One of the blogs I love to read regularly is Claire McFee’s Organize Your Life.
It’s full of straight-forward tips and Claire’s personal strategies for being better organized in all areas of life.
Claire’s recent post on Gratitude is one that really resonates with me. I truly believe that what you focus on is what you will get. In this post Claire talks about Dr.John Demartini, author of “The Gratitude Effect”, and his belief that, “What you think about and thank about, you bring about.” She then goes on to discuss how this theory works with your moods, thoughts and feelings, and how your current mood can be reflected in those around you.
So if you’ve got a minute to spare, I encourage you to pop over and have a read of this post. Then, next time everyone around you seems to be grumpy or snapping at you, perhaps you need to stop and look at your own mood.
Think about this for a moment … how many times during the day do you have a couple of minutes to spare?
Maybe 5 minutes while you’re on hold on a telephone call, 10 minutes waiting for a tradesperson to finish a job or just a few minutes before you’re due to leave for an appointment. That’s not really enough time to start anything new, right?
WRONG!
It may seem like that’s not enough time to do much but you may be surprised by just what you can do in ‘just a few minutes’, and by how much that adds up over time.
Things such as:
- update your to-do list
- make a quick phone call
- read an article from an industry magazine
- update your diary
- clean out a desk drawer
- tidy your desk
- organise one of your files
- dictate a letter or notes for a project you’re working on
- tidy your CDs or DVDs
- update your whiteboard
- back up your computer
- write a new blog post, or make a list of topics you could write about
- comment on someone else’s blog
What else could you do during those times when you only have a few minutes?
Using these small windows of time effectively is one of my secrets to achieving so much each day. I always keep a pen and notepad in my handbag so I can make notes of ideas if I’m caught waiting while out and about, and my mobile phone doubles as another great way to record notes while out.
I also keep .mp3 audios of interviews or podcasts handy so I can listen to them while going for a walk or while waiting for appointments.
Not only do these things make me more productive, they also make ‘waiting’ much more enjoyable!
Nerida from Admin Bandit recently wrote an excellent post on her 3 tips for business success.
In summary, Nerida’s top 3 tips are:
- Create a good team
- Embrace excellence
- Value relationships
I couldn’t agree more with her post, especially when Nerida breaks these down into further detail. If you want to make sure you’re applying these practices to your business – and in fact, to your life – then start by reading Admin Bandit’s full post and then take some time out to reflect where you can improve these in your own situation.
It’s nearly that time of year again… time for the annual Business Mums Conference.
Don’t let the name fool you though… the Business Mums Conference promises to be a fantastic weekend of learning new business skills for mums, dads and non-parents alike. If you run a small business, you’re likely to learn a few things from this Recharge Your Business themed weekend.
Workshops and presentation topics include email marketing, intellectual property, trademarking and online promotions… not to mention it being an excellent opportunity to network with like-minded business people.
The organisers are also offering a referral program so if you are going you might like to invite some friends and colleagues along with you.
Full details about this conference are available at the Business Mums Conference site.
Yours Truly is a cover girl (no, not just in my dreams!)
I’ve been featured in the Inspiring Women section of the special ‘Business Planning’ edition of the Business Mums Magazine. Plus, I managed to get myself on the cover too! How cool is that?
If you’re interested, you can read the feature article, Donna-Marie’s Plan, here. Or visit the Business Mums Magazine site to purchase your own copy of the magazine.
