The Accountability Minute:Business Acceleration|Productivity

Today we are talking about Productivity Strategy #3 to Stick with Your Calendar Time Blocks, which is to Enable Smooth Transitions.   Imagine finishing a marathon and then immediately playing a local soccer game with your buddies. That’s a horrible transition. Your body will ache and walking alone will be a challenge. When stuffing activities in your time blocks, consider how you will transition f...

Today we are talking about Productivity Strategy #2 to Stick with Your Calendar Time Blocks, which is to Put Each Task in Your Calendar.   If you want to get something done, put time in your calendar, so you have the highest probability to get it done. When you include time blocks in your calendar, you can schedule your time blocks around activities throughout the day. If you don’t schedule time b...

Today we are talking about Productivity Strategy #1 to Stick with Your Calendar Time Blocks, which is to Create Templates for Your Tasks.   Let’s say one of your tasks is writing proposals to potential clients. For the inexperienced professional, a proposal may appear daunting. Experienced professionals will breeze through writing a proposal, but not because they’re better than inexperienced profe...

Creating calendar time blocks is one of the best productivity strategies. Laying out your activities on a calendar helps you get more done in less time. However, many business professionals struggle to stick with their time blocks as energy diminishes during the day and surprises come up.   Your ability to get more done in less time impacts how many prospects you can contact each week and how many...

Today we are talking about Tip #8 of the 8 tips for hacking your way to greatness, which is to Embrace Making Mistakes.   As cliché as it sounds, making mistakes is a part of life. But what can be debilitating is letting a fear of making mistakes limit your ability to grow. Instead of fearing mistakes, embrace them ! When you fear mistakes, it makes you unable and unwilling to try new things. Inst...

Today we are talking about Tip #7 for hacking your way to greatness, which is to Keep a Notepad By Your Bed.   You never know when a great idea is going to hit you. The most practical tip of this list is to keep a notepad by your bed, or just near you at all times. Maybe it’s easier for you to track ideas on your phone, though that could undermine tip #3 if your phone just serves to distract you f...

Today we are talking about Tip #6 for hacking your way to greatness, which is to Surround Yourself with People Who Inspire You.   When you surround yourself with people who inspire you, you create an atmosphere for growth. A successful mindset is contagious, and you will learn more from people who have strengths to complement your weaknesses.   Running a business can be isolating at times, which i...

Today we are talking about Tip #5 for hacking your way to greatness, which is to Block Off Time in Your Calendar.   It can be hard to hop from one task to another, or deal with multiple people asking you questions. Take control of your own schedule and block off time for the various tasks you need to do. That way, you can streamline your workflow and free up mental bandwidth to deal with whatever’...

Today we are talking about Tip #4 for hacking your way to greatness, which is to Never Stop Learning.   The true secret to greatness is not being someone who knows everything, but being someone who is curious about everything. When you acknowledge what you don’t know and ask questions to learn more, you have the potential to increase your knowledge exponentially.   Being open to learning helps you...

Today we are talking about Tip #3 for hacking your way to greatness, which is to Turn Off as Many Notifications as You Can.   Phones can be the primary way in which you do your work, but they can also be incredibly distracting. Turning off notifications to the apps that you don’t need to be looking at can help you focus and be more productive.   Even if you use social media for your business, bloc...

Today we are talking about Tip #2 for hacking your way to greatness, which is to Take Care of Yourself.   Greatness can’t be achieved when your body and your mental health aren’t performing optimally. The idea of hustling 24/7 and wearing burnout as a badge of honor is outdated. In order to succeed, you need to take care of your body.   That might mean incorporating a consistent workout routine in...

Today we are talking about Tip #1 for hacking your way to greatness, which is to Prioritize Taking Accountability.   As a business owner, you’re responsible not only for your own outcomes, but the outcomes of the people you hire. A great leader has insight into the day-to-day operations of their business and has the ability to empower their team as well as step in when needed. Additionally, you ca...

Rarely is anything an overnight success. It can take years of hard work before it pays off, and that can be a hard truth to accept. But there are tips and tricks, or habits really, that you can implement into your daily life to pave the way to a successful future for you and your business.   These 8 tips that we will explore over the next 8 days are a mix of productivity hacks as well as personal...

Have you ever wondered: Why Can’t I Make Choices? A research team from Berkeley University in California identified 4 personality types who avoid decision making. Do you fall into one of these categories?   1. Perfectionists : are people who avoid making choices altogether rather than risk making a mistake.   2. Non-compromisers : are people who want it all and feel compromised if they have to giv...

Quit Talking the Talk - and Start Walking the Walk.   Talking about taking action and actually taking action is not the same thing. You have to get busy if you want to get to where you want to be. The sooner you get walking, the sooner you'll get there. If you want to achieve your goals within the timeframe you desire, quit wasting time and procrastinating. Start today by just doing what you...

Life is meant to be lived - not passed by.  So how do you overcome the anxiety of trying something new?  You simply ask yourself if the feelings of anxiety are rational.  This isn’t to say that you won’t face situations which present real dangers, but what if some or all of your anxiety was based on false assumptions imagined by your mind - would you be more inclined to try something new?  What if...

Your comfort zone is nothing more than an imaginary “safe zone.”   This “safe zone” is nothing more than an imaginary area in which the mind has predetermined strategies to deal with circumstances that occur within those boundaries.  In other words, your mind craves a controlled environment where it has a pre-determined set of actions to deal with a certain set of situations.     When it has past...

Today we are talking about Question 4 of the 4 questions to help you determine if you are an effective team leader is: Do your actions build team loyalty?  An effective leader doesn’t earn loyalty by instilling fear.  An effective leader knows how to positively gain trust, loyalty and dedication of the entire team.  Your team will only back you up when you back them up.  This is where it has to be...

Today we are talking about Question 3 to help you determine if you are an effective team leader is: Are you an approachable leader?   One of the most valuable traits of an effective team leader is that they’re willing to teach.  Some team leaders will scold employees and expect them to learn new concepts at the blink of an eye - and this is a perfect example of the actions of an ineffective team l...

Today we are talking about Question 2 to help you determine if you are an effective team leader is: Are you compassionate and patient, yet firm?   In order to understand how to be an effective leader, you must be compassionate to the human condition.  Effective leaders are understanding and patient; yet do not allow themselves or their team to compromise on the very things that make a business suc...

Understandably, most businesses are focused on nurturing the relationships with their clients, but running a successful business is also dependent on effective management and leadership skills.  If your employees aren’t functioning to the best of their abilities, your business won’t be either.  So, ask yourself, 4 questions to determine if you are an effective team leader?  Question #1 of the 4 qu...

Today we are talking about Self- Sabotaging habit #4 of the 4 habits that keeps business owners from the revenue they want is Failure to Follow-Up. Failure to follow-up is one of the top self-sabotaging habits in business. Sometimes the only thing separating you from a new or repeat client is the follow-up . A simple email or phone call could boost business revenue with little effort. Essentially,...

Today we are talking about Self -Sabotaging habit #3 that keeps business owners from the revenue they want is Lacking Intimate Knowledge of Your Business. In this case, ignorance is not bliss. In order to create a successful, profitable business, you must have intimate knowledge of your business (including where the majority of your revenue originates or could originate). If you don’t - you’re goi...

Today we are talking about Self -Sabotaging habit #2 that keeps business owners from the revenue they want is Ignoring High-Payoff Tasks. Do you know what you need to be doing to boost revenue - but you’re not doing it or doing it on a consistent basis? Perhaps the fear of doing tasks outside your comfort zone is stopping you from doing the very thing that will make all the difference in your busi...

Today we are talking about Self-Sabotaging habit #1 that keeps business owners from the revenue they want is: Wasting Time on Low-Payoff Tasks. As the business owner, you are a valuable piece of the revenue-generating and business development puzzle. If you are sitting at a desk spending the majority of your time on low-payoff tasks, you don’t have the time to focus upon the most important part of...