Do you know what is REALLY going on with your time management?

I mean exactly how much time you spend on the things that matter and the things that don’t, every day and every week?

This is really important because knowing this will help you to identify clearly the changes you need to make in order to make better use of your time to get the results you really want.

Here is a really easy exercise that will help you gather that information so you can be proactive with your time management:

Create a timetable that looks a bit like an old school timetable.

Days of the week across the top, time down the left hand side in hourly buckets.

You can make your timetable with a spreadsheet, a table in a word document or just good old paper and pen.

Each day, fill in your timetable with exactly what you spend your time on for each hour time slot.

Don’t go changing anything you would normally do. Just go about your daily activities as you always do.

If you spend two hours just messing about on facebook when you should be doing work, just put it in your table. Don’t make any judgement on it. Don’t beat yourself up if you spot things you aren’t happy with.

Just fill in each hour of each day with exactly what you spent that time doing.

Do this for at least a week. Then, at the end of the week, take some time to review your completed timetable.

What is the truth about your time management?

Look at the results and ask yourself:

• Where is your time going that you don’t like?
• What activities are you spending time on that aren’t leading you to where you want to be?
• What are your main distractions? What will you do about these?
• What do you want to do less of? What do you want to do more of? How will you make that happen?
• What do you need to put in place to deal with the things you are spending time on that add no value?

Once you have fully reviewed your completed timetable, what action will you take based on the information it has given you?

And that brings us to the real truth about your time management…….

It isn’t about time management at all. It is about self management.

The things that you have identified that need changing require you to manage yourself better, not time.

Have fun playing with this exercise.

What are your thoughts on the subject of getting to the truth of your time management? Share your views and experiences in the comments below.

Related posts:

• Busting the “I don’t have enough time” myth
• Time Management – the REAL reason you don’t have enough time
• Are you being Busy or Productive?

In the previous post 10 Reasons To Have An Accountability Partner If You Are Self Employed we explored just a few of the many benefits of having an accountability partner for self employed professionals.

But how do you go about finding one?

And when you have found one, how do you know that person is the RIGHT accountability partner for you? (yes, not just anybody will do!!)

Warning before you start:

Whatever you do, don’t go bowling up to just anyone at an event or in your network and ask them to be your accountability partner.

If you do that, you are just going to look needy and a tad strange! And you are risking ending up with the wrong person, which means neither of you will get the results you want.

So, start by getting clear on EXACTLY what you are looking for in an accountability partner BEFORE you even start looking.

Think core values here.

You are looking to find someone who shares similar values.

This is REALLY important. Shared values, is the foundation of a good quality accountability partnership.

So have a think of people you already know that you have a good relationship with. Ask yourself:

• Does this person share similar values to me?
• Do they meet the criteria I am looking for in an accountability partner?
• Do I feel a good, positive connection with that person?
• Do I think that person might be interested in the idea?

When you have answered these questions fully, approach the person you are considering.

Don’t just hit them with “Do you want to be my accountability partner?” That is a big turn off and smacks of “me, me, me.”

Present the idea and ask if it is something they are interested in exploring further. Have a discussion about the potential benefits and results for both of you. Brainstorm format ideas that might be appropriate.

The key here is to make it a discussion. Not a “will you won’t you” ultimatum. Engage in conversation.

If they say yes, great. Game on. Work out a format that works for both of you and off you go.

If they say it isn’t for them, just thank them for considering it and move on. Go back to your contact list and follow the same process again.

But what if you can’t think of anyone in your current network that you feel would be an appropriate accountability partner?

Then, start looking at building new relationships with people who share the same values as you. Don’t focus on building the relationship with the intention of “getting” them as an accountability partner. Not nice.

Just have the intention of building new quality relationships with people and let things naturally evolve from there.

Remember, a good accountability partnership comes from having a good quality relationship based on shared core values FIRST.

What do you think? Do you agree with this approach to finding the right accountability partner or do you have other suggestions? Please share your views in the comments below.     

Related posts:

• 10 Reasons To Have An Accountability Partner If You Are Self Employed
• Networking – Busting the Myth

Having an accountability partner is a great way for Self Employed Professionals to deal with the challenges of staying on track with goals, action plans, personal effectiveness and productivity.

I think every Self Employed Professional should have one.

Here’s why:

10 Reason To Have An Accountability Partner If You Are Self Employed

1. Dealing with overwhelm – it is easy to get overwhelmed with everything that you have to do. Having someone to talk it through with helps you to work out ways of reducing overwhelm, prioritising and getting unstuck.

2. Having a sounding board – having someone to bounce ideas, problems and challenges with brings new perspectives, ideas and solutions.

3. Keeping you on track – it can feel hard to keep momentum going sometimes, can’t it? Committing to a third party, what you are going to do by when, will help you to stay focused and on track.

4. Highlight your blind spots – you can’t always see how you are getting in your own way. An accountability partner can reflect things back to you that you can’t see for yourself. That is invaluable.

5. Kick your butt – we all need this from time to time! A good accountability buddy will know when to call you on something or if a butt kick is in order!

6. Pick you up when the brown stuff hits the fan – an accountability partner helps you navigate your way through challenges and problems.

7. Be your cheerleader – all too often we are so focused on everything we have still got to do that we forget to take a step back and celebrate the progress being made. Having a cheerleader on your side boosts motivation and feelings of achievement.

8. Emotional support – this is so often overlooked. OK, you are running a business, but you are a human being, not a machine. We all need emotional support from time to time.

9. Create awareness – the more awareness you have, the better your choices, decision and actions will be. The discussions you have with your accountability partner will create awareness in bucket loads.

10. Have a laugh – just because we are running a business doesn’t mean we can’t have a laugh and make it fun. Lightening up and having a giggle with someone boosts energy and motivation.

There are so many benefits that the list could go on and on. So if you are Self Employed and don’t currently have an accountability partner, I highly recommend sorting one out.

If you don’t know how to go about doing this, don’t worry. In the next post, we will explore how to go about finding the right accountability partner for you and how to set up a framework and structure that works for both of you.

In the meantime, please feel free to share your views and experiences on this subject in the comments section below.

When you are trying to change your life or business it can feel very hard.

When that happens it is easy to fall into the mindset of wallowing in self pity, burying your head in the sand or ignoring what is really making things so hard.

But that serves no purpose. It only keeps you stuck.

It is in those moments that you need to take yourself aside and give yourself a bit of a talking to.

No BS. Just calling it straight.

Telling yourself things that you might not want to hear but really need to, can be the catalyst to pull yourself out of being stuck and getting into action.

So, for those moments, here are:

10 Things You Don’t Want To Hear But Really Need To

1. Your life and business are the way they are because of your own decisions, choices and actions. If you don’t like how things are, you need to make different decisions, choices and take different actions. You are the captain of your ship. Learn how to steer it.

2. It is nobody else’s fault. Stop blaming other people for what is going wrong in your life, business, relationships or any other aspect of your life. Until you take full responsibility for everything that is going on in all areas of your life, nothing will change. The blame game doesn’t get results.

3. If you carry on over scheduling yourself nothing will ever change. Change only happens where there is time and space to do something different. Make it a priority unless you want to keep peddling the same old hamster wheel forever.

4.  Stop saying “I don’t know how to do it”. It keeps you stuck. Replace it with “What do I need to learn to be able to do it”.

5. Before you start pointing the finger at others, take a look at what you are contributing to the situation. You can’t change other people. You can only change yourself.

6. Don’t be a B.M.W. (Bitcher, Moaner ,Whiner). It doesn’t solve anything. And nobody wants to be around a B.M.W. On the flip side. Avoid people who are a B.M.W. They will drain your energy.

7. Stop saying “I don’t have enough time”. Yes you do. You have the same 24 hours as everyone else does, you are just choosing to spend it differently. The problem isn’t time. The problem is self management.

8. Stop making excuses. Hold yourself accountable. Magic starts to happen when you no longer allow yourself to make excuses.

9. Stop saying “I’ll try”. Either do it or don’t.

10. Stop saying “It isn’t fair”. You aren’t three years old. If something isn’t how you would like it, change it. If you can’t change it, move on. But banging on about things not being fair is for toddlers – not for people who are in charge of their life and business.

So, if you really want to change your life and business, you might want to check you don’t do any of these things. And if you do, well, time to take yourself aside and give yourself that talking too.

What other things do you think people don’t want to hear but really need to? Leave your comments below.

Sometimes your life feels amazing.
Sometimes it sucks.

Sometimes your business is marching forward.
Sometimes you feel it is going backward.

Sometimes your relationships are brilliant.
Sometimes they run into difficulty.

Sometimes you feel you can achieve anything.
Sometimes the voices of self doubt are deafening.

Sometimes you feel you could take on the world.
Sometimes you just want to crawl back to bed and pull the covers over your head.

Life is like the sea with tides that ebb and flow.

But, there are loads of things we can do to shift the odds to favour the good stuff over bad stuff.

But expecting things to ALWAYS be good is setting ourselves up for some serious disappointment.

Keep this in mind:

Sometimes ALWAYS passes.

So, we must grab the good “sometimes” and make the most of them. We must look for ways to change ourselves, our lives and our business to shift the odds in their favour.

And we must respond appropriately to the not so good “sometimes” when they arise. Learn from them. Put things in place to reduce the chances of them raising their ugly heads again.

Then move on. Hanging on to stuff that has past and you can’t change serves no useful purpose.

You can’t always choose what happens to you, but you can always choose how you respond.

“Sometimes” is part of the way life is.

What do you need to change in your life and business to deal with the ebb and flow of your “sometimes?”

Fear is one of the biggest factors that will keep you stuck.

So the temptation is to think that you need to learn how to become fearless.

Not true.

Fear is part of the human state. It is normal to feel fear. In some situations fear is very useful.

For example, fear will make you stop and check things out before leaping into the unknown unprepared. It will make you check and assess the risk before taking action. All healthy stuff.

Fear has a positive role to play as well as being a natural part of the human state. So focusing on becoming fearless isn’t necessary or appropriate.

However, fear becomes a problem when we let it get such a vice like grip on us that it keeps us stuck and stops us from taking action.

That is why it is important to learn effective ways of managing fear. But that on its own isn’t enough to kick fear into touch.

Here’s why:

Let’s imagine you have learnt effective ways to stop fear keeping you stuck. You have put all your new fear fighting skills into action.

But chances are you are still feeling some fear.

Well, here’s why:

When you are about to do something new or make a big change, you are stepping out into the unknown. Something you haven’t experienced before. You are stepping outside your comfort zone. And that feels scary. Even when you are well prepared.

The thing to do is not just to focus on the fear.

Focus on fostering courage as well.

• Yes, learn what you need to do to manage your fear.

• Yes, put things in place to reduce risk to manage your fear.

• Yes, focus on what you need to do set yourself up to succeed.

• Ask yourself “What needs to happen for me to feel safe to move forward, despite the fear?

But when you have done all of this, it is time for courage to look fear squarely in the eyes and say:

“Step aside because I am coming through.”

Work on ways you can be more courageous, not fearless. The first will move you forward. The second is a state that doesn’t exist.

Think of fear like “The Force” in Star Wars. There is a dark side to it. And there is the good side.

The dark side is the side that keeps you stuck and not taking action. The good side is where dealing with fear and courage stand shoulder to shoulder ready to whoop the crap out of the dark side.

No, I am not into Star Wars myself, but with an eight year old son in the house it gets in your system.

So my friends, may the force be with you as you do battle with dealing with your fears.

Related posts:

• Why You Must Get Comfortable Feeling Uncomfortable.
• What to do when you don’t know what to do

The other evening I was discussing some changes I am making to my business model with my husband.

I am currently making some quite hefty changes to my business as part of the ongoing plan of having a business that supports the Team Davies vision of our ideal life.

My husband was offering his perspective on the new changes when our eight year old son piped in with:

“It is like playing with Lego isn’t it?”

We both stopped and looked at him.

“What do you mean?” I asked him.

He went on to say this:

“Well, if you are playing with Lego you don’t know what it will look like when it is finished. You just get started. You experiment. If you don’t like it you can take a few blocks off and try some different ones. You just use your imagination.”

It struck me that his perspective offers a great insight into the mindset of creating change.

It is very easy to get stuck before we even start because we get attached to having to know every step of the way before we move forward.

But you can’t know every step before you start. The steps appear as you move forward and learn and try things out.

You have got to be willing to experiment with the unknown.

It is just like playing with Lego. Use your imagination. Just start. Do small bits at a time.

“The secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.” – Mark Twain

You need to let go of having to know everything before you start if you wish to get unstuck and change something.

What you learn along the way will show you the next steps.

“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

So, the next time you feel stuck trying to make change happen, think of it as playing with Lego. That mindset could be the very thing that stops you staying stuck.

Have you ever noticed that when people start a question with “what if?” it usually ends up being a negative question?

For example:

• What if it doesn’t work?
• What if they don’t like it?
• What if the changes I make don’t work?

These are all fear based questions that lead you to focus on negative outcomes and what might go wrong.

You are less likely to take action to make change if you are only focusing on what bad thing might happen.

Asking “what if?” in this context keeps you stuck.  If you stay stuck you are not likely to get the results you want in any area of your life or business.

And that is a pretty heavy cost to pay just from the way you use two little words.

But here is the interesting thing:

If you turn the use of “what if?” around, it can a very powerful way to motivate yourself to move forward.

For example, let’s look at the three examples above again and turn them on their heads:

• What if it not only works but it is a roaring success?
• What if they love it?
• What if the changes you make transform your life and business?

See the difference?

Asking “what if” in this context is much more likely to motivate and inspire you. If you feel motivated and inspired you are much more likely to take action.  And if you are taking action, you are more likely to achieve the outcomes you want.

Isn’t that option a hugely better one than staying stuck because you have kept yourself in a mindset of fear?

Remember, you get what you focus on.

So the next time you are mulling an idea over and you catch yourself muttering “what if this, that and the other?” have a look if you are using it positively or negatively.

Because which way you use “what if?” will influence your outcome and results.

Yes, two words can be that powerful.

Train yourself to use “what if” scenarios to see the possibility, create feelings of motivation and move you forward.

Refuse to allow yourself to use “what if” to nurture fear based thinking that will keep you stuck.

Don’t underestimate the power of how the words you use impact your mindset and the results you get in all areas of your life.

Ever wonder why it can feel really hard to make change happen?

Well, the causes can by many and complex. They also vary from person to person.

But today, we are just going to focus on one really important factor that impacts the majority of us.

And it is this:

We are all so permanently overscheduled that a lot of the time we are just peddling our day to day hamster wheels so damn hard that there is no time to do anything else.

And that is a huge problem if you want to change something in your life and/or business.

Here’s why:

Change only happens where there is time and space to do something different.

So, if you want to change any area of your life or business, the first step is to create time and space to work on the thing that you want to be different.

I know it can be hard if you feel you have umpteen things on your plate and it seems like you don’t have enough time to do it all.

But think about this:

If you can’t/won’t/don’t find a way to make some space you are saying “no” to change for the better and “yes” to the same old same old.

So, here is what I would like you to do:

Get out your diary. Yes, right now.

Put in your diary a minimum 30 minute time slot for this week. Protect that time slot like your life depends on it. Use that time to pick one thing you would like to change. And just get stuck in to working on the steps to make it happen.

I always encourage my 1-2-1 clients to have a minimum 2 hour slot a week of just time and space to work on change, new stuff, ideas etc. But you may find it easier to start with 30 mins a week and build up gradually.

Now, here is the important thing. Doing this as a one off is going to change diddly squat.

The power in doing this is to do it regularly. And by that I mean every week.

Here comes a bit of tough love folks – please don’t tell yourself “I don’t have enough time to do this”. Because you don’t have time NOT to do it, because that will keep you stuck.

Ask yourself this question:

What do I need to do to make sure I do this every week?

Because if you decide to find a way, you will.

Having time and space, on a regular basis, is the first step to creating change.

Find a way to make it part of your weekly routine.

Have fun playing with this.

How do you know that you are on the right track to achieve what you really want in your business and life?

And once you are on the right track, how do you stay there?

Well, there are two essential things you MUST put in place to guide you. They are:

1. Create your own Success Definition

Having a definition of success that you have carved out for yourself will be a guide for you to follow when making decisions, setting goals and creating action plans.

It will help you make better choices for yourself. And as a result of making better choices, you will get better results.

It is easy to get caught in the trap of chasing success as defined by society, family and peers.

But ask yourself this

“Whose definition of success do I want to spend my one and only life living by?”

Take time to create your own definition of success for all areas of your life.

Think of it almost as a navigation tool steering you down the right path and keeping you there.

2. Get clear on your Core Values

Your core values are things that are central to who you are. They are the things, that when you are living and working by them, make you feel fulfilled, alive and living life fully.

You can tell when your core values are being trampled all over because life and work feel a push, a struggle and totally unfulfilling.

People who orientate their life and business around their core values are the people who are more likely to be living a fulfilled life, getting the results they really want and feeling successful on their own terms.

So, take some time out to get clear on what your core values are.

Once you have your definition of success and your core values nailed, make sure your vision, goals and action plans are built on them.

To make choices and decisions easier for yourself, keep asking:

“Does this fit with my core values and definition of success?”

If you head off on a journey without a map of how you will get to your destination, chances are you are going to end up taking the wrong road.

The same is true of trying to create the life and business you really want without a definition of success or knowing your core values.

I encourage you to get stuck in to creating your own definition of success based on your core values.

Then use them to drive your choices and decisions to get on the right path and keep you there.

What are your views on this topic? Please share in the comments below.