TUNE UP YOUR HABITS
IMPROVE YOUR BUSINESS LIFE

Okay, here we go with another bit of musing for you to consider.

I found this list of 8 habits of highly productive people a while ago and rather like it. I especially like Habit 1 and Habit 6 and 7. 

HABIT 1 says Ruthlessly Cut Away The Unimportant. Here we are asked to get rid of all the unimportant stuff in our lives, stuff that is in no way connected to our goals or to anything that matters.

So if we have a bunch of useless stuff around, well, why? What for? To frustrate us, 'cause that's what it sort of does.

Unimportant stuff takes up space, physical space. But even worse, it takes up mental space and then our thinking is impaired. Who wants that? We need all the mental space we can get - so unclutter we must.

What if you tossed out at least half of the useless stuff you have in your life and in your business? Just get rid of half. That's very liberating. You no longer have to look at it that stuff, move that stuff out of the way, or ever think about that stuff again. It's good riddance.

Now, Habit 6 says Optimize Time Pockets. And Habit 7 says Set Timelines. These are similar to another concept I like called TIME BOXING. Think of it as putting a clock in a box.

In Time Boxing, before you start a task or assignment you decide how long you will work on that, the time when you will actually start and the time when you will finish. You set a timer to beep you when you’ve reached the end of the Time Box.

Then the beep sounds you can stop and move onto something else like you intended. Or if need be, you can reset the Time Box and work on the task some more.

The benefit is obvious. You don’t get lost and work on something, maybe struggle with something for hours – then suddenly realize how much time you were engaged in the activity, perhaps to the determent of other things you had planned to do that day.

And even better, you no longer drive home feeling angry at yourself for “wasting” the whole day on something stupid.

So give these habits a try and see what happens.

Feel free to try the others too if you like ‘cause they’re all good.

And finally please remember this Big Fat Truth:

Nobody can go back to the beginning and make a brand new start. But anybody can start today and make a brand new ending.

If you like this Insight & Strategy stuff - and happen to own a small business - perhaps you would enjoy attending one of our monthly Master-Mind Alliance® meetings.

We're all about planning how to make businesses work better.

And in truth, there is never a good reason to avoid talking about making your business work better.

To attend - if you are in or near Eureka in Humboldt County, CA just call me at 707-268-8691. Or if you are in or near Chico in Butte County, CA just call Graham Skinner at 530-343-4012.

We have active programs in both locations - and like it says below, we have space for you to come see what we do.