Goal Setting & Achievement Podcast: Business|Productivity

Robby Slaughter is a workflow and productivity expert, and you know how important I think having workflows and being productive are to the success of your business. His consulting practice assists a wide variety of organizations, including Fortune 500 companies, regional non-profits, small businesses and individual entrepreneurs to help increase productivity, simplify workflow and optimize business processes. He discovered that to become more effective and efficient at work, we need to empower individuals with authority and responsibility, and I couldn’t agree more. Here are some questions I asked Robby that you will benefit from by listening to his answers: 1. What is the #1 reason people struggle with being productive at work? Inability to understand the emotional impact of tasks and the people around those tasks. Please elaborate on this for us. 2. When asked, most business professionals tell me they waste about 2-3 hours a day. How can the average business professional become better at time management, so they aren’t wasting so much time each day? Step one is self-forgiveness. Accept that you’re going to have bad days, and forgive yourself. Step two is to identify and manage the distractions and interruptions that impact you. Turn off email notifications. Set your phone to do-not-disturb for 30-minute stretches. Ignore social media. Ask people who call you if they can send you an email instead. Anne: To download my complimentary Time Log Exercise and help you and your team members be even more time efficient, so you are in a higher probability position to achieve your goals, go to: https://www.accountabilitycoach.com/time-log/. Simple instructions come with the sample document to help you know how to complete the time log. 3. What do you recommend people to help them reduce interruptions and distractions that plague most offices? Get out of the office. Go to a conference room or a coffee shop. Work from an empty cubicle for a while. Close your door if you have one, or wear big headphones (even if they aren’t playing any music.) Put up a sign to let people know you are focusing for blocks of time, and put that on your calendar as well. Anne: To claim your free audio training, Focus on Your High Pay-off Activities and Achieve Your Goals Using Effective Time Management, go to https://www.accountabilitycoach.com/landing/. 4. How do you suggested people create their To-Do List, so they make the most progress on their activities? At the very least, try adding a face next to each item, indicating how you feel about the task. Most people can quickly sketch a face with a smile, sadness, anger, boredom, etc. That way you can quickly scan the list for something you’re willing to tackle, keeping the balance of high energy and low energy tasks. Beyond that, asking what tasks can be delegated is especially powerful. Anne: I recommend to my clients that they use, what I call, a Prioritized Action List (PAL) which is like a glorified To-do List. It is simply your To-Do List in priority order and with the highest payoff activities on it that will you to make progress on the achievement of your goals. These are activities that only the business owner or business professional can do and can’t be delegated. Anne: To download my Free Sample Prioritized Action List (PAL) that everyone in your office can use, go to https://www.accountabilitycoach.com/pal-sample/. You can of course use this format to customize your To Do List that may reside online in your contact management system. I consider the PAL a glorified To Do List. 5. What does it mean to have a “workflow?” How can you design and improve on a workflow? It means to have a larger meta-pattern for how you operate. A good example is batching: do you turn on your computer, then go get some coffee, and by the time you return the computer is ready? Do you reply to emails during certain times of day? How do you decide when to call someone and when to send them a text? An

Today we are talking about Delegating Even More and Accelerate Your Business Success. Delegation for business owners is a must-do for success! When you can hand over your administrative tasks and projects off to an able assistant or employee, you can focus on more important tasks that only you can do to grow your business and increase revenue. The art of delegation is an essential part of establishing a growing business. Why Delegate? There will come a time in your business (for most business owners, this comes sooner rather than later) when you feel overwhelmed. You may find that you have too many tasks to accomplish without enough time to get them done. It is when you come to the realization that delegating the small or low-priority tasks to an assistant would make your life a whole lot easier, that it is time to do it. Delegation allows you to eliminate the low-priority tasks so you can free up time to focus on the high-payoff producing tasks. Clearly, this can allow you to focus on increasing your revenue, and it can also free up time to center your energy towards expanding your business. When your business continues to grow, eventually reaching another plateau, you may find it necessary to hire more assistants or outsource more tasks and activities. Common Tasks to Delegate include activities such as: • Answering Phones/Returning phone calls • Sending/returning emails • Performing research • Bookkeeping • Scheduling appointments • Website design and maintenance • Many aspects of marketing • Writing articles and blogs, etc. Generally speaking, administrative tasks should always be delegated to an assistant. While answering the phone and responding to emails is important, your focus should be on the tasks that directly increase the growth of your business. For instance, your energy should be focused on conducting seminars, creating new products or services, networking, meeting clients and prospects in person, talking to strategic alliances or centers of influence, expanding into new markets, etc. The common tasks that I mentioned earlier should not require your attention. Hire an employee or virtual assistant to take full responsibility for their maintenance. These sample tasks are simple tasks that almost anyone can do, but other tasks that require a specific skill set should also be delegated to experienced professionals. You may have a background in web design, and be capable of completing the task, but it’s worth it to delegate. A professional website designer will get the job done right, in a timely manner, and make your website look professional while you can focus on growing your client list. Questions to Ask Yourself to Help You with Delegating Even More are: • Does delegating make sense for me to grow my business? • Does my business have the revenue to delegate? If not now, when? • How much time am I spending on tasks that are slowing my growth? • What should I look for in employees/contractors? • How would I feel to not have to do administrative tasks or things that don’t directly relate to generating revenue and growing my business? Big-name businesses didn’t get to the point they are at today by the owners or executives doing everything themselves. They implemented the art of delegation when the time became necessary to take their business to the next level. Delegation for business owners is the ideal way to grow your business without having to take on more responsibility and sacrifice your personal time with your family. The bottom line is that delegation always makes sense. First, look at delegation of tasks to someone as an investment and not an expense. If your current earnings as a business are only covering your business overhead and your personal expenses and not much else, unfortunately, you’re not in the ideal financial situation to delegate tasks. However, sometimes it takes delegating to increase your revenue. Consider the investment in a person or people and

Today we are talking about Delegating Even More and Accelerate Your Business Success. Delegation for business owners is a must-do for success! When you can hand over your administrative tasks and projects off to an able assistant or employee, you can focus on more important tasks that only you can do to grow your business and increase revenue. The art of delegation is an essential part of establishing a growing business. Why Delegate? There will come a time in your business (for most business owners, this comes sooner rather than later) when you feel overwhelmed. You may find that you have too many tasks to accomplish without enough time to get them done. It is when you come to the realization that delegating the small or low-priority tasks to an assistant would make your life a whole lot easier, that it is time to do it. Delegation allows you to eliminate the low-priority tasks so you can free up time to focus on the high-payoff producing tasks. Clearly, this can allow you to focus on increasing your revenue, and it can also free up time to center your energy towards expanding your business. When your business continues to grow, eventually reaching another plateau, you may find it necessary to hire more assistants or outsource more tasks and activities. Common Tasks to Delegate include activities such as: • Answering Phones/Returning phone calls • Sending/returning emails • Performing research • Bookkeeping • Scheduling appointments • Website design and maintenance • Many aspects of marketing • Writing articles and blogs, etc. Generally speaking, administrative tasks should always be delegated to an assistant. While answering the phone and responding to emails is important, your focus should be on the tasks that directly increase the growth of your business. For instance, your energy should be focused on conducting seminars, creating new products or services, networking, meeting clients and prospects in person, talking to strategic alliances or centers of influence, expanding into new markets, etc. The common tasks that I mentioned earlier should not require your attention. Hire an employee or virtual assistant to take full responsibility for their maintenance. These sample tasks are simple tasks that almost anyone can do, but other tasks that require a specific skill set should also be delegated to experienced professionals. You may have a background in web design, and be capable of completing the task, but it’s worth it to delegate. A professional website designer will get the job done right, in a timely manner, and make your website look professional while you can focus on growing your client list. Questions to Ask Yourself to Help You with Delegating Even More are: • Does delegating make sense for me to grow my business? • Does my business have the revenue to delegate? If not now, when? • How much time am I spending on tasks that are slowing my growth? • What should I look for in employees/contractors? • How would I feel to not have to do administrative tasks or things that don’t directly relate to generating revenue and growing my business? Big-name businesses didn’t get to the point they are at today by the owners or executives doing everything themselves. They implemented the art of delegation when the time became necessary to take their business to the next level. Delegation for business owners is the ideal way to grow your business without having to take on more responsibility and sacrifice your personal time with your family. The bottom line is that delegation always makes sense. First, look at delegation of tasks to someone as an investment and not an expense. If your current earnings as a business are only covering your business overhead and your personal expenses and not much else, unfortunately, you’re not in the ideal financial situation to delegate tasks. However, sometimes it takes delegating to increase your revenue. Consider the investment in a person or people and

Bryan Clayton is CEO and co-founder of GreenPal which is an online marketplace that connects homeowners with Local lawn care professionals. GreenPal has been called the “Uber for lawn care” by Entrepreneur magazine and has over 100,000 active users completing thousands of transactions per day. Before starting GreenPal Bryan founded Peachtree Inc. one of the largest landscaping companies in the state of Tennessee growing it to over $10 million a year in annual revenue before it was acquired by Lusa holdings in 2013. Here are some questions I asked Bryan that you will benefit from by listening to his answers: • Tell us what specifically was the single most important activity you did to go from zero revenue to descent profitability, and how long did that take you? • Did persistence play a role in your success? If so, how did persistence help you? Bryan said: Learning more from your mistakes than your success is what is going to carry you forward. Moving from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm is what it takes to be even more successful. • How can a small business owner outsource certain tasks to cut costs and make their business more profitable? • What sort of mental mindset do you think it will it take to grow your business no matter what the economic climate might be? • How do you maintain the necessary mindset continue to grow your business over time? • How important is consistently applying effective time management to the business owner and everyone the team? Bryan said: You get exactly the company you deserve. You have to have inner confidence. • How do you manufacture and keep momentum? Bryan said: Distilling down as to what are the activities that you and your team members are going to need to do on a daily basis to get to the goal(s) is an exercise that few business owners do through. Then holding everyone accountable to actually getting these activities done that they agreed to do is another thing that can be uncomfortable for business owners. He and his team have weekly standups that help with goals and accountability. • How does the business owner maintain their focus on their highest payoff activities only, so they can achieve their goals? Bryan offered a free quote on your lawn maintenance. Head over to https://www.yourgreenpal.com/ and get your free quote today. Bryan’s firm is like Uber for lawn care. Subscribe and get notified every time a new episode is released. If you are getting value from any of Podcasts, please take a minute to leave me a short rating and review. I would really appreciate it, and love to hear from you and requests for topics you would find of value. Aim for what you want each and every day! Anne Bachrach The Accountability Coach™ The Results Accelerator™ To help you stay focused and on track to achieving your goals, check out these other high-value resources. - Subscribe to my YouTube channel with business success principles (https://www.youtube.com/annebachrach) - Subscribe to my high-value Blog (https://www.accountabilitycoach.com/blog/) - Anne’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/TheAccountabilityCoach) - Anne’s Linked-in page https://www.linkedin.com/in/annebachrach - Connect with me on Pinterest (https://pinterest.com/resultsrule/) - Connect with me on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/annebachrach/) Take advantage of all the complimentary business tips and tools by joining the Free Silver Membership on https://www.accountabilitycoach.com/coaching-store/inner-circle-store/. Check out all the great free high-content training web classes, by going to https://www.accountabilitycoach.com/free-articles/free-webinars/. Go to https://www.accountabilitycoach.com to check out for yourself how I, as your Accountability Coach™, can help you get and stay focused on you highest payoff activities that put you in the highest probability position to achieve your professional and personal goals, so you can enjoy the kind of business and life you truly wan

Bryan Clayton is CEO and co-founder of GreenPal which is an online marketplace that connects homeowners with Local lawn care professionals. GreenPal has been called the “Uber for lawn care” by Entrepreneur magazine and has over 100,000 active users completing thousands of transactions per day. Before starting GreenPal Bryan founded Peachtree Inc. one of the largest landscaping companies in the state of Tennessee growing it to over $10 million a year in annual revenue before it was acquired by Lusa holdings in 2013. Here are some questions I asked Bryan that you will benefit from by listening to his answers: • Tell us what specifically was the single most important activity you did to go from zero revenue to descent profitability, and how long did that take you? • Did persistence play a role in your success? If so, how did persistence help you? Bryan said: Learning more from your mistakes than your success is what is going to carry you forward. Moving from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm is what it takes to be even more successful. • How can a small business owner outsource certain tasks to cut costs and make their business more profitable? • What sort of mental mindset do you think it will it take to grow your business no matter what the economic climate might be? • How do you maintain the necessary mindset continue to grow your business over time? • How important is consistently applying effective time management to the business owner and everyone the team? Bryan said: You get exactly the company you deserve. You have to have inner confidence. • How do you manufacture and keep momentum? Bryan said: Distilling down as to what are the activities that you and your team members are going to need to do on a daily basis to get to the goal(s) is an exercise that few business owners do through. Then holding everyone accountable to actually getting these activities done that they agreed to do is another thing that can be uncomfortable for business owners. He and his team have weekly standups that help with goals and accountability. • How does the business owner maintain their focus on their highest payoff activities only, so they can achieve their goals? Bryan offered a free quote on your lawn maintenance. Head over to https://www.yourgreenpal.com/ and get your free quote today. Bryan’s firm is like Uber for lawn care. Subscribe and get notified every time a new episode is released. If you are getting value from any of Podcasts, please take a minute to leave me a short rating and review. I would really appreciate it, and love to hear from you and requests for topics you would find of value. Aim for what you want each and every day! Anne Bachrach The Accountability Coach™ The Results Accelerator™ To help you stay focused and on track to achieving your goals, check out these other high-value resources. - Subscribe to my YouTube channel with business success principles (https://www.youtube.com/annebachrach) - Subscribe to my high-value Blog (https://www.accountabilitycoach.com/blog/) - Anne’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/TheAccountabilityCoach) - Anne’s Linked-in page https://www.linkedin.com/in/annebachrach - Connect with me on Pinterest (https://pinterest.com/resultsrule/) - Connect with me on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/annebachrach/) Take advantage of all the complimentary business tips and tools by joining the Free Silver Membership on https://www.accountabilitycoach.com/coaching-store/inner-circle-store/. Check out all the great free high-content training web classes, by going to https://www.accountabilitycoach.com/free-articles/free-webinars/. Go to https://www.accountabilitycoach.com to check out for yourself how I, as your Accountability Coach™, can help you get and stay focused on you highest payoff activities that put you in the highest probability position to achieve your professional and personal goals, so you can enjoy the kind of business and life you truly wan

Through my 24+ years of coaching people, I have found that we're all guilty of allowing the little things to distract us from what we should be doing. This happens to all of us to some degree or another. Instead of working, we chat with our friends or co-workers, check the latest chain email in our inbox, surf the internet, and do everything we can to avoid working. Why? Because we don't feel like working - we're too busy daydreaming about being on the beach in Hawaii sipping a MaiTai or skiing the slopes. I'd like that too, but the fact is that in order to get where you want to be, you have to do the work required to achieve your goals and experience ultimate success. Whether you are an employee or self-employed, your income depends solely on you. And the more efficiently you can work the bigger returns you will receive. Take a moment and ask yourself where you truly want to be? Now tell me how many things you did today, yesterday, and the day before yesterday that directly contributed to the future results you want. And then tell me how many things you did today that did not contribute to your success. Those things probably distracted you from what you knew you should have been doing. So, you might be saying, ah - it's OK, everyone does it and shrug it off. Well, not everyone does it - however, most do. So, what's the harm in the little everyday distractions? Those distractions are called distractions for a reason. They are distracting you from doing what you need to do in order to get you where you ultimately want to be. Minimize distractions and you'll reach your goals faster - plain and simple. If you're self-employed and want to increase your monthly income by $3,000, that won't happen by surfing the internet or playing solitaire. It's going to come from doing the highest payoff activities that have the highest probability of building your success. You must minimize distractions and focus on the tasks that have a positive effect on your success. Whether you are an employee, self-employed, or work at home, all of these ten principles can be applied to reduce and eliminate distractions. Apply these ten principles we will now be discussing to help you reduce or eliminate distractions from your life. 1. Use and honor your calendar and task list. Honoring your calendar will help you stay focus on the ‘right’ activities and eliminate distractions. Remember; concentrate on doing the things that have the highest probability of you achieving your goals and that build your success. Distractions offer no return and no profit. 2. Discourage walk-in traffic. Ideally, scheduling appointments (in person or on the phone) is the most effective. Establish clear boundaries when you are not to be distracted, unless it’s an emergency like the building is burning down and you need to get out. Working by appointment only, as much as possible, is better time management for everyone involved. 3. Screen your calls. Establish a schedule of when you are available to accept calls. Outside of those times, you'll need to arrange a screening process to allow only the most important calls to make their way to you. I suggest reserving at least a few hours per day when you do accept any calls. Again, scheduling phone appointments is ideal and leads to working as efficiently as possible. 4. Stay off the internet. If you have to get your fix, do it at the end of the work day or a set time during the day. Set a time that you honor and don't get on it before then, unless you absolutely have to. 5. Remove desktop clutter. Remove all items out of your immediate and frequent field of vision. Only keep those items on your desk that you are currently working on. Anything else can cause a distraction and slow you down from getting your work done. 6. Remove computer desktop icons. Out of sight, out of mind is typically a good policy. 7. Eliminate n

Through my 24+ years of coaching people, I have found that we're all guilty of allowing the little things to distract us from what we should be doing. This happens to all of us to some degree or another. Instead of working, we chat with our friends or co-workers, check the latest chain email in our inbox, surf the internet, and do everything we can to avoid working. Why? Because we don't feel like working - we're too busy daydreaming about being on the beach in Hawaii sipping a MaiTai or skiing the slopes. I'd like that too, but the fact is that in order to get where you want to be, you have to do the work required to achieve your goals and experience ultimate success. Whether you are an employee or self-employed, your income depends solely on you. And the more efficiently you can work the bigger returns you will receive. Take a moment and ask yourself where you truly want to be? Now tell me how many things you did today, yesterday, and the day before yesterday that directly contributed to the future results you want. And then tell me how many things you did today that did not contribute to your success. Those things probably distracted you from what you knew you should have been doing. So, you might be saying, ah - it's OK, everyone does it and shrug it off. Well, not everyone does it - however, most do. So, what's the harm in the little everyday distractions? Those distractions are called distractions for a reason. They are distracting you from doing what you need to do in order to get you where you ultimately want to be. Minimize distractions and you'll reach your goals faster - plain and simple. If you're self-employed and want to increase your monthly income by $3,000, that won't happen by surfing the internet or playing solitaire. It's going to come from doing the highest payoff activities that have the highest probability of building your success. You must minimize distractions and focus on the tasks that have a positive effect on your success. Whether you are an employee, self-employed, or work at home, all of these ten principles can be applied to reduce and eliminate distractions. Apply these ten principles we will now be discussing to help you reduce or eliminate distractions from your life. 1. Use and honor your calendar and task list. Honoring your calendar will help you stay focus on the ‘right’ activities and eliminate distractions. Remember; concentrate on doing the things that have the highest probability of you achieving your goals and that build your success. Distractions offer no return and no profit. 2. Discourage walk-in traffic. Ideally, scheduling appointments (in person or on the phone) is the most effective. Establish clear boundaries when you are not to be distracted, unless it’s an emergency like the building is burning down and you need to get out. Working by appointment only, as much as possible, is better time management for everyone involved. 3. Screen your calls. Establish a schedule of when you are available to accept calls. Outside of those times, you'll need to arrange a screening process to allow only the most important calls to make their way to you. I suggest reserving at least a few hours per day when you do accept any calls. Again, scheduling phone appointments is ideal and leads to working as efficiently as possible. 4. Stay off the internet. If you have to get your fix, do it at the end of the work day or a set time during the day. Set a time that you honor and don't get on it before then, unless you absolutely have to. 5. Remove desktop clutter. Remove all items out of your immediate and frequent field of vision. Only keep those items on your desk that you are currently working on. Anything else can cause a distraction and slow you down from getting your work done. 6. Remove computer desktop icons. Out of sight, out of mind is typically a good policy. 7. Eliminate n

Today we are talking about 8 Ideas for Getting Even More Done and Accelerate Your Results. We all want more success and the fear of failure can often be the driving force of our actions. We work long hours, sacrifice personal time, and even sleep. We put our heart and soul into what we're trying to achieve, only to find that we're spinning our wheels. We think we're getting things done, because at the end of the day all of our Action List items are crossed out; but did we really get closer to achieving our goals? The fact is, most of us accomplish a whole list of things by the end of the day, but have little to show for it. Your success depends on what you are doing and the way you are getting things done. If you're not moving closer to your goal achievement, you are not getting things done the right way. The good news is - getting things done the right way requires only a simple shift in your actions. There are only two ways of getting things done; one way leads to your success, while the other keeps you in the same position you're in right now. There is no in between. Getting things done right comes down to taking actions that support your forward progress and success. If you feel like you've been spinning your wheels, you probably have been. You might be getting things done, but your actions have been sabotaging your success. You end up working twice as hard, only to stay in the same place. Getting things done the right way, can take you from spinning your wheels to; creating more time, expending less effort, reducing frustration and moving you closer to your goals with every single action. This is possible because success relies on one principle: success takes successful actions. Let’s explore 8 ideas for getting things done the right way. 1. Organize Your Time for Optimal Performance Success takes successful time management. Whether you're a corporate executive or an entrepreneur, you must optimize your performance. The universe will only deliver what you can handle, so if you want more, you have to do more without adding more hours to your day. Ascertain what you need to Do, Delegate, and Delay. Since you can't manifest any more hours in a day, focus on your highest pay-off activities. In other words, do just those things that will lead to the highest probability of achieving your goals in the quickest timeframe possible. Put these things in priority order and then in your calendar. You will quickly realize you don’t have time for anything that doesn't get your closer to achieving your goals. 2. Take Action with the End Result in Mind Maintaining a constant focus on your goal will help you achieve it faster. Remember, getting things done right means taking actions that are in support of your goals. As an example, watching TV for 5 hours is not an action in support of your success. You may have to learn to do the things you don't necessarily want to do, but you do them because they will get you to where you want to be. Keep a working list of actions you need to do today, and place them in prioritized order. Check them off the list one at a time as you complete. This leads you to focus on your highest payoff activities, not the ones that are the easiest. 3. Act with 100% Integrity It's not always easy to always to do what you say and say what you do. But there is no way around it; acting with anything other than 100% integrity will sabotage your success. The truth isn’t always easy, but it is the truth! 4. Act with the Best Interest of all Involved Achieving your goals does not mean you step on people to get there; in fact, it's quite the opposite. This principle follows the universal law of reciprocity; what you put out comes back to you. Getting things done right, means you keep the best interest of all involved at all times, so the reciprocal comes back to you. Every action you take has an outward effect, and long term, sustainable success is only possible acting by this univ

Today we are talking about 8 Ideas for Getting Even More Done and Accelerate Your Results. We all want more success and the fear of failure can often be the driving force of our actions. We work long hours, sacrifice personal time, and even sleep. We put our heart and soul into what we're trying to achieve, only to find that we're spinning our wheels. We think we're getting things done, because at the end of the day all of our Action List items are crossed out; but did we really get closer to achieving our goals? The fact is, most of us accomplish a whole list of things by the end of the day, but have little to show for it. Your success depends on what you are doing and the way you are getting things done. If you're not moving closer to your goal achievement, you are not getting things done the right way. The good news is - getting things done the right way requires only a simple shift in your actions. There are only two ways of getting things done; one way leads to your success, while the other keeps you in the same position you're in right now. There is no in between. Getting things done right comes down to taking actions that support your forward progress and success. If you feel like you've been spinning your wheels, you probably have been. You might be getting things done, but your actions have been sabotaging your success. You end up working twice as hard, only to stay in the same place. Getting things done the right way, can take you from spinning your wheels to; creating more time, expending less effort, reducing frustration and moving you closer to your goals with every single action. This is possible because success relies on one principle: success takes successful actions. Let’s explore 8 ideas for getting things done the right way. 1. Organize Your Time for Optimal Performance Success takes successful time management. Whether you're a corporate executive or an entrepreneur, you must optimize your performance. The universe will only deliver what you can handle, so if you want more, you have to do more without adding more hours to your day. Ascertain what you need to Do, Delegate, and Delay. Since you can't manifest any more hours in a day, focus on your highest pay-off activities. In other words, do just those things that will lead to the highest probability of achieving your goals in the quickest timeframe possible. Put these things in priority order and then in your calendar. You will quickly realize you don’t have time for anything that doesn't get your closer to achieving your goals. 2. Take Action with the End Result in Mind Maintaining a constant focus on your goal will help you achieve it faster. Remember, getting things done right means taking actions that are in support of your goals. As an example, watching TV for 5 hours is not an action in support of your success. You may have to learn to do the things you don't necessarily want to do, but you do them because they will get you to where you want to be. Keep a working list of actions you need to do today, and place them in prioritized order. Check them off the list one at a time as you complete. This leads you to focus on your highest payoff activities, not the ones that are the easiest. 3. Act with 100% Integrity It's not always easy to always to do what you say and say what you do. But there is no way around it; acting with anything other than 100% integrity will sabotage your success. The truth isn’t always easy, but it is the truth! 4. Act with the Best Interest of all Involved Achieving your goals does not mean you step on people to get there; in fact, it's quite the opposite. This principle follows the universal law of reciprocity; what you put out comes back to you. Getting things done right, means you keep the best interest of all involved at all times, so the reciprocal comes back to you. Every action you take has an outward effect, and long term, sustainable success is only possible acting by this univ

Today we are talking about ideas to apply effective time management principles to help you be even more success. One of the success principles of any successful person is effective time management. In order to create your ideal life and business, you must learn to schedule EVERYTHING (even showers initially, eating, drive time, working out, family time, etc.) and be extremely effective at time management. If you are like me, you think you can get done more than you actually can, so you run out of time to get everything done you put on your list. For me, this isn’t a good feeling, especially if it were to happen day after day. When you begin to calendar your activities, take a look at everything you have to do and how long you think it will take to get each one done and then add “cushion” time to each activity. I haven’t been able to come up with a rule of them for how much extra time should be given to each activity. It is dependent on you and the activity. You may have to explore in the beginning to figure out what works best for you based on how well you estimated the initial time for each activity. If you actually do finish the activity before the time you allotted, you have the gift of time to move on to the next activity. Put everything on your calendar. In time, you will become better at how much time you actually need for each activity. You want to also make sure to include buffer time for something that has a deadline. Say you have to submit a proposal to a prospective client by a certain date. In order to have it done, you determine approximately how much time you think it will take to create the proposal and then add a bit of time to that total. You then give yourself a deadline for completion that is 2 or 3 days before the actual ‘drop dead’ deadline. This means that if you have issues and unforeseen things that occur, you still will complete it by the actual deadline date. This works well when you have to rely on others to help you get something done. If you get it done early, all the better for you and what impression it will make with the prospective client. You may have to go through trial and error on a schedule until you find optimal results. Some people are early birds and will tackle certain tasks first thing, while others will find they are more effective in the afternoon. Just be sure to schedule tasks when they can be achieved with the greatest efficiency and outcome. Calendaring your activities will also allow you to identify similar activities that can be completed together. If you have several activities that are the same type of activity, do them all at the same time. For example, you would do certain types of calls all at the same time, interview potential clients, conduct annual meetings with clients, etc. For lower-payoff activities like administrative duties and email, specify during certain times in the day they will be completed. When you don’t continually have to change ‘hats’ while working on the activities required to achieve your goals, you will save a lot of time and mental energy. What are the highest payoff activities you can do to achieve your goals in the timeframe you have set? You want to make sure you spend more of your time on these activities versus other lower payoff activities. Work on those activities that produce the results you want and not the ones that might be easier to do or more fun or don’t cause you to go outside your comfort zone. You may go so far, while at work, to say that you only take calls from clients during certain times in order to maximize your efficiency. To honor your calendar, ask them if it would be okay to call them back within 24 hours – or ideally schedule a time when you can speak to them so you don’t play phone tag (that is a big waste of time). Color-coding your activities could also help for a “quick-at-a-glance” reminder. The important part of time management is first to put all your activities on the calendar and

Today we are talking about ideas to apply effective time management principles to help you be even more success. One of the success principles of any successful person is effective time management. In order to create your ideal life and business, you must learn to schedule EVERYTHING (even showers initially, eating, drive time, working out, family time, etc.) and be extremely effective at time management. If you are like me, you think you can get done more than you actually can, so you run out of time to get everything done you put on your list. For me, this isn’t a good feeling, especially if it were to happen day after day. When you begin to calendar your activities, take a look at everything you have to do and how long you think it will take to get each one done and then add “cushion” time to each activity. I haven’t been able to come up with a rule of them for how much extra time should be given to each activity. It is dependent on you and the activity. You may have to explore in the beginning to figure out what works best for you based on how well you estimated the initial time for each activity. If you actually do finish the activity before the time you allotted, you have the gift of time to move on to the next activity. Put everything on your calendar. In time, you will become better at how much time you actually need for each activity. You want to also make sure to include buffer time for something that has a deadline. Say you have to submit a proposal to a prospective client by a certain date. In order to have it done, you determine approximately how much time you think it will take to create the proposal and then add a bit of time to that total. You then give yourself a deadline for completion that is 2 or 3 days before the actual ‘drop dead’ deadline. This means that if you have issues and unforeseen things that occur, you still will complete it by the actual deadline date. This works well when you have to rely on others to help you get something done. If you get it done early, all the better for you and what impression it will make with the prospective client. You may have to go through trial and error on a schedule until you find optimal results. Some people are early birds and will tackle certain tasks first thing, while others will find they are more effective in the afternoon. Just be sure to schedule tasks when they can be achieved with the greatest efficiency and outcome. Calendaring your activities will also allow you to identify similar activities that can be completed together. If you have several activities that are the same type of activity, do them all at the same time. For example, you would do certain types of calls all at the same time, interview potential clients, conduct annual meetings with clients, etc. For lower-payoff activities like administrative duties and email, specify during certain times in the day they will be completed. When you don’t continually have to change ‘hats’ while working on the activities required to achieve your goals, you will save a lot of time and mental energy. What are the highest payoff activities you can do to achieve your goals in the timeframe you have set? You want to make sure you spend more of your time on these activities versus other lower payoff activities. Work on those activities that produce the results you want and not the ones that might be easier to do or more fun or don’t cause you to go outside your comfort zone. You may go so far, while at work, to say that you only take calls from clients during certain times in order to maximize your efficiency. To honor your calendar, ask them if it would be okay to call them back within 24 hours – or ideally schedule a time when you can speak to them so you don’t play phone tag (that is a big waste of time). Color-coding your activities could also help for a “quick-at-a-glance” reminder. The important part of time management is first to put all your activities on the calendar and

As a busy working mom and wife, Tameika Isaac Devine understands the challenges that can come with trying to excel both at home and at work. Tameika’s personal passion is in helping working moms conquer overwhelm in order to perform their best at work and at home. She is an advocate for women in leadership and speaks on work-life balance and integration, leadership and networking, along with politics and community engagement. Additionally, she has authored multiple books including, “Think Like A CEO, Act Like A Mom: The Pursuit of Work Life Integration” where she shares the perfect blend of sage advice and personal anecdotes to explain how working moms can truly have it all. Tameika is an elected official, attorney, and a leading expert and speaker on work-life integration for busy working moms and whose insights have been featured in CNN, MSNBC, Forbes, Jet Magazine, and more. Here are some questions I asked Tameika that you will benefit from by listening to her answers: • Describe your definition of work life integration? • Why is work life balance so important to each one of us? BENEFITS to us in our personal and business life? • Is Work Life balance achievable and if so, how do we achieve it? • How do you balance work and life responsibilities? • Why is it so hard for business owners to achieve that work life integration? • What are some of your favorite tips and strategies for achieving work life integration? • What would you say is the most important concept for people to understand and implement that you wrote about in your book, “Think Like A CEO, Act Like A Mom: The Pursuit of Work Life Integration”? Tameika offered a free consultation with her by going to www.adevinelife.com. Subscribe to my podcast to get notified every time a new episode is available. Define Core Values to Align Successful Behavior and Goals Free Exercise In order to successfully apply the principles and systems to help you experience even greater success, it is vital that you first identify your values, so you can then create behaviors that support your values. When there is conflict or a discrepancy between your values and behavior or goals, success is impossible. Your values are basically the “why” behind your goals. Values, Goals, and Behaviors must all be focused in the same direction for successful goal achievement, and when any one of them is out of alignment with the other, you will find yourself spinning your wheels. Your values will lead you in one direction, while your behavior leads you in a completely different direction, never allowing for your energies to complement each other. Download and complete my Values Clarification exercise to help you align your goals and behavior with your values, so that everything is heading in the same direction. When goals and behavior are aligned with core values, you have the winning formula for success. To download my complimentary 6-page Values Clarification Exercise to help get you started on defining and getting clarity on your core values, go to https://www.accountabilitycoach.com/values-clarification/. This exercise can help you with your “Why”. The Pros vs Cons Free Exercise Have you ever had a time when you needed to make a decision but weren’t exactly sure what to do? Well, when this occurs and you aren’t sure about what decision you should make, you might want to consider the old fashion Pros and Cons list. Using this exercise will help when you are trying to decide whether to do something that can have an impact on your life, personally and professionally. Your ‘gut’ may still have a say in what you choose to do in the end. Many of the choices you make are irreversible. Once you have made them, there is no turning back. The direction of your life could change from that moment on without you even realizing this fact. It usually takes a jolt for you to wake up to the power of choice. After you complete the exercise, consider what

As a busy working mom and wife, Tameika Isaac Devine understands the challenges that can come with trying to excel both at home and at work. Tameika’s personal passion is in helping working moms conquer overwhelm in order to perform their best at work and at home. She is an advocate for women in leadership and speaks on work-life balance and integration, leadership and networking, along with politics and community engagement. Additionally, she has authored multiple books including, “Think Like A CEO, Act Like A Mom: The Pursuit of Work Life Integration” where she shares the perfect blend of sage advice and personal anecdotes to explain how working moms can truly have it all. Tameika is an elected official, attorney, and a leading expert and speaker on work-life integration for busy working moms and whose insights have been featured in CNN, MSNBC, Forbes, Jet Magazine, and more. Here are some questions I asked Tameika that you will benefit from by listening to her answers: • Describe your definition of work life integration? • Why is work life balance so important to each one of us? BENEFITS to us in our personal and business life? • Is Work Life balance achievable and if so, how do we achieve it? • How do you balance work and life responsibilities? • Why is it so hard for business owners to achieve that work life integration? • What are some of your favorite tips and strategies for achieving work life integration? • What would you say is the most important concept for people to understand and implement that you wrote about in your book, “Think Like A CEO, Act Like A Mom: The Pursuit of Work Life Integration”? Tameika offered a free consultation with her by going to www.adevinelife.com. Subscribe to my podcast to get notified every time a new episode is available. Define Core Values to Align Successful Behavior and Goals Free Exercise In order to successfully apply the principles and systems to help you experience even greater success, it is vital that you first identify your values, so you can then create behaviors that support your values. When there is conflict or a discrepancy between your values and behavior or goals, success is impossible. Your values are basically the “why” behind your goals. Values, Goals, and Behaviors must all be focused in the same direction for successful goal achievement, and when any one of them is out of alignment with the other, you will find yourself spinning your wheels. Your values will lead you in one direction, while your behavior leads you in a completely different direction, never allowing for your energies to complement each other. Download and complete my Values Clarification exercise to help you align your goals and behavior with your values, so that everything is heading in the same direction. When goals and behavior are aligned with core values, you have the winning formula for success. To download my complimentary 6-page Values Clarification Exercise to help get you started on defining and getting clarity on your core values, go to https://www.accountabilitycoach.com/values-clarification/. This exercise can help you with your “Why”. The Pros vs Cons Free Exercise Have you ever had a time when you needed to make a decision but weren’t exactly sure what to do? Well, when this occurs and you aren’t sure about what decision you should make, you might want to consider the old fashion Pros and Cons list. Using this exercise will help when you are trying to decide whether to do something that can have an impact on your life, personally and professionally. Your ‘gut’ may still have a say in what you choose to do in the end. Many of the choices you make are irreversible. Once you have made them, there is no turning back. The direction of your life could change from that moment on without you even realizing this fact. It usually takes a jolt for you to wake up to the power of choice. After you complete the exercise, consider what

Today we are talking about 4 Benefits of Embracing Change to Increase Business Success. You don’t need anyone to tell you that the world is undergoing many changes right now, that’s pretty obvious. What may not be so obvious is your ability to adapt to the changes that are necessary for your business to survive and thrive in the changing market. How do you set yourself up for success when global changes are affecting the future of your business? You find out where the change is headed and adapt to meet the demand. Hypothetically, you could resist changes in the market and stand stubbornly in your comfort zone. The major drawback to that would be that you would probably be sinking in quicksand – and taking your business with you. Embracing change is important for everyone to embrace. The ability to adapt to change, and even welcome it, is absolutely essential to the success of your business and life. What happens when you fight change? That’s pretty simple; instead of embracing change and adapting to it, you spent hours of energy fighting it – only to have to surrender to it in the end. The fight didn’t make it any easier, nor did it prevent the change from occurring. So why waste all the time and emotional energy to fight something that is inevitable? Let’s take a look at 4 things that can happen when you embrace change. 1. You may uncover a problem you didn’t know existed It’s easy to become complacent when things seem to be going well, and put the blinders on when everything around you is stuck in a rut. When you deal with the same pattern, over and over again, you lose perspective of what is working and what isn’t working. Continually having a healthy perspective and a finger on the pulse of your business is very valuable and important. As an entrepreneur, it is essential that you are running your business with the greatest efficiency and profit. If you don’t know what your big money maker is or if you’re marketing plan doesn’t have a successful ROI, you’ve got a problem. Research what drives other successful businesses and accomplishes the goals you have in sight. Identify what works and then copy that model to your own business. Change and improve what isn’t working and you’ll be setting your business up for success. In addition, take a forward-thinking approach to your industry to anticipate changes that can affect you, and be willing to change or adjust quickly if needed. 2. The easy part is integration and adaptation Many people resist change for the simple fact they are fearful of pain or the outcome. The truth is that once you get past the resistance, integration and adaptation are easy. As humans, we are inherently creative and that allows us to adapt much more easily than we presume upon first perception. Remind yourself that you will have a much tougher go at change if you choose to fight it. Embracing it merely employs your inherent ability to adapt to a changing environment. Apply that creativity to your business, and you’ll find that it is much more flexible than you initially thought. As an entrepreneur, you have an enormous advantage over larger organizations in your industry, simple because it is more difficult for them to change or adapt quickly. While large organizations are struggling to adjust quickly to meet unexpected change, you can use their lag time to your advantage, and make changes quickly, to increase revenue and gain positive exposure. 3. Make room for more success Your success only expands as far as you expand. Change allows you to grow and expand your perceptions, beliefs and performance – and that’s what you want because your success will come in direct proportion. In order to make room for the new, you must do away with the old. Look at embracing change as your opportunity to embrace the success you have always desired. Of course, you could also look at it another way. For every piece of resistance that you put up against change, you are also re

Today we are talking about 4 Benefits of Embracing Change to Increase Business Success. You don’t need anyone to tell you that the world is undergoing many changes right now, that’s pretty obvious. What may not be so obvious is your ability to adapt to the changes that are necessary for your business to survive and thrive in the changing market. How do you set yourself up for success when global changes are affecting the future of your business? You find out where the change is headed and adapt to meet the demand. Hypothetically, you could resist changes in the market and stand stubbornly in your comfort zone. The major drawback to that would be that you would probably be sinking in quicksand – and taking your business with you. Embracing change is important for everyone to embrace. The ability to adapt to change, and even welcome it, is absolutely essential to the success of your business and life. What happens when you fight change? That’s pretty simple; instead of embracing change and adapting to it, you spent hours of energy fighting it – only to have to surrender to it in the end. The fight didn’t make it any easier, nor did it prevent the change from occurring. So why waste all the time and emotional energy to fight something that is inevitable? Let’s take a look at 4 things that can happen when you embrace change. 1. You may uncover a problem you didn’t know existed It’s easy to become complacent when things seem to be going well, and put the blinders on when everything around you is stuck in a rut. When you deal with the same pattern, over and over again, you lose perspective of what is working and what isn’t working. Continually having a healthy perspective and a finger on the pulse of your business is very valuable and important. As an entrepreneur, it is essential that you are running your business with the greatest efficiency and profit. If you don’t know what your big money maker is or if you’re marketing plan doesn’t have a successful ROI, you’ve got a problem. Research what drives other successful businesses and accomplishes the goals you have in sight. Identify what works and then copy that model to your own business. Change and improve what isn’t working and you’ll be setting your business up for success. In addition, take a forward-thinking approach to your industry to anticipate changes that can affect you, and be willing to change or adjust quickly if needed. 2. The easy part is integration and adaptation Many people resist change for the simple fact they are fearful of pain or the outcome. The truth is that once you get past the resistance, integration and adaptation are easy. As humans, we are inherently creative and that allows us to adapt much more easily than we presume upon first perception. Remind yourself that you will have a much tougher go at change if you choose to fight it. Embracing it merely employs your inherent ability to adapt to a changing environment. Apply that creativity to your business, and you’ll find that it is much more flexible than you initially thought. As an entrepreneur, you have an enormous advantage over larger organizations in your industry, simple because it is more difficult for them to change or adapt quickly. While large organizations are struggling to adjust quickly to meet unexpected change, you can use their lag time to your advantage, and make changes quickly, to increase revenue and gain positive exposure. 3. Make room for more success Your success only expands as far as you expand. Change allows you to grow and expand your perceptions, beliefs and performance – and that’s what you want because your success will come in direct proportion. In order to make room for the new, you must do away with the old. Look at embracing change as your opportunity to embrace the success you have always desired. Of course, you could also look at it another way. For every piece of resistance that you put up against change, you are also re