Canadian Small Business Women

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3 Ways Establishing Priorities Makes Life Easier

sandra

We all have moments when everything seems like it needs to be done right away. ASAP seems to be the deadline for everything these days. In order to avoid overwhelm and frustration, it’s important to establish priorities in all areas of our lives, and here’s why:

  1. Priorities help us create boundaries

When you have identified what’s important to you, it makes it easier to say yes to the right opportunities and no to others. When we aren’t sure what a priority is for us, it can be easy to get caught up in other people’s priorities. We find ourselves unable to say no to things that we don’t want to do because we aren’t clear on where we want to be focusing our time and energy. If you don’t want to feel like you’re constantly being pulled in every direction, you need to establish your priorities and share them with the people in your life!

  1. It helps us to manage our time

When we know what our priorities are, we know where to focus our time. We aren’t easily distracted by shiny objects, and we don’t wake up in the morning wondering what we should tackle today. Priorities help us focus on our goals, on what’s important to us. Too many of us are busy giving big time to small tasks. When we are clear on our priorities we give our time to things that matter. Consider the goose that laid the golden eggs. What completed tasks will bring you closer to achieving other things on your to-do list? Figuring this out can help you establish priorities that will help get you closer to accomplishing your goals.

  1. Priorities help us maintain momentum

When we know what’s important to us, we give it constant attention. You know what I’m talking about. You’re working on a project and when you look at the time you wonder where the last 5 hours went. When we’re passionate about something we eat, sleep and drink it. Establishing priorities fuels our purpose. It gives us permission to focus on the things that matter to us. You can’t make something a priority without committing to it. Commitment means doing it even when we don’t feel like it. It gives us power to push through even the most difficult challenges.

Without priorities we can feel like we’re spinning our wheel s in mud. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and frustrated by everything there is to do when you have no idea where to start. Taking the time to sit with your tasks and prioritize them will save you a lifetime of future hassle and aggravation. Have you set your priorities for the next 30 days?

If you need help identifying your priorities, check out these free tools designed to help you prioritize your life.

Sandra Dawes is a certified life coach specializing in helping women who feel unfulfilled with their 9-5 follow their dreams and pursue their passions. She holds an Honours BA, an MBA as well as a certificate in Dispute Resolution. She has completed her first book,Embrace Your Destiny: 12 Steps to Living the Life You Deserve!

Connect:

www.embraceyourdestiny.ca

www.facebook.com/embraceyourdestiny

www.facebook.com/embraceyourdestinythebook

www.twitter.com/sandradawes

Planning for the Unexpected

Tamara high res 1 

One of the central themes I think all entrepreneurs can agree on, (no matter what the industry) is that the ‘unexpected’ is inevitable.  Change happens whether it is a slight interruption of your day, (“Can we change our appointment to Tuesday?”), or a money draining, time consuming printing error.

As an entrepreneur who talks about (and advocates) for planning, people often ask me why they should bother planning when it is just going to change anyways. For those of you who may ask the same question or could use a little planning inspiration, the following is how (and why) I think you should do it anyways.

Planning creates momentum. When you put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), you are taking an action step – even if it is just getting an idea out of your mind. This momentum is often the thing that you need when those unexpected things arise. To use an analogy, it would be like a long distance runner who just pulled a muscle at the last mile of a race. Having all of that hard work, training and road behind him – a pulled muscle is not going to prevent him from crossing the finish line.  He (or she) has momentum and that counts for something.

Planning naturally reveals priorities. Looking at your current calendar/day timer – even a stranger could tell what you are putting your most time and energy towards. Priorities, whether family, work or your physical well-being will always ‘rise to the top’ and can handle a some unexpected circumstances because they matter that much to you. Have some confidence that if the unexpected happens, the things that matter the most to you will still get done.

Lastly, you can plan for the unexpected by giving yourself pre-determined flex time. No, you can’t say for sure what will end up taking that time. But, if your priorities are set and you still give time for things that you don’t expect, it does not have to be a stressor in your life. Even the great Tony Robbins is famously quoted saying “ …if you schedule it, it’s real”. That is why I suggest not packing your schedule so tight that one thing ‘not going right’, could negatively affect the rest of your day – and maybe even your week.

Having a mindset that ‘expects the unexpected’, as well as having the principles we have talked about in this article built in to your entrepreneurial habits will certainly help along your journey. So remember: Get your ideas out, plan for flex time and keep your priorities non-negotiable. Then plan on success.

Tamara is the owner and designer at ‘Your Pretty Pages’ where she provides templates, planners, guides and resources for creative entrepreneurs to get organized and plan productively and purposefully. To see her newest Essentials Pack of planning pages visit here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/yourprettypages

 

Why We Keep Getting Limited Results, and What You Can Do Differently Starting Now in this Year!

yvonne

Have you ever wondered why you’re not getting the results you want despite doing your best or following the ‘guaranteed’ formulas and products everyone else is using and getting results?

Do you feel procrastination, lack of time, fear of failure or lack of finances is holding you back?

Or why when you have been working so hard to get promoted or kick-start your business idea, but still not happening?

Or you can’t seem lose weight and keep it off, yet others are experiencing great results?

It may not be what you think!

I too have struggled. I know the feeling. But thankfully my outcomes are now different because of the simple but foundational principles I was fortunate to apply, and I began to see fantastic outcomes; getting multiple promotions in my career, kick-starting my business and seeing the results and momentum build, and the hardest had to be losing up to 90lbs.

I have discovered from my life, and working with many individuals and organisations that a significant part of getting our desired results is not in finding the solution to the problem or knowing ‘how-to’, but lies with the person and mindset of the person who has the solution.

Have you heard the story of the two salesmen who were sent to a foreign place to sell shoes? The first salesman arrives and sees that nobody on the island wears shoes, and he immediately sends a message back to the office saying “Dead end. Nobody wears shoes here”. The second salesman arrives, sees the same situation and immediately sends a message back to the office saying “Magnificent opportunity! Loads of shoes to be sold”. What was the difference between these two salesmen? Mindset!

Yes, their mindset. Mindset is what differentiates two people with the same opportunity. Mindset is what allowed the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Walt Disney, Michael Jordan, President Barack Obama and Albert Einstein recognise opportunities that others did not, made them persist, and succeed in the face countless rejections, adversity and opposition. Mindset is also what finally allowed me achieve success using existing knowledge and ‘how-to’ information available in the public domain.

A right mindset is foundational to us getting and exceeding the outcomes we desire; it will turn things around and help us become creative in finding solutions to barriers such as procrastination, overcoming fear, finding the time and resources we need, and more.

In my book coming out soon on mindset, I go into more detail on mindset principles and examples that individuals like Walt Disney, Michael Phelps presently regarded as the greatest Olympian, and Nick Vujicic, born without arms or legs, have used to achieve significant success and how you also can easily apply these same principles to your specific situation and take your outcomes from good to great!

Please leave a comment below: Have you been successful in achieving your goals, what worked for you? Or what are you currently struggling with, and what barriers are you coming against?

Comment below. I would love to hear, discuss and share insights with you.

 

To learn about Yvonne’s latest book on Changing your Mindset for greater results, visit http://www.oliveblue.com/changeyourmindset/

Yvonne is an Author, Speaker, Change Consultant & John Maxwell Leadership Coach who is passionate about working with Individuals, Entrepreneurs and Organisations to provide the tools and help implement change, drive results and achieve their goals.   She can be reached at: www.oliveblue.com . www.facebook.com/oliveblueinc . www.twitter.com/oliveblueinc.www.youtube.com/ChangeYouWantTV

 

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