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Working hard is needed; some days are better than others, though. As an entrepreneur, we have HIGHS some days and LOWS other days. Sometimes we get into a RUT.

Question: How do all “those” people make it look so easy?

Answer: Hard work, consistency, and self-care.

Hard work:

Don’t be afraid of hard work. A “lucky break” happens when you are prepared (AKA work really hard at being ready) and opportunity knocks.

Consistency:

I just spoke with an entrepreneur who is also a mom of small kids. She has a propensity to bounce around with different interests. What’s missing? Consistency. A plan and clear and steady steps to get there.

Self-Care:

In the Productivity Success Cake Model, HEALTH commands the base/bottom layer. Without health we have nothing. Yet, we ignore our health. We are so good at “tricking” ourselves that we can ignore the body’s messages. The body always wins, so my advice is to tune into your needs before you end up in chronic pain, etc. That’s REAL! For example, over the last week I’ve been feeling a virus coming on. Today it exploded. I have been hydrating and cutting all calls short. I have been asking my family for help.

Bonus tip:

If you feel tired, burned out, exhausted, and yet, you say “I need to continuously improve!” then the BEST course of action is to REST. Put self-care at the top of the list. Go out in nature. Draw. Meditate. Sing. Do the OPPOSITE of being productive so that you have the mental stamina needed to….

1. Focus on outcomes: Assess where you are and use this pinpoint to compare your later outcomes, this will help you see results much more easily and efficiently. It will also give you a steppingstone to start from on your next improvement.
2. Set standards: if you are of a continuous improvement mindset, it’s important that you set out the standards of work upon which you will always deliver. These might come in the form of a checklist or simply a few notes, but will help guide you in terms of what is “good enough” and what needs to be worked on to improve.
3. Stay curious: To improve every day, its crucial you stay curious. Asking why to most things will spark desire to improve and push you to be better each day. What are others doing that you’re not? How can you be achieving that little bit more? Where are you on the leader board of achievers today?
4. Celebrate the failures: We all fail. When you do, remember failures are treasure and should be treated as such. They provide insight into “what ifs” and “what could have been done differently” and are valuable to the process of improvement. Take time to celebrate achievements but even more time to reflect on failures as these will be key to understanding how to move forwards. Fail big, fail often, and fail better!
5. Get lean: cut doing things for “doing things” sake. Question what is being done and strip back processes to be as lean and efficient as possible. This will save you time and energy, which can be focused for another aspect of your day that may have a greater outcome.

Although sometimes exhausting and somewhat unrelenting, having a continuous improvement mindset will take you to places that you never imagined possible. Others with a fixed mindset may also reach the top but you will reach it before them, having learned more and having done it more efficiently and effectively. Keep striving and you will always keep thriving.

I’ll leave you with this quote: – “Success is a process that continues, not a status that you reach. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.”

In a life where we are constantly trying to focus on a hundred and one things at a time, finding time to actually focus on one thing can be nearly impossible. So how do you make sure you don’t waste time and stay focused when you need it most? How can you regain time, become more productive and feel happier with the outcome and achievements of each day?

• Create mental space for you to focus by eliminating distractors. Most certainly you will need to work on some sort of technological device, there really is no getting away from it but switch off or remove anything that may cause distractions is the best place to start. Turn the tv off (what are you doing watching TV?), put your phone on aeroplane mode when appropriate, and eliminate all banner notifications…these are all ideas to create a haven of space where you can work without being interrupted. For example, the ringer on my phone is never set to be audible. I cannot imagine being interrupted by all those rings, beeps and pings.

• Take breaks. Build in breaks. And, when your mind wanders, notice this. It might be time to get up, stretch and get a glass of a refreshing drink. Research suggests that the attention span for the average adult is between 12-20 minutes, and this undoubtedly becomes a lot less if distractions are readily available. Here’s the math: – if for every 15 minutes of focus, you spend 5 minutes scrolling through social media, you would be averaging roughly 2 hours a day of mindless scrolling. Try and make your downtime relatively quick and try to keep focus. Overtime you will be able to retrain your attention span to be able to focus for longer periods of time.

• Listen to your body and ascertain when you are most productive. This will certainly vary from person to person but as a rule, dedicating time to tasks that require a lot of mental capacity or concentration when your energy is low is not a good use of energy or focus. Examples of this are carrying out taxing tasks after eating or at the end of the day. Each morning, why not try prioritizing your task around your energy levels rather than what you need to get done? How are you feeling today? Do you have the energy to be able to carry out that tricky task? You may find that you are able to focus much better when you listen to what your body needs.

It’s inevitable, of course, that from time to time your mind will wander – after all, we are only human. You’ll find yourself asking: What are we having for dinner? What plans have we got for the weekend? Do I need to get the dog into the vet next week? And, so the wandering continues but what is the difference between your wandering mind and allowing flow? It’s safe to say that some of the best ideas were born from flowing minds and might just be the key to unlocking your true potential. Your mind will wander when you are feeling tired or bored, almost like it has an off switch for the task in hand. However, allowing flow comes back to listening to your energy levels and adapting your schedule to how you’re feeling. It is also closely related to feeling of happiness, increased performance, creativity, and engagement and may be the start of some of your best work.

They say practice makes perfect right? Don’t create this for yourself…be ok with just being good enough. Practice makes comfortable. When our brain and body is comfortable with a routine that serves us, that routine becomes part of our homeostasis and we “Auto-Magically” improve our situation. Retraining ourselves to focus is like anything – in order to be efficient, we must practice. Making small changes like the ones suggested above will have a huge impact on our focus, productivity, life balance and overall happiness. It’s progressive, so remember to take baby steps until you conquer each one and before you know it, you will have created life lasting habits that will make you feel happier and set you on the right path to achieving your goals! Yippee!.

We talk about the work-life balance. So, why is it so hard to come by? How do we get to a point where we feel we are working to live and not living to work?

You can read every post out there about optimizing your time, creating a life full of variety, and living life to its true potential but still find yourself in a place where you haven’t found balance, it’s frustrating right? So, what can you do?

• Reorganize your schedule with YOU as the priority! After a lifetime of putting others first, this will seem counterintuitive. And what I know, most recently from the last Streamline Your Success Group Partipants, that oddly…their own self-focus actually SIGNIFICANTLY improved the outcome of those they were choosing to help. Far too often we prioritize things that aren’t self-care, such as work, house chores, etc. Putting YOU at the top of the list means that the hour that you plot of workout, to read a few pages of your favorite book or catch up on the latest episode of whatever you’re watching on Netflix doesn’t get bumped to the bottom of the list.
• Overestimating the time it will take you to do each task will create time to get a cup of coffee or otherwise have the breathing room needed between meetings. The constant switch from task to task can leave you feeling exhausted not only physically but mentally. And when you have AD/HD you will not even notice this, often, until you are “flat on the floor” – because that switch tasking gets you Dopamine Highs that are super fun! So….do it a bit…then force yourself to breathe/mini-mediate. I promise you…it’s a game changer.
• Manage your mind – address how you’re feeling. PAY ATTENTION to your energy. Feelings of an “unbalanced” life can often come as a result of pushing ourselves to thrive when we have no energy or nothing left to give. When your body tells you to rest, rest. When you need time out, take time out. Becoming emotionally intelligent will allow you to enhance your balance.
• Practice saying no in front of the mirror each day. Imagine that! Saying no – probably one of the hardest words to say but when it comes to your own wellbeing, sometimes it just has to be said. Setting boundaries with those around you will allow you to regain the balance what you are searching for.
• Work smarter, not harder. Have you ever considered delegating and not taking everything on your own plate? Let someone else take the load and trust them to deliver – you might be surprised.

Do you ever simply observe people? With the busy lives we lead, we’ve become addicted to “doing doing doing” and always being on the go – it’s a hard cycle to break. I should know, I’m REALLY GOOD at being busy. It’s a Full On Effort to “rest.” Yup. And, needed. I have many years of Overdoing things to prove it.  To turn this around,  the first step is to Schedule Relaxing. Not easy for the Overachievers, I know this….and….again…it’s 100% critical. When you do this, you are then able to truly reflect on what’s important in your life and make it happen. I get concerned when a client tells me s/he does not have fun; does not have Things S/he enjoyes. We must find fulfillment on our own terms. That said, go easy on yourself. If all there is…is work, family, and spirituality…well that’s a good start. As you begin to learn more about yourself, you will try new things and discover who you are inside and what lights you up from the inside out. Taking charge of your balance and making what you want happen should be top of your priority list.

The line that runs between joy and productivity is mighty fine but if you play your cards right, you could be onto a real winner. At the end of each day, take a moment to reflect on what you’ve achieved. NOTE: Many of my clients avoid this like the plague. Their Naysayer does not want to hear it…they have a feeling of “not good enough” so they avoid any perception of “negative. What did you enjoy? What went well? Not as well? What will you do differently tomorrow? When done regularly, self-reflection is a very empowering process; it’s not a “you screwed up again” voice. **Take that in**. It can help you to make sense of your day; to come to decisions, to set a course of action; to step away from your habitual way of doing and thinking and discover new freedoms and opportunities.

You want to make it big. You want to make more. You want to be more, to do more but what does that actually mean? What is the truth behind making MORE of it?

Whether it’s your business, a project, or some super fun idea…this is for you.

Here’s the scenario. You have a big dream or vision. Hopefully you have done a little research so that you can see if it has potential to take off (if not, go do this…like…NOW.)

But you’ve got so caught up in the day-to-day and spending time IN the business or idea, you’ve forgotten to spend time ON the business, project, or dream. You’ve lost sight of where you’re going, what you were aiming for and what the true goal was here. So how do you get it back? Here are some ideas.

• Assess and review – block out time in your calendar each month, whether it be a day or just a few hours, to look at what you’ve achieved in the last month, assess what you did well and what could have been done better and set yourself a goal or a target for the following month.
• Make a gigantic wall poster or stick post it notes around your house, car or wherever it may be – and remind yourself of what it is you’re doing and what you want to achieve.
• Shout about it from the rooftops and make yourself accountable – don’t hide away, share your visions with those around you, tell them when and why you’re doing what you’re doing and ask them to follow you up on it, make yourself accountable. A bit of social pressure can go a long way.

Okay, find your mojo but then what? How do you actually make MORE of it?

• A lot of hard work and probably some sacrifices along the way. To make MORE of it, usually you have to do more or do what you do more efficiently but that certainly doesn’t come without sacrifices. If you look back in history, those who created something that no one could ever forget made huge sacrifices, whether that be in their family life or with their friends. There goes the saying “you can’t have your cake and eat it” and when it comes to making MORE of it, unfortunately this rings true. Know your limits on what you’re willing to sacrifice will be key to knowing your growth potential and understanding how much MORE you can make of it.
• Make a plan, tweak it, change it but always make sure that you track it, review it and most importantly stick to it. There’s always an element of “winging it” with any project, idea or business but there has to come a time where your efforts are focused and it’s not purely just trial and error.
• Find someone who shares a vision, divide, and conquer – is your own knowledge and expertise capping your growth, is it time to bring someone on who has different skill sets from you, can give everything a pair of fresh eyes and give you someone to be accountable to? Making MORE of it can be a long and hard process, so having someone there who is also living it, can make the journey seem a lot easier!
• Make sure making MORE of it is actually what you want – for me, this one is the absolute jackpot and one I recently got asked. What do you want from this? There’s nothing wrong with plodding away, there’s no shame in it. Social media and the media in general have certainly influenced making us want MORE, to make it as big as possible, to have as many things as possible, to have as much money as possible but this might not be for everyone and that’s OKAY! Decide what it is you want from this and make peace with it; you’ll know when it’s the right time.

So just remember, making MORE of it doesn’t come easily for most and that life is about choices. Every choice you make, makes you.

Secrets to get past the clean and declutter overwhelm

We’re all home. Even those in offices….they may or may not be “really” going back…people are quitting their jobs left and right if they cannot have the flexibility they now know they need and want.

Cool. Who wants to go to an office?

Well one nice thing about leaving (the house) is that when you return you see things differently. You SEE the clutter. Being home, trying to do (does this sound familiar?) WAY too many meals and dishes every.single.day is overwhelming…it’s like you are drowning in your LIFE.

Now that we can breathe again, spring (OK Summer) cleaning is here! So, what are the secrets to getting past the clean and declutter overwhelm?

1. Forget what everyone else is doing and focus on what YOU need – does the cleanliness of your house bother you? Or are you just comparing yourself and your home to those found on social media? Do you actually care? Often, the pictures uploaded to social media are merely just momentary – then kids, parents, pets, and partners arrive, and the sparkly home has suddenly turned into a scene from Wreck-it Ralph.
2. If you’re going to start – start small – With so many other things to contend with in our lives, decluttering your home is probably not top of your list. However, picking a small space per week, like a kitchen cupboard or clothes drawers is a really good way of starting without feeling overwhelmed. Make a list of all the drawers in all the rooms that you want to declutter and tackle them one by one each week.
3. Have a plan of action – If you’re going to have a clear out, make sure you know where you are taking the stuff that you are throwing out and do it as soon as you can. Having black bags of odd bits laying around the house will only make you feel more stressed and increase your already high workload.
4. Create a time-out oasis for yourself – pick one room and keep it your own, free of clutter and dust and think about adding a few things that you love. Candles, books or whatever you like and make this place your haven to have time out when you are feeling tired or stressed.
5. Start with the end in mind – imagine how the space would look and how efficient and calm you would feel. Close your eyes and try to imagine how you would feel. When you’re feeling overwhelmed or fed up, close your eyes and come back to that place, this will serve as motivation to keep going and achieve what you set out to do.
6. Go Marie Kondo style and ask yourself “does this spark you joy” – sometimes we forget that we are so privileged to be able to have cluttered homes and that with everything so readily available to purchase, we can sometimes forget to take a step back and ask ourselves if we REALLY need to buy that. When decluttering a space, you certainly do not need to throw everything out so asking yourself whether something sparks you joy is a great way of determining what to keep or what to toss. For example, yesterday I threw out my high school prom professional pics. I showed my kids. Then I let them go.
7. Don’t forget that tomorrow is another day – if you’re feeling tired, stressed, or overwhelmed, take time out, come back tomorrow and start the day afresh – it really doesn’t matter.

Although it seems difficult to know where to start, once you get started, you’ll be rolling, and you’ll have a system. Systems are everything because you can go back to the beginning (or middle) when things run off the rails. Stop comparing yourself to social media, we lead incredibly busy lives, and we do a fantastic job everyday – so be kind to yourself and prioritize and the overwhelm will quickly soothe.

When life gets hectic and you feel overwhelmed, take a moment to focus on the people and things you are most grateful for, when you have an attitude of gratitude, frustrating troubles will fall by the wayside.

Finally, know that the clutter comes back. It just does. And, it’s ok. I say, be at peace with your imperfection. It makes you the beautiful mosaic of who you are 🙂