I read a great article recently by Ozan Varol called “The to-do list trap”. Here, he laid out a typical “to-do” list with 6 items – except the items varied greatly. For instance, one was “order groceries” and another was “write book”. Clearly the former could be achieved within 30 minutes, whereas the latter is […]
How I climbed Everest
I never held a life-long ambition to climb Mount Everest, nor was I particularly sporty. Yet somehow, my enjoyment of hiking led to bigger and bigger mountain hikes, which eventually led to me trudging my way into Everest Base Camp – with the intention to climb to the summit! It seemed like a good idea […]
When you’re not sure what to focus on, choose this…
We all have so many competing, and sometimes conflicting, priorities that it can be difficult to know where to start. But if you’re trying to build a business, a good rule of thumb is to focus on your customers.
The Next Most Important Thing
Often I feel overwhelmed by the list of things I want to get done. But I’m just like most of us ambitious people who have more ideas than I’ll ever be able to action. I need to remember this will always be the case, and realise this means that; I’ll never get to the bottom […]
Email ruling your life? 7 tips to take control
Something that drives me crazy is seeing people striving towards some big goal, wanting it with every fibre of their body, but yet being unable to achieve it. And one of the big reasons for this is email. That’s right, too many of us let our emails dictate how we spend our days – and […]
Stop with the Fake Work!
I poked my head up above my cubicle and saw at an entire floor of people busying themselves with meetings, reports, and who knows what else. But what difference were any of us really making to our customers? We were all so busy doing ‘fake work’ that we’d lost sight of what mattered. It was […]
Feel like you’re floundering and not making progress? Here’s why it’s not working
Running in all directions yet getting nowhere? Too many project needing your attention? If it feels like you’re doing a million things and yet not making much progress, you’re most likely floundering in business. Yes, there’s so much to do, but trying to do it all isn’t working. It’s exhausting and ineffective. I recently met someone […]
How to Prioritize; synonyms, philosophies, tools and frameworks
Confused about how to prioritize work and tasks? You’re not the only one! The word “prioritize” itself is a strange one because it has two similar but different meanings. The first is to put things in an order. So in this sense, prioritize synonyms include; rank, order, list, and arrange. For example, in business we […]
Business Resolutions – make this year your best yet!
Business resolutions haven’t really become “a thing” yet, but why not? Lots of people make new year’s resolutions on a personal level, but if you run a business, setting resolutions that focus on your business can be a great way to take you to new levels of success. Most business owners set goals for their business […]
Read This Before You Set New Goals
Moving my family to the other side of the world was not something I ever thought I’d do. But once the idea took seed, the question became “why not?” and later “how?”. Yes, there were a tonne of reasons not to move (family, friends, schools, a house we’d just finished renovating, businesses and some reputation […]
Unconventional Productivity Tips: How 13 Real People Get More Done
We all want to get more done in the day, but I’m sick to death of seeing the same old productivity advice on how to eek more out of my day by getting up early and get off social media! Boring! I’m looking for new hacks or perhaps unconventional productivity tips on how to get […]
How to Work Less AND Feel More Accomplished: Advice from the Pro’s
Do you struggle with feeling satisfied at the end of your day’s work? I know I do. There’s always so much more to do than I’ve done and quite often, my to-do list isn’t any lighter at 6pm than when I started the day! (Yes, I know I should stick to just 3 things a day, but […]
Change the Balance Between Working IN Your Business and ON Your Business
It’s easy for experts to advise that you should be “working on your business and not on it”, but the reality of small businesses and startups makes that very hard to do. Especially if you’re the only person in the business! At the same time though, it’s definitely true! We do need to find a […]
Always Putting Out Fires? Let Some Fires Burn
Business owners often claim they’re too busy putting out fires to get any real work done. I know exactly what they mean… You start the day with great intentions – and a list of highly strategic business-building activities to work through. But then something happens. Perhaps a client phones in with a problem. Or a […]
Consistent Small Actions – The Boring Way To Succeed
Ever had a brilliant idea and then worked on it furiously for hours or even days, only to give up on it later? Me too. It’s disappointing that all that energy and excitement has been wasted, but unfortunately, that method was never going to work. What actually works is consistently taking small actions towards our […]
Minimising the Maintenance of Life
Something I’ve recently realised is that in order to make space for the things I really want to spend my time doing, I need to reduce the maintenance of life. Everyone has a certain amount of ‘life maintenance’ tasks, but while some of them are essential, perhaps there are ways to spend less time on them. […]
How to Reset Yourself
I don’t know about you, but every now and again, I need a reset. It could be after finishing a project or achieving a goal. Or it could be a feeling of being stuck and exasperated by being busy but still be frustratingly a long way away from my goals. Either way, I need a way […]