Whether you work for an employer, are self employed, or are simply looking for a way to get more productive and organized in 2013, here are my top three time-saving success tips:
Take time to clean out your inbox. Opening your email and staring at hundreds or even thousands of unread emails is a stressor. Set aside a large chunk of time before year’s end to undertake this task then keep up with it by setting aside an hour a day to keep up with emails. Answer them or delete them; it’s that simple.
Look at your to do list and see what you can get off of your plate. Look for items that are unnecessary to your career path and cross them off. Delegate projects to others. Look for tasks that you have made more complicated than they need to be and simplify them.
Learn the power of saying both “yes” and “no.” When you’re asked to volunteer, take on a new task, attend a networking event… take a moment and ask yourself whether this task will enhance your career or your life; will it fulfill you or drain you; does it take you further toward your path of success or will it draw you away from it?
Make 2013 the year you take control of your time and your life and set boundaries. As a solopreneur you need to learn to take charge of your success; as an employee you need to be a valuable part of the team without taking on so much that you burn out.
Did you reach your personal and professional goals for 2012? Do you have new goals to set for 2013? Now is the time to put them into place and put them in writing as 2013 is fast approaching. To improve the likelihood that your goals will come to fruition, they need to be clearly articulated, achievable and most importantly, written down and put in plain view.
Try this Who, What and How approach for goal setting:
WHAT is the goal(s) you want to achieve? What steps do you need to take to consider it a successful goal? If your goal is to increase productivity by five percent, what is that “five percent”? Is it an increase in clients? Revenue? Both? If it is measurable, you will more easily see if you’re reaching the goal you’ve set.
HOW will you implement the steps to make the WHAT an achievable goal? Do you need special training? Do you need to diversify your offerings? Work with a new client base? Are there small, incremental goals you need to take to reach the larger outcome?
WHO is accountable for the goal? Do you have the staff and/or bandwith to reach your planned goal? Is there a person in charge of the projects toward the ultimate goal? Is there a team champion?
It’s easy to let a day or a week or even a month slip by without having checked a goal off your to-do list. Make 2013 the most productive year for meeting your goals. Are you ready?
It’s never easy to tell exactly when an opportunity will present itself. When it does though, you need to be present and in the correct mindset to not only receive it, but to capitalize on it. As entrepreneurs understand, identifying an opportunity is the first step, making the most of it, comes after.
Here are steps to help you make the most of the opportunities that present themselves to you:
Define what an opportunity looks like for your business and your life. If you don’t have a sharp focus, you could take on more opportunities than you have time to devote to and you may take on opportunities that won’t benefit your overall business plan.
Analyze the information you’ve been given and create a map of the process by which you need to embrace it to make it happen. Having a process flow is crucial to success.
Communicate with the individual that presented the opportunity and begin its implementation. If you work with a team, involving them in the process will help it progress toward a fruitful end.
Improvement of processes and capturing of opportunities will propel you toward a successful outcome.
Google, it sometimes seems, is the be all and end all for business owners looking to be found on the Internet. While the rules change, sometimes before you’ve even implemented them, there are ways to remain relevant, be found and up your Google rankings when you write a blog post.
Here are my top tips for gaining Google love:
Always write original content. Don’t be redundant – even if you write and post on more than one website in the same niche market. While you don’t have to recreate the wheel with your posts, you do want to make certain the content has been rewritten even though the ideas may be the same.
Create value for your readers by offering practical advice and relevant information. Readers love how-tos, tips and topic articles. Incorporate original research into your posts by embedding your experience as an expert on that subject matter.
Are your posts spell and grammar checked? Are your facts correct? If your readers are faced with inaccuracies in your facts and spelling errors (which can be easily avoided) they may doubt your expertise in the information you’re presenting.
Write about interesting topics with SEO as a secondary idea. Writing a post with only SEO (search engine optimization) as your driving force will make your posts read like something from a content mill. Sprinkle your keywords into the posts but don’t make them so keyword heavy that your message is lost.
Are you positioning yourself as an expert? If so, what’s on your “resume” that will point to that expertise? If you’re positioning your site as a clearinghouse for other experts, make that clear up front. Make certain your site reflects who you are and what you do and what sets you apart from the competition.
What do you have to say that is different from the other bloggers that are saying the same thing? It’s true there are no new ideas so you need to take your blog posts and find a way to set them apart from the thousands of others that are out there. Make certain your unique voice and perspective come through in your writing.
Is your blog post all about calls to action? Is the post or site cluttered with ads and “buy me” promotions? Don’t let your blog posts and your ideas be lost in the noise of ads and promotions. While you certainly want to have clients buy from you or sign up to work with you, you need to do direct them to a different part of your website – don’t bury the message of your blog posts in ads.
High quality, relevant content is your best way to be found by Google and your best way to communicate with your clients and potential clients. Let content be your guiding force in your blog posts.
In today’s ever-connected world, there are times when you simply need to step away and plan for quiet time. How can you turn off distractions? Step away from the office? Maybe even take time away from the family for a few hours? Can you turn off the television, radio, not play any audio books for a few hours? If possible, you need to do so. Your mind needs down time in order to function at its optimal levels.
If you find you have your best ideas when you’re doing a mindless task such as cooking dinner, showering, or even sitting in a traffic jam, it’s because your mind has had the opportunity to tune out.
Here are some steps to create your own downtime:
Put it in your calendar. Yes, you need to schedule quiet time just as you schedule appointments you need to schedule down time. Find a time during the day when you’re not at your peak and then make it a ritual for your down time. Take a walk. Sit in a quiet, darkened room and simply unwind.
Take advantage of your commute. If you travel to and from work and find yourself stuck in traffic, use that time to turn off the radio and take advantage of that as quiet time.
Schedule your downtime around your colleague’s schedules if necessary. Can you only grab small amounts of downtime at work without interruptions? Take advantage of the lunch schedules of co-workers and plan to eat at a different time. Use the time your co-workers are at lunch for your down time.
Carve out a space at home where you can have your quiet time. Let the kids and significant other know that when the door is closed for X amount of minutes, it’s your downtime and you’d appreciate not being interrupted. If possible sit in a room that doesn’t make you feel you need to get up and clean it. Make your quiet space a place of relaxation.
How can you take steps to have quiet time? Is it something to which you can commit?
Today, business owners can’t ignore social media. Even though there are times you may feel you’re screaming into a crowded room when it comes to either being heard or listening effectively, the power of social media cannot be ignored.
Here are three quick steps to jump into the social media market and make the most advantage of the conversations:
Understand the need for social media. If you don’t believe your company or business needs social media, you won’t be able to fully embrace, or commit to, it. Whether you own a product or a service business you can harness the power of social media to start conversations, grow loyalty and get to know your customers. Keep in mind that potential clients want to do business with people they know, like and trust. Do your clients know, like and trust you?
Sign up for LinkedIn. If you already have LinkedIn, update your profile, use correct keywords, endorse others and ask satisfied clients for endorsements and recommendations. If you’re in business, having a LinkedIn account is a must. It’s likely more important than a Facebook or Google+ account, but those other two social media platforms cannot be discounted if you want to remain relevant.
Claim your Facebook business name, capture your Facebook Places site. Create your Facebook business profile — again with relevant keywords — then start the conversation.
Remember though, social media is a conversation, it is not a place to constantly put forth a “buy me, buy me” message. Your status updates and the products and services you provide will speak for themselves.
