elaine shannon » business tip

What don’t you like about your BUSINESS?

Elaine — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 11:43:56 +0000

What don’t you like about your BUSINESS, life, relationships, money…etc?

And how do you plan on making changes to the situation to what you DO WANT?

About five years ago I met Michael Losier best selling Canadian author and Oprah’s Law of Attraction HOW-TO guru right here in my home town of Rothesay New Brunswick Canada.

He shared an amazing secret that day to all of the workshop participants and has been sharing the secrets of attracting more of what you want into your life for the past decade.

Are you ready?

Here is the secret….before you can get more of what you want you need to get past what you don’t want.

Sample Contrast through Clarity worksheet

I have used this Contrast Through Clarity worksheet that is in Michael’s book many times in the past, and it always helps me to get clear about what I am attracting good or bad and how to get more of what I want.

Take a few minutes today to try it out on a situation in your life that is not working for you….you will be pleasantly surprised at the results.

Inspiring with Emotion: Mind Movies Get the Message Across

Elaine — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 10:51:00 +0000

How can an advertiser get you to fall in love with a product in 30 seconds or less?

Visuals!

Have you ever caught yourself reaching for a hanky during a commercial break… and then wanting to reach out and touch someone…well if you have then you have been Inspired with the power of the visual.

Now my tiny advertising budget, ok non existent budget, does not allow me to hire a production crew to create a touching, visually appealing ad that will make people salivate for my product or service.

So what does the average Joe do to create something visually compelling…. you go to the internet of course and you research…you find a free program…and then you build your own 30 second ad…a Mind Movie.

Just to show you how easy it can be done I produced my own 30 second commercial this week using Animoto’s free tool.

Kim Eagles and I are preparing for a very exciting mention of our company Organizing Connection in the Financial Post Magazine in May and I wanted a commercial for the visitors to our site. I want them to get caught up in the emotion of the offering and yes…I want them to take action.

Here is what I created…enjoy…now go and make one of your own.

Green Business: Environmentally friendly Business Organizing Tips

Elaine — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 22:41:57 +0000

Once again I am participating in Janet Barclay’s Blog Carnival and April’s theme is “Green Organizing”…please let me be clear on this…it is not a group of organizers consulting on color choices it is how Organizing is a major component of Living Green… being earth-friendly. I hope you will check out the Carnival for all the Best Green Organizing Tips from the Organizing Experts.

It does not matter if you are in Trump Tower or Tower Street Kansas…greening your business just makes sense. It is environmentally friendly and friendly to your bottom line….and in the long run it saves valuable time. Here are a few tried and true changes that you can make today in YOUR business.

STOP Copying everything…Save a few trees

STOP copying your e-mails and documents and information you may need later at some point in time. This small change can save you valuable time waiting for items to be printed, it can save you money by not having to purchase so much paper and will make your life more convenient when you don’t have to look through reams of paper to find something. Make computer files not paper files. By using the search function on your computer you can find almost anything in 5 seconds or less.

***For those who are very tactile and feel they need to touch paper and therefore print everything they find online…here is a quick trick. Hold a piece of paper when you are reading information online…touching the paper will satisfy that tactile urge and you won’t have to print anything again…I am not kidding it works!***

Retire your Fax machine…it is so 1980′s

Did you know that you can get fax to e-mail service…yes the fax goes directly into your e-mail inbox. Again, no more paper to file that you will have to find at a later date. By receiving the fax to your computer you will be able to store and retrieve this valuable information quickly…Filing is not really about filing it is about retrieval. One less machine that takes up valuable space and less clutter in your office.

Reduce Recycle Reuse…have things that serve more than one purpose

If you have a printer, fax(see previous info) and copier think about upgrading to a space-saving…clutter-reducing all in one machine.
Transform an office closet that is more of a dumping station into a storage area for office supplies and perhaps adding a countertop for additional work space.
Instead of using the paper coffee cup from the coffee shop use a reusable one..most coffee shops discount the price of your coffee for doing this.
Use the back of your paper for notes before it hits the recycling pile.

Turn off your STUFF…don’t pull a Griswald on the power company

I mean the computer, printer lights…etc, when not in use. For a single user this could mean a savings of $100/year…multiply that by the number of employees and you have some huge company savings. Find out how much you can save annually with some quick calculations…check it out now.

Don’t be shy about your efforts to Green your Business. Let your suppliers, clients and staff in on what you are doing to conserve energy and reduce waste.

Take a few minutes and check out the great information at the Blog Carnival and do your part for the environment…check it out

Motivation in your Home Office on a Rainy Day

Elaine — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 15:50:44 +0000

What do you do when the spring rain puts a damper on your motivation?

Staying focused can sometimes be challenging when you are a solopreneur. Working alone in a home office can be lonely at the best of times however when you add some gloomy weather it can be paralyzing.

Time to pull out your TOP 5 and you tackle one thing at a time.

Check out my VLOG today for some great motivational TIPS!

Can I ask you Something?

Elaine — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 09:46:55 +0000

I love research and the internet is the best place to get some facts and figures. Small biz owners are the most fascinating people…doing what they love to do every day and enjoying the freedom of being the driver in the bus of their life. This is all lovely but it does come with some challenges.

As this blog moves forward I want to be able to help with real issues and to share what I know that can help YOU do what YOU do a little bit better.

I would love it if you would share.

As a business owner….

What is one task that you put off doing consistently? Could there be more than one?

By not doing this task does it take away from your bottom line?

Why are you putting off this task?

Please share….

Getting things Done: Eating the Elephant one bite at a time

Elaine — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:57:02 +0000

March break is less than a week away and as I sit here making my huge, really big, gynormous…OMG will I ever get it all finished in 4 days list, I wonder how people who are not organizationally gifted get it all done!

The tasks of this week in front of me are not even on the Top 5 …these tasks require a whole different strategy…

Batching these tasks will work to a certain point but it requires so much more…

Because I love all of you and know that this is a big struggle point with many people here are my techniques that you can use for getting things done.

I am sure that you have heard this saying before….I have, and I use it regularly in presentations and with clients.

How do you eat and Elephant? One bite at a time.

Meaning…you have a huge list, you have a certain time frame to complete all the things on the list and you are now paralyzed by the whole big thing….Did I hit that nail on the head?

This is how I am going to tackle the week so I can go away and have a great family vacation, confident that I have handled all that I CAN handle, delegated where I could and took control of the week.

***warning***

When you have a week like this lighten the load where you can and DO NOT….I repeat DO NOT take on anything else…not even if a cute little old lady needs help this week, stranded puppy dogs or even a good friend…you have enough on your plate…just say NO.

That being said here we go.

Separate your list for the week into things that you have to do for work and the things that you have to do for family/home.
Delegate all the family/home tasks accordingly. Enlist the troops and allow everyone to pitch in…you do not have to do this alone.
Group things that require a trip to the bank, insurance company, drug store for supplies, etc and take one morning to do these running around things.

Get your highlighter out and as you finish each thing on the list scratch it off…that one technique always keeps me going as I get er done!

Attempt to accomplish as much as you can at the beginning of the week…leaving time for unexpected things as the deadline approaches.

I must go now and get at that list…may the force be with me!

No elephants were injured during this post…they were only used for illustrative purposes

How to tap into Your Productive Flow: Working with your Cycle

Elaine — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 13:44:36 +0000

OK …this is not a post about bicycling….it is another cycle we are talking about here!

***This post will be helpful to all my female readers who wonder why they work differently during the course of the month. For all my male readers this post will shed some light on the amazing ways that women work.***

A very wise woman friend and co-worker of mine shared this productivity secret with me many years ago. She was the most productive person in our office… she met and actually exceeded targets…she was the company superstar.

I asked her how she did this month after month…year after year

The productivity secret wasn’t really a secret…it was something that we all know innately but have forgotten. This gal was aware of herself and her cycle and she applied this to her work and because of it she was able to work circles around all of us. It wasn’t rocket science….

Productivity Secret-There are specific times of the month that certain tasks flow better than others….

I have mentioned this in my presentations before. The room goes quiet, eyebrows are raised….yes…deep thinking is happening. That aha moment when we realize that there are weeks of the month that we could conquer the world, write 100 proposals, build a school….and there are times of the month when you could bite the head off a small child…ok that may be a bit harsh but there are days when all you want to do is curl up with a good book and a hot cuppa.

So why for heavens sake do you plan strategic meetings on a week where the possibility of hurting your co-workers is pretty high?

Just for fun;

Figure out where you are in your cycle right now
Evaluate how your week is going
Which of your Top 5 items are you accomplishing
What things are you avoiding
What would you rather be doing

Now you need to get deliberate about what you do and when you do it. For instance on power week plan all the activities that need your highest energy level, on the introspective week do your deep thinking….etc.

Here are some more great articles and resources that I have found about this Productivity Secret.

Miranda Gray- A 28-day plan to help you Boost Productivity and Work satisfaction

Honoring the Feminine

Do the cycles of Moon affect us? I found this great resource at Evolving Alchemy

Now if you will excuse me I have to go and curl up in ball, pull the quilt up over my head and have a good cry!

What do you do when the Inkwell Dries up

Elaine — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 11:14:58 +0000

I was warned that this would happen…

People told me to be prepared…

Well that day has come…

I woke up this morning and the creative well is dry, it is shriveled up, I don’t have one thing that I feel like writing about. The productivity of the past few months is fading fast.

Could it be that I have hit a creative wall?

Did the ups and mostly downs of the past 7 days finally take their toll?

Oh my…will the thrill of writing these posts and feeling the words flow seamlessly out of my fingertips on to the virtual paper come back to me?

I am sure that tomorrow or even later today I will feel inspired…I Hope!

How do you handle creative dry spells? What techniques do you use during the creative times to help with the not so creative days? Please share.

Office Organizing Tip Batching Quick Tasks

Elaine — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 12:12:20 +0000

I love it when multiple organizing tips come together.

Here is an enhancement to the 5 Minute File that I mentioned last month…I hope you are all using this one and a recent post on Batching Tasks.

This video gives you a visual on both concepts…..Enjoy!

Batching Tasks a Recipe to Manage What you do with Your Time

Elaine — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:24:54 +0000

I have been asked this month to be a part of Janey Barclay’s Professional Organizer Blog Carnival . This carnival is a collection of Blog Posts written by professional organizers. This is a huge honor to be in such esteemed company and for you this is an awesome collection of resources to help you get and stay organized.

This months theme in “Time Management”.

The Dictionary says that management is…the act or manner of managing; handling, direction, or control.

Let me start by saying that I do not believe that you can control or manage time!

….yes I have said it out loud. Let the controversy begin….What I do believe is that we can manage, direct, handle or control how we use our “Valuable Time” and how we manage, direct, handle or control how to fill the “Valuable Minutes” in our day.

With this all in perspective now I would like to introduce you to “Batching”.

I am not talking about cookie baking here I am talking “Tasks”….you know the stuff that fills our day and uses up our Valuable Time.

“Batching Tasks “ is quite simple….you take similar tasks that require the same thinking process or have similar activities attached to the tasks and you do them at the same time.

Here are some real life examples of how you can use “Batching Tasks” to increase productivity and save Valuable Time for other activities.

Checking and replying to e-mail at certain times during the day….not every second of the day.
Returning phone call from the day at a specified time at the end of the day.
Combining tasks that take 5 minutes or less to do using your “5 Minute File“.
Bookkeeping and finances, yes it has to be done, pick a time batch it up and Just Do It…

I am sure that there are many more examples but these are the most common, you will certainly find ways to Batch your own tasks as you maneuver through your activity filled days.