BUSINESS BASICS – Seven Golden Rules for Hyper Business Growth
By MaryEllen Tribby
Are you maximizing your time to the fullest? Do you accomplish the majority of your goals, projects and tasks each day?
Most people don’t. If you are one of them or know someone who is, keep reading because my seven golden rules will rock your world! Just like they have for so many.
You see the reason most entrepreneurs and work at home moms and working moms fail is because they focus on the wrong tasks, usually tasks that don’t yield revenue. It is human nature to work on tasks that you can easily accomplish.
These are generally the tasks that you don’t feel overwhelmed by or fear. But by no means does that mean they are automatically important to your business.
In order to get your business and or career soaring to the next level you need to break out of your comfort zone and take on new challenges that will bring you more revenue. This also means discipline and getting into habits.
By following just a few simple rules you will notice a big change in your effectiveness, which can increase profitability in your business.
Seven Golden Rules for Hyper Business Growth
1. Your business day starts the night before. Each evening I plan my next day’s business activities. I write out a good old-fashioned “to do” list. I do not put my list on my computer or phone. I use a note pad. I list everything I think I need to accomplish the next day. After I have done a complete “brain dump,” I prioritize each item. Not only am I ready to go the next morning, but I also sleep a whole lot better at night.
As my day progresses, I cross off my completed tasks as well as write down any that may have come up unexpectedly that I needed to address. This way I have a full record of how my time was spent.
2. Set an alarm clock. Many entrepreneurs and work-at-homers think because it’s “my” business they don’t need a schedule – that they can do whatever they want. Wrong. I have seen this over and over. I hear complaints from people that their business is not where they want it to be. I ask a basic question like “What time do you set your alarm?” and I hear, “I don’t use an alarm clock. I just get up when I wake up.” This is counter-productive. You need to take control of your day from the start.
3. Never work in your pajamas. Your mindset is one of the most important factors in determining your success. You need to respect yourself, your customers and your business enough to dress appropriately. By doing so you will notice that you are more confident and assertive therefore getting more done in the same amount of hours.
4. Do not schedule meetings or take phone calls before noon. You are at your best first thing in the morning. Get your important tasks done first. Scheduling meetings and conference calls in the morning is counter-productive. Interruptions are the biggest factor in not completing tasks. Let your employees, colleagues and friends know that you will speak with them in the afternoon if need be.
5. Take a mid-day exercise break. A study by Jim McKenna from the University of Bristol showed that exercise during the workday improves job performance. Participants returned to work more tolerant of themselves and their performance is also consistently higher, as shown by better time management and improved mental sharpness.
I like to take a 30-minute bike ride or speed walk around my neighborhood in the afternoon (I do my hard core work out first thing in the morning). By this time my important tasks for the day are usually complete. I let my mind wonder and this is where ideas hit me – ideas for content or marketing or new joint ventures deals. This is one of my favorite times of the day.
6. Have lunch with a mentor, colleague or protégé once a week. We can all get caught up in our own little world. We are so busy with our families and careers. But by having a lunch with someone smart and energetic you will be exposed to new ideas and different viewpoints. Your ideas become stronger making them easier to implement.
This one lunch will make a huge difference in your productivity not only in your business but in your family life as well.
7. Reconcile your “to do” list. At the end of your workday look at what you had planned to accomplish that day and look at what you actually accomplished. If you accomplished 75% or more on your list, you had a good day. We all have to adjust for emergencies and ad hoc situations whether those emergencies and situations arise in our business or our family life.
However, if you fell below 75%, you need to make some changes because this means you are not in control of your business. Instead your business is in control of you.
When you examine the list above, what should be obvious is that these are very fundamental rules. Rules that everyone can implement in one form or another.
None of these rules require any monetary commitment, but they all call for a mental and emotional commitment.
Start today and in just seven days from now I bet you see a big difference in your productivity.
HEALTH WATCH – Tips for a happy Halloween
By Lisa Fuhrman
My kids always look forward to Halloween, even though they don’t eat the candy (at least in front of me). They look forward to dressing up in costumes, being out with their friends, and staying up late on a school night. I, on the other hand, do not look forward to Halloween. I don’t like the focus on promoting fear of ugly-looking creatures and giving toxic items to children. I don’t call the candy “treats” because that gives children the wrong message. Think about it, calling something a “treat” encourages your children to look forward to receiving the “treat”. Do you really want to encourage your children to look forward to eating something that could be as harmful as cigarettes?
With our growing obesity epidemic, the increase in diabetes and strokes in children, and the scientific link between junk food and depression, decreased intellect, criminal behavior, dementia, and cancer, it is time mothers took a stand against the traditional Halloween junk food-fest.
The sad fact is that even normally well-behaved children can start acting crazy after consuming all the highly-sugared, chemicalized junk they get. And the disrupting behavior can last for as long as a month afterward. Yet, I’m not a person who believes in letting eating choices turn my home into a war zone. I believe in providing an education in healthful eating—and setting a good example! I keep unhealthful foods out of the house, and trust my kids to use their best judgment. Thankfully, we have figured out how to make Halloween a happy time for all of us, without joining the candy craze. Here are some tips that have worked for us.
1. Hand out inexpensive toys instead of candy. By setting this good example, perhaps a neighbor will pick up on the idea. Even if nobody follows your lead, you will feel good about your decision. Toys are perhaps a little more expensive than candy, but not much, and they definitely send a great message to both the kids and the parents.
My children help choose what they think is cool. In recent years, we have been giving out glow-in-the-dark necklaces and bracelets. The best thing about these toys is that they make kids safer in the dark because cars can see them when they are walking in the road. Kids say, “Wow!” or “Cool!” when they see the glowing gifts, so I know they love them. Plus, my kids are proud to hand them out. Now that my kids are older, they always remind me when it’s time to place my order. Other toys that we have purchased include blow up balloon balls, glow-in-the-dark animals, and glow-in-the-dark balls.
2. Make your family’s favorite dinner on Halloween night, including their favorite desserts. With full stomachs, your kids will be less tempted to eat the junk they receive.
3. When the children come home, if they are adamant about wanting to eat the candy, set a limit on how many candies they are allowed to eat. I suggest you allow them two pieces of candy, which they can pick out—and then discard the rest. In the past, we let our children pick one or two candies to eat, but in the more recent years they don’t even want any of it. They are too well informed now. Last Halloween, much to my surprise (I was brought up conventionally, so it’s amazing to watch Nutritarian children grow up) our children played with the candy. They opened the wrappers, and exclaimed how it didn’t look like food and then molded it.
4. Try to get your kids to choose not to eat the candy by making another option more tantalizing. For instance, give them money or a toy in exchange for their bag of candy.
5. Some people find it easiest to throw out all the candy after the children go to sleep. Little ones probably won’t even remember it once it’s gone, and getting rid of it eliminates temptation for the adults in the house. However, it is better to do this as a family and not secretively so the children understand the reason that it should be destroyed. It would be no different if the neighbors were being neighborly serving cigarettes or addictive drugs. Some socially accepted and popular customs are simply ignorant and dangerous. Dietary ignorance is the number one cause of death in America and everyone needs to know it.
6. Life is full of compromises—and this day will pass! I believe that with a little advance planning you can ensure that your children will have a fun time. Plus they will not be tempted to hide or sneak candy. I am certain you will be happier knowing that they will be eating a lot less candy this year than they did last year.
MY TWO CENTS WORTH
I recently saw a “joke” that got me thinking.
It seems that a devote Muslim was riding in a London cab when he abruptly asked the driver to turn off his radio, stating that such music did not exist during the time of the Prophet and was in fact the music of the infidel. The cabbie’s response was to pullover and ask his passenger to get out. When asked why, he stated that since cabs didn’t exist during the time of the Prophet either, his passenger should wait on the curb for the next camel.
Now rather than either being appalled on the one hand or rah-rah-ing on the other, my response was a bit more circumspect. You see, as a Christian, I’ve been guilty of the same tendency to subjugate common sense to out-of-context prophetic interpretations. As a dentist, I’ve seen the same tendency among my colleagues to rally around a favorite dental guru and lose the ability to objectively consider any new evidence.
It is human nature to mistake dogma for reality, to assume our own perspective is complete. This is especially true for science and religion. The vast majority of scientists are so invested in Darwin that they are completely incapable of considering any of the compelling evidence in favor of intelligent design. Democrats find it impossible to discuss a Republican viewpoint without resorting to characterizations and questioning both the intelligence and the morality of their antagonists; the reverse is equally true.
Today it is fashionable to deny being religious. However, a more honest position is to admit that we all are religious – even atheists. We are all products of our raising, education, and experience; we all wear our own colored glasses that influence what we see and what we miss. And we all have opinions that defy logic. Think you’re an exception, have you ever caught yourself saying “that’s stupid”, “how dumb”, or “what an idiot”? If you can’t make your point without using a derogatory characterization, you probably can’t make your point, period. In other words, the fact that you can’t convincingly articulate it proves that you don’t have a logical reason for your dogmatic belief!
So, assuming one would want to, how would you go about expanding your understanding, clearing up your colored glasses, and start seeing the world a little more accurately?
- Expose yourself to alternate viewpoints – Not that you should immediately abandon what you know to be “true”, but the best and perhaps only way to get another perspective… is to get it!
- “Seek first to understand” – As you are listening, do so with an honest desire to understand the others perspective. It’s not listening if all you are doing is looking for points of disagreement and/or an opportunity to “correct”.
- Look for the context that points to the principle – All too often yesterday’s practical solution becomes today’s irrational dogma. Learn to view “truth” in light of its historical origin.
- Think multifactorially – Often times the truth is not either/or but rather both/and.
- Accept the limitations of your reason – You can’t see what you don’t know. And conversely, the more you know the more you will see.
- “By their fruits you shall know them” – Reject any viewpoint that does not lead you to greater peace, love, and brotherhood.
Now, go and make it happen!
