Change 1 PRACTICE And You Can Change It All!

Are you a constant note taker? For some of us (I confess, that’s me too) our backgrounds required note taking so that we could create reports for others.

A funny thing happens along the way. We loose track whether the note-taking is still serving us, or is a habit that’s diverting our attention.

Unless you have a team you must report details to, it may be time to change your focus on the page to a focus on actual to do’s.

Ask yourself:

“What percent of my notes do I ever refer to again?”

If you’re anything like me, you may find it’s become barely 10%. For myself, I’m going to try on only writing down the actions that need taking, and see if I can’t free up my attention to use it on implementation rather than worry over what I might have in a note that I thought I was supposed to store somewhere.

August 11, 2008 | Filed Under Catalyst Action Tip, Productivity Tools | Leave a Comment 

3 Steps To Achieving High Payoff Success

© 2008 Linda Feinholz

Have you ever wondered how ‘those people’ achieve their success? Sure, they look focused, but what are they really doing that’s so different from how you’re spending your time?

In my 20’s I assumed ‘they’ - those highly successful folks, must be driven by ambition, fueled by a background of scarcity and worry, OR by family cash. I built those illusions by watching the ultra wealthy and the barely making, both of whom I spent time with.

It was only in my adult working years, dealing with thousands of people from all walks of life, in hundreds of different organizations and professions, that I was able to discern the truth behind the illusions.

From my point of view, an insider’s view from my consulting and coaching experience, the clients who reach the highest levels of success practice several things that specifically create a clear path and momentum to their goals.

Remember, what you focus on expands. So when we speak of creating success, take a look at what highly successful people place their attention on. You’ll find the mystery is stripped away.

So, what is it that those people are doing to support and spur their success? Generally, it stems from the following behaviors: Read more

August 9, 2008 | Filed Under Productivity Tools | Leave a Comment 

IS IT TIME TO “RESET” YOUR BUSINESS?

© 2008 Linda Feinholz

When is ‘too much to do’ finally enough? I mean enough to have you reach out and slap your personal and business ‘reset’ button?

I was working with my client, Brenda, last month when she looked me dead in the eye and said “There’s no way to get out from under this list of what I need to get done.”

We could have gone on and on about prioritizing her lists, rank ordering them by fit with her strategy or sorting by the highest payoff at the bottom line. She could have found relief by delegating to her staff the 80 percent that really doesn’t need her involvement to get things accomplished. We could have spent a lovely hour talking about techniques to get over procrastination. And that would have missed the point entirely.

All the business management practices in the world won’t solve matters if the real issue is feeling stretched to the breaking point. She was feeling overwhelmed, worried and incompetent to run her own business.

Why? Well… Read more

July 20, 2008 | Filed Under Inspiration, Productivity Tools | Leave a Comment 

5 STEPS TO OVERCOME PROCRASTINATION

I have a problem with procrastination.

I have clients who say they’re stalling because “It’s so easy to do it later…or tomorrow…or next week.”

For me, the issue is a different one. If I clear the decks, what’s the really important stuff I’ll need to take a look at?

It’s so much easier to stay in my comfort zone than to create that new service or product and create that new test.

In fact, even though I’ve accomplished a high payoff business and life, I still find myself facing the procrastination monster from time to time.

Here are 5 quick tips to help you overcome procrastination. Read more

July 15, 2008 | Filed Under Productivity Tools | Leave a Comment 

Change 1 WHISPER …

… And You Can Change It All!

I suspect you might be a lot like me. There are times when it’s a challenge to keep your attention on the here and now, on the High Payoff activities that will get your goals accomplished.

Usually it’s because some incomplete task is stalled because we haven’t made a decision. And without that decision, we take no action.

So, if you find you’ve been lagging in achieving a goal you thought you’d have completed by now, let’s get to the root of it.

Put the phone and email and interruptions on hold, and ask yourself:

“What single item nags at me the most?”

When you have that item in mind, stand on one side of the room. As you take one long step forward, answer what decision remain un-made.

Take a second step forward as you declare your decision. Then take yet another step as you list the action you’ll take and the deadline for doing so.

Now go do it!

This technique will clear the cobwebs and get you un-stalled in 5 minutes flat.

May 30, 2008 | Filed Under Productivity Tools | Leave a Comment 

BOOST YOUR PRODUCTIVITY BY CLEARING THOSE SHELVES!

© 2008 Linda Feinholz

Just like my solopreneur coaching clients, I know that it’s always a challenge to fit in all the activities you dream of for building your business. With work, family and a home to keep up, let alone trying to stay fit, who has time to ‘give your all’ to growing your ‘company’?

It’s not only our To Do lists that can preoccupy our attention.

At times I’ve notice a distracting whisper like mice chewing in the walls. It diverts my attention to such an extent that I get barely one-half of my goals accomplished for hours, even days… This past week, I uncovered its source!

I’ve been distracted by 15-plus years of books, binders and papers that I treasure.

Much like the nibbling of those mice, these precious things call to me from the shelves in my office: books that exemplify the best thinking on leadership, management, teams, and individual productivity.

And there are the 12 shelves of binders and files drawers of paper. Articles that people have said are ‘must read’ and are not yet read. These are ‘resource’ materials I hold onto ‘in case I ever want to refer to them.’ For years, I’ve added to them, tucked neatly on shelves, or out of site behind closet doors and drawers.

When I use them, I’m profoundly grateful that they’re right there, at my fingertips. They hold techniques that have improved my business owner client’s planning and execution of their business. They offer processes that have improved my financial advisor clients’ work with their partners and clients.

After years of wanting those resources right where I know to find them, I did a calculation. I’ve used less than 8 percent of them. Ever. Read more

May 29, 2008 | Filed Under Productivity Tools | Leave a Comment 

PERK UP YOUR BUSINESS WITH A ‘PERSISTENCE REVIEW’

© 2008 Linda Feinholz

The common element everywhere in life and in business seems to be Persistence.

My clients are using their new management skills to create different results. My new MasterMind buddy Maritza Parra is getting her book published. And I’ve been holding the focus on getting three separate web sites designed and launched for different purposes.

Each of those endeavors requires deliberate attention in order to achieve the tasks of the goals we’ve set. And that attention leads to taking specific actions that achieve the overall Vision itself.

With the topic of persistence showing up in conversations daily I thought you’d appreciate my Top 5 Tips for Using High Payoff Persistence.

Each of them has been instrumental in creating results to cheer about.

Tip 1 – Notice ‘The Way’ You’re Persistent

Persistence shows up in many ways in our lives. That relative who insists on making a request over and over until you say ‘Yes’ is living in one state of persistence we might call nagging.

While that trait can be annoying in interpersonal relations, that’s exactly the trait you want in a staff member responsible for collections or new product design.

It’s important that you know if your style is to be persistent towards an agreed-upon goal, or as an obstacle to an effort others are trying to accomplish.

Once you recognize your style you’ll be better able to describe the actions that are needed to accomplish your goals. Read more

May 3, 2008 | Filed Under Ideas, Productivity Tools | Leave a Comment 

SPECIAL OFFER - TODAY ONLY !!!

I will admit it - I’ve given myself a kick of a lot of fun for my birthday.

Many of you know my birthday is April 15th. Well that’s also Tax Day in the USA. AND it’s also when I write half my charity checks for the year. I don’t know about you but I think charities appreciate having money to use on their programs ALL year and not just the end of December! So….

I decided to make an event of it AND THAT ENDS TONIGHT AT MIDNIGHT! So if you want to know more about it go HERE right now!

NOTE:
It’s been a very interesting week since my last newsletter. I no sooner sent it out than I had the suggestion made to turn my birthday this past Tuesday into a special event.

Maybe interesting is too mild a work? I thought about it for a couple of days and was hesitant to take it on since I hadn’t much time left. Then I heard a teleseminar by Jeff Walker about doing Quick Launches … and then I decided at the very last moment to turn my birthday into a special event… and include you in it.

So I spent Sunday writing like a maniac (hah!) and creating web pages, and drafting the emails I’d send out … all planning to send the first word out on Monday. Then I realized I hadn’t checked that the cart was working… and it wasn’t (yikes!) so there was no way to send a thing out to you.

I’m embarrassed to say I last paid attention to the cart last October… so it was only when I ran myself through a transaction that I realized set up for American Express wasn’t finished, and other tweaks were needed to.

Ten calls later and I’d made great friends of the AMEX merchant account folks and the Cart technicians and the gateway managing the transactions, not to mention my bank!

So all that to set the foundation and I scooted back to the email system to get the word out… all for my Birthday Tax Day Double Day Surprise offer. WHICH EXPIRES TONIGHT!

So if you’re interested in getting the downloadable version of the 7 Quick & Simple Steps audios, guidebook and all the forms – download them straight to your computer, upload the audios on your iPod AND you’ll get weekly reminder tips ALL for a price never seen before.

BUT you need to do it today as the link disappears at midnight!

April 17, 2008 | Filed Under Productivity Tools | Leave a Comment 

Change 1 ACTION And You Can Change It All!

If you’re anything like me, your To Do lists gradually creep from one or two critically important things… to 7-10 must get done’s and right on up to 25-30 “I oughta”s…

Without realizing it we spend 10 percent of our day referring back to that list, shuffling the items on it, musing about how to get them done, distracted from actually getting the really important things accomplished.

It’s time to slim down!

Pull that list front and center and ask yourself:

“What are the Top 3 things on this list that absolutely must get done?”

Draw a line through everything else. Take your calendar in hand and schedule exactly how you’ll take action on those Top 3 items.

Now throw that old list away and go build your business!

April 6, 2008 | Filed Under Catalyst Action Tip, Productivity Tools | Leave a Comment 

SWITCH ON YOUR BUSINESS’S FAT BURNING MACHINE

© 2008 Linda Feinholz.

Suppose, for a moment, that building a business was as easy as…

  • Clearing our your distractions
  • Setting your focus
  • Pulling your team together
  • Focusing your attention on your high payoff activities

“Well, of course.” You might say. “If it were that easy, no one would be stalled. But it’s never that easy. Building a business is just hard work. There’s NO way around it.”

That’s the conventional wisdom and perhaps it’s your belief about it too. Yet this ‘wisdom’ has resulted in business owners and professionals feeling buried by all they need to accomplish.

My client, Brian, needed 15 minutes to review his To Do List. It had all the things Conventional Wisdom told him were the activities he ‘must’ get done to build his business. When I asked him to estimate the time it would take to achieve them, it totaled 357% of the hours in a week.

His business was getting accomplished but his attention was constantly pulled back to that list. Like a huge layer of fat, the weight of the list was dragging on him every hour of the day, every step he took.

If your list looks like Brian’s, then Conventional Wisdom on building a business has failed you for one simple reason…

You’re Working Too Hard At Building Your Business!

What’s probably going on? You’ve got a mind full of chatter about all the tasks that need doing, solving, adding to, judging, distracting you from honing in on the few High Payoff Activities that WILL move your business forward NOW!

Maybe, just maybe, there’s a simpler, better way to build your business. The better way I’m referring to is easy to achieve if you’ll treat your business like your metabolism and burn off the fat.

Follow the High Payoff Processes that burn off the fat and get you focused exactly where you need to be. Here are the steps:

List everything, just once
Grab a fresh piece of paper and clear out the looooong long list that’s been hanging on your mind. You’ll find a really useful form for it HERE. It’s the first step I use with all my Platinum Coaching Clients to get them focused. When you use it daily you’ll see the list shrink and the weight starts to drop right off your shoulders.

Divide that list into the FEW top To Dos you’ll achieve today
The quickest way to do it is using the 4-in-1 form you’ll find here. My coaching clients love it as they use it to get a handle on exactly what they’ll put in action and accomplish. Brian commented that at first it felt like his list was ‘too short’. Now it feels like a cheer for what he knows he’s going to get done that day!

Plan every action and every meeting before you step into it
I know one of the habits we get into is lugging all the extra weight of our To Dos with us into meetings. If any of them are hanging on you, you need to burn them off before you walk into any meeting. Focus your attention on the purpose of the meeting, your preparation for it, and exactly what you want to accomplish – 100% of your attention on it before you take the meeting.

Limit every meeting to 20 minutes
Open every meeting by stating the purpose. You’ll find all the wandering conversations melt away. Is there a goal to be set? Set it. An obstacle to remove? Focus the entire conversation on defining the issue clearly so that an action plan can be set. Note Any additional ideas that come up on a Parking Lot sheet and assign it to another discussion.

Delegate everything else!
As you go through your day, new ideas and issues will crop up. Don’t let them hang on you and weigh you down. Put them on our 4-in-1 sheet so you’ll know that you’ll get them solved today or tomorrow, or delegate them now to someone else. Otherwise they’re a wish and a hope and need to be moved onto your brainstorming list and out of your attention.

Peel off the To Dos you were never going to get to. Get your attention trimmed and in focus on what really needs doing. Loose the fat flip the switch and light a fire inside you and your business!

Just like Brian, if you follow these simple steps, you’ll turn into a business building machine.

April 4, 2008 | Filed Under Managing, Productivity Tools | Leave a Comment 

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