Where Has The Time Gone?

Have you ever gotten to the end of the day and asked yourself that question?  Do you frequently feel like you tried your hardest but you have nothing to show for it? Let's look at some ways to manage time more effectively to have results to show for it at the end of the day.

#1. Define Your Goals--Some people are into structure, some aren't. I recommend doing what works for you. If writing 3 things you want to do by the end of the day on the back of a receipt and sticking it in your pocket works for you, then do it! I don't care. I like having a day planner with time blocked off for each part of my day, with my running "To Do" list on the side. I can tell you right now, though, that if I asked my brother to keep one, it would never get written in. Ever. He's a "back of the receipt" kind of guy, and you know what? It works beautifully for him. So define your goals and put them somewhere. A secondary thing to do, once you have a focus for your activities, is to prioritize them. For example, I have a goal of working out for 30 minutes every day. It's a priority for me. Another priority for me is to learn something new. If I have 2 hours left in my day, I might try a new workout. Why? Because both of these things are priorities for me and I have a limited amount of time, so I'll learn a new workout for bonus points. Let's say in this 2 hours left scenario I also needed to...I don't know...return Library books. I might just bump that to the next day, because while returning them is important, the library books won't impact my health like working out will.

#2. Bust Time Wasters--If you frequently find yourself intimidated by your To Do list and jumping on FaceBook to compensate, you need to become aware of your bad habits and cut it out. If you are supposed to be setting up lunch meetings and instead you grab a coffee and hang out on Twitter for an hour, become aware of it and cut it out. A good way to catch yourself at this is to write down everything you do, every 15 minutes for 1 day. Don't lie to yourself and don't hold back. From when you wake up, begin recording even the mundane details. I realized I spent about 40 minutes every day just staring into space thinking of what to do next. That's what led me to a to do list! Almost an hour wasted literally doing nothing (not that thinking is bad, it's not, I still spend plenty of time doing it, but there's no need for me to stand around figuring out what to do next instead of having a plan of action that I wrote up yesterday and charging forward! Then I get to spend more time with my kids and husband after completing my To Do's :) )

#3. Rinse and Repeat--There's a Japanese Proverb that says, "Beginning is easy. Continuing is hard." My sentiments exactly! Don't just do this once or twice and then write it off. If you want a successful life, you have to change the way you do things. If you want to get healthy, you have to change the way you eat. If you want to catch a rainbow trout, you have to have a certain bait. You see where I'm going with these analogies? If you're unhappy with your life--MAKE A CHANGE! And then keep doing what is successful and modify what is unsuccessful.

Just never, ever stop. A friend of mine once pointed out that in Texas, Highway 45 runs all the way from DFW to Houston. And it doesn't matter if you go 50 miles an hour or 5 miles an hour--you'll get to Houston. Just don't lay down and don't turn around.

Lizi

Presentations part 1

Hey there,

Today the topic most on my mind is: presenting to other people. When most people hear the word "present," they picture someone in a smart suit with a pie chart or Powerpoint standing in a conference room. And that is one way you can present, but in our industry, whether you call it Social Entrepreneurship, Network Marketing, Direct Sales or MLM, presenting is better understood as "giving information." I prefer to call it that for 2 reasons: #1. It's less intimidating to the client, #2. It's less intimidating to the new people and #3. It's non-threatening.

If I called you and imitated what in my mind would be a salesperson-type pitch, I might say something like, "Hello John Doe, this is Lizi and I had noticed you inquired about our services. When is a good time for you to schedule a presentation?"

Mind you, that isn't a terrible way to go about things if that is the way you talk. However, I don't talk like that.

I talk like this: "Hey John Doe, how's it going? Awesome man, listen, I saw you were curious about what my team was doing in your area and I always want to be available to answer any questions you might have. What time is good for us to get to know each other and kick around some information?"

Is that threatening? Do I come off as "here's 15 minutes of my time and then I don't care about you anymore?"

NO! I want people to know I care about them--because I genuinely care about them! And if I hear anyone badmouthing a prospect, I let them know that their thinking and their speech will propel them to failure--they're doomed before they even start because of their poor attitude.

Instead of that, honor the person you're speaking to. Really pay attention to what they say, what they want out of life and who they are.

So, the takeaway: presenting doesn't have to be scary. It is literally a time you and your prospect are setting aside to get to know each other and to share personal goals.

Tune in tomorrow and we'll go over the nitty gritty details of being yourself during a presentation.