Keeping Ahead of the Game!

It’s just too crazy - all that we expect to accomplish in the course of the day! Take today for example. I had high hopes of putting together the first draft of an article that is due this week, to write up and send out my monthly Write-Solutions e-zine (without any errors!!), visit a client, make a few phone calls, stop off at the post office, and answer my emails.

To start off the day, I had all intentions of investigating whether or not I needed to take care of a refund for someone. In betwixt everything else, I also had planned on doing some research for 2 different clients.

And this was to be a “slow” day.

The phone rang as I entered my office, the fax machine started rumbling, and here it is 6 hours later, and most of my to-do’s are still waiting to be attended to. I DID manage to get my e-zine out … with only one mistake (DARN!) Instead of listing the Feb. 6 TeleSeminar’s title as “Achieve Your Perfect Life: Ditch your Unhappiness by Creating the Job of Your Dreams” my message flew across the net telling people that they could ditch their “happiness” - SIGH! Sometimes that cut ‘n paste thingy is a menace …

Seems many people are caught up in this trap! I don’t know about you, but I really want to try to have more realistic expectations of what I can get done, and still leave enough time to attend to those unexpected issues that constantly crop up and dash all my good intentions.

Any thoughts you’d care to share?? I’d love to hear how you are dealing with this. But for right now, I’m back to shuffling through my records, going online to check on that possible refund, making more phone calls, answering e/mails …………

Cheers!
Pattie

Kickin’ the New Year off Right!

Okay - so I, like most people, made some resolutions that haven’t quite kicked in yet! Here’s a sneak preview of my Top Ten goals for ‘06, in no particular order:

1. Get organized! (those paperwork piles are history!!)

2. Produce more TeleSeminars with a variety of experts

3. Get on radio and TV - a lot.

4. Write every day

5. Get my first book published

6. Reach out to other experts and develop unique, joint programming for corporate, non-profit and entrepreneurial sectors

7. Get my Business Success articles in more online venues

8. Produce at least 2 Entrepreneurial events at 2 colleges in the Northeast, with more national sponsors

9. Expand my feature writing from regional to national publications

10. Excercise more, and lose 20 pounds

Okay , so let’s face the facts. It’s the 11th and I’ve yet to get up earlier to exercise. My piles are multiplying as I write this, and I have NOT managed to write everyday. I am not abandoning my quest though, so want to share some great strategies that others have shared with me, as well as tips I give to my clients, that I need to implement myself!

First - Since life is so busy and it’s easy to get waylaid, I am gonna print out my Top Ten list and post it right near my computer screen. No way to wriggle out of it, if it’s in my face, right??

Next, I’m going to schedule my time to accommodate the various objectives I’ve set for myself. Now just looking over my list is enough to make anyone want to hyperventilate, but the secret here, according to Ellen Parlapiano, co- author of ” Mompreneurs(R): A Mother’s Step-by-Step Guide to Work-at-Home Success,” is thinking small. At first, I thought that was crazy! I have BIG goals, so that must mean I have to do it all, RIGHT NOW ( can you tell I’m a Type “A”??)

Anyway, it did not take me too long to discover how wise Ellen’s advice was. When you think small, things are not so overwhelming. As a group, these are YEAR LONG goals, and I will be able to accomplish them all ( and keep my sanity), by chipping away at them a little at a time.

I also thought about some feedback I got from a couple of my professional organizer contacts. Their advice will work for you too! All it takes is careful, coordinated planning. As Gayle M. Gruenberg, from Let’s Get Organized says, “live by your calendar, in pencil!” That means blocking out a bit of time here and there, in between my mentoring calls, my meetings, speaking engagements, and other work. The “in pencil” part makes it easier to be flexible, so there’s no excuse for not fitting in what I need to, to suit my own unique plan and ever-evolving schedule.

This is the key for me, cause otherwise the hours fly by and at the end of the day, well, I’m always wonderng what happened!?!?

Would love to hear feedback on how you deal with your time challenges, or any other entrepreneurial issues, as I hope this blog can become a forum that provides easy tips and solutions we can all benefit from!

Wishing you Success,
Pattie
President, Write-Communications
Founder, WomenCentric(TM) LLC