Aspire to Inspire

Still Saving Time on the Internet

I have been working on these three steps - have you?

If you have some others, comment or email and tell me about them.

Two more tips that I have been using and that have been useful are:

1.  Track Your Time - do a search for free egg-timer software and you will get a few.  Choose one that you like and download it.  Then, when you are logging on to Facebook, Twitter, your email account or researching something, set a time limit and set your timer.

I have saved a lot of time with this little device.  I love and can wander around Twitter forever.  I will tell myself that I have 15 minutes and look at the (very tiny and oh, so quiet) clock in the bottom of my computer screen and promise, promise, promise that I will look at it again.  Right!!  45 minutes later, I am irked at myself again!  Sound familiar?

But, with my handy-dandy timer device, I know when that 15 min is up and I might say one last thing, but I have trained myself to click the X and close it.

Time Saved:  oooodles

2.  Just Say NO - Oh, this one is so much harder and I actually have more to say about it that I will write later.  (My husband would say "Imagine that, her having more to say!)  But, this is becoming increasingly important amongst the "noisy" internet.

There are A LOT of good things out there (as there are bad) so it is easy to keep jumping like a grasshopper all over the place, never landing long enough to make a difference.  Especially when you are new to the information!

I needed to learn to say NO to new forms of information, no matter how good they sounded, and focus on the ones I already have!

How about you?  What do you need to say "YES" to?  What do you need to study and apply before you move on?

Time Saved:  more oooodles

Here's to Inspired Time Management!

Making 2009 the Year You Reach Your Goals - Part 4

The last day.  Are you excited?  

If you take the time to write out these steps and do the thinking required, you will be find that you are much more effective and efficient.

This last step may seem tedious, but will be the icing on the cake.  

If you will do this once, it will change the way you take action forever.  You will be able to analyze an activity, determine if it will get closer to you where you want to be, and clearly see whether it is worth doing.

And, if you write it out now, it will become second nature to you later.

A Review:

Step 1 - You listed in current terms what will happen in your business in the next 3 years, in the next year and over the next three months (with dates attached).

Step 2 - You inventoried your positive traits that will help you reach your goals and the negative traits that might hinder you.  And for these, you gave yourself dates by which you want to be rid of them.

Step 3 - You inventoried your time, finding the "negotiable" time you have to work toward your goals.  And hopefully, you determined you have a reasonable amount of time to work on these goals.

Now, we are going to put all of these things together in this last Step.

First, take the sheet titled 'Steps Inventory' and determine the top 10 steps you need to take in your business that will move you toward your Immediate Goals and your 1 Year Goals.  (These can include removing the negative traits you listed.)

Write these down in current terms, such as "I have 15 new clients in my offline business." beginning with those that are directed at your Immediate Goals first and ending with those directed toward your 1 Year Goals.

Now, you will need 10 copies of the last page 'Steps Analysis' because for each of the 10 steps you listed, you will want to analyze how you will fulfill the step.  This includes determining the requirements for each as well as the skills you need (or need to hire) to complete this step.

This last step will keep you from feeling overwhelmed.  When you have 10 steps that you want to take and you know what is required to get you there and help you complete them, you have the tools necessary to analyze your activities.

When a new opportunity or activity comes up, you can consult your compass.  Will this move me closer to completing these 10 steps or not?  If not, I can say "NO".  If yes, go for it.

Changing or adopting a new habit is never easy, but then nothing worthwhile ever is!  

This was a life-altering part of becoming more productive for me - learning to evaluate my actions based on what I was determined to accomplish.  With these tools, I have a roadmap to follow with clear directions toward my goals.

Here's to an Inspired 2009!  Let me know if I can be your accountability partner - I would love to encourage you in reaching your goals!

Making 2009 the Year You Reach Your Goals - Part 3

Step 3 is to inventory your time.  If you have not done Steps 1 & 2, it might be helpful to you to go back to the first 2 parts of this series.

In the Goal Inventory Sheets, there is a Time Inventory.  This is the sheet we will be talking about today.

You probably already have a calendar or system you use.  This one is not intended to replace yours, but if you need one, it is very handy!

This step should be much less painful than the last one - unless you are over-scheduled which most of us are - then it may make you tired just to look at.

Since you must know when you can work on the goals you have, you need to know what time is available. You are going to lay out a typical calendar week to find the "negotiable" time in your week.

I use different colored pens and highlighters for each activity.  And, I use a different color for each activity - work, family event, my son's activities, church responsibilities, volunteering, etc.  I draw a square around the time that is blocked off for that activity.  I even schedule hubby time, personal time and family time. The hours that are not blocked off then are the time that I can work on these goals.  (Some of these will be worked on during my working hours, of course, but if you work a separate job, you may not be able to do that).

Now, I can see what time I have to work within.  If I see I only have 3 hours of "negotiable" time per week and one of my 'Immediate Goals' is to create a 6-figure income within the next 6 months, I am going to have to adjust something or be extremely efficient during those 3 hours. 

HINT: You really must have at least 10 hours of "negotiable" time to put toward a home-based business, at least in the beginning, to create a stable, successful and solid one.  Once in place, and, if done correctly, it is possible to maintain it with less time.

Now, your turn.  Lay out a typical week with your non-negotiable activities blocked off.  Remember that your family (especially your spouse) is also non-negotiable.  You are making a life, not just a living!

Now, inventory the time you have available and make it as efficient as possible!

I'm a Certifiable Twit - and You Should Be Too!

Dang this Twitter thing is addictive!

I am writing a very quick post to tell you that if you don't - you should be.  Tweeting that is.

Six months ago I kept hearing about Twitter from Carrie Wilkerson - the Barefoot Executive and I looked at it, but could not understand what she was talking about.  It seemed to be like standing at the top of the stairs at a big party (realllllly big party) and just overhearing snippets of conversation.

Then, because I am a big proponent of actually listening to the people I actually respect and actually doing what they are doing, I joined.  And at first, I just watched.  (That by the way is how I have approached a lot of life - watching).

But then, I decided that I have spent too much time watching and not enough participating.  So I began to join in.

I was shocked that I got responses from some of the very people I highly respect and had been "watching" and reading about from a distance.  They were now at fingertip distance and were willing to communicate with me.  This was eye-opening and changed my view forever of the role social media can play and WILL play in business in the future.

Warren Whitlock (http://TwitterHandbook.com Author, Publisher, Blogger and Social Media Guy) describes the 3 stages of Twitter Acceptance in this blog post.  So very true!  If you are in stages 1 or 2, you probably don't yet see the big picture, but hang on.

Because though I cannot even do the topic of Twitter justice, Michael Stelzner's blog post does a fantastic job of explaining How to Use Twitter to Grow Your Business - an absolute must read!

Are you Inspired to try?  Follow me on Twitter - HBlackwell