How to Be Organized - Use a Calendar!

I confess - I've missed a deadline or two.  Forgotten an appointment.  Paid a late fee.  You too?  If so, your calendar – or lack of it – is likely to blame.

I always resisted using a calendar, thinking it would be too difficult to manage, wouldn't be available when and where I needed it, or that it would make me inflexible. The truth is, setting up a calendar and using it can be almost completely automated, and when you take the time to schedule your work, you’ll actually find more freedom in your day, not less.

How many emails does it take to schedule an interview or coaching session?  I found the average to be three or four.  One to propose a time, another to say why that won’t work and to suggest others, sometimes a third with still more time options, and a final confirming email.

What a waste!

Instead, by using a shared calendar or appointment system such as TimeTrade, you can schedule meetings and appointments in one click.  Your client will see exactly what times are available, and be able to pick the one that works for her schedule as well.

You can achieve a similar system within your family by sharing a Google calendar.  Need to schedule a dentist appointment?   One quick check of the calendar lets you know your grandson has a soccer game that day – better choose a different day for that cleaning.

David Allen of Getting Things Done recommends using your calendar only for those things that must be done on a specific day.  Your calendar is not your to-do list, it’s a schedule of appointments. By only scheduling that which must be completed, such as doctor appointments and travel, you leave the rest of your days open for a more fluid lifestyle, while still completing tasks on time.

Day-to-day appointments and managing deadlines is great, but I also use my calendar for long-term planning.  Product launches, marketing schedules, blog posts and more are all written on my calendar.  That allows me to easily see what’s coming up,  I can even match my own products and promotions with those of others, for even greater reach.

Your marketing calendar can include everything from keywords to target for PPC campaigns to blog post ideas to products you’d like to create.  Your calendar doesn’t have to be carved in stone, though.  Be sure you leave room for on-the-fly promotions and last-minute opportunities as well.

If you still find yourself resisting using a calendar, outsource it!  My VA handles my calendar much more efficiently than I do!   She isn't distracted by other things going on in my life.  Not only that, but with someone else managing my calendar, I have more time for actually getting stuff done!

My Boomer Business

Are you ready to be in business for yourself?  As a baby boomer, you may be facing the point in your life where it's time to make some decisions.  Should you retire?  CAN you retire?  Do you WANT to retire?  If the answer to any of those questions is 'NO!", you may be ready to become a boomerpreneur!


Starting your own business as a baby boomer isn't without some risk.  But there are ways to minimize those risks.  And the rewards can be amazing.  If you just don't see yourself joining the Sunday afternoon bingo crowd but you just don't want to keep working at your current job, a business can be ideal.  It can offer you all the things you want from your work:  flexible schedule, a chance to do what you love, to be your own boss, to make an impact, and to supplement your retirement income.  Yes, there will be challenges.  But being challenged and motivated every day is much better than being bored.


Three quarters of boomers plan to work past retirement, so you're not alone.  Many of us simply don't want to give up the feeling of being productive every day.  Others simply have no choice.  Their retirement income simply isn't enough to support them comfortably.  In order to survive, they must continue to work.  But at this stage of life, it might be time for you to call the shots.


The thought of starting your own business might seem overwhelming.  But you have years of experience to offer.  You've acquired skills and strengths that many others don't have.  You have a lifetime of interests to share.  If you don't know where to start or what steps to take, don't despair.  This is the age of the internet!  All the information you need is readily available.  And today's technology can make starting a business easier than it has ever been.  Still hesitant?  Don't be!  There are  plenty of people who have gone before you who are more than willing to show you the way. 


So what's MY boomer business?  Actually, I have a few!  I started in network marketing.  And although I knew nothing about it, thanks to the patient coaching of my sponsors and mentors, today I make a nice living.  I've learned enough now that I have written my first book so others can have the same success I have had.  I also have 4 CafePress shops.  Here I sell t-shirts, mugs, hoodies, caps, mousepads - in fact just about anything you can put a design on.  I love this part of my business because it let's me express a little bit of my creativity.


The network marketing is lucrative and the CafePress shops are fun, but the most fulfilling part of my business is my role as the BoomerBizCoach.  I have learned so much over the years and I owe much of my success to the guidance and training of others.  I pay it forward by passing on all that I have learned to fellow budding boomerpreneurs. 

If retirement isn't in your future plans, if you are ready to see what being a boomerpreneur is all about, there has never been a better time.  Let's do this!

Wasting the Day Away on Social Media

You know they’re a huge time-waster, but somehow you just can’t pull yourself away from the latest Facebook drama or the beautiful photos of yummy desserts on Pinterest.  And your favorite celeb is just blowing up Twitter with her latest antics.  Besides, you make your living online.  The time you spend on social media is “work.”  Isn't it?  After all, everyone says you have to market your business on Facebook and Twitter and LinkedIn, right?

It's true that social media marketing is a powerful technique that all online (and offline) business owners should explore.  It’s also true that much of what we do on these sites is most definitely NOT work.  But separating the two is tough.

Not all social media is bad.  It’s a great way to stay in touch with far-flung family and friends, and yes, it’s an important business-building tool as well.  So rather than try to eliminate it all together, why not make it a regular, scheduled part of your day?

Catch up on your Facebook feed over your morning coffee, then log out and get to work!  Browse Pinterest while you eat lunch.  For actual work-related social media tasks, schedule a time during the work day to log in, update your status, respond to questions, and check up on your competitors.  The key is to actually schedule this as you would any other business-related task, and not to let this “work time” turn into a chat with your sister about holiday plans or a gossip session with friends.

One way successful entrepreneurs separate work from play is by the tools they use.  When on the computer in the office, they avoid social media sites because they are working.  Instead, they limit their use of social media to off hours by only visiting the sites on their mobile phones or tablets.  I rarely get on Twitter or Facebook on my computer.  I wait until I have some free time and then only use my phone.  (That's why I tend to "disappear" from time to time.  I'm so busy working that I don't have time to even get on my phone!) 

By adopting this type of policy, you create a boundary in your own mind.  After a few weeks of practice, hopefully you will no more think of hopping on Facebook from the office computer than you would consider wearing your bathrobe to the grocery store.  The two activities just don’t go together!

If you really can’t stay focused on work once you’ve logged into Twitter or Facebook (they’re just so distracting!) consider letting someone else handle your social media accounts.  You can create updates ahead of time, then simply turn them over to a virtual assistant to schedule.  Or use tools like SocialOomph to schedule your updates for the day or even the week.  Then once a day you can log in and respond to your followers.
 
Finally, if you’re not using social media as a marketing tool, consider taking a sabbatical. Simply make a deal with yourself that you will not log in or check any social media site for a month or a week or even just for a day. You might just be surprised to see how much time you really do waste playing Candy Crush.

Taming the Email Monster

How much time do you spend reading and responding to – or simply deleting – emails? How much unread email currently clutters your inbox? If you’re like most entrepreneurs, the answer (in both cases) is far too much!

In fact, if you were brave enough to actually time yourself, you’d very likely find you spend two or even three hours each and every day just dealing with email. Yikes! No wonder you feel like you don’t get anything done. Time to build a solid email system to help you tame that beast for good.

Auto-File Your “To Read” Emails

We all do it. We open an email, realize it’s a newsletter we love, an important announcement, or information about an upcoming event, and we close it with a well-intentioned, “I’ll read that later.” The trouble is, when later comes, we either can’t find the email, or don’t even remember that we wanted to read it.

What if you had a folder on your computer where all your “to be read” emails waited just for you to come by and discover them again? How empty would your inbox be then? Through the power of filters and folders, just about any email client can take care of this task for you.

Simply set up a folder called “To Read” or something else equally clever, then create an email rule or filter (as Gmail calls them) to deliver certain messages to that folder when they come in. Make a rule for your favorite online newsletter, email from your college alumni association, your local chamber of commerce, or even your sister.

But here’s the trick to it: You have to actually schedule time to go and read these emails. Don’t let them just pile up in there, because all that does is move the problem from your inbox to your “to read” folder. Make time to read them, then respond, file, or trash accordingly.

Turn off Notifications

Are you easily distracted by email? You’re not alone. That little red number declaring the number of unread emails, or the pretty little chime that announces the arrival of a new message is an invitation to click over and see what’s new.

Turn it off. In fact, turn off the automatic checking for email if you can. That way you can purposefully decide when to go read your email, rather than being notified of a new message every 5 minutes.

Unsubscribe

Chances are you’re on multiple mailing lists – and most of them you probably never read.

Click the unsubscribe button. Be ruthless. You can always sign up again if you miss the content, but for now, eliminating those emails from your inbox will save you a lot of time and trouble.
 
Getting a handle on email is one of the toughest things for busy small business owners, but with a little planning and some self-discipline, you can become an email ninja, and start using email as the powerful tool it is, rather than letting it run your life.

3 Top Time Management Techniques for Powerhouse Productivity

You’ve no doubt heard the names a thousand times. Getting Things Done. The Pomodoro Technique. Stephen Covey’s urgent/important matrix.

But which ones are best for cutting through the overwhelm and really managing your to-do list? Well, like most things, which system or technique works best is mostly a matter of personal choice. However, there are some things you should know about each one that might make choosing easier.

Getting Things Done

Developed by David Allen, Getting Things Done, or GTD, is a system designed to help you know at a glance exactly what you should be doing right now. The idea is simple. For every item that lands in your “inbox” (which might be email, a phone call, a letter, or just a passing comment from a spouse) you make an immediate decision to either do it, delegate it, file it, defer it, or trash it.

Once you’ve made your decision (based on the task itself and the time it will take to complete) you either do the thing or note it in your “trusted system” for retrieval – and completion – later. Devotees of GTD spend hours developing their own trusted systems, which can consist of paper planners, expensive software, or just a few note cards and a pen. (I'm a sticky note gal, myself!). In GTD, the tools are entirely up to you, it’s the methodology that matters.

The Pomodoro Technique

This method is a boon to those who find themselves easily distracted. The principle is simple: Set a timer, and get to work. Typically, proponents of The Pomodoro Technique use a simple kitchen timer (often shaped like a tomato – or pomodoro, in Italian) set for 25 minutes. During that time, they focus only on the task at hand. When the timer goes off, they take a 5 minute break, then set the timer for another 25 minutes.

Each 25-minute set is called a pomodoro. Once you’ve completed four pomodoros, you take a 20 minute break, before beginning the cycle again.

Urgent/Important Time Management Matrix

Stephen Covey’s brainchild provides an easy way to prioritize your work. Begin by dividing a piece of paper into four sections (two rows by two columns) and assigning a level of urgency/importance to each quadrant. The upper left is important but not urgent, the upper right is urgent and important, the lower left is neither urgent nor important, and the lower right is urgent but not important.

Now take your to-do list and assign each item to a quadrant. For example, grocery shopping might be important but it’s probably not urgent. Fixing your client’s broken website is both important and urgent. Answering the phone when your mother calls for the fourth time is urgent, but not important.

By dividing up your task list according to these priorities, you can easily see what you need to be working on next, and what can wait until the urgent and important items are cleared from your schedule.

There are dozens more techniques and strategies boomerpreneurs use to manage their time and get more work done than many others do. In fact, these methods can (and should) be tweaked to fit your own needs and lifestyles. But the bottom line is this: you have to find a system that works for you, and that is compatible with your style. Otherwise, the method itself will become just another distraction that causes you to lose focus rather than become the productive business owner you know you can be.

Do you have a favorite time management or productivity technique? Please share in the comments!

The Distraction Free Workplace

Ask any boomerpreneur what their biggest hurdle is when it comes to tackling the to-do list and they will all likely tell you the same thing - it’s the constant distractions.  I'll bet it's also true for you.  The kids are calling you.  Email or social media notifications keep popping up.  The phone is ringing.  The dog needs fresh water.

The list goes on and on. It’s no wonder you can’t get anything done.

So how do you do it? You start by creating a distraction-free zone.  A place of your own.

Plenty of entrepreneurs got their start working from the kitchen table, stealing a few minutes here or an hour there when the kids are napping or during lunch.  But when the business begins to grow, it pretty quickly becomes clear that a laptop in the living room is not an efficient way to work.  It’s time to find a real office.

Now, that doesn’t mean you have to go rent space downtown!  If you run your business from home and want to keep it that way, you just need to carve out a space you can call your own.

For some, a spare bedroom makes an ideal office space.  For others, a corner of the basement or even a closet will do.  The key is to create a place where, when you’re in it, you - and everyone else - knows you’re working!   And perhaps more importantly, when you’re not in it, you can leave the work behind.

Of course, just having a nice quiet office with a door won’t eliminate all your distractions. There’s plenty of them right on your computer waiting to suck away all your work time.  How you deal with those will depend largely on the type of work you do.

For example, many writers find it beneficial to block out all other applications while they work.  Tools such as ByWord and OmmWriter eliminate the distractions by offering full-screen text editors that also lack all those formatting bells and whistles of a typical word processor.

Does the Internet call to you? Consider installing browser software such as LeechBlock (for Firefox) or StayFocused (for Chrome).  Both let you block certain sites (Facebook, for example) for specific periods of time.   If you want to get in a solid 3 hours of work before embarking on another Candy Crush tournament, just turn on your timer and you won’t be able to access Facebook at all until your work day is done.  You can do the same for any site that commands your attention, but keep in mind that if you have more than one browser installed on your computer, you can always click over to the unlocked choice to sneak a few minutes of play time in.

Now about that smartphone.  Since you can do almost anything on your phone that you can do on your computer, it can be one of the biggest distractions in your workspace.  If you don't need your phone, leave it in another room until you are finished working.  If course, there is always the exception for family emergencies.  If you can't put it aside, at least turn off all the social media and email notifications.

Speaking of family, they can also be a distraction, along with friends and neighbors.  While you want to actually eliminate them, you can reduce the time you spend interacting with them.  Make sure family members, including children, understand that when you are in your workspace with the door closed, you are to be disturbed only for emergencies or for something business-related.  Also do not allow yourself to get pulled into your friends or neighbors plans or problems.  Simply tell them you are working and you will be happy to catch up with them later.

Of course, the important thing to remember is that your environment is only the beginning.  You need to work on building up your self-discipline, so you can say no to distractions and get the work done!

Focus Is The Name Of The Game

I've been thinking a lot lately about focus.  For example, focusing on my target market, the boomerpreneur.  I've gotten sidetracked a bit lately.  And focusing on larger projects to get them completed, such as my book.  It took forever to get it finished - until I put everything else aside and focused on just getting it written. 

I've discovered during conversations with other business women that I am not the only one that struggles with this.  In fact, one of the major problems many of them have is the inability to focus.

What exactly is "focus?"  Focus is paying close attention to something.  It can be a particular market niche or group such as baby boomers.  It can be on a particular project such as writing a book.  But whatever it is, you are paying CLOSE attention to it.  That means you are not allowing yourself to be distracted or preoccupied with other matters.

I was so grateful for our recent vacation.  I was exhausted and stressed.  There never seemed to be enough hours in the day to get everything done that I wanted to accomplish.  I was irritable and short-tempered.  Then my husband asked me why I was working so many hours every day.  What was so important that it was taking all of my time?  After all, wasn't being in charge of my schedule one of the benefits of being self-employed?  That's when I realized that my problem was simple - I had stopped focusing on what was important and key to my business and allowed myself to be distracted by several "bright, shiny objects."

Without learning to focus on what is urgent and important, your can easily get distracted by the latest trend or the newest system or great new market.  Before you know it, your business has you running in 20 different directions at once.  And when that happens you burn out - fast!  And when you burn out, it's only a matter of time before your business does too.

If this sounds like you, take some advice from me.  Sit down and reevaluate your business.  What is your target market?  What is your core product or service?  What are your goals?  Where is your business headed?  Then make a list of the steps you need to take to get back on track.  Write down what is truly important and urgent to your core business.  Then make a vow that you will work on these steps ONLY.  Now I know that some of your current activities won't make your new list.  Some things will not get done.  But that's okay.  If they aren't on the list it's because they are not important to your business.  Which means you shouldn't be doing them.  It's that simple.

And I know there are some of you, who, like me, will be reluctant to give up a bright new shiny project.  Why it could be the next big thing!  But that's one of the reasons your business isn't growing.  Your too scattered and worrying too much about unimportant stuff and not focusing on what is important to your core business.

Over the next few days, I'll be sharing more about FOCUS.  Because when it comes to building your business, focus is the name of the game.