Category: Process

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.

How to get balance in your life
How to get balance in your life

Top Tips for creating balance

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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.

Are You A Confident Networker?

Would you describe yourself as a “confident networker”? Are you someone who looks forward to going to networking meetings, or do they fill you with dread? Just like Sales or Marketing, Networking is a skill you can learn, refine and upgrade throughout your career. At Focus Guru, I work with business owners and employees, teaching key networking skills that make a real difference.

Be a confident networker online or off line
Be a confident networker online or off line

Most people have been to a face-to-face networking meeting at some point. Whether it was through choice or recommended by the boss, you might have found yourself attending a sitting down breakfast meeting or a “mix and mingle” walk around the room meeting. While sitting and standing networking have pros and cons the key networking skills remain the same.

In my Focus Guru Power Hours I cover the key networking skills in more detail, however these are my Top 5 Tips for building confidence when attending online or offline networking meetings.

5 tips to being a confident networker

Tip 1 – Know Your Product Inside Out

It might seem obvious but having detailed knowledge of your product or service is essential to ward off difficult questions or embarrassing pauses. If you are asked something unusual, a tip is to thank the person for their question, say you’ll need to research the answer, make a note so you remember after the meeting, and send them the answer at the next available opportunity. It can also help to have a handful of “set phrases” you can reel off to answer common questions.

Tip 2 – Stand Tall And Project Your Voice

If you’re sitting down, stand up when it’s time to deliver your 40 seconds introduction, and speak a little slower and a little louder. This makes sure you have everyone’s attention. It also helps those who are hard of hearing or lip reading. If there are other conversations going on, it ensures your message gets through. In online meetings, it pays to do a sound check on your microphone before the meeting starts and always remember to unmute yourself before you speak.

Tip 3 – Smile And Be The Positive Person

A genuine smile goes a long way in networking circles. Being known as a positive person goes even further. Life is tough and running a business can be even tougher, but if you can share a good news story, find something cheerful to say, make a compliment, or even deliver a “good morning” with a smile, you’ll find people are drawn to you. This forms the “Meet” and “Like” in the 4Networking mantra “Meet, Like, Know, Trust”, the foundation of friendships and business relationships.

Tip 4 – Involve Others, Even Your Competition

A confident networker isn’t scared of the competition. Even if you’re a travel agent and there are three other travel agents in the room, it’s not a problem. The confident networker sees the competition as an opportunity for collaboration, outsourcing surplus work and taking on new clients. You might want to mention another networker in your introduction, someone you’ve helped or who’s helped you. It shows you are a well-connected person, a “go-to” person, which again draws people towards you.

Tip 5 – Look For Your Target Customers

While you’re waiting to talk about your business, listen carefully to how the other networkers introduce themselves. Is there an opportunity lurking in their 40 seconds? I recommend making plenty of notes about who you’d like to speak with, either in the meeting or afterwards. If you sell books to children, who are the parents in the room? If you deep clean houses, who are the estate agents or landlords in the room? If you’re an accountant, how many people will need to submit tax returns this month? From working with clients in different industries over the years, I know this tip alone has brought in many new opportunities for them.

Bonus Tip – Follow Up

I cannot recommend following up enough. It’s the key to forging friendships and the foundation of business relationships. A simple email after the meeting, a text message or a phone call, is all it takes. If you would like help organising a structure to your follow-ups, installing a CRM system, or simply having an Accountability Partner to make sure you do your follow-ups, please contact me and I’d be happy to help.

I offer a free 15-minute chat to talk about what you want to achieve from networking with the opportunity to follow this up with a Focus Guru Power Hour tailored to your needs.

Book your Focus Guru Power Hour now and let’s get started.

Rachael Chiverton, Focus Guru – Giving You Your Time, Your Way with no Squirrels

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”.

Ban the Squirrels, take back control
Ban the Squirrels, take back control

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

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.

Achievement list is more productive
Achievement list is more productive

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

www.getfocus.guru

Merry Christmas And End Of The Year Reflections

Over the last twelve months I’ve covered many different topics through the Focus Guru and RachaelChiverton blogs. Some of the blogs have been written to address common questions I’m asked about business and contracts and others have been about mindset, creating habits and making the best use of time.

End of year reflection, what have you achieved
End of year reflection, what have you achieved

Here is a re-cap of everything I’ve covered, from my Communications and Cashflow Workshop with James Perryman, to the business skills we can learn from our pets.

I’ve had some lovely feedback from clients in different sectors who are gaining huge benefits from the improved time management and streamlined processes I have helped to implement.

If I can help you or your staff with any business related issue, please contact me either by emailing rachael@rachaelchiverton.co.uk or by telephoning 07756 772950. I offer a free 15 minute consultation and will work with you to make small changes that make a big difference.

January

February

March

April

May

June

August

September

October

November

December

Thank you for sharing this year with me. As 2019 draws to a close, I hope to continue working with you, developing new strategies, boosting your social media presence, creating new habits and being accountable with sticking to them, writing your contracts and enhancing your processes and productivity. Let’s make 2020 your best year yet!

Lessons from Formula 1 – How to spot warning signs of burnout and how you can help yourself and others.

It’s often the last person we expect who burns out and comes crashing down, their mental and physical health pushed to the limit and causing a breakdown in their personal or professional life. It can happen to anyone at any time. It could be your boss, co-worker, a supplier, best friend, son, daughter, partner, but what if it’s you?

There’s nothing wrong with being busy and juggling lots of tasks. As humans, we thrive on mental and physical activity. We perform our best when we are happy and fulfilled. We can take on a variety of different things at once, but if we don’t allow ourselves the capacity to rest, relax and recover, we can miss the warning signs of burnout and become detached, withdrawn and potentially seriously ill.

The good thing is if we can spot those signs early, in ourselves or other people, the better prepared we can be and the more positive steps we can take. Just as you would carry out a service and MOT on your car, it’s important to do the same for yourself.

If you think of your mind and body as a high-performance Formula 1 car, you’ll know choosing the right fuel is as important as choosing the right parts, the right tyres and the right people to have in your team. These are key ingredients to long term success, finishing the race and taking home the trophies and prizes.

Don't get burnt out before you've time out
Don’t get burnt out before you’ve time out

Top 3 Causes of Burnout

Just as in motor racing, our lives run on time, money and energy. If we’re low on any, or all of these we can suffer. Perhaps it will only be for a short term, but if the problems with time, money or energy are prolonged, they can compound, and become harder to solve as your resources are depleted and eventually run out.

Symptoms of Burnout

Going back to spotting the warning signs of burnout, do you feel more tired than usual? Are you sleeping well? Do you have frequent colds, or loss of appetite? Have you lost a lot of weight, or gained a lot of weight? Do you feel trapped, hopeless or helpless? Have you cancelled plans with friends, or lost interest in a favourite hobby? Do you dread answering the telephone, checking your email, or even going into the office?

On their own, these symptoms can be easily overlooked or dismissed as “not a problem” or “something to deal with later”, “I’ll be ok”, or “everyone goes through this”, but this isn’t true. Unlike a car, you won’t have a bulb light-up on your dash to say something needs fixing, however learning to spot the symptoms and warning signs is the first step to getting back on track.

Effects of Burnout

As well as your own mental and physical wellbeing, burnout can affect those around you, perhaps even without you realising. You may feel more cynical or critical than usual. You may be sarcastic, irritable or quick tempered, raising your voice, becoming angry or violent. Feeling detached and withdrawn is equally common. Cancelling plans. Arriving late, or not at all. General apathy towards yourself and others.

Even the simple act of closing your office door or screening yourself from co-workers with paperwork or desk debris, can be the beginning of cutting yourself off from others, including those who haven’t already given up asking you to join their activities.

Tips To Avoid Burning Out

Keeping track of your time, money and energy are three effective ways to look after yourself and can greatly reduce the time you are “off the road” or out of action. Just as in Formula 1, always check the warning signs on your dash, take the time for regular pit stops, and make time for repairs earlier rather than later. Find the best people to be on your team, those who will have your back and those who want you to succeed.

These are things I help my clients with every day. Working with you on an individual basis I can help analyse your time and tasks and make recommendations for software and processes to give you more time, more money and more energy to be in pole position for success.

If you’d like to find out how this works, please book a 15-minute exploration call with me and I’ll get you to the front of the grid.

“Perfection has to do with the end product, but excellence has to do with the process.”

“Perfection has to do with the end product, but excellence has to do with the process.”

(Jerry Moran, American politician, 1954 – )

“Perfection has to do with the end product, but excellence has to do with the process.”
“Perfection has to do with the end product, but excellence has to do with the process.”

Is your process delivering excellence?

Does your end product deliver perfection?

I specialise in processes and procedures. I learn about your business then research the most appropriate systems and help you implement them so you achieve excellence in what you deliver.

Book your call with me today.