Procedures Archives - Focus Guru

How to get some balance back in your life

Wherever I go, everyone seems to be talking about a work/life balance. Some people say they want a work/life balance, or they wish they had a work/life balance. I’ve noticed these people tend to be the ones who are sometimes in a hurry, they are often late, and always rushed. You’ll hear them say they need more hours in the day, more days in the week, or simply that they have run out of time.

Always on the treadmill, they rarely stop to rest, relax and recover. There’s just no time! However, these are the same people who wish they had more time for family, friends and fun. They wish they had a work/life balance. Having personally met several people close to burnout from not taking the time to create a work/life balance, I am keen to help.

Is this you?

Would you like a work/life balance?

Or, would you like a better work/life balance?

There are always things which can be changed and refined at different stages of your life.

Work/Life balance isn’t always 50/50

For many people, the idea of a work/life balance equates to spending 50% of their time on work and 50% of their time on “other things”. They might want to spend more time with their family, or have time to meditate, to read, to go to the gym, or learn a new skill.

In reality, the balance is rarely 50/50. There will always be house chores, school runs, caring for family and many other non-work tasks which don’t automatically equal the fun time you want. Even though the tasks aren’t business-related or generating income, they still need doing and they take up your recreation time, the “life” part of the work/life balance.

Top Tips for creating balance

Look after yourself.

Your first priority must be to look after yourself. Get enough sleep. Drink plenty of water. Be mindful of your food choices. Make time for exercise. Your body will thank you and consequently your productivity will increase. You’ll get more done in less time.

Look after your finances.

One of the many stressful things in life is money. If you can spend time itemising and analysing your business income and outgoings, then it makes sense to do the same at home. Keeping track of how much things cost at home, everything from your TV licence, Internet, food shopping, presents, outings etc. and whether purchases are “wants” or “needs” will help you know how much you can spend on your personal life without it affecting your business.

Look after your time.

How many times has someone asked you for “just a minute” or said, “it won’t take long” and before you know it, fifteen minutes has passed, or an hour, or a day. Creating a ToDo list and assigning each task with a priority, an estimated time, and a tick or strikethrough when it’s complete is not only satisfying, it can help deflect “time thieves”, the people or technological distractions like Facebook or the TV that absorb your time without you realising.

There are many more tips for creating a work/life balance and it is easy to make long-lasting, effective changes to help you focus on the things you want to achieve. There is time to do everything you want, but it may mean re-prioritising activities, changing your schedule, dropping redundant tasks, asking for help, or delegating. There are many, many possibilities.

If you would like to chat about creating a work/life balance for yourself, an employee, or a family member, please book a discovery call via this link.

How creating systems and processes can simplify your business

Every business has various systems and processes in place. These are the tasks you do and the order in which they are done. Over time, you might review your systems and make refinements, tweaking your processes to cut out redundant steps, or adding layers to the system as your company grows.

You might have a system in place for taking orders with various processes to make sure the tasks are not just done, but they are done in the right sequence. Having a system for this means the tasks are carried out in the same sequence each time, using the processes which you create in advance.

Your order process might be to receive an order via email or telephone, then check items are in stock, then confirm the order to the customer, then take a payment, then dispatch the product and reorder the item if needed.

But each process can also be broken down into steps. Perhaps you have multiple sales staff with individual e-mailboxes to check for new orders. Perhaps checking if items are in stock involves someone driving to the warehouse or viewing a stock spreadsheet in the office. Perhaps payments are received in cash, which then needs to be taken to the bank by a certain time of the day.

From the customer’s point of view, they have placed an order with you, but in behind the scenes many steps may need to be taken to deliver what they have asked for.

I specialise in helping companies identify their processes, right down to the micro-steps and I help you get into the nitty-gritty detail of what happens, when, by whom and why. This is a process in itself and it often leads to uncovering timewasting activity, finding redundant steps, increases staff productivity and consequently helps you save time and money.

This is where spending a little time “working on your business”, rather than “working in your business”, really does help.

Having systems and processes in place means:

Work is carried out to a consistent standard.
If a member of staff is absent, another employee can carry out their tasks.
Training new staff or temporary workers is much easier.
You can measure performance and monitor changes.
Customers receive the same level of service every time they use your company.

Having an outside opinion can identify things which you take for granted, but in reality, they are things you no longer need to do. If you are waiting until 10am for a cheque to arrive in the post before making calls to chase clients for outstanding payments, you may find this is no longer required and you could skip this step and start chasing outstanding payments first thing. In fact, you might even choose to automate payment reminders by text or email, saving human hours on a recurring task.

Regularly reviewing your systems can highlight areas where you can make changes and identify better ways of doing things.

If you feel your business would benefit from a systems overhaul or a process review, please contact me by emailing rachael@rachaelchiverton.co.uk or by telephoning me on 07756 772950 and I will be happy to work with you to make sure your business is running at peak performance.

Top 5 Tips for Successful Networking

Would you like more leads? More enquiries? More sales? To find your next customer you might consider attending a business networking event (nothing to do with computer cabling), where business owners and decision makers get together to talk about products and services. Maybe we’ve already met at a 4Networking face-to-face or online meeting.

Also ask yourself, do people actually know what I do?

When running a business, it’s essential to be able to explain what you do as easily and quickly as possible. Being able to describe your business in 40 seconds in an interesting and engaging way is important, especially when meeting new people at 4Networking meetings.

When you’re in a room with 10, 20, 30, 40 or more people from local, national and International businesses, it can be difficult to stand out. It can be harder to stand out if you are in the same industry as someone else in the room. It’s not uncommon for two web designers to attend the same event, or two electricians, or two accountants.

My top 5 tips are:

Successful Networking – Tip 1 – Be You

It sounds simple doesn’t it? Be You. There’s no need to change who you are and those who do soon get found out. This means don’t over-egg or exaggerate but equally don’t undersell yourself or make light of your achievements. Brad Burton, founder of 4Networking, says: “Be you, because you can’t be anyone else.”

Successful Networking – Tip 2 – Everyone is Nervous

Yes, even that person centre stage talking confidently to anyone and everyone. They were nervous once. It takes practice to be confident at anything and networking is no different. Equally, look for those who seem nervous, speak with them, make them feel comfortable. They’ll thank you for it and could even become your next customer. Also make sure people know what you do. If you are unsure how to do this check out the blog I wrote called ” What Do People Think You Do And Are They Right?”

Successful Networking – Tip 3 – Prepare, Prepare, Prepare

I call this “Know What To Expect”. Anything you can find out in advance about the venue, parking, toilets, coffee station, whether you can bring a roller banner, offer samples or advertise an event is always helpful and these details can usually be obtained from the meeting organiser. Some meetings have a structured format, and you may need to prepare a 40 second introduction or elevator pitch. Arriving in plenty of time is a good way to avoid nerves and help you relax and enjoy the meeting. If you struggle with timings, check out this blog I wrote called, “Squirrel! Squirrel! Squirrel! How to Beat Your Distracting Squirrels”

Successful Networking – Tip 4 – Relax, Smile, Enjoy the Meeting

It’s often said that “People Buy From People They Like” and one of the best ways to be approachable is to be relaxed, smiling and welcoming. A friendly “hello” can make a big difference to someone who’s nervous or attending the meeting for the first time. When you’re relaxed it shows in your face and your voice. Take your time delivering your 40 seconds introduction, remember to breathe, speak slowly and clearly and take a sip of water before you start.

If you’re struggling pick up the phone to whoever invited you, explain you feel nervous and they should address you’re concerns. If even picking the phone up is out of your comfort zone, check out my blog “How you can easily overcome a lack confidence when speaking on the phone.”

Successful Networking – Tip 5 – Don’t Ignore the Follow Up Process

Whether you’re networking online or offline a key part of your networking process to gaining new customers is closing the sale. By this, I mean following up with your potential customer and asking for their business. Unless you’ve made a sale in the room, you’re going to need some sort of follow up process otherwise it can quickly get out of hand. If you attend 4N Online meetings you might meet 20 people in a meeting, perhaps 150 people in a week. How are you going to measure the success of the meeting? How will you know who to contact afterwards? Do you have an effective sales process, a CRM system, or is it all in your head and handwritten notes?

If the answer is “no” please contact me for your free 15 minute chat and find out more about which Focus Guru Power Hours would help your business.

Bonus Tip – Focus on One Thing

Try to focus on one piece of information you want people to remember about you and your business when you deliver your 40 second introduction. It can be hard if you have multiple businesses, have a “side hustle” or “wear many hats”. But, trust me, 40 seconds is just the start of your conversations with people in the room and there will be plenty of time later to let everyone know what you do and why they need your products and services.

I expand on these tips and much more in my Focus Guru Power Hours. For a free 15 minute chat about your business and any areas you’d like to discuss, book your call today.

New Year, New Start – What Are You Changing?

There’s something about the new calendar year that triggers a sudden flurry of activity. It doesn’t matter how hard you worked until the end of the previous year. You quickly forget how many sleepless nights you spent worrying about your work, family or health. As the clock strikes midnight on the 31^st of December it’s as though the slate is wiped clean and a new year brings a fresh new start.

The 1^st week of January is the perfect time to announce your “New Year, New Start”. By letting others know what you intend to do, you make yourself accountable to them and to yourself. Writing down your targets and the steps to reach them re-enforces your good intentions and makes your goals much more likely to happen.

So, my “New Year, New Start” question to you is:

What are you changing?

Is it something at work? Or at home? Do you want to expand your business? Or plan a holiday?

Everyone has a different goal, but many goals have similar skills you’ll need to achieve them. I can help you discover your hidden strengths and use proven strategies to motivate you to finish the variety of projects you’ve started.

I’ve changed and launched my power hours.

I do this through my Focus Guru Power Hours. These are sixty minutes of targeted business focussed knowledge, systems, processes and skills that will fit into any part of your day.

“Rachael’s understanding of my needs and concerns gave me the support I needed to overcome my blocks.” – Elissa Dobson

How does it work?

Your Focus Guru Power Hour begins with a straightforward, no nonsense conversation. You don’t need to prepare anything and there’s no need to take notes as I’ll send a report with action steps afterwards.

You can choose which Focus Guru Power Hour suits you best or combine Power Hours to sharpen multiple skills. For example, you might choose the Focus Guru “Outstanding Content” Power Hour alongside the “Hootsuite” and/or “Mailchimp” Power Hours.

Or if you’re struggling with overwork or overwhelm, the Focus Guru “Time Management” and “Overwhelm” Power Hours could be for you.

“Rachael has been amazing helping me set up mailing campaigns for my Sammy Rambles books and dragons! I feel confident I can send my own mailshots after my Focus Guru Power Hour.” – Jenny Leggott

The first step is to choose your Power Hours and you’ll see areas from social media, technology, general business and niche areas. Each Power Hour is 121 via Zoom and available for you or a member of your team to participate.

Focus Guru Power Hours:

Streamyard
Calend.ly
YouTube
Hootsuite
Mailchimp
Time Management
Procrastination
Overwhelm
New Business
Zoom
Outstanding Content
Follow Up
General Networking
Track Your Finances

Remember, you can combine Focus Guru Power Hours. Would you like to improve your Zoom or Streamyard knowledge? Maybe you’d like to combine this with a General Networking Power Hour or New Business Power Hour?

Focus Guru Power Hours will help you learn a new skill or enhance your existing knowledge in a variety of business sectors. To book your Focus Guru Power Hour, please arrange a free 15 minute call and let’s get started.

Unlock the Secret of Mailchimp Success in 5 Easy Steps with a Focus Guru Power Hour

Even with today’s variety of instant messaging systems, sending emails is still one of the best ways to keep in touch. You can send instructions, entertainment, information, product updates, special offers, vouchers and more, directly into your customer or prospective customer’s inbox.

Your customer doesn’t need to remember to visit your website or Facebook page to find out what’s happening and you don’t need to phone them. They can read your emails at their leisure at any time of the day or night.

Some of my clients use emails to generate new business and others use emails to send topical information. It’s possible to send your latest blog by email, or an extract encouraging people to visit your website to find out more.

Several clients have asked for my help setting up a mailing list and showing them how to make it work for them. I’d like to share some of the steps with you now and if you’d like a 121 training session via Zoom, please click this link and book your Focus Guru Power Hour.

“Rachael has been amazing helping me set up mailing campaigns for my Sammy Rambles books and dragons! She walked through all the steps from creating the account to importing contacts and sending a test email. I feel confident I can send my own mailshots after my Focus Guru Power Hour.” – Jenny Leggott, Transcend Zero

Step 1 – Creating Your Account

You may already have a Mailchimp account, but if you don’t then I will walk through the steps to create your own account where you can manage all of your mailshots and contacts. This takes just a few minutes and you’ll have your own dashboard set up to manage your campaigns. If preferred, I can manage a Mailchimp account on your behalf if you’d like to outsource this aspect of your online marketing.

Step 2 – Adding Contacts

If, like me, you’ve been to lots of 4Networking meetings you’ll probably have collected contact details for customers and prospective customers from all around the world. Hopefully you’ll have followed up with many of these new friends and contacts and, if you have their permission, they can be added to your “Mailchimp Audience”, either one address at a time or imported using a CSV file. This ensures you meet GDPR requirements. When adding addresses, I recommend setting up “tags” which can be used later in your campaigns send relevant mailshots to targeted groups of people.

Step 3 – Setting Up A Campaign

This is the exciting part! You’ve set up your account and imported your contacts. Next, it’s time to create an email to send to your chosen recipients (using the tags we set up earlier). There are two ways you can do this, either by sending a one-off email using “Create Email” or using “Campaigns”. If you’re anticipating sending regular emails, I recommend using Campaigns as this will save time in the future. In the Focus Guru Power Hour I’ll also make sure you’re confident creating engaging HTML or Text emails using the built-in design templates where you can add pictures and use different fonts, colours and text sizes.

Step 4 – Scheduling Mailings

Have you got an upcoming product launch? Or would you like to send a mailshot at a particular time on a particular day? You might want to send your mailshot at 3am so it can be opened during early business hours in America. There are many reasons why it makes sense to schedule a mailshot and Mailchimp has this facility. I call it “using your time twice” where you can make the best use of your time with multiple activities taking place at the same time.

Step 5 – Analysing Your Results

This is my favourite part where I show you the direct results of your mailshot. It’s where you can view the success (or limitations) of your campaign. Are you curious who has read your correspondence? Do you want to know if they clicked on an image or a link in your message? The real-time reports give you the information you need to measure the success of your mailshot. You can drill down to individual subscribers and follow their progress from opening the email to clicking a link to ordering a service or asking for more information.

“I was really impressed with Rachael’s knowledge of Mailchimp and how she helped make it easy to keep in touch with my customers. I’d definitely recommend the Focus Guru Power Hours to anyone who wants to learn more about Mailchimp and set up their own campaigns.” – Jenny Leggott, Transcend Zero

If you’d like to book a Focus Guru Power Hour to set up (or review) your Mailchimp mailing lists, please click this link to book now. I run 121 workshops via Zoom on a number of different business tools designed to free up your time to do the things you want to do, when you want to do them. Let’s get started! Book your Focus Guru Power Hour today!

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

www.getfocus.guru

You Don’t Always Know What You Know – How Your Skills Can Help Others

How many times have you watched someone do something and it’s like they’re performing magic? In a matter of minutes, they’ve effortlessly solved a problem that would have taken you hours or even days! Maybe someone has helped you with something you’d given up on, or fixed something you’d written off as a lost cause?

“How did you do that so quickly?”

Achievement list is more productive (picture of a Penguin because it’s cute!

I believe everyone is good at something and that we are all good at different things. Sometimes we don’t appreciate how often we know things that others don’t. Maybe we just take it for granted that we can install a complicated piece of software, re-tune the car radio, bake a delicious cake, write an blog, organise a sell-out seminar, do a Facebook live, or anything else you find easy but someone else would find impossibly difficult.

“Will you show me how to do that?”

When you’ve solved someone’s problem, taken away their pain-point, and given them the ability to get on with their task, take a step back and see whether you can show them how you did what you did. Have a look at the task from their perspective and see if you can explain it in a way they can easily understand.

“Can I do something to help you?”

Often our help is reciprocated, the law of “what goes around comes back around” kicks in. You’ll soon find sharing your knowledge and expertise pays back many times over. Helping others releases a “feel good factor”, we feel valued and appreciated, which plays a key part in our overall wellbeing.

On a personal level, it’s very satisfying implementing systems and processes to make life easier for people. I work with individuals and teams, streamlining procedures and making life run smoother both at home and in the office. Initially, this was based around helping friends locally, then I realised the potential to help people further afield and today I’m working with clients across the world.

“How can I do that?”

Turning your skills into a business service is easier than you might think. I recommend starting with a list of ten things you think you’re best at. Then ask a trusted friend or colleague to do the same. I can almost guarantee there will be differences between the two lists! Other people are great judges of your skills and the reason for this is simply because you will almost certainly be taking some of your skills for granted. Perhaps you think “everyone can do this” or “everyone should be able to do that”, but they can’t.

Already this month, I’ve helped my 4Networking teams create ways to find new visitors for our meetings. I’ve worked with my Arbonne consultants to promote our products and generate new sales. I’ve worked with clients on accountability, time management, motivation and goal setting. Plus, I’m excited to be offering Mail Chimp training, including software set-up and creating targeted customer lists.

“You don’t always know what you know.”

Remember, everyone is good at something and we are all good at different things. I’m offering a free 15 minute call to help identify your own key skills and strengths. You might be surprised what this uncovers. Once you know what you know I’ll help with strategies and suggestions how you can make the most of your unique abilities. Let’s chat! Please call me on 07756 772950 to get started.

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

www.getfocus.guru

Squirrel! Squirrel! Squirrel! How to Beat Your Distracting Squirrels

How many times have you started to do something and then something else grabs your attention and you forget all about the task you began? Then something else catches your eye and you stop and start something new. Then something else…

I call these “Squirrels”.

Squirrels are the activities which steal your time and energy away from ticking the items off your Achievement List. They’re subtly distracting you from your long term goals. It’s the “five minute phone call” that lasts an hour. It’s the “just a quick look” you promise someone. It could be receiving a Facebook notification saying you’ve been tagged in a photo, or a discount voucher email from your favourite shop. Anything that takes you away from what you wanted to get done.

Squirrels can take a minute, or an hour, or a day. While they undoubtably provide short term satisfaction and entertainment, let’s face it, squirrels are really cute, they can be a menace if you have a deadline to meet or a place you need to be.

Have you got a friend who’s always late when you arrange to meet up? Do you know someone who can’t stop checking their phone? Maybe you’re the person who seems to be here, there and everywhere? The reason could be squirrels!

This isn’t to be confused with being genuinely busy.

It’s perfectly possible to enjoy squirrels once you’ve achieved everything you wanted to get done. Sometimes what looks like a squirrel will become an important item on your Achievement List. But, things may not always go to plan. Things will crop up and take your attention. It could be a family emergency. It could be a client needs to rearrange a meeting. Things inevitably will happen outside our control.

This is where it’s essential to have the self-discipline to recognise what needs doing and what’s a squirrel. With great time management, accountability and outsourcing, it’s possible to achieve everything you want to do and still have time to have fun.

I’m a “Go To Person” who loves helping people improve time management and accountability skills. I work with individuals and teams, identifying your unique squirrels and creating innovative solutions to streamline your systems and processes. This might include suggestions for outsourcing or automating tasks which can be performed cheaper and quicker, leaving your time free to focus on what you need to do.

“Rachael is a FIREBALL! She understood my needs and got straight to the point. No messing about. Highly recommended!” Vernand Fong – Pain Free Ninja

With my Focus Guru services, I’ll guide you away from the distracting squirrels and help bring out the best in you and your employees.

It all starts with a free 15 minute no-obligation telephone call. What are you waiting for? Is there a squirrel attracting your attention? Please call me on 07756 772950 and I can help!

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

www.getfocus.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

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