Wasting Time, It's Serious Business

Do you know how to NOT waste time? Really think about your answer first. In a culture of social media “pings” and feeling like everything has to be done NOW …. more of us actually waste time versus being productive.

The Eisenhower Box method has been tested again and again. It is the best method to use when preventing time from being wasted while boosting productivity. So, what is the Eisenhower Box method?

Basically, this method states one should separate actions based on four possibilities. The possibilities are:

Urgent and important (tasks you will do immediately).

Important, but not urgent (tasks you will schedule to do later).

Urgent, but not important (tasks you will delegate to someone else).

Neither urgent nor important (tasks that you will eliminate).

If you look at every single item that comes across your desk, iPhone, tablet, etc. and apply one of these four possibilities to it – you will not waste time. The Eisenhower Box method is all about assessing and addressing by making an immediate decision on every potential and actionable item.

For today, start apply this method and notice how much you get done and how quickly it gets done. I promise you the productivity in your life will go up and you still will have more time left at the end of the day.

Until tomorrow,

Twyla N. Garrett

Working with the Enemy....

We’ve all heard of the movie ‘Sleeping with the Enemy’, right? Well, what if you have to work with the enemy. There is always going to be someone within the office (or your company) whom you dread working with. From personality differences to professional differences, no one gets along with everyone all of the time. However, you do have to overcome differences in order to keep your job or your business. Hey, if you're the boss, you still have to work alongside people you may not like. This is a part of life.

My best advice is to gently exploit your arch enemy if kindness fails. This doesn’t mean go after him or her or their job, it simply means make it noticeable, nicely, to your boss or other employees what this person is doing wrong. If it is a client, you're going to have to help him or her realize they are wrong. This can be touchy since they are the one signing your paycheck!

For example, if the person constantly forgets to put in a proper computer code- you may want to send out an email stating “I know Tasha keeps entering “z” into the “y” spaces. Don’t worry, I had some free time to go in and correct all these mistakes as I am sure Tasha didn’t realize the error and I wanted to be a team player.”

If someone truly is becoming a rival, it has to be addressed. Sometimes a face-to-face can make it worse so polite exploitation may be the right way to go. Use your best judgment but also play fair. Don’t look for trouble unless you are pushed.

Yes, we have to learn to get along with others but there are some times when we're going to have to speak up and take charge.....

Until Monday,
Twyla N. Garrett

Save Your Company Money

We've all been there. We had one great year and then the economy took a plunge. Many of us are still recovering. Well, for you fellow business owners out there- I have some great money saving tips!

1. Shop around for health coverage. If you have to pay for health benefits, do your comparison shopping and do it often. Don't just "spam" the offers that arrive in your email. Forward them to your assistant and set-up an appointment for consideration. You never know what money you could be saving if you don't look at every offer on the table.

2. Mortgage. If you own your business' office space take time to speak with the bank. You may be in a position to refinance and get a better interest rate. It is very possible these days. Don't discount refinancing based on what the news is saying about it. Always speak with your bank about your specific circumstances.

3. Go paperless and help the environment Paper costs tons of money, hurts the environment, and takes up lots of office or storage space. Plus, going paperless can save on ink costs. There is money to be saved here and the environment will benefit. Take a look at your paper and ink costs combined with file storage costs. How much could you be saving right now if you turned to the cloud for storing files and obtaining electronic signatures?

4. PPC campaigns. These are the worst! Pay-Per-Click advertising doesn't work like it use to. Why? Well, we have social media now and blogs. We don't need to pay someone to advertise for us. We can do it ourselves or invest in a great copywriter! Either way, PPC campaigns are expensive and don't covert to a ROI.

5. Shop for new providers on everything. Remember item number one? Apply it here- but to all things business. The janitorial service, the overnight mail provider, phone provider, Internet provider, hosting service, domain service, company party venue- anything item that can be provided by another business, ask! Get quotes from everyone / business that you use on a day-to-day basis. You may not have to switch providers to get the best deal!

Have these tips worked for you? Let me know!

Twyla