The “What do YOU do?” series gives you a glimpse into my life as a messy, creative person and invites you to share your organizing insights and ideas.

Perspective.

If you peek into a day in the life of the average entrepreneur you’ll see email, social networking, appointments, bills, writing, more email, returning messages, home-life interruptions, and more.

Ever-present is the feeling that there’s not enough time to do it all – and the urge to get some space to sort it all out. Is any of this busy work helping?

Here’s what I do to get perspective

• Quarterly 4-day retreats – Back in September, I acknowledged that if I didn’t change how I ran myself in my biz, my head would likely blow up. Making a commitment to quarterly retreats seemed huge and scary. Now that I’ve already been on 2 of them, I’m finding that I feel emotionally and spiritually replenished AND I have more clarity about where I’m going and what I’m doing in my work. Now I’m unapologetic about taking that much time “off”.

• Monthly weekend retreats - This year I’m experimenting with a monthly overnight retreat in addition to the quarterly ones. My first one is at the end of January. Expect a good report.

• Weekly check-ins – As I type this, I’m thinking that this “quarterly/monthly/weekly” thing might sound too structured to you. It’s arbitrary, but helps me bring a rhythm to the ritual of stepping out of the “daily” and looking at the big picture.

Anyway, I meet weekly by phone with one of the coolest bizbuds ever. Marissa and I check in on last week’s progress and then work for a few hours together on our separate projects. At the end of our call, we state aloud our goals for the coming week.

Having someone who really sees what’s happening in my biz, helps me set realistic goals, and who looks forward to my progress updates (and I hers) motivates me like nothing else.

• The 2 column list – Also a weekly thing on Mondays, I stand up to write this list of “steps I will do this week or delegate to the divine” which gives me physical perspective (instead of sitting hunched at my desk) and a feeling of authority. It’s easy to read from my desk, so I can decide what to work on next that gets me closer to my goals.

Here’s what’s in the works

• Long term destination – Inspired by a recent talk by Robert Fritz, I realized that I want a clearer definition of where I and my biz are headed in the next 5 years. Something visible and, better yet, tangible. I don’t know how or what it is yet (and that’s just fine), realizing and naming that I want it will help me create it.

What do you do that gives you perspective?

Your turn! If you’d like, please share what you’re doing that helps you get perspective in your business and/or life – and also something that you’re working on/experimenting with.

Your comments on your own process are welcome. Just remember to give advice to me or others only when it’s specifically requested. This makes exploring safe and learning possible for every reader.

2 comments

The “What do YOU do?” series gives you a glimpse into my life as a messy, creative person and invites you to share your organizing insights and ideas.

Paper.

Despite the development of technological solutions galore (scanning, email, digital books, receipt scanners, ad nauseum), most people use paper as much as ever.

I happen to live in a part of the country where the raw materials for paper-making come from. Seeing clear-cuts makes me sad, but these forests are planted and harvested and replanted. It’s more like an extremely slow agricultural process than pillaging. I’m not sure the salmon would agree, but I’ll stay on topic. ; )

Saving a little paper here and there does help reduce the volume of trees needed, not to mention the energy needed to process it as waste or into recycled products. It also helps your wallet. So I do my part. I’ll bet you do too.

Here’s what I do reduce paper use

• Print infrequently - I print very very little, mostly because I don’t want to find a home for the document created. I can organize if needed, but it’s not high up on the list. : )

• Decline receipts - At the store the cashier will ask, “Would you like a receipt?” If it’s not business-related, I almost always decline. That’s a lot of paper over a lifetime.

• Pay bills online – Instead of ordering books of checks, I pay all my bills on my bank’s website.
• Virtual products – Inspired Home Office has several products and classes that are completely paper-free and use PDFs, audio, and web tools instead.

Here’s what I’m working on

• Hi, I’m Jen and I’m a paper junkie. (“Hiiii, Jennnnn!”) I use paper for taking notes during client sessions. I use paper sticky notes for everything and anything. I have huge sheets of 2′x3′ paper on pads for my weekly planning. I draw on paper when I’m trying to think of ideas. I journal on paper. I sell an info-product that is made from real paper. I get paper bills. I send cards. When it comes to paper, my learning style (tactile) trumps conservation. If I don’t move my body/hands, I can’t retain information as well.
• I try not to feel guilty. Most of the time (as heartless as this may sound), I don’t. But I’d love to hear what you do that saves paper. Maybe I’ll get inspired to do more!

What do YOU do that reduces paper-use?

Your turn! If you’d like, please share what you’re doing that helps you in your business and/or life – and also something that you’re working on/experimenting with.

Your comments on your own process are welcome. Just remember to give advice to me or others only when it’s specifically requested. This makes exploring safe and learning possible for every reader.

6 comments

The “What do YOU do?” series gives you a glimpse into my life as a messy, creative person and invites you to share your organizing insights and ideas.

Online distractions.

Although the Web and email are all pretty handy tools, sometimes they’re so visually stimulating that they feel like threats. Enemies. Barriers to concentration.

If you want to focus, there are lots of ways to prevent distraction and still get the most from these tools.

Here’s what I do prevent online distraction

• Close browser tabs - Firefox and Internet Explorer (and I’m sure many other browsers) allow users to open an infinite number of tabs. I just know that if the little tab says Facebook, I will click on it whether I really want to go on Facebook or not. So I keep it (and other distracting websites) closed. In fact, I keep as few open as possible. Usually just my gmail and gcal are open.

• Prevent popups - Most of us know about pop-ups from websites. But I’m talking about the pop-ups that Skype creates every time one of my contacts gets online. And the pop-up on gmail when someone wants to instant message me. And the pop-up that appears when an email comes into your inbox.

Concentration is hard enough without pop-ups, so I’ve turned them all off. With Skype, I have to actually log off. With gmail, I have to select my status as “offline”. If you have Outlook, you can opt out of the “so-and-so has sent you a message” announcements. And good riddance!

Here’s what I’m working on

• Twitter and Tweetdeck – I’m not sure I’m actually working on this, but I’m aware that although I keep very few browser windows open, I almost always have TweetDeck (a tool that makes Twitter easier to use) open. I’m still figuring out if it’s a distraction or a tool – or both.

What do YOU do that minimizes online distractions?

Your turn! If you’d like, please share what you’re doing that helps you in your business and/or life – and also something that you’re working on/experimenting with.

Your comments on your own process are welcome. Just remember to give advice to me or others only when it’s specifically requested. This makes exploring safe and learning possible for every reader.

5 comments

The “What do YOU do?” series invites you to share your organizing insights and ideas and gives you a glimpse into my life as a messy, creative person. Jump in – you’re an expert on your own experience.

It’s the first Monday of November, folks. (How on earth did that happen?)

Now that there’s a mere 9 weeks until the end of the year, many self-employed business owners are doing an end-of-year cram session – trying to finish everything they hoped to do in 2009. Admittedly, I feel tempted to do the same. I get this feeling that I’m running out of time.

You too?

If you’re feeling end-of-year panic, take a breath or two or three. Good long slow ones. None of us is really running out of time. December 31 is just a day – in a long string of many days.

This time of year there’s a focus on the home fires, of gathering and connecting. It doesn’t mesh well with attempting to push through tons of work. So finding a balance is key.

Setting end-of-year goals for 2009

What is currently working well for me:

Being kind to myself. A while back, I made it my intention to treat myself (in my business) the way I would a paid employee. Would I ask an inspired helper to cram? No. Would I ask them to work holidays? No. Would I encourage them to take time off? Of course. So that’s how I’m treating myself. Hard? Yes. : )

Having realistic expectations of myself. I’ve learned over the years that I don’t focus well on my work when I’m preparing for the holidays. So I’m dialing back on the work load for Thanksgiving and taking almost 2 weeks off over Christmas and New Years. That’s a huge shift for me.

Choosing only one end-of-year goal. Truthfully, I have many goals but I wrote all of them down and just chose one for the end of the year. The others I put on the back burner. There’s no point in forcing them all. And I may actually have a chance of getting that one done.

Giving myself permission to rest. This is probably the hardest thing because somewhere inside me is this belief that if I have free time, I “should” be working. But as I found out in September, taking time to rest actually filled up my heart and spirit and gave me all kinds of energy and creativity.

I know this resting stuff is a hard sell for you diligent worker bees – especially if you’re strapped for cash. You think, “I can’t stop – or everything will fall apart.” But consider it.

What I’m currently working on:

Setting aside the time. The only way I really honor my need for rest is by actually putting it in my calendar. By blocking it out, I literally cannot make appointments with others. It’s that visual reminder that I need.

So, I’m going to block out the holidays/breaks I’ve chosen today – before it all runs away with me.

My goals for 2009

• Business: Release the new top-secret product to my newsletter subscribers.
• Business: Continue blogging and writing the newsletter.
• Business: Prepare for my time off so I can really enjoy it.
• Personal: Take off Thanksgiving week and December 21 – Jan 3.
• Personal: Fill up. Be silent. Journal. Pray. Meditate. Soak in all the love.

How about you?

Please share:

1. What’s going well in your end-of-year goal setting ?
2. What are you working on that you’d like to be better?
3. What are your actual goals for the rest of 2009?

Your comments on your own process are welcome. House rules: Give advice to me or others only when it’s specifically requested. This makes exploring safe and learning possible for every reader.

2 comments

The “What do YOU do?” series invites you to share your organizing insights and ideas and gives you a glimpse into my life as a messy, creative person. Jump in – you’re an expert on your own experience.

Knowing I have a lot of un-replied-to emails in my inbox stresses me out. The story in my head is something like, “I should reply to people as soon as they email me.” But that is a very stressful (and unrealistic) expectation.

Replying to email promptly and sanely.

What is currently working well for me:

I have structures. Twice a day, 3 days a week, I’ve scheduled 30 minutes with my inbox. It’s written on my Google calendar and I get a little pop-up “ding dong!” 10 minutes before hand. That’s 3ish hours a week devoted to checking and answering email.

I have systems. When folks purchase The Wish Kit or sign up for my newsletter, I use a special auto-responder that sends them a confirmation email. I don’t have to be at my desk for them to receive what they ordered. It’s sweet. It’s fast.

The other system I recently implemented is setting up 1-on-1 appointments using timedriver.com (hat tip: Marissa Bracke). This has saved me countless back-and-forth emails trying to find a convenient meeting time across time zones. Whew!

What I’m currently working on:

I want to reply faster. Confession time. At the moment, I have emails awaiting responses that are over 3 weeks old. And one from Charlie Gilkey that’s from August. Please, please don’t compare yourself against this – what I’m getting at is the anxiety I feel from having a high volume of email and not replying as quickly as I’d like. Yuck.

It all goes back to the days when I was in school and trying to hide the fact that I’d forgotten to do my homework for the Nth time. Oh, the shame… Email makes me feel this way sometimes.

Differentiating between IHO emails and personal emails. All my emails come to one box. I don’t fritter a lot of time away on personal emails during work time, but I do forget to answer them entirely once the computer is shut off for the weekend.

3 hours a week isn’t enough. It’s hard, but it’s true. I think the remedy is in the next section.

Differentiating between informational email and work email. By this I mean that some emails are ones I can read and file easily. Done. Other emails are requests for work, for time, for attention. I cannot read and file these, because they’re incomplete. I’m still learning how to say no to some requests for my time and how to follow-through effectively on others.

How do YOU return email promptly?

Please share what works for you -  and what you’re still learning!

Your comments on your own process are welcome. House rules: Give advice to me or others only when it’s specifically requested. This makes exploring safe and learning possible for every reader.

4 comments

Pets.

God love them.

The Inspired Cat thinks (perhaps rightfully) that she owns the whole place. Including my bill basket.

Cat and mouse at rest

Read on and you’ll discover that it basically *is* her house. I can’t imagine my life without her, so I know pets are here in my life to stay. However, having pets in your home office presents some small challenges.

Keeping pet issues at bay

What is currently working well for me:

A designated resting place. When I’m not in the office, Inspired Cat thinks that my Captain Picard Chair is her bed. Fortunately, it’s big enough for the both of us. In reality, she has a real pet bed on my desk that she uses a lot. It’s close enough for me to pet her, but out of the way enough that I don’t need the turf for work stuff.

Noise-canceling headphones. Sassafras is fastidious. Just ask Bridget. Her licking (Sassy’s, not Bridget’s) is sometimes incessant and it can drive me up a wall. Especially when I’m trying to concentrate on something. Agh!

Yelling at or otherwise dissuading a cat from doing anything it wants to do is pointless. Not to mention, rude. And I don’t want to lock her out of the office because I’m a big ol’ softy.

So I use noise-canceling headphones once a day for about 20 minutes to block out the noise and keep working. Then, once the lick-fest is over, Inspired Cat deigns to take her afternoon nap on my desk. It’s very sweet.

What I’m currently working on:

Cat toys. Everywhere. There’s the collection of feather toys, ribbons, the catnip pillow. If you have pets, you know what I mean. I’ve managed to move the scratching post to another room, but I haven’t found a handy way to store toys that she likes to play with during the day. It’s an organizing dilemma, I tell you.

Mom’s lap is a bed. We just can’t find a win-win for this, either. I don’t have enough lap or arms for her to lay on me/have me hold her while I’m trying to work at my computer. She looks at me adoringly and I usually give in and pick her up… but I “hate” that she can play me like that. Doesn’t she appreciate everything I do to keep food in her dish and a roof over her head? Doesn’t she know I have work to do?

It’s true what they say: Dogs have people, cats have staff.

What do YOU do to keep pet issues at bay?

Dogs? Cats? Echindas? Enlighten us. What works really well for you? What are you working on?

9 comments

Passwords.

Aside from their helpful purpose (to keep your sensitive information safe), they can be kind of a hassle to remember, to find, to concoct.

Here’s what I do to remember to remember passwords

What is currently working well for me:

Low tech. I wrote them down – every last one – on a piece of paper. Remembering them is hard. My magic password sheet makes it easy.

Bright and shiny. The magic password sheet lives in a see-through red plastic sleeve that is practically impossible to miss.

Handy. I keep it very close to me in the most convenient place. No, not my Brownie Smile. My magic password sheet. I can reach out my right arm and – voila! – there it is! Lickey-split!

Security. My vivid imagination gets me to worry sometimes that a nefarious character will get their grubby paws on my magic password sheet. So all of my passwords are written in code. The passwords on the paper are not the actual codes themselves, but I know what they mean.

Laugh if you will, but I sleep better at night.

What I’m currently working on:

Remembering to write them down. Whenever I set up a new account somewhere, I write down the login and password on my magic password sheet. It’s not hard to do, it’s just sometimes a trick to catch myself in the act and recognize, “Hey! I’m creating a new login name and password! Better write it down!”

What do YOU do to keep track of passwords?

What works really well for you? What are you working on?

Share your insights and ideas! Your comments on your own process are welcome. I also request kindly that you not give advice to me or others unless it’s specifically requested. This makes exploring safe and learning possible for every reader.

17 comments

When you’re self-employed, the time clock doesn’t dictate when you punch out.

Ending the work day is something that many people struggle with. It’s a topic that came up last week at the Superlicious Diva Business Day, and I realized that it’s a big problem for me, too.

Here’s what I doing to stop working at the end of the day

What is currently working well for me:

Schedule something at the end of the day. At 6ish every evening, Inspired Spouse and I eat dinner together. It’s an agreement. Not only do we both enjoy it, when I know dinner’s waiting – or it’s my turn to make it – I just stop working. It’s more important to me to keep that commitment than it is to goof around on Facebook.

Find other things to do with myself in the evening and on weekends. Not too long ago, gave myself the evening off and I paced around anxiously trying to figure out what to *do* with myself. It’s laughable now, but I was seriously stressed at the time. What do I do if I’m not working?

My current strategy is having stuff to focus on besides work. I’ve got a big stack of books to veg out with in the evenings. And, on weekends, Inspired Spouse and I talk about and negotiate what chores we’ll do and what fun activities we’d like to partake in. Last weekend, for example, we went to the Aumsville Corn Festival (fantastic!) and saw the movie Julie & Julia (delightful!). A year ago, I was not doing this kind of fun stuff, so this is serious progress.

What I’m currently working on

I’m working very long hours. That’s just the fact. I’m not even working on it yet. All I’m doing at this point is noticing (which is, in itself, powerful).

What I notice is that most days I’m at my desk by 7am and I usually work until about 6pm, 3 days a week. Every night, I usually end up back in my office after dinner to answer email, do twitter and Facebook stuff, and answer blog posts. I like doing this – but some days I feel exhausted.

In total, including my part-time job, (grabs calculator) I’m working about 72 hours a week. Whew! No wonder!

Creating boundaries around my work time. This is the thing I’d like to work on most. I’m not exactly sure what my needs are yet since I’m still in the Noticing Phase. But I know that if I stay open and curious, I’ll get clarity about what to do next.

I’ll keep you posted.

What do YOU do to stop working at the end of the day?

What works really well for you? What are you working on?

Share your insights and ideas! Your comments on your own process are welcome. I also request kindly, firmly, that you not give advice to me or others unless it’s specifically requested. This makes exploring safe and learning possible for every reader.

7 comments

Without a trash can, nothing goes anywhere. Everything, but everything is on its way to the trash can – it’s just a matter of when.

Your trash can and recycle bins are like the drain in your sink. Without one, your stuff floweth over and your space gets pretty mucked up.

Yet, waste receptacles are an overlooked tool in many home offices. Sometimes they’re too small, too far out of reach, or completely non-existent. Any of these scenarios are invisible barriers that slow you down and distract you while you’re working.

The gift of having your trash in flow is that it gives you clear space to work, think, and focus. Ahhh.

Here’s what I do for trash in my own home office

What works well for me:

When I’m almost overwhelmed, I clean up. My office *always* used to be a mess. Now that it’s more manageable, I more easily notice when I’m at the threshold of overwhelm.

When about 80% of my desk surface is covered, I start feeling a little panicky and disoriented. When I feel this, I stop whatever I’m doing and clean up until my desk is almost (or completely) clear. This happens about every 1-2 weeks and takes about 15-30 minutes, but I don’t schedule it. I just pay attention – then act.

My trash can is located just to the right of my desk – within arm’s reach. I’m right-handed, so anything I need to throw away is usually in that hand already. I don’t have to get up. In it goes without a second thought.

The recycle bin is under my desk where I can reach it. I toss out more paper than anything else. No matter what direction I’m facing, I don’t have to think, I just throw it in there and keep working.

I tie an existing habit to a new habit. (Hat tip to Havi.) Our trash pickup is on Monday morning, so on Sunday night, along with the rest of the household, I empty my office trash as well. This keeps the unwanted stuff flowing out of my workspace.

What I’m working on

Recycling. Because the recycle bin is under my desk, I can’t actually see it. We don’t have recycling pickup (like we do for garbage), so I forget to empty the bag and it gets way out of control. Sometimes I have to forcefully stuff things in. This is quite shy of my goal of flow.

I hate to vacuum. It’s loud, mind-numbing, and it upsets the Inspired Cat. Technically, though, tiny bits on the carpet constitute garbage. After a while, the schmutz starts to bug me, so I drag out the old watermelon of a vacuum to deal with it. Grudgingly. I confess, I’m not working very hard on this one.

What do YOU do for trash?

What works really well for you? What are you working on?

Share your insights and ideas! Remember to be kind to yourself and others.

10 comments

There are some who say that email is dead. Obsolete.

Bah, I say! Email is alive and well. And growing, if the current state of my inbox is any indication.

It’s my intention to not let email run my life. I want to choose it instead of feeling controlled by it.

Here is how I prevent email overwhelm

What works well:

I give myself permission to not reply to everything. Even delete stuff without replying.

I sort out the non-urgent stuff without having to look at it. I set up filters and folders in my Gmail account which has been a lifesaver.

I use a vacation responder on the weekends. It tells anyone who emails me when I’ll be back. That way I’m absolved of the guilty feelings I get when I know someone is waiting for a reply.

As a general rule, I clear out my inbox weekly. I read email more frequently than that, but a mostly empty inbox is my goal once per week.

Lastly, I have an email account that is bottomless. Gmail lets me “archive” as many emails as I want so I don’t have to get rid of them, ever.

What I’m working on

Easing up. Email is often a somewhat helpful distraction when I’m trying to think up ideas. Instead of berating myself for checking email when I don’t need to, I’m getting better at being gentle with myself.

Starting at the end. Since my goal is to clear out once per week, I have begun responding first to the people who’ve waited the longest. This takes a HUGE load off my shoulders. It’s just hard to do because the new email always seems more fun and interesting to me.

What do YOU do to prevent email overwhelm?

What works really well for you? What are you working on?

Share your organizing insights and ideas! Remember to be kind to yourself and others.

36 comments