Never again put your productivity in jeopardy

October 5, 2017 By

It’s a sad fact that a lot of business owners and entrepreneurs jeopardize their success.

Honestly, it’s not hard to do. What with all of the things that have to happen to first start a business, then be successful at it.

Recently I wrote an article that I published on Medium. It was a pretty popular article. So many people highlighted parts of it and commented on it. One man wrote:

“What I came to notice, though, in my own search for improving (or establishing at all) productivity is that prioritizing my tasks and planning for the day A) rarely works out; and B) can quickly overwhelm me. The former, I guess, is rooted strongly in being a freelancer. But the latter I think is something a lot of people can maybe relate to.”

And what he said got me to thinking.

To Be Productive, You Have To Be Yourself.

See, if you are truly to be productive you have to be yourself. I can tell you to do this or that but if it doesn’t fit for you, you won’t be successful with it. And I want you to be successful. I want you to be super successful!

So while my article gave the how to be productive and while many people liked it and are trying it, what if it doesn’t work for you?

Well first, go read it to see if it won’t work for you. And if you find it won’t, then we’re in business! If it does, then, we’re in business! The beauty is you will be aware of how to be you! Either way you’ll be productive.

Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things they are transformed. Thich Nhat Hanh

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Get Results, Your Way.

No, we aren’t talking Burger King. Well, yes, actually we are.

You can have your productivity YOUR way! And that said, in order to do that you still need to take some steps.

  1. Decide what it is you want for results. While I’m all for being in a flow and just going about taking actions, if you aren’t taking specific actions on a specific goal, forget about it. You will never get anywhere. And you do want to get somewhere don’t you? Yes, I know you do!
  2. Determine what you need to do to get your results. Like the photo in this article, if you are here, there and everywhere you’ll get nowhere. Clearly determine your action steps that you will take to reach your end results.
  3. Make a list of all your actions. This is valuable because you can pick and choose from your list and do things as you feel appropriate and that fits into your energy for the day. It gives you the opportunity to be you and just go with the flow yet still be productive.
  4. Create a timeline. By being clear about by when you want to have your results you will be able to have a feeling of free flowing yet you’ll be moving things along at a pace that feels good to you and with an anchor that will help keep you on target.

Tips For Not Jeopardizing Your Productivity.

Now that you know what it is you want, how you’ll get it and know how and when it will happen, there are a couple of things to keep in mind:

  • Allow for white space in your day. My reader mentioned that planning rarely works out and he’s correct (for the most part). Things do happen. And things do work out. When you give yourself space during your day, rather than jam pack it thinking you will be productive but rarely are, you give yourself freedom to be in the flow of whatever happens to happen during your day.
  • Give yourself permission to be who you are and work how you work. A lot of people will read my article and go I need to do that in order to be productive (and I’m not going to say no that isn’t true, because it is true for a lot of people) but if you are like my reader and are a go with the flow person, then give yourself permission to do that.

Remember it’s how you look at productivity that will have you being productive. Kind of like the saying “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”.

You Are Your Best Expert.

Let’s face it, YOU are your best expert. I can give you all the advice, suggestions, tips, tools, etc. in the world yet if they don’t fit you they are useless. If you are having a hard time being you, another article I wrote can help you with that. You can read it here.

My suggestion to you (if you are willing to take it =-) is to allow yourself to be you. Work the way you know feels good to you. As long as you are getting things done, are being productive for how you define productivity and are seeing results, there isn’t anything wrong with what you are doing.

If however, you feel your go with the flow ways are not benefiting you and you feel you aren’t getting the results you want because of it, learning a few high value productivity actions will always help you.

If you would like help learning some high value productivity actions, I can help you do that! Schedule your 30-minute complimentary Productive Planning For Success Strategy Session now.

The good news is that it isn’t hard and it doesn’t take long to learn to be productive, it just takes the desire to learn to do it.

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

Success is what happens when you stay on target

September 21, 2017 By

You are 100% responsible for your results.

I say this a lot. And it’s so true. Yet, there are a lot of people out there who do not take responsibility for what they want and blame others because they don’t have it.

I hope that isn’t you. Though if it is and you are resonating with what you just read, have no fear. As of this moment, you can change it. You can have your life be different and you can truly be the boss of you.

Be YOUR Difference.

If you are willing to take on the mindset of “If it’s meant to be, it’s up to me”, here is what I would like you to know:

“The victim mindset dilutes the human potential. By not accepting personal responsibility for our circumstances, we greatly reduce our power to change them.” –Steve Maraboli

Did you see the part about WE greatly reduce OUR power? You have the power to make changes in your life.

  • What changes would you like to make that you may have been thinking it’s up to someone else to do?
  • Where may you be wanting to do something, yet have been feeling like it’s someone else’s fault that you haven’t been able to do it?
  • How are you letting someone else be the director of your life?

You are your greatest champion, your greatest supporter, your greatest cheerleader and the greatest leader of you!

If it’s meant to be, it’s up to me. –William H. Johnsen

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Create Your Absolute List.

What do you want in your life that you don’t have now?

Create a list of what you absolutely want to have in your life. Take a look at your list and ask yourself what your top 3 items on it are. Put this list in a prominent place in your life, these will be your target goals. Without a target to focus on, you’ll never have any direction and you will never get there.

These will be the goals that you will work on, take regular actions on and move forward on regularly to see results.

Eyes on the Prize.

In order to be the difference and reach the successes that you want in your business and in your life you must stay on target. Having laid out that target by creating your absolute list, you now have a starting spot. Here are some things to help you stay on target:

  1. Create an action items list. This list will contain everything you will do to reach your goal.
  2. Create your timeline. This will be your beginning and end dates and the actions you will do in the middle that move your toward your end result.
  3. Bring in support. This can be anyone who you think will help you, family, friends, a professional, etc.
  4. Be accountable. Lay out how will you hold yourself accountable for staying on target and taking actions.
  5. Build in checkpoints. Create points for you to check-in on your progress and results.
  6. Review and Reassess. Take time to review what you are doing, have done, still need to do. Reassess where you are and what you want.
  7. Course Correct. If you find you need to course correct, do it. The goal is for you to stay on a target that you want to stay on.

You Are Solely Responsible For Your Results.

In a previous blog, I told you that if you aren’t 100% happy with were you are in your life and in your business, your thoughts may be to blame. And while that is still true, it may be you haven’t had a target or you haven’t stayed on target and so you haven’t been responsible for your results.

This will help you not only be responsible for your results, but have you in the drivers seat so that you can have the power to change your circumstances in your life and in your business!

If you’d like some help creating your target goals and a plan on how to reach them, I’d love to help. Schedule your 30-minute complimentary Productive Planning For Success Strategy Session now.

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

Do this one simple action for an absolutely productive day

September 7, 2017 By

Have you ever ended your day having done 100 things? And have you ever ended your day without doing the ONE thing that you knew you absolutely had to do?

You aren’t alone, and you probably know that. I’m not writing about anything you probably haven’t heard before.

There are so many articles on productivity and time management it’s crazy. Yet, here I am writing about it. And the reason why is because there is such a need for it.

Here where I live, in the United States, the culture is pretty much get as much done as you can and even more than you think you can physically do and you are a star.

So, we add and add and add to our ever growing to-do lists, calendars and schedules and we hope that we’ll be able to get it all done. When we don’t we are frustrated, unhappy and basically burnt out.

Is that anyway to live a life? Not at all!

The solution.

How then, can you end your day doing the ONE thing that you absolutely need to do in order to move your business forward?

Well, (now, hang on to yourself, because I know you are going to say, “that’s it?”) simple, set aside 15-30 minutes to plan out your day either the night before or first thing in the morning. Yes, that’s it.

It is the most simple thing you can do to end your day feeling amazing about yourself. Your productivity will improve and you will have more time which in turn helps you be a great time manager.

How to effectively use your daily planning time.

Below you will see the steps to follow during your daily planning time.

  • Set a timer. You only need about 15-30 minutes to plan your day.
  • Get out your calendar/planner, to-do list, any other support materials you use. This gives you an overview of what you want/need to get done.
  • Prioritize what is on your list. Do a rough outline of how long you think things will take.
  • Review your schedule, what appointments are already in there. This tells you where your time is already committed that cannot be filled with anything else.
  • Determine how much open space do you have. Look back at your to-do list and rough time-line and determine what you can actually get done in the time you have available.
  • Choose your top 1-3 things that you have to complete by the end of the day. I say have to, yet it can also be doing things you want to and that will feel good to accomplish.
  • Write down your priorities in a place you will see them during the day. This helps you stay focused and on target.

After you have completed the above, it’s time to get into action and started on your #1 top priority.

Next, all you need to do is do it. You already thought about it, planned it and now it’s time for you to succeed and end your day feeling productive and good about yourself!

Decide. Commit. Succeed.

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Keep The End In Mind.

If this is a new action for you, keep in mind it takes time to create a habit.

Writing down your top three and placing it in a place where you see is paramount to your success. You use it as a touch point. It is your guide that will help you get to the end of the day feeling successful.

Each time you find yourself going off track (bright shiny objects anyone?!), this list will pull you back. This is your to-do list for the day and by thinking (or even saying) by the end of the day, I will have done this, this and this, the odds of you actually doing that are very high.

Also, you don’t have to struggle with this. If you’d like some help with planning or even going over these steps, I’d love to help you with that. Sign up for a 30-minute complimentary Productive Planning For Success Session.

Here is to your success!

Kim Ravida works with solopreneurs and small businesses to help them create fun, stress-free and results-oriented plans for their business success.  Kim’s clients have simple to follow plans of actions that have them seeing fast results in their business.

Get your free e-book 5 Essential Steps to Creating a Successful Business that is Profitable.

 

 

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

Do you feel like you are in a rut?

March 17, 2016 By

Quote - Wayne DyerIn February I undertook a challenge; a blog challenge in that I would write every day. You may have read some of my blogs (if not, feel free to go to www.kimravida.com/blog).

What I discovered was that I loved writing every day and it was fun to post to my blog daily, receive and respond to comments, and interact with people. What I also discovered was that coming down to the end of the month, I was looking forward to it being over.

Kind of strange, right? I started out enjoying the challenge and finding something new that was fun to do, but after a while it was not as gratifying. It felt as if I got in a rut. Hmph. What is that about?

Well, I realized that while I love to write, there are other things I love to do, too. And because it took time out of my workday to blog, I had to let other things go by the wayside (to say ‘yes’ to one thing sometimes is to say ‘no’ to something else). Therefore, when the blog challenge came to an end, I had time open up in my day again to do the other things I missed doing.

Now, after thinking this over more I saw that the rut I got into was a routine I didn’t change up. Take exercise for example. Many of my readers know that I also am a group exercise instructor.  Some of you come to my group classes and know that I never do the same class twice. That’s because I like variety. I have a structure and a foundation, but I like to vary my actions.

Diversity is what keeps me motivated and energized. So if you feel you have gotten into a rut here are a few tips to get you going again:

  • Change up your routine. Instead of doing the same thing at the same time every day, reverse your activities.
  • Look for ways to do what you are doing differently. Using exercise as an example; if you regularly walk on the treadmill, try walking outdoors or use a different piece of equipment.
  • Switch your environment. If you work from home, go to the library or local coffee shop once in a while.
  • Set a revolving schedule. Every 10-15 days switch up your activities, where you work and what you are working on. You will keep your existing structure but instead of doing the same things at the same time and getting in a rut, you’ll be able to keep it fresh and new.

Often what happens is that our energy gets stagnant and flat. Changing things up is a great way to keep things light and airy and fresh.

Maybe you’ve noticed that this month my blogging schedule has changed; it’s how I can add a little bit of variety to the mix of things I love to do during my work day.

Your turn! I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter, please post to my blog or email me personally at kim@kimravida.com to share.

Filed Under: Personal Development, Reaching Goals, Structure Tagged With: , , , ,

Want to be productive? Understand your work style!

December 5, 2013 By

ClockAs an entrepreneur or small business owner it is important that you understand your work style.  If you work from home it is especially important to understand this as your day can easily be filled up with things that aren’t directly related to your business, but things that you want to get done.  Like the dishes, the laundry, sweeping the floor, reading the newspaper, making that one quick phone call, etc.

When I first started my business I fell prey to all of those things I felt I just had to do before I went into my office.  I admit, I still do many of those things but it’s because I realize that I need a neat environment in order to feel productive.   I know how important it is for me to get the dishes done and neaten up the house before beginning work…I just put a time limit on it now.

That being said, my work style today is far different from what it was when I started my business because in the beginning I didn’t have a style.  Now my style is to get up early, have my coffee and plan out my day.  I then like to get ready slow; I eat and get dressed at a leisurely pace and then I pick up my house before heading into my office.  No longer do I have the hour long commute to stress me out so I enjoy getting into my office calm and ready to be productive.

And just like my morning routine, I like to start my work day at a slow pace and then gear up to full production levels.  What I mean is that I have more energy at the end of my day than at the beginning.  I know I don’t have to be in my office at the crack of dawn and I can work until later in the day because that is when I am most productive (just ask my assistant when, at the end of the day her inbox is full and mine in empty).  This was a learning experience in my work style too!  I wanted to get in and get out, but it didn’t work for me and left me feeling frustrated.  Knowing my style makes it easier.

So you see, when you understand your work style—when and how you like to work—you become happier and more productive.  Just like your life style supports your life, your work style supports your work.

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