Strange & Charmed

The 7 Items to Track In Your Planner for Less Stress and More Productivity

The 7 Items to Track In Your Planner for Less Stress and More Productivity

I’m always on a quest to identify the best way to use my planner! There are so many options out there for how I could use my planner, but many of those options don’t align with my personal priorities. When it comes down to it, I use my planner to keep me organized, productive and to prevent me, as much as possible, from getting stressed out or overwhelmed by the tasks of daily life. Now, I’m pretty sure the vast majority of us already use our planners to list our daily to-dos and keep track of our calendars more or less, so today I wanted to share the 7 things you should track in your planner for less stress and more productivity.

Yearly Goals: Goal setting is an essential element of leading a productive and meaningful life. That’s why I created a whole workbook dedicated to the topic to help those who know they have aspirations but aren’t sure how to get started executing them. I think it is very important to keep track of your yearly goals in your planner so that the information is front and center in your life. If you don’t have your goals mapped out yet, it’s never too late to get started so check out my You Got This workbook and get to your goal setting!

Monthly & Weekly Tasks: Beyond the day to day, it’s important to keep track of the things you want to accomplish during a specific time frame. On a monthly basis I keep track of specific tasks and projects I want to work on during the month. Then from those tasks I like to assign specific items to certain weeks. Many projects and tasks take longer than a day to complete and in order to prioritize their completion assigning them to a week helps to carve out time for them to get done.

Weekly Meal Plan: Meal planning is legitimately a true time saver. I know there are many strategies I suggest that don’t necessarily help everyone to be more productive, but if you aren’t meal planning, you are wasting time in your day for sure and probably even money. You don’t have to meal plan for weeks in advance, I find that a week at a time is good for me, and you don’t even have to map out exactly when you are going to eat which meal, but instead I keep a running list of meals and choose which I am going to eat on a daily basis so that I have an element of choice. Just the act of planning out a set number of meals for the week and then buying your groceries in accordance with that, can save you money and time. If you are looking for a great way to add meal planning into your planner, check out this meal planning bundle of printable inserts from my shop!

Gratitude List: It’s also been scientifically acknowledged that people who incorporate a regular gratitude practice into their lives are happier and less stressed. Whether that means you wake up in the morning and make a quick gratitude list or spend an hour journaling what you are grateful for, it really makes no difference. The main thing is that you are practicing gratitude on a regular basis. I use these weekly gratitude list inserts that are quick to use but very impactful in my gratitude practice.

Master Project Log: Once you have set your goals as per above, you will most likely have a number of projects you want to work on throughout the year and of course different projects may pop up from time to time as well that you will need to track. I suggest having a place in your planner dedicated to tracking and breaking out those projects so you can adequately manage them throughout the year. In my planner, I use my Project Planning Bundle and the yearly goal tracker specifically to map this information out for myself over the year. It creates a roadmap for me to follow on a monthly basis for where I want to spend my time and energy.

Victories & Accomplishments: It’s very easy in life for us to become jaded and feel like we aren’t making progress. This is why I think it’s so essential that we actively track our victories and accomplishments as they occur. These don’t have to be crazy victories, small wins in our lives and just great events that inspire and empower us should really be tracked so that we can see all the good and positive that happens in our life. No one’s life is perfect but it’s easier to get yourself through the tough times if you acknowledge that every once in a while good things happen as well.

Your Daily Routines: Your routines are in essence, your life. As they say “You are what you repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.” Routines can be established to help you achieve excellence in any goal you wish to achieve. Tracking them is an important step to either keeping them consistent or making an adjustment. I talk about creating daily routines in You Got This and I highly encourage you to track and establish your own positive routines in your planners so that you are reviewing them on a regular basis.

Which of these essential productivity items do you plan to add to your planner? Drop me a line in the comments below!

xoxo,

Personal Development

How to Find a Mentor!

How to Find a Mentor

Mentorship is an essential part of life no matter what industry you work in or life path you have chosen. We all learn from watching others and following the examples laid before us. There are definitely times in our lives where this relationship is methodically practiced, for example, in school or through athletic organizations, most people have a mentor whether they call it that or not. Teachers, coaches, counselors, and parents all take on these roles as we develop into adulthood but after graduation it tends to get a little more difficult to find a mentor and because of that, I think many people tend to stumble through their lives without clear direction for a distinct period of time. If you are looking for guidance in your life, career or business, but struggle to find someone who is willing and able to give you advice and help set a positive example for you, I am going to share some tips I have learned about finding a mentor.

What is a mentor?

The dictionary defines mentor as “an experienced and trusted advisor.” Pretty straight forward. Expanding on that, I consider a mentor to be someone who has done the things you want to do or has a certain perspective that you need, and they are willing to share their experience with you. Mentorship is a simple, almost one-sided relationship that I think many people over estimate and almost romanticize. Although some mentors may be very invested in their mentee and have a close personal relationship with them, that really isn’t what the relationship is about. I know for a long time, I thought a mentor would be some high level VP who took me under their wing and showed me the ropes, spending personal time in developing my career and skills, but the truth of that matter is that not many people, if any, are going to be that invested in helping you advance. This is why I think it’s very hard for many of us to find a mentor. We might have the wrong expectations and therefore misidentify a possible mentorship opportunity. When it all boils down, finding a mentor requires you to take control of your own destiny in order to find the person or people who can help you make it a reality.

Where do you find a mentor?

For most people, a mentor may be someone at work who has their next level job and they feel comfortable going to that person for career advice or for insight into their work. It could be a co-worker who has worked at your organization for a longer period of time who may have certain skills you don’t have and may be willing to teach you. Or a mentor could be someone with a job or career you would like, who you network with and pick their brain over coffee or lunch dates. You may have one or any number of mentors right now in your life that you haven’t actually identified as such. Do you have any co-workers or professional acquaintances that fit this description?

If you don’t currently have a mentor or you want to find another, identifying your mentor depends on what end you are trying to achieve. Are you trying to find a certain skill? Trying to advance in or even change your career? Perhaps you are starting your own business enterprise and need advice? And don’t think that mentors are only for work! Even new mothers, students, and those trying to make a change in their personal lives need mentorship and advice! Step number one is to identify what you are trying to achieve that you need help or insight with!

The next step to finding a mentor is to identify a pool of individuals that you know have the experience you would like to have. This could be friends, family members, co-workers, even professional coaches or consultants! I think many people misunderstand the mentor relationship and think that you need to know the person in real life to get their help, but there are many professionals who have built their careers on giving advice on certain topics and you have to keep in mind that as mentorship is a very one-sided relationship, if you want or need consistent advice and support, your best option may be to pay someone who has experience.

Now the third and final step to finding a mentor is to approach each of your candidates by floating a question by them. You can call them, send them an email, or visit them in person and ask a very straightforward question that you need answered to help you with your goal. Some people will be receptive and helpful to your question and others will dismiss you. This process will help you identify who is willing to help you and who is not. From their answer, I say go with your gut feeling on who you trust and want advice from and pursue the relationship that feels best to you.

How to establish a relationship with a mentor?

Once you find someone who has the knowledge, skill, or experience you are looking for and has shown that they are receptive to helping you, I think the most professional and straight forward thing to do is to schedule some time with the individual, let them know that you are looking for help with X and would they be willing to provide some insight from time to time if you have questions. You don’t need to say “will you be my mentor,” in fact, unless they use that word, I would avoid it completely, but you do need to establish how best to communicate with them regularly going forward so that you are respectful of their time. For some, this means you may take your mentor out for lunch or coffee on a monthly or quarterly basis. Or it may mean that they have an open door or email policy with you for questions. This is very important that you establish the way you will communicate with them, because if you skip this, you may become an annoyance to the mentor and they may shut you out completely. Here is a sample conversation if you are unsure how to word it.

“Hi, MENTOR NAME. I am in the process of trying to do X and I know you have some experience with this. Would you mind if we scheduled some time for us to talk about this because I have some questions and I’d appreciate your advice. I’d love to take you to lunch or meet you for coffee one day if you have the time.”

Okay, so once you have that initial meeting set up, make sure to do your due diligence and come prepared with thoughtful questions. No matter how little you already know about your goal or how much you believe your mentor knows, it’s never appropriate to ask for general advice. You need to have questions and specific topics prepared or else you will end up with useless information from your mentor, or worse, ruin your relationship with them by showing your ignorance. It’s one thing to need advice from a mentor, but quite another to expect them to teach you everything you need to know.

If you are successful with scheduling an initial meeting and you have come prepared with your questions and feel confident that you and your mentor elect are hitting it off, you will want to establish an ongoing relationship with the mentor before the end of that meeting. So, at some point at the end of your conversation you want to thank them for their advice, tell them how much you value their opinion and then ask if it is okay for you to follow up with one-off questions in the future and how best to do so. Below is a sample of what you can say if you aren’t sure how to proceed, and if for some reason you miss this step or your conversation gets cut short, make sure to reach out to your mentor as soon as possible to thank them and establish that ongoing relationship. Adjust the following according to your situation.

“Well MENTOR NAME, this conversation has been very helpful to me and I truly appreciate having your insight. I have a lot to think about and process but if I have additional questions in the future, would you mind if we stayed in touch through emails or the occasional office visit?”

Depending on your situation, your relationship to the mentor, and the goal you are trying to accomplish, play it by ear how often you may need to contact them, and of course make sure to be aware of their feelings and reactions during these conversations. Most people will understand that you are coming to them as a mentor and will play along beautifully, but others may be oblivious to the ongoing relationship you are establishing. If you see that you are getting some resistance to future communications, pull back a bit and let them have their way. You don’t want to damage any future relationship by pushing them.

Obviously, this situation will play itself out quite differently if you choose to meet with a professional coach or consultant. That type of situation is much more direct, but of course, there are things to keep in mind when working with a professional as well. Please feel free to let me know if you would like me to write a piece on choosing and working with professional coaches and consultants and I would be more than happy to share my experience and give you some insight to help you make the most of that type of relationship as well! Of course, if you have any other questions about finding a mentor, let me know in the comments and I’d be glad to help! Or if you want to work with me one-on-one, check out my Empire Building online business program which is the formal way I work with clients to help them build their online businesses!

xoxo,

Business

Entrepreneurial: Getting Back In the Groove

My husband and I (and Starbuck) have officially lived in our new home for a little over a month and I’m very glad to report that we are really getting back into the groove of life and work, at last! We’ve completed many home projects, purchased a lot of new furniture, and although our work is far from done, that anxiety I get when things are completely out of place has dissolved. August was my first month back to work full time at my biz after my very long and exhausting summer of moving and home ownership prep. I’m surprised that I was able to transition back into my old work habits pretty quickly, but then again, when the alternative is obsessing over unfinished home projects, work really seems like a welcome treat!

What I didn’t do

1. Wake up early everyday: I think this is one part due to my new home and the lesser amount of light that comes into our bedroom, but I’m also not forcing myself out of bed in the morning. Although I don’t plan to keep up this routine much into fall, I think that with the exhaustion of moving and all the extra home projects, I just need more time to sleep. So I am giving myself permission to sleep more if I want to.

2. Work 8 hours a day: I go through periods of time when I work full days and then periods when a few hours of work is all I need. Since I have been keeping my workload light this summer, I haven’t been working full days as of yet. After sleeping in and allowing myself to take it easy in the morning, I have started working around noon and ending work around 4pm.

3. Focus only on work: Right now I have more on my plate outside of work, so again, I have given myself permission to spend time on things that aren’t work related. Some of that is establishing new routines in my home. Some of that is taking care of random new home things I never had to manage before. I only have 24 hours in a day and when new essential items are added to your life, it’s important to take measure of what you can scale back on so that you remain balanced and not overwhelmed.

What I did do

1. Set my priorities: All of the recent home life changes have meant that I needed to reevaluate my priorities. In doing so I was able to determine the areas of my life where I would be able to cut back without causing a crisis. Taking the time to sit down and think about your priorities and what you are trying to achieve is crucial whenever you’re managing change.

2. Enjoyed my evenings: In establishing new routines for our home, my husband and I have been focusing a lot on enjoying our evenings. We have a patio with a gazebo where we like to spend some time with a drink in hand to unwind. We also have a larger living area and more spaces without our home to use and enjoy and we are really trying to make the most of it. Especially now that we aren’t renting a little apartment and have a place of our own, I really want to enjoy our space and the fruits of our labor.

3. Started a weekly newsletter: So this was the one business project I kicked off this month! I have been wanting to do a newsletter for a while and I actually scheduled it out on my project plan to get this started at the end of the summer. I have been taking steps to arrange this for a few months now and it feels great to be on track with my business projects even if I’m not thinking business 24/7!

What I learned

1. Making progress in your personal life will trickle over into your work: It might seem like common sense that if you want to improve a certain area of your life, you should focus on that area alone, but I think that perspective ignores the bigger picture. For me, I have found that by spending time on my personal life and getting that in order, I have made progress in my work life. The more time I spend relaxing in the evenings, the greater my capacity for work is the next day. The more I get my eating habits under control, the more structured I find my workday. When you think work-life balance, I think there is a misconception that it’s all about shuffling around tasks and priorities until you find equilibrium, but I think that simply taking action to take care of one area of your life will tilt the scale for other areas of your life as well.

2. To take advantage of my flexible schedule: This was my big a-ha moment this month. Obviously, since I work from home for myself, I have a flexible schedule, but I don’t usually take advantage of that flexibility. I normally insist on creating a consistent workday schedule that might mimic a normal 9-5. This month, I challenged myself to understand why. Why do I force myself into that mold if I have created a business and lifestyle where I have the ability to legitimately break out of that mold? I know it comes down to old habits and expectations, so this month I loosened those expectations and gave myself permission to sleep in, start working later, and finish up with time to spare in the evening without hopping back on to my computer in bed! Flexibility in your schedule is only a blessing if you use it and I want to use it!

3. Patience: I don’t think I have ever been a particularly patient person. I like immediate gratification, I tend to rush and I don’t like not having control over situations that affect my life. But holy cow! If buying a home doesn’t teach you patience, I don’t know what does! Not just patience with the process of purchasing, but from the moment we bought our home there were a few dozen projects and repairs that I needed to manage and if you follow me on snapchat you might already know that seriously, nothing went according to plan! Every contractor encountered issues beyond what we were already facing. Every important delivery or installation was botched. I have lived in my home for over a month now and we are still dealing with contractors that haven’t finished their work from the first week of move in. It’s crazy- apparently this is normal- but because of all of this, I have learned to let go and be patient. I’ve had to turn my obsessiveness off and just accept things for what they are.

Let me know in the comments how your month went!

xoxo,

Filofax Productivity

Get Your Free September Self Care Checklists, Planner Dashboards & Tech Wallpapers

It’s the last week of August and I am so thrilled that September and Fall, are around the corner! So, it’s time for me to publish your monthly free planner inserts. This month, along with your monthly dashboard, I have created a Self Care September Checklist. It’s filled with 30 self care related tasks for you to try out in September. I know that for me, Fall is all about those cozy night’s in and adjusting to shorter days. I’ll be spending a good amount of time working on my rest and relaxation routine in September and I highly encourage you to take some time for yourself as well.

I also designed a new set of FREE Tech Wallpapers for you this month. I love this Black & White Marble theme and for some extra motivation I included one of my favorite little coffee cup illustrations! Remember, the #PSL is almost here!! You can download these awesome wallpapers here.

I hope you enjoy the inserts and wallpapers, and of course, I love seeing pictures of them at home in your planners, so if you download them, please snap a picture, post it to instagram and tag me @MissTrenchcoat as well as #charmedGTD so the whole community can enjoy your images as well!

xoxo,

Personal Development

The Essential Guide to Social Media Etiquette

I have been using the internet and social media for a long time now and I have seen (and made) many mistakes in terms of proper etiquette when interacting with others online. When it comes to digital decorum, there are certain rules of social order that still apply to our virtual interactions so we don’t end up with any follower faux pas or internet indecency. Today I want to share with you my Essential Guide to Social Media Etiquette where I’ll be covering the three golden rules of online etiquette and nine common situations where those rules apply. Now you have no excuse not to make the best impression possible on your online platforms!

Golden Rule #1: Treat others the way you wish to be treated

… When tagging people

If you are tagging other people, brands or businesses in your social media posts, it’s very important that you remember to treat people the way you would want to be treated. Tagging dozens of people in posts that don’t really apply to them is an annoyance, and overly tagging the same individuals over and over when you are not associated with them is just poor form. No one wants to be spammed online, so make sure you tread respectfully whenever you involve others in content.

… When leaving or responding to comments

Most people don’t like criticism, negativity or drama directed at them so make sure when you are leaving comments or responding to them that you are respectful to the feelings of others. Internet communication is always a little more difficult than communication in real life, so make sure to go out of your way to be very clear about your meaning in your remarks, even if you feel like your being a little ridiculous in spelling it out, it’s better to bear the brunt of that yourself than to inadvertently embarrass or upset others.

… When scrolling through your feed

Think about it, the whole purpose of social media is to become more social with people we may not see or know personally, so if you are scrolling through your feed and see that others are sharing news, either positive or negative, make sure to take the time to leave a comment of congratulations or empathy. If you were sharing news online, I’m sure you would be eager to get feedback. Likewise, if you have taken the time to follow someone, try to engage with their content as often as you can. Ghost followers are such a disheartening situation so make sure to reach out and be social with those you follow!

Golden Rule #2: Err on the side of grace

… When you see negative comments

I know first hand how uncomfortable it can be to see a comment from someone that seems negative, however, like I explained above, internet communication is hard and you should never make assumptions about what people really mean when they leave an unclear or uncomfortable comment. Many times people try to be helpful and engaged by leaving a comment that may not be 100% positive, but they shared because they care about you. Don’t take things personally, especially when you don’t know someone and their personality. You could end up reacting poorly in return or hurting your mental state by jumping to conclusions. If anything, make sure to respond politely and if you are unclear to their meaning, ask for clarification!

… When you suspect a copycat

Too often I see individuals online calling out or complaining about people copying their work and I think it creates a very uncomfortable situation on your platform for yourself and others. I firmly believe that there are really no original ideas left and that it’s common for many people to be doing and talking about the same things, especially if those people are operating in the same industry or have many interests in common. Instead of calling out a copycat that may be upsetting you, you should always reach out with grace, never accusingly, and clear the air. I bet you may find that more often than not, you have a kindred spirit you weren’t aware of!

… When you feel overwhelmed by content

As someone who runs an online business full time, I am often on the internet many hours a day digesting a lot of different content and that can lead to some overwhelming situations. I personally find that when I am consuming too much content, my personal style in terms of my own content will change or skew a bit, leaving me feeling lost and off message. It’s very important in those situations that I have grace with myself and take a break from consuming content in order to clear my own head. Likewise, I know another common content overload situation can occur when people begin to feel irritated or even jealous of the content of others. It’s very important that you remind yourself often that social media is only a small, curated snippet of real life and that isn’t not something you should be comparing yourself to. Having grace with yourself in this situation will lead you to a more enjoyable social media experience so that you are more likely to have grace with others.

Golden Rule #3: Establish clear boundaries

… When you are sharing content

It’s so important when interacting on social media to establish clear boundaries between yourself and others so that you or your followers don’t overstep and cause any issues or uncomfortable situations. When it comes to sharing your content, you must establish a boundary between the content you deem acceptable to share and the pieces of your life or business that you will be keeping out of the public eye. We live in an world of oversharing and I find that people who share too much of certain things end up creating an atmosphere where there followers often overstep boundaries of acceptable interaction. The best way to prevent unwelcome advice, comments or negativity is to be very clear and consistent with the content you are sharing.

… When you are following others

Social media really does make it so easy for people who have never met to feel a connection. I know that I personally feel like I know many people I have never met before, just because I have followed them for years online. The truth of the matter, however, is that if you have never met or had any significant interaction with people you follow, you don’t know them, you are not friends and you should keep yourself and your boundaries in check when interacting with them via social media. Not only will that prevent uncomfortable situations but it can also keep you from feeling rejection or anxiety over the actions of those you follow.

… When you are self-promoting

It’s so easy when you are looking to promote yourself or your business online to blur boundaries in order to try to make a name for yourself. People often do this by going on a following spree and following lots of different people in an attempt to gain followers and then asking those people to follow you back. I also see people self-promoting by tagging their content with tons of different tags and hashtags in order to increase the chances of people following their account. This pretty much constitutes spamming people and it ends up leading to a situation where you will most likely have followers who are not interested in you and your content and may even target you for spam in the future. If you are truly interested in making a name for yourself, one that is respected and reputable, draw boundaries for your actions and activities online so that you are always putting the most professional version of yourself out into the internet!

I hope this article has taught you about the importance of internet etiquette and that you avoid your own follower faux pas in the future! Social media is such a powerful force for human interconnectivity and just because it may not be a face to face interaction, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t treat yourself and those you interact with online with respect and dignity. If you have any questions about internet etiquette or need help navigating an uncomfortable social media situation, let me know in the comments and I’ll do my best to help!

xoxo,

Business Personal Development Productivity

How to Improve Your Life, Sleep and Business!

Hey there business and productivity besties! I know it has been a while since I’ve had a link roundup here on the blog but I’m back today with some great links to help inspire you to get your personal development, productivity and business under control just in time for fall!

Personal Development

Productivity

Business

As always, I hope you enjoyed these articles and found a new great read that was able to help you answer some questions or inspire you to live a little differently. If you have any articles you read and loved lately, please share those in the comments below so we can all check it out! And if you are looking to dive deep into personal development this year, I highly suggest you check out my Charmed Life Master Class! This self-paced ecourse is designed to help you get control of your life, career and relationships through a series of guided lectures and worksheets all for an affordable price. Don’t miss out- get started today!

xoxo,

Business

From Passion to Profit: How I Turned a Love of Planners Into My Full Time Job

If you are reading this, you undoubtedly know me from my work in the planner community. Perhaps you already know about my business, have purchased from me before, consider me a role model for business and productivity, or perhaps you followed a link from a YouTube video to this blog to read more planner related content. No matter what you’re experience is with me, we both have a passion in common, planners! For me, that passion was so great that I ended up turning it into my full time job and started an entire enterprise around it. You can read the story of how it all went down here, but today I want to break down the path I took that lead me from loving planners to selling inserts and courses to help others with the same love.

Follow your passion

My journey begins as most do with a passion. We’ve already established that my passion was planners and a deep love for productivity. Back in early 2014 when I entered the planner craze, I was completely obsessed and entranced by this world of planners. Without thinking about it from a business stand point, I started making videos and posts on planners and stationery supplies and gave myself permission to play with this passion with a child-like intensity that brought me happiness and joy in creating. This is really the key sign that you have a real passion for something, when you can get lost it in for hours upon hours and create endlessly and end the day with more ideas for tomorrow! If you feel this way about something, don’t ignore it, it’s a true passion.

Become part of a community

Like I said, in 2014 when I started diving deep into planners, it was already a craze, which meant that there was a community of people who were interested in this same topic (you are probably one of them!) and so connecting with others and gaining a following from my passion seemed so easy. When you become part of a community with the same passions as yourself, things really do seem a little easier and sometimes effortless. Early on, I strove to not only be a consumer in this community, but to also be a leader and a creator, making videos and content that shared my knowledge and skills. I spoke to so many planner people in such a short time, really taking time to understand what they wanted to see and know and I made so many videos that were in response to questions I had received or seen frequently asked in different Facebook groups. Because of this, not only did a grow a following, but I gained a lot of insight into what people in the planner community were looking for. No matter what your passion is, I highly suggest finding a community or creating a community if one does not exist, around it. When you have a group of like minded individuals ready to consume your content and telling you what they want, it makes it that much easier for you to create.

Identify the opportunity

Now, once I had the passion and community under my belt, it actually took me a while to identify the opportunity that I was being faced with as a creator. Although I loved planners, had an audience and was creating constantly for them, I didn’t recognize that there was an opportunity for me to create a business around this passion. It took me several months of my followers and community members asking me to sell my designs for me to acknowledge that there was a market for my work. Part of it was fear I think. Fear that I couldn’t do it or my work wouldn’t be good enough and then part of it was that I was focusing on the wrong things. I initially thought that my business would be blogging and creating YouTube videos and making an income from sponsored posts and ad revenue, and because I was focused on this, the idea of selling my own goods and having my own shop was something I glazed over. When it comes to our passions, a lot of times we have many options for how we can proceed with turning those passions into profit, but if we ignore the signs (in my case, people telling me to sell my designs) we can miss the real opportunity!

Create value

It’s one thing to find out what people want and then give it to them, and it’s quite another to take it a step further and create real value for people. When I mean value, I don’t mean pricing my products so that they are in a certain range, and I don’t mean having sales or giving discounts. I mean value in terms that transcend money and really give people more than they expect. In my business, this is a major topic and a reason why I believe my business still works after two years. So many people start these passion projects and side (or full time) businesses because they have passion and a market to sell to but they end up failing within a year because they haven’t found a way to create value that keeps customers coming back for more and brining new customers to your community everyday. For me, I create value through all the extra free content I create on my blog, YouTube and through social media. I create value by responding to emails and giving people answers to the questions they bring me. Think about how you can create value for your audience, the type of value that gives people a sense of confidence that when they buy your products or engage your services they will get more than they expected!

Make it work

The final step I took to make a profit from my passion is something I continually do day in and day out, making it work! Every day I have to get the job done and solve problems that potentially threaten the existence of my business. I have to make plans, execute and then change them if they don’t work out. I have to keep my head in the game and find a path forward even when challenges block my path. The ability to make it work stems from a sense of responsibility and perseverance that when the going gets tough, I can’t back down or else I loose it all. That’s why this whole process must start with passion, because without true passion, you will give up before you ever get your idea off the ground!

So, let me turn the tables and ask you a question now! Do you have a passion that yo want to turn into a profit? If you do, I want to invite you to check out a Free Training video I have that will help you get your business idea started if you are ready to start taking the steps to make your passion a full-time or part-time income! Click here to sign up for my training and you will be emailed a link and study guide to get started ASAP!

xoxo,

My Productivity Playlist

Classical Favorites To Boost Your Productivity {My Productivity Playlist August 2016}

I cannot believe that for all the time that I have been creating productivity playlists for you, that I have not created a playlist of my favorite classical tunes. Well, this is the perfect month to share them because in case you missed my YouTube video from the other week, I am focusing on Fall prep this month and nothing helps me get down to work like classical music. It’s serious, stern and flips a mental switch in my brain that says GET TO WORK! Now, I know classical music isn’t everyones cup of tea, but I want to challenge you to expand your mind on this one and one day when you go to work, I want you to turn on this playlist and see if it doesn’t make you a little more productive and focused. I bet it does and you may even have a productivity breakthrough while listening, so give it a go.

I hope you enjoyed this months installment of my productivity playlist. If you gave this playlist a try and found it to be helpful as you worked, please let me know about it in the comments. And if you have your own classical music playlist that you rely on, please share it as well, because I think we can all use a little more focus at work!

xoxo,

Productivity

Time-Saving Work Day Hacks To Help You Work Smarter, Not Harder!

Are you ready to hack your workday to get more done in less time and truly work smarter, not harder? If my love and study of productivity and organization is meant for anything, it’s meant to help us (me, you, everyone we know!) learn the essential strategies that make our workdays easier. So today I have compiled a list of twelve of my favorite time-saving, stress-releasing, and productivity inducing workday hacks to help you become the master of your own workflow in the office!

1. Get properly dressed: Yep, first things first! If you aren’t wear the proper clothing for work you are going to be uncomfortable, uneasy and you’ll ultimately end up working slow and miserable counting down the hours until you can return home to step into your pajamas. Although you may work in a formal business environment that requires a certain dress code, unless you are wearing a uniform, you have some say over the cut and materials of the clothing you buy, and so many brands have popped up in recent years to give women more comfortable formal office wear options.

2. Diffuse essential oils: One of the first things I do when I step into my office for a workday is create a blend of essential oils for the workday. I wrote about my essential oil secret weapon a few weeks ago, so make sure to check out that post if you want some tips from me on oils to diffuse.

3. Listen to white noise or classical music: For most of us, working silently isn’t the most productive way to work. I personally love listening to classical music while I work or turn on a sound machine app that can create some subtle white noise so that I can focus better, especially when I am working on difficult or stressful tasks.

4. Theme your workdays: Ever since I began theming my work days I have been much more efficient. Essentially, I took all my major work tasks and grouped like items together to come up with themes for each day of the week and on those days I use the theme to guide my work. Although I may need to stray from time to time for urgent issues, theming my days has kept me more accountable and helps me streamline my work.

5. Batch like items together: This goes along with theming my workdays, but whether or not you theme your days, you should always batch process your work. Jumping from task to task has been scientifically proven to be a waste of time, so when you can spend a chunk of time doing the same task over and over, you save yourself time by working more efficiently.

6. Set a timer to complete annoying tasks: Whenever I am avoiding tasks, I find the best thing to do is to set a timer to get them done! Having the deadline of a timer helps me get past my mental blocks and just do the hard work. Give it a try next time you recognize that you are avoiding certain tasks.

7. Shut your door: Shutting your door is a simple way to tell yourself and others that you are busy working. Having an open door policy in the office is nice, but when people see an open door and want to waste some time at work, they head straight for it! Likewise, when your door is open, it encourages you more often to leave your office or allow passers by to distract you from your tasks. So keep the door shut and if you are working on a particularly difficult project or task, you might want to leave a Do Not Disturb note on your door to discourage visits.

8. Make a NOT To Do List: No matter if you work in an office for a big corporation or if you work in your bedroom on your own small business, tasks come across our desks and emails that we should not waste our time on and one of the hardest parts of managing your personal workload is understanding which tasks you should not be doing. I’m a people pleaser and when I get a task, any task, I take ownership of it and strive to complete it, but through the years I’ve learned that sometimes tasks come up and they are not worth your time, even if they are assigned to you. So, as you learn about these useless tasks, keep a list of them so you know not to do them in the future. If you work for yourself it will be easy for you to delegate them to an assistant or ignore them completely, but if you don’t you may need to have a slightly difficult conversation with your boss and let them know you aren’t completing the task and give them a reasonable and well thought out explanation why the tasks is a waste. A lot of time, especially in corporate culture, tasks get attention that are worthless and our superiors keep assigning the task because that’s the way it’s always been done. Be willing to stand up for change to save yourself and your company the time and energy.

9. Use an email autoresponder and only check email twice a day: For some, this hack is NOT an option, but for those whose work is not tied to checking emails for customer service or something similar, you should give this a try. Set up an auto response email that says something like “Thank you for your email. I generally reply to all emails within 24 hours but if this is an emergency please call me at XXX-XXX-XXXX”. What this simple auto responder does is sets an expectation to anyone emailing you that they will get a response but not immediately, while also creating a process for urgent issues so that you can turn off from your email and check it when you are ready without fear of missing something important.

10. Keep your cell phone off your desk: I am always distracted by my iPhone. Not just by messages but also by the fact that I can at any time pick it up and check Instagram if I want, and I unfortunately spend too much time during my day doing this without even thinking about it. So, when I keep my phone off my desk, either on a charger on another table or in my bag, I remove the distraction. Since I use a Mac, if I get a phone call while my phone is off my desk, I can actually screen and answer the call from my laptop without having to get up, but if you are worried that you may miss important calls, devices like the Ringly or Apple Watch notify you without having to keep your phone out.

11. Keep hydrated by drinking water at set intervals: Keeping hydrated through the day is very important for mental productivity, but if you keep a bottle out and sip on it all day, you’ll end up disrupting your workflow for bathroom breaks. So, to combat this, I try to drink my fluids in bulk at regular intervals so that I’m not running back and forth from the bathroom as I work.

12. Reward yourself with activity after each 2 hour block of work: As I work, not matter how productive I am being, I always get the urge to check social media, read a blog post or watch a YouTube video, however, I have started to discipline myself to only engage in these activities after I have completed a block of work. This helps me to create a reward system that entices me to work faster and complete more tasks throughout the day. And it’s much healthier for you than taking a snack or smoke break!

I hope you enjoyed these twelve workday hacks and if you give any of them a try I want to hear about it! Tag me on Instagram @MissTrenchcoat and use #CharmedGTD in your description so me and the rest of our community can follow along with your productivity journey!

xoxo,

Online Business

The 3 Platforms For Massive Brand Growth

The 3 Platforms For Massive Brand Growth

As a business consultant and social media guru, I am often asked by my readers and clients about the best social media platforms to join if you want to make a name for yourself online. In my signature online business program, Empire Building, I have an entire workbook dedicated to the platforms of online communication which is designed to help you choose the best platforms for your online brand and business. But the trends are clear, there are a few social media platforms that are really rising to the top right now and if you are looking for massive brand growth, it would be in your best interest to incorporate at least one of these platforms into your online presence. Now, this doesn’t mean that EVERYONE should use ALL THREE of these platforms because all three will not apply to every person and every business- hence the reason I have a dedicated workbook with information and activities to help you decide the platforms you need to optimize your online presence in Empire Building! However, these three platforms are very popular at the moment and trends show they are going to remain popular for quite some time, so they are a safe bet if they make sense for you and your brand!

YouTube

Although all video based platforms are on the rise at the moment, YouTube happens to be one of the fastest growing, most accessed platforms out there today and it’s growing so fast that within a few short years it is actually projected to become the #1 website online AND the #1 search engine, dethroning the mighty Google! With billions of searches being conducted each month and millions of users accessing the site daily, including a wide user base demographics, YouTube really is a place where you can find a following online quickly if you do the work! Although there have been users like me on the site for years building up their community and following, I still see everyday small accounts with great content rising to fame and fortune on the platform because hard work and good strategy really does pay off on YouTube more so than other platforms.

Instagram

Instagram is the youngest platform on this list, but it has been a brand power player for nearly as long as it has existed. Yes, this year Instagram announced some new updates that do make it a little harder to grow your following on the platform if you are a brand or business, however, it has opened up advertising as well, which could help with growth if you are willing to pay to play. Even the recent addition of Instagram stories, the Snapchat-like extension of the platform that gives users the ability to vlog and share content exclusively to their followers, is just another way to help brands stand out on the platform!

Facebook

Good old Facebook! Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Facebook is practically a social media dinosaur at this point, but it always seems to find a way to remain relevant and on top in the social sphere. You can’t deny that the user base of Facebook is out of control- everyone uses Facebook including children and grandparents and on a daily basis no less! Yes, Facebook often makes changes to their platform that end up making it harder for businesses and brands to stand out, only to increase the end user experience of course, and because of this Facebook is a place where you can find and build a community around your brand. I’d suggest skipping the Facebook Fan Page option for a Facebook Group which is really where it is at for developing community and brand loyalty, but having both is nice as well!

If you are someone who has been confused about which platforms to use for your brand or business online, I hope this information has been helpful to you and given you an idea of where to start! Like I mentioned before, not all of these platforms are going to be right for every brand or business, and if you want to pinpoint the right platforms for you, I highly suggest checking out my Empire Building Online Business Program, which helps you to not only learn all the major online platforms but also helps you to choose which are right for you and how to develop a thriving brand online with the right content and strategies! Let me know which platforms you use online and if you have any questions, I’d be glad to help so drop me a line in the comments below!