by Helena Escalante | Collaboration, Goals, Growth, Habits, Mindset, Planning, Productivity, Tools
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes, 39 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Spring cleaning
— From Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
Happy Spring! And Happy Fall to our gurupies in the Southern Hemisphere! (Gurupie = blend of guru and groupie = how I fondly refer to the EntreGurus’ community, because we all follow the ideas of the gurus.)
This is a time for cleaning, not just our homes, but also our schedules and our minds. Let’s get rid of all those commitments and thoughts that no longer fit us, and substitute them for those that inspire, enlighten and empower us to reach our goals.
In Essentialism, Greg McKeown says, “Think about what happens to your [closet] when you never organize it… it becomes cluttered and stuffed with clothes you rarely wear. Every so often it gets so out of control you try and purge [it]. But unless you have a disciplined system you’ll either end up with as many clothes as you started with because you can’t decide which to give away; end up with regrets because you accidentally gave away clothes you do wear and did want to keep; or end up with a pile of clothes you don’t want to keep but never actually get rid of because you are not quite sure where to take them or what to do with them.”
“In the same way […] so do our lives get cluttered as well-intended commitments and activities we’ve said yes to pile up. Most of these efforts didn’t come with an expiry date. Unless we have a system for purging them, once adopted, they live on in perpetuity.”
The best approach for our personal and professional closet, as well as our physical one too (why not?), is as follows:
- Explore and evaluate. “Instead of asking, ‘Is there a chance that I will wear this someday in the future?’ you ask more disciplined, tough questions: ‘Do I love this?’ and ‘Do I look great in it?’ and ‘Do I wear this often?’ If the answer is no, then you know it’s a candidate for elimination.” In your life, be it professional or personal, the equivalent is asking, “Will this activity or effort make the highest possible contribution towards my goal?”
- Eliminate. “Let’s say you have your clothes divided into piles of ‘must keep’ and ‘probably should get rid of’.” Are you really ready to get rid of them? We usually start hesitating… “If you’re not quite there, ask the killer question: ‘If I didn’t already own this, how much would I spend to buy it?’ This usually does the trick.” In life, the killer question is: “If I didn’t have this opportunity, what would I be willing to do to acquire it?” And if you want to take it up a notch once you have explored your options, the next question is, “What will I say no to?” Of course, it is much harder to say no to opportunities (and sometimes very good ones) than to give your clothes away to charity, but then again, keep going back to the question in Number 1.
- Execute. “If you want your [closet] to stay tidy, you need a regular routine for organizing it.” In business an in life, “once you’ve figured out which activities and efforts to keep—the ones that make your highest level of contribution—you need a system to make executing your intentions as effortless as possible.” Among the many ideas that McKeown suggests for executing the discipline of keeping our personal and professional closets neat and tidy is asking the following questions with each project you are about to undertake: “How will we know when we are done?” “What are all the obstacles standing between me and getting this done?” and “What is keeping me from completing this?” Also, replace the idea of “this has to be perfect or else” with “done is better than perfect.” In the case of an “obstacle” being a person, say a colleague, who is swamped and has not given you what you need, the author says that being kind and helpful is always the best bet. Ask, “What obstacles or bottlenecks are holding you back from achieving X, and how can I help remove these? Instead of pestering him, offer sincerely to support him.”
ACTION
TODAY: Make a list of the commitments that are in your personal and professional life’s closet. Then go through the questions in No. 1 and No. 2 above to determine whether it’s best to keep them or not.
FUTURE: Just as you would give your gently worn clothes to a charity for someone to get a second life out of them, those projects that you undertook at some point deserve to be given a new life under someone else’s attention, work and enthusiasm. I think of those projects as puppies: you love them dearly and they are adorable, but it’s impossible to keep them all; so you make sure that they go to a loving home where they will live a happy life and lack nothing. Same here. Don’t drop all your unwanted projects abruptly (unless you want and there are no consequences). Instead, find a loving home for them. Your conscience will be at peace and the people involved in the project will be grateful. A loving home could be a colleague to chair the committee, a fellow in your industry to take care of a client you can no longer serve, another parent to take your place at your child’s school bake sale, another member of your charity’s board to coordinate this year’s gala, etc.
Know someone who needs to do a bit of Spring cleaning? Please share this post with that person via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Goals, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset, Opportunity, Productivity, Sales
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes, 21 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: 5 things you need to stop doing now to be more productive at work
— From Time Traps: Proven Strategies for Swamped Sales People by Todd Duncan
At first sight, these five things that we can stop doing now to be more productive at work may seem too basic and plain. I didn’t think they’d make a difference until I gave it some additional thought, and what blew me away was the amount of accumulated time that can be freed up daily and yearly if we simply stop doing them.
Todd Duncan, the author, mentions that if we don’t take an organized approach to working, very likely we will say YES to everything and add it to our already full plates. “This is highly unorganized and allows unproductive interruptions […] to monopolize your time. To begin cleaning up your work schedule, follow these five guidelines to construct boundaries that regulate or eliminate the most common unnecessary tasks that clutter your days.”
- Don’t give your personal digits to customers. This means don’t give out your cell phone number, your home phone number and your personal email address. “Make it simple for them and sane for you: …give prospects and customers only one e-mail address and one phone number. It’s tempting and easy to justify giving out more contact information, but don’t.” Once you give your personal digits out you can’t control what clients or colleagues do with them and when they’ll contact you expecting an immediate answer. Be careful if you don’t want them to interfere with your personal time.
- Don’t give your work digits to friends. “If they already have them, ask your friends to e-mail and/or call you on your personal lines instead.” Sounds a bit extreme, but think about it in terms of your productivity. Your friends are likely to have your personal cell and home numbers, your personal email, and your social media. If there is an emergency, they can definitely contact you.
- Turn off the instant message and e-mail alert functions on your work computer [and your phone]. “The last thing you need is one-liners and alerts popping up on your screen all day. They are too tempting and will whittle away your time quicker than you realize.”
- Don’t answer the phone unless it is someone you are expecting. “Unless you are a retail salesperson whose business comes via phone, or you are expecting a call, you shouldn’t even have the ringer on.” If you fear you’ll be perceived as antisocial, try it for a day or two and see what happens. Let it go to voice mail and retrieve at intervals when it’s convenient for you. Don’t let it sidetrack you every time it rings.
- Don’t check your personal email during work hours. “Very few people [do this], and it adds to your work hours—sometimes several hours a week. Not only that, it adds to your [load of] responsibilities, like e-mailing so-and-so with a phone number, or calling so-and-so with directions, or checking out a Web site, or answering a question that can be answered later.”
“There are others, of course… [but those mentioned] represent the most pervasive but often overlooked, time sappers.”
If you’re saying ‘yeah, yeah, yeah… I know this,’ to these things and you still think they don’t add up, simply look at this conservative estimate of time freed up that appears in the book (the estimate is based on 230 working days/yr):
| TASK |
Time Wasted |
Time Freed |
| Personal e-mails to work address |
30 mins/day |
115 hours/year |
| Personal calls to work phone(s) |
30 mins/day |
115 hours/year |
| Answering every call |
60 mins/day |
230 hours/year |
| Customer calls to personal digits |
60 mins/day |
230 hours/year |
| Instant message & e-mail alerts |
15 mins/day |
57.5 hours/year |
| Total time freed up |
3 hours day |
747.5 hours/year |
If you think this is a high estimate, simply record your time wasters for a week or two, and modify the calculation to suit you. See how much time you can free up. What will you do with those extra hours that you now found? Imagine the possibilities!
ACTION
TODAY: Try stopping these 5 things and see how your day goes. Then at the end of the day reflect on what went well and what didn’t. How can you tweak to your advantage?
FUTURE: Over the next week or two, tally up the time you use in these 5 activities. This is for your eyes only, no need to share it with anyone, so be very honest with yourself—the idea is to find out how much time these tasks are taking—that way you’ll know how much time you’ll save by not doing them. Then, try stopping these five things for a couple of weeks as well. Figure out what works and what doesn’t along the way, and tweak according to your needs. Maybe you can stop all alerts but don’t feel comfortable stopping the one from your biggest client, or from your company’s CEO, or fill-in-the-blank. That’s OK, you will still save some time by stopping the other alerts. You can continue to monitor how many times your client/boss/CEO/etc. calls or emails with an urgent task vs. how many times it would be possible to retrieve it later, at a time that is convenient to you. Tweak and tweak again until you find a rhythm that suits you.
Know someone who could free up some time? Please share this post via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Goals, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 42 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: OB’s ways of being – Part 2
— From SHIFT: Creating Better Tomorrows: Winning at Work and in Life by Michael O’Brien
Liked yesterday’s post with OB’s first 10 ways of being? I hope you did. I loved it: while short, each way of being is deeply packed with wisdom!
I’m sure you’re eager to find out what are the rest of OB’s ways of being today. Here you go:
- “Be Curious: Create the space in your conversations that will give trust a chance to sprout. Don’t forget to be curious with yourself too. You never know what you can accomplish until you ask yourself.”
- “Be Attentive: Listen in order to connect with others. Don’t listen to reply. […] Acknowledge and validate what you hear to build trust with others.”
- “Be Open: Be open to the possibility that your way may not be the best way. Fight your ego’s addiction to being right.”
- “Be Grateful: Celebrate the little things daily. They help attract even bigger things to be helpful for.”
- “Be Courageous: Fear is normal. […] If you are striving to be your best, you will have moments when your inner critic will weave a fearful narrative. Listen to it, accept it, then move forward in spite of your fears. That’s called courage.”
- “Be Selective: You are who you hang out with. Remember, you always have a choice in your relationships. You can stay a victim to them, leave them, accept them, change your perspective, or improve them. Choose with wisdom.”
- “Be Flexible: Know that even though your situation may seem bleak, there are always hidden options. Keep seeking.”
- “Be Your Scars: You will make mistakes. We all do. Don’t hide them from view. Own them. They define you and can make your tomorrows better.”
- “Be an Inspiring Storyteller: Stories are powerful. They make sense of the world and bring us closer together… but they can also tear us down. Resist telling those kinds of stories and share stories that motivate and inspire us to new heights.”
- “Be Happy: Choose to be happy now… [express] your gratitude and [pursue] your potential. This choice will lead you to more happiness and success.”
A reminder that if you are in New York City on April 23, you are cordially invited to Unlearnings Live, where OB and I will be speaking, along with many other great presenters. I hope you can join us!
ACTION
TODAY: Pick one of today’s OB’s ways of being and keep it in your mind all day. At the end of the day, jot down your thoughts and the actions that came to mind for you: Which way of being resonated with you most and why? What came up for you and what do you need to do to “make tomorrow better than today?”
FUTURE: Between yesterday and today’s posts, there are a total of 20 of OB’s ways of being. Pick one per day–or one per week if you prefer–and practice it. The next day/week practice the next one, and so on. Keep a journal or a notebook so that at the end of the period, you can jot down your thoughts and the actions that came to mind for you. According to the way of being that you selected, what do you need to do in that area to “make tomorrow better than today?”
Know someone whose life needs to shift with OB’s ways of being? Please share this post via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Goals, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 27 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: OB’s ways of being – Part 1
— From SHIFT: Creating Better Tomorrows: Winning at Work and in Life by Michael O’Brien
Michael O’Brien, better known as OB to his friends, is a successful executive coach with an incredibly inspiring story. An avid cyclist, he had a near-death accident when he was hit head-on by an SUV in 2011. The story has—thank goodness—a happy ending in OB surviving, being able to ride his bike again, and resume what we consider a “normal” life; but not after many surgeries, grueling pain, hardship, darkness and dismal forecasts by doctors and nurses as to what his life would be like after recovery.
Throughout his recovery journey, he says, “I had to shift from the perspective of victim to that of a victor… it was an opportunity to be defined, not by what had happened to me, but by how I responded to it. […] I created a mantra: ‘Make tomorrow better than today.’ It provided focus and hope… It was all about being responsible for improving my future.”
In his book he shares what he calls “ways of being,” (which are principles or observations that he learned along the way as he moved away from his “last bad day,”) in hope that they resonate with the readers of his book. They certainly resonated with me, and I hope this (somewhat abridged) version of OB’s ways of being will resonate with you too.
- “Be Mindful: Know your why; it makes your how easier. Know your values; they serve as your compass. Know your triggers; knowing them helps you quiet your emotional brain.”
- “Be Accepting: Acceptance helps you to own what is. It sets up the possibility of letting things go so you can move forward.”
- “Be Forgiving: When challenges happen or people cross you, it’s reasonable to feel [negative] emotions… as quickly as you can, shift to a new mindset [forgiveness is not for them, it’s for you].”
- “Be Balanced: The idea that life will reach some homeostasis with a perfect work-life balance is a myth. Those who achieve their best know what truly matters to their happiness. They prioritize to help them gain balance.”
- “Be Working: It’s okay if you are not the smartest [or fittest] person in the room, but never be the one who gets outhustled on the things that truly matter.”
- “Be Quiet: Life today is busy. […] If you want to go faster, slow down and find your quiet… you can call it meditation, centering or just simple breathing. Just don’t call it woo-woo. It’s not. It’s the secret sauce that will enhance your awareness, acceptance and balance.”
- “Be Kind: When you are kind, it begets more kindness. Start by being kind to yourself. Be mindful of what your inner critic tells you.”
- “Be Giving: Give, but expect nothing in return.”
- “Be Vulnerable: Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness. Rather, it allows others to get closer to you—and for you to get closer to others.”
- “Be Present: You will never be able to change the events of yesterday. […] Be focused on the moment. This is what makes creating better tomorrows possible.”
Stay tuned because there are 10 additional ways of being from OB coming your way tomorrow.
In the mean time, I want to share the good news: I will have the honor of being a speaker along with OB and other awesome presenters at Unlearnings Live in New York City on April 23rd. I hope you can join us!
ACTION
TODAY: Pick one of OB’s ways of being and keep it in your mind all day. At the end of the day, jot down your thoughts and the actions that came to mind for you: Which way of being resonated with you most and why? What came up for you and what do you need to do to “make tomorrow better than today?”
FUTURE: Between today and tomorrow’s post, there will be a total of 20 of OB’s ways of being. Pick one per day–or one per week if you prefer–and practice it. The next day/week practice the next one, and so on.
Know someone whose life needs to shift with OB’s ways of being? Please share this post via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset, Productivity, Resources, Tools
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 13 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Block the block
— From What to Do When it’s Your Turn (and it’s Always Your Turn) by Seth Godin
We’ve all been told that we need to be motivated in order to work or take action on something.
I think it’s important to make a distinction in terms of what we understand and call motivation:
Intrinsic Motivation – this is the reason WHY we do what we do and we take the actions that we take. We work because we need to earn money; we get together with friends because we want to have fun. These examples are simplistic, but they paint the picture. We seldom question this motivation and simply accept it as part of who we are and what we do.
But there’s a second kind of motivation, and that is the one we are talking about here:
Momentary motivation – this is feeling like doing something at a particular moment. Some people think “they need the right cosmic alignment and the proper mood” to start doing their work.
Writers, for example, often cite writer’s block as the reason why they can’t write. “But this is a form of hiding,” says Seth Godin. And I can only imagine that every profession has its own form of a block: the entrepreneur’s block, the lawyer’s block, the architect’s block, the coach’s block, the chef’s block, the nurse’s block, the designer’s block… you’re blocked when you simply don’t find the willingness within you (your mind is not collaborating…) to do the tasks that you must get done, at that moment, to accomplish your work.
What’s the way out? How can you block the block from happening again? Momentary motivation techniques might work, but to ensure that you get rid of the block once and for all, the best antidote is to create a habit.
“A habit of showing up on a regular basis, of writing when it’s time to write [or of (fill-in-the-blank) when it’s time to (fill-in-the-blank)], raising your hand when asked, pitching in every single time. The habit is part of what it means to do work. Your posture of leaning into this opportunity, of connecting and creating and picking yourself: this is your work. How motivated you are today has nothing to do with the opportunity and the obligation you face.”
Building a habit will add consistency to your work, give you a certain routine and schedule, and avoid the block.
ACTION
TODAY: Think of the areas in your life where you sometimes experience a “block.” Make a list of the things that the block represents: what are you hiding from? It could be fear of failure (e.g. by being blocked you don’t write, and if you don’t write then there is no chance you’ll fail); it could be fear of success (e.g. by being blocked you don’t write and thus, there’s no opportunity for success, because you fear that if you succeed wildly your friends will leave you); it could be anything. This is as unique as you, be honest with yourself and give yourself the time to really dive deep and understand what the block means to you. It will be enlightening.
FUTURE: Based on what the block means to you, create the atmosphere and schedule the time so that you can build your habit, overcome the block and thrive. What will building your habit entail? Do you need to go somewhere to work without distraction for a period of time with certain frequency? Do you need to prep some physical or digital tools ahead of time so that you can perform? Do you need to declutter your desk (or the kitchen table) to work from there? Make it as easy as possible to create the habit so that you can have the odds in your favor to succeed.
Know someone who needs to get rid of the block? Help them get unblocked today by sharing with them this post via email, Facebook or Twitter!
by Helena Escalante | Goals, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset, Opportunity, Resources, Tools
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 34 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Reduce the risk
— From: Habit Changers: 81 Game-Changing Mantras to Mindfully Realize Your Goals by M. J. Ryan
M. J. Ryan relates a story from Sallie Krawcheck, who is one of the most followed “Thought Leaders” on LinkedIn with over 900,000 followers and who was number seven on the Forbes list of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women of 2005.
Included among the many hats Sallie has worn in the past, were “the daunting roles of CEO of the newly formed Smith Barney and later president of the Global Wealth and Investment Management division of Bank of America.” When she was offered those roles—which she accepted—she realized that she “was risking ‘public humiliation’ if she failed, but stood the chance of gaining tremendous influence and impact if she succeeded.”
Reduce the risk was Sallie’s mantra and strategy when facing challenges and opportunities. What this meant was “putting a strong team in place with talents and experience that complemented rather than duplicated hers.”
Reducing the risk, then, means intentionally creating an environment and putting fail-safes in place, so that you have the greatest probability of succeeding. Think about it for a moment: it makes perfect sense. Keep in mind that there are always ways in which you can reduce your risk too and change the environment to benefit you.
For example, you can save enough money to have a fall back cushion “if things don’t work out as a start-up CEO; [you can keep] ties to your old community as you move to a new, unfamiliar place; or [you can try out] a new hobby before committing totally.” Big or small, reducing the risk can take many forms, but it always works in your favor.
Now, this doesn’t mean that all risks are worth taking (here’s a great article by Bryan Tracy).You still have to analyze each one that comes your way. But by reducing the risk on those challenges or opportunities that you decide to accept, you’ll have the greatest chance to succeed!
ACTION
TODAY: Think about a challenge or opportunity that you have in front of you now. Yes, that one which you have been pondering without being able to move forward one way or another. Would you be closer to saying yes to it if you could reduce the risk and set up everything-in-your-power for you to succeed? If the answer is no, drop it (remember the easiest way to say no). But if your answer is yes, then make a list of the people, resources, things and actions that you will need to put in place and take one action today that will move you closer to achieving this.
FUTURE: Start creating the habit to look at risk differently: as something that can be reduced so as to maximize your chances for success. Next time you are looking at accepting a challenge or opportunity, create a list of the people, resources, things and actions that you will need to raise your chances of success. Then move forward to implement your fail-safes, and you’ll be on your way very soon!
Know someone who needs to reduce the risk? Please share this post with that person via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
