Time Management

new years resolution, habits, golas, accountability

Want to Achieve your New Year’s Resolutions in 2022? Here are Four Steps to Create Success

Time Management /

It’s that time of year again. The long-awaited countdown to 2022 is on, and with it come all the resolutions that we’re determined to make this time around. But what’s the secret to making sure that we stick to our goals this year?

The first step in creating success is just deciding to create a new habit. That seems too easy, right? Pick one goal and commit to seeing it through. Keep it simple. You will have a better opportunity to engage in a habit that works.

There are a few steps that have been shown to cause success when it comes to achieving our resolutions. Here are four of them:

Step One: Set Long-Term Goals

It’s important to set long-term goals rather than just focusing on the short term. When we only focus on what’s directly in front of us, we’re more likely to give up when things get tough. But if we have a goal that we’re working towards over the long term, then we’re more likely to stick with it even when things get challenging. Be solid about why you want to achieve your goals in the first place. This will also help keep you on the path for success.

Step Two: Make Small Changes That Stick

if we could all instantly become more organized, thinner, and smarter but this is usually not the case. Instead, new year’s resolutions should be about making small changes that will lead to big results after several months or even years have passed.

Creating short term goals to support your effort will help support you along your journey. Small successes go along way in this process.

Step Three: Keep Track of Your Progress

Keeping a journal of your progress can help support shifting your habits.  You can better see your challenges and accomplishments along the way. Put as little or as much time into your writing as you need. There are habit tracking journals that are easy to use and inexpensive.

Step Four: Be Accountable

 It’s hard to achieve our goals by ourselves. That’s why it’s important to find someone who will be accountable with us – whether that means joining a support group, hiring a personal trainer or habits coach.

Telling your support team can make a difference. Gather folks who will help hold you to your commitments when times get challenging. Let your closest supporters know you have decided to shift to a healthier lifestyle. You can send texts, emails or call to declare your habit to make better decisions for yourself.

These four habits are the secrets that successful people use when they’re trying to achieve their resolutions. I’m a fan of creating habits with goals versus resolutions.  Personally, I’m a firm believer that it’s about making the decision to change, not about a specific date.

If you find you need support, click here to schedule a time to chat with me.

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya from Pexels

Lot of hanging watches

Working for “Me Time”: Time Management Strategies for Reducing Stress

Entrepreneur Stress, Time Management, Work-at-home Stress /

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of getting everything on your list finished, so that you can finally take some time off. The problem is that most of the time we don’t take the time to rest that we should. Instead, we rush into the next thing because, after all, a woman’s work is never really done, is it?  Because of this, our “me time” usually gets pushed into the background, and instead of our time management strategies helping to reduce stress, they actually create more.

It doesn’t have to be that way!

There are ways to use time management techniques to relieve stress, get everything done that you need to in a day, and still have time for yourself at the end of it!

1. Check your schedule

When you have a lot on your plate, it’s easy to get stressed about getting everything done. Knowing what causes you to feel stressed can go a long way toward helping you get relief from it.

One of the first things to do when you are feeling overwhelmed about your workload is to good, hard look at your schedule. Are you making the best use of your time?

Sometimes we work when we should be relaxing, and we relax when we should be working. If you find this is happening for you more often than it should, you should take some time to rework your schedule so that you are working at your peak productive times.

One of the advantages of being an entrepreneur is that you can set your own hours. Take advantage of that and arrange your schedule so that you get the best results from your working hours. You’ll get more done and have time for yourself at the end of the day.

2. Schedule your “me time” in the mornings

It’s nice to have some alone time at the end of your working day, but did you know that by starting your day with “me time” can lead to less stress, and more productivity?

Plan to wake up even thirty minutes earlier than everyone else in your house, and use that time to start your day on your own terms. Meditate, read, do some light exercise, or just enjoy that first cup of coffee in complete silence. Anything you can do to start your day in a peaceful and relaxed manner will help to reduce stress throughout the whole day.

3. Eliminate distractions during your working hours

The working day is filled with distractions, and these can drive your stress levels through the roof if you let them. Think about how you feel when the phone is constantly ringing, your social media and email notifications are going off every few seconds. Even when you love being social, it’s hard to get work done when you keep being reminded that there are always more things to be added to the list.

To reduce stress and get more done during working hours, make it a habit to turn everything off. Send your phone directly to voicemail, shut down all your social media sites, and hang a “Do Not Disturb” sign on your door.

You will be amazed at how much more relaxed and focused you are when you are not being distracted by outside sources.

4. Make time management a mindset

Time management is just as much about mindset as it is about physical strategies for getting things done. If you keep telling yourself you have too much to do, or you’re never going to get things done, you are creating your own stress.

Instead, think positive thoughts such as “I have plenty of time” or “I will easily get this done within my deadline” and you will find that your day flows much more smoothly.  And, you will indeed get things done easily with plenty of time to spare.

When you make time management a mindset and a habit, you can’t help but be more productive during your working hours. The end result will be that you get more done, feel less stress, and have more time to spend on yourself and your family.  “Me time” will become a regular part of your day instead of something to be squeezed in when you have a minute or two.

Women holding coffee cup checking laptop in kitchen

How to Stop Working Long Hours Without Feeling Guilty

Entrepreneur Stress, Stress at Work, Time Management, Work-at-home Stress /

“Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do.” – Voltaire

Working long hours on a regular basis can be easy to do when you run your own business. It can be equally, if not more difficult, when you work from home. The guilt creeps when you shut down your computer for the day. Your gut twists with the nagging worry that you will never get everything finished on your list.

The work trap.

A habit forms when you begin to put others first before taking take of your own needs. If there is any time left over in your day then you give yourself attention. You hide from others just how much you are carrying on your shoulders. Remember the directions about the oxygen mask when flying on an airplane? Yes, you place the oxygen mask on yourself first then tend to those around you.

Taking care of your needs helps fuel you to take care of others. It’s when you borrow from tomorrow’s health for today’s needs that leads to chronic stress.

Guilt is a useless emotion.

This guilt goes beyond the normal knowing right from wrong. Guilt and excessive worry can catapult your stress level. Beating yourself up about the amount of work on your to do list can cause overwhelm. High levels of guilt can paralyze you, your productivity and your quality of life. It’s important to examine just what expectations you have attached to your work performance.

Let’s talk about some ways to leave work and leave the guilt behind:

1.  Make doable goals. Does it seem like your to do list never gets done? A tip can be to make sure your goals are bite-size. Map out how you see a project will unfold from beginning to end. Determine when you will accomplish your goals. If you find yourself feeling anxiety about not getting something done, check in to see how big your goal is and other factors like focus and discipline (more about this below). Be realistic and add on just a bit more time than expected to complete you task or goal.

2.  Have an end-of-day ritual. Update your list for the next day so you can start quickly the next work day. Then spend some time decompressing from the day. If your office is away from home, commute time can help disconnect work from home. Having a home office, however, can leave a void in moving in personal life mode. It’s important to have space before jumping into home responsibilities. Whether it’s taking a walk, deep breathing or a short meditation, do something that will ease you into the rest of your day.

3.  Close the door to your office. Literally. Close the door behind you if your home office is in a separate space from the rest of your home. My startup office was in an open space. It’s tempting to go back and check on something. Make sure you disconnect from all tech sources, just as if you are leaving the office. It can become a compulsion to check your email and social media after the end of the day.

4.  Focus and discipline. Have you ever wondered where the time has gone at the end of the day? It’s really important to know not only where you spend your time but that you have strong focus to finish your list. It’s so easy to get distracted with email, phone calls and especially social media. Set a timer for tasks or use a productivity manager to help you see how much time you are spending on a certain task.

5.  Outsource. It’s so important to ask for help and outsource any tasks that take too much time. Spend the most time possible on the part of the project you are good at and allow others from your support team to give you a hand. Wringing your hand over how to do something complicated can be quickly remedied by someone who can do the job quickly.

Follow these tips to free yourself from working long hours. Set boundaries in your work life and discover the new freedom to care for YOU.

Woman with red outfit sitting in front of computer holidng her eyes

Five Business Burnout Relief Strategies

Entrepreneur Stress, Mindset, Stress at Work, Time Management /

“In dealing with those who are undergoing great suffering, if you feel ‘burnout’ setting in, if you feel demoralized and exhausted, it is best, for the sake of everyone, to withdraw and restore yourself. The point is to have a long-term perspective.” – Dalai Lama

Woman with red outfit sitting in front of computer holidng her eyesBusiness and work burnout can seem as if it appears out of nowhere. Long workdays coupled with anxiety and lack of focus can be telltale signs of burnout. You work so hard, cranking out the next product, program or marketing strategy but find yourself numb and getting overwhelmed with details. Are you ignoring signs you are in danger of burnout?

Signs that you might be suffering from business burnout:

  • Your passion about your career has begun to slowly dwindle
  • Your creativity toward new ideas has become challenged
  • You are having increased difficulty in focusing on your current project
  • You feel exhausted, anxious and just plain worn out.

Try these 5 techniques to get burnout relief:

1. Schedule time to yourself. When was the last day you remember taking off from work? You are at high risk for burnout if you can’t remember or it’s been several weeks or months. Schedule at least two days, one for rest and the other to get our ground, and reassess your goals. The first argument that will creep up is that you don’t have time. It’s so important that you make time. What you might not clearly see is that your productivity is down at this point from the burnout. Regenerating your batteries will get you ready to move forward.

2. Shift your mindset. A business is something that gradually grows over time and requires an endurance mindset. Pace yourself, using your goals as mile markers toward your definition of success. Build your business around your life, not your life around your business. If you find yourself saying, “I’ll be happy when________”, then your risk for damage to your health and relationships are greater than you think.

3. Stay healthy. It’s important to stay in physical condition when you’re under constant stress. Make time for basic self-care, eating balanced meals. Make appointments to exercise, and other activities, such as a massage. Keep yourself at top shape. Make sure you fit in relaxation and adequate sleep. You can deal with stress much easier when you are well-rested. Remember to fuel your body in order to have the best outcomes in your life.

4. Honor your time. Set clear boundaries when it comes to work time. It make seem like you are always working when you are in a high-pressured job or an entrepreneur. Learning how to budget the time in your day more effectively will relieve a lot of this time pressure and stress. Good time management will lessen the feeling of being overwhelmed, as well as enable you to have the time you need to do what you want to do.

5. Stick to what you do best. Keep track of the activities that you can delegate and outsource during your workday. Perform at what you do best and pass along the tasks that you don’t like or take too much time. You have a specific talent. Make sure that’s where you spend the majority of your time.

Business burnout can happen especially when you least expect it. Be very conscious of the warning signs of burnout and always protect the greatest asset in your business: you.

Various clocks flying in air

How to Be Productive Without Losing Sleep

Achieve Goals, Entrepreneur Stress, Stress at Work, Time Management, Work-at-home Stress /

“You cannot manage time, you can only manage yourself.” – Peter Drucker

Being productive is something most people want during any given day. Long lists from what seems like endless projects can become overwhelming and suck the life from you. Before you know it, you are staying up long hours and losing sleep to get everything done. It seems like so many distractions detour you from the end result: completing your project.

Juggling Time

Various clocks flying in airA common time-management tool is to control the activities outside of you. It’s common to try to juggle everything you have to do. Does it seem that the personal calendar company didn’t put enough lines for your to-do list? A result of stress is attempting to manage things outside of you. Maybe it’s not so much about managing your activities but how you manage yourself first.

“Time flies. It’s up to you to be the navigator. “ – Robert Orben

Managing how you spend your time is an essential key in being productive. Where you choose to spend your time will determine the richness and quality of your life.

Dealing with distractions

The number-one time thief is distraction. Focus is one area that will greatly improve how much time you allocate to different areas of your life. A new time tool to try is Time Doctor. It allows you to focus on a one task while getting a true read of how long it takes to get the task done. Time Doctor lets you start and stop tasks and sends you a productivity report daily. When the timer is running, this program really helps you stay on task.

Shift how you look at time

Time really cannot be saved. Once it is wasted you can’t get it back. Look at what you value the most in life. Examine if you are contributing your efforts to those areas the most. For example, spending time with your loved ones is a value you hold, then you choose to do activities with them.

Prioritize and do what’s most important

Now that you have determined where you want to spend your time, you can now decide what actions will be most effective. Focus your efforts on the tasks that will give you the biggest bang for your effort. Your activities will truly tell you what you value.

Remember, you are in charge of how best to accomplish your goals. Life will throw roadblocks up from time to time. Step back and see if you need to change how you are approaching your goal or that you need to take a deep breath and move forward.

Delegate and ask for help

People lose trust in someone quickly if they say they can do something and fail to follow up. Before accepting another task to do, ask yourself these two questions:

”Does this activity truly fit into where I want to spend my time and what I value most?”

“Can someone else help me with this task?”

Answering these two questions can truly help you keep focused.

Study how you can use the 24 hours in the day to create happiness and a deeper quality of life. You may find that you are more productive without losing sleep.

I want to give you the form that helps me prioritize my day. Click here to download my Life Management Daily Checklist as my gift to you.

7 Fun Home Office Organization Ideas

Stress Management Tools, Time Management /

“How do I cope with stress? I clean and organize.” – Sandra Dee

There are such a variety of home office organization ideas. Keeping desk items in place can truly help staying focused and increase productivity. But what about adding a little desk bling? Adding your style and fun office organization tools can make your desk an enjoyable and creative way to getting your projects finished.

Pick colors for your office that inspires and sparks your creative juices. Color has a powerful effect over our moods. Calming, soothing colors include blue-based tones. Green, however, helps to balance your mood. Bright colors, such as red or orange or yellow tend to energize your mood. Go to a home improvement store and look at paint chips. You will feel energized when you find the colors that ignite your creativity.

My top 7 picks for fun home office organization ideas:

Wall Pops – Vinyl Applique Weekly Calendar

Tired of the traditional weekly calendar board? These dry erase wall pops can be applied to the wall without damage your paint. (They also can stick to your refrigerator, too!)This will help to focus on the busy week ahead and plan for you time.

Office Candy     $15

Magnetic Dividing Bin

Do you lack desk space? Here is a clever way to keep office supplies organized without taking up any space. This magnetic bin can attach to a metal surface above the desk to hold pencils or note pads. The dividing bin has style and will add to the décor of any office.

The Storage Store $13.99

Tape Dispenser

This tape dispenser will add a pop of color in an otherwise dull office. The dispenser is weighted and comes in a variety of colors. This website is very fun and you can mix and match desk supplies in your favorite colors.

Poppin    $12

8 Days-A-Week Planner

I am always looking for a weekly planner that has extra space. The 8 Days-A Week-Planner provides plenty of space for your Sunday through Saturday plans and an extra column that allows you to jot down “someday” plans. The extra cool feature is that you can add in your own dates and start your calendar at any time.

See Jane Work    $18

Tava Desk Accessories

If you like a more natural look for your office, try these rattan desk organizers. These honey-hued rattan desk accessories can tame even the messiest desk. The pieces in this collection include a tray, divided box and a pen holder.

Pottery Barn   $14-$24

Palm Letter-Size Interior File Folders

Here’s a great way to dress up a desk file holder. These designer files are premium heavy-weight coated card stock. There were several varieties and colors to please everyone.

The Container Store    $5.99 for package of 6

Designer Whiteboards

Whiteboards can be so dull…but not these ones. These designer whiteboards are made of a thing acrylic material and frame. The unique borders can add flair to an otherwise plane whiteboard. I loved the board with a tiled edge the best. These whiteboards are about to release for sale. Click the link and sign up for notification email when they are available for purchase.

Designer Whiteboard    

You don’t have to have a plain, dull office. There are so many fun office organizing ideas that are inexpensive that can make your office a place to create , be organized and productive.

Scroll to Top