How many times have you started a to-do list only to leave it laying on your desk incomplete and never to look at it again . . . at least not until you find it buried under the 20 other to-do lists you never finished?
To-do lists are “your friend” . . . So, here are a few tips for making the most of yours.
1. Create your list BEFORE your day gets started. You can do this at the end of the previous day or first thing each day, but don’t start on anything until you’ve created your list.
2. Prioritize items on your list. Sometimes putting tasks in order of importance isn’t an easy task, so first just jot down everything you know you need to do and then go back over and number each item, starting with 1, in order of priority.
3. Follow your list in order. Once you have your list prioritized don’t devate from that list by jumping around to things further down the list until the tasks above are complete.
4. Allow for changes. Don’t get down on yourself if something pops up in your day that you have to incorporate into your list. Simply, add it, do it and then keep moving down your original list.
5. Mark items complete. By checking off items on your list as you complete them you will see yourself making progress and at the end of the day you will feel a sense of accomplishment. Even if you don’t complete everything on your list, it’s ok you can still look back and say “I DID get this done today!”
6. Be reasonable. You know there are only so many hours in a day, so don’t overload your list with tasks that you know good and well will take more time than you have available.
7. Be as detailed as possible. Don’t overload your list, but also don’t forget the smaller tasks throughout the day that will take time away from other bigger duties.
8. Keep your to-list in sight at all times. By keeping your list out from under papers, books, etc. it will be a reminder that you have a plan and that plan is going to help you move forward with your business.
9. Throw it away at the end of the day. At the end of each day, transfer any unfinished tasks to the next day’s to-do list and throw the current day’s list in the garbage can. Seeing multiple incomplete to-do lists lying around all the time is not good on your self-esteem, so say sayonara at the end of everyday.
If you are a business owner, a to-do list is one thing you should never start your day without. Planning is crucial to your success and the better prepared you are for each day, the more you’ll accomplish. You’ll also give yourself a well deserved boost each time you can cross off something on your to-do list.
[A small step toward living your best life now! ~ Dee]
To some people, the term “positive thinking” may sound like a lot of hooey, but other people firmly believe in it and put it into practice.
Staying in a positive mindset, even in the face of adversity, can help you overcome personal and business challenges. And by cultivating the habit of thinking positively, you will attract positive people and positive outcomes in your life.
When you find yourself facing a roadblock, try to find a way around it. It so easy to give up. But giving up will not bring you any closer to accomplishing your goals. In fact, giving up can make you feel even worse and cause more stress. So find a way to forge ahead to reach your goal or finish the task you set out to accomplish. You will feel more confident and able to take on new, more difficult challenges should they arise.
It is not realistic to expect anyone to change completely overnight but taking small steps to re-calibrate your mindset to “positive thinking” will create big changes.
This is often suggested. . . creating a “dream board” or a “dream book”. Write out all the things you would like to accomplish. Look through magazines and find pictures that correspond with those goals. When you find a picture you like, cut it out and pin it to a bulletin board or paste it into a scrapbook.
Don’t be afraid to reach for the stars with this project. If you see a picture of a house you would love to live in, put it on your dream board. Find a picture of a car you’ve always wanted or a picture of a place you would love to travel to. You get the picture . . .
Simply take a moment each day to look at your dream board or flip through your dream book. This can inspire you and motivate you to work hard and achieve success. Your dream book is giving you a glimpse of your rewards. Now, it is up to you to take action.
Business goals are wonderful. They can keep us motivated and help us measure our success. Goals help us get through the tough times and remember what we’re working for.
It is important to set goals high enough that we feel a sense of accomplishment when we attain them. But it is equally important to set goals that we actually have a reasonable chance of achieving.
What Happens When We Set Goals Too High?
When we set goals, they usually represent milestones that are important to us. You might set a goal of selling 1,000 copies of your new ebook in a month, for example. If you achieve that, it will certainly be something to celebrate. But if you don’t, it could leave you disappointed and lower your morale.
When deciding on goals, it is crucial to consider whether or not they have a reasonable chance of being met. We need to push ourselves and give ourselves incentives to work harder and achieve more. Yet if a goal has an extremely slim chance of being attained, it can do more harm than good.
How Do I Determine Whether or Not My Goals Are Too High?
Before you set a goal, it is important to examine its feasibility. If you have been in business for a while, you may be able to look back on similar projects and see how well they turned out. If you’re just starting out, it can be a little more difficult.
The Internet provides a way to check the feasibility of some goals. Many small business owners blog about their experiences, and with a little searching you might find the details of how goals that relate to yours turned out. It is important to remember, however, that circumstances differ.
What worked for others may not work for you, and vice versa. If your goals are sales-related, some analysis of contributing factors might help in setting them. Going back to the ebook example, finding information about conversion ratios can be helpful. With these numbers, you can use your site traffic to estimate how many sales you can expect. If the figure you come up with is substantially less than the goal you are considering, you may want to go back to the drawing board or find ways to boost your traffic.
If you do find that you have set a goal too high, don’t let it discourage you. Consider it a learning experience. Next time it might be wise to give yourself more time or lower your standards a bit. There may also be something that could have been done differently for better results.
Challenging yet realistic goals can make a huge difference in your business. Each time we achieve a new goal, we build momentum. By considering the likelihood of attaining our goals when setting them, we set ourselves up for success.
Feeling a little down or out of sorts with the world? There are a lot of little changes you can make in your life that can give your mood a boost.
Boosting your mood brightens up your day, brings a smile and makes life that little bit easier to deal with. Just by making the smallest changes and taking as little as 5 minutes in your day, you could be surprised with the difference it can make. It doesn’t have to be anything outlandish, just something you wouldn’t normally consider doing.
Here are some tips to help give you a quick (drug-free) mood boost.
If you have 5 minutes to spare you can:
1. Take out your daily goal planner and write something down that you already completed today and cross it straight off the list.
2. Take the weight off your feet and eat one of your 5 daily portions of fruit or veggies.
3. Look at yourself in the mirror and pull as many different funny faces as you can in 5 minutes.
4. Read the comics in the daily paper.
5. Take a quick shower or at least splash your face with water.
6. Use some of that expensive perfume or deodorant you had bought and enjoy the fragrance.
7. Pull out a favorite drawing or card from one of the kids in your life (your own child, a niece, nephew or neighbor).
If you have 15 minutes to spare you can:
8. De-clutter your desk or an area of your home.
9. Treat yourself to a moisturizing mask.
10. Change into a favorite piece of clothing and admire yourself.
11. Do a few quick and easy exercises or stretches.
12. Read a few pages of a book or magazine you enjoy.
13. Make yourself a big fresh fruit smoothie, sit down and enjoy it.
14. Make a list of all the people you haven’t been in touch with in a while and schedule a time to call each of them.
15. Write down what you have enjoyed doing so far during the day in your journal.
16. Find a comfortable spot, close your eyes and enjoy the silence, sound of rain or chirping birds.
If you have 30 minutes to spare you can:
17. Call someone you haven’t talked with in a while and catch up on all the gossip you missed.
18. Use your computer to look for ideas for your summer vacation.
19. Take a soak in a tub full of your favorite bubbles or skin softener.
20. Listen to your favorite CD.
21. Go to your local store and treat yourself.
22. Go for a walk and say hello to everyone you meet.
23. Turn off the TV, phone and anything else that could disturb you and sit down and enjoy peace and quiet for a half-hour.
24. Plan a quiet romantic meal.
25. Write a letter to someone special and mail it.
26. Discover a new recipe on the internet and plan to cook it for dinner.
27. Replace any old photographs you have in frames with more updated pictures.
Any one or two of the above tips can make a world of difference in your day.
It’s normal to have an occasional bad day, and feel like you are going no where. It can almost seem like the best solution is simply giving up. That might make you feel better momentarily, but it can also leave you guilt-ridden and stressed out.
Taking the road less traveled and sticking with your business plan can seem very hard to do, but in the end, you will feel much better. If you find yourself struggling with a business goal, a professional life coach may be able to assist you. Our business life is directly tied with our personal life; when one area is out of order, it can shut the whole system down.
If you are feeling stress in your personal life, your business life will definitely suffer. Stress can make you feel overwhelmed, fatigued, and on edge. A life coach can suggest some stress management techniques.
Many people are affected by anxiety. You will not be as productive as you could be if you are constantly worried about something else in your life. Some anxiety problems can only be helped with a doctor’s care, but if your problems are minor, a life coach may be able to assist you. They can help you find out what is causing the anxiety and help you find ways to manage it.
Some people have a lack of focus. It can be easy to feel overwhelmed and out of control when you have a lot work piling up on you. A life coach can help you take back your focus. They can give you an unbiased opinion of what tasks will help you and which ones are time wasters. They can help you develop strategies, such as creating goals and action plans to help you accomplish the things that need to be done.
The way we take care of our bodies is directly related to how we feel. If you haven’t exercised in a long time or if you find yourself eating a lot of junk food, a life coach can help you create a work-out schedule and healthy eating habits.
Each January, many people resolve to get organized. If you find yourself constantly looking for important phone numbers or pulling through the drive-through because you didn’t have time to buy groceries, a life coach can work with you to develop an organization system that works with your personality.
Once you have achieved more balance within your personal life, you will notice a difference in your work life, too.
Isn’t it so true . . . the more we put things off, the more anxious we become about them.
The more we find we cannot deal with some essential tasks, the bigger the workload we end up with. The more things we have to deal with, and the bigger the backlog we carry around with us, the more stress we are under to manage our time and our actions. Stress is good, up to a point… (more…)
