didn’t bring any feelings of fun.

And now, it’s something I thoroughly enjoy and have fun doing.

Your turn: go back to the list above and rate where you fall. Take the lowest number and figure out how to begin to blend it into your life right now.

Or if there is an area that has a pretty good level of satisfaction and you want more, start there.

Need help?

Do you want some help? Sometimes trying to figure out where to start is a stumbling block. Let’s clear that up for you. Schedule a free 30 minute complimentary session. Click here to schedule now. We can go over the Wheel of Life together or any part of your life to create a work/life blend that feels good to you.

Be successful working from home.

Your mission is to be a success working from home.

I know I am not the only one to write about this. And I probably could have chosen a different topic all together.

Yet, what I want to share with you are several small, actionable steps that you can take every day to lead you to being a success in working from home.

I’ll also share a few resources with you that I know may help.

First, define for yourself what being successful working from home means to you.

Second, list out how you will know you are a success. When you don’t know what it is it’s hard to actually know if you are successful or not.

A few examples:

• I begin and end my day at designated times.
• What has to happen is getting done in a timely manner.
• Lunch time means I actually eat a lunch.
• Revenue goals are being hit.
• It is business as usual, I’m following the plan I created for my business success and I see actual results.

For all successes to happen in your life, you need to know what your end results are.

Make a few work from home rules.

Ugh! Did you just make a face when you read that?

A long time ago I would have done the same thing. I didn’t really like “rules” and I really didn’t like routines.

Then I set about creating a few of each and much to my surprise I started to see the results I wanted.

Rules and routines are meant to help you be successful. 

One client I have has a rule that she gets up and gets ready for work like she would if she was going into her office. Then (and this is the really fun part), she leaves her house, gets in her car and drives around the block. 

She arrives back at home (her now office) and enters as if she has entered her office building (which she now has) and walks into her office as if she were at work (because she now is).

Another client created a morning and evening routine where she does a few things that she loves to do thereby giving herself “me time” before work and before re-entering her life as a wife and mother.

Your action: create simple rules and routines to keep you focused and grounded.

Keep flexibility top of mind.

Flexibility defined as noun is: the quality of bending easily without breaking.

Stop melt downs and freak-outs before they happen. Even though you may have planned your day precisely; stuff happens.

• The kids decided to have a loud “did not” “did too” discussion just as your Zoom meeting with your team begins.
• Your dogs bark at the moment inspiration struck and you want to write down your thoughts before they escape.
• You decide to take a break from your work and get distracted by news on the television or by an alert on your phone.

When you can be flexible no matter what has or is happening, you create a place where you are present and better able to handle what it is you need to handle at the exact moment.

You also build resilience so getting back into your schedule is much easier.

A strategy I use and that I teach my clients is to focus on being present.  When something catches me off guard and I find myself getting annoyed or worse, I ask myself out loud “what matters most right now?”

And since I’ve already defined that for myself, it is easier for me to be flexible rather than have it escalate into a meltdown.

Your action: Define for yourself what is most important to you right now.  And then when you are feeling as if everything is going wrong, ask yourself out loud:

What matters most right now?

It has the power to pull you back into your present moment which will allow you to determine your state of mind and how you want to proceed.

Create a schedule that feels good.

This is probably more in line with what you thought I was going to say at first.

And yes, it is important. However, I feel that it’s only important after you have done the above.

You may not be able to keep the same schedule that you have when you go into the office, when your kids are in school and your spouse/partner isn’t underfoot.

It is key to your success that you structure your day. A schedule is the number one tool for you to use during this time where lots of things are up in the air.

If you followed the Productivity Actions series that I did in February to help you to be more productive, make more money and reach the successes you want for yourself you learned how to use Time Containers. 

On Productivity Action Day 1 you determined exactly how much time you had for work, that is a container. Then you got crystal clear on what you did and exactly how much time it took you to do things, that is another container.

You need to know the actions you specifically do for your business and your life. Such as your admin work, marketing, client work, focus time, think time, and so on.

If you didn’t follow along or take any actions, I suggest you do that right now. Below in the resources section are the links for the entire series.

Begin with Day 1 and work your way down. Each are short and easy to do. The actions will help you create a schedule that feels good to you and you’ll set yourself up for ultimate success working from home.

Your action: Do the Productivity Actions and create a schedule that feels good to you.

Resources for you.

• Productivity Action Links:

1. Determine What You Have To Work With
2. Take Inventory
3. Estimate Your Time
4. Create Clarity
5. Establish Your Revenue Generating Activities (RGAs) and Your Non-Revenue Generating Activities (NRGAs)
6. Calculate Time Precisely
7. Use Your Time Accurately
8. Prioritization
9. Think Tank Time
10. Check In
11. Do ONE Thing
12. Mind Your Mindset
13. Contain Your Time
14. Eliminate Time Wasters
15. Ignore the Bright Shiny Objects
16. Find Your Motivation
17. Choose the Right Tool
18. Create a Supportive Environment
19. Ask for Support
20. Celebrate Your Productivity

• Insights Group’s Article: Mental Health Checklist
• Forbes Article: Corona Virus Have You Working Remotely? 5 Tips To Work From Home
• Day Designer Article: 34  Self-Care Tips When Staying Safe at Home

Need help?

If you are still struggling to figure this whole work from home thing out, I offer a free 30 minute complimentary session. Click here to schedule now. I’ll help you create an amazing work from home schedule the truly has you being successful!

Peace, Love and Joy makes our world go around.

The world needs some peace, love and joy. In light of what all of us have been experiencing around the world, I couldn’t write a blog post simply about how to be more productive. 

Tuesday was National Puppy Day. Who knew there was such a thing? I didn’t and I have a puppy!

Yes, he’s the one in the photo above. He’s adorable, right? He was about 9 weeks old here. His name is Blades and if you follow me on Instagram, you know he’s in my profile photo. Him and his brother, Bruin (shown below) help me remember that: peace, love and joy makes our world go around.

They are the light of my days. And bring so much peace, love and joy to myself, my husband and anyone who meets them. I thought maybe they would bring you a little bit of joy at least!

Find something that brings you joy.

Ok, I gushed enough. I know. What makes you gush? What lights you up? Is it your family? Your bestest friend? A pet? Or maybe it’s taking time to read a really good book, clean out a closet or (you knew this was coming) be productive!

No matter what it is, be sure to take the time to do it. When you do something that brings you joy, you find yourself in a state of peace.  Because no doubt, when you are doing something that lights you up, you can’t help but feel peace and from peace can come love.

Time on your hands?

If by chance you find that you do have time on your hands because of where we are in the world right now, I wrote a blog series on Productivity Actions to help you to be more productive.

Check it out, there are 20 actions items you can take. Start at the beginning and work your way through. A lot of them are layered so make sure you do at least the first five in order. Scroll to the bottom of the post and you’ll find links for each one.

Need to talk?

As a coach, I often help my clients navigate areas of their lives. If you are feeling stressed out, overwhelmed or even afraid, take advantage of my complimentary session. Click here to schedule now.

Sometimes having someone outside your world to listen and /or to help you figure out what is best for you at this point in your life is the best thing you can do for yourself.

Reaching your goals faster.

Reaching your goals faster requires you to rethink how you go about your day. What you will do, when you will do it and how you will do it.

During the month of February I wrote a blog series on Productivity Actions to help you to be more productive, make more money and reach the successes you want for yourself.

And if you took those actions, you may have seen an uptick in your productivity.

Still, reaching goals faster never seems to be far from the clients I work with. No matter how productive they are, they still want to get to the end faster.

How to reach your goals faster.

We all have patterns. We do things a certain way and think a certain way.

Have you ever thought to yourself “that person makes no sense.” That’s because you have your own thought and behavior patterns and they are not the same as the person you think makes no sense.

Stop to think that maybe you make no sense to that other person. Horrors! I know. Haha, seriously, the point is, we all have our own ways of being and doing things.

One of the fastest ways to reach quicker results is for you to take a look at how you are doing things and how you are thinking about things.

Sometimes just a simple shift in the way we work or how we think can make a big difference.

Be objective

What is one thing that you would like results in faster? Make more money, have more clients, be more organized? Write it down.

Write down what you have been doing so far that have lead to what you have right now. In essence, the results you have now. 

Next, take a step back and look at this as though a colleague has come to you for help. What would you say? How would you help them? 

Great, now that is what it is you will do in order get the results you want faster. What you would tell someone else is what you need to do. Remember we give the advice and teach others what we most need.

Be prepared for objection

You’ll more than likely tell yourself “no, I can’t do that” or even “that won’t work for me”. Tell yourself thank you and you are going to take this action anyway because the other actions you’ve been taken have not gotten you your results in the way you want.

The reason we don’t get the results we want faster is because we hold ourselves back. For many reasons, it may cost too much, we aren’t sure what to do, we feel inadequate.

You probably could name your reason. And if you can, congratulations for being brave enough to name it. Objections show up lots of places. Do not fall prey to them.

As Wayne Dyer says, change how you look at things and they will change. It’s impossible for them to stay the same. And it is impossible for you to stay the same.

Now that you know what to look at differently, do it and see how fast your results show up.

Need help?

I offer a free 30 minute complimentary session. Click here to schedule now. You may use this to help with your objections or to discover how working with a coach could help you reach your results faster.