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!

Saving Time Online

Guilty!

 

I am so guilty of wasting time online.  Are you?

Oh, I want to excuse it.  I want to give you all the reasons that the time I spend reading, researching, looking at sites is all useful.  That it is furthering my education.

And, to some extent, it is.  But, it is just furthering my education.  Not my productivity OR my pocketbook!

So, one of my goals for the year is to make my time online more productive.

Here are 3 of the ways I am doing that:

1.  Separate my Business E-mail from my Personal E-mail

This way I am only responding to the business email during the day and not getting (too) sidetracked. The really BIG TRICK then, is to only check my personal e-mail at night.  This way I am only responding to the business email during the day and not getting (too) sidetracked.  

Time saved: 30 min

2.  Unsubscribe

This is one of the hardest things to do.  I really do enjoy reading the newsletters, tips, blog feeds, e-zines.......  I get a lot of good ideas and information from them.  But, I can also spend a lot of time with them.  So, I have pared down.  I choose a few that I feel are invaluable and I am unsubscribing to the rest.  

Time saved: 20-30 min

3.  Know my Action Steps

Writing down the must-do things of the day still ranks as the number one way to stay on task.  And I use the very old-fashioned pen and paper (actually, I use index cards) because I absolutely love the feeling of crossing those suckers off the list.  But, however you do it, make a list.  And the best time to make it is at the end of the day - make your list of 6 things you must do.  Then rank them and go in the order of most to least important.  Whenever you get off task, just go back to that list.

Time saved:  at least 30 min a day

There, I have shaved 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours off my day.  Time that I can now devote to things I get paid for!

Here's to Inspired Time Management!

I would love to hear how you save time online too.

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

Making 2009 The Year You Reach Your Goals - Part 2

Did you print out the Goal Inventory Worksheets?  Yesterday, we started with aspirations and today is our inspiration.

The next two steps are probably the hardest part.

You will have to dig deep and consider your strengths and weaknesses.  When I sat down to do this the first time, every ounce of my body tried to find something else to do!  I could have cleaned the clutter out of several houses to avoid thinking about this.  Somehow I don't like to self-evaluate.

But, because I made the goal a fun one (see the article "3 Ways to Kick Procrastination Now"), I did it.  Now, it is kind of a fun task each year to see what new skills I have aquired and decide what I need to get rid of.  I tell you in the article about how to make it positive.

This year I have become the co-director of a non-profit organization (www.stepUPballroom.com) and have gained some unintended but very useful skills through that job.  I have learned through several courses more about general marketing, internet marketing, social media and have been working on my skills there.  So those go on the list.

What new activities have you been involved in this year?  What have you read, researched or learned?  Write those down.

I also have a few things I want to lay down, get rid of or change - I have resumed chewing  my lip when I work (ouch) and I need to stop that one!  I also want to have better control over my finances, specifically track advertising results and declutter my house one drawer at a time.  So those go on the list (with dates).

What about you?  What do you see that is in your way?  Or what habit is something you would be better of without?  Write them down.

Dig deep.  Take some time and meditate on this Self-Inventory.  It really does help.

Making 2009 The Year You Reach Your Goals - Part 1

This is the time that everyone is evaluating what they did in 2008 and looking forward to 2009.  It is a valuable skill to learn how to map out what you want to accomplish.

I told you I am so very excited about this year and I am going to be learning right along with you and sharing what I learn.

I can't wait!

The Goal Inventory Worksheets are perfect for getting us off on the right start.  I have used these sheets for the past few years to take an inventory of my current skills, likes, dislikes and habits to determine which might need to go and which need to be enhanced.

Click on the link to the right and print these out and we will walk through them together.

The first page is one I make several copies of and I brainstorm what I would like to see happen long-term,  mid-term and short-term.  I then put the top 3 things down on the lists.  I make several copies, because I make goals for several categories.  

I have heard lots of arguments for not writing down goals, but the truth is that successful people write theirs down and unsuccessful people debate whether there is any value to writing them down and I am going to do what the most successful do!

Listing what you want to accomplish within certain timeframes gives you a compass.  You can then evaluate your actions based on that compass. 

For example, I will have 35 new customers in my offline business within the next 3 months.  I will have my online business completely automated by the end of Febuary and I will have a new website and forum established by the end of the summer.  Now I know what I want to accomplish and by when, so I am ready for the next step.

Please share what you are doing with me.  I would love to be your accountability partner in implementing new skills to rocket your business forward.

Here's to Inspiring Goal-writing!

Step 2 - What Will You Do In Your Jammies?

You are revving to go. Passionate to make an income while working from home. Ready to start a new life and be self employed!

But, what are you going to do?

This is an area that can be the most difficult - the information out there is overwhelming!

Start with taking an inventory of your likes and dislikes, your skills, interests and character traits. Download a copy of my Goal Inventory Worksheets at the right. There is a page that covers these topics. This will help you discover what you will actually enjoy doing!

Make 2 Goals to be reached in one month. Don't overwhelm yourself with too many goals! This is a good example of 2 goals for your first month:
1. You will make a decision by __(date)__. Do not give yourself more than 2 weeks.
2. You will be operational by __(date)__. Do not give yourself more than 2 more weeks.

In order to reach those goals, you will have to take some specific steps. You need manageable chunks where you see exactly how to get from one place to the next. When you download the Worksheets there is one in there called Step Analysis that will help you determine your step by step plan to reaching these 2 goals.

Now, you have some research to do. There are many vehicles that you can use to create an income from home. You have to choose the one that you will use.

Here is a fabulous article that talks about 10 ways to make money online - 10 Ways Article

And a follow-up article to it - Another 10 Ways

I love these two articles because she paints the picture so accurately!

Whatever you choose to do, be prepared to work.

Now, what are your goals - let me know! I would love to hear from you. How can I inspire you to reach those goals?

Articles Today, New York Times Bestseller List Tomorrow

Ha - well, maybe not tomorrow!

But, I did it, I actually posted my article!  It took me longer to do than I intended, because the computer glitch caused me to loose a few things. 

Yeah, for me!  It is still in editorial review, so I will give the link tomorrow, but for today, one article down and I have learned a few things.

1.  Keywords.  I just started writing and didn't think about key words that would be searched.  And actually, this probably worked for me, because if I was trying to fit certain words in, I would not have been able to think of a thing to write.  BUT, you should target key words and keyword phrases that the audience you are writing to will use to search for your information.  See my Resources page for a couple of websites to use.

I did it backwards, however, and wrote the article first.  I then searched for keywords and phrases and went through my article and made changes with these suggestions in mind.

2.  Why would they read it?  I was asked to type a 2-5 sentence summary that entices people to click and read.  This also entices e-zine publishers to click and read!  If it is flat and dull, no one will believe that my article will be lively and entertaining.   So it helps to think through these questions before you even start to write:  What benefit to the reader is there in reading what I have to say?  What will they know or what skill will they have at the end that they do not have right now?

3.  About ME?  Then at the end, you write a little clip about yourself.  Now, I did not have to do this, but I noticed that the authors that I would go and search out more articles from, would have these little synopsis at the end.  So, I thought about why I am writing and what would make someone look for more of my articles.  I think this is uncomfortable, because it feels a little like tooting my own horn.

Hmmmm, Toot - Toot.  I might get used to it!

Having trouble with time management?  Look back here for the link to my article tomorrow!

Who Needs a Stinky Sponge?

I have to admit, the idea of blogging, twitting, oops, I meet twittering. tweeting, digging, stumbling...... etc., all seemed so, well, useless.

I read Liz Strauss' post about "What Possible Benefit Could Anyone Possibly Get From a Blog?" (see my blog link at the right) and really identified with the audience she is describing! Mention the word blogging and my eyes began glassing over. I saw the internet as a tool to gather information FOR ME! I never looked at it as a tool to give information. I was just busy getting, soaking, gathering and gleaning!

Well, all that information going IN is like a sponge that just sits in water. It soaks it up and eventually begins to mildew.

Whew, I was beginning to be a stinky sponge.

Now, I don't have aspirations of becoming a world-wide known blogger, or an in demand speaker for sold-out conventions. But, the information needed to come out and I just wanted a way to share what I have learned.

Bingo, self! What a brilliant idea - use the internet. Document what you are doing. Forge a path. And, of course leave giant chocolate cookie crumbs for others to follow along the way, should they so choose.

My first goal: I set the goal of writing and submitting at least one article. So, what did I do?

First Step was to I research some free sights to submit articles (take a look at my Resource page for sites).
- I looked at the articles under the topics I would be interested in and read the most frequently read
articles. I read several of the same authors articles.
- I made note of what titles interested me and made me click on them.
- I read the guidelines for submitting articles to each of the sites.

Second Step was to determine what I am going to write. I have the goal of inspiring others to take action, so I want to write articles along that line.
- I brainstormed on the reasons (or more appropriately excuses) we have for not taking action
- I came up with 3 ideas for article topics
- I wrote bullet points the first one
- I wrote for 20 min straight without editing, rereading or changing anything.
- I then edited and looked at the word count
- I repeated the above 3 steps for the remaining 2 topics.

Doing this, I was able to get 3 articles written in less than 2 hours (well, research took a little longer, but I still have ideas for even more articles). These were not dissertations for my master's degree. Just little, content-rich, blurbs really! So fun. I really can do this.

Now, I am going to submit them. Stay tuned. Hopefully it will be a totally undisastrous, un-"story-worthy" event. But with great results!!

You know, to get water out of that sponge, you have to squeeze. And a lot of us are scared of pain.

But, I am here to report - the squeeze really felt more like a massage. And I felt excellent when it was over with!

Let me Inspire YOU! Tell me how I can in my 3 question survey: Inspire Me, Please!