Honorée's 10 Fun & Easy Ways to Save 10 Minutes Today

What would finishing work today almost two hours early do for your stress level, relationships, bottom line? You'll never know until you try! Read on ...

1. Read this blog and implement ideas 2-10. This blog can save you 100 minutes today, or give you 100 more minutes of fun, free time to use in any way you choose.
2. Write down the top 3 most important things that must get done today. Put them in order of importance. Block the time to complete them on your calendar. Everything else can wait.
3. Use "Brain-Surgery Time." If you don't know what that is, you can read about it in here, but that will use up time you don't have (yet), so I'll paraphrase: it's time you've blocked out to complete a project, and during that time you focus solely on your outcome. No calls, no emails, no interruptions, no distractions, no Facebook. Just focus.
4. When you're feeling stressed, stop and breathe and/or meditate for 5 minutes. Lowering your stress level and breathing actually helps you to be more think more clearly, thus making you more efficient and effective.
5. Take hourly breaks and: go for a walk, call your mom, buy a new pair of shoes at Zappos.com, or whatever would make you happy. I love 50-minute hours (just like in coaching) where you relentlessly focus for 50 minutes, then take 10 to breathe, check email, return calls and then get refocused. Rinse and repeat!
6. Ignore your email ... that is, until the time you've blocked out to read it. (I said this would be fun, right?)
7. Ignore your phone ... unless you're expecting a call and your assistant is in the restroom. When at her desk, you can let her (or him) know to put through (the boss, the prospective client, the mega-important client).
8. Clean off your desk and put things away. Just knowing where they are will save you ten minutes every day.
9. Find a client for a colleague or strategic partner a lead or even a new client. They will, of course, reciprocate (if you've chosen those SPs wisely), thus saving you far more than 10 minutes!
10. Ruthlessly delete emails you no longer need, and create folders within your email box to keep important emails. Finally, clean out your Inbox daily or at least weekly. It's easy for important emails to get lost in the shuffle, buried under BS and forgotten until deadlines have passed. Don't let this happen to you!

You are in charge of your day and just using a few of the tips above that resonate with you will save you literally hundreds of hours a year, which could equate to a month of doing more of what you want and less of what you don't.

Are You Response-able?

I have been attempting to reach someone for a couple of months who seems to be "too busy" to return my calls and emails. Funny thing is, the reasons I've been calling have involved a few micro opportunities and one mega opportunity -- for them. My calls and emails aren't being responded to, and if they are, it's with a promise of "I'll call you soon," which doesn't seem to happen before the opportunity passes. No matter, really, because I have passed on those opportunities to others who have been more "response-able."

Do you have a 24- or 48-hour response policy for all calls and emails? If not, now is the time to put one into place. I know a realtor who responds to all calls within one hour! While you may not be able to do that (I'm not either), putting a policy in place that people can count on does wonders for your credibility and reputation.

I challenge you to view your conduct as your clients view your conduct, and make any changes that could be valuable. It's worth it to do this self-evaluation because it's a win-win for everyone.

Honorée has dedicated her life to being a positive force for good. She writes personal and professional growth books for professionals, and The Successful Single Mom books series. As an executive coach and corporate trainer, she turns service providers into rainmakers, average producers into rock-stars, and dreams into reality. For more information on how she can specifically help you or your organization, click here, and visit her website here.

Sample Sunday: Tall Order!

Following is an excerpt from the book Tall Order! Seven Master Strategies to Organize Your Life and Double Your Success in Half the Time.

“Every business person is looking for the BEST way to get to the next level. This book tells you how to do it – short, sweet, and NOW! ~Jeffrey Gitomer, author, The Little Red Book of Selling and The Little Red Book of Sales Answers

Coach’s Observation: Here’s what happens when you take control of your environment, including everyone and everything in it:

• You’ll suddenly have tons of more energy! Things will happen faster, easier, and better than ever before.
• You will be much more creative!
• You’ll create synergy with the old and new people in your life, which will automatically take you higher.
• You’ll have much less stress! As you streamline the details of your life, you get rid of the old baggage and create more room for new and exciting opportunities.

In coaching, we talk a lot about “tolerations.” Tolerations are those things that zap your energy, annoy you, and drain away your effectiveness, happiness and success. They make you less attractive to yourself, and therefore, less attractive to others. You have three choices with tolerations: change them, eliminate them, or accept them.

Your environment, including the people in it, is crucial to your success or failure. Think about each person in your life: are they supportive of your vision? Your goals? Do they ask you empowering, and if necessary, tough questions? Or do they predict failure, doom or worse? Be aware of what your friends, family, and associates bring to your life. If they are not empowering you to be your best, perhaps its time for them to go! You won’t need to necessarily usher people out of your life, just keep your distance. Look at it this way: there are many people you want to stay in touch with, people you admire … Those relationships that are no longer in your best interest can be allowed to fade away. It’s that easy.

Is your home your sanctuary? Do you feel comfortable, relaxed, creative and alive there? If not, make it the way you want it to be. Again, it is your life!

By taking control of your immediate environment, you reclaim your personal power and set a healthy focused foundation for your future.

“Surround yourself with people who are going to lift you higher.” ~Oprah Winfrey

Honorée has dedicated her life to being a positive force for good. She writes personal and professional growth books for professionals, and The Successful Single Mom books series. As an executive coach and corporate trainer, she turns service providers into rainmakers, average producers into rock-stars, and dreams into reality. For more information on how she can specifically help you or your organization, click here.