A friend recently lamented to me that she hadn’t had an
opportunity yet to take the latest online course offered by
her organization. As she put it, “They say it is being
‘offered’, but that doesn’t mean there is any choice-we
have to take it. The problem is, when?”

In this age of electronic everything, this problem is
becoming more and more prevalent. Online learning is often
recommended because the courses are available to employees
at their desks, working alone and at their own pace,
whenever they decide to do so. My friend stated the
following drawbacks:

“Difficulty finding time. Like most people, I am very busy
in my job. However, if I know, for example, that a
traditional classroom seminar or workshop is to take place
next Wednesday from 1 – 4 p.m., I book the time and I go.
Fitting it into my work schedule at my “convenience” is
more of a challenge. Let’s face it-it’s never convenient.

“Difficulty focusing. When I am at my desk, it feels
foreign to be working on an online course instead of my
work. Also, when I am at my desk, other people naturally
assume I am doing my job, and they interrupt me with
questions and impromptu meetings as usual.

“Lack of human interaction. The dynamic in a classroom
situation is very different from sitting alone at a
computer. The opportunity to ask questions of the
instructor and to exchange questions and thoughts with
other participants is an important part of a seminar.”

Although all three points are legitimate, as a
communication specialist I am particularly concerned with
the third. It seems to me to crystalize an insidious change
in society at large, and in business life in particular:
loss of inter-personal communication.

I am mesmerized when I watch children and young adults work
their way through complex computer programs and surf the
Net as though it were the most natural thing in the
world-of course for them, it is. They are acquiring
naturally a set of technical skills that their elders had
to learn with much more difficulty, and this is the
benefit. However, in all that time spent interacting solely
with a computer, what is sacrificed is the development of
the social skills that are so critical in the working world.

Great emphasis is placed today on teamwork, yet much of the
training we expect people to carry out is solitary. Could
the training methodology actually be working against other
teambuilding efforts?

Obviously, e-learning is here to stay, and far be it from
me to speak against progress. I do, however, believe the
need for human interaction is built into our very being,
and we ignore it at our peril.

The challenge lies in taking advantage of e-learning, while
at the same time making up for the social element it takes
away. Here are three steps to consider.

1. Have a team meeting before the course begins, including
an introduction to the features of the course and
discussion of how it will benefit the team. The team sets a
specific time for all members to work on the course at
once, even if lessons are restricted to an hour or two at a
time. A brief discussion could be held by telephone
conference after each lesson, offering an opportunity for
airing of any problems or misunderstandings, and the type
of group input that often occurs naturally in a classroom
setting.

2. Where practical, people should use computers away from
their own desks. Training room facilities are the best, but
if these are not available, why not have people swap
computer stations while they work on the course? This
reduces interruptions, and also takes learners away from
the setting where they are normally focused on their
day-to-day work. Both of these factors are conducive to
learning.

3. On completion of a particular course, team or
departmental meetings can be held to discuss how the new
learning can be put into action. When courses are
mandatory, people too often feel they are simply working
towards a certificate, and they need to have an opportunity
to see the practical benefits of what they learn.

My own workshops often elicit such comments as “It was
fun!” That is the result of the classroom dynamic and my
own strong belief that adults learn most effectively when
they are enjoying the process. Yes, I work to make my
workshops fun, because that means they will be more
effective. Designers of e-learning programs could increase
the value of their products by remembering that learners
are not e-beings, but human beings.

—————————————————-
Helen Wilkie is a professional keynote speaker, workshop
leader and coach specializing in communication and
management. Visit http://www.mhwcom.com to  download her
white paper, “Changing the way you train your new managers:
what’s in it for you?”

In today’s busy world, many people have difficulty managing
their time and getting everything done. Some people are
very busy, but they never manage to achieve the things they
really want. Others never get anything done.

Some people are late for everything in their lives and
don’t know why. Have you ever noticed that people who are
late are always late – there is a pattern. The same is true
for punctual people – they are nearly always punctual –
they too have a pattern

There are some basic steps that people can take to improve
their chances of getting done what they want and need to
get done. Here are 10 steps.

1. Stop talking time – talk priorities. Time is finite –
everyone has the same amount so there is no point in saying
you don’t have time – you do. What differs from one person
to the next, is their priorities and how they allocate
their time.

2. Make sure that you know the top 3 things you must get
done today – work on them first! If nothing else gets done,
make sure these top 3 do get done. Work on them first.

3. Stop procrastinating. Adopt this mantra – Just do it -
and do it now! Procrastination is defined as putting off
what needs to be done. There is only one way to stop
procrastinating – just stop!

4. Make sure you work to live, not live to work! Get a
life!  Make sure that your life and well-being comes before
your work.  A cast iron guarantee is that at your funeral,
no-one will thank you for spending more time at work. Be
balanced!

5. Studies have shown that many workaholics die early!
Don’t be one of them. If you are working 7 days a week or
if you are working 55 – 60 hours or more each week then you
are a high risk workaholic. If you work seven days and more
than 60 hours then you better have a good insurance policy
and have told your family about the funeral you want! The
most common reason which causes workaholics to stop working
is their first heart attack. Sadly only 50% wake up from it
to have the chance to make a decision to change. Having
made the change, without exception people say “I should
have done this years ago!”

6. Remove the clutter from your life. Get rid of everything
– stuff, responsibilities, even people – that do not
contribute positively or enrich your life. Start by
clearing your workspace.

7. Work on effectiveness first, then worry about
efficiency. Effectiveness is doing the right things.
Efficiency is doing things right. It doesn’t matter how
efficient you are if you are working on the wrong thing! Be
effective first, then worry about efficiency and you’ll
find that it will fall into place. Remember just because
you are busy, doesn’t make you effective or successful.

8. Be prepared to change. The one thing that is certain is
that change will only increase, not decrease. If you are
going to be more productive, then remember the definition
of insanity – doing the same thing in the same way and
expecting a different result! Take an honest look at your
attitude to change and if you rate yourself lower than 5
out of 10 then work hard at – wait for it – changing your
attitude about change. No-one does things the same today as
they did 5 or 10 years ago. Use change to your advantage –
don’t fight it – you’ll lose!

9. Become a list writer. Keep a list of everything you need
to do and then constantly prioritise and re-prioritise it.
Use technology to your advantage. If you are using
Microsoft Outlook (different from Outlook Express), then
learn and use the “Task” tools. Outlook will increase your
effectiveness more than you can imagine – if you use it
seriously!

10. Be willing to say “no”. Put yourself, family and
friendships/relationships as the highest priority. Make
sure you re-charge your batteries regularly, not run them
to empty. Say “yes” to the people who really matter, and
spread yourself sensibly among everyone and everything
else. In spite of what you may think – you are not
indispensable!

—————————————————-
David Julian Price is an experienced speaker, trainer,
business coach and mentor. He trains, coaches and consults
with people from all walks of life on how to get more out
of their day and increase their productivity. David’s
no-nonsense approach makes him a sought after speaker,
trainer and facilitator. He is an accomplished
international speaker.  David can be contacted at
http://www.davidprice.com or email at david@davidprice.com.

Copyright (c) 2007 Steve Dahl

Thanks to online pioneers like Armand Morin, Russell
Brunson, Marlon Sanders, and Jim Edwards; the trail for
succeeding on Web 2.0 is being blazed at lightning speed.
You don’t need to reinvent the wheel but you do need to get
behind that wheel and put your foot on the gas to overcome
procrastination! If you’re a card-carrying member of the
Procrastination Nation, then turn in your resignation today!

About 90-some percent of the wealth in this country is
controlled by 2% of our population. Why is that? Is it
because wealthy people are sitting around watching
Jeopardy? Nope. Successful people take action, they never
give up, and they do what it takes to get what they want.
Procrastination is a death sentence for great ideas and
great people.

So what do you do? If you want to build a successful online
business you can go to big seminar after big seminar, you
can buy books, and listen to CD’s but ultimately you must
weed through the fluff to find the best sources of
accurate, up-to-date information before you start an
Internet business.

The old business school would say that if you can’t focus
you can’t succeed. But that’s no longer true in the
Internet world. So here’s a little carrot to dangle in
front of you while you contemplate whether or not you
should get off of your butt and do something. The secret is
to find a business that runs itself. Affiliate programs
online are a good example.

You can set up a website, get people to visit it and
promote other people’s products (for a nice commission)
without a whole lot of effort. Now if you COULD focus, you
could open 100 websites and make a few hundred bucks a
month on each of them. Let’s see, 300 bucks times100
websites, oh, that’s a measly $30,000 a month!

I’ve been in the marketing business for many years and it
blows my mind how many goofy, silly, and downright stupid
products out there sell like crazy! The point is; you won’t
know the temperature until you put your toe in the water.
Let the marketplace be the judge because there is a market
for just about everything! If you want to start your own
business and be your own boss, why not begin today?

Here are five ways you can begin to overcome the inertia
holding you to that comfy old Lazy Boy.

1. Clarify Your Vision. Create a mental picture of what you
want to have, do, or be in your life. Watch the movie, The
Secret. Learn how to form a vision or a dream board to help
keep your dream tangible and in front of you round the
clock.

2. Set an Intention. Set an intention to be living the
lifestyle and enjoying the freedom of working from home. Of
course this requires effort and maybe even a little sweat
but setting an intention of where you want your life to be
is a very powerful way to open the doors of opportunity.

3. Think it Through. Write the major steps you might need
to take in order to launch your new business. Keep this
plan very simple at this stage and answer these questions.
What are the top three things I need to know to start my
own business? What are the main resources I need in order
to begin? What new book, online class, or big seminar can I
use to help me answer these questions?

4. Take Action. Identify your next step. Just the next
step. Not all of them! One of the things that holds many
people back from enjoying working for themselves is that
they see so many steps that need to be done they get scared
and do nothing. The next step is simply the next, most
important, most meaningful step. Simply take one single
step toward your goal every day and you’ll be so much
further ahead than most people!

5. Leverage Your Resources. Don’t do it alone! Find ways to
learn from other people’s mistakes and experiences. This is
not the time to re-invent the wheel. Go to seminars, take
classes, read books, and network like crazy! And… don’t
think you must be this creative genius with the
one-of-a-kind idea to succeed. You don’t need break-through
products to get rich online.

What are you willing to do to beat the death sentence of
procrastination? If you could motivate yourself long enough
to try a few of these things, there’s a chance that you
could cancel your Procrastination Nation membership today
and actually start living the life you deserve! Give it a
shot! The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single
step. Take that step right now and see what happens!

—————————————————-
Get inside the sharpest minds in internet marketing for 3
life-changing days! Go to:
http://www.reviewitguy.com/BigSeminar.htm for my free gift
and details. Steve Dahl is an Internet marketing business
consultant, author, and fellow online warrior.

Part II
The following techniques work incredibly well for me.  You
should read and adapt them for your own personality and
work style.  Techniques 1 and 2 were in last week’s article
and can be found at Proven Productivity and Time Management
Techniques for Entrepreneurs – Part I.

3. Understand the *urgent* versus the *important*.

Every day we are bombarded with *must dos* and *have to
have asap* requests.  You should understand what will move
your business forward and help you reach your goals.
Before you accept ANY of these, ask yourself the following
questions:

1/ “Is this my unique brilliance (meaning: Does this task
fulfill you? Is it in line with your mission?)?” and
2/”Will this bring me closer to the money (defined as new
clients, marketing, etc. in your business)?”

If the answer to either of those questions is “no”, you
should not take on the task.

I realize that it’s simple for me to say “just don’t do it”
and that, in reality, it’s not always so simple.  You must
learn to erect boundaries between you and every request
that saunters in the door.  Otherwise your business will
never move forward.

As Stephen Covey states, you should focus on tasks and
projects which are “Important and Urgent” and “Important
and Not Urgent”.  “Important” tasks are defined as the ones
which move you forward and generate revenue.

Another way to look at this is by using Paredo’s Principle
– also known as the 80/20 Rule.  80% of your income, joy
and success comes from 20% of your current activities.  The
trick here is to figure out exactly what the 20% is and
delegate (see Give Yourself a Raise — Get an Assistant) or
creatively procrastinate the rest.

Take some time this week to figure out which things
contribute the greatest income to your business.  Do you
have multiple clients?  If so, evaluate which ones spend
the most money with you and what services/products you are
providing to them.  Then see if you can either expand those
services for that client or find other clients who want the
same work.

4. Have a single focus and know your energy peaks.

As an entrepreneur, you have some control over when, where
and how you work.  Depending on the services you perform,
you may have some qualifications to that freedom, but you
are still able to be more flexible than if you were in a
J-O-B.

Use this flexibility to your advantage.  You should work
within your peak energy times.  For me, that’s early
morning and late afternoon.  My perfect day has me up
around 7am, working by 8am, napping after lunch and then
back to work before and after dinner.

Try tracking when you have your best energy and see if you
can work within those times.  Take a look at your
environment.  Does it suit you?  Do you require quiet or
prefer music when you’re working?  Can you work from home
or do you prefer having other people around you?  Do you
prefer to have your clients call or email you?  It’s your
business, design it to work *with* you, not against you.

When you are working, focus on one outcome at a time.  It
takes much longer to do something if you need to start and
stop and then start again.  I have a large clock in my
office and it helps keep me focused on what I planned to do
at any given time.  I also keep a sheet of scrap paper to
jot down whatever pops into my mind so I can keep going on
the current project.

5. Remember to book your quiet time and your fun time.

If all you do is work, work, work — even on your own
business — you will not be nearly as productive as you
otherwise could be.  You need to give yourself permission
to have down time and to stop working.

Plan a vacation and purchase non-refundable tickets so you
*have* to go.  Can’t quite afford a vacation yet?  Then
create one in your own home — and leave your computer OFF
and in the office.  You will get your most creative ideas
when you are away from the office.

Personally, I get my best ideas when I’m near water — the
ocean, a lake, sometimes even in the shower.  Is it any
wonder I spent two weeks in Hawaii last fall?

As an entrepreneur, we are never done working.  There is
always something else you can be doing, one more email you
can send, another call to take or make, but you need to
take vacations and get out of the office for at least one
day a week to keep the juices flowing.  You can do it, I
promise the world will not implode!

Are you ready to get things done more efficiently than ever?

—————————————————-
Online Business Success Coach & Entrepreneur, Sandra
Martini teaches small business owners how to create more
success in their business while maintaining their sanity
and having fun. For more information and to receive the
FREE special report, ’7 Wealth-Building Secrets of
Successful Entrepreneurs’, go to
http://www.Online-Biz-Coach.com .

My friends are always amazed at how much I accomplish and frequently ask “How do you get so much done?”.  I normally just shrug it off, but the question has been coming so much lately that I decided to share my top productivity techniques.

1. Use lists.

I am a huge proponent of lists — it’s actually pretty
compulsive. :-)

I make daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly and annual
lists.  90 percent of my lists come straight from my
marketing plan — I find that having a detailed marketing
plan allows me to plan for all aspects of my business.  I
can gauge my income, expenses, projects, etc. all from this
one plan.

My monthly, quarterly and annual “lists” are in the form of
a 2′ x 3′ wall calendar.  It’s simple to avoid
doublebooking something or overcommiting myself when I can
easily glance up and see what I’ve got going on — it’s
also a great way to stay focused!

If you simply “show up” and see what happens day by day,
you are dealing with “stuff” that happens rather than the
strategic items that push your business forward.  “Stuff”
happens and I have time each day when I deal with it, but
99% of the time it doesn’t throw me off schedule since I’ve
allotted some time for things that come up.

I create my weekly list each Sunday and my daily lists are
written at the end of each day for the following day.  This
allows my subconscious to “process” while I’m making
dinner, reading or relaxing in the evenings.  Making these
lists is such a part of my “scripting” process that I no
longer even think about it.  I just do it.  And, while I’ve
given substantial sums of money to Franklin Covey over the
years, I’ve found that a yellow pad or simple notebook
serves me best and that’s what I currently use.

2. Visualize and script your days.

I’ve advocated the book PsychoCybernetics by Maxwell Maltz
before and will do so again.  It’s not the easiest or
funnest book you’ll ever read, but if you apply his
visualization and scripting techniques, you’ll be amazed at
the difference in your productivity.

Research studies have been done with Olympic athletes where
they close their eyes and visualize performing in their
event — from the start of the gun to crossing the finish
line.  The results?  The athletes who visualized winning
over and over in their minds’ eyes often won in reality.
Our subconscious doesn’t know the difference between real
and imagined.  While they were visualizing performing,
their muscles and heart rate were firing as if they were
actually in the event.

Scripting your days also tells your subconscious to work on
“x” before you’ve even had a chance to consciously think
about it.  I can tell you what I’m working on during any
time of the day.  For example, I write every morning.  It’s
not a matter of “I don’t feel like it today” or “I don’t
know what to write”.  I sit down and I write.  Period.
This is scripted into my day such that it’s become a
routine and my mind knows that this is what it’s doing at a
certain time each day.  As a result, the words come.

The benefit?

Creating lists allows you to cross things off.  It’s such a
great feeling to look at your list and see all the
checkmarks next to what you’ve done.  If I do something
that wasn’t originally planned for, I write it on the list.
This keeps me in check with what I take on during the day
in relation to my original plans.

The act of scripting your day forces you to visualize what
you will be working on.  This does two things: 1/ creates a
sense of deja vu when you are actually doing the work as
your mind has thought about it previously; remember, the
mind can not differentiate between actual and imagined and
2/ allows your mind to work in the background on a certain
project or task as you focus on something else.

Now’s your chance.  You can think “This won’t work for me”
or “I can’t do this in my business” — this works in *any*
business and will work for *anyone*.  To think otherwise is
just another excuse.

Techniques 3, 4 and 5 will come next week.  Until then,
remember that it takes 21 days to create a routine.  Stick
with it and watch your productivity skyrocket.

—————————————————-
Author & Entrepreneur, Sandra Martini teaches small
business owners how to create more success in their
business while maintaining their sanity and having fun.
Are you a virtual assistant or consultant who’s working day
and night in your business and still wondering where the
money is?  If so, check out http://www.VAGuideToMoney.com .

You create your list, you write your plan, you dream your
dreams and, before you know it, another year has passed and
you’re no closer to achieving them.  Are you thinking “been
there, done that”?

If so, I’d like you to repeat after me:

“I resolve to make 2007 the year I stop wishing, stop
hoping, stop complaining and finally DO all the things I’ve
always wanted to do!”

What if you made that promise to yourself?  The promise to
make 2007 your best year?  Think of the power it will give
you — that one simple promise to make 2007 your best year
*ever*!  If you decided TODAY that you are finally going to
turn your dreams into actions; you are finally going to
check off your goals as they’re achieved!

I want you to close your eyes and FEEL that feeling.  Feel
it to the depth of your core.  Can you get excited about it?

I’m going to share a personal, non-business-related time
when I felt this and see if it will give you some tiny
inkling of the type of euphoria I am talking about.

I used to be overweight (and am again, but that’s another
story).  One day in January about ten years ago, I decided
that I didn’t like who I was any more — not just my
weight, but a lot of things.  I spent too much time being
who others expected and not enough time being *me*.

So I set out on a quest to discover *who* Sandra was.

As part of that process, I decided to become healthy.  I
became a vegan and started exercising.  I lost A LOT of
weight — I was commuting from D.C. to Massachusetts every
weekend to see my family and was dropping a pant size every
other week or so.  Anyone who has struggled with their
weight will appreciate what this meant to me.

I had more energy than I knew what to do with.  My career
with the Feds improved.  My side business took off.  Life
was good!

Then I went shopping with my younger-by-ten-years sister.
She grabbed me a pair of jeans a size smaller than what I
was wearing and they were too baggy.  She then grabbed me a
smaller pair and they just slid on.  This was the smallest
size I had worn since junior high!

Can you imagine the joyful glee of this
overweight-most-of-her-life woman when she put on size
jeans that she hadn’t worn since she was 12?  While I
hadn’t set out on a quest to lose weight, but rather to get
healthy and rediscover who I was, it was a great side
benefit.

That one thing gave me the confidence to quit my very good
job and move back to Massachusetts with no job, no savings
and only my family for support because, in my heart, this
is where I wanted to be.  And now, whenever I need to draw
on a little extra energy or “oomph”, I go back to that
dressing room.  It works every time!

And now I have a short quiz for you.

In 2006, did you. . .

–> Achieve most of your goals?

–> Attract all the new clients you wanted?

–> Enjoy working with all the clients you had?

–> Grow your business to a point where you no longer stay
awake at night wondering if you’ve made a mistake or how
you’re going to make your bills this month?

–> Develop new marketing ideas to help keep clients in
your pipeline?

–> Learn and implement ways to automatically follow up
with prospects?

So how did you do in 2006?  Could your business use a
makeover or a kick in the pants to get you on the right
track?  Did you fall into complacency at times — dealing
with the day-to-day and losing sight of the big picture or
your ultimate dreams?

If so, I want you to go back to the beginning of this
article and reread your resolution for 2007.  Take one step
today to move you forward in your goals.

And if you take that one step, and then another, the
momentum will pull you forward so that, next year at this
time, you will have a huge sense of satisfaction in seeing
how far you’ve come and in moving your goals (both business
and personal) even higher!

Doesn’t that sound a heck of a lot better than complaining
about lost time, subconsciously sabotaging yourself by
failing to seize opportunities and doing nothing but
changing the year on your list of goals when it comes time
to plan for 2008?

Here’s to your overwhelming success in 2007!  Go get ‘em!

—————————————————-
Online Business Success Coach & Entrepreneur, Sandra
Martini teaches small business owners how to create more
success in their business while maintaining their sanity
and having fun. If you’re a solopreneur wondering how to
make more money in your small business, I invite you to
check out “How to Make Money as a Service Professional: The
Business Side of Running Your Business”, at
http://www.Online-Biz-Coach.com .

Copyright (c) 2007 Audrey Burton

I can’t tell you why these are secrets, but it might be
because most people don’t appear to know how to do them.
At least, they are not doing them now!

Allow me to illustrate my credibility on this subject – I
am an only parent of two wonderful daughters in middle
school (and a dog) and have my own full-time business.  I’m
gradually painting the inside of our home, wall by wall,
and have an almost 14 year old car.  I’m busy.

I love my life, but in order to accomplish all I want to
accomplish, I have to organize the way I spend my time very
well.

Here are my secrets: a week-at-a-glance planner, a 2-page
business plan and a cleaning woman!  The first two tools
work hand in hand and require very little maintenance, but
they do require some systematic attention.  The third one
should be self explanatory!

The best way to create a time management system that works
for you is to research systems other people use and cherry
pick from them the components that will fit with your life
and your personality.

The business plan is absolutely required.  Put your to-do
list into a document with deadlines attached to all action
items.  You may notice that you have way too many to-dos on
your list and there is no way you can get them all done in
the time frame you have selected.  So, change it.

Part of the benefit received from having a business plan is
knowing how much you can accomplish in a prescribed time
period.  If your business is new, just map out a six month
plan.  Otherwise, do a year.  Also, you can change it any
time you want – it’s your plan.

After listing your to-dos, categorize them.  Are they
marketing actions or administrative?  Marketing covers the
following 4 Ps: Product, Promotion, Price and Packaging.
Administrative is just about everything else, including
bookkeeping.

For the marketing actions, categorize them further by
dividing all your promotional actions into strategies.
Examples of strategies include networking, speaking,
advertising, email, website, other internet, etc.  Within
each strategy, list the actions you plan to do this year.

You are well on your way to having a business plan with a
marketing plan embedded!  I bet you never thought it could
be this easy.  You are not finished, but you have the meaty
part done.

Every Friday, take out this list and read it.  Open your
calendar.  Which of these actions can you work on the next
week?  If you can clearly see on your calendar that you
will be taking your kids to the doctor, attending 3
networking meetings and servicing a full load of clients,
you may have very little time to market.  Pick some small
things to do and write them on your calendar to do next
week.  If you are not booked up, add something big to your
schedule.

One thing to keep in mind as a high priority is to keep
something in your pipeline at all times, even if your
business is at capacity today.  Having a waiting list is a
good thing!  This means, make phone calls to prospects
EVERY SINGLE WEEK!  When you have more time, call 50
people.  When you get an answering machine, don’t leave a
message – call again later.

If you want to be wealthy, you need to set challenging
goals, then go after them aggressively!  You can do this!

—————————————————-
Audrey Burton, Small Business Coach, is “The Tigress”.  Get
her FREE Special Report, “Closing the Sale is Not
Complicated!” and her FREE monthly email newsletter at
http://www.TigressCoaching.com .

Copyright 2006 Kelly Robbins

Whether a small business owner, nonprofit, or large
organization, a key piece of marketing communication is
making sure everyone that wants to get in touch with you
can. Whether it’s to further the sale, provide you with
information on a new marketing piece you’re working on, or
simply to say “hi,” you should always give people multiple
ways to contact you and your organization.

It’s YOUR job to make contacting you easy for them. Not the
other way around.

A colleague recently told me her sales went up dramatically
when she added her fax number to her website. I was very
surprised to hear this. I didn’t have my fax number listed
as contact information anywhere. (I hate hearing the fax
machine go off in the middle of the night and don’t like to
give it out!). But she assured me it was true. Which got me
thinking…

A lot of the copywriting I do involves working with
doctors. I do marketing consultations and my copywriting
projects often involve interviewing them. They are a large
part of my target market. And, while email is my preferred
method of communication, it’s often not theirs. Some of
them (not all) don’t check their emails regularly. They
would rather use the phone. I’ve learned this through
experience and have worked around it. I prefer email
hands-down. But that got me thinking again, some people may
be more comfortable using a fax rather than phone or email.
It’s concrete; the sender oftentimes gets a confirmation
that the fax went through, and if a signature is required
– there it is.

So, the moral of my story is to make it easy for your
clients to get in touch with you. Everyone does not work
the same way you do, whether that is by phone, email, fax
or some other method. It’s important to give people several
options.

Make it easy for people to do business with you, not for
you to do business with them.

Taking action is the only way to achieve goals

One of the items we talked about in my copywriting
business-building teleseminar this week was taking action.
You can think about great ideas, have big, elaborate
dreams, but if you don’t take action — now — nothing in
your life will change. Your dream will never become a
reality. Taking action is the only way you are going to get
your business off the ground. Taking action is the only way
you are going to get new clients. Taking action is the only
way you are going to get noticed at your company and get
promoted.

Think about what you want and how you are going to get
it…all of the time.

It doesn’t matter if your goals are personal or
professional, setting your mind to the one main goal you
want to accomplish will keep you focused on the outcome.
You will constantly be on the lookout for ways to achieve
that goal. Because it is always on your mind, you will be
constantly brainstorming. Your mind will continually be
looking for ways to take action on that goal.

You become what you think about. Focus on one item, your
one goal. Make it extremely positive, NOT negative.

The next important thing, after thinking about your goal
all of the time, is to take action. I try to do at least
one action item a day. With three kids (four if you count
my husband), a house to run and a growing business, it’s
easy for the day-to-day duties to suck up my time. It’s
easy for me to let life take over and not take proactive
steps towards my goal.

So I decided long ago to do at least one item on my list
each day. It can be a small item to move me toward my goal.
It may be searching for a new journal to run some of my
marketing articles. It could be working on a new product to
sell, coming up with a topic for a new seminar. Some days I
do much more than one thing, other days I barely squeak the
one item in. But I can assure you, if you do at least one
item, if you take one action every day, you will be closer
to your goal than most people you know. And because you
take action towards your goal you are much more likely to
reach it than those who don’t.

—————————————————-
Author of Healthcare Copywriting Secrets Revealed and The
Healthcare Copywriters Toolkit, Kelly Robbins is a
healthcare copywriter and marketing coach/consultant. She
also publishes The Healthcare Marketing Connection
(http://www.healthcaremarketingconnection.com), a free
e-zine on healthcare marketing tips. Contact Kelly to
receive her free report, “5 critical things you must know
when writing for the healthcare industry” —
info@KellyRobbinsLLC.com or 303-460-0285.

Copyright 2006 Colleen Kettenhofen“Everything is hard before it is easy.” Johann Wolfgang von
Goethe

One key to greater personal and professional success is the
ability to effectively manage time, overcome
procrastination, and improve productivity. Here are six
simple strategies that will guarantee your success IF you
practice them on a daily basis.

1. Study and master your core competencies. If you’re in a
leadership position, it’s imperative to continuously hone
your skills. What is one important subject or skill you
could learn, or continue to develop, that would bring you
closer to achieving your major goal? Decide what it is and
work on that area every day no matter what, except for the
one or two days each week you take off and relax. Ask
yourself, “What specific areas do I need to improve upon in
my line of work that would bring me closer to achieving
success?”

The more experience you get, the more confident you feel.
The more confident you feel, the better you perform. Write
these core competencies down. Write them on your daily
to-do list each day. Commit to them 100%, and make time for
them with no excuses and no distractions. Make a daily
habit out of continuing to learn and practice new skills,
strategies, ideas and methods that are most critical to
your success. By continuously honing these skills, you’ll
start achieving better results in half the time.

2. Perfectionism leads to procrastination. Many people have
trouble getting started on a task because in their minds
they think they have to do it perfectly. As the saying
goes, too much analysis leads to paralysis. I remember once
procrastinating writing an article on overcoming
procrastination! Why? Because somehow in my mind I thought
I had to write the article “perfectly,” and get it right
the first time without writing a rough draft. Most of the
time that never happens. Usually I sit down and brainstorm,
and just begin jotting down thoughts. This way all sorts of
creative ideas come to mind. That’s how most of my articles
are written. Many of them are written in the late afternoon
and at night when I’m performing at my peak in terms of
creativity. Which brings up another important point about
improving your productivity:

3. Work with your natural biorhythms on your most important
tasks. What time of day or night are you most productive?
When do you have the most energy, concentration and focus?
If you are a morning person, make certain that is when you
work on those areas of critical importance to your career.
If you’re more of an afternoon or evening person, are you
able to do the bulk of your work during those hours?

I remember a senior manager in one of my leadership
trainings commenting on how many employees complain they
are “not a morning person,” yet they accepted a position
where they must report to work at 7:00 a.m.! Make sure that
your job is in line with your core values, priorities,
likes and dislikes. Otherwise you’ll ultimately fail no
matter how much you are being paid.

4. Incorporate the “Divide and Conquer Rule” to overcome
procrastination and achieve success. Break tasks down into
doable chunks and with specific time frames written down.
Research points to the fact that often we don’t tackle a
task because it seems too overwhelming. For example, if you
have to write a ten page special report, start by jotting
down ideas. Make a commitment to just get started writing
one or two paragraphs. Often the hardest part is just
getting started. Ever notice how often once you begin
something you’re on a roll and don’t want to stop?

I remember vacationing in Aruba in 1996. Normally I don’t
work on vacation, but there was a last minute leadership
training I had to prepare for an upcoming conference in
Seattle. When I told myself I’d work on it six solid hours
a day, I ended up doing nothing. After all, who would be
motivated to work for six hours on a beach in the
Caribbean?! As soon as I made a commitment to work on it
for only 45 minutes a day, and with a specific time frame
written down, it made it more palatable. I was on a roll
and finished working on that leadership training after just
three days. So, get rid of the “all or nothing” mentality.

5. The compounding effect of new information and refining
your skills. If you were to improve one percent per day,
five days a week, at the end of that week you’d be five
percent more effective. At the end of a year (52 weeks) you
would be MUCH  more productive. With that amount of
continuous and steady improvement, you would increase your
overall productivity, performance and output by
approximately 1000% over a ten year period. Project ten
years into the future and think about what that could do
for your income.

6. Eliminate distractions, low value activities, and create
your ideal working environment. Block out a chunk of time
to begin working on that all important task. Write it down.
Before you start, mentally prepare yourself. Clear off your
desk except for the essentials you will need to work on
that important project. Eliminate clutter. Tell everyone at
work that you will be off limits and unavailable until that
time you’re scheduled to be finished. If you work from
home, turn off the TV, your home phone and your cell phone.
Don’t have the washing machine or the dish washer on. These
will only serve as distractions.

What would be your ideal environment where you wouldn’t
have any distractions whatsoever? See if you can create
that. For example, to eliminate interruptions and work at
my best, my ideal  environment is going to Starbucks in
Portland, with incredible views of Mt. Hood right outside
and nothing but my computer.  In my speaking engagements,
participants tell me that sometimes they arrive for work
very early, or stay very late because it’s so peaceful and
no one else is in the office. There aren’t any people
distractions and they get double the work done in half the
time.

Every morning take time to write down your most important
goals in the present tense. Write them down on a large
sheet of paper several times. By writing them down you
print them indelibly in the subconscious of your mind. This
will put you in the right frame of mind to start thinking
of action steps for how to accomplish your major goals.
Remember, the key is to just get started. Do something. Do
anything on a daily basis that will bring you closer to
achieving your dreams. Practice makes perfect.

—————————————————-
Colleen Kettenhofen is a motivational speaker, workplace
expert, & co-author of “The Masters of Success,” as
featured on the Today Show, along with Ken Blanchard and
Jack Canfield.  To order the book, or for more free
articles and e-newsletter visit
http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com or (800)323-0683. Topics:
leadership, management, difficult people, public speaking,
success. Colleen is available for keynotes, breakout
sessions and seminars.
http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com
You are free to repost or reprint this article provided
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the article.