From the Desk of Janet Barclay

Last year I received a copy of The Big Moo, a collection of business ideas edited by Seth Godin. I placed it on my desk, hoping that seeing it there would motivate me to make the time to read it. Sadly, it didn’t work, and I eventually moved it to my bookcase alongside several other books which I haven’t read yet.

I find it difficult to make time for business reading – it seems that I’m either working or relaxing – but one of my goals this year was to change that, and as a result, I have finally taken The Big Moo off the shelf. I was delighted with it right from the start – how can you resist a book with a preface titled "Remarkabilize It"?

I’ve been reading it during my lunch breaks, and I have to say, it is just perfect for busy people who don’t think they have time to read! It’s small enough to fit in your purse or briefcase, and since the chapters are only two to three pages long, you can easily pick it up and read a chapter or two while you’re waiting in line at the bank, or waiting for someone to show up for a meeting. Best of all, the chapters are just long enough to stimulate your imagination, without taxing your brain with a lot of information that is difficult to absorb.

Are you finding yourself with a little extra time on your hands this summer? Don’t let this time slip away!

My colleague, Erin Blaskie, is hosting the first annual Summer Speaker Series featuring an incredible line-up of speakers including James Roche, Christina Merkley, Sheri McConnell, Alexis Neely, Allana Pratt, Lou Bortone, Viki Viertel, Lynn Scheurell, Kathie Thomas, Debbie LaChusa, Wendy Weiss, Terri Z, Donna Gunter, Diana Ennen and many more.

Here’s the deal… She’s featuring TWO speakers per day for the entire month of August - not including weekends, because who wants to work weekends, especially in the summertime! There’s one track for virtual assistants, and another track for all business owners and entrepreneurs. You can purchase a seat in either one or both, with or without audio downloads, so what are you waiting for?  I’ve heard there is a cap of 200 people due to the bridge line and with the speakers involved, that won’t last long!

The first 100 people to register will also receive access to bonus sessions in September, so sign up today – you won’t be disappointed! It’s going to be one of the hottest events of the summer!

"One thing you can’t recycle is wasted time."

Anonymous

Last summer I had the pleasure of meeting Michelle Jamieson, when she hosted a barbecue for the Canadian Virtual Assistant Network. Since she’s been running MJVA & Associates for ten years now, she has a lot of experience and insight to share, so I’m really pleased to see that she has started a blog called the VA Voice. This week, Michelle shared some great strategies for overcoming procrastination. Her best tip was to get the hardest or the easiest over with first.

Brian Tracy and other time management experts recommend getting the most difficult tasks out of the way first – he calls this "eating your frog." There is some logic to that strategy, because once the dreaded task is completed, you can put it out of your mind, and enjoy working on the things you prefer to do. This is effective for many people, including Michelle, but it may or may not work for you.

Some people need to start with a few quick and easy tasks. This allows them to ease into their day, so that they’re fully charged and ready for more demanding work. If you’re one of them – no problem! Just be careful not to do so many "quick" tasks that you don’t leave time for bigger (and usually more important) projects!

For more ideas to reduce procrastination and other ways to enhance your productivity, be sure to visit OrganizedArticles.com!

In June, this blog was mainly devoted to sharing the interesting results of my recent online marketing and networking survey. If you operate an online business or use the Internet to promote your products or services, be sure to check them out!

Last month I also became a monthly contributor to the new Canadian Virtual Assistant Blog where I posted one of my "oldies but goodies" on Working Remotely.

Elsewhere, I’ve blogged about the following topics:

OnlineOrganizing.com - Technology as an Organizing Tool:

• Logging Your Mileage
• "Upcoming" Events
• Another Tool for Finding and Promoting Events Online
• Summertime, and the living is easy…

Introvert Retreat:

• Social Networking: Introversion vs. Extraversion
• Marketing Tips for the Introvert
• Interesting Facts About Introverts

I’ve also posted a new article, Market Your Own Business, and a book review of Time Management for Unmanageable People at OrganizedArticles.com.

Happy Reading!

As part of my series looking at how various home-based professionals structure their time, I asked Jacqui D. Barrett of Career Trend to describe her typical workday. Here’s what she told me:

I generally schedule client interviews in the mornings between 7 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. (these are my 1-hour deep consultations that complement the career branding intake worksheet to capture the essence of my client’s voice and clarify worksheet assertions).  I’ve found that clients (and I) are more articulate and focused on such a targeted, critical conversation early in the day (thus, netting more quality-focused results). 

The balance of the morning generally is spent managing email correspondence, scheduling or placing sales calls / consultations, scheduling and assigning projects with partner writers and performing other time-sensitive communications. Afternoons often are reserved for writing and editing and occasional sales consultations, and many evenings are absorbed conducting resume reviews for partner affiliates and performing other marketing-related initiatives.

This ‘typical workday’ clearly is a ‘rule of thumb,’ but truly does reflect my work-style preference. On days where more intense writing/thinking is required – true ‘manual labor of the mind,’ if you will — I will carve out time in the early morning.

It is clear to see that Jacqui is well in tune with what works best for her and has learned to schedule her work around her energy cycles whenever possible. One of the great things about working from home is having the flexibility to do this. If you’re not, you owe it to yourself to take some time to explore the best time for you to engage in various types of activities, so you don’t miss out on your peak productive times.

*This post was featured in the Virtual Assistant/Home Business Blog Carnival #5