Business Record - Iowa Biz

Something I learned about work-life balance from Monsters vs. Aliens!

I took our boys to Monsters vs. Aliens this weekend.

Loved it.

It was a lot of fun... but it also offered an important lesson for me.

I will get to lesson in a second... but first... let me offer some M.v.A. background (without a plot spoiler) that might help...

There's a secret government agency that has collected and held "monsters" over the past 50 or so years.

When an alien invasion threatens earth... they enlist the help of these monsters to beat the four-eyed, multiple-legged intergalactic scourge!

The problem is that the monsters haven't really spent the last 50 or so years preparing for this.

They just get thrown into the middle of the situation and have to sink or swim.

It makes for a hilarious storyline, but it also helps to paint a picture of what happens when we try to come up with a plan in the middle of a crisis! 

Even though we know we can't plan for everything, we also know that the best time to come up with an evacuation strategy isn't in the middle of a fire. Right?

This is true when you are fighting evil aliens and it's true when it comes to work-life balance... isn't it?

For example, I had a recent coaching client who knew his life situation would be changing soon. 

He knew his next season with his business was going to call for him to travel more.  He also knew that his son was getting ready to head to college.  Yup... things were shifting. 

While he was looking forward to much of the changes, he also knew they might also cause some stress... at least initially.

So, we started to plan for them. 

Yup... even though the shifts were a year away, we started to put a strategy together... now. 

We started to look at his business and talk about his weekly schedule. 

• How could he get his staff ready for him to be out of the office more often? 
• How could we increase his ability to work remotely, without it taking over his life outside of work? 
• How could we start scheduling his week, in order to better prioritize the types of meetings he was going to engage in, here... and on the road?

We also looked for ways for him to make time for his family and protect time for his family.  We experimented with ways that this could help now... and for ways this could work when he was traveling more and when his son was away at college.

Yes... even though these life changes are a ways out, he's putting his plan together... now.  And he's already seeing the benefits.

Now, some of you may read this and be encouraged to put together a plan for future "shifts" in your own life... and that's great.  I encourage you to do that!

But, some of you may read this and say, "Well... GREAT!  I'm already in the middle of a crisis!  How can I plan now?  I don't have time to think, let alone... plan!"

Hey... I totally understand.  But you can take a lesson from Monsters vs. Aliens on this front too!

Because, even when the monsters found themselves in middle of the crisis, they didn't give up!  They simply started to "experiment" with solutions. 

Some worked... and some didn't (cue our 8-year old's belly laughter!)!

We can "experiment" too!

Look for shifts that you can make that are small but significant.  Don't try for 180 degree changes... look for 1 and 2 degree changes.  These will be easier to try and implement.  Plus, they will be easier to maintain!

Maybe it's as simple as looking for one way to change your planning this week. 

• Maybe instead of putting your daily to-do list on the back of an envelope, you try writing it in a binder that you carry with you all the time.
• Maybe instead of writing your to-do list, as you go.  You take 5 minutes later this afternoon to plan your day for tomorrow.
• Maybe, you say "no" to one meeting this week that you don't really need to attend.
• Maybe, you get up 15 minutes earlier one morning to take a walk.

Need some more ideas on making some small but significant steps? 

Check out flylady.com for some things you can do to simplify things at home. 

Then, for work, check out these 10 steps towards better work-life balance that Fortune magazine recently featured. 

Okay... so those are a few lessons I learned from Monsters vs. Aliens. 

• Plan before the crisis. 
• AND... when you are in the middle of a crisis... don't give up!  Instead... "experiment" with some small but significant changes!

How about you? 

What did you learn?

More importantly, what have you been learning about your own work-life balance? 

Jump in the conversation.  Click on comments below and let us know!

Lastly, I wanted to just say thank you to all the IOWABIZ readers!  Due to some fun "shifts" with my own business, this is my last post here.  You can continue to follow some of our developments at www.BIGdreamgathering.com and keep me in the loop on what's happening with you! 

Again, thanks!  It's been a honor!

Keep dreamin' BIG!

Mitch

How about a little "cleaning out" of the schedule?

My wife helped me clean out and organize my office this past weekend.

We went way past that "illusion of clean" that I some times shoot for, and got down to some deep-cleaning and organizing! 

So, that meant we spent some time cleaning out "that closet." 

You know the one...

• That get-done-with-a-meeting-and-bring-home-a-three-ring-binder-full-of-information-that-you-paid-for-but-won't-probably-use-throw-it-in-the-closet-closet
• That all-sorts-of-different-specialty-paper-from-different-projects-long-forgotten-keep-them-in-the-closet-closet
• The-fun-trinket-like-items-that-you-get-that-are-fun-but-quickly-loose-their-usefulness-throw-them-in-the-closet-closet

Yeah... you know the one.

Well, my wife went through "that closet" more as an "accountability partner" than an organizer.  She kindly but directly asked questions like:

• What do you use this for?
• Do you still need this?  How would you use it?
• How often do you need this?
• Could we put this in a better place?
• Could someone else use this more than you?

At first, it was a bit tough, but once I settled in, it was a huge relief.  Plus, I started the week with an organized and well thought out office... including "that closet!"  That made me feel more on top of things... and helped me to focus.

So, then I started to think about what else needed "cleaning out." 

I started to wonder what else I could "clean out."  Then I started to look towards my schedule.

It's amazing how our schedules can get filled up like "that closet."  Isn't it? 

The calender starts to get things put in it.  Some things are really needed.  But, let's face it, some things are there because they got put there once.  Then they got left there.

For example, I recently talked to a leader in an organization.  She explained that during a time when she was short staffed, she started to do a number of extra things.  Later, she added staff but didn't wind up giving up some of the added workload because she had become accustomed to doing the work.  It had gotten shoved into "that closet" within her schedule and she had forgotten to get rid of them. 

She needed some of my wife's questions to "clean out" her schedule...

• Do you still need to do this?
• Could someone else do it better?  Could someone else be more efficient at it?
• How often do you really need to this?
• Could someone else do this?  Would that free you up to do more of what you need to do?

Another example, was a friend of mine who was a sport fanatic.  He spent a lot of his time digging into the sports page.  A night didn't go by without Sports Center.  He knew the stats behind the stats.  But, he recently told me that he'd done some mental house cleaning too.

Don't get me wrong, he's still a sports fan.  But he started to ask himself questions like:

• How much do I really need to know?
• How much of my interest is more out of habit than true interest?
• How could I use some of my time for new priorities?

Did he eliminate all sports?  Nope, but he did decide to cut back.  To his surprise, it wound up freeing up time for new things in his life.  AND he found he could still keep up with most trash-talking sports conversations.

So... what needs cleaned out for you?

Your closet? 

Your schedule? 

Ask some questions... clean it out... and let us know how it goes!

Photo credit: pinkcoffee photoart

"E" is for Pruning!

Image via Wikipedia

So, we're wrapping up our series on the D.D.A.E. Equation. 

That's asking what you need to Do, Delegate, Automate or Eliminate... so your schedule has a better balance between work and life.

So... yes... "E" is for the "Eliminate" step! 

This is a HUGE step... and for some... it's the most difficult of the 4 steps.

This is the step in which we look at our schedules and to-do lists and decide on a few things that could/should be eliminated, in order to have more time and energy to do more of what we want/need to do.

And, the hardest part, is sometimes this actually involves cutting out some "good" and even "really good" things in order to move into the "Great" things we are called to walk out.

YIKES! 

I know... that can feel scary!  Can't it?

Plus, eliminating "good" and "really good" things can almost seem irresponsible! 

But... I offer the grape vine as the ultimate illustration of the need to "eliminate" some things.

That's right, the grape vine.

Many of you know that pruning a grape vine is one of the most important elements of producing a robust crop of luscious grapes.

Yup. 

That means pruning old wood from the plant.  But it also means pruning some perfectly good buds too.

Why? 

Well, grape experts tell us that removing a percentage of good buds from each vine allows the remaining buds to thrive. 

It allows the plant to shift more nutrients to the those buds enabling them to grow into rich bunches of juicy grapes. 

In fact, one expert from www.grapefacts.com stated, "If you don’t prune your plant, you can be assured it will produce less fruit and in a couple years, stop bearing fruit all together."

Can you identify?

Have you ever felt some dead wood in your schedule?

Or maybe you've been overwhelmed by the number of "budding" activities in your planner?

Well, it's time to prune. 

It's time to eliminate some things. 

And yes, this might even involve cutting away some "good" or "really good" things.

Here are a couple of questions to guide you in this pruning process:

• If I quit ______________, what would I do with that time?  (Does your answer outweigh the value of the item you would quit?)
• Am I wanting to quit ______________ because I am not moving forward or because I'm not moving forward as fast as I'd like to?  (If it's the later, you may want to stick it out a little longer.  Sorry to mix metaphors, but if it's the former, you may want to cut bait and fish in another hole!)

Give it some thought.  Your answers may surprise you.

Then, take a good grape grower's advice and snip a few buds and some old wood.

Oh, and let us know how it goes by clicking on comments and telling us your story!

Lastly, I wanted to give you an example of this from my life...

After blogging for IowaBiz.com for over year, I've decided to step down as an author.  (This will be official at the end of April.) 

This has been an incredible experience and I have been honored to blog alongside such great authors and biz leaders!  Plus, it's been fantastic to get to work with the great people at the Des Moines Business Record!

But, after pondering these questions (and some others) I realized that I needed to "prune" this opportunity, so that I could devote more of my resources to some of the other "buds" on my vine. 

So, I'll be with you here one more month, but after that I'll be simplifying and dreaming BIG!

Thanks for being in this adventure with me and thanks for all the support along the way!

Need some additional motivation on your pruning? 

• Check out Leo Babauta's great post on 20 Time and Energy Drainsand how to eliminate them!
• You can also check out Sue Brenner's post on the Top 7 Time Wasters and how to eliminate them.

What can an assembly line teach us about work/life balance?

Okay... so we are getting close to wrapping up our series on creating your "D.D.A.E. Equation."

That's figuring out what to Do, Delegate, Automate and/or Eliminate to improve your work/life balance.  

Today... we're talking about "Automation."

It's funny, because whenever I hear that word, I am immediately taken back to my childhood.  

That's right.  I grew up In Newton.  And if you grew up in Newton in the 70s and 80s, then you wound up going on numerous tours of Maytag's manufacturing plants.  

I remember my first tour.  I was blown away by the systems.  

There was a quite hum of activity.  Everyone seemed to know their place.  Everything was in order.  If there was a bolt, then there was someone to put a nut on it and send it on it's way. There was no chaos.  There were no distractions.  Everything was automated... controlled... predictable.

I have to admit that when it comes to work/life balance, it's tempting to want this kind of order.  Everything in its place. Every need met.  No surprises.   

But we know that life happens... right?  And life can be messy and unpredictable.

So, when it comes to applying the concept of "Automation" to work/life balance, we can't always shoot for assembly-line precision...  BUT we can use automation to help us create time and to simplify our lives.

Here are some sample areas...

Finances:

An example of "Automation" that a number of you have already taken advantage of is automating your bill paying.  If you haven't, check out zen habit's post on making your finances automagical!  

Blogging:

Since many of you blog, this is another potential "target zone" for automation.  You know... ways to streamline the process of finding content and potential links.  For example, Drew McLellan pointed me to zemanta.  It's been a huge help because it works with most blog platforms and automatically finds pictures and links to support your content.  Plus, it does it while you type!  It's cut the time it takes for me to post dramatically.  

Mike Sansone has also helped me on the front with his teaching about RSS feeds, but he also pointed me to an online tool to help me find videos for my posts.  It's called wibe7.com.  It's a simple but powerful tool!

Life:

With technology surpassing the speed of life, we obviously have some options our parents didn't have.

Here are some fun examples to check out.

I have a entrepreneur friend who's entire family uses google calendars to help to organize and automate their family's life.  They have their own individual calendars, but then they also have a shared calendar.  All family events go on that shared calendar (i.e. school programs, soccer games, family reunions, church activities), and everyone must check that calendar before making commitments.  They admit that they aren't at 100 percent, but they have eliminated a majority of the scheduling surprises that used to bury them.

Need a personal concierge?  Check out Tech Scoop's post on HeyCosmo, which is a new on-line and mobile tool that can help you with everything from finding dinner reservations to calling friends to organize where everyone wants to meet for dinner after work.

How about shopping for groceries from your home?  If you have an iPhone,  there's an app for that.  But if you don't, that's okay too.  You can just use services like the one being offered by Hy-Vee.  Tell them what you want on-line, and they'll do the shopping for you.  You can either pick it up or have it delivered. Of course, there's a fee for the extra service, but what would it be worth to you to not have to hit the grocery store after a long day? 

Okay, and I did it subtly, but the perceptive mac lovers already picked up on the mention of the beloved iPhone.  You knew it had to be coming.  Yes, that's right.  Mac has made great leaps forward in automating many of life's basic (and not so basic tasks) with the iPhone.  Just check out iPhone your life to see the unlimited options on this front.

Okay, these are just a few areas where you can automate your life.

What have you tried?

What's worked?

What's simplified your life?  What's seemed to complicate it?

Click on comments and join in the conversation!

Who could you delegate to? (D.D.A.E. part III)

Image by umbexvia Flickr

Okay... as a review... over the past few weeks, we've been talking about schedules and digging into our D.D.A.E. equation. 

That's deciding what we need to Do, Delegate, Automate and/or Eliminate.

Today... we're looking at creative ways to delegate.

Yes, that's right.  Delegate.

Now, some of you may already be saying... "Hey, I'm a solo-entrepreneur!  The only time I get to delegate is my copies at Kinkos and my coffee order at Starbucks!"

Or maybe, you have a small staff and EVERYONE seems to be stretched right now!

Well... hang in there because we're going to explore the concept of hiring a Virtual Assistant.

Have you been toying with the idea?  I know I have. 

If so, here are some tips from the experts...

Start with something small.  Something that is pretty easy to define... such as a research project. 

For example, I know a local entrepreneur who is working on a web/book idea.  He's tapped into a virtual assistant that he found via www.elance.com to do some of his background research.  He was able to clearly define what he was looking for, how he wanted the information cataloged and the types of sources he wanted to be used. 

By the way, his VA did the work for him in the fraction of the time that it would have taken him and for a fraction of the cost that he expected to pay. Plus, it gave him an opportunity to check out this VA's quality of work and decide whether he wanted to work with them again.

Look for tasks that need to be repeated... daily... weekly... monthly. 

An example of this is a local real estate broker who used a virtual assistant to help with some weekly and monthly marketing activities.  These were tasks that he was only able to do sporadically due to a busy and unpredictable schedule.  When he decided to go with a VA, he was able to hand off his e-newsletter and weekly e-mail updates.  He gave some specific guidance and pointed the VA to his on-line newsletter service.  Then, his VA plugged in updates and sent out the newsletter on a consistent basis.  She just checked in with him for updates on content and took care of the rest!   

This move to hiring a Virtual Assistant has helped this broker to be more consistent and it's enabled him to have more time to work on the the day to day tasks that tend to bring more immediate ROI.  

According to experts... its best to start on specific projects like this, but after working with a VA for a while, you can start to delegate more tasks. 

For example, Josh Kaufman at virtualMBA even uses a VA to sort through his e-mail and respond on his behalf. 

Stay realistic! 

You may have dreams of handing off all of the work you don't like and moving into a Tim Ferris inspired 4-hour work week, but experts say that using a VA effectively can take some time. 

You need to get accustomed to delegating and you need to be ready to put in some work to get your VA up to speed.  

Longerdays.com has some specific recommendations to help on this front.

How about you?

Are you willing to jump in and give it a try?  

Josh Kaufman recommends services like Ask Sunday and Longer Days which both offer free trials. 

It might be easier than you think to get started!

Why not check them out and experiment with the "Delegation" part of your D.D.A.E. equation? 

So... How about you? 

• Are you going to give it a try?
• Or... Have you already tried a VA? 
• How did it go? 
• Who do you recommend? 
• What are some of the pitfalls or successes that you experienced?

Click comments and join in the conversation!

Keep kickin' and keep dreaming BIG!

Mitch Matthews

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Figuring out your D.D.A.E. equation! (part II)

Image by Great Beyondvia Flickr

Okay... so... we are continuing our conversation about budgeting our time.

We're wanting to figure out your unique "D.D.A.E. equation." 

(That's deciding what you need to DO, DELEGATE, AUTOMATE or ELIMINATE.)

In my last post, I suggested starting this process with taking a "snap shot" of how you are currently spending your time.  I even included a tracking grid to help in the process.

Today, we are going to start by looking at the first "D" in the equation. 

Yup, that's right.  We're going to talk about what you actually need to be "DOING."

This sounds simple enough... doesn't it?  But whether you are a stay-at-home-parent, an entrepreneur or a high-level executive, we all seem to have a lot of stuff to do!

Some of this "stuff" represents things that we need to be doing... but some of it is stuff that we don't need to be doing anymore... right? 

How about you? 

After tracking your time for a week, did you figure out you were doing some things that you didn't need to be doing? 

Maybe, if you're like me, you found things slipping into the daily schedule due of bad habits, old habits or maybe because nobody else will do it!

Now, there are a lot of places to turn to get help on deciding what to do and not do. 

You can look to Covey's Four Quadrants.  (Click here to check out the quadrants represented in fun cartoon format!)  You can look to gurus like David Allen and read Getting Things Done.

Yup, these are great tools!

But I'm going to challenge you to think BIG PICTURE for a minute. 

Why? 

Well, a lot of times we wind up doing things that we don't need to be doing because we don't REALLY know where we want to go. 

So, it's as Epictetus said, "First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do." 

This is what Tim Ferris did in his pursuit of the 4-Hour Work Week.  He got clear on what he wanted life to look like... and what he'd need to do to get there.  Then he started to align his daily tasks with that vision.

So... here are some questions to ponder:

• What are some of things I want to achieve in the next five years? (Or how about 10 to 25 years?)
• Who do I want to be?  Who do I feel called to be?  What do I want life to look like?

Then... as you are looking through your daily task lists... ask yourself some of the following questions:

• Can I link this task to these goals?
• Will this help me to achieve these goals?
• How could this task help me in the pursuit of these goals and dreams?

Now, I'll admit that 100 percent of your to-dos won't pass this test.  They won't all clearly link to these big goals and dreams.

But what if you held yourself to a higher standard? 

What if you simply agreed to take a look at this? 

What if you were willing to at least consider these questions and hold yourself to a greater number of your daily tasks lining up with your bigger vision and goals? 

How might that help you move towards these goals and dreams?

Then... as you find tasks that align with your goals... you can start to think about ways to do more of those things.

And for the things that don't pass the test, you can agree to at least consider putting some of them in one of the upcoming categories in the D.D.A.E. equation!  (Delegate, Automate or Eliminate)

Stay tuned... because we'll be getting you specific strategies for these categories in the coming weeks!

Go ahead... take the challenge... think BIG picture... set up some targets to shoot for... and start aligning your day to these goals and dreams.

Give your schedule a kick in the pants!

What do you and Warren Buffett have in common?

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Your calendar and your clock.

That's right. 

Warren's calendar and clock are exactly the same as yours.

Even with billions... Warren can't buy more months in a year or more hours in a day.

Yup... Time is the world's even playing field.

And although we all get the same amount, everyone seems to want more.

But since we can't get more... the key is to spend it more effectively.

Now, in today's world, there are some options to help with this.

As some of us think about becoming more effective with our time... we dream of hiring help... maybe a real or virtual assistant (ala Tim Ferris's 4-hour Work Week).  Some of us want to automate.  You know... go high tech with a new electronic gadget or new freaky cool scheduling software.

All of that is fine, but I suggest starting this process with a taking a "snap shot."

That's right. 

Start by figuring out where your time is currently going.  That will enable you to figure out how to improve.

Get started by downloading this simple time tracking grid that I use with some of my coaching clients. Download Kick Coaching - Time Tracking Sheet

Now... I can imagine that some of you are saying... "Hold on.  I have my planner.  I know where I am spending my time."

Yes, you do.  However, if you are like most people, your daily calendar shows you where you were supposed to spend your time, or where you wanted to spend your time, but it won't give you the full picture. 

This grid allows you to go deeper.

It allows you to figure out EXACTLY where you are spending your time... minute by minute.

It will help you to track the scheduled meetings as well as the impromptu chats interruptions and Internet surfs.

Yup, this grid will give you a more accurate snap shot of how you spend each day.

I know... I know... this is a scary thought for some... but this is the only way for you to come up with a more effective plan to move towards the D.D.A.E. of more effective time management!  (That's figuring out what you can DO, DELEGATE, AUTOMATE or ELIMINATE!)

Give it a try. 

And as you do, don't filter.  Don't try to pretty it up.  If you lose track of time and spend 15 minutes talking to a friend... write it down.  If you wind up doing something off task... track it. 

(NOTE: You'll need to come up with abbreviations for things.  There's not a lot of space to write and that's intentional.  Just develop a key that will allow you to jot things down and record them, without feeling like you need to write a novel each time!)

Then, in my next post, I'll offer some solutions that will help you spend that time more effectively by figuring out your "D.D.A.E. Equation!"

Okay... start tracking that time... and then... next time... we'll figure out how to do more of what you want and need to do... and less of the rest!

By the way, it probably took you about three minutes to read this... and I'm hoping you thought it was time well spent!

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What LEGO taught me about time management!

Image via Wikipedia

Our boys received a number of gifts this Christmas that had that familiar red "LEGO" on the box.

So, over the past few weeks, I've been helping them to build those different feats of engineering and design.

And... during that time... I've been noticing that LEGO has been teaching me some things about time management.

Lesson One: Start with a plan.

Have you put any LEGOs together lately?  WOW! Some of the kits that our boys received this year came with... not one... but TWO instruction manuals.  That's right!  In fact, the one my youngest son and I were working on last night had over 150 steps needed to complete the model.

At first, I thought this might be overwhelming.  Honestly, when I first saw the two volumes of instructions fall out of the box... my heart raced.  But I found that as long as we just took it one step at a time, it was completely doable. 

As long as we took it step by step, we did just fine. 

Plus, we had a lot of fun and put it together much faster than I expected.

How does this play out with our time?  Well, I bet you already know where I'm headed. 

Start each day with a plan.  Know what you need to accomplish in the day and put those "to-dos" in order, so you can go from one to another... just like our LEGO model.  That way... even the most overwhelming tasks can be tackled... one step at a time.

Now... I'll be the first one to admit that life isn't as simple as LEGO, but I have noticed that if you start your day with a plan, you'll get a lot more accomplished than if you don't have one.

Lesson Two: Group the Pieces.

When we first dumped out the box on the table, it was chaos.  It was a jumbled mess of blocks, tubes, planks and LEGO people. 

We found that as all the various pieces of LEGO sat on the table, it made sense to group some things before we got started.  So wheels would go into one pile.  Square pieces would go into another.  Long narrow rectangles would get their own pile, too.  That helped us to find the pieces we needed quickly.

How does this play out with time management? 

Well... recently, I was meeting with an entrepreneur.  He was trying to bring some order to his week and give each of his business entities the time it needed.  As he looked at his schedule, it felt like a big pile of LEGO pieces piled up on a table.  There wasn't a lot of order and there was sense of chaos. 

So, we spent some time "grouping" things.  Instead of trying to squeeze everything in... every day, we started to say one day could be for entity A, and the rest of the week could be for entity B. 

That "grouping" allowed him the ability to focus on the things he needed to do and not get overwhelmed.  It also allowed him to be more in the moment and know that everything had more order.

What could you "group" your pieces? 

Are there certain tasks that you need to do each day or each week that you could "group?"  You know... do them all together... and do it with some specific and protected time?

What could that do to your ability to focus?  How might that save some time? 

Lesson Three: Play when you are done!

That's the beauty of LEGO.  When you are done with all the steps, you have a TOY to play with. 

I know this may seem simple but since it takes some work to put it together, it's easy... even for the kids... to sometimes forget to play when it's done.

Can you identify?

Have you ever told yourself that once a big project is done... you'll finally relax or go do something fun?  But then, when that project is complete, you find yourself jumping into the next big task or duty!

Well... take a lesson from LEGO. 

Plan for some times to PLAY.  That's right!  Schedule some times in your day or week to play a bit.  Whether that's taking a 15 minute walk or calling a friend or... you fill in the blank. 

Schedule some time to play when you are done with a task... even five or 10 minutes.  And just see what it does for your overall productivity!

That's it for now. 

Those are some of the lessons I learned from those blocks... wheels... and planks.

So... I say... thanks LEGO for the reminders! 

I should have expected no less from such a great company and from such amazing toys!

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I'll admit it. I'm going back to paper.

Image via Wikipedia

Okay... confession time.

I have a Mac.  I love it. 

I dig technology even though it doesn't always dig me.

I will also admit that the latter part of this year has been an "experiment" with technology. 

It's been an experiment to automate and to use technology to improve my work-life balance and my productivity.  I wanted to try new strategies to help juggle, prioritize and clarify.

So... I shifted from my paper-based Franklin Covey system.  That's right.  I closed that seven-ring binder.  Put it on a book shelf and walked away.

I went smart phone.

I started running most of my life through my Mac.  Schedule.  To-dos.  Projects.  Et cetera.

At first, it felt clunky... just like any new habit feels. Then I started to get the hang of it. 

Entering things.  Syncing.  Entering to-do's with their due dates, et cetera.  Color coding.  Categories.

Yup.  It almost started to feel right.

But... as I progressed in my little experiment...  I had to admit that I missed that feeling of paper.  That pencil.  That moving things from day-to-day with an eraser instead of a mouse.  And... the biggest thing... was that feeling of checking off a "to-do" with pen to paper instead of a cursor to electronic box. 

Yeah... sorry... the e-version of that feeling didn't compare.

So... call me an old-school dork... but I'm going back to paper in 2009.

That's right.  I may still carry around a cool phone and have a Mac in my bag... but I'll have my little ol' seven-ring day planner with me too.

Now, as I wrap this up, I'm not going to advocate for going paper or high-tech in your pursuit of better work-life balance.  Nope.  Neither.

What I'm going to ask you to do... is... as you are wrapping up your year... run a little experiment for yourself.

Try some new things for organizing your life.  See what works for you and what doesn't.

And... once you've tried some new things... make a decision.  Commit to improving at two to three things for your work-life balance systems for the new year... whether it involves pencil and paper or something you have to plug in!

Oh... and join in the conversation. 

Leave a comment on whether your organizational toolbox is high-tech or low-tech... AND what's something new you are going to try in 2009 to better balance your life!

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Holiday Stress Avoidance 101

I just spent some time with some entrepreneurs and the discussion boiled down to schedules.

That's right.  Schedules.

Everyone was busy. 

Everyone seemed to have different ways to manage that busyness. 

And everyone was also feeling the increased pressure coming from the hyper-scheduling of the holidays.

So... I thought a quick refresher course on holiday time management might be in order! 

You could check out Jim's post at SuccessCo.com.  He offers a robust list of time saving strategies... including a way to increase your brain's productivity speed by 5 to 20%!  This can apply to your next teleconference or for when you are catching up with Aunt Gladys!

Or you can check out Laura Stack's approach to scoring a year-end tax deduction while also decluttering your office.  So, you increase your efficiency and lower your taxes.  This way you can clean out your office... increase your productivity... decrease your stress levels... and score a break on your taxes... Yeah, that sounds like a win-win. 

I also like Hueina Su's strategy for thinking through your holiday to-do list.  She suggests a 3-D approach.  Make the the list of things that you need to do... and then think through whether you need to DO them, DELEGATE them or DUMP them.  Yup.  I like that! 

Or you can learn from Susan Ward's post.  She offers five solid tips, but the best reminder for me was that we can't do EVERYTHING.  Check it out and see if it sets you free from some expectations as you look at your packed holiday schedule!

Okay... lastly... I'll admit that at the end of my discussion with my fellow entrepreneurs... we realized that we hadn't come up with anything we didn't already know about time management. 

BUT we also had to admit that it was important to think about all of these things again... and start to apply a few of them... especially over the next few weeks.

It's the same with these posts.  These are basic... simple... and common sense.

But they could make the difference between a restful and fun holiday season where you are able to focus on the right things... and a stress-filled disaster where you are pulled in multiple directions and wiped out at the end.  Right?

How about you? 

What do you do to stay sane over the holiday season? 

How do you keep focused on what's important?

Click comments and join in the conversation! 

Let us know...

Mitch

Photo credit and kudos to: eye capture