Personal Blog

Business Lessons Learned from Spring Break

As my kids head back to school today, I’m looking at our “Spring Break To Do List” and see a few items left undone.  This happens to us every spring, summer or winter break: we start the break with a list of things to accomplish (some fun and some that are more like work) and we never get through everything on the list.

The good thing (I guess) is that we don’t beat ourselves up for not completing every item on the list; sometimes “life” or something more fun gets in the way.  We try to be flexible as a family because you just never know what may happen.

That got me thinking about how I can learn from life during spring break and apply some of those lessons to my business.

Here are a few business lessons I’ve learned from this year’s Spring Break:

Clean your room before you have fun

This is a reasonable request for any teen who wants mom to drive them around. But do I follow the same advice in my business? “Cleaning my room” might be synonymous for balancing the checkbook, completing the monthly tax forms or filing the week’s worth of papers sitting on my desk. No matter what, I really should get things in order before I do something fun in my business (like chatting on Facebook)

A warm sunny day is a big distraction

No matter how many good intentions we have for cleaning out the closet tomorrow, if tomorrow comes and it’s the first warm, sunny day we’ve seen in a while, chances are good that we will be very distracted to either go outside or sit by the window and daydream.

Working from home provides many distractions on an hourly basis, so if I anticipate those distractions and develop a plan to deal with them, then I’ll have a better chance of getting my work done (and then when I finish my work day early, we can go to the beach!)

Too many projects, never enough time (allotted)

I don’t know if it just runs in my family or everyone finds it a challenge to judge how long it will really take to complete a project.  With 3 teenage daughters, we find it a challenge to even get everyone out the door at the same time.  When  it comes to projects, I find it’s best to build extra time into the schedule and only pick one major project at a time to complete.

Likewise in my business, while it may sound exciting to start 3 new projects all at once, if I’m honest with myself I know that I cannot devote the necessary focus and energy to all three.  The business lesson is that it’s best to start and complete one major project before moving on to the next.

Lazy mornings are fun when you’re in them; hectic afternoons are the reality

One of the best things about spring break is the chance to sleep in – teens know how to enjoy this more than any other age group! And since they aren’t getting up early to get ready for school, I have the chance to sleep a little longer too.  But I’ve learned that it’s so much better for me (and my business) to not take advantage of that perk.  Too many lazy mornings can lead to an unfinished to-do list and some major guilt by the end of the day.

Procrastination usually attracts unexpected emergencies (like the freezer breaking down on the last day of break)

Family time, shopping, outdoor fun usually leads to us putting off some of those unfinished items until the last day of break.  But we’ve learned the hard way that procrastination is usually just an invitation for a crisis. And when our last day of spring break included a broken freezer, melted ice cream, an unexpected trip to the doctor and pharmacy, a change in plans and pick-up of one daughter and an unexpected major clean up in the kitchen after the freezer was repaired…those last few items we procrastinated about didn’t stand a chance!

So the business lesson (and the lesson for next year’s Spring Break) is that I’ll make a concentrated effort to get the most important things done first; then no matter what happens unexpectedly, at least I’ll know the vital parts of my business will be functioning.

Make the most of each day; time slips away too easily

While it’s easy to write up a “Spring Break To-Do List” or set an aggressive business goal, it’s important to also enjoy each day and appreciate the life we have.  Spring Break didn’t always go exactly as planned this year, but overall, we enjoyed the time as a family and the chance to relax and rejuvenate. And as usual, the break ended way too soon!

There were items on my “Business To Do List” left undone over Spring Break too, but knowing that I focused on the most important goals and took even a small step forward, allows me to look back on the business week in a positive way and learn from life’s lessons.

How to Silence My Worst Critic

After many years of constantly trying to please the important people in my life: my family, my teachers, my bosses, my husband, my friends, my children…I’ve finally realized who the hardest one to please really is – my worst critic –

Me.

I’ve spent some time lately learning more about the effects of negative self-talk.  I don’t know if you’re guilty of it too, but I’ve realized just how badly I talk to myself.

I wouldn’t talk to my family that way. I definitely never talked to a boss or teacher that way. Any criticism my friends offer (only thinking of what’s best for me of course) would never sound as negative as some of the things I say to myself.

I don’t know how or why we become our own worst critic and I’m sure the answer is a very complex one. But what really matters now is learning how to become my biggest fan instead.

Here are a few tips I’m trying:

  • Whenever negative self-talk starts, I immediately replace it with a positive affirmation.
  • I’m starting my day with positive self-talk and affirmations. My first thoughts of the day will be positive ones and I’ll focus on the goals I plan to reach.
  • If something unexpected happens to interfere with my schedule (from traffic to sick kids to a broken washing machine), I will remind myself of how quickly I can adapt in a crisis. I’ll get back on track when the crisis is over.
  • I am keeping track of my daily accomplishments. Sometimes it feels as if I didn’t get much done, but by actually writing down my accomplishments, I can see the daily progress I’m making toward my goals (small steps forward are better than no steps).

Do you catch yourself being your own worst critic too? Let me know if you’ve found any good ways to overcome it and we can cheer each other on towards a more positive state of mind!

“Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine.”
 Ralph Waldo Emerson

Time Management Tips for a Home Office

5 Time Management Tips for a Home Office

Does it seem that whenever you have a “quiet” day in your home office, when you think you’ve got lots of extra time to get things done….at the end of the day you realize you actually got LESS done than you would have on a time-crunched, hectic day?

It sometimes seems like the more time you have to complete a task, the longer it’s going to take to get it done.  Or as this quote points out:

 “The surest way to be late is to have plenty of time.” Leo Kennedy

Do we get into a relaxed state of mind on those quiet days and move at a slower pace? I find that I’m most productive on days when I’ve got too much on my To-Do list; it’s that sense of urgency that pushes me into serious action-mode.

So how can you keep that energetic, urgent pace alive every day in your home office? Here are 5 tips that may help:

Tip #1: Make a To-Do List by Priority

Start with the things that must be done (income-producing activities); then work on the less urgent tasks. It’s easy to fill up a To-Do list with things that won’t help you meet your business goals. You can spend a lot of time on “busy-work” that won’t mean much to the success of your business in the long run.

Tip #2: Set a Timer

Twenty minutes checking email or social media sites somehow turns into an hour before you know it; so set a definite time limit for those activities.

If you think you’ve got some extra time on a quiet day to work on a project around the house, set the timer – I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve lost on a “quick” project that should only take 30 minutes.

Are you as bad as I am on judging the time it takes to complete certain tasks?  If you think it only takes you 30 minutes to answer emails, set the timer – you might quickly discover that it really takes an hour.  Then you can adjust your schedule and set aside more time for that activity.

Tip #3: Keep Chore Time Separate from Office Time

This is a constant challenge with a home office, especially if you’ve got little ones at home. If you’ve set a timer and know how long it takes to complete a task, then you can schedule household tasks around your work time.

Do you know how long it takes to do a load of laundry? Or clean a bathroom? If you do, then you can set your schedule accordingly: for example, my schedule might be: 8-9am laundry and cleaning bathrooms; 9-12 office time.

If I can’t get the household tasks done in the time I’ve scheduled, I still stick to my office time (the laundry will always be there waiting for me or my kids to finish later).

Tip #4: Avoid Personal Phone Calls During Office Time

This sounds like a simple thing to do, but it can be a challenge to ignore phone calls from family and friends. Unless it’s an emergency, those phone calls can wait until after work hours. Of course if my kids are trying to reach me, I put everything on hold…that IS one of the perks of being my own boss 🙂 .

Tip #5: Reward Yourself When You’ve Done Your Job

Just like I tell my kids “no fun time until the homework is done”, if I follow that same advice, I feel a great sense of accomplishment in my home office and can then enjoy doing something fun in the evening.

Time management is a constant challenge in my home office, but following these tips helps to make my days – whether they start out as hectic or quiet – much more productive ones.

“Your greatest resource is your time.”
Brian Tracy

image courtesy of dave/Morguefile.com

Business Tips: Are You Training for a Marathon or a Jog around the Block?

Build Your Business Like a Marathon Not a Jog

 

When I talk to people about starting a new business (or putting new systems in place to grow an existing one), I notice just how many of us have so little patience when we begin something new. We want instant results, but we really should be thinking of our business as a long-distance race.

Instead of just concentrating on what happened this minute, this hour, this day…we need to change our focus to long-term success and do the steps necessary to get there.

I like this quote by Greek poet Hesiod – “If you add a little to a little, and then do it again, soon that little shall be much.”

Or  look at building a business in terms of training for a long race, not a short jog: If you were training for a marathon, what would it take to get to the finish line?

Weeks, months or years of training? Wouldn’t you start out running a shorter distance and then consistently build on that foundation to have the stamina it takes to complete the marathon?

When we think of starting a business or a new system in our business, though, how many of us expect success and rewards (the money) to immediately start rolling in with little or no real effort or training?

If it was possible to become a millionaire overnight with the push of a button (or the launch of a website) wouldn’t that secret formula have been “leaked” by now?  And if there is one that I’m not aware of yet, please let me know!! 😉

In reality, like most other major commitments (running a marathon, earning a degree, losing weight) building a business takes:

  • A Solid Foundation: work with determined focus on those things that will create a strong business that is sustainable over the long-term; whether that’s products, people, resources or all of the above.
  • Consistent Effort: do what it takes every day to produce results and get you closer to the long-term goals you’ve put in place.
  • Flexibility and Stamina: when things around you change or the unexpected happens, make adjustments and move on; each new experience (or mistake) makes you stronger in the long run.

So the next time things aren’t moving as quickly as you’d like in your business, stop and ask yourself “am I training for a marathon or just a jog around the block?”

If you build your business as if you were training for a marathon, then those bad days or bumps in the road to success will only prove to be small inconveniences in the longer race towards the finish line. And at the end of the race, you’ll claim the best prize: a strong, thriving business.

Image courtesy of and derived from Pixabay