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10 useful things you can do in the next 5 minutes

Sarah · Oct 23, 2017 · Leave a Comment

One of these days is none of these days. – Mark Twain

How often do you have small pockets of time that seem to disappear on you? What if you had a list of easy AND useful things you could do in 5 minutes per day (or less!)?

Lucky you, it’s right here! After all, it’s always easier to have an idea ahead of time what you will do that’s useful or productive in your pockets of time than to try to come up with ideas in the moment.

I just did #2! Great list of easy and useful ways to use 5 minutes per day

1. Write a status update of your written goals.

If you’re already reviewing your written goals every day, take once a week or once a month to write down a written progress report. This can be as simple as 1-2 sentences, and can be written anywhere easy. The purpose is two-fold: To have a record of your progression and to reinforce the value of your goals by physically writing down the current status of each goal.

2. Review your calendar for upcoming meetings, events or appointments.

How many times have you looked at your calendar only to realize that you have a meeting coming up that you forgot to prepare for, forgot to plan childcare for, or wanted to do a few things before it happened? Taking a quick glance at your calendar for the next day (or few days) can make a dramatic difference in how you prioritize your immediate time.

3. Read an article relevant to your professional or personal life.

I use Feedly and keep a list of news sites and blogs categorized by type of information (Business, Parenting, Food, Friends, etc). When I have a few minutes, I can quickly scan categories and/or headlines and read where I need the most encouragement.

4. Do a short workout.

There are a number of different apps with short workouts, or you could simply jog in place or walk up and down a few flights of stairs.

5. Drink a glass of water.

They say it’s good for your heath.

6. Take a series of deep, calming breaths.

I’m no expert, but taking a long, deep breath in and slow-exhale out really does relax and ground me, especially in the midst of busy or stressful times.

7. Text or email three friends.

So easy, and yet one so many of us (myself included!) don’t do if it’s not a conscious thought.

8. Clean out your handbag, desk drawer or any other single surface/drawer/cupboard.

This always takes less time than I think it will. Having clean, uncluttered surfaces is an instant mood lift.

9. Read a few pages in a book.

I keep physical books at my desk and bedside, as well as the Kindle app on my phone to that reading a page or two in pockets of spare time

10. Secure your passwords.

I started using LastPass several years ago, and it’s saved me more time than I can count not having to re-look up or reset passwords. Signing up for a LastPass account is quick (less than 5 minutes!), and you can add passwords as you go, a few minutes at a time – no need for a massive project.

Which useful idea will you take action on today? 

Need more ideas? Read 10 more tips here.

You deserve to do work you love

Sarah · Jun 7, 2017 · Leave a Comment

Whether you jump in the car with a travel mug of coffee, battling traffic before you battle office politics…

Whether you’re a stay-at-home mom who hasn’t had a real paycheck in months or years (and yes, those moments with your children are priceless, but you still dream of having way to contribute to the family budget)…

Or whether you’re working from home and you’re wondering how to find focused work time so you’re not pulled in so many directions…

You don’t want to spend the next few years like this.

I get it (boy, do I ever!).

Check, check, check, I’ve been there…and I’m still figuring out what I want to be when I grow up!

Almost everyone I know is looking for work + life balance and how to be more focused so we can spend more time with our family.

If that sounds tough, I have something to make it easier for you.

What if I told you someone had already put together a carefully vetted package to get you up to speed on finding real work-at-home opportunities (AND making your work + life balance better whether you’re working from home or in the office)?

Well, you can stop looking! It’s here…

Introducing The Ultimate Work at Home Bundle!

For six days only, everything you need (and then some) is in one fabulous package, for the most affordable price ever. (Seriously, just wait until I tell you how much it costs.)

This brand-new bundle includes 30 eBooks, 14 full eCourses, 4 printables, and 1 audiobook!

These top-quality resources cover everything you need to give you the skills and confidence to do fulfilling work, at your favorite place in the world.

You’ll get a complete library to help you:

  • Manage your time efficiently (and never let anything fall through the cracks again)
  • Identify your marketable skills
  • Juggle your responsibilities and finally find work + life balance
  • Avoid the most common pitfalls of the work-at-home lifestyle
  • Understand the legal and financial implications of your business
  • Discover the secrets to getting into the business that most appeals to you, whether it’s a wholesale product, service-based, handmade, transcription, becoming a VA, or any other number of opportunities
  • and so much more…

Plus, it comes with over $500 worth of bonus offers from companies you’ll love – including a coffee subscription! (Seriously. They had me at “coffee.”)

You sort of need to see it to believe it, but the package includes 50 digital products and it’s worth over $2,300!

Besides being so incredibly helpful, one of the things I like best about the bundle is the price. By offering it for a short time only, the team at Ultimate Bundles is able to give you access to over $2,300 worth of amazing products for a whopping 98% off!

Here’s how it works:

  1. Visit their website, take a quick look at all the goodness that comes in this package, then click the “Get my copy now!” button to go through their simple and secure 3-step checkout process.
  2. You’ll receive an email with a login to their online access portal, where you’ll begin downloading your eBooks, signing up for your eCourses, and redeeming your free bonus offers.
  3. Use their Getting Started Guide to pick the topic you want to tackle first and achieve your work-at-home dreams!

The most important detail, though, is that this bundle is available for just six days! After Monday night, June 12th, the sale ends and you’d have to buy all of these products individually.

I’d hate for you to miss out, so CLICK HERE to learn more or buy the bundle.

It’s even backed by a 100% happiness guarantee, so you can make sure it’s right for you.

You deserve to do the work you love. You shouldn’t have to wait any longer to finally find the work freedom you’ve been looking for, or the work + life balance you’ve been waiting to achieve.

Learn more or get your bundle HERE: https://us154.isrefer.com/go/UWAHB17SarahP/a2966

(Psst… the bundle goes away at 11:59pm Eastern on Monday, June 12th, so don’t wait!)

motionmailapp.com

 How to create an action plan and get more done

Sarah · Mar 2, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Do you know how to create an action plan? Do you need to? Have you ever found yourself saying any of these things?

  • “It’s all in my head.”
  • “I forgot about that.”
  • “No one can do it except me.”
  • “I don’t know what to do next.”

How to get more done with an action plan | strategysarah.com

Most of us have.

The most common conversation I have with colleagues, clients and friends about work revolves around figuring out exactly what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and how it ranks relative to other priorities.

That’s why you need an Action Plan.

What is an Action Plan?

Thirty days is long enough to see results, and short enough to get the immediate gratification of checking boxes off a list. After you create an action plan and execute it, you can make time to reassess and create a new Action Plan. For many people, one of the items on the first 30-Day Action Plan includes creating a longer term Action Plan or more detailed project plans around specific products or services.

An Action Plan is a framework to achieve short-term goals with a view to long-term goals.

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How to create an action plan and get more done | strategysarah.com

How does an Action Plan help?

  • An Action Plan is more detailed than a list of goals, and broader than a project-specific plan.
  • Create an Action Plan and you’ll have a working document that can be edited and updated as needed. A plan should be a guideline, as business needs and priorities do change.
  • Create an Action Plan and provide shared accountability on progress for all members of the team.
  • Action Plans contain set due dates that are listed by item or section. Since all deadlines are in one place, it is easy to see at a glance if dates are realistic, too aggressive or overlap more than they should.
  • Create an Action Plan and see where you may need to put more (or less!) focus and time around a particular process, project or product.
  • An Action Plan is a framework that sets up success regardless of the type of work to be done.
  • Last, but certainly not least, a well-crafted Action Plan highlights tasks and projects that can be handed off to others, freeing you up to do what only you can do.
An Action Plan is a framework that sets up success regardless of the type of work to be done.

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It isn’t hard to create an action plan, but it can be a lot of work. Following the eight steps below to move from overwhelmed to action.

  • Pick your tool(s)
  • Big picture goals
  • Do a brain dump
  • Organize
  • Prioritize
  • Delegate, Delete – Or Shiny Object
  • Timeline
  • Work the plan

Let’s get started.

8 Steps to Create an Action Plan and Get More Done

Too much info all at once? Email me and request the steps as a a seven-day ecourse or a downloadable ebook.

1 – Pick Your Tools

The first task is to pick the tool you want to use to create your action plan. Don’t over think this, and definitely don’t feel like you have to use anything fancy. What are you most likely to actually use and follow through with?

Some common tools:

  • Pen and paper
  • Paper planner of some sort
  • Word document
  • Google doc
  • Evernote
  • A project management tool like Asana or Trello

Personally, I like something digital and have found the most success using either Evernote or a Google doc. The accessibility from anywhere (including my phone), is key to my success. But as my husband says, “I’ve never found a [tool] that works as well as a pen and paper.”

Find what works for you and use it. This probably isn’t the time for the learning curve of a new tools, so go with something familiar and comfortable.

A familiar and comfortable tool or system you’ll use is best.

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Whatever you’re going to use, get an account or blank document set up and ready to go. (See, it’s easy one step at a time. You can do this!)

2 – Identify Big Picture Goals

Before we dive into the details, take a step back and look at the big picture. It’s all to easy to lose the forest for the trees, and that’s precisely what we don’t want to happen.

What’s the biggest thing that’s weighing you down? What is the big goal that you’re working to accomplish?

  • What’s your primary goal for this action plan?
  • A new product launch?
  • A marketing plan?
  • General clarity to figure out what your goal is?

Take a few minutes and write down your big picture goal(s).

This isn’t a goal-setting course, and you can certainly continue even if you’re not clear on the big picture. If that’s you though, I would strongly advise including reviewing your business and setting an overall strategy and goals as part of your Action Plan.

Once you’ve got your goals written down, print them out and hang it up somewhere you will see and review daily. Mine can usually either be found my closet or the bulletin board at my desk. Keeping your goals top of mind will help keep you focused on the big picture and taking action in the right places.

Keep your goals top of mind to stay focused on the big picture and the right action.

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3 -The Great Brain Dump

Next we’re getting gritty. It’s time to do a brain dump.

A brain dump is as simple as it sounds. Pull up your chosen tool for capturing information. Take 10-15 (or longer) min and write down everything that’s on your mind.

Don’t worry about organizing, or even if it’s about your business. In fact, if you’re anything like me, you’ll probably have plenty of non-business-related things on your list as well.

It doesn’t matter if it’s big, small, overdue or a year out – get it all down on paper.

Don’t filter, don’t edit (that comes later!), just put it on paper (or screen).

Getting info out of your brain and captured somewhere safe is the best way to clear your mind clutter and start moving forward.

Get info out of your brain and actionable by doing a regular brain dump.

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Keep this document handy, and continue to add to it throughout the day (and the next few days) as you think of additional things. (And you will. It’s next to impossible to get it all down at once.)

You’ll also want to set a place to do a regular brain dump and incorporate it into your plan.

Having trouble getting started? Here are some common topics and triggers to get you going:

  • General business or job related
  • Email – review emails to see what you have outstanding or have been asked about
  • Project specific tasks
  • Deadlines
  • Deliverables
  • Goals
  • Events
  • Things that you’ve started but not finished
  • Financial tasks
  • Marketing tasks
  • Expectations from colleagues, clients, family and friends

4 –  Organize & Categorize

Let’s get organized.

Review your list and group together common themes or types of actions. You’ll likely end up with an Action Plan that has three to five sub-sections or projects within the plan. Don’t worry if you’ve got more than that – we’ll talk about what to do with that next.

How should you organize? However makes the most sense to your brain. Typically, it’s by areas of business, it could be by timeline, or location it need to be done, etc.

How should you organize? However makes the most sense to your brain.

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A general small business Action Plan could include categories of Blogging, Social Media, Products, Services, Continuing Education.

Similarly, a plan could include: Marketing, Sales, Product Development, Operations, etc.

If it’s a product launch, you’ll have more overlap, but could look something like In-Person Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Other Marketing, Technical Setup.

Within each of those areas, start to organize further. You can organize by order things need to be done, amount of time a particular task will take, who should be doing it, or any other way that will make sense to you as you work your plan.

5 – Delegate, Delete – Or Shiny Object

Go back over your list. What shouldn’t YOU be doing? What can you delegate to someone else?
What could you delegate if you had a process mapped out for someone could take over? (If you’ve got anything here, add an action item to create a process so that you can delegate. The time spent upfront will save you an exponential amount of time in the future.)

What shouldn’t be on the list at all? Delete it. (Please. Liberally. Give yourself permission to NOT do things.)

If you’re having trouble deleting things off your list, create a Don’t Do List. This is as simple as it sounds – a list of things you WON’T do. You’re making a conscious decision that these are not priorities and won’t be worked on.

Create a Don’t Do List – A simple list of things you WON’T do.

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Create a Shiny Object List. Similar to the Don’t Do list, the Shiny Object List is a list of really cool things that you want to do someday, but right now are only distractions from the main goal. When in doubt, add something here. And then put it out of your mind. If the time ever comes where you are sitting twiddling your thumbs and looking for something to do, because you’ve accomplished everything on your Action Plan and have no pressing needs, this is a great place to look. And in your annual strategy review. Until then, stay away from anything and everything on this list.

6 – Prioritize

You’ve got a list. It’s organized. Now it’s time to prioritize.

  • What is essential to getting business done? If it doesn’t happen, your business will close up shop and you’ll be out of work. This is clearly the most important.
  • What’s going to move your business forward the most in the long run?
  • What’s immediate, but not necessarily going to make a big impact long term (hint: this is often a great area to delegate)
  • What’s not important at all? (Hopefully nothing – anything unimportant should already be on your Don’t Do List or your Shiny Object List)

7 – Timeline

Now that we’ve set goals, brain dumped our tasks, categorized and organized, delegated, deleted and prioritized, all that’s left is to set a timeline to your plan.

  • What needs to be done immediately?
  • Within the week?
  • Month?
  • Three months?
  • Longer?

If it’s three months or longer, consider separating this out into another list. While it’s important and essential to keep on the radar, this isn’t part of your immediate Action Plan. Save it in a safe place (using the same tools and systems you’ve already implemented). You don’t want to get distracted from the task at hand. Let’s keep our momentum focused on your immediate Action Plan and results.

8 – Work the plan

Set aside a specific time block to create an action plan within the next week. I recommend picking one of two approaches:

  • Do one step each day and have a completed plan in a week. Request the ecourse and you’ll get each step as a daily prompt.
  • Plan in a single day time block. You’ll probably need a 2-4 hour time block, depending on how much pre-work you have already done. This article or the PDF Action Plan Guide are great resources.

Create your plan.

Success formula: Create an action plan. Work the plan. Rinse and repeat.

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Congratulations, you took the time to create an action plan! Doesn’t it feel great?!

You’ve planned the work, now go work the plan. And then let me know how it goes!

3 foolproof ways to schedule your time and get more done

Sarah · Oct 30, 2015 · 1 Comment

We’ve talked about creating a to-do list, and prioritizing that list, but how do you find the focus and time amidst all the distractions of the day?

You schedule your time.
How do you go about scheduling your time?

By time blocks

Block time out on your calendar for specific tasks. This means literally scheduling a meeting with yourself and including the project you plan to work on in that given time frame.

Many people find that a daily flow or routine of time blocks works well. In fact, a standard work day or school day is already a large time block dedicated to a particular task.

Within the work day, I find that blocking off my first 15-30 minutes or so for email, prioritizing plans for the day, getting mentally prepared for the day (and, let’s be honest, getting coffee!) set the tone for a great day. I also have several standing weekly meeting in particular time slots. This adds structure to my days, while still allowing flexibility within each day.

By type of project

If you know what time of day you’re most focused, you can schedule dedicated blocks of focused time when you’re at your peak, then transition to meetings or more mundane routine tasks when you know you struggle with having brain power. For example, I know that scheduling a heavy brain-focused work session on Friday afternoon is a recipe for procrastination and inefficiency. But it’s a great time to update spreadsheets, complete blocks of data and draft out a schedule for the following week.

By blocking your time by type of work, you can keep focus and flow even when you are transitioning between specific tasks.

With a different focus per day

This one is harder in a typical corporate career, but many entrepreneurs and freelancers have great success with it. The basic idea: Identify your key areas of focus and block off specific days of the week to work on those tasks. Michael Hyatt often talks about how he only takes appointments on Fridays.

One example:

  • Monday: Client communication + meetings
  • Tuesday: Strategic planning & reporting
  • Wednesday: Project work
  • Thursday: Content creation (i.e. blogging + newsletter + social media)
  • Friday: Miscellaneous

As a blogger or writer, an alternate would be to schedule separate days or blocks of time for writing, editing, photo creation, posting/scheduling, etc.

3 foolproof ways to schedule your time and get more done (including one of Michael Hyatt's strategies!)If you prioritize and guard your time, others will also. As a leader (employee, parent, entrepreneur, etc), what example are you setting for your team (boss, children, clients, etc)? If you have time blocked and allow interruptions, your team will feel that they need to do the same. Your example speaks louder than your words.

Yes, responding to communication in a timely manner is important, but most responses can wait an hour or two. There are very few instances where a response is needed that quickly for which you won’t have advance notice. And in that case, it’s clearly not a good time to block off for focused work.

How do you block your time? 


This post is part of 31 Timesaving Tools, Tips & Templates, read the rest of the series here.  

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Welcome!

Sarah Parsons Hi, I'm Sarah and thanks for joining me! I believe that as working moms, we don't have to be exhausted trying to have it all. Sure, we juggle a lot. That just makes us expert project managers, problem solvers and simplifiers. And if you feel like you're not an expert at any of that, well, you're in the right place. It is possible to manage our time well and thrive - at work, home and play. Let's do this!
#3 is key.
This has been a game-changer for my afternoons! I'm so much more productive when I manage my energy and don't try to just power through the slump. #workingmom #manageyourenergy #timemanagement
31 Timesaving Tools, Tips & Templates | strategysarah.com

31 Timesaving Tips, Tools & Templates

Disclaimer

The views expressed on this site are those of Sarah Parsons only, and do not represent those of any employer or client past or present with whom I have worked.
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