Neen James Productivity Ezine


G'Day! That's Aussie speak for Hello!

Update from the USA!

Where is the snow? This time last year you can see I built a very glamorous snow woman, complete with matching pink accessories but this year the snow hasn't appeared. I got very excited when we had flurries last week (for those of you not from around here... that is little snow flakes that melt when they hit the ground) - but they didn't eventuate into any real snow.

One of my observations between living in the USA and Australia is how much the weather really affects people's moods, outcomes and productivity. In Oz at this time of year they are sweating it out and living on barbies and picnics, watching fireworks, and wearing thongs (to interpret this Aussie slang go to http://www.aussieslang.com/) but here on the East Coast people are staying cozy indoors, lighting fires and planning for travel delays as planes need de-icing. I especially noticed this when it came time to plan our New Year's Eve activities.

In Oz there are so many parties, fireworks and summer celebrations. Here in Philadelphia we got all rugged up, went ice skating, watched the fireworks and then quickly got into our warm car and drove home!

Each January we start the new year thinking about our goals, our job, our health, all the ‘new’ routines and commitments we make to ourselves to make this our best year yet… but two weeks into January all our planning and resolution goes out the window! Did you start a new diet? Swear you would visit the gym each day? Vow to stop watching so much TV? Decide you would spend more time with your kids? You can make this your most productive year ever by applying some of these simple ideas (and re-reading this article each year to keep you on track).

How to Make This Your Most Productive Year Yet

Make a date. Make time in your schedule to find a quiet, comfortable location to set your goals. I spend a morning at my favourite cafe in January every year to review my goals and set new ones for the year ahead.

No more New Year’s Resolutions! Instead, focus on creating realistic goals for all areas of your life – I call these your top 5.

Take five. Create five categories for which to set goals: physical, educational, spiritual, financial, and relational. By setting goals for each of these areas of your life, you will be taking a balanced approach and not neglecting any important aspects of your life.

Use it or lose it! I recently read – people who spend a thousand dollars or more each year on their personal development will increase their business by 20 percent. Read more books, attend workshops, find a new networking group, listen to tapes or CDs in your car, do online courses or enrol at college or university. Keep your brain active.

Make time. Eliminate time-robbers from your day – make a list of all the things you do that rob you of your time, such as watching too much TV, running errands inefficiently, checking and responding to your email too often, making long phone calls, waiting in traffic and even other people. Focus on controlling your time – organising your day efficiently and getting rid of the things in your life that are not a high priority.

Out of sight, out of mind. Remove your in-tray from your desk or get rid of it all together if you can! Keep it out of sight so the contents don’t distract you and so that people don’t drop new items into it without you noticing.

Unplug. Schedule one TV-free night each week. Switch off the set and instead listen to your favourite music, play a board or card game, read a book, enjoy a quiet meal by candle light (alone or with someone whose company you love), go on a date or soak in a bath. Start being aware of your television viewing habits and make a point of only watching programs that you truly enjoy and stop wasting precious time in front of the TV.

Manage your reading. Create a reading file and put it in your briefcase. If you don’t already have one, start a reading file and carry it with you on your way home. You can get through a surprising amount of reading while on public transport to and from work and while waiting in queues.

Find a mentor. When you identify the person you believe would be a suitable mentor, spend some time watching them in action. Ask around to find out what other people’s opinion of your chosen mentor are and find out all you can about their achievements, beliefs, values and way of operating. This will give you insight into them before you approach them about mentoring you.

Schedule email time. Email messages popping into your inbox all day long can be an enormous distraction, particularly if your email is set to alert you every time new mail arrives. To check in on your emails and respond to them as they arrive not only distracts you from whatever tasks or projects you are working on but can rob you of an entire day, responding to other people’s needs while your own are neglected. Schedule a couple or a few times each day to check and respond to emails rather than constantly looking-in on your inbox or being bounced there by your email program with every new message.

Your signature. Use your email program to create an email signature block that will automatically attach to all of your outgoing messages; it’s a little like an email letterhead. It saves you the effort of including your contact information every time and brings a professional touch to your communications. You might simply include your name, business name, contact details and website or you might also include a sentence or two about your business, a special promotion you are running with a link to your website, or even a favourite funny or inspirational quote.

Spring clean. Schedule time to clean out your email regularly, once a month should be enough to keep you on top of it. Empty your deleted items and any unnecessary sent items, and go through any completed project or task folders and ensure that anything you are keeping is essential to your records. Cleaning out your email will ensure you are managing your email files and disk space effectively.

Set up systems. When using filing cabinets, decide how you will allocate your space to make it easiest to locate your files: for example, rather than mixing all your files together you might decide to keep current customer files in one drawer and potential customer files and marketing information in a separate drawer, or you might choose to store current projects in one drawer and research and reference information in another, or you might decide to file everything in alphabetical order – you get the idea – look at the type of files you have and decide how to logically divide them into categories. Then, label the front of each drawer with the type of files it contains.

Choose to be amazing! It’s as simple as making a commitment to yourself every morning that you will have an amazing day. Remember, life is not a dress rehearsal – we only get one performance, so let’s give it our best!

Neen's Teleseminar Series in March

Sign up now for Neen's Secrets of Super-Productivity Seminars, 4 great teleclasses, a one-on-one consultation with Neen, a copy of her latest book and much more! To find out more information, email maria@neenjames.com

You don't want to miss out on this great series to boost your productivity and increase your business!

Special Upcoming Events

National Speakers Association of Australia - March 30th - April 1st - Gold Coast, Australia. If you are in Australia check out the National Speakers Association Conference on the Gold Coast - I am honored to be speaking and would love to connect with you while I am in Oz - register now at http://www.nationalspeakers.asn.au/

Office Depot Success Strategies for Women - April 25th 2007 - Philadelphia. If you are within flying, walking or driving distance from Philadelphia, you want to save the date of April 25th 2007 for the Office Depot Success Strategies for Women Conference - it is my absolute delight to be the Chair of this amazing event and you are going to want to be there! Find out more at http://www.officedepotsuccess.com/

-- Register before March 28th and use Neen's special discount code so you can save money - Neen's Code: PHI5586

A Productivity Tip from Neen's
Virtual Assistant, Maria Novey

Forgetting important dates, birthdays, anniversary, or just want a simple reminder a few weeks in advance of an important event? Memotome.com is a simple reminder service which sends you an email as far in advance as you would like of any important event which is upcoming.

I use this for my clients when they ask me to remind them of family birthdays or client birthdays – they receive the email reminders directly.

Hoo Roo (that is aussie for Good-Bye) -- Neen