Keep It Simple

In this age of technology and information overload, we can sometimes forget the simple things in life - thinking that more is better. If we have more, we can do more. If we do more, we can achieve more.

This doesn't just apply to material things but applies to the way we use our time. Is it better to be constantly busy, making the most of every waking hour in the race for success or is it better to do spend a few hours each day working in a really focused way?

Do two or three things well, rather than try to do too much and end up either doing none of them particularly well, having to drop things at the last minute or end up suffering from complete overwhelm as you try to cram them all in.

It's not necessary to have every technical gadget, in the hope that it will make your life easier. Look what happened to email - the end to all that paper ... instead we still have the paper but now we have 'all that email'. Gadgets are great and I'll be the first to admit that I'm a bit of a techie really but sometimes the simplest scheduling and information gathering tool is a pen and paper.

Don't make your life more complicated than it needs to be, keep things simple.

What Are You Worth?

I was running a seminar last week - looking at how you can make more money by using your time better. In one form or another you charge for your time. Whether you work for a company, who pays you a weekly or monthly salary or your work for yourself, you're paid for the time you spend at work and the services or product you provide.

Sometimes it can be quite surprising to work out what your hourly rate is - especially when you take into account, preparation, travel time, follow-up, admin and marketing.

Think about how much time you waste in a day. Every hour you waste is money lost - to you or your employer. On average, people are only 60% productive. That means they're losing two days a week - through distractions, interruptions, inefficiency, lack of focus and poor planning.

Make an effort this week to reduce all those distractions that waste your time - email, phone calls, people and see if you can increase your productivity and your earning power.