1. Use the 80/20 rule. We all know that 80 percent of our results come from 20 percent of our efforts. Figure out what the top 20 percent of your activities are and concentrate on them. Delegate the other tasks or put them off until later.
2. Reduce the Time You Spend on Email. Set up electronic file folders and flag messages from clients and other key contacts. Avoid the urge to check your email every few minutes.
3. Put Fun Names On Your Daily Activities. According to Lisa Nichols, one of the teachers in the Secret Movie, we need to put fun names on our tasks. Instead of checking email, she calls it "Finding money." Instead of working out, she calls it, "Bringing sexy back."
4. Work with a Timer. Buy a kitchen timer and turn it on when you start a task. When I'm editing corporate sponsor proposals for my clients, I put the timer on for 20 minute intervals. Just knowing the timer is on, makes me more productive.
5. Take Frequent Brakes. Avoid working for hours on the phone or your computer with no brakes. Get up, stretch and walk around every hour. If you're in a home office, you could take a walk around the block. If not, you can just go outside. Breathing in fresh air and looking at nature will re-charge your battery.
6. Strive For Completion, Not Perfection. This is a favorite mantra that I use with my clients. Too many of them are perfectionists and it blocks them from completing tasks and moving on to the most important cash flow activities in their businesses.
7. Reward Yourself For Completing Tasks. I love chocolate, so after completing a task, I eat a piece of chocolate and savor the flavor. I eat the good quality chocolate, so I my hips haven't gone condo yet.
Good stuff right?? As seen on www.WealthyBagLady.com.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
10 Words to Delete from Your Vocabulary - By Barbara J. Henry
Words are powerful because they shape our thoughts, determine our actions, and chart the course of our lives. This is true whether the words are positive, giving hope and encouragement, or negative utterances that steal our joy and confidence.
Wherever we are in our lives, personal relationships, or careers, the words we have used consistently are partly responsible.
This fact should prompt us to become more aware of our words, and when needed, to change them so that we can begin to get the results we really desire.
Recently, during a particularly challenging period, I discovered that I was using some of the following words far too often to get the favorable results I sought.
1. Can't The use of this word is primarily responsible for countless hopes and dreams lying dormant on the "drawing boards" of our lives. Completely eliminate your use of this word and you will see a significant positive change in your life.
2. But When used as a conjunction, "but" negates whatever statement that precedes it." I want to study law, but it will take a lot of hard work." Your mind does not focus on your desire to become a lawyer or judge; it only sees the hard work you will need to perform. Replace "but" with "and."
3. Should Any statement that uses the word "should" generally elicits guilt. "I should go to the gym," makes you feel guilty for not going. Replace this word with "choose," as in, "I choose to go to the gym, or I choose not to go to the gym today."
4. Maybe This word indicates indecision, doubt, or uncertainty as to a course of action. For example, "Maybe I'd better wait to..."
For those of us interested in personal development, "maybe" should be used very sparingly. Use "I will" or "I will not" instead of maybe. The mere sound of the more positive words emits feelings of confidence and resolve which are so important to our personal well-being.
5. Soon or Later Both are indefinite references to time. They are also non-committal. They should be replaced with a definite time and date. When someone tells you he or she is going to do something "soon" or "later," there is no way to determine when whatever it is will get done. Imagine what could happen to deadlines and your integrity when these words are used frequently.
6. Someday Someday, like soon or later, is much too indefinite, and when it is used, it shows the same lack of commitment. Replace "someday" with a specific date and time.
7. Never This word is absolute, and there are only limited situations when "never" is absolutely true. The use of this word, in my opinion, suggests a closed mind, which seriously hinders our self-growth efforts. The word "never" should be replaced with a non-absolute term.
8. Won't The word "won't" implies an unwillingness, reluctance, or closed mindedness, and like the absolute term "never," it is quite harmful because it closes the door on many of the actions we need to take to reach our goals.
9. If This is a small word that carries large doubts and uncertainties, and when used often, it gnaws away at our confidence and intended actions, two qualities necessary for any type of success.
10. Try or (I'll Try) I don't know about you, but each time someone has said these words to me, or the few times that I have used them in conversations with others, whatever the subject of "I'll try" was, rarely, if ever, got done. Replace "I'll try" with "I will."
These words must be given serious thought before we use them in our "self talk" or in the conversations we have with others.
We must remember this: Our words affect our thoughts, our actions, our very lives, and because of their power, we must choose them with the utmost care.
An article fromSelf Growth.com http://www.selfgrowth.com/
Wherever we are in our lives, personal relationships, or careers, the words we have used consistently are partly responsible.
This fact should prompt us to become more aware of our words, and when needed, to change them so that we can begin to get the results we really desire.
Recently, during a particularly challenging period, I discovered that I was using some of the following words far too often to get the favorable results I sought.
1. Can't The use of this word is primarily responsible for countless hopes and dreams lying dormant on the "drawing boards" of our lives. Completely eliminate your use of this word and you will see a significant positive change in your life.
2. But When used as a conjunction, "but" negates whatever statement that precedes it." I want to study law, but it will take a lot of hard work." Your mind does not focus on your desire to become a lawyer or judge; it only sees the hard work you will need to perform. Replace "but" with "and."
3. Should Any statement that uses the word "should" generally elicits guilt. "I should go to the gym," makes you feel guilty for not going. Replace this word with "choose," as in, "I choose to go to the gym, or I choose not to go to the gym today."
4. Maybe This word indicates indecision, doubt, or uncertainty as to a course of action. For example, "Maybe I'd better wait to..."
For those of us interested in personal development, "maybe" should be used very sparingly. Use "I will" or "I will not" instead of maybe. The mere sound of the more positive words emits feelings of confidence and resolve which are so important to our personal well-being.
5. Soon or Later Both are indefinite references to time. They are also non-committal. They should be replaced with a definite time and date. When someone tells you he or she is going to do something "soon" or "later," there is no way to determine when whatever it is will get done. Imagine what could happen to deadlines and your integrity when these words are used frequently.
6. Someday Someday, like soon or later, is much too indefinite, and when it is used, it shows the same lack of commitment. Replace "someday" with a specific date and time.
7. Never This word is absolute, and there are only limited situations when "never" is absolutely true. The use of this word, in my opinion, suggests a closed mind, which seriously hinders our self-growth efforts. The word "never" should be replaced with a non-absolute term.
8. Won't The word "won't" implies an unwillingness, reluctance, or closed mindedness, and like the absolute term "never," it is quite harmful because it closes the door on many of the actions we need to take to reach our goals.
9. If This is a small word that carries large doubts and uncertainties, and when used often, it gnaws away at our confidence and intended actions, two qualities necessary for any type of success.
10. Try or (I'll Try) I don't know about you, but each time someone has said these words to me, or the few times that I have used them in conversations with others, whatever the subject of "I'll try" was, rarely, if ever, got done. Replace "I'll try" with "I will."
These words must be given serious thought before we use them in our "self talk" or in the conversations we have with others.
We must remember this: Our words affect our thoughts, our actions, our very lives, and because of their power, we must choose them with the utmost care.
An article fromSelf Growth.com http://www.selfgrowth.com/
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