Three Steps to Maximizing Your Productivity

Are you finding you have a lot to do, but never seem to have enough time?
1) First assess how you are spending your time. Here are a few common time eaters to watch out for:
Have a long list of things to do and focus on all the little thing so you can mark off more things in an hour
You are straightening, cleaning or micro-working
You are spending hours on e-mail
You can’t find things and spend a lot of time looking and discovering things you have not seen in a long time
You spend social/idle time on the phone
YouTube clips, random videos, TV, blogs, errands (things that don’t contribute to the bottom line)
Maintenance items that absorb time
Absorbed on-line, Facebook, games, groups, forums, etc.
2) Second, identify your weakness. Look at what is holding you back from doing the really important things on your list. Some common reasons our “BIG” projects are not accomplished are:
Lack of planning
Lack of time
Overwhelmed with project
Lack motivation
Distractions/Interruptions
Other priorities
Emergencies
Tired & frustrated
Lack of resources
Lack of clarity on vision
Excuses (life)
3) Create a routine and strategies for how you operate.
Simple and effective Daily Habits
10 min. daily pick-up time
Keep a clean desk
Check e-mail 3x a day; limit time to 30 min. for each checking
Touch it once and put it in its place (file it, toss it, etc.)
Pick one big project you need to do each day and complete it before doing anything else
Keep a weekly plan of activities with the top 5 things you will do each day
Keep regular tools at your fingertips (healthy snacks, water, books, planner, etc.)
Develop management systems – templates for things you do often
Block one hour a day for quiet time to focus exclusively
Pick one news source & read as reward for task completed
Have a system to organize contacts, calendar and tasks (outlook is a great tool)
Bottom-line. When you have systems in place, are neat and organized, you can get more done. Also when you do what is important first, it will free your energy to have the big project done and also give plenty of time for all the little things. When you assess, identify and strategize you will easily maximize your productivity!
Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN
Are you finding you have a lot to do, but never seem to have enough time?

1) First assess how you are spending your time. Here are a few common time eaters to watch out for:
Have a long list of things to do and focus on all the little thing so you can mark off more things in an hour
You are straightening, cleaning or micro-working
You are spending hours on e-mail
You can’t find things and spend a lot of time looking and discovering things you have not seen in a long time
You spend social/idle time on the phone
YouTube clips, random videos, TV, blogs, errands (things that don’t contribute to the bottom line)
Maintenance items that absorb time
Absorbed on-line, Facebook, games, groups, forums, etc.

2) Second, identify your weakness. Look at what is holding you back from doing the really important things on your list. Some common reasons our “BIG” projects are not accomplished are:
Lack of planning
Lack of time
Overwhelmed with project
Lack motivation
Distractions/Interruptions
Other priorities
Emergencies
Tired & frustrated
Lack of resources
Lack of clarity on vision
Excuses (life)

3) Create a routine and strategies for how you operate.
Simple and effective Daily Habits
10 min. daily pick-up time
Keep a clean desk
Check e-mail 3x a day; limit time to 30 min. for each checking
Touch it once and put it in its place (file it, toss it, etc.)
Pick one big project you need to do each day and complete it before doing anything else
Keep a weekly plan of activities with the top 5 things you will do each day
Keep regular tools at your fingertips (healthy snacks, water, books, planner, etc.)
Develop management systems – templates for things you do often
Block one hour a day for quiet time to focus exclusively
Pick one news source & read as reward for task completed
Have a system to organize contacts, calendar and tasks (outlook is a great tool)

Bottom-line. When you have systems in place, are neat and organized, you can get more done. Also when you do what is important first, it will free your energy to have the big project done and also give plenty of time for all the little things. When you assess, identify and strategize you will easily maximize your productivity!

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

Effective Habits, Energy Management, Human Performance, Performance & Productivity, Productivity, Removing Obstacles, Time Management, Uncategorized

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PRODUCTIVITY TOOL

Technology always has it pros and cons, however the use of apps can greatly improve your effectiveness!

Recently I read an article where I found many of my favorite aps in the list of 7 Must-Have (Free) Mobile Apps to do Your Job Better
(Written by Ryan Holmes, CEO for HootSuite).

Here is a short list:
1. Brewster: Instant Rolodex (new to me!)
2. Here on Biz: Meet your LinkedIn contacts in real life (new to me!)
3. HootSuite: All your social media, anywhere (I recommend!)
4. Dropbox: Your hard drive, anywhere (my clients & I give a 5 stars rating)
5. Trello: Beyond to-do lists (my clients LOVE)
6. Evernote: Junk drawer for your digital life (my clients LOVE, I am learning too!)(5 star rating)
7. UberConference: Conference calls on the go (new to me!)

For full article: 7 Must-Have (free) Mobile Apps to do Your Job Better

App directory: http://hootsuite.com/app-directory

Do you have an ap you love for productivity? Send it in to christy@synergystrateiges.com

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN


Business Coaching, Effective Habits, Energy Management, Performance & Productivity, Productivity, Removing Obstacles, Time Management

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How To Eliminate the Inessential

“Simplicity boils down to two steps: Identify the essential. Eliminate the rest.”
— Leo Babauta

TIP: How do you do this? Make a list of everything you do in a week (or month). You can focus on your business or your whole life. Then go back and rate each item as HIGH, MEDIUM or LOW value. High would be something that’s valuable and brings time, energy (worth) or profitability to your life. Low is something that you do for some reason but it does not have high returns. Look at how you can eliminate the low activities. Next, go back and rate the high and medium activities as how much this activity needs of YOU: ALL, SOME, LITTLE. Sometimes we spend our valuable time doing things that someone else could be doing.  If there are things that with some direction could easily be done by someone else (need a LITTLE of you), delegate it or redesign it. The medium and some give you a little variance, but really the ESSENTIAL are things that need ALL of you and are HIGH importance. Try it!

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

Business Coaching, Effective Habits, Energy Management, Human Performance, Performance & Productivity, Personal Growth, Productivity, Removing Obstacles, Time Management

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Why Coaching?

What do people coach on? How could it support me? Sometimes people are interested in the idea of coaching, but they are not sure how it works or how to make it productive for them. Coaching works best when a person has an idea of a goal or vision of where they want to be. Typically (as with any growth in life) there is a gap between where we are now and where we want to go/be. This “gap” creates the area for focus/growth and also the coaching agenda.

Here are some examples of coaching agendas / priorities:

COACHING FOR LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT (CXO’s, Owners, Entrepreneurs, Directors/Managers, Pastors, Leaders)

  • I believe in getting perspective from a neutral source and having a sounding board is valuable.
  • It is important how I come across, and want support to maximize my communication.
  • I have a vision for my success and I would like to design a plan for that to happen.
  • I have many people below me and it can be “lonely” at the front, I need a person to be my confidant as I strategically evaluate and plan for my business steps and growth.
  • I am a leader with many things on my plate. I know it is important to be a “model” and want accountability to “walk the talk” and be an example for my team.
  • I work with a team and want to understand those I work with. (DISC personality assessment)
  • I want to shift to “coaching” my reports vs. managing them. I need to develop skills.
  • I need to create my annual strategic plan for my business/with my team.

COACHING FOR PERSONAL PRODUCTIVITY (Entrepreneurs, Professionals, Work-from-home people)

  • I want to identify or better articulate the goals I have. I need to make clear progress.
  • I want to improve my performance and effectiveness; and be consistent as well.
  • I want to tweak the design of my time, my life, my day and/or my priorities. My time matters.
  • I am not doing what I need to; I need to be challenged and find a way to stay focused.
  • I am more creative and productive when I have a person to brainstorm/collaborate with.
  • What I really want is the weekly structure of having a coach; that will get me going.
  • I need to understand my strengths, maximize them and minimize my weaknesses.
  • My day runs me; I want more control of my time and energy.

COACHING FOR SMALL BUSINESS

  • I have an idea for a new business; I need to figure out if it is a good fit for me.
  • I need to create my business plan and need to think through it (SWOT, plan, etc.).
  • I want to have a clear mission and vision to be a base for making business decisions.
  • I want to understand my values so I can run my business in alignment with them.
  • I want to reduce my stress at work and need to figure out how.
  • I am in the middle of a big project and I could use a person to provide support/reflection.
  • I work by myself and need encouragement and a person to help see what I am not.
  • I have a problem that needs to be solved; I need to understand what is not obvious.
  • I need to make an important decision and want to brainstorm/tease out my best options.
  • I have a large goal and I want help to develop a strategy to reach that goal easily.
  • I want to build a skill set or part of my business and need focus/push to make it happen.
  • I want to articulate better who I am and what I do for networking, marketing, etc.
  • I need to explore new ways to expand how or ways to approach my business or goals.

LIFE or PERSONAL GROWTH/DEVELOPMENT COACHING

  • I am ready to design my environment to profoundly support, stimulate or inspire me.
  • I would like to pursue several personal interests but I cannot seem to find the time.
  • I am transitioning and want to figure out what I really want and design my life accordingly.
  • I want someone to tell it to me straight; to be forthright with me about my situation.
  • There is something more for me in life and I’d like help finding out what that is.
  • I am on a path of self-awareness and I want to move forward more quickly.

Coaching is a great resource to support you in being strategic and proactive, to get clarity, focus and a plan to make your desire happen. I, along with many coaches, offer a free sample session to explore if coaching is the best fit and tool to support you to accomplish your goals!

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

Business Coaching, Career Exploration, Career Fulfillment, Communication Skills, Effective Habits, Energy Management, Executives & Leaders, Goal Setting, Human Performance, Leadership Development, Management Skills, Performance & Productivity, Personal Growth, Productivity, Removing Obstacles, Time Management, Work Environment, Work/Life Synergy & Balance

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Does Every Owner NEED a Blog?

No, a blog is not for everyone. Does the house cleaner who runs a very simple and full local business need an on-line presence? Maybe not, but MAYBE. I would say a blog is for those who want to increase their ability to be found on the internet, to be contacted by your local market or beyond. As I understand blogging there are several objectives people can have. Blogs evolved out of WEB LOGS which were a place to capture resource information for quick and consolidated reference. The popular purpose in recent years seems to have been on-line personal musings of thoughts, ideas and individual updates. It was at this stage that I was not interested in blogging either, writing it off as something that was useful for some, but something I did not have time for.

Today however, blogging has evolved into several additional purposes that can benefit every business owner.

1)      It helps with SEO. Frequent and regular postings in your blog with key words that you want to be found by can be more effective than buying Google Ad Words and “SEOing” your website. The regular activity on your blog will help to keep your page fresh and at the top of the NEW and RECENT information on the web (each entry is like a NEW website).

2)      It is the new website. I have heard that some techies are recommending if you are going to start a website, create a blog site instead of a website. Because of the way things are published, a blog site will optimize every entry you put on your site, but a website will only host the information and it will not be optimized in internet searches.

3)      It is an opportunity to give to others. Information is growing and changing quickly. Why not share what you know. It is a blessing to others and we know what we give we receive. So let go and be willing to give.

4)      Build creditably. It is a way to show that you know what you are talking about (teach what you know) which builds credibility for your business and separates you from the “want to be’s”.

5)      Maximize your spokes on-line. It can be an easy hub of the wheel for your social media updating, release of audio and video clips and a channel to help market or inform your audience of who you are and what you do.  The blog is a relevant and live “hub” to funnel your most recent things that can auto update all your other sites that you are working to network and keep in touch with the world.

These are some of the key reasons I think it is savvy for a business owner to have a blog. For the reasons above, I do think it is wise for a business owner to consider it for themselves. They will have to figure out their purpose, target and system to work their blog, but that can be fun. Realistically, if every business owner were blogging, it might lose some of its effectiveness, however, taking the prosperity perspective, everyone has something to contribute and will benefit others. Just set up your blog in a way that is reasonable and natural for you to manage,  YES, having a blog, can be beneficial for most business owners.

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

Communication Skills, Effective Habits, Energy Management, Goal Setting, Personal Growth, Productivity

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ATTRACTION

The topic of attraction has different reactions depending on your background and exposure to it. If you have not heard of it, it is about the universal laws of energy magnetism. What you put out is also what you “attract”. If you don’t like that you are “attracting” in life or work, evaluate what you are putting out in the world (your energy, comments, ideas, actions, etc.). Thomas Leonard, a key founder of coaching, wrote these principles for positive attraction in THE PORTABLE COACH, ww.thomasleonard.com. Consider one principle you might like to “add” to your life and how it could impact yourself and others if you did this on a regular basis.

THE 28 PRINCIPLES OF ATTRACTION

1. Become incredibly selfish. Without you, there is nothing and attraction isn’t possible.

2. Unhook yourself from the future. Attraction works in the present, not in the future.

3. Over respond to every event. By over responding instead of overreacting, you evolve, which is very attractive.

4. Build a super reserve in every area. Having enough is not nearly enough for you to be irresistibly attractive.

5. Add value just for the joy of it. When you add value because you enjoy it, people are naturally attracted to you.

6. Affect others profoundly. The more you touch others, the more attractive you’ll become.

7. Market your talents shamelessly. If you’re embarrassed about what you do well, you won’t be very attractive.

8. Become irresistibly attractive to yourself. How can you attract others if you don’t feel irresistibly attractive to you?

9. Get a fulfilling life, not just an impressive lifestyle. A great life is attractive; a lifestyle is usually seductive.

10. Deliver twice what you promise. When you consistently deliver more than was expected, new customers are drawn to you.

11. Create a vacuum that pulls you forward. Being pulled forward is attractive; pushing forward is not.

12. Eliminate delay. Time is expensive and thus delay is very unattractive.

13. Get your personal needs met, once and for all. If your have unmet needs, you’ll attract others in the same position.

14. Thrive on the details. Subtleties, details and nuances are more attractive than the obvious.

15. Tolerate nothing. When you put up with something, it costs you. Costs are expensive and thus unattractive.

16. Show others how to please you. Don’t make them guess.

17. Endorse your worst weakness. When you can accept and honor the worst part of yourself, you are more accepting of others.

18. Sensitize yourself. The more you feel, the more you’ll notice and respond to the many opportunities in the present.

19. Perfect your environment. The attraction is a sophisticated system that requires a first-class environment.

20. Develop more character than you need. Integrity is not enough to become irresistible attractive.

21. See how perfect the present really is; especially when it is clearly not.

22. Become unconditionally constructive. High levels of respect are very attractive.

23. Orient exclusively around your values. When you spend your days doing what fulfills you, you are attractive.

24. Simplify everything. Abandoning the on-essentials leaves more room for you to attract.

25. Master your craft. Being the best at what you do is the easiest way to become successful.

26. Recognize and tell the truth. The truth is the most attractive thing of all, but it requires skills and awareness.

27. Have a vision. When you can see what’s coming, you don’t need to create a future.

28. Be more human. When you are genuine, you are attractive.

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

Communication Skills, Effective Habits, Energy Management, Law of Attraction Principles, Performance & Productivity, Personal Growth, Productivity, Removing Obstacles

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Rhinoceros Success

Rhinoceros Success by Scott Alexander(1) is a funny, short and easy-to-read book that will inspire any action-oriented person to get moving! Scott Alexander has a creative approach to get you ready to charge forward into action! This is perfect in the NEW YEAR when you are setting and planning for goal success! The author makes the premise that there are two kinds of people in the world, “Cows” and “Rhinos.” You get to choose which one you’d like to be.

The fact that you are reading this article suggests that you are already rhino material! Rhinos are the people who charge ahead and don’t let things get them down. They get things done and see the possibilities even in adverse circumstances. Obstacles are merely hurdles to break through, not road blocks that immobilize. Now realistically, every rhino is going to have some “cow” days; the trick is to be a cow as little as possible, because rhinos simply get more done and are more successful. Cows have a different purpose altogether and are OK with mediocre, “good enough” and settling for living in fenced-in pastures, chewing their cud. I am not going to focus on cows, because the rhino is the one who is making things happen and moving forward through the jungle of life! If you want to get things done and not let negative people, life, or other obstacles stop you – this is a must read.

Strategies for living your purpose and expanding your awareness for life, people and the opportunities of each day

Rhino Mind-set:

  • Positive Self-Talk. Scott Alexander talks about reading a focus statement daily. He suggests: “I am a rhinoceros. I have a damn-the-torpedoes spirit! I am full of energy and I can’t wait to get up in the morning to start charging!” Now, write your big picture goal and get moving!
  • Expect Torpedoes. These are the obstacles and negative things that inevitably discourage, distract or serve to get you off track. Expect them and commit to not letting them knock you over. Develop a tough, thick skin so you can keep charging. These are traits like confidence, endurance, discipline, focus, and determination.

Rhino Behavior:

  • Action is essential. Pick the most important thing you need to get done each day and do it first, before the smaller and more seductive things (e.g., checking e-mail, cleaning, personal calls, coffee breaks). Also, write the four other key things you need to get done each day, and focus on doing those. Make it your goal to accomplish these five key items every day.
  • CHARGE! Rhinos are in the business of “charging” forward. They have a target in mind (the goal) and are focused and going for it. Since you have already developed your plan, you can be confident in your charge. Go for the next step and get it done. Success happens one step at a time, whether the goal is large or small. Whatever you do, do something, stay in action and keep moving forward.

1 (Laguna Hills, CA: Rhino Press, 1980)

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

Business Coaching, Effective Habits, Energy Management, Goal Setting, Human Performance, Performance & Productivity, Personal Growth, Productivity, Removing Obstacles, Time Management

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Change Is Inevitable

Do you resist change or struggle to embrace it in your company or organization? Change is hard for most people. In the DISC personality profile, one company statistically extracted that 63% of the world (so over ½ of the population) are more of the “S” profile style. The “S” profile style does not like change. They thrive in habits, rituals, routine. Their goal is stability, efficiency and doing things well and right. When “change” occurs it can strain all of these things. It introduces more risk and chance of failure – what if the change was not right? What if we pick the wrong thing? What if it doesn’t work? What if we let go of the thing we should have kept? What if we forget something? Change is more liquid, moving and undefined. It is not settled and opens the door for conflict and questions as the team works to figure out the change and the “new normal”. This can be very uncomfortable for many people, “S” profiles and others as well. It is not surprising that change is a resisted effort!

While all of these things are true of change – 1) more people than not, will struggle to keep things the same than change it (whether subconscious or conscious), 2) change introduces the unknown and risk and 3) because change is uncomfortable it takes work to make it happen. What is interesting is the CHANGE of times, era, generations and what will happen whether we as humans like it or not and this CHANGE is what prompts the need for humans to stay on their toes, be sharp, adapt and CHANGE.

David Phillips, a leadership consultant, wrote an interesting blog about this recently. Check out: http://www.davidphillips.biz/in-transition/

As I always say – KEEP CHARGING. Change is inevitable, learn to leverage it vs. resist it.

Christy

Business Coaching, Career Fulfillment, Effective Habits, Energy Management, Executives & Leaders, Goal Setting, Human Performance, Performance & Productivity, Personal Growth, Productivity, Removing Obstacles

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