Better Than A Business Card™

Creating systems saves time, money, and stress

This tip is simple but, oh, so powerful. It has saved me countless hours of frustration and Who-knows-how-many dollars plus it has provided a tremendous amount of peace of mind: I create systems for as many activities as I can, both professionally and personally. Here are just a couple of really easy things I've done which have paid off big dividends for me:

• Items go directly into the front seat of the car as soon as I know that I will need to deliver them somewhere. Packaged up some of my books, Grads: Take Charge, to mail to customers or have a check to deposit at the bank? I don't leave them sitting in the office...they go straight to the car so when I head out, I don't have to worry about whether I've got what I need.

• To keep my Twitter presence even on busy days when it's easy to forget, I use TweetLater to schedule tweets throughout the day. My account @RealSolutions22 tweets to job seekers, students, grads, and parents about success in school and life in the real world afterward, and @Tips4Grads tweets specifically to new graduates about careers, money, and the messy stuff of life after college. This saves me time (because I'm not bouncing in and out of Twitter all day long, though I do visit regularly to find helpful info to re-tweet) and it saves me stress because I don't have to worry that I've been silent for too long.

• As I read my email, I take advantage of the Tasks bar in Outlook to keep track of things which need to be done later. I pop over there to add phone calls to be made, or items to be followed up on rather than leave all those emails sprinkled throughout my inbox. This definitely saves time and stress; no more wondering whether I remembered to follow up or not, and no wasted time skimming up and down the inbox to find a message that I know needs attention.

These three small 'systems' that I've created for myself are huge in terms of what they do for me. Save yourself some headaches and time by creating systems for yourself today!

Save time and aggravation online with OpenID

If you're like me, you're registered on at least 100 different membership sites, research tools, and more. And, if you're like me, it can get confusing trying to remember which user id and password you created for each one. The answer to saving ourselves the stress and aggravation of not remembering which id goes with which site and the time to try to find it...is OpenID. It's a free and easy way to use a single digital id across the Internet. I'm all for anything that saves time and aggravation. Check it out.

Whittle down your offers to increase your efficiency

Are you like me? I have so many ideas swirling around in my head that sometimes it's difficult to keep my focus on just one idea in my business. The idea started a couple years ago to update a book I published back in '95...that idea grew to a series of four mini-books, then to dozens of tips booklets—simply repackaging the same material in different ways for different distribution.

But it didn't stop there...the topics which would fit this model expanded...and never stopped. It was like never-ending concentric circles rippling through a pond. I was dividing my time amongst all the different audiences and products, and getting zero of them to the point where it was actually ready for market (according to my perfectionist standards, anyway).

It's exciting to think about all the possibilities your idea holds and look ahead to when you'll have an entire line of products. But don't let this keep you from making progress now.When I finally reigned myself in, I concentrated on just one audience and realized that creating the four mini-books would also lead to finishing the full book. The other products and audiences can wait.

What an amazing liberation! By narrowing down what I was going to offer and focusing on just that, to the exclusion of all the peripheral products, I was able to be much more efficient with my time and see actual progress toward the finish line. When the book is 'put to bed', I'll move on to the next of those concentric circles and focus my energies there until I hit that finish line, too. Some day, I'll have that entire line of products out in the market, but I don't have to wait until all of them are finished before debuting them.

But enough about me. The book is almost ready for the printer and I'm sharing this to help you avoid the same mistake—whether you want to call it perfectionism, procrastination, or just lack of focus. Narrowing down what you're going to offer your customers or clients to just one or two highly-targeted specialty products or services will increase your productivity a hundredfold and increase your credibility with your customers at the same time—you'll be seen as the expert in a finely focused niche rather than a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none. And that's the point, isn't it?

Make your plan...then work it!

For those of you who haven't quite yet lived up to your New Year's resolution to be more productive this year, here's an article from Yahoo! Hot Jobs that can help you get off on the right foot.

Plan It: How to Make the Most of Your Workweek

by Clea Badion, Robert Half International

 

What's the best way to get something done at work? Do it on a Tuesday. More than half of executives polled by Robert Half International said employees hit their peak performance on Tuesdays.

Unfortunately, not every day is Tuesday. But you can plan your week to maximize your productivity on this day -- and the other four. Consider the following schedule. While the nature of your job or your own personal preference might prevent you from following it to the letter, giving your workweek at least some structure can prove highly beneficial.

Make a plan on Monday. When you arrive at work Monday morning, chances are you are still transitioning from weekend to workweek. Mondays also are frequently filled with meetings, and that can decrease the amount of time you have to devote to your regular tasks. Since this may not be your most productive day, use it to set the stage for the rest of your week. Take some time to develop a to-do list and prioritize your projects for the days ahead.

Time to get movin' on Tuesday. This day provides you with an opportunity to focus your efforts and establish momentum for the rest of your week -- it's also the day to begin projects that will require extended concentration. Try to arrange your time so you have few interruptions or meetings; changing gears frequently hurts your productivity. Along the same lines, try to cluster projects that require similar resources for even more efficiency.

Reassess your week on Wednesday. The middle of the week provides an opportunity for you to figure out where you're at and what still needs to be done. Think about what you can reasonably accomplish the rest of the week and if any of your planned tasks need to be pushed to the following week due to emergency projects or unforeseen hurdles. Make any necessary adjustments so you can get back on track.

Think about a break on Thursday. Use Thursday as a day to reward yourself for your hard work throughout the week and to prepare for the final pre-weekend push. You might plan a lunch away from the office or arrange to take a walk with a colleague to re-energize. Alternatively, if you've been working long hours, this might be the day you leave the office a bit earlier than normal.

Be flexible on Friday. As much as possible, try to pad your week's schedule so you have the flexibility on Friday to wrap up tasks you weren't able to accomplish during the week. Also spend some time organizing your desk, paper files and e-mails. Making sure things are neat and in order when you come into the office on Monday will help make your weekend less stressful and ensure you don't return to a chaotic mess.

It's natural for activity levels to fluctuate throughout the course of a week. By learning to identify your normal peaks and valleys when it comes to productivity, you can make the most of your workweek, no matter what schedule you follow.

Robert Half International is the world's first and largest specialized staffing firm with a global network of more than 360 offices worldwide. For more information about their professional services, please visit rhi.com. For additional workplace articles and podcasts, visit workvine.com.

Did you tackle that clutter yet? Here's a free gift for you

Just last Friday I told you about all the time you and I waste every day trying to find things, rearranging things, and just plain not being as organized as we'd like. Being brutal and attacking that clutter can easily free up enough time to write another book, make more sales, or do whatever it is that you're passionate about or just plain need to get done.

A great way to get rid of mental clutter along with the physical stuff is this Clutter Rescue Course from Patty Kreamer. Well, in case you took a look at your basement this weekend or opened that stuffed-full closet and have just had enough...Patty has provided me with a gift to pass along to you: a three-chapter excerpt from the course so you can see how valuable this investment will be in your business...maximizing your productivity and minimizing your stress level.

It's a gift...take it, use it, and make the most of 2009 with all that free time you'll have!

Is your office clutter costing you your next book, or your next sale?

It's the beginning of the year. That time when it seems like everyone's New Year resolution is to de-clutter...their office, their home, their car, their life. And it's a great resolution to have. For me, the more clear my desk is, the more clear my head is and the ideas can flow more readily. And in my house, the less 'stuff' I own and have stuffed here and there, the 'lighter' and better I feel. I don't de-clutter (or divest, as I call it) just in January...I love to do it all year long.

Now here's the shocking news I just discovered: a cluttered workspace or home can cost us...dearly. It can even be the difference between getting our book written...or not. Yikes. How is that possible?

If you spend just five minutes per hour of an eight-hour work day (and who works only eight hours these days?) looking for something or moving papers and other items around on your desk as you work, you could be missing out on your next book! See how:

5 minutes per hour  x  8 hours per day  =  40 minutes a day

40 minutes a day  x  5 days a week  =  200 minutes, or 3.5 hours a week

3.5 hours a week  x  4.3 weeks per month  =  15 hours per month

15 hours per month  x  12 months in a year  =  180 hours per year

180  hours per year /  8-hour days  =  22.5 eight-hour work days

You've lost over 22 work days! That's over four weeks!

I don't know about you, but I can think of lots of things you and I could do with four weeks of our lives each year...like write another book!

Even if we could only use that time a little bit each day (the same way we waste it), it still works out well for writing a book, or any other project you tell yourself you don't have the time to complete. How many pages could you write in 40 minutes a day? How many sales calls could you make in that time? How many people in your professional network could you get back in touch with at ten minutes per call? How many webinars could you produce?

You get the picture. If this isn't reason enough to get you motivated to be brutal in tackling the clutter in your office and your home, I don't know what is! And if you need some help, here's just the thing: The Clutter Rescue Course. It will help you clear out now only a lot of physical 'stuff', but a lot of mental stuff, too, in addition to organizing what's left and simplifying your work day...call it a holistic approach to reducing stress, saving time, and increasing productivity.

And Christmas isn't over yet...during January this course is offered at a significantly reduced price, so take the gift and don't procrastinate! Consider it an investment in your business...not to mention your sanity!

Think your book is ready for a 'big time' publishing house?

OK, it's a new year and time to jump back into the fray and get our noses to the proverbial grindstones. Of course, you and I love our work, so it's not so much a grindstone as a playground, but you get my drift.

I talk a lot on this blog about self publishing because I think it's the most effective and high-impact way to expand your professional credentials and your bank account at the same time. But some of you may prefer to put your manuscript into the hands of a 'big' publisher and let them do their thing. That's fine as long as you keep a few things in mind:

• you, as the author, will still be responsible for promoting your book yourself, including setting up book signings, media appearances, contests, and other events to draw attention to your book and send buyers into the bookstores;

• your book most likely won't be in print before sometime in 2010, and often with a different title, cover, and format than you had in mind—can you live with that?

• most of the large publishers won't look at the work of an un-agented first-time author—you need to get yourself good, reputable representation before the wheels will begin to turn on your book project.

As far as agents go, there are hundreds (maybe thousands) of so-called 'literary agents' out there who, for an up-front fee, will 'represent' your book to the big publishing houses. Be aware: if an 'agent' is charging you to represent your work, you'll be throwing your money down the drain. Finding a truly reputable agent for your manuscript can be a time-consuming, stressful, and sometimes fruitless pursuit if you try to do it all on your own. But I just found out about a company that helps you through all that: Agent Research & Evaluation (AR&E).

Their offerings range from a no-cost service which will let you know whether an agent you're considering has established a public record and whether or not they have received any negative feedback about them. Other, fee-based, services help you narrow down the field of agents which are a match for the type of work you've produced and provide you with contact information for those with the best fit.

AR&E does not act as an agent and represent any work, but simply takes the confusion and stress out of finding the right agent to represent you and your book, in much less time than it would take you to do it on your own. So if you think your book is destined for a New York publishing house, this is a great place to start the journey.

Beef up your books with expert sources

The New Year is upon us! I hope this finds you finishing up a great 2008 and looking forward to an even better 2009. Here's a quick little something that can help make next year brighter.

You've heard me talk about a terrific, free service called Help a Reporter Out™ (HARO). One side of the HARO 'coin' is for experts like yourself to sign up and receive journalists' queries for expert sources to aid them in researching and writing their articles, line up guests for tv and radio spots, and flesh out their books.

The other side of the coin is the side the journalists use--and you can use it, too, if you're writing a book or article. If you haven't seen what queries look like, it's best to sign up as an expert source and get at least one of the digest emails which get delivered two to three times a day.

When you're ready to receive, go to the HARO site, enter the journalist side, and enter your query. Within a few hours, your query will go out in an email digest to thousands of expert sources. You'll be amazed at how quickly responses start rolling in...in many cases it just takes minutes! [when I put out a query a couple weeks ago, I got 27 phone interviews lined up in less than 24 hours!]

So...go out and have a fun night as you ring in the new year...then let's all hit the ground running to make 2009 the best year ever!

Work Less and Do More in 2009

The year 2009 is almost upon us. What will you do with the last two weeks of 2008? If you're looking for a suggestion, here's mine: get a copy of Dr. Jan Yager's new book, Work Less, Do More: The 14-Day Productivity Makeover, and follow her terrific advice.

I just love the way Jan has laid out this book--even a caveman could do this! I'm big on organization and laying things out do they're easily-understood and very do-able. Jan does exactly that, leading each of us personally through the steps and activities we need to implement to increase our productivity exponentially.

She starts...well...at the beginning, with how you're handling your time right now and the consequences of poor time management. She then leads you through setting goals, dealing with the Five P's (procrastination, perfectionism, poor planning, pacing, and petulance), then on to prioritizing, multi-tasking, organizing, simplifying, and so much more.

So, if you want to make 2009 your most productive year ever, my recommendation is that you get your own copy of Work Less, Do More: The 14-Day Productivity Makeover and start work on it right away so you can hit the ground running in the new year!

Resolution time is almost here again...2009 will be an AWESOME year!

Success is not an accident. It begins with a well-conceived plan. You can and will achieve more in the next year than you have in the past ten if you have a disciplined Personal Strategic Plan. Personal strategic planning is a disciplined thought process, which produces fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide who you are, where you are going, what you do, and how, when and why you do it. All of this is done with a focus on the future.

At a women entrepreneur meeting last week, I got 'turned on' to a great program for goal setting and achievement. This highly-successful woman enthusiastically recommended these materials for getting oneself focused and moving forward at lightning speed and efficiency. I think it's worth checking out.

The Goals Guy is offering a FREE audio e-book called How to Create a Sense of Urgency! Your ability to create a sense of urgency will have a far reaching impact throughout all areas of your life and this dynamic audio presentation from The GoalsGuy shows you how.

The new year is coming faster than we think...so let's all get ready to tackle 2009 head-on!

What will YOU do with the last 55 days of this year?

It never ceases to amaze me that my folks were right—time does fly by faster and faster as I get older! Labor Day was just yesterday; Thanksgiving will seemingly be here in about an hour; and New Year's Day will be next week.

That realization makes this an ideal time to set some goals for these last 55 days of 2008. If we don't plan now, we'll get precisely what we planned...nothing. Done right, between now and the end of the year, you and I can accomplish more than most people accomplish in an entire year! Are you with me?

Brian Tracy's newest audio is an amazing 71 minutes that can and will make you the most productive you've ever been in your life. Whether you want to write more books, sell more products or services, book more speaking engagements, or become a master blogger, listening to this audio will kick you into gear to get it all done...and then some! But don't take it from me, take a look at the reviews he's gotten from people just like us. Then...don't waste one more day of this precious year struggling through your To Do list!

'Secret' keyboard tricks & shortcuts to save you time and stress

Think you're a whiz on the computer? We all know that learning never ends and it's true with computers as with life. I've been involved with computers for over two decades, in training, technical support, technical writing, and software testing. But I just found this website filled with tricks and tips that will save all of us time as well as a few headaches, and some of them were news to me.

Here are a few I found most helpful:

* You can use the backspace key to navigate to the previous webpage, rather than mousing to the “back” button.

* You can hide all windows, revealing only what’s on the computer desktop, with one keystroke: hit the Windows key and “D” simultaneously in Windows, or press F11 on Macs.

* You can enlarge the text on any Web page. In Windows, press Ctrl and the plus or minus keys (for bigger or smaller fonts); on the Mac, it’s the Command key and plus or minus.

* You can also enlarge the entire Web page or document by pressing the Control key as you turn the wheel on top of your mouse. On the Mac, this enlarges the entire screen image.

Take a look for yourself. You're bound to find something that's news to you and may save you from a headache or from needlessly wasting time in the future.

http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/02/tech-tips-for-the-basic-computer-user/index.html?hp

For you ladies: get yourself Launched!

Sorry, guys. This one is for ladies only--ladies who want to get launched! Whether you're already in business as speaker, author, coach, consultant, inventor, retailer (and the list goes on) or have an idea or project that you're working on, Ladies Who Launch is for you!

I haven't even explored everything this terrific group of women entrepreneurs has to offer, but I know there's something here to inspire you and give you the boost you need to get launched from scratch or propel your business to the next level. Here are just a few of the benefits this growing national organization offers:

• an online networking community of women at all stages of business plus many who are launching personal projects rather than professional endeavors;

• LIVE events in major cities: a full day of inspiration, networking, learning, sharing, and shopping among members;

• local 'incubator' events which are one evening or morning per week for four weeks. From their website: "It’s equal parts focus group, resource-sharing space, and supportive community, and then another intangible part that you can’t really imagine until you experience it. The group consists of 10 or so other resourceful, inspiring women who each help one another take their projects, businesses, or ideas to a new place."

• online articles, blogs, and groups, plus daily What's for Launch tips by email to keep you inspired, encouraged, and moving forward with whatever it is you're launching.

I first learned of this group a little over a year ago and have been impressed with their events, their resources, and most of all their ladies...a very impressive bunch, to say the least. If you get involved with LWL, you'll be in excellent company!

Get your book written in about a month

If you've spent more than five minutes with me here on this blog, you know that one of the best ways (maybe the best way) to market yourself that's Better Than a Business Card is writing a book. To some of you, that sounds intimidating; to others it gets your creative juices flowing and you can't wait to churn out a book of your own.

But there's that issue of dealing with the precious commodity called time. You've probably heard stories of people who took years to get their book written. Or maybe you've heard of people who've written an ebook in a day. Both of those scenarios are happening all the time, but let's choose a more reasonable timeframe—one that will get you in print quickly but without torturing you in the process.

Let's choose one month. If you organize your time and spend just a small portion of each and every day on your book, it becomes a very achievable goal. Maybe you have an important speaking engagement coming up in a few weeks. That could be your motivation to get your book done now so you'll have it to either give away or sell at that event.

It's not unlike writing a term paper (remember those?), and you'll be surprised how many pages your skeleton of an outline will grow into over the course of just two or three weeks. You don't have to tie yourself to a chair and try to force the book out of you—the ideas and information your audience wants are in your head...you just need to get them out in an orderly fashion. You'll be less stressed if you go about the writing process in this step-by-step manner rather than trying to write an entire book in a weekend...and your book will be the better for it.

But if the thought of having to carve out time each day (even just a little bit) still sounds either too intimidating or too time-consuming, there's another way to get your book done even faster...much faster. I won't give away the secret here, though. Talk to Expert Self Publishing's Matt Miglin about his 'secret formula' for getting your book out of your head and into print, quickly and professionally. I've worked with Matt and recommend his company highly. Your book will definitely be in good hands with him as he leads you through the entire process and handles all the 'messy' parts of getting published so you can spend your time on what you do best.

Also check out Matt's book, The Ultimate Business Card. It's a must-read for all you who are inspired to get published and boost your professional status in the process. [this book is what inspired me to get off my duff and start this blog!] It's available as an ebook (for instant gratification) on You Publish. Just search the title and be prepared to get inspired!  

Intimidated by the thought of writing a book? Don't be afraid of ghosts

You've heard it here before (and you'll hear more about it again)...it's absolutely crucial these days to get yourself published in order to boost your professional credibility, visibility, and expert status. If you're a consultant, coach, or professional speaker, you have plenty of topics to write about and shouldn't have a problem churning out a book of around 100 pages or so, but what can you do if you're intimidated by the prospect of writing...to the point of non-action? Don't be afraid of ghosts: ghost writers, that is.

Many celebrities, politicians, and top executives have written successful books. But do you really think they sat down and wrote those books themselves? Truth be told, most of them used ghost writers. They gave those writers their written notes and ideas, maybe a list of other people to talk to like friends or colleagues, and other resources. Then they sat down (or simply got on the phone ) with the writer and conducted an interview from which the bulk of the book emerged.

Using a ghost writer is also a great productivity and time management tool—you can get your book written more quickly, while taking up much less of your precious time (which should be spent on creating revenue). One place to find a ghost writer for your book, at a reasonable cost, is Elance. On that site, you can post your project, and ghost writers will bid on it. Interview the candidates as you see fit and make your choice. A really nice feature of Elance is that they use an escrow system for payments between providers and buyers. Another place I'd recommend posting your project (to give yourself more candidates to choose from) is Get a Freelancer.

Heck, while you're on those sites, you might even want to browse through projects that are listed by other buyers to see if anyone is looking for your expertise—you can bid on the project and increase your client base!

So...don't let your fear of writing keep you from getting that book completed! Find yourself a 'friendly ghost' and get your book published in no time.