Holistic Business

This is a great tip if you work with a lot of files on your computer.

I find from time to time that I’m working real heavily in one particular file. Now, if that file does not start with a number or a letter at the beginning of the alphabet, you’ve got to scroll for it - right?

Wrong! Just rename the file with a ’space’ in front of the name (click once, then click again but not a double click, and you should have the file name highlighted). So, if the file was named “Yesterday’s News” and it always showed up at the bottom of the list - rename it ” Yesterday’s News” with the space in front - and it will be the first file that pops up.

Then, if that project takes on a lesser priority, rename it again, deleting the space - and lo and behold - it goes back into the alpha-numeric order.

A little thing - but can save a lot of time and hassle. Hope you like it.

Don’t understand? Send me an email, I’ll be happy to help you out!

Working more effeciently - don’t we all want that?

Namaste ~ ~ ~

My mother used to throw this little mom-ism out from time to time. She would use my sister as an example. 3 kids, work, husband, household - and she could be the first to show up with a homemade meal when someone was sick or there was some tragedy. I would marvel at how she had it all together. But, I see now, she was so busy that she had to structure and plan her time almost by the minute, and that included leaving time for such things. Or at least allowed time to swap to-dos.

I’m seeing this now as my business grows. I have more and more lists, and am getting more and more organized. I love calendaring and schedules and I’m doing more than ever in the business growth department. I’m attending more tele-seminars and getting more training then I did two years ago. I’ve also taken quite a lot of time off this past summer. Granted, it was a lot of single days here and there and a handful of long weekends in addition to one full week, but I really had a lot of fun and got a lot of accomplished.

How can this be?

In my heart, I’m really a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants person. But I’ve learned that it’s easier for me to retain that if I stay super-organized. Not that it was something on my life list, but I’ve taught myself how to be anal in my business - how funny (especially if you know me).

One of the reasons I struck out on my own was to add to the quality of our family life. We were always scrambling, nothing in the house to eat (well, that is still a struggle, baby steps ya know), weekends filled with getting the laundry done, etc.

I had allowed myself to get back in that rut once things started to take off. Then it got out of control. My husband started calling the dryer his underwear and sock drawer.

One of the things I started doing last week that has helped tremendously is taking about 20 minutes every morning after going through my emails to go over my notes from client calls, look at what was in my email progrom’s to-do folder, and checking my calendar and online shared to-dos. I make a list of what I need to accomplish that day, based on priority, deadlines, and when the project was received. If I really should get to the grocery store, or it’s a great day to hang the laundry outside - I put that on the list too.

Then I put an order to these items. This is’t based so much on priority but common sense and knowing myself. For instance, all the quick things get done first. All the items that take 20 minutes or less are out of the way early in the day. Instant graitification from crossing things off. Then, knowing myself, I’ll do any personal things that need doing. Post office, bank, grocery store, etc. Then, what is remaining does take priority and time of day into account. For example, if I know I have to get on the phone with 1ShoppingCart, I plan to do that the moment they open. I generally know when my clients are in the office and if I need to send them a proof I make sure I’m getting it to them when I’m most likely to get it in front of them for a quick look.

I get so much more accomplished in this manner and my time goes so much farther.

Have you found ways to add more time to your day? Let me know!

Namaste ~ ~ ~

The ultimate guide to producitivity meme was started by Ben Yoskovitz and I first read about it on Dawud Miracle’s blog.

Now I’ve been tagged by Jenn Givler.

The question is:

So what’s your secret to being productive?

Well, I have to say, at the time I read Dawud’s post, I was stuggling myself with productivity and staying focused. After having it rattle around in my brain for the last few weeks, just this week (and it’s only Wednesday morning as I’m writing this), I began to try out Dawud’s tip - and I’m lovin it!

I work in 50 minute increments. Then for 10 minutes - I leave my office. I spend 10 minutes doing something else. Not laundry, not dishes, not picking up the various things that get left all over the house. I go outside and look at my flowers, I pet and play with the dog, I sit on the porch and work on a crossword puzzle - but I do something I find relaxing.

After those 10 minutes - it’s right back to the office.

I always took short breaks before throughout the day, but having a schedule for them really seems to help. No more looking up and realizing 3 hours have gone by and my eyes feel like onions. I return after those 10 minutes anxious to pick back up where I left off.

At first I thought that was too often and was going to cause me to lose concentration. Now, it’s only been 2 days that I’ve done this, but so far it seems to have added time to my day.

Thanks Dawud - I’ll have to head over to your blog and thank you too!

One of my own tips is to always have a pad of paper and pencil nearby. I get struck with ideas when I’m involved in a relaxing activity and don’t seem to remember things as well as I used to. This time of year I like to garden. I find it very soothing to get my hands in the dirt. As I relax, I tend to get inspired. And I don’t remember things as well as I used to (did I say that already?). It drives me nuts to be doing something and have an idea that has me all excited and then an hour later be pacing back and forth in my office asking “Now - what in the world was it that I wanted to do/email/research?”

OK - my turn to do some tagging. Vickie Turley, Danielle Keister, and Shann Vander Leek - you’ve been tagged!

I’m doing the same thing I did the last time I was tagged. I’ve tagged two people I know quite well, and one who does not know me. Shann and I have never had a conversation, written or otherwise, but I do enjoy her blog and figured this would be a good opportunity to let her know and to say thank you for the Inspiration Widget! For those of you on a Mac, you know what a widget is. Well, Shann had a True Balance Life Coaching widget designed with inspirational quotes. I love it - thanks Shann! You can read about it and get the link for download here.

Well, here are the “rules” of this project from Ben’s Instigator Blog:

1. Write a post on your best productivity tips. Challenge yourself by picking your single best productivity tip (although this isn’t a requirement; you can give us more if you want!)
2. Include links to other people that have written posts, or include their tips in your post with proper attribution.
   

   Note: I’m not asking that you link to everyone in the group writing project meme; pick the ones you want to connect with. You certainly can link to everyone, but it’s not a requirement. I like leaving more decision making power in your hands so this isn’t just a link grab, but you’re thinking about what your audience & community wants to read about.

   A link back to this post is appreciated though, to help spread the word!

3. If you use Technorati Tags then tag your post “ultimate guide to productivity”.
4. Tag others in your post to spread the meme. Tag as many people as you like!
5. If you link back to Instigator Blog and email me I’ll make sure to include at least 2 links back to you. But this isn’t a requirement, it just helps me keep track of what’s going on.

Technorati Tags: ultimate guide to producitivity, Ben Yoskovitz, Dawud Miracle, Jenn Givler, Vickie Turley, Danielle Keister, Shann Vander Leek, True Balance Life Coaching

Where is that folder???

Do you have a lot of folders in “My Documents” and find yourself using a few of them quite often? Maybe you have to scroll for them because they are down a ways in the alphabetical chain? But you like to keep a tidy desktop and don’t like to create shortcuts for everything?

I’ve got a great solution for you.

Go into “My Documents” or wherever you have all these folders. Find one that you always have to scroll for. Click it once, wait a sec, then click it again. DON’T DOUBLE CLICK! Or you will open the folder!

The second click should highlight the folder name in a little box. Put the cursor in front of the first character and click - this should unhighlight the entire name.

Now - insert a space (hit the space bar) so that the first “character” is a space. You are renaming the file with the same name, just a space in front of it for those of you familiar with the process in renaming a file.

Click away from the folder to save the change - and WA-LA! The folder should now be showing first in the list!

Cool - huh?

Just don’t blame me if you do this with forty folders and still have to scroll!

This way, you can put a shortcut on your desktop just for “My Documents” or wherever you keep your most used folders and only have one shortcut and still save yourself a lot of time.

Clean computer desktop and a saved step - can’t beat that!

Oh, BTW - this works on PCs and Macs. I use a Mac myself for the most part and love to find tips that can be shared across the board.

~ ~ ~

Just a little side note: if you are a Holistic Business owner interested in networking - check out Holistic Business Networking. I’ll be sharing tips there too and be keeping my eyes out for specific questions about time saving computing tips. Believe me, being a Virtual Assistant has me always on the prowl for timesaving tips for myself and my clients!

Namaste ~ ~ ~

Technorati Tags: Holistic Business, Holistic Business Networking, Virtual Assistant

If you read my other time management tip here, don’t feel like you’ve been tricked.

This is NOT Tip 2.

I really think Tip 1 is important enough to warrant some expounding.

Basically - admit you are powerless over time.

What I mean by this is that no matter what you do, there is still only going to be 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week, and 52 weeks in a year - deal with it.

I think the phrase “I didn’t have time” is a copout and not really owning our feeling and actions.

We DO have time - just not enough to do everything we’d like.

So - admit it and move on.

When it comes to our business - time is money. You should be able to easily put a price tag on every minute of your time. Some of that time is actually providing whatever service it is for your clients. For me in my Virtual Assistant practice (and hopefully for you too), that’s the easy one. That’s the priority, that’s what I will ALWAYS have time for. It’s a promise that I made firstly to myself and secondly to my clients.

It’s the other areas that blur. Marketing, research, continued education, keeping up with new technology, writing, networking, contact management, article submission, blogging, etc. All of these things fall into one of 4 categories:

1. I enjoy it and always make time for it.
2. I enjoy it but don’t always make time for it.
3. I don’t enjoy it and begrudgingly make time for it.
4. I don’t enjoy it and usually never get to it.

The first one is a keeper. These are the things you should not outsource to an Administrative Support Professional or give up because if you enjoy it and make the time, chances are good that you excel at it. Don’t mess with something that is not broken.

The next 3 - these are the ones that scream for attention.

Tip 2 will deal with how to better manage these 3 categories. (Hint: by finding ways to deal with 3 and 4, you’ll be able to move tasks in category 2 up a notch!)

Stay tuned, and in the meantime, keep note of what category your tasks fall into for you.

That’s the first step!

Technorati Tags: time management, Virtual Assistant, Marketing, research, networking, contact management, article submission, Administrative Support Professional