The Difference Between Being Busy & Getting Stuff Done!

Posted on September 10, 2011 by Malisa

being-busyMany of my posts on this site are about organisation, how to get the most out of your day & ways to make the task list disappear. When you’re busy & you want to be successful, it’s impossible not to be organised or things just won’t get done!

I’m sure you have heard the saying “If you want something done, give it to a busy person!” I’ve been that person, or I often thought I was. The tips & tricks that I share with you on this site are provided to help you deal with your crazy day & ultimately set you up to succeed at your goals.

What if I told you that I’m moving towards not being busy & that I’m doing everything in my power to become an un-busy person? I’m sure you would start firing questions at me like, “Aren’t you trying to build your business?” or “How are you going to get everything done?”

Lets take a step backwards here & I’m going to share with you a recent epiphany that I’ve had! You DON’T have to be BUSY to be successful, in fact being busy could actually be counter productive to getting you to where you want to be! Why? Busy is an EMOTIONAL STATE. What do I mean? Think about it this way, there is a big difference between feeling busy and having a lot going on in your life and your business. Get where I’m coming from now?

Understanding why you’re busy!

Ask yourself, what’s the first thing you think when you look at your to-do-list? Is it something like, “I’ve got so much to do” or “Wow, I’m busy!” Here in is the beginning of the problem; you’re in a busy state of mind. Regardless of how many tasks you crossed off your to do list or delegated to someone else, you’re still going to FEEL BUSY, it’s how you process activity.
I think you’re starting to get a feel for what I’m trying to say; busy is an emotional state, often associated with being overwhelmed, stressed, out of time and ultimately frazzled. How on earth are you honestly supposed to get everything done when you are in this state?

How am I breaking the busy spell?

busy-spellI want to share with you an exercise that I’ve been doing to assist me in breaking the busy spell; I’m not using the word BUSY. Yep, that’s right, busy is a thing of the past. When I catch up with friends & they ask me what I’ve been up to, I’m not responding with “I’ve been so busy”, when I look at my to-do-list, I’m not thinking, “Wow, I’m busy!”. This isn’t to say I don’t have a lot to do, I do! I’ve just started thinking outside the box & I’m replacing BUSY with other words. By using other words to describe what I’ve been up to & what my to-do-list looks like, I’m encouraged to associate different emotions to getting things done.

Think about this, busy is an excuse; it’s a cop out seriously! Don’t want to do something – “I’m too busy!”, I’m sure you’ve still got time to check your facebook 30 times a day though don’t you? :) Hmmm…

Overcoming being busy!

So now you’re starting to see things differently & you’re NOT a BUSY PERSON, you still have things to do, but you’re not busy! Welcome to where I’m at. I’m using my organisational tips & getting things done, but what am I doing to ensure I don’t fall back in to the BUSY MINDSET? Here’s my secret; I schedule in ME time! I can not stress to you enough how important me time is!

Whether it’s just a an hour or it’s a day; I quite literally schedule time aside in my diary the same way I book in meetings with clients, my personal training sessions or my hours at work. Once these things are in my diary they go ahead, everything else falls into place around them & they actually happen; ME TIME is no exception to this!

It’s up to you what you do during your me time, but it has to be something that you do just for you. No point in scheduling in me time then agreeing to help a friend or family member with their to-do-list. During my me time I like to get a massage, wander around the gallery, read a book or sit in a café drinking good coffee. You may feel guilty taking this time out at first; don’t. Embrace your me time & enjoy it, it really is your secret weapon to getting things done.

Next time someone asks you’ve been up to or whether you want to catch up, I dare you to respond with “I’m great, I’m getting things done!” See how you feel, I’d love to know!

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Making the Most of Your Day!

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Malisa

Ever have one of those days when you just want to scream AAAAARRRRRGHHHH? If you take on half as many projects as I do, it’s bound to happen every now and then! People ask me why I do it to myself & the truth is I like to be busy & I get a sense of satisfaction out of ticking tasks off & learning new skills. It’s about seizing opportunities & making sure you get the most out of what ever gets thrown your way, that doesn’t mean there need to be those AAAAARRRGGGHHHH moments when everything feels a little bit too much. With a little bit of forward planning & organisation, even the busiest person can ensure they are getting the most out of the day, EVERYDAY!

Here are my 5 top tips for keeping on top of a hectic schedule & making the most out of the day!

1. Begin the Day With a Diary Check!
This is the second most important thing to do every morning without fail! (The most important being making sure you have a good solid breakfast for energy & brain fuel.) Take a good 5-10 minutes at the start of every day to consult your diary, ensure that you have planned the day effectively & allocated your time to attend all of your important appointments.

It’s also a good idea through out the day to record a task log to effectively track how you are using your time between appointments. By effectively being able to gauge how long particular tasks take, you can schedule in time between meetings and appointments to get other tasks done ensuring that you don’t get absorbed in a project and subsequently miss an appointment.

2. Be on the Ball With Where and What You Are Doing!
Use your morning diary check as a time to make sure you have all your appointment addresses and times recorded & familiarise yourself with how to get there. By being prepared it allows you to ensure you have allowed enough time for travel & gives you the opportunity to plan what tasks you are going to tackle in between! It also allows you the opportunity to reschedule & create time buffers if you feel that you have over booked yourself!
Speaking of time buffers, I can not stress enough how important it is to book these in from time to time throughout the day! Not all the time obviously, as you would be wasting precious time, however these time buffers can be a great opportunity for you to take a quick breather and get in a positive headspace or be able to respond to unexpected emails or requests!

3. Make Sure You Have the Necessary Tools Available
Ever turned up at a meeting only to realise that you don’t have everything you need? It’s a horrible feeling isn’t it? Planning out your day isn’t just about making sure you know what you have to do and where you have to go, it’s also about making sure you have the necessary files, paperwork and tools required to get everything done. You wouldn’t turn up at the gym without your runners, so why would you risk turning up at a meeting without the required documents?
Ensure you are scheduling time in the morning to print off what you need, gather up your documents & get yourself organised to tackle the day! Being able to calmly produce everything that is required of you will make you appear far more professional than the person that is chaotically scrambling around trying to organise things.

4. Convenience is Crucial
Speaking of organisation when it comes to documents, wouldn’t life be easier if you stored them somewhere convenient so they were always there when you needed them? In the age of technology there are no excuses for not being able to access things. Take advantage of this! Dropbox & Yousendit.com are fantastic ways to share files, google docs makes sure you can always access and update that shared spreadsheet. For ultimate organisation, a cloud program (like our favourite IQTELL) will ensure that you can keep quite literally everything in the one spot for easy access when you need it!

5. Commit and Execute!
No one likes rushing around like a mad person; it’s stressful and completely unnecessary! By effectively planning, deadlines no longer need to be scary! Be realistic in how long you think a project will take, don’t over commit yourself & ensure you give yourself the time to finish. Not only will you find that you’re less stressed out, you will be guaranteed to have more time for other things & the results will speak for themselves which will more than likely ensure repeat clientele!

We’d love to hear your top tips on getting organised and making the most of your day. Share what helps you successfully tackle the mountain of everyday tasks in the comments box below!

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Choosing Your Customer!

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Malisa

There is the age old saying that ‘if you do something you love, that you will never work a day in your life’ this isn’t a far off dream either! With some planning & forethought, loving what you do CAN quite literally mean you aren’t working; rather just enjoying life and reaping the benefits.

You’ve gone out and got your ‘dream’ qualification, what now?
It doesn’t stop there. I can guarantee regardless of what field you are qualified & have chosen to work in, that there are going to be quite literally hundreds of different variables that you could focus on or avenues to pursue. This may appear to be daunting, but in reality it is quite literally the most exciting & important part of your business career. This is where you get to create YOUR DREAM job.

What’s your personal brand identity?
Planning is crucial; take out your pen and paper, start up your computer, write lists, mind map & find your answers. What are you offering to your clients? What do you enjoy the most about delivering to your clients? More importantly, which of your clients do you enjoy working with & find the most rewarding? This is your FOCUS; the most essential ingredient is finding something your passionate about. Once you determine this ‘niche’ you can plan to grow within it.

Although at first this may appear that you are limiting your clientele or your income stream, however in creating your own personal brand identity you are setting yourself apart from those that choose to be a jack of all trades & establishing yourself as an EXPERT in YOUR FIELD.

“What are my dreams to the world? Does it really matter if I keep thinking small?” It matters. – Michael Port (Author of Book Yourself Solid)

This is exactly where you should be thinking BIG. Be true to yourself, create your brand & be SPECIFIC. The more specific you are & the more you FOCUS on EXACTLY what you want, the more you can focus your marketing, research & education on attracting the clientele that you love to work with.

Plan & Execute
How do you pin point exactly what your focus is & how do you create your niche?
These 8 steps are a great place to start when it comes to redefining the vision of your business, creating your very own personal niche & building something BIG!
1. What interests you?
If you have been working in your field for a little while, then you’re going to have a fairly good idea of what you enjoy and what you don’t; follow your passion. If there isn’t a market out there for it yet, create it!
2. Education is crucial.
If you’re going to be marketing yourself as an expert in your field, it’s of upmost importance that you can talk the talk. Ensure that you are continuously learning. Learning from multiple sources & ensuring that the information is relevant to your target market. You can NEVER have enough knowledge.
3. Try different things.
Still trying to determine exactly what it is that you love? Don’t be afraid to try different things to get a taste for it. Shadow someone already in the field & ask lots of questions. The more you find out, the sooner you can determine whether it’s for you or not!
4. Seek out a Mentor.
I’ve written before about the benefits of a good mentor. By learning from the best, you’re setting yourself up to become something SPECTACULAR!
5. Find your point of difference.
Regardless of whether there are competitors in your field or not, it’s important to understand exactly what your strengths are & SELL THEM!
6. Who’s in your network?
When it comes to business, networking is of upmost importance. Being able to refer your clients when something is outside of your field of expertise will stand you ahead of the competition. Furthermore, if you’re referring it’s likely that your network will reciprocate and refer back to you.

7. Think Smart.
By being innovative & tweaking what is already existing in your field to suit your specific target market, you can set yourself ahead & really stand out from the crowd.
8. Believe that YOU CAN! Take solace in the fact that if you truly have chosen the right niche for you; if you have the education, knowledge & passion, then you ARE an EXPERT & you can be sure that your clients will believe this if YOU DO!

By having clear and concise visions of what you want to achieve and who you want to attract, you can focus your SEO marketing strategies specific to your niche, get your website working to bring your clients in allowing you to focus your time on more education & creating your DREAM LIFE!

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Mentor Your Way to Success!

Posted on July 14, 2011 by Malisa

Whether you have an established business or if you’re just starting out, setting yourself up with a mentor is a valuable tool that will see you growing and learning well into the future. Let’s face it, if running a successful business or creating a must have product/info service was easy then everyone would be doing it!  You’ve have the passion & drive to get started, but quite frankly getting your head around accounts, marketing, selling, writing, building & expanding is a huge task!  You’re not expected to be a jack of all trades; a wise, hand picked mentor that is well established within your niche will set you up & advise you on what you need to be focusing on and when!

“If you tell me who your heroes are; I can tell you how you are going to turn out in life.” -  Warren Buffet.

If You Want to Be The Best, You Have to Learn From The Best.

It’s logic really!  Quite simply, a mentor is an expert in their field.  Someone who has been there & done that.  Sure, they have had their trials & tribulations (we all have) but they have managed to successfully over come them & they can teach you how to overcome them too!  (And, if they didn’t overcome them, they could teach you what NOT to do!) Take a look around, who do you look up to in your field? Who do you aspire to be like?  By turning to them for advice, support & guidance, it allows for not only personal enhancement; but if you are willing, business growth.

The karate kid had Mr Miyagi, Professor Dumbledore offered guidance to Harry Potter & on a more serious note, entrepreneurs all over the world look up to the likes of people like Richard Branson, Tim Ferris & Donald Trump. By enlisting the services of a mentor, you are setting yourself & your business up to learn HOW & WHY to do things, rather than enlisting someone to do things for you.  Mentors are able to guide their clients in ‘who they need to be, to do what they need to do, to have what they want to have’.

Five Benefits of Mentor Guidance:

Tailor Your Ideas: When you’re passionate about what you do, the ideas start to come from everywhere.  Sometimes you can be inundated with what you think is a fantastic plan or idea, yet it may seem overwhelming & you don’t know where to start.  Consulting with your mentor is a great strategy to refine your ideas into practice.  They will be able to advise you on what has worked for them in the past, why it’s worked & provide you with a fresh set of eyes to point out any possible concerns.

New Ideas That Really Work: Sometimes when it’s your own business you’re just that little bit to close to the cause or even emotionally attached.  It’s great to have passion, but it doesn’t always encourage you to come up with new, exciting & sometimes risky ideas to help you expand.  Your mentor is a wealth of knowledge on successful ideas for how to sell your products and services.  Not only that, it’s their role to push you to understand the principals behind these ideas, so you can apply them to other areas of your business.

Accountability: When you’re busy, you’re busy!  Anyone that is establishing or running their own business knows that when things need to be done & clients need to be seen that sometimes those other important (but not urgent) tasks get pushed to the side & put in the ‘later’ basket. Marketing & Managerial tasks are commonly bundled up & postponed.  Working under the guide of a mentor & sharing your goals when it comes to management & marketing affirms what you want to achieve & sets you up to be accountable to someone.  If you’re not getting around to doing things, your mentor is going to ask you why?

A Gentle Reminder: When you’re surrounded by something day in day out you come to accept it as the norm; Traffic in the city streets or the noise of trains.  If it’s there all the time you learn to tune out.  When your business is new and fresh, you were probably looking at it more with a sense of clarity, but what now?  You’ve been surrounded by it for so long that you may be starting to feel like you have hit a bit of a plateau.  A wise mentor is going to be able to see from the outside in, offer you guidance, suggest what your customer is seeing & more importantly be able to provide you with feedback.

It’s Not What You Know, It’s Who You Know: One of the fundamental rules of business, whether it be to source equipment, find contacts for a deal, get advice, outsourcing or any number of things that you may need to get done; you’re mentor has been around in the industry & will have an address book of valuable contacts & resources for your disposal.

Getting the Most Out of Your Mentor Relationship

As you can see there are some great benefits to enlisting the services of a mentor, your goals can quite literally come to life.  However, to get the most out of a mentoring relationship you need to nut out the specifics of how things are going to work & what you want to achieve.  By being specific in your goals & your intent you can create expectations for what you want to achieve out of the relationship & your mentor is also aware.

A mentor is not there to do the work for you, a good mentor will educate and encourage you to learn & grow, showing you how you can achieve what you have set out to do.  Make sure you ask lots of questions so you really understand why things are being suggested, then take the time to think about how you can integrate them, building on the initial suggestion.  Remember it’s about personal growth, so the more YOU put in, the more YOU will get out of it.

Don’t expect to find your self a one-stop-shop when it comes to a mentor either.  Unless your desired coach is ‘super human’ they are not going to be a master of everything.  It’s logical to seek out several people to mentor you, experts in their own field.  I currently look to about five different people myself; someone for my health/nutrition, someone for business coaching, someone for internet marketing, someone in corporate finance & lastly someone to guide me in my writing.  I find myself consulting with each of them when I most feel the need & when I find it most applicable to what I’m doing within my business at the time.  I’ve build great trust within these relationships & will continue to put in what it takes to get the most out of it.

These sorts of opportunities don’t unfold overnight, you need to plan & execute.  Once you are clear on your intentions, it is up to you to seek out who you think will be the most beneficial person to assist you with your quest.  There are so many options out there, whether you approach an individual person, enrol in an educational course or sign up for a specific mentorship program, it is up to you to take the first leap.  Be prepared to put yourself out there & to step out of your comfort zone, after all, having the courage to succeed means you need to push the boundaries & test your limits; a mentor is a great way to get that poke you need to get across that line.

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Blogging 101: Where to Begin?

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Malisa

Why your business needs a blog?Maybe your business coach has told you that you need a blog, or maybe you’re just wondering what all the hype is about & why everyone else is doing it?  Either way, starting a blog can appear to be a much more daunting task than it really needs to be; especially when you have a hundred other things to do & clients to see.  So what is blogging, why do people have blogs, where do you start & how can you get the most out of your articles?

What is a blog?

Blogging has come a long way since conception.  Originally used as an online ‘personal’ diary, where people could share their moods, daily habits or even a few photos.  Blogging for business on the other hand, can be used as a powerful marketing tool as well as an informative article base that allows for three way communication between the business, consumers & the community it creates.

Why your business needs a blog?

The ultimate goal behind building your business is to get it working for you & not the other way around!  Creating a business blog helps to define a personality for your business & encourages an online community of likeminded followers (aka your niche).  By writing to a targeted audience, you are marketing to the types of customers that you WANT to attract.  It is important to keep this in mind when you are first creating your blog, as these will ultimately be your customers and in reality its about QUALITY not QUANTITY.

Furthermore, the business blog becomes a detailed reference site for your businesses information as well as an informative way to showcase your products and services. By providing your clientele with a point of reference, fresh innovative information & consistency with your article posting you are more likely to build a long standing, regular reader base as well as confidence in your product or service.

Although at first it may feel that you have to invest some time in quality article writing, imagine the time you will save when you don’t have to repeat yourself time and time again with frequently asked questions from customers and clients.  Anticipating the informative needs of your readership & providing them with a reference tool is a great way to increase word of mouth referrals to a client’s family & friends. Your clients will take great pride in recommending the products or services you offer.

What on earth is SEO and how do you make it work for your site?

In the land of search engines, good content is not just about being an eloquent wordsmith.  With so many websites out there & so much information to be shared, it’s important for your niche to be able to find where you are.  Without a bit of basic knowledge in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), you’re simply going to be lost in the cyberspace that is google.

Google searches for several things when ranking a site during a search.  To put it very simply google will like you more if you a) update your site regularly with FRESH content, b) Ensure your content contains keywords & phrases, c) Quality links to and from reputable sites.  In saying that, the landscape for SEO changes daily, so you need to keep this in mind & change your strategies to stay up to date.

The be all and end all to SEO lies within your content.  If your content is fresh, innovative, interesting & RELEVANT to your audience they will find you.  Understanding what your audience is searching for is therefore of upmost importance.  You must your content with a focus on key words and even more so key phrases.  This is crucial! In saying that though, search engines search for natural content.  If you over use your key words it can work against you, if your content usage is abnormally high, Google is smart enough to know what you’re trying to do and counts it against you.  Using the features offered to you by google including your analytics, key words & wonder wheel tools are crucial to determining your key words and phrases for your niche.  Familiarize yourself with these tools and learn to love them.  Lastly with key words in your text content, don’t focus on too many at once.  A scattergun approach is a sure fire way to fail.

Don’t underestimate the use of key words and quality content in your title tag for pages on your site or the text that surrounds text and links.  This is of upmost importance.  Surrounding your links with descriptive key word text is a great way to get the SEO spiders crawling towards your site.  Another tip that you may not yet be aware of is the importance of image titles and text that surrounds your images.  By spending a little time and ensuring that the text is quality key phrases, again the spiders will crawl towards your site.  Images are in fact rank based on the text that surrounds them on a page.

It’s not just about keywords, linking is of equal importance.  Linking to established and respected pages will not only see you ranking higher, but will also establish you to your reader base as someone to respect.  Linking to good quality established sites is the quickest way to get the SEO spiders to notice your site.  Build relationships with other sites by sharing the ‘link love’, you would be more likely to link to another site if you notice they are linking to you, so share it around.  In the end though, it comes down to content; if you provide content that people are excited to read and share the link through will follow.

Finally, before you hit post take a few minutes to look over your title tag.  This is the tag that comes up in the top of your web browser.  Impressive SEO results suggest that you want your title tag to be informative, descriptive & straight to the point; NOT just the title of your post. Speaking of the title of your post, this is your chance to come up with your perfect key phrase! Check over your post tags & meta tags ensuring that they are just as useful.  Remember your niche & take the time to think about what they would be searching for, after all that is who will be using the search engine to find YOU.

Before we leave you to start blogging, remember that you’re creating a community.  Invite people to comment by writing compelling content that either requests a response or sparks a debate.  People love to be invited to share their opinion. If you have found any of this information useful, interesting insightful or if you would like to share some of your tips on SEO for bloggers, please comment in the box below!

Stop Press! Unfortunately google removed the wonder wheel function after this post was written.  As of the 3rd of July 2011 the wonder wheel is not currently available whilst google rolls out new features.  At this stage google is yet to make comment as to whether the wonder wheel tool will return.  (Invisible Assistant hopes it comes back soon!)

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The Comfort Zone; Why it’s Not a Good Place to Be!

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Malisa

Recently I was confronted with a decision; a friend made a suggestion to me about something I could do to assist with growing my business and ultimately get me closer to my goals, freeing up more of my time to finish writing my book ;) .  Sounds like a no-brainer doesn’t it? So, why on earth did I drag my heels kicking and screaming, making up every excuse under the sun not to do it?  It was out of my comfort zone.  I didn’t want to rock the boat; heaven forbid something so simple could actually make me move forward!

This one simple suggestion got me thinking about what a seriously DANGEROUS place the comfort zone is for anyone with a goal or a bit of ambition.  It sounds like a great place; I mean it even has the word comfort in its name.  In reality, it’s actually quite a stagnant place, a place filled with fear.

The comfort zone is a behavioural state within which a person operates in an anxiety-neutral condition, using a limited set of behaviours to deliver a steady level of performance, usually without a sense of risk. (White 2009)

Don’t Let the Comfort Zone Lull You into a False Sense of Security!

It’s so easy to wake up, go to work from 9-5, go to the gym, come home make dinner & repeat over and over.  No wonder why they call it the daily grind, sounds more like stuck in a rut to me! Is this repetitive behaviour getting you any closer to fulfilling your passions and dreams?  Speaking of passions & dreams, to step out of your comfort zone successfully you need to know what your passions & dreams are. Take some time to write down things that you really enjoy in life, goals you want to achieve.  I’m not just talking about the little stuff either; I’m talking about the big life changing goals.  This list isn’t something you have to share, you just need to be honest & only include things that you want to do and achieve for YOU!

Now is when the action begins!  It’s one thing to have goals, dreams and ambitions; it’s another thing to be achieving them!  It’s time to get focused on what steps you need to take to get to where you want to be!  I’ve previously written about mind mapping, this is an effective way to brain storm & break down ideas that will really get you thinking about the small things you can do to achieve the bigger picture!  After all, you have to crawl before you can walk!

“Do Something That Scares You Everyday!”

Here’s where things can start getting tough.  You know what you want & you have worked out the steps you have to take to get there, it’s time to take action… aaaand FREEZE! Yep, just like what happened to me the other day, the excuses start & it all just seems too hard!  You’re in your comfort zone, you could even say scared of success!  It’s there for the taking; you just have to believe it. Without trying to sound too cliché, if you don’t give it a go you will never know!

The Secret, The Law of Attraction, The Power of Positive Thinking; what ever you choose to call it, by believing 100% in your own success you will inevitably get your desired outcome.  No one wants to be the person that let their fear keep them from achieving everything they ever wanted. Visualization is an extremely POWERFUL way to overcome doubts that you may have & get you believing 100%.  Set aside some time to think about how you would feel when you achieved your desired goal.  Whilst focusing on that feeling, start to imagine yourself going through all the steps that you had previously determined to be the path to your goal.  It feels amazing to see things pan out exactly how you wanted them too doesn’t it?  What’s stopping you from getting there now that you know what’s going to happen?

It’s time to put your favourite shoes on & put your best foot forward!

To be honest, to succeed there really is no way around it other than to step outside that comfort zone.  It’s the only way to move forward.  I like to think of it like this; when I train at the gym I don’t do the same exercises using the same weights every time.  As I get stronger, I like to push myself harder lifting heavier.  Take this one step further and I have a trainer that pushes me even more, lifting heavier, more reps/less reps, changing the tempo.  Yes, sometimes I look at those weights & think there is no possible way I could lift that; having someone there to reassure me that I can certainly makes it easier to face my fear and TRY. My point is, I push the boundaries on my comfort zone to get results & I have some one to help me do it.  Do your friends encourage you with your goals and dreams?  Do they push you to try just that little bit harder, getting you out of your comfort zone to take the baby steps towards your ultimate achievement?  Surrounding yourself with supportive friends & family is going to make that first step forward so much easier to embrace!

What are you going to do today to get yourself just that little bit closer?  Be ambitious leave the comfort zone back on the couch & choose your life!

**By the way, I did do what my friend suggested; it actually wasn’t that hard or horrible at all (To be honest, all I had to do was send an email) The best part?  It worked out even better than I had anticipated the outcome could have been.  (Thanks Ian)

“If you put yourself in a position where you have to stretch outside your comfort zone, then you are forced to expand your consciousness.” – Les Brown

- White, Alasdair A. K. “From Comfort Zone to Performance Management” White & MacLean Publishing 2009

 

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Clear Workspace = Clear Mind.

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Malisa

Ever find yourself running around from task to task, going about daily chores only to find you feel like you’re running around in circles?  It makes you want to rip your hair out doesn’t it? Just because you’re busy and ambitious, you don’t have to feel like you are constantly borrowing time from tomorrow to get through today’s to do list!

Taking time out, although it may feel like a step backwards can often be the missing link between organization and chaos!  I can hear you sitting there huffing to me, muttering “I don’t have time to stop, I’ve got stuff to do!” My question to you, is why then are you on the computer checking your email/facebook/twitter every 15 minutes?  Maybe a little bit of organization is just what you need to rid you of distractions & to start unlocking secret useable time you never thought you had!

Are you ready?  Trust in this process.

First thing is first; you need to spend 2 whole minutes doing NOTHING!  I guarantee if you aren’t in the habit of clearing your thoughts and your mind, this is going to be tough; but by spending this 2 minutes quieting your life and your mind, you are forced to focus on the NOW, which in turn will assist in relaxation and subsequently put you in a better mindset for important decision making!

When you’re ready to spend 2 minutes doing nothing, CLICK HERE.

Now that you are in the NOW, it’s time to remove all distractions.  Start by looking at your work area, whether it’s your dining room table or you desk, you need to clear up the clutter and remove everything that does not need to be there.  BE RUTHLESS! Throw things out, ask your self if you really need them anyway!  Remove all paperwork that you aren’t working on RIGHT AT THIS MOMENT, otherwise you’re only going to look at it whilst you should be focusing on the task at hand. This includes your computer as well, it’s really easy to be distracted by files and folders.  Take the time to clean up your desktop to remove all distractions, that itunes icon will be screaming at you in its luminous blue to play music otherwise!

A clear mind is a problem free mind. Free space – free mind. Often a cluttered environment makes for a cluttered mind. Relaxation is much easier in a clean, neat, tidy, uncluttered space. Contemplate where you feel most relaxed – most at ease and consider why. Often it is a clear, open and airy environment with minimal distractions; somewhere you can really unwind.

Speaking of distractions, it’s time to quit the constant staring at your email inbox  or checking your facebook/twitter/myspace/linkedin.  Tim Ferris , author of The Four Hour Work Week, recommends “having an email-checking schedule and do not deviate. There is an inevitable task-switching cost otherwise—U.S. office workers spend 28% of their time switching between tasks due to interruption, and 40% of the time, an interrupted task is not resumed within 24 hours. Use template autoresponders to alert people of your email schedule and encourage them to call if something needs faster attention. The “urgent” email-to-call conversion is usually less than 10%. This gives you breathing room to focus on predefined to-do’s instead of responding to manufactured emergencies and ending the day with nothing to show for it.” I belive this is really important with social networking sites as well, I know I can very easily waste an hour checking out peoples new holiday snaps on facebook without even batting an eyelid!  Simple solution, book in time & stick to it!

*If you’re really super serious about wiping yourself out from social networking and reclaiming your time once and for all, check out this site http://suicidemachine.org/

It’s time to face facts, the to do list can often be more detrimental than it does good.  It’s definitely a good thing to have a predefined goal, yes and it’s also good to have it all there for you to refer to so you don’t forget or lose track of what you want to achieve.  However, when you start to rule your life by your to do list, things have gone too far.  Some days the list just doesn’t go anywhere, little things just keep popping up and the list just gets longer and longer?!?! I’m not going to leave you high and dry, saying you can’t write a to do list.  Gosh, I don’t think even I could cope at getting everything done without some form of structure,  how about looking at things a little differently?

It’s time to try mind mapping!

The human brain is very different from a computer. Whereas a computer works in a linear fashion, the brain works associatively as well as linearly – comparing, integrating and synthesizing as it goes. Association plays a dominant role in nearly every mental function, and words themselves are no exception. Every single word, and idea has numerous links attaching it to other ideas and concepts. The creative potential of a mind map is useful in brainstorming sessions. You only need to start with the basic problem as the center, and generate associations and ideas from it in order to arrive at a large number of different possible approaches. By presenting your thoughts and perceptions in a spatial manner and by using color and pictures, a better overview is gained and new ideas and connections are more abundant.  If you’re new to mind mapping, or want to give it a go, I highly recommend a program called mindnode, you can download a free version HERE.

Ok, now it’s over to you.  It’s time to get back to everything you have to do & start achieving great things.  I’d love to hear how you went or what you do to get organized to achieve greatness!  Let me know in the comments box below.

 

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10 Tips To Get You Motivated

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Malisa
There are always times in life when we face a lack of desire or motivation.Whether it be with work, exercise, or nutrition or general everyday tasks.
Motivating ourselves and trying to fulfill everyday tasks with enthusiasm is the key to achieving goals, many a times we find that stagnancy creeps in our lives.
There is no simple solution for a lack of motivation. Even after beating it, the problem reappears at the first sign of failure. The key is to understanding your thoughts and how they drive your emotions.
By learning how to nurture motivating thoughts, neutralize negative ones, and focus on the task at hand, you can pull yourself out of a slump before it gains momentum & work towards ACHIEVING YOUR GOALS!
Lets look at 10 steps we can all use to get and stay motivated!
1. Write down your goals & update them regularly – Keep a list of your goals & if you’ve reached a plateau, go over your goal list and see what you can alter to get started again. Making higher level goals will re-energize you to achieve.
2. Divide the things you have been putting off into simple steps – Divide and conquer. We all have things we don’t like doing, but they are necessary for getting other things done. Try dividing them up into simple steps, and start working on them first thing. Once you get over the procrastination & start implementing the steps as they are you will start to feel more motivated to do them more effortlessly & start to realize that a task that once looked laborious is almost complete!
3. Do something for someone else – So many times we find that we lack self motivation to do activities concerning ourselves. Try doing something for someone else, it will help remove procrastination & leave you feeling good knowing that you have helped someone!
4. Keep good company – Do you have people that you aspire to be like? That are motivated & always achieving their goals. Spend some time with them, their habits will assist you with your motivation & you may even find they become a mentor in your journey to achieving your own goals.
5. Negate the negative thought – As and when, you notice it; the negative thought you’re brooding on, just negate it. As soon as you are aware that you are into a negative thinking process, just make it affirmative. Even if you say it once, it makes a difference – it changes the direction of the thought process at a subconscious level!
6. Give yourself compliments. Don’t wait for others to! – If you feel you are looking good, tell yourself! If you have finished a task or achieved a goal, pat yourself on the back for achieving it – you deserve it!
7. Find Inspiration! – Read stories of people who have achieved their goals, if they can do it then so can you!
8. Catch up with people that you haven’t seen in a while – How good does it feel to tell someone what you have been up to and what you are achieving. It’s refreshing to hear their surprise and praise for how far you have come. It can also help you to refocus & reassess where you are at.
9. Take time out to do something you love - No matter how busy you are or how far you have got to go, its important to find something that you love doing & to take time out to do it. By doing this it will elevate your mood and you will be able to then focus on fulfilling more mundane activities with energy and enthusiasm.
10  Don’t forget to SMILE! – Whether you are smiling at yourself or at someone else, it is important to smile regularly. You never know what someone else is going through, your smile may be just what they need. Smiling is going to elevate your mood instantly & get you through even the most arduous of tasks!
No time like the present to start, Let us know how you go!
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