Time Management

Working ON your business is a non-negotiable

May 10, 2020 | Action Station, Emma being Emma, Results, Time Management

If you have known me for some time, you will know I am obsessed with working ON the business, not IN the business.

In fact, I take time out every 90 days to work ON the business. So, when the following opportunity arrived, I was all in!

A content creation bootcamp? Yes, please!

I have been writing content for my leadership coaching business for the past year. While I struggled to write at first, I eventually got into the groove and found I was able to kick out blogs pretty quickly.

I saw that one of my colleagues was holding a “content creation bootcamp”. This was two days of working in 10-minute increments to create a year’s worth of content – on the Gold Coast, no less! I knew the wonderful woman running it, Jane Anderson, and her drive to achieve, so I knew she was fair dinkum and had 100% confidence in her guarantee of a year’s worth of content. So, I flew up to the Gold Coast and gave it a crack.

Here’s what we did …

Jane showed us a simple yet effective way to capture our ideas and thoughts. She also gave us some great tools to make the content-creating process as efficient as possible. It was a full-on two days, but by the end of it, this is what I achieved:

62 pieces of content.
A structure, working title and subtitle for my book.
An additional 10,000 words towards the first draft of my book, which rendered it “finished”.
A way to organise my content to make it easy to use and retrieve.

To say I was stoked with my output is an understatement. The relief I felt knowing I had made serious headway with some major projects had me high as a kite.

The other thing it made me realise was that two days with zero distractions and being in the right headspace made a massive difference to my brain box. Now, I am heading into a new year with all my content done!

Do you take time out to work ON your business?

Although I already take time out of the business to work ON the business, even I get surprised when I complete an “on-the-business task” that would usually take me hours to do. Jane’s bootcamp was a real eye-opener.

Do you put off working on your business? Why? It’s time to think differently about getting this stuff done.

And to Jane, what a legend you are! You are a champion of people, productivity and generosity. Thank you for being super generous with your time and your presence. I like to bang on about the fact it’s how you make someone feel that they remember, and you made me feel like I could do it!

I’m Emma, and I’m a business and executive coach who believes wholeheartedly in the potential of women. My coaching philosophy is simple- taking action leads to results- and I love working with women in business and in corporate roles to take their passion and drive and transform their professional and personal lives.

Be enthusiastic, optimistic and energetic, every day.

Em x

A Love Hate Relationship with Technology

April 22, 2019 | All Posts, Mindset Tips, Time Management

A typical night in my household: the kids get picked up from school, homework is completed and dinner is eaten. After dinner, we all then flop on the couch in front of the TV. But we’re not really watching TV! We’re all sitting around either playing on our Smartphone or iPads – sussing out who’s doing what on Social Media or looking up information on the net.

It’s a far cry from the ‘olden’ days where a family had no option but to sit around listening to the wireless and discussing their day with each other. If you wanted to find out what someone was doing, you’d pick up the phone and chat. If you wanted information about the world, you’d pick up a book. But now Wikipedia is more commonly used than an Encyclopaedia!

And this is why I have a love/hate relationship with technology. I love how easy it is to have any information I want at my fingertips, but I hate the fact that we are becoming ‘zombies’. Our kids no longer seem to go outside to play, or nag us to use the home phone (I know some people who no longer even have a home phone!). They are either pre-occupied with video games, or using their Smartphone or iPad to connect with those around them.

But where do our kids learn this behaviour?

From their mates who are doing the same thing?
From us – we are always ‘on’?
The fact that life seems so ‘busy’ – we never have down time?
That we don’t go outside to play a family game, go for a walk, or enjoy the sunshine?

Answer this question: “Where’s your phone right now?” Is it beside you, in your bag but you regularly check on it, or perhaps even in your hand?

A recent study on smartphone usage conducted by Deakin university found:

40 per cent of people surveyed felt lost without their phone;
34 per cent lost sleep due to the time spent on their phone; and
54 per cent found themselves occupied on their phone when they should be doing other things, and it caused problems.

Dr Sharon Horwood, lead researcher and psychology lecturer, said “We can think of problematic smartphone use as someone who has started to use their phone compulsively and where that compulsive use has started to impact on their daily functioning. That could be their productivity, social relationships, physical health, or emotional well-being,”

“There’s no doubt that smartphones have changed the way we do things, and given that around 88 per cent of Australian have smartphones, we must feel as though we get something good from using them.

“However, when usage becomes excessive it can result in a range of negative outcomes including low mood, reduced physical fitness, sleep deprivation, and poorer academic performance.

To try and balance out our ‘technological’ life, my husband and I have started to leave our phones at home and go out for a meal with our family. I found it amazing, when looking around, at how many people were on their phones and not talking to each other. It’s sad really but something we all seem to do these days.

We have also made a new rule in our house – that technology does not rule us!

This can be hard to manage some days as we are a blended family and we do need to communicate across two different households. But at the end of the day, when we are all sitting down together and talking, it’s well worth having the rule that no distractions are allowed!

I do have to admit (and please don’t tell the kids), that the amount of knowledge these kids have about technology is amazing. I’m only a Gen X, yet whenever I need to know how to do anything ‘techy’, my teenagers are on hand to show me. I guess it’s what they are growing up with so I may as well embrace the knowledge they can share.

So tonight when you get home, try saying to your family – NO TECHNOLOGY. Sure, you may meet some objections at first, but start out small (maybe 1 hour and work at building up from here), sit around your table after dinner and actually connect, interact and talk about your day.

We have started a new tradition during dinner, all technology is off and away and we have a focused conversation as a family. We go around the table and each talk about three things; the best part of our day, the thing that we are grateful for and something we did that was kind for another person. This is easily the best part of my day.

What do you do as a family to keep connected without the tech?

Be enthusiastic, optimistic and energetic everday.

Em x

Goal Setting the S.M.A.R.T way

January 21, 2019 | All Posts, Planning, Results, Time Management

One of the most common goal setting acronyms is the S.M.A.R.T goals acronym. This says that all goals need to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timebound in order to be most effective. I have explained these a bit more below;

S.M.A.R.T

Specific– be very specific with the goal you are trying to achieve.
Measurable– it needs to able to be measured. i.e. reduce expenses by 10% rather than just reduce expenses.
Achievable– Can you achieve it? Be honest with yourself but make it a stretch at the same time.
Relevant– Make sure your goals are relevant to where you want to go. Keep them aligned to you, this way you will keep sight of them.
Time-bound– Make sure your goals have a deadline. When you have a deadline it injects a sense of urgency and accountability.

So, while ensuring that your goals are S.M.A.R.T, there are some other points to take into consideration when setting goals;

Write your goals down

By writing your goal down you are ensuring that you never forget it and remain accountable to it.

Use careful consideration of the phrasing of your goal

Use words like ‘will’ instead of ‘would like to’ or ‘try to’ – this phrasing allows for potential excuses. Also avoid phrases like “I don’t want to …”, Positively phrased goals are easier for the brain to recognise and understand.

Set goals that motivate you

If you set goals that motivate you, you are on the path to success.

Remember Clare from the previous blog (if not check out the blog here), when we worked on her goals, we actioned all of the above. We wrote Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timebound goals that were positively phrased and that were sure to motivate her to see her own success – and sure enough she smashed her goals!

Have a go at applying the above principles when setting your goals. I would love to hear how you go!

I am the coach that will help you set goals to achieve results. If you would like to see if I can help you recognise, set, and achieve your goals I would love to chat with you. Connect with me here.