Category: Planning

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Accountability Goal Setting Mastermind Groups Organization Planning Positive Thinking Time strategies

What are you committed to?

We are in love with our roadblocks, even when we say we are not.

The truth about commitment:

We love to talk about how we want to lose weight. We love to talk about ‘someday’. “I would like to get around to it, but not right now” or “I’m really busy doing …..” 

Finally, you may say, “That’s it. I’m going to do this thing. I really want my next one hundred days/the end of the year to look different. I really do. I cannot stand tolerating this negative cash flow. I cannot stand tolerating the organizational state of my office. I cannot stand tolerating negative people in my life that I just can’t seem to stop being with, and I can’t figure it out.  I go into those negative spirals. Something must be done!” 

If that’s you, you may be saying “Okay, I know Carol’s offering a program that can really whip me into shape. I know it’d be SO good for me. I’d get the result I say I want. I know it’s starting soon. I think I want to do it. Then you ask yourself, “WAIT, what happens if I say yes? Oh my gosh. Well, first of all, I’ll have to commit to it. Well, I can’t commit too much. What if something comes up? Then I’ll fail, like all those other times. I’m about an 8 out of 10, and that’s pretty committed.  I don’t give 10’s. That’s safe.” 

That’s where you’re wrong. Until you commit 100%, you are, my friend, doomed.

Here’s what happens:

  • In that 8 out of 10 commitment – that -2 will not allow you to succeed.
  • In a  9 out of 10 commitment, that -1 will not allow you to succeed.
  • Even in a 9.5 out of 10 commitment, that 0.5 will go in sneakily and *pull you down in ways that you’re not even conscious of*!

We are RULED by our subconscious. Our subconscious wants to keep us SAFE and that means not Doing Something New. Even if it’s Proven.

So- to say ‘yes’ to something new, maybe that’s Discover Your Greatness, which starts Tuesday Sept 12th, you need to TRICK your subconscious while she is not looking.  To do this, 

  1. take a deep breath
  2. imagine yourself Dec 31 with a clean office and financial abundance
  3. imagine lots of good people around you; no more negative nellies. A fun atmosphere and getting things done effortlessly with loads of support.

Then, RUN. 

You can join this cohort until midnight Eastern on Sunday (that’s assuming there are seats left!). 

Anyway, let’s go into “Okay, that’s it. I’m going to do it. I’m going to plunk my money down and I’m going to say yes to ME!”. 

Watch out for this pitfall: Don’t make the mistake of wanting something NEW- yet wanting NOTHING to change. 

It’s kind of like when you go on a healthy eating plan and you think “Well, wait a minute, I get to just have my candy bars every day. Oh wait, I don’t get to have my candy bars every day. I don’t want that healthy eating plan. I just want to lose the weight”. 

It’s the same thing with this opportunity. Yes, you’re going to have to do things differently, and I promise it will be fun and it works. 

A sneak peek of what is in store for those lucky enough to get in on time:

One of the key tenets of Discover Your Greatness…..is the proprietary DESIRE TEMPLATE forms.  – You set yourself up at the beginning of your workday for a Day of Success. You can also do it the night before. You can do it digitally, or print it.   

The first question is: ‘What is your purpose?’ It’s really important to know what your purpose is because if you don’t know why you’re doing it, guess what y’all, you won’t do it. The procrastination starts before you even begin the list! So we eliminate that problem right away.

The next item on the template is … ‘One thing I must do today, no matter what’.  Now -notice I didn’t say “What are the 25 things you want to do today?” You want to dial it down. Does this mean you won’t get any more than one thing done? No. You will get more than one thing done, I promise you. 

However, you will get that one thing done plus a lot more -because this is what gets you started and keeps you focused, which are two of the biggest problems. Procrastination is one of the biggest issues. Then of course, I know you’re going to have a little carry over from yesterday as that’s usually how it goes. 

The final questions on the template…

Identify your most important things: two of them. 

We then ask: what might get in the way? Hint:  get really specific. 

Finally, what will you do to fireproof it? In other words, put measures in place to be sure you don’t fall short of your intention/plan. 

Once you fill it out, you can print it, and save/send to me. I comment on this and watch your progress and help you along, both live and through my private client portal. 

And that’s just the beginning. It’s just *one* of the game changing resources you will use in the group.

There’s also an end of day form,, which is also very important where we debrief what we went on. You learn TONS with this form. 

Over time, by doing this, miracles happen – because the tiniest little change, little by little, bit by bit, piece by piece, layer by layer in the Productivity Success Cake, immense change happens. 

In Discover Your Greatness, we’ve got 14 weeks together. The nice part about that is it’s not like six months, it’s not like 12 months. It’s not like $20,000, it’s like $2,000. It’s not that much money and what you can get in the end, it’s crazy-good.

Game changing goodness. For example, 

people have:

  • Double or tripled their income 
  • Finally started the business that they’ve been trying to start for 14 years
  • One person had a backlog for a year of work, and finally they are not adding to the backlog anymore, and they are showing up differently with their team. This person is showing up as a bigger and better and more confident leader. 

And that’s what happens. The confidence happens, and the hidden fears that hold us back melt away. 

I’m so excited because I’ve got five people already registered and ready to go, and I’ve got three more openings at the time of writing this. On Tuesday September 12, we’re going to be getting started, and I can’t wait to see if you’re going to be one of those people to march forward together in unison toward Dec 31.

Oh, one more thing!

Did I tell you about the prizes? I also have prizes and giveaways because as we do this work together, we have fun. When you have fun, you get it done. Do you want to have some fun and get it done and finally do the darn thing that you said you were going to be doing for years that you just refuse to do? Well, don’t let this be the thing that scares you to death, so that you keep defining yourself as somebody who does it all themselves all the time. Because you know what? That doesn’t work. If it worked, you would’ve done it by now. You know that.I cannot wait to see who fills those final three seats and says yes to discovering their greatness.

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Get Organized More time in my day Organization Planning Productivity Time strategies

What to do when time blocking does not work

Quick solutions to daunting issues

Today I am going to talk about time blocking, but not in the way that you might think I will be talking about it. Instead, I’m talking about it in terms of when you time block a task and yet time after time it doesn’t get done, and what to do instead. 

There are many possible reasons for this. However, today we are zeroing in on the Environment Layer of the Productivity Success Cake. Here is the link for you to download the Productivity Success Cake ebook – the brand new and improved version! 

FIRST: We need to move away from “right and wrong” when it comes to managing our time, managing our tasks, and getting things done. When we move away from “right and wrong”, we stop the guilt, the shame, & the self-deprecation. Rather than going into a negative spiral, we can flip our mind around and say to ourselves, “Okay, this works for me”,  with zero judgment, that’s a game changer. 

Read on or watch the video

I invite you to do one of the strategies that I spoke about on Lori Kennedy’s podcast: to focus on the the circle of support piece of cake on the Environment Layer.

As a quick Cake Review,  we THINK we need to deal with JUST the productivity layer, as that is where the time and tasks piece lives. In fact, that layer is held up by ‘health’, and ‘environment’ too. By addressing the bottom 2 layers first, the productivity strategies work well. 

So, let’s focus on ‘circle of support.’  Say that there is a task that you may put in your calendar and you may time block it, but yet you find yourself not doing it.  I invite you to consider a beautiful strategy called body doubling. Lori Kennedy explains this one in her podcast – she said that if she has a task that she knows she’s really not going to do, she will make an appointment with somebody on Zoom in order to actually get the task done. Let’s say it’s something rather mundane and boring like receipts. Doing such a task does not elicit a lot of dopamine. It’s not that fun! Yet, it has to get done. That’s a really great way to get things done and to allow your time blocking to work for you!

I’d love for you to let me know what works for YOU to make your time blocking WORK. Remember: there is no right and there is no wrong. Hit reply and let me know!

And, REGISTRATION IS OPEN for the  ‘Time Management for the Distracted Entrepreneur’ workshop.  Spaces are limited, so get a front seat! We will be rolling up our sleeves and getting stuff done during this two hour workshop.

Please email me with questions about any of this, or want to chat about the workshop: carol@unscatterme.com.  You’re the reason that I do this after all, and eat cake with no calories. 

See you soon!

Categories
Goal Setting Growth More time in my day Organization Planning Positive Thinking Time strategies

Counterintuitive thoughts that will change overthinking and dancing with overwhelm

Let’s get back to Whelm!

It’s summer of 2023 and…we’re back! There’s essentially no (that I can see) leftover pandemic-shut-down things that affect us. Hooray! We have a lot of pent up desire to do a lot of things, and especially to have a lot of fun. I want that for you: to have a lot of fun! I want you to enjoy your summer, enjoy your life, and to do the things that really matter to you – and to be the person that you really want to be. However, sometimes because we want to do all these things, we can over commit and then we dance with overwhelm.I love dancing, and I don’t love dancing with overwhelm. How about yourself?

Today we are focusing on avoiding overcommitting and dancing with overwhelm in the context of creating a summer that you want.

Now that it’s July, here are some tips for a No Overcommit Summer.

  1. Remember that you get to decide to have the summer that you want. You are allowed to believe that you have all the time you need. My mantra: “What if I had all the time I need?” can be shared freely! From that mindset and from that perspective, I think automatically we’re more grounded. When we’re more grounded, we make far more rational decisions. We make decisions from our gut, from our heart and from our soul, and not from a place of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) and feeling as though we have to commit to everything.  
  2. Be grounded with lists. Making sure you’re grounded means different things to different people. It may mean creating a ‘not-to-do’ list. It may mean creating a ‘nice to-do’ list. The other day, I did that:  I wrote down what I wanted to do for the week, and as I was doing this I realized I could pull out a “nice” (not necessary) list. So I made a line at the bottom of my to-do list and created the Nice To Do list. This was so empowering!

Continue reading or watch the video

  1. Be grounded with Sleep. When you look at your schedule, make sure the first thing you do is say, “okay, this is my sleep time”. That sleep time could be different in the summer, and you still need sleep, right? 
  2. Be grounded with Focus time. Ask yourself “when am I best?” or “When am I at my best focus?” Make sure you’re clear about that. 
  3. Be grounded with deciding: One overarching thing to remember about being grounded is being totally at peace with deciding. You may know about the five step UNSCATTER process starting with 1) Decide; 2) Discern; 3) Discover; 4)Practice; and 5)Celebrate. That first step, DECIDE, is in RED because it’s a really big deal!  In my group programs, that ‘decide’ is in a big red ball. In fact, if you go to my website, I’ve got an entire 10 page guide to help you DECIDE (just enter your name and email). When we keep our options open because we’re “not sure” and there’s too many options and too many ideas, and we are thinking to ourselves “maybe I’ll make this plan, but maybe I’ll cancel, or maybe I’ll make these reservations and maybe I’ll cancel, or maybe I’ll buy something and then I have to return it” that is so much scatter and so much energy wasted.  However, if you just take a moment, get grounded, and then make a decision from that grounded place, you can avoid all that back and forth and get a ton of time back. You get a lot closer to the truth: you have all the time you need (see tip number one!)

BONUS TIP: When you’re looking at your calendar and you schedule your vacations, you schedule your sleep, you schedule things that you’re already completely committed to, and one final thing. Go deep into your value system and say “what is my most outlandish desire?” Find a place in your schedule for THAT!

In fact, I did that yesterday. I had this outlandish desire that -in truth -I didn’t believe I could actually get. I would like a whole weekend completely and totally to myself, where I had no phone calls, no friends, no family members, no work, just absolutely, positively, for me and no else but me to do as much or as little as I want to. I have scheduled that, and it is the third weekend in September. I can’t even believe I’ve done it, but I have. So that is my most outlandish desire.

I wonder- what is yours? Let me know. What is your most outlandish desire that you’re almost afraid to say out loud? I’m going to have you say it and or type it below. And then- as a bonus – put it on your calendar. It took me 15 minutes to try to find this one weekend. It wasn’t easy. I’m a busy person, and I am so excited that I found this because the truth is that you have all the time that you need overcommitting, committing and dancing with overwhelm is a habit that you can break. 

Have fun and stay in Whelm!

Warmly,

Carol

PS:  I will see you again in two weeks.  I’m on vacation starting Monday, July 3rd. My next blog/video will be sent out on Sunday July 16.

Categories
Decluttering Get Organized Organization Planning Positive Thinking

From Scattered To Serene – How to change the habits of a lifetime

Some people are chronically disorganized.  For them, life pretty much resembles the college dorm of years gone, except now, instead of laundry littering the floor, dirty plates and study books, it’s their kids’ “stuff”, work papers and, oh wait…the laundry is still there. Please know that “neat” does NOT equal “organized.” But there is definitely some cross-over.

There comes a time when disorganization will catch up with you. In business, that late payment because you lost the payment slip could have disastrous effects.  That missed meeting could have been a great new contract, and in your personal life you might never get another chance to make those particular memories.

But, while a certain amount of disorganization can be kind of “cute”, if you live your entire life in this manner, you could be stifling any kind of growth, whether business or personal.

But, fear not!  Here are my 3 top tips to reining the chaos in and being the paragon of serenity (at least some of the time, at least)

1. Get to the root of the problem.

Before you stock pile sticky notes and download a multitude of apps, you need to ask yourself, “Why?”  Why are you disorganized?  What has triggered this situation?  It could be something from your childhood – perhaps your parents lived life in this manner, or it could be the influence of a partner, or ex-partner, years ago.  Examinining the root cause of habitual behaviour that does not serve you is invaluable. For some, it may be that you procrastinate as a result of feeling overwhelmed.  In some cases, when we feel like there are just too many options open, or too many tasks requiring our attention, it is easier to do nothing than it is to tackle them head on. Once you have understood your particular trigger, you can look at ways of “re-booting” that belief or behavior.

2. Surround yourself with organized people.

It’s so much harder to go against the grain when you surround yourself with super-organized types.  Believe me, their habits will start to rub off on you! As you see them easily locate their credit card statement and you know you’d still be shuffling papers frantically searching for yours, so you begin to see how much easier life could be.  These “neat ninjas” can also be a really great resource for you, too.  Ask that co-worker for her tips on managing your emails or call in a favor and get help with sorting your closet. 

3. Declutter to De-Stress.

Have you ever had to use brute force to close that closet drawer or to fit another coat hanger in? Do you really need to keep every single work of art Junior did in first grade? Be accountable for all your clutter and make a commitment to de-clutter every three months.  Donate, destroy and recycle your way to a clutter-free environment.  “I might need that one day” is not a good enough reason to keep something.  Be ruthless – if it’s not there, it can’t clutter.  Allow yourself one box of sentimental stuff – you’ll have fun deciding which items get to go in the box and you’ll know exactly where those precious memories are when you want to revisit them.  Once you have cleared the decks, make sure everything left has a place and is kept in that place. 

Finally, while it’s great to be organized, remember to be kind to yourself.  This kind of change can be intimidating and just a little bit overwhelming.  Don’t beat yourself up because you’re not perfect; cut yourself a break!  Even a small change can be a positive move in the right direction and if you follow these tips, the new, organized version of yourself could be closer than you think.

In my next blog, we will be looking at further practical steps to get you that de-cluttered mindset.  So, stay tuned!

—–

Like this? You’ll love the Club!

Try on the Lunchtime Club (monthly virtual coaching group) on us for 30 days FREE!

  • Quick answers to your current dilemmas…in real time. Don’t know what to ask? No worries, we have a new HOT theme each month.
  • The solution to the #1 issue for Entrepreneurs: Collaboration! You can Collaborate with like-minded individuals for additional support…in real time AND outside of the group. Did anyone say accountability partner?
  • And even more goodies: You get MUCH more than live calls once a month! You get unlimited Access to past and new group session recordings – to enhance your learning and growing OUTSIDE of our monthly calls.

Curious? Learn more about this low cost, low commitment, high results, high energy program:

  • Click here if you have not worked with us before
  • Click here if you have been a client of ours in the last 12 months

Let’s get you more focused, organized, and productive than you have EVER been!

Let’s see what might happen if you dare to just “read the blogs” to taking the steps to get you to where you want to go, but perhaps have not dared to…. until now.

I’ll be there! I can’t wait to meet you.


Categories
Accountability Planning Positive Thinking

3 ways to turn Failure into Raving Success

In our last blog, we looked at failure and our fear of everything associated.  But, let’s flip that failure into a positive with three powerful ways to turn that failure around!

1. Consistency is key.

It’s not about all the things you can do easily, without even a thought – it’s about mastering those things that you once found difficult.  That’s where strength comes from and that’s the key to building success from failure.  If you fall, (and without trying to be negative here), occasionally, you will, instead of examining your bruises and war wounds, dust yourself down and get right back on it. Consistency is the key to success, so set about mastering whatever brought you down.  Consistent action coupled with learning form your mistakes equals consistent results.

2. Watch your mouth!

After a failure, it is all too easy to berate yourself, asking why you did something in a particular way or why you said something in a particular manner.  Stop right there!  Be aware of your self-talk.  Would you really talk like that to a friend (or even a stranger) in the same circumstances?  Don’t allow your self-talk to make you feel worthless.  You are human after all and acknowledging a mistake as human error and treating yourself with the same degree of respect you would show others is really important.  Sure, failure hurts. But, unless you want to stay in that moment of failure, stay positive and get back on track as quickly as possible. Your previous mistakes do not, I repeat, do not define you.  So again. Learn what you need to and then let them go.

3. Don’t be a stranger

Sometimes, failures keep us rooted to the past.  If we dwell on them too much, they become a bad habit that is hard to break.  If this resonates, don’t feel you have to go it alone.  Invite others to give you their take on the situation – whether a coach, a mentor or even a friend, their input can be invaluable. This can often be really empowering as you find different solutions to the problem.  Who knows, that different perspective may be the key to your success!

Nobody enjoys failure.  It’s tough, after all. But, if you regard any knock as an opportunity to reframe, revise and refocus our thoughts and actions, then aren’t they maybe just a teeny bit worthwhile, too? Heck, yes, and then some. In fact, they might be called a “raving success.”

How can failures be turned into a raving success?

Probably the best thing a person can do to “stop failing” is to begin to see the beautiful nuggets of learning and growth with each “failure.” In fact, Sarah Blakely (founder of SPANX) had a father who ENCOURAGED his children to fail, so that they’d be fearless. And those who are fearless are ultimately leaders. And we all are leaders of our own lives. Here’s a video of her, explaining this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TeV9op6Mp8

What might happen if you resolved to count your failures, to challenge yourself to fail at LEAST one time per day? (Hint: get ready for fame…)

—

Like this? You’ll love the Club!

Try on the Lunchtime Club (monthly virtual coaching group) on us for 30 days FREE!

  • Quick answers to your current dilemmas…in real time. Don’t know what to ask? No worries, we have a new HOT theme each month.
  • The solution to the #1 issue for Entrepreneurs: Collaboration!  You can Collaborate with like-minded individuals for additional support…in real time AND outside of the group. Did anyone say accountability partner?
  • And even more goodies:  You get MUCH more than live calls once a month! You get unlimited Access to past and new group session recordings – to enhance your learning and growing OUTSIDE of our monthly calls.

Curious? Learn more about this low cost, low commitment, high results, high energy program:

  • Click here if you have not worked with us before
  • Click here if you have been a client of ours in the last 12 months

Let’s get you more focused, organized, and productive than you have EVER been! Let’s see what might happen if you dare to just “read the blogs” to taking the steps to get you to where you want to go, but perhaps have not dared to…. until now.

I’ll be there! I can’t wait to meet you.

Categories
Accountability Get Organized Planning

Why we are afraid to fail and what it’s costing us

Failure.  One word guaranteed to strike fear wherever it lands. It happens to everyone.  Even those who we see as “living the dream”. But that doesn’t make it any less of a bitter pill to swallow when it comes a-knockin’ at our door.

So, you have two choices. Either, you can shrug it off, with an “Oh well, it wasn’t meant to be…” kind of approach, OR you can look for other ways to handle that F-word, a way to not only look at it more optimistically, but also to find clues within it for future success.

Now, for the purposes of this article, I’m going to assume that you’re all for taking option two.  So, how can you flip that negative to a positive and come out the other end oh, so much wiser?  Here are my three top tips:

1. “If I don’t start, I won’t fail” – how this mindset is killing you slowly

How many times have you caught yourself in this mindset?  You procrastinate over a task so long that it (in your mind at least) becomes so much bigger and more complex than it actually is. You set yourself up for failure before you even start.  You know, if we tell ourselves we are going to fail, then it becomes almost a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Remember, it is far better to do something imperfectly than nothing perfectly.  Inaction is the biggest risk you can take. You end up nowhere…fast.  Fear of failure is what keeps us rooted to the “now”.  But, like any other fear, the only way to get the better of it, is to stare it straight in the eye and remember that failure comes from productivity – fear from doing nothing, from inactivity – which is better?

2. The benefits of thinking ahead

We have all heard Benjamin Franklin’s quote, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail” – yep, that old chestnut – but it’s absolutely true in this scenario.

Many fail because they don’t take time to think ahead and plan for success. Without a plan, you have no roadmap, and wouldn’t you rather be on a super-highway heading to success, rather than a bumpy one-track road leading to who-knows-where?

Instead, head failure off at the pass by identifying risks at the planning stage.  By “shooting holes” in a plan (either do this yourself as part of a review, or, even better, get someone you trust to do this for you).

By planning ahead, you get to envision your success – what will it look and feel like? And this is an important part of the process.  By planning ahead, you switch from reactive to proactive, with a better view of any roadblocks or diversions in the path, allowing you to take action in plenty of time, and with confidence.

3. The hidden anchor of worrying too much.

We somehow think that one or two failures throughout our lives translates to us being a total failure.  And, with that sort of mindset, that set of self-limiting beliefs, how can we ever hope to succeed?

But, picture yourself in x years’ time, as an elderly person.  Wouldn’t you rather be laughing, remembering life’s hiccoughs, the bumps in the road and reminiscing about how things eventually played out, rather than lamenting the opportunities missed because you were too worried about “what could have happened” to accept them?

Failure is a fact of life, which everyone faces once in a while.  Some you win, some you don’t – all you can do is roll with the punches.  Change your mindset to one of reflecting on every failure as a lesson learned.  A means, perhaps, of opening up new potential and new opportunities to explore.

—

Like this? You’ll love the Club!

Try on the Lunchtime Club (monthly virtual coaching group) on us for 30 days FREE!

  • Quick answers to your current dilemmas…in real time. Don’t know what to ask? No worries, we have a new HOT theme each month.
  • The solution to the #1 issue for Entrepreneurs: Collaboration!  You can Collaborate with like-minded individuals for additional support…in real time AND outside of the group. Did anyone say accountability partner?
  • And even more goodies:  You get MUCH more than live calls once a month! You get unlimited Access to past and new group session recordings – to enhance your learning and growing OUTSIDE of our monthly calls.

Curious? Learn more about this low cost, low commitment, high results, high energy program:

  • Click here if you have not worked with us before
  • Click here if you have been a client of ours in the last 12 months

Let’s get you more focused, organized, and productive than you have EVER been! Let’s see what might happen if you dare to just “read the blogs” to taking the steps to get you to where you want to go, but perhaps have not dared to…. until now.

I’ll be there! I can’t wait to meet you.

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