June 2020 - Focus Guru

How A Time Intensity Grid Will Help You Choose What To Outsource

Are you feeling overwhelmed at the moment? Do you wish there were more hours in the day?

Don’t worry, you’re not alone. The last few months of lockdown have been hard for many people for many different reasons. It’s also been a good time to stop and take stock of what works in your life and what can be changed or dropped altogether.

One of the tools I use is a Time Intensity Grid. It’s less complicated than it sounds, and it simply means I divide items on my Achievement List into sub-categories, based on how much time or energy I estimate they will take. I can show you how to do the same and in just a few minutes you will see exactly where your time and energy is going.

Know the Source

Knowing the source of what’s making you feel overwhelmed is part of the solution. It’s a lot easier to solve a problem when you know what the problem is. Identifying your “brain drains” and “time thieves” is the first step. It will make you think and re-evaluate whether the task is important or necessary. But it may also prompt you to think whether the task is best achieved by someone else on your behalf. How much time could you save by outsourcing a troublesome task?

A client recently said to me how stressful they were finding it to choose a new car. They admitted spending hours on car websites, looking at manufacturers, models, specs, interior and exterior trims and features, safety features, fuel economy and much more. They had spun themselves into such a muddle that the idea of buying a new family car, which should be an exciting achievement, into a spiral of stress. Guess what, they were still driving their old car two weeks later.

This made me think about how much energy we use thinking through problems. Things we find incredibly time consuming, difficult, and stressful, other people consider a breeze. I phoned my client and recommended outsourcing the search for their new car. They created a brief list of the features they wanted and their budget. Suddenly, the list of thousands became a shortlist of a handful cars available on the market. A couple of test drives later and they have their new car. A great result!

Outsourcing Works

The simple step of outsourcing this task saved time, effort, energy and potentially a couple of family arguments. Outsourcing can be applied to almost anything. If you stop and think about the tasks you dawdle over, the things you procrastinate and put off, the “tomorrow tasks”, you’ll know the ones you need to look at.

When chatting with clients about outsourcing, some of the most popular tasks to delegate are:

Finding sales leads and booking appointments
Sending quotes and answering common enquiries
Invoicing, sending statements and debt collection
Filing and putting receipts into the accounts

By outsourcing these tasks to a Virtual Assistant (VA), the cost of hiring someone for a few hours per day, week, or month, can suddenly free up your time and brain to focus on what you do best. I can help with all these tasks and more. Please call me and we can chat about saving you time and stress by delegating tasks like these.

At home, some of the popular tasks my clients said they wish they could outsource were tidying up, cooking healthy meals, washing clothes, cutting the grass, buying birthday presents and checking utility prices for the best packages.

The good news is that all these tasks can be outsourced as well. It might feel strange at first letting someone else come into your home, cook your meals, or make changes to your filing system. But by changing small things now, you’ll find you have more time to spend with your family and friends and more time to expand your business.

What works for you might be different to what works for someone else and that’s why the best way to start is with a Time Intensity Grid. Please contact me and I’ll help create your Time Intensity Grid and show you how to put it into practice. You’ll be surprised how much time, energy, and money it will create for you and your family.

Rachael Chiverton, Focus Guru – Giving You Your Time, Your Way

www.getfocus.guru | 07756 772950

Top 5 Tips To Achieve More From Your Zoom Meetings

Since the beginning of lockdown many of us are using virtual meetings to keep our businesses running. We’re hosting meetings with clients, suppliers, colleagues, friends, and family. We’re attending conferences and networking online with other business owners and decision makers.

Zoom meetings have opened up a whole new way to connect and interact. We can chat with people in the next room, the next town, across the country and the other side of the world. For some people it’s the new normal. They enjoy the possibilities of networking without geographic boundaries, without hours of travel and without additional expenses such as fuel, restaurant food and hotel accommodation.

Zoom meetings have no geographical barriers

For other people, it can be a bit daunting. It can be scary to download and learn a new app. It can be unsettling to see colleagues in their homes and out of the office environment. Equally, it can be nerve-wracking to turn on your webcam for the first time. Are you embarrassed about the clutter on your bookcases, or your lockdown hair roots showing? Are you worried about having a sip of coffee, scratching an itch, or looking bored? You may feel like you’re on show but really it’s no different from when you were in face to face boardroom and networking meetings.

I’ve compiled these top 5 tips to help reduce any worries or fears you might have about online networking. I attend dozens of meetings each week and I’ve seen the good, the bad, the funny, the serious and everything in between!

Tip 1 – Check How You Look

It might seem obvious but use Zoom’s preview window to check how you look before you join a meeting. It only takes a second and you can check for spinach between your teeth or if you need to move into or out of the light. For best results, face a window rather than having the light behind you as this can cause your face to be in the shadow. Think of it like checking yourself in the mirror before leaving the house.

Tip 2 – Arrive Early

Many of the 4Networking meetings open 10 minutes early. This is so the host can check everything’s working and so they can greet people as they join the meeting. As an attendee, you can treat this as an extra networking opportunity. You’re getting an extra 10 minutes of free networking time. Lots of people use this time to say hello to people they already know, to give testimonials and recommendations, or simply just to observe and settle into the meeting.

Tip 3 – Use The Group Chat Feature

When arriving in a Zoom meeting remember to introduce yourself. This could be with a smile, a wave or saying hello. It will let the host and other attendees know you’ve arrived and, if appropriate, you can also advertise your business in the group chat with a short description and contact details. At the end of 4Networking Zoom meetings everyone is encouraged to save the chat. This means your contact details will be seen again by the attendees. You could consider putting a free download link or details of a special offer in the chat to encourage follow ups.

Tip 4 – Enjoy The Meeting

Being in a Zoom meeting is a great way to connect with people from all around the world. There are brand new 4Networking meetings connecting people from the UK with business owners in America and Australia, and many new groups emerging in the near future. Remember, while the meeting is taking place if you need to make a call, get a drink or take a toilet break, you can always switch your webcam off temporarily while you leave the room. If you’ve set a custom background this can continue to advertise your business until you return.

Tip 5 – Always Follow Up

Just as I advised to write your own details in the Group Chat feature, I strongly encourage you to read through the chat and connect with people after the meeting has finished. This works equally well after virtual meetings as it does after face to face meetings. It can be as simple as “great to meet you today” to “would you like to meet for coffee”.

Bonus Tip – Every big opportunity starts with a little conversation.

You never know who knows who or who will recommend you further down the line. Ask questions in your 121s. Be interested in the other attendees. Remember the golden rule, “Meet, Like, Know, Trust” and enjoy your Zoom meetings.

Rachael Chiverton, Focus Guru – Giving You Your Time, Your Way

www.getfocus.guru | 07756 772950

Are You Experiencing Overwhelm In Your Life Or Business Right Now?

Overwhelm doesn’t usually happen overnight. It can creep up on you over days, weeks, months or even years. It comes in tiny layers of stress, building in your mind and showing itself sometimes in physical form. That stiff neck and shoulders you’ve had all week. A recurring headache. General lethargy and loss of interest in your favourite hobbies.

Left untreated, overwhelm can lead to more serious physical and mental conditions. So, if you see signs of overwhelm in yourself or in your family, friends, colleagues or customers, then you may have an opportunity to act, intervene, assist or remove the cause of the stress and overwhelm.

It's easy to stop overwhelm — It’s easy to stop overwhelm

Remember, it’s ok not to be ok.

Everyone has different tolerance levels. What seems easy to you may be difficult for someone else. While you learn how to do something new quickly, it might take someone else lots of practice. This can vary from social skills to practical tasks. It might be daunting attending a networking meeting, or filing your tax return, or driving on a motorway.

Everyone is different and we are all good at different tasks too. Overwhelm can cause us to doubt ourselves. A task you could do with your eyes closed suddenly seems complicated, you’ve forgotten the steps, or the directions, or the system or process. This can cause anxiety, stress, and panic.

Symptoms of overwhelm can include an increased temperature, sweating, quicker heartrate, shaking, irritability and insomnia. One of the key symptoms is our susceptibility to distractions (otherwise known as “Squirrels”). You might call it procrastinating, deferring, postponing, or messing around, but these are all side-effects of overwhelm.

There’s often a logical reason behind why you haven’t jumped at sending that email, or made that phone call, completed that purchase or done the next task on your achievement list.

I recognise my overwhelm when I am scrolling aimlessly through Facebook or find myself watching daytime TV. If I was mentally ready to do the tasks on my achievement list I wouldn’t stop for half an hour to scroll through what my friends had for dinner or where they’re going on holiday after lockdown. Online quizzes and polls wouldn’t catch my eye and I wouldn’t look at the clock and wonder where the last hour had gone.

Make time for yourself.

If you need to watch an hour of TV to unwind and relax, that’s ok. If you want to have a blitz of news from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok and Instagram, that’s ok too. It’s when your list of important tasks gets set aside that you might feel overwhelm creeping up on you.

Perhaps you had a deadline to meet and now there isn’t time to get that report in for your boss. They won’t be happy and you can imagine their reaction when you have to tell them. This adds a layer of stress. Or maybe you had a client appointment to prepare for and now you’re winging it. You may be thinking you could have done better or worrying about what the client thinks of you and this could cause a layer of stress.

Tips to avoid overwhelm.

Allow plenty of time to achieve tasks on your list. Can you ask for more time if needed? The idea is to remove the layer of stress brought on by unreasonable deadlines and unexpected delays.

Keep an eye out for symptoms. Are you feeling rushed? Any physical signs? Do you need more skills or training? Could this task be delegated to someone else? Is there anyone you know who seems stressed, angry, tired, or tearful? These are common signs of overwhelm.

Look after your body as well as your mind. Simple suggestions include homecooked meals, drinking more water, having a good night of sleep. Making the time for seeing friends, exercising, and learning new skills is as important as meeting that deadline.

I know how overwhelm can cause short term and long term problems and I work with people from all over the country to help them recognise their symptoms of overwhelm. I can help put steps into place to reduce overwhelm in your business and personal life. If you’re juggling too much something will give.

Don’t let overwhelm run your life. If you find you’re bouncing from one task to another with no time to rest or relax please get in touch with me. I will help identify where you can carry on with what you’re doing and where it makes sense to outsource or delegate tasks. No task is too big or too small and if you feel overwhelmed, please give me a call.

Rachael Chiverton, Focus Guru – Giving You Your Time, Your Way

www.getfocus.guru | 07756 772950

Why Your To Do List Isn’t Getting Done

For many of us, having a To Do List is our way of remembering what we need to do and crossing items off the list once they have been achieved. Your list might be the top three things you want to achieve this morning, or it might be a list of everything you want to do today.

When working with clients, I’ve seen To Do Lists which include items that can’t possibly be achieved in a day. Sometimes people show me their To Do Lists spanning weeks or months with a bottomless pit of items.

There comes a point where a To Do List becomes more of an Ideas List, a brainstorm of items you’d like to get done, maybe, sometime, one day. You might have a list like this that never seems to get done.

Scrap Your To Do List

My advice is to bin your To Do List, that’s right, to scrap it completely, and start again. But, this time, I’d like you to create an Achievement List with all the things you’d like to get done. The simple act of changing the name of your list from “To Do” to “Achievements” mentally reinforces the good feeling you get when a task is done.

Then I’d like you to look at all the items on your Achievement List and group activities where possible. You may need to rewrite your Achievement List a few times to put things in groups to start with, but this becomes easier over time.

For example, I like to make phone calls on my walks with Missy. We have about an hours walk twice a day and this enables me to use my time twice. I still take in the scenery and fresh air and get to play with Missy, but I’m also crossing off items on my Achievement List at the same time.

Another example would be to post letters on the way to the supermarket. Both tasks need doing and if I combine them into one journey it becomes an efficient use of my time and my petrol.

Order Your Achievements

I also try to prioritise items on my Achievement List. To do this, I use a Time Intensity Grid and allocate a value to each task, whether it is a high or low intensity task using lots of energy, strength or brain power, or a high or low time task using minutes, hours or days of my time. It can help to annotate each task with HIHT, HILT, LIHT or LILT so you can prepare yourself for how long or how intense each task will be.

For example, my trip to the supermarket and posting my letters would count as a LIHT task, because although it’s easy, it takes time, especially at the moment where there are sometimes long queues to go into the supermarket.

Add Times For Your Achievements

If you have a lot of tasks on your Achievement List it can be helpful to divide your day into blocks of 15 minutes and allocate blocks of time to each task. For example, my walk with Missy takes about an hour, so that’s 4 x 15 minutes blocks of time.

I can add to this by allocating a time of day to this task, for example Missy likes a morning walk, so I can allocate 9am to 10am for our first walk. To use my time twice, I will often pre-prepare some phone calls to make during this hour as well.

Our second walk usually takes place just before an evening meal and we often meet friends on this walk to share our day and catch up on news, socially distancing of course.

Try This For Yourself

At the beginning, I encouraged you to bin your To Do List and change it into an Achievement List. I’m pleased to say my advice and tips have worked for many friends and clients over the years. I recently gave a 4Sight at a 4Networking business networking meeting talking about Achievement Lists and Using Your Time Twice.

The 4Sight was very well received and I had a 121 with one of the attendees who commented, “If nothing else, that bit (about Achievement Lists) has made this 121 worthwhile”. So, I encourage you to try this for yourself and turn your To Do tasks into Achievements.

Rachael Chiverton, Focus Guru – Giving You Your Time, Your Way