So Much To Do…So Little Time

I’ve got good news and bad news for you. The good news is that we live in a world with endless possibilities and opportunities. The bad news is that all of these possibilities and opportunities can get overwhelming and you may find yourself not accomplishing anything.

Often as I speak with my clients or (to be completely transparent here) even as I look at my own desk, I get the sensation of drowning in a pool of options and to-do’s.

Different people have different reactions to all of the options. Some people end up freezing and doing nothing, while other people may jump from one thing to another in an effort to get everything done. The end result is the same…at the end of the day you wonder where the day has gone and marvel at how little you’ve accomplished and how much more there is to do.

Since there are so many things that my clients and I either want to do or feel that we “should” do, we sometimes create one of those “brain dump” lists to get everything out of our brains and into one spot. I wish I could simply wave a wand and accomplish everything on my “brain dump” list but I can’t because the reality is that we only have 24 hours a day.

Maybe it would be different if the list was stagnant but it isn’t. Somehow the universal law of to-do lists seems to be to always add more than you can possibly cross off. If you try to do everything all you’ll manage to do is engage in a race against the clock that you will never win and you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, frustrated and in the end, unproductive.

When I see this happening either for myself or my clients it means it’s time to Read more

Are Diamonds a Girl’s Best Friend

I bet you’ve heard the saying “a diamond’s a girl’s best friend,” well I’m not so sure it’s true. Read these two examples and tell me what you think…

About five years ago I received a wonderful present from my mother-in-law. She gave me a pair of 18 karat gold earrings that she had inherited. What’s more is that the earrings were covered with 44 smallish but nearly perfect diamonds. It told you it was a wonderful present!

But there was a problem… Read more

5-Keys to Successful Goal Setting

Wouldn’t it be great if we could do it all? Imagine never having to think about having the time or resources necessary to do a project because you had all the time and resources in the world. Wishful thinking huh?

The truth is that you don’t have infinite access to time or resources. There are things that you might like to do that will be left undone. In order to make sure that what you value the most gets done it’s important not only to set clear goals but to strategically pick the goals that you want to accomplish and create a plan to accomplish them.

To do this, when I work with my private clients one of the exercises we often do is a brain dump. First we create a list with every goal my client can think of, and then we apply the following 5-CarrieThru Keys to Creating Goals to them in order to make sure that we pick the most important goals and make them happen.

Give it a try.

Key 1: As you create your list of goals include the reason you want to accomplish each one. The clearer you are on why you want to do it the better you’ll be able to specify exactly what your goal is.
Read more

Good News/Bad news…it’ll never be perfect but it can be done!

I decided to write an article about getting things done and not worrying about perfection and found myself in need of my own advice…

I like to think that I subscribe to the idea that “good enough” is good enough. Sure it’s important to do a good job and make sure there are no major mistakes or omissions but for the most part get it done and get it out.

The topic of “done is better than perfect” came up during one of my 3C’s boot camp group calls. It really hit a nerve for a lot of the participants so I decided to write an article about it. I wrote two paragraphs and said to myself, “Never mind, I’m not feeling inspired and am not happy with this.” I proceeded to close the document I was working in without saving my work.

Almost immediately I realized how hypocritical I was being…

The message I suddenly heard was…Stop waiting for the perfect mix of inspiration, time and energy. Because when you wait for perfection whatever you are working on will never get done. DUH!

So, if done is better than perfect why not send out an imperfect article? Here it goes…

The quest for perfection will freeze you. Read more

Are you an information hoarder?

Have you seen the show Hoarders, Buried Alive? Many people are entranced by it. It’s reminds me of when you drive down the road and pass an accident… it’s hard to turn away. I’ve heard people say that they are amazed at how “those people” live. Can’t “they” understand the difference between what’s junk and what’s not? How can “they” save all that stuff? What were “they” thinking as they accumulated all of it? Did “they” really think they would use it? How can “they” live that way? Don’t “they” know when enough’s enough?

It’s easy to see how things can physically block your path and get in your way but it’s not just about physical things. Information can do that too.

This may be dating me but, I remember when getting information about a topic was difficult. If you wanted to learn about a topic you’d have to spend hours in a library, use card catalogs, read books and ultimately consolidate all the information.

Times have changed. For the most part information is easily accessible. When something interests us we just “google it” and like magic, information appears. Then, instead of selectively reading the information that appeared, if anything is of even the remotest of interest you read it or simply hit print.

Here’s what you end up with… Read more

Want to Streamline Your Business? Target Will Show You How…

I went for a walk the other day and saw a squirrel gathering acorns for the upcoming winter. I was thinking about how much easier his life would be if only he could go to Target for all of his acorn needs.

I pictured the sale Target would have in order to attract the squirrels and imagined what would happen.

All of the little gray squirrels would show up in droves and rush around Target. They would each be pushing big red shopping carts overflowing with acorns. The squirrels would shop until the shelves were empty and they had filled every available nook and cranny in their trees.

During the winter there would be more than enough acorns so hunger was never an issue but it came at a price - squirrel homes became so full that the squirrels could no longer stretch out comfortably in their tree homes.

When spring came there were still a lot of acorns left in the trees but there is so much fresh food available – yes, Target made sure of that - that the squirrel leaves their tree and stocks up on fresh food. They decide to keep last year’s acorns…they’re still good, there is no reason to get rid of them…right? And the cycle begins. Read more

How to Get Yourself Focused and Moving

Here are ten strategies to use for those times when you find yourself staring at your to-do list but can’t seem to get going on anything.

1. Break up the project into mini-tasks and do just one tiny piece of the project.
2. Since starting is often the hardest part, agree with yourself to work on a project for JUST 5 minutes. At the end of five minutes assess your experience. Was it as bad as you thought it would be? Would it be okay if you worked for another 5 minutes?
3. Ask for help. Sometimes just having someone in the room with you will help keep you grounded and motivated.
4. Identify the time of day when your concentration tends to be weaker or drift and do things that require less concentration and effort at that time. On the flip side, identify the times of day when your concentration tends to be stronger and it is easier for you to stay on task. Plan to do things that tend to be more difficult for you to do at that time.
5. Set realistic goals…don’t try to do everything at once.
6. Write down the exact steps of what you plan to do. Then post your plan so you can see it and refer to it as you move through your day.
7. To keep you motivated as you progress, think about why you really want to get this project done. What’s in it for you? What’s in it for your clients? What’s in it for your friends and family?
8. Ask yourself, what is the single most important thing for me to do right now?
9. Recognize the things that typically distract you like your cell phone, computer, other people, the TV, email or noise and avoid them (or better yet shut them) when doing things that require your concentration.
10. Be accountable to someone by telling them your plan and asking them to check in on you as you proceed.

Do you have any other tricks you use?  Share them with me right here in the comments section!

Making Your To-Do List Work For You

Often to-do lists end up becoming “one of these days I hope to get around to this” lists.  When this happens, the list become useless and worse, it makes you feel guilty and it can hold you back from taking action.  You know there’s no way you’ll ever get through your list so why even bother.  It’s ok to have a “one of these days” list but the list you look at regularly needs to include things that you are really going to act on.

Here are 10 questions to ask yourself BEFORE you put something new on your to-do list and if you’ve already got a to-do list that’s a mile long you can use these questions to help you lighten your load. Read more

Do you Constantly Race Against the Clock?

I’ve got good news and bad news for you.  The good news is that we live in a world with endless possibilities and opportunities.  The bad news is that all of these possibilities and opportunities can get overwhelming and you may find yourself not accomplishing anything.

Often as I speak with my clients or (to be completely transparent here) even as I look at my own desk, I get the sensation of drowning in a pool of options and to-do’s.

Different people have different reactions to all of the options.  Some people end up freezing and doing nothing, while other people may jump from one thing to another in an effort to get everything done.  The end result is the same…at the end of the day you wonder where the day has gone and marvel at how little you’ve accomplished and how much more there is to do.

Since there are so many things that my clients and I either want to do or feel that we “should” do, we sometimes create one of those “brain dump” lists in an effort to get everything out of our brains and into one spot.  I wish I could simply wave a wand and accomplish everything on my “brain dump” list but I can’t because the reality is that we only have 24-hours a day.

Maybe it would be different if the list was stagnant but it isn’t. Somehow the universal law of to-do lists seems to be to always add more than you can possibly cross off.  If you try to do everything all you’ll manage to do is engage in a race against the clock that you will never win and you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, frustrated and in the end, unproductive.

When I see this happening either for myself or my clients it means it’s time to Read more

3 New Coaching Spots Now Open…Video

I sent out an email last week about some openings in my coaching program.  As I spoke with people about the program I kept getting the same questions so here’s a short video that answers them.

It’s just 3 minute long…enjoy!

To apply for the CarrieThru Coaching Program geared specifically for entrepreneurs send an email to Carrie @ CarrieThru.com.  Let me know what’s going on in your business to day and where you want it to be.  Make sure to include your phone number and email address so that we can talk and make sure this program is a good fit for you.

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