Guide to Getting Last-Minute Tasks Done Right

Whether you make a regular habit of it, or you get caught unexpectedly and have to change plans – at some point we will all have a project or tasks that get left to the last minute. So how do you deal with these last minute changes? If you’re a person who’s used to having everything planned out well in advance, (like me) something like this can really throw you off your game.

But it doesn’t have to.

Even when it feels like it’s impossible to get everything done in time, you can still manage your  time most effectively.

So what do you do? Read more

Cross These Tasks Off Your To-Do List

I love outsourcing. I mean who wouldn’t? You get to take your to-do list and hand it off to someone else!

What’s not to love?

However it’s one of the few productivity suggestions that when I mention to people, the response I get tends to be dubious.

The answer I always get is, “Well, I dunno, I like to do things myself.”

Sound familiar?

I’m a control freak, so I get it. Letting someone else be responsible for a part of my business (even if it is only a very small one) can feel scary. But if I can get past the control freak fear, then why can’t other people.

I think that most people actually aren’t afraid to outsource – they just don’t know where to start!

For example, if you asked a child if they wanted to give up their chores, of course they’d be happy. But when you tell them they have to pick just one — the choice becomes a bit more difficult. Read more

3 Ways to Have an Effective Lunch Meeting

I always look forward to a good lunch meeting, but it can be tricky to get it right because there are so many distractions. If the purpose of the meeting is to talk business you may have to plan ahead. There’s nothing worse than getting to the best part of your pitch when suddenly the waiter interrupts to take your order. Or when the food takes to long and makes you late to work.

The best way to ensure a successful lunch meeting is to put in a little planning beforehand. Here are some of my top tips.

Choose the location wisely – When I meet with my mastermind group for meals we have got them down to an exact science! When booking a place to meet we always ensure that we meet at a restaurant where you can go up and get your food and then sit down. This saves you getting distracted looking at the menu and dealing with the waiter. Plus once you’ve got your food you can sit down and get started quickly on whatever topics you’ve got on the agenda. Read more

Why You’re Really Not Getting Anything Done

If you are anything like me (and if you’re reading this blog you probably are) then when you first start a new project or set a new goal you throw yourself in headfirst.

We can all get caught up in the moment. Sometimes I’ll even spend more money than I should buying ‘essential’ items that I think I need to finish my project.

Sound familiar?

We’ve all felt that compulsion to buy $200 sneakers the second we decided we need to get back in shape.

However as time goes on, the excitement fades and our brand new sneakers sit in the closet collecting dust. Just like in relationships our passion for our projects can fall into a rut or get stalled before they even start.

So how do you keep the spark alive? Here are some of the ways to pick up where you left off and actually follow through on those projects:

Go back to the drawing board – I’m not saying you should start over, but sometimes it can be beneficial to take a look back. What were your initial plans – if there were any – for this project? Perhaps they were very ambitious or didn’t have enough scope. Altering your initial ‘blueprints’ can help to breathe some life back into your project! Ask a friend to sit down with you and go through the bullet points. You might have a change of heart or find some motivation this way. Read more

5 Minute Fixes to Get to Inbox Zero

Just this week my friend Terri told me about her life-changing experience.  

She got to Inbox Zero.

Amazing, right?

You know Terri — I’ve spoken about her before and she and I are starting a new venture together with the launch of our online course Lights Camera Expert.

Anyway — whenever I see the amount of unread emails she has I have an anxiety attack. We’re talking 4 and 5 digit numbers.

Yes, thousands of unread messages.  

Finally she had enough and decided to archive all of her messages. She didn’t go as far as I have in the past by deleting everything in her inbox. Instead she archived the ones she’s gotten in the past month and has a clean and shiny inbox.

Time spent: Less than 5 minutes. (However, she’s been agonizing over this for at least a year.)

The misconception about cleaning out your inbox is that it needs to take a long time. So we often put it off and procrastinate.  Putting it on the “oh yeah I should do that” list. Read more