Improve My Business

I found this interesting article on deadlines by Dorene Lehavi, Ph.D. Reading this article helped me realize it’s not enough to complete a task by a set deadline, but that you should plan ahead better to successfully reach your deadline without stressing. Here is the article from Woopidoo.com:

When I told my friend Maxim (pronounced Maxeem) that I was working against a deadline, he blurted in his adorable French accent, “Whazat mean?” He continued, “You gonna be dead if you don’t make it? The sun will stop shining? The birds will stop singing? The trees will stop growing?” Well, that certainly put me in my place, and as Maxim always does, he moved me from anxiety to laughter.

Maxim told me he knew of no other culture which uses such a severe word as DEADline to indicate the time when something is due. So I decided to check it out. I ran to my Larousse, which indeed seemed to struggle with a translation. It gave two words for deadline; date and limit. Eva from Argentina couldn’t come up with any Spanish word even close to deadline. And my friend, Radomir said in Serbian the word means “the ending time”. In Hebrew the translation was last season. Other cultures seem to take life easier than we do; they have softer words and concepts and give some leeway.

Maxim who is now retired, but had a career here in the US, says he never experienced a deadline. He never missed a day of work and never missed doing anything that was expected of him. He always arrived early to work and planned his day so that he finished early. And, I might add, I never met a person with a better sense of joie de vivre. He made sure good times were part of each day.

A friend needed to drive to San Francisco from Los Angeles to take care of some things for his mother one weekend. He left a lot of work on his desk before setting out, so he spent the trip there thinking about when he’d get to his mother’s (one deadline), and on the return trip he obsessed about the work left unfinished at home (more deadlines). He completely missed the journey because he remained in a state of anxiety by focusing all his attention on deadlines. What a shame as the Pacific Coast Highway is one of the most beautiful drives in the world.

How about reevaluating your deadlines?

Plan better. Think ahead about the deadlines you have and those you set for others. Is there a way you can soften them? Break them into smaller steps and write them in your calendar.

Reward yourself for the small steps you complete and show appreciation to others who complete the task you asked of them.

I invite you to have some fun with me! Ask everyone you know from another culture or who knows another language to tell you the translation of the word “deadline”. Email the answers to me and I’ll compile a list to share.

Don’t just email Dorene Lehavi, share your comments and translations right here as well!

Technorati Tags: deadlines, efficiency, Time Management

Everyone has heard the saying that nice guys always finish last. However, rather than referring to male/female relationships, I wonder if the quote applies to professional success and productivity. This adage was stuck in my head while I watched a movie called “Yes Man” a few days ago. If you haven’t seen it yet, go do so! – great humor and entertainment. It stars Jim Carrey as a bank employee who reluctantly decides to follow an outlandish program called “Yes!” Everyone that follows the program is encouraged to say yes to every single opportunity that presents itself because it’s supposed to allow you to live a richly satisfying and rewarding life. As a result, you get to witness a host of hilarious events throughout the movie. It’s not hard to guess what happens to Jim Carrey’s character during the plot’s rising action – utter chaos and disorganization.

It’s obvious that saying yes all the time doesn’t have good implications. However, maybe some of you (like me) still have trouble mustering up the courage to say no to more people, especially to family and friends.

If so, read this article I (coincidentally) came across a couple days after watching the movie - “Say ‘Yes’ to ‘No’!”

The article makes a valid point: We’re all too familiar with the regretful, and sometimes resentful, feeling we get after agreeing to do something for someone and it ends up taking way too much time. Granted it’s a very kind gesture, too much of it can definitely take a toll on our own personal goals. As the article states, “it’s important to remember that every time you say ‘yes’ to something or someone, you’re saying ‘no’ elsewhere in your life” and it’s likely that you’re saying no to yourself or your personal agenda. Once you realize how much you’re helping others with THEIR tasks, it’s silly to say no to your OWN tasks and not invest the same amount of effort to your own personal goals. At any rate, it’s imperative that we clearly understand what’s on our own plate at all times so that we can be prepared to say no to people and support it with solid reasons. After all, it’s nice to be honest! Moreover, people will respect your reasons and you can finish the tasks you have at hand. You shouldn’t have to be disorganized because of anything other than your own problems.

The lesson for you and I (and Jim Carrey’s character) is that you can still be a nice person if you occasionally say no and, furthermore, that nice people really can finish last with their work if they don’t take care of their own time. As for romantic relationships, I’m really not sure how credible that saying is…

Technorati Tags: efficiency, Getting Stuff Done, humor, Time Management, working smarter

You can’t build a skyscraper on sand; you can’t build a business on memory.  - Mary McDonald

OK, this probably isn’t the most deep, philosophical  quote you’ve ever seen - I admit it.  But it DOES emphasize the importance of having a good foundation for your business.  Everyone from Michael Gerber to Tony Gattari to Ragen Chastain emphasize the importance of implementing a solid system for your business.  Whether it’s organizing your business to allow you to work ON the business rather than IN the business, writing a policy and procedures manual so that each person can exactly duplicate the work that needs to be done (think franchising level of detail), or setting aside 1 hour a week to do your admin hour (organizing, filing, etc), you need to spend time working on implementing a system that works for you and your organization.

If you haven’t already, click on the link for Tony to see a quick video on the importance of systems.

Technorati Tags: business building, efficiency, preparation, systemizing, systems thinking

Do you feel overwhelmed with your to-do list? Is it something that can be compartmentalized, or delegated? Consider doing so… here’s some ideas:

1) Can you delegate some of the chores? If you have willing spouse/children, can they handle some of the chores for you? How about neighbors who offer services - petsitting, lawn services, etc. - can you free yourself up sharing the load?

2) Can you hire someone to take over the responsibility full time? First, decide what’s important to you. Second, analyze your calendar. What are you doing that is NOT important to you, but you continue to work on? Third, find someone else to do these tasks for you. In my case, I found a couple of someones, who can each focus on areas that they are strong in. (After all, if I’m trying to be efficient, I should play to my team’s strengths, right?)

3) Can you eliminate the task altogether? I’ve been doing this with my email account - weeding out the information, either unsubscribing, or auto-filing the notes for future reference. I used to subscribe to several ‘gurus’ in the field… now I’ve cut that down to 2 or 3. And only one of those is left in the inbox - the others are filed automatically, bypassing the inbox.

Any of these should help you divide and conquer - let me know which ones work for you!

Technorati Tags: efficiency, email, mcdonald consulting group, process improvement, working smarter

Now, after two posts on the importance of taking “time outs” for thinking and re-charging the mental batteries, it’s time to discuss the dirty habit that lies just on the other side of productive time off-task and task avoidance. Yes, I’m talking about procrastination.

According to Dr. Piers Steel, an expert in the study of procrastination, at least 95% of people procrastinate and for 15-20% of us it is a consistent problem. (http://www.procrastinus.com/)

There are many theories on the causes of procrastination, and much debate over the validity of these theories. There are even more people and companies with websites and programs offering advice on how to overcome procrastination. In fact, I was overwhelmed (and intrigued) at all the info out there. You can count on hearing more on this topic in future posts. In the meantime, I ask you, “Why (or what) do you procrastinate?“

To get the ball rolling, I’ll admit to procrastinating on getting my car serviced.

At first there was just the engine light, which was explained to me as a secondary sensor being out, and that it was not crucial to be fixed immediately. Next the brake light came on, of which I was told the brake pads need to be replaced soon, but I could get by until my next payday. The third warning was the add coolant light – which I would never ignore, although I have been able to postpone repair by periodically adding water. The final straw for me was when the display read “SERVICE!” with an accompanying high pitched beep. So now, the car is screaming at me for attention. And just yesterday, I noticed the A/C not blowing as cold as usual. Finally, I’ve made the appointment to bring my car in. The main reason I didn’t do it before was simply the inconvenience of having to arrange for alternate transportation. I am sure I’ll pay for this when it’s time to pay the service bill!

Technorati Tags: efficiency, problem solving, Procrastination