Danielle Guerin

Archive for the ‘Business tips’ Category

We are trained early on to think that lists must be linear – one item after another, with cute little check boxes next to each. But what if your brain isn’t the linear type? Many people, especially creatives, have trouble thinking in a linear fashion. Forcing themselves to create To-Do lists in a traditional manner makes them feel stifled and bored, precisely the wrong mindset in which to do your best thinking.

Fortunately, you’re not graded on your To-Do list. There is no one “right” way. In fact, some of the most productive people don’t use traditional To-Do lists at all. They use mindmaps. Mindmapping is a visual way to get information out of your brain and onto a page, which also can create fully functional action “lists.”

The basics for mindmapping are simple. There are computer programs that can assist you (google “mindmap software” for suggestions) and many people prefer those, but really all you need is a large sheet of blank paper and a pen.

Start with a main idea in the center of the page, and brainstorm all the possible related topics around the edges of the page, with lines connecting each thought to the center. Chains of thoughts will link one idea to the next, and indicate patterns and possible links. The idea is that you’re not forcing your thoughts into a pre-set format; you’re allowing yourself to get all the information out of your brain before trying to group and organize it.

Mindmaps are also useful for figuring out project timelines. Here’s how it would work…

1. Start with the goal in the center
   (For instance, “Send new customers the latest autoresponder series.”).
2. Ask yourself, “What would have to happen before I reached that result?”
   (“I’d need to load the series into my email system”)
3. Keep asking that same question, over and over.
   (“Before that, I’d need to write the series.”).
4. Keep going until you get to the first thing you need to do TODAY to get moving towards completion.
   (“I’d need to create a new list in my email system and load the new contacts into it.”).
5. Then add that item to today’s list of activities.

Where people fall down when using mindmaps is they never finish. They create the map and think they’re done. But you have to actually take that information and add it to a strategy that includes tasks and deadlines. Otherwise, it’s like pulling everything out of your closet and spreading it across your bedroom. Your closet is not clean and organized until you create a plan for the space and put everything according to that plan.

Mindmapping can be a fun and effective way to create sophisticated strategies and project plans. The key is to allow yourself free rein to get everything down on paper, and then go back and instill logical structure around those ideas.

Personally, I prefer Dropmind. I love that it’s easy to use and I like the look of my maps.

Quick – pull out a few of your old To-Do lists. Look through them for that one item that keeps appearing, over and over, as you transfer it from list to list. How old is it? A week? A month? Longer?

We all have these stinkers that sink to the bottom of every To-Do list. Maybe it’s cold-calling a dozen potential partners. Maybe it’s revamping your website. Maybe it’s something as easy as making an appointment for an evaluation. Whatever your personal roadblock is, it’s time to bring it into the light of day and get it done. Here’s how:

Ask yourself why you haven’t done it yet.
Do you just not want to? Do you not know how to do it? Is it too complex to tackle all at once? Do you tell yourself it will take too long? Do you need more information before you can get started? Figure out what the hold-up is. Once you know what’s causing your stopping point, you can work to address it.

Chunk it down.
If the task is a complex one and you’re putting it off just because you think it’ll take too long, you need to break it up into parts. Of course you’re never going to get around to reorganizing your office if you’re waiting for a block of 8 empty hours when you can tackle the chore. Instead, look for smaller pockets of time where you can accomplish more manageable pieces of the larger task. If the task is particularly odious or unappealing, 15 minutes is a good start.

Give yourself a visual reminder of your progress.
If you’re dealing with a complex project that will require multiple tasks across many days, chart your progress where you can see it and be motivated by your completion (or lack thereof). Imagine a workout chart or a fund-raising goal to visualize how this would work.

Write it in your calendar.
If putting the activity on your To-Do list isn’t doing the trick, put it on your calendar. Actually schedule a specific time that you will complete the task. Don’t let anything else supersede your appointment!

Reward yourself.
Sometimes it’s enough of a reward to think past the task and imagine how your life or business will improve as a result of completing the unappealing item. But sometimes you need a little more motivation. If you’re working on reorganizing your office, promise yourself a new desk set or planner. Dinner out at a special restaurant, or $20 to spend on Amazon are also good motivators.

It’s been said that the only difference between a winner and a loser is that the winner does the things the loser wasn’t willing to do. Turn your business into a winner by tackling those tasks you’d rather avoid. You’ll usually find that getting them off your list will give you a huge boost of energy, leaving you ready to get on with the rest of your day with excitement.

If you think back over the most stressful times in your life – illness for yourself or a family member, loss of a job or major client, a death in the family – I would venture to say that there’s a common thread through all of these stressful times: lack of control.

Because home-based entrepreneurs see themselves as pioneers, we pride ourselves on our take-charge attitudes and get-it-done approach to life. Therefore, not being in charge of what’s happening can cause us a great deal of anxiety. We want to fix things, now. When we can’t fix things, or we don’t know how to fix things, we can become very stressed and even freak out a bit.

When faced with a situation where you’re not in control, here are three ways you can maintain an even keel, despite the foul weather:

Find something you CAN control.

When the world is spinning away from you, it can feel like there’s nothing you can control. Not true! In any situation, there’s SOMETHING you can control. Let’s say your major client is having financial difficulties. You may think you are at the whim of their financial ups-and-downs, but you can start regaining a feeling of control by searching out other clients to replace this financially strapped client if they would need to part ways with you. Or you could get your own finances in order and do some proactive belt-tightening so that the loss of one client doesn’t send your world into a tailspin.

Perhaps your website programmer says your whole site needs to be overhauled, and it’s going to cost you BIG money. Instead of retreating to your bed with a bottle of Tylenol, you could get on message boards and ask other developers if their opinion is the same, or you could hire a consultant just for a second opinion. You are NOT helpless, and the sooner you find something to control, the sooner you’ll feel less anxious about the future.

Focus on the moment.

Stress comes when we stop focusing on the here and now and start ruminating over the horrible things we wish hadn’t happened yesterday, or about the horrible things we fear will happen tomorrow. If we ground ourselves in the present moment, we find we’re still alive, still functioning, and still able to make decisions. Once we lose site of that fact, though, the stress seeps in. When your thoughts start spinning out of control, gently reel them back in. Take a few deep breaths, remind yourself that you are okay, right now, and then find something productive to do in this moment to protect against what you fear.

This may be difficult for some people to do because they honestly don’t believe they can control their thoughts. It’s true that when our mind is spinning out of control, thoughts do seem to just keep popping into your head. One method health professionals use to quiet discomforted patients is with visualization and repeating positive phrases. This actually does help to quiet the mind so you can gain control, once again, of your thought processes. Once you have quieted your mind, you can choose to focus on the here and now and take back control.

Remind yourself of your expertise and experience.

Stress also comes when we are afraid we can’t handle the horrific scenarios we’ve created for ourselves when we doubt our competence. If our client goes away, then what? If the economy tanks further, then what? If our website crashes, then what? If we knew we’d be okay in the future because we have the expertise to handle these situations, the stress about the future would be a thing of the past.

One tip to combat that stress is to remind yourself of all the tough circumstances you’ve already navigated through successfully. Think about situations you went through in the past and how you handled them. While past success is no guarantee of future performance, as they say in the stock market, it still is a pretty good indication of how things will turn out.