How to Achieve an Amazing Year – by Neen James
To make the most of this year, make an appointment with yourself to review these 10 tips and find out what you can implement to make this year amazing for you.
Set Realistic Goals
Everyone says to set goals but I recommend you write down your goals and then decide you will achieve them. Many of us write down our goals but don’t commit to achieving them – make this year different. Make your goals realistic and put them on your fridge where you can see them everyday.
Focus on your health
This can be your greatest asset or your greatest liability. Get a check up with your doctor, implement an exercise program if you don’t have one, take vitamins if you need to and discover what will help boost your health this year.
Invest in your personal development
I recently read those who spend a thousand dollars or more on their personal development will increase their business by 20%. Read books, attend workshops, find a new network, listen to tapes or CDs in your car, do on-line courses or enroll at Tafe or university. Keep your brain active.
Know your priorities
Once you have set you goals you can focus on what is important to you this year i.e. family, self development, profitability, building your profile, health, gaining new clients or more relaxation time. Whatever you deem most important will help keep your focus on how you spend your time.
Eliminate Time Robbers
Make a list of the things that rob you of your time i.e. TV, running many errands, checking your email too often, long phone calls, waiting times and sometimes it might be other people. Focus on controlling your time and get rid of the things in your life that are not a high priority.
Surround yourself with VIPs and eliminate VDPs
Find very inspiring people (VIP) you can learn from, bounce ideas with and enjoy their company. Minimize your time with the very draining people (VDP) in your life. Be strict with yourself and you will feel more positive when VIPs surround you.
Plan your next holiday
Yes that is right! Allocate time in your calendar for your next holiday to give you something to look forward to and also to prevent your diary filling up before you have time to plan.
Make time for those you care for
Balancing work and home is a challenge for most people. Choose to spend this year more focused on those you love and don’t forget to remind them how much they mean to you, promise yourself you won’t take anyone for granted this year. I try to tell one person per day they are special, maybe you could try this too.
Create a daily ‘Attitude’ to do list
Many of you make ‘to do’ lists for work but consider creating an ‘Attitude’ to do list you can use everyday. My list includes things like; tell someone they are special, send a thank you note, sit in the sun for 15 minutes, find something funny, exercise and choose to be positive. What will your list say?
Choose to be amazing
Make a commitment to yourself each morning that you will have an amazing day. This might include trying some of these tips like read your ‘Attitude’ to do list, focus on your health, eliminate time robbers or find more VIPs in your life. Remember life is not a dress rehearsal – we only get one performance so let’s give it our best.
Neen James is an International Productivity Expert. She demonstrates how boosting your productivity can help you achieve amazing results. She is a dynamic keynote speaker, author and executive coach and business mentor with a unique voice, high energy, sense of fun and uncommon common-sense. Find out more at www.neenjames.com – P.O. Box 1764 • Doylestown, PA 18901 • 215-230-0835
IWCE 2010 Awards Ceremony
Window treatment and productivity expert, Vitalia Vygovska, receives her award from the president of McNamara Inc, Grace McNamara at the IWCE Vision 10 Awards Ceremony. The award is the 1st place win in the whole room integration category. For picture of Vita’s work, check out this post.
Do you know this man?
The man that I’m talking about is David Shepherd.
A very accomplished entrepreneur, he is also the founder of Business of Design Conference – THE place for serious designers to get best business advice and latest strategies.
I am embarrassed to admit that until a few months ago, I had never heard of David Shepherd or his conference. And you know me – I am ALL about business of design. It’s shocking that such a charismatic figure in our industry and such a powerful event, escaped my radar.
So, it occurred to me that if it escaped me, perhaps it’s escaping you as well. And I just couldn’t let that happen.
I am very excited to be attending the conference this year. You know that I always talk about continuing education, self-improvement, and betterment of your business skills. Well, if you are a serious designer, there is no better place this year to further your business, your confidence, and your bank account, than by attending The Business of Design Conference, September 2-3, in NYC.
I’d like you to experience it so much, that, as a preferred partner of DPI, I’ve been able to negotiate something very special for you (I still can’t believe David agreed to this).
Officially, the ‘early bird’ special ended on June 1st but David is extending it for you through July 6th! Only through July 6th, you can save $500 off the regular price admission ticket of $1995. So your price for this premier two-day event is $1495! Your special code is 74Z4G. (this offer is not valid for those who have already purchased their tickets)
Be sure to check out the particulars at The Business of Design Conference and register today. Can’t wait to meet you in NYC!
A Lesson in Productivity – the LOA Style
Just came off of a 3-day seminar, as part of my year-long Quantum Leap mastermind program. If you’ve ever attended anything worthwhile, you will probably sympathize with what I’m about to say.
I feel excited, overwhelmed, and numb all at the same time. Excited by the prospect of what’s to come. Overwhelmed by the possibilities. Numb from the amount of information. Phew!
Now I have to sort through all the notes and handouts and decide what to do next. It’s interesting how I have to remind myself to take my own advice: list, prioritize, act, I wrote more about it here.
The last day of the seminar was led by Jack Canfield – the co-author and best seller of Chicken Soup for the Soul. What an experience it was! Here’s me, holding an autographed copy of his book and getting close to Jack at a photo op.
As I am trying to work through the numbness and emerge with clarity, one lesson keeps coming up to the surface for me. It has to do with the law of attraction and it’s super old and super obvious. Listening to all the information, I kept thinking: “this is going to be so hard, how am I ever going to get it all done”. This idea of it being hard is really something I need to work on. It became very clear to me that until I get rid of this limiting belief, everything I do will be hard. It will feel hard. It will never be easy, b/c I concentrate on the ‘hardness’. Since I keep thinking about it, I keep attracting it. It’s a vicious circle and only I can stop it.
I’ll let you know how it goes…
After the moment is gone, all we have are pictures!
It takes a village – 1st stop – nails!
It takes a village (con’t) – next stop – hair!
It takes a village (con’t) – final stop – make-up!
Voila!
In some countries, it’s illegal to let nursing mothers out in dresses like this.
This is such a lame angle, but it had to be done – had to capture the hair!
My supportive husband Vitali!
Enterpreneur, wife, and mother – now a winner of her 1st latin ballroom dance competition – woo hoo!.
Window Treatment Expert by Day – Amature Dancer by Night
Personal hobby: a one-time wonder or a permanent pursuit of enjoyment?
In a true spirit of a blog, I am inspired today to write down my thoughts and feelings about the performance last night.
Like anything that’s being anticipated for a long time, it went by in a fleeting moment. 14minutes, 35 seconds to be exact. The only way I know is because there is a DVD that we ordered and that’s what it says on a time stamp. If you would have asked me, I could have sworn that the whole thing lasted about 8.9 seconds.
Many rehearsals later; being worried that I would forget the steps; constantly reviewing them in my head and on video; armed with an awesome dress; tan to the point of no recognition; fabulous pedi/medi, hair, and make-up to boost – I did win the 1st place in everything that I entered. Woo-hoo! 1st latin competition! I’m very excited!
But honestly, to me it wasn’t about the win, although no question that’s nice too. “Remember the Moment” is my favorite phrase of all time and that’s exactly what I kept saying to myself. I tried to stay in the moment and enjoy the whole process. The preparation and anticipation. All of it!
Perhaps that’s why it doesn’t feel bitter sweet, like it would normally feel when something fun ends like that. I was present at each step of the way, I didn’t hold back, and I have no regrets. No “I wish I would have done this or that…”.
I’m not talking about messing up the steps – I did, and who cares! I’m not talking about leaving it all on the floor – I did, no matter how much it does not look it on video. I’m not talking about being great, let alone perfect – god knows I need so much more work.
I’m talking about enjoying and giving yourself to the whole process, committing to what needs to be done without skimping – so that there are no regrets the next morning. That’s my big lesson.
Of course, none of this would have happened without everyone who was involved and helped. It truly does take a village J. My family (Vitalik, Lilichka, and Katya B.) who lived through this with me every step of the way, my friends who sent their good vibes (too many to list), the “team” that made me beautiful (Doron, Lusya, and Ira) , the cheering section that energized the whole dance hall (again too many to list), and my teachers to whom I owe everything I know about latin dancing (Zhenya and Inna of www.SitiDance.com. To feel this support is unbelievably empowering and humbling at the same time. And I hope I gave them the reason to smile and have a little fun too.
Today is the day after. The dress is off. The eye-lashes are off. The make-up is off. What’s left are pictures, videos, and fabulous memories.
And the fire orange nail polish that keeps flickering as I type this – so bright, someone said, we’ll use it to guide us out in case of emergency.
Where do you go from here? Do you just relive this one moment, or do you pursue this further? Was this a one-time wonder (like sky-diving that one time). Or is this a permanent enjoyment? Is there a next time? For now, that remains to be seen…
2 ways to increase productivity in your home office So you can get more done in less time
1. Keep it to bare essentials. What I mean is that permanent contents on the top of your desk should be kept to bare essentials, so that your desk always has a clean and organized look and feel. When I say bare essentials, I really mean it. Here’s what my desk consists of: laptop, docking station, printer, fax, scanner, router, staple and tape dispensers, writing utensils, 2 pictures, 2 accessories, and some bragging items (more about that later). That’s it. And I have a decent size, U-shaped desk. Everything else has either been discarded, moved, or hidden. All reference binders are inside cabinets. All customer and project folders are inside file drawers. All samples and swatches are put away.
It’s ok to keep 2-3 feel-good things that make you smile. For me, they are photographs of my wedding and of my baby. One accessory is a small globe I received as a gift – it’s a reminder and an inspiration of the global vision for my business. The other accessory is a small plaque with my favorite quote: “Love the moment”. Everything else is behind closed doors.
During the course of the day, the only other things that belong on your desk are your calendar, to do list, and 1 folder on which you’re working. Yes, you read it right, just 1 folder. Not several on which you are planning to work later. Just one, because you can effectively work on only 1 thing at a time (multitasking is one of my least favorite words)
So look around your office right now and see what can be taken away, cut down, and hidden. You will be amazed how cleaning your desk increases your productivity. Here are some examples of things to eliminate:
a. Dry flowers
b. Baskets of fill
c. Mismatched frames of random art
d. Knick knacks
e. Multiple folders that you may or may not use on a daily basis
f. In-basket
g. Top-of-desk organizers
2. Designate a home. Everything in your office should have a permanent home, which is a place on your desk, in your drawers, or inside filing cabinets where things always go. For example, if a designated home for your, say, envelopes is in the right-hand side back corner of the 2nd shelf in the top cabinet, than that’s where they should always go. If a designated place for your, say, paperclips is a small bowl inside the top right-hand-side drawer, that’s where they should always go too. No but’s or if’s about it.
The home for every piece of paperwork is a file – just a simple manila folder. The home for vendor catalogs and price lists is a binder. You can easily store these away in a filing drawer and refer to them later. This way, you don’t have to deal with piles of paper, wondering what to do with them, while they irritate you on a daily basis and drain your energy.
When I work with my clients 1-on-1 as part of my GET IT DONE Mentoring Program, this is one of the areas where we spend some time. I help designers organize their businesses and mindsets by starting as small as organizing their desks, files, and physical environment, in which they operate every day. This is so important because, if we are to operate at the top of our productivity, our surroundings need to energize us, not bring us down; they need to support us in moving forward, not pull us back.
Look at everything that you use on a daily basis and decide on the “home” for these things. Having a home for everything you use not only makes you feel more organized and saves you time, but it clears up our head and energy to work on what’s really important to grow businesses.
In my GET IT DONE Mentoring Program, my clients particularly like this rule, because it’s so simple and they can easily implement it. Just remembering about it and catching yourself when you’re tempted to put something aside until later, is all it takes to make it work. Just remember, all your tools, reference materials, supplies, and files must go back full circle to where their designated home is.