5 Steps to Double Your Productivity, Decrease Stress and Get Crap Done!

Ok, so today I’m going to answer the #1 question I have been asked over the course of my lifetime… seriously. {I keep stats on stuff like this, pathetic, I know!}

How in the world do you get SO much done!?!

Years ago when people first started asking me, I figured it was just a polite way for tehm to add some warm fuzzy love to my daily bucket of life. They wanted me to feel better about myself, right?

They were looking out for my well being and found a roundabout way to give me, what I considered, a compliment. So I shrugged them off and generally responded with a brief awkward answer like, “I don’t really get that much done… or I don’t know what you mean.” {Awkward!}

I never intended my awkward, brief response as a means of self-aggrandizement. It was simply a moment of utter insecurity. I mean, could I really get so much done that someone else would take note and think I was doing something right!?!

Nah, not me!

Well, I was, interestingly enough, mostly wrong.

Over the years I have continued to get that question above all others. So today I’m making peace with my awkward answer and for any of you looking for a system to double your productivity, decrease your stress and get crap done – here’s mine for the taking:

Before I start – this is a BEAST of a post. BUT DON’T LEAVE IT! Read it. Digest it. Embrace it. You will be very glad you did. Everyday this week I will follow up with specific simple assignments and tools that I use to really add kick to the daily calendar of life. You CAN get it all done AND not be stressed out about it either. Now back to the post . . .

You MUST Know: there is ABSOLUTELY Nothing Special About Me – Anyone Can Do This

YOU don’t have to change – you’ll just adjust a few of your habits. There isn’t anything I do daily that every single person in the world isn’t capable of doing BETTER in some way, shape or form. Seriously. There is nothing about you as a human being that needs to change to get more done. Your personality, your characteristics and your talents will only add character to the way you do things when you do get more done.

So remember, this isn’t a lesson in changing YOU for who you are. It’s just a simple shift in habit. Anyone can do it AND conquer it by the time they finish reading this article too! So let’s get movin’…

The System I Use

1) This is about GOOD, BETTER, BEST

YOU: What in the world do you mean by good, better, best?

ME: Why thank you for asking! I’ll tell you right now.

Everything we do in life can be compartmentalized into three categories: Good, Better and Best. (Notice there isn’t a “BAD” category!?! That’s because we never inherently make time to do things that are bad – I mean, unless your, well, we won’t go there. ANYway…) Good, better, best are the three compartments I use every single day to determine what I do, when I do it and how it gets done. Don’t get overwhelmed. Stick with me. This is simple sauce – seriously.

NOTE: This excercise should take 5 – 7 minutes every night and will INFINITELY increase your ability to get crap done and feel good about it.

I have a little black composition book. I like physically writing my good, better, best list out, there is just something about paper and pencil that’s therapeutic. Whatever you want to use, be it Evernote, Notepad, Word or the old-skool pen and paper like me, every night before you go to bed get out your ‘notepad.’ And here is what you do.

Step 1:

a) Write down EVERYTHING you want to get done the following day

b) Write down EVERYTHING you need to get done the following day

c) Write down EVERYTHING you would like to do the following day

I mean write everything, eating, driving, activities, cooking etc… ALL OF IT. Whatever you are generally responsible for doing any given day for you, your family and your business. AFTER you write everything down, I mean PURGE it all onto your designated notepad, then it’s time to start organizing.

Step 2:

Assign every single item on your notepad to a category: (G) for Good, (B) for Better, (S) for Best. Just simply write a G, B or S by each acitivity you wrote on the paper. Don’t think about this. Don’t waste time deliberating over which category things belong in, just write the first letter that comes to mind and categorize your activities fast!

Now, let’s be honest, everything CAN’T be BEST. You have to be straight with yourself. I can’t tell you what’s best and what’s good or better. You are the only one who knows that. Don’t worry, it’ll take a few days to get the hang of what activities belong in each category. The idea here isn’t to put everything in the BEST category and be determined to get it done. No, the idea is to categorize things in the order of importance. For me, a TV show is at the bottom of my GOOD list, because I simply cannot justify the return – or in other words lack of return that I get on my invested time watching a TV show. For you or someone else, that may be very different.

You are the only one who can begin to categorize the order of importance for each of your activities.

Step 3:

Now you have your list of activities AND they are categorized. On a fresh sheet of paper, make a list of everything you just assigned to the BEST (S) list. To the side of each activity, write HOW MUCH TIME you need to get the task completed. For example if making dinner is on your BEST (S) list and it usually takes you 30 minutes to make dinner then this is what it might look like on your clean sheet of paper:

Cook dinner (S) 30 minutes

Only do this for the items in your BEST (S) category.

Step 4:

Once you have a list of everything in your best (S) column and the time that each activity will take, start prioritizing, 1 to infinity, the activities on that list by order of importance. You see where I’m going with this, right?

By the side of each of those activities, assign it a corresponding number in order of importance. For example, if cooking dinner is number 4, where 1 is the MOST important (uber high priority in my house, just after prayers, breakfast and lunch….) then this is what it would look like on your new piece of paper.

4) Cook dinner (S) 30 minutes

When you finish listing the activities by order of importance, then you can add up the time it takes for each of them. This will help you know if you have time in your day to do some of the things from your next list down – the better (B) list and the good (G) list.

NOTE: I schedule out about 16 hours of activities everyday - I usually run great on 6 or 6.5 hours of sleep - and I ALWAYS leave at least one or two hours a day unscheduled.

This helps me deal with any emergent needs or additional time on a certain activity that I hadn’t planned for. That’s where I alleviate the stress. I deliberately plan a cushion for myself. And then of course, if by some crazy chance, I don’t need the cushion, I can do a few things that I just feel like doing at that moment. It’s kind of like my treat time

This may seem a little over the top to you, but I’m telling you, if you want to get crap done and feel good about it – this is the way to do it!!

Another little hint, there are things that I know I can multi-task – take advantage of that. When I’m in the car between activities for my daughter or just between activities and I have 10 or 15 minutes, I stick stuff in there: phone calls, answer emails and texts, all the things that don’t require a lot of brain power and can be done quickly. Multi-task where you can, but NEVER double up activities that require your full attention.

Also, I don’t typically assign tasks to certain times of the day. Unless of course it’s taking my daughter to school or an activity that has a certain start and finish time. The rest of my activities I simply do when I feel geared to do them. I have a good idea of how much time they are going to take so I just put them in throughout the day where they fit. If something gets moved around from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. it’s OK! Don’t fixate on the time of day that you do things, just focus on the time it takes and getting it done at the best time of day.

Doing this, I have found, also reduces the stressed feeling of being ‘behind schedule’ all day long. 

Step 5:

Now that your list is done, you’ve scheduled your 14 – 16 hours of activities for tomorrow, leave it on the nightstand or somewhere you can reach it first thing in the morning and take it with you everywhere you go tomorrow. If it’s not on your list – you can’t do it. (Unless of course it’s an emergency!)

Voila! You’re done. That, my friends, is the secret to getting crap done!

But what about all the stuff on my Good and Better list!?! And what about all the things on my Best list that I wasn’t able to get to because of time?

DON’T STRESS!!
I just gave you a system to double your productivity and decrease stress to get crap done. Now trust me on this one and just stick to it. If you really can’t stand the unknown or HAVE to know the long-term benefits, then let me tell you.

THIS IS MY SECRET:

I am obsessed with getting crap done. That’s it. This system will gear you up to being obsessed with actually getting stuff DONE not just WISHING YOU COULD DO MORE! I just taught you how to prime yourself for getting more done in a day than you ever imagined. Now, unfortunately, I can’t come knock down your door and force you to do it. I can only guarantee you that if you will do it – you will be AMAZED at what happens.

You see, getting crap done is a VERY addictive behavior. When you experience even a single day of this system in motion, you’ll be hooked. It’s automatic. And the more you implement the system on a daily basis – the more you continue to get done. Your capacity for doing will increase exponentially. And not only are you getting twice as much done, you are getting things done that really matter!

That’s what alleviates the stress. You get it done, and you get the things done that really matter. It’s natural adrenaline. (The second question people ask me most often: “Does someone plug you in at night!?!”) I get a lot done and because of that I have more energy. No one has to plug me in at night, my energy is a natural consequence of kicking my to-do list’s butt!
But that’s a formula for another day.

For now, just start doing these five steps everyday. Check in with your list often.
The only caution I have: Don’t let your list become your priority. Remember, your list is there to facilitate your getting done the BEST things for you to do. It’s not a place to harbor every thought act or intention. That’s on your brainstorm sheet back with the things that are categorized as good, better and best.

Your list is only made up of the BEST things on that brainstorm sheet that you have time for in any given day.

In my list, there isn’t time for a lot of good things, like TV shows, movies, surfing the Internet etc. But I feel energized and empowered to do more everyday because I’m doing what’s best for me, my family and my business. That’s what gives me the capacity to get stuff done, and I suppose that’s the reason that so many people regularly ask me how I do it.

So now you know. It’s no secret, just a time proven system of five steps that take me about 5 – 7 minutes every night to get through. It makes a difference. It will change your life. You will get more done and you will be maximizing the time you have everyday to dedicate to you, your family and your business.
http://hobbytohot.com/how-to-live-a-more-productive-life/

Why Video Marketing is for Everyone

IS SOCIAL MEDIA REALLY A REVOLUTION????

5 years ago Google dismissed the starting of Facebook as a fad that would eventually pass; however, unlike its competitors, such as Bebo and Myspace, Facebook has thrived and gone from strength to strength, with Twitter quickly following it, as well. However, this is far from starting a revolution at this point, or is it? Many people are sceptical on whether social media does work – or even – which is the best way to use it.

 

But the social platform goes a lot further than just Facebook and Twitter, you have Google+, YouTube and Pinterest being the latest social platform to get the public fuelling their online addiction. Pinterest is a social bookmarking site where users collect and share pictures of their favourite hobbies, interests and events and at the moment is the faster growing social site.

YouTube is also the second most used search engine on the internet, even though in essence it’s just a massive online video library. So what kind of things will the public be searching for on YouTube, you may ask. Well, everything and anything, there is nearly an answer for everything on there. I use YouTube for recipes when cooking, walkthroughs when I’m stuck on video games and, as of yesterday, YouTube taught me how to tie a tie. Research also shows that a consumer is more likely to trust another consumer’s recommendation over advertising. So this is where blogging and consumer reviews have started to play a big part in major brands sales revenue.

You must have seen the Google adverts that have been on recently; mainly, the advert about the Cambridge Bag Company. If you haven’t here it is. 

In essence is showing how brands are now beginning to use social media as a major marketing tool. As the lady in the advert only uses her original idea, she is able to transform her dreams into reality. Just with the help of some useful social platforms. 

So is every brand using social media to connect with its customers? Research suggests that 95% B2C brands are using different social platforms as a marketing tool but perhaps they are not all using them effectively. The 3 biggest social sites in the UK, Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin suggesting that social media is effective in B2B markets as well. But for the moment I will stick to B2C markets and come back to B2B in a later blog.

Coca-Cola is the most popular online brand on Facebook with over 41 million likes, and for the first time in history the iconic Christmas Coca-Cola advert was released on Facebook and Youtube before being televised, suggesting Coca-Cola know where they will reach a larger audience. However, other brands are taking this step further; fashion labels H&M and ASOS now allow people to buy clothes via their Facebook page, which allows them to reach a further audience once you’ve purchased an item. An automatic feed will come up on your wall notifying all your friends what have you purchased so they can discuss it.

Network marketing is another trend which has been largely used as well, with companies such as Arbonne benefitting solely on self-employed people’s word of mouth. Basically how it works is a consumer will buy stock from their agent at a discounted rate and then tell their friends about it and hopefully sell them some of their stock, and this cycle is then repeated and repeated, reaching a larger and larger audience each time, with word of mouth creating a snowball effect. This also shows the increase in consumers not trusting advertising and trusting a friend’s word about it. So networking goes hand in hand with social media as consumers will be contacting other consumers not just face to face but online as well, whether it will be on Facebook or Skype, the word gets out there.

So still thinking there is no revolution, social media is the most effective way to connect with your customer, but it can also make or break you, as well. For example, many businesses that provide a service find keeping their customers updated about offers and progress of their business is a good way to stay in touch as well as receive feedback on how they can improve a customer’s experience. However, social media can have a major negative impact on your business, as well. For example, when a customer had a bad experience in your store with customer service or when they purchased a product they don’t feel is up to their standards, this is going to be broadcasted over lots of different social platforms and you could end up with a disaster, with customers boycotting your store or your product.

Don’t think that what happens in reality cannot impact your business; different social campaigns have also ended in disaster. The most recent example would be Starbucks #spreadthecheer campaign which ran on Twitter. The aim of the campaign was to get Starbucks Twitter peeps to suggest how they would spread the festive cheer this Christmas. They were so positive this campaign was going to be a huge success, they even hired a giant screen and put it the natural history museum so the public could see people’s different views. Sadly Starbucks recent tax evasion scandal diminished any festive cheer they were to achieve as many people used this as a chance to tweet their frustration and anger towards the recent saga. Read more here:

http://www.socialmediafrontiers.com/2013/11/is-social-media-really-revolution.html#more

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