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Give yourself a year

An organised life allows you to have more time, less stress, more money and the ability to achieve any goal you desire. But if you’re starting at zero, I mean with nothing, then it is going to take a bit of time and some planning. Rather than getting overwhelmed, it’s important to tackle your organising process step by step. We have made the journey as painless as possible with our step by step systems so you don’t have to think about the process while you’re sorting out your stuff.

It’s important to highlight the importance of commitment when you’re on the road to getting organised. Without commitment, all the experts in the world will be of no avail. You can very easily undo many hours, weeks or months of hard work without systems to maintain your order.

We get disorganised because of one thing: our thought processes. The way we’re showing up today is a result of the way we have approached our life over the past weeks / months / years. Disorganisation is a result of being overloaded, distracted, multi-tasked and overwhelmed.

It has a negative compounding effect in that it becomes even harder and harder to think clearly, to relax and to be present when we’re surrounded by chaos and clutter. So the spiral continues downward.

Even when we know enough’s enough, and we really want to get organised, fear stops us. And when we’re stuck in fear, half our brain shuts down, leaving all our organising skills out the window. To add insult to injury, we look around at our mess and start to feel guilty, ashamed and helpless. Not a very empowering state.

As we grow older, the problems multiply. “Now is not a good time to get organised. I need to…plan my presentation for next week, I need to get the kids’ dinner, I have laundry to finish, I’m busy planning our holiday….” the list goes on.

I believe that we each have a unique calling and that everyone benefits from a calmer, more organised you. Your light shines brighter when you’ve cleared away the clutter. We arrive at ‘disorganisation’ through an unconscious process. It’s the default scenario. So to get back to our best selves, we need to become conscious of the process for a while, until we become unconsciously competent at it. You’re tired of the state of affairs your in, and that affects every aspect of your life.
So the minute you decide to get organised and make a commitment, then everything starts to change.

Give yourself one year, and you can gradually and easily learn the very best organising skills and achieve your goals. And as your physical spaces become streamlined and organised, the rest of your life starts to fall in line. You will notice a shift in your energy, your mood, your time and your money. Imagine how powerful you can be when you’re organised. How would you show up in the world if you didn’t have to worry about all the stuff that’s weighing you down?

Let’s find out….

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How to Create a Vision for your Business

Are you ready to start turning your ideas / passion into money?

Whether or not you have your business up and running yet it’s critical you begin to see yourself running a successful business.  When I’m faced with challenges in my business, it’s my vision that keeps me going.  When I look at the inspiring vision I set when I started my company, all complications fade and I’m motivated to push through and carry on.

Every major company in the world has a vision or mission statement – a broad, futuristic idea of what their company will achieve and look like in the future. Our five-step process helps you get there, but you need to know where “there” is first.

So, let’s take a look at what a vision statement is, and why it’s important for you to create one for your business.

A vision statement is a broad, inspiring image of the future state a business aspires to reach. It describes without specifying how aspirations will be achieved, or when. It’s ambitious and forward-thinking. It’s not about where the organization is now… it’s about what the organisation will be, or aspires to be.

A vision statement needs to:

  • describe your aspirations and intent
  • be inspirational for your future staff and customers
  • project a compelling story
  • paint a clear picture
  • use engaging and descriptive language
  • be realistic
  • align with your company’s values

The vision statement will also provide a clear criteria or measuring stick for decision-making. When making tough choices, ask “Does this support the vision statement?” If major initiatives don’t support the overall business vision, chances are they aren’t worth the investment of time and money.

If your business doesn’t have a vision statement, it needs one. There’s no time like the present!  If you already have one, then take this opportunity to strengthen it or make sure it’s aligned with the current dream you have for yourself and your company.

Your vision statement – once created, agreed to and perfected – should remain consistent and unchanged for several years.

Your team needs a strong, clear vision statement just as much as you do. When creating a vision statement, keep this in mind. The vision will need to be something that your staff can embrace, get excited about and that will motivate, inspire and build morale.

How will you communicate your vision to your employees once you’ve created it? How can you inspire them to nurture and support your vision on a daily basis, and in everything they do? How can you empower and motivate them to take ownership of the company’s future and their stake in it?

Our next blog post will help you get started with creating YOUR unique vision statement.  In the meantime, if you would like some help, please e-mail me at Brigitte@momentumfirst.com.au and we’ll help you get started quickly and easily.

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How to Create a Vision for your Business – Part 2

evaluate_where_your_business_isIn the last blog post, we talked about why you need a vision statement for your business. This post explains the first step to creating your unique business vision statement.

The easiest place to start is to evaluate where your business is today. That will reveal where you WANT it to be.

Start by looking at your current strengths and weaknesses from the perspective of everyone who does business with you: your customers, staff, management, vendors or suppliers and owners.

For example, what would your customers say about your level or quality of service? Would this area be considered a strength or a weakness? What would your staff say, or what would you want them to say about training and professional development opportunities? What do you think about your income and overall financial growth? Use this chart as a guide:

Analyze your observations, and remember that your weaknesses represent great opportunities for change and improvement, while your strengths need to be nurtured and developed.

Take a look at what you’ve written and answer the following questions:

  • What does the overall picture look like?
  • How does the overall picture align with the dream you have for your business?
  • What great achievements and qualities exist in the strengths section? (List 10)
  • What opportunities exist in the weaknesses section? (List 10)

Now that you’ve had a good look at where your business is positioned today, in the next post, I’ll help you to future pace your business and define where you want it to be.

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How to Create a Vision for your Business – Part 3

Where you want to beIn the last blog post, we helped you to explore where your business stands today – the good, the bad and the ugly.

Now we want to get into the detail of where you WANT it to be. When you look at the strengths and opportunities that you explored, where would you like each one to be? Using the features on the chart provided in Part 2, above, let’s now turn them into clear sentences describing the future state of your business. For example, “we constantly surprise and delight our customers with prompt and professional service, which creates word of mouth referrals”.

What opportunities and aspirations are the highest priorities for you and your business?

Take the sentences you created from the exercise above and list them in order of importance to you. You may have to do this several times before you feel the order is accurate. Then combine duplicate sentences or ones that describe similar things.

Once you’ve finished your list, take the top three to five sentences and combine them into a cohesive paragraph. That will give you a really good overview of the kind of business you want to build.

Refine your statements so that they’re broad, future-oriented and use words that reflect your values, priorities and dreams.

You need to refine your statement so it’s smooth, clear and easy to understand. Here’s a checklist to use when reviewing the words you’ve written:

  • is it inspirational for your staff and customers?
  • does it project a compelling image?
  • does it paint a clear picture?
  • have you used engaging and descriptive language?
  • is it realistic?
  • does it align with your company’s values?

TIP: You can use phrases like:

A leader in…
Support the development of…
Offer opportunities to…
Continually create…
Build on…
Inspire…
Develop…
Facilitate…
Achieve…
Deliver…
Bring together…

5. Include your staff in the vision creation process and ask them for feedback.
Do they understand the vision? Do they support it? Does it inspire them? Can they find meaning in their work based on it? Incorporate their feedback where possible and relevant.

6. Put your vision statement where everyone can see it – your staff, management, customers and vendors.
Once you’ve created your vision statement, share it with the world. Your vision is something you’ve committed to, and it lets everyone know where your company is heading. It allows them to see where you want to go, and gives them the opportunity to help you get there.

Now, do you have everything you need to start working towards your vision?

In the Momentum Business Academy e-learning program, we will show you how to work through a comprehensive goal-setting process that will act as the roadmap for achieving your vision. You’ll also review, in depth, the five-step process which is the strategy that you’ll use to achieve your goals, and in turn, the vision you’ve created. Find out more here: www.momentumbusinessacademy.com

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Confidence Boosting

This week I have been reflecting on the topic of confidence as it came up in a session with a beautiful, talented client. She pinpointed that a lack of self-confidence is holding her back from achieving her ideal life and she’s sick to death of it.

It stirred me up and got me thinking. How can someone so talented, beautiful and blessed with so many gifts lack confidence? If my client has it all on the outside, why has her ‘inside’ suffering every step of the way?

It comes down to a belief about being ‘good enough’. If you’re carrying around the opinions of others inside your head when you’re trying to make decisions, move through your day and achieve all that life demands of you, then it’s 10 against 1. You’re literally carrying the weight of the world around with you.

Why not make your own choices and decisions and then let others argue later if they have the time. When was the last time you questioned a confident person? We tend not to. It’s interesting how the only people we tend to challenge are those who are self-doubters. It’s easy, we know they’ll re-consider, pause, hesitate. It’s sport.

While I know that we all need a good dose of confidence to perform well on a daily basis, I also know that vulnerability is a very important and often underestimated character trait. So what we’re talking about here is definitely not assuming a false air of self-importance. Or of being over-bearing or boastful or arrogant. Vulnerability is a strength and can be the source of great confidence.

So let’s consider some different types of confidence.

Confidence can mean certainty – for example, in a clinical trial, you need statistical evidence to show that you’re confident that a certain result will occur. I also need to be confident that the brain surgeon operating on me has done his training – proof of that will give me confidence to go under the knife.

In the public speaking arena, confidence is critical. You need to assume a persona or air of confidence in order to get up in front of many people and talk. We all need to feel a certain amount of confidence about everyday occurrences – like the sun is going to rise in the morning and ‘everything’s going to be o.k.’

So to lack confidence, means we’re going against the natural order of things.

If for instance, we’re carrying around a load of self-doubt and thoughts like ‘he or she might not like what I’ve decided here’. The question is: who are you going to value more – them or you? Who are you going to back? And if you abandon the driver’s seat of your own life, who’s going to step in? And are they going to do a better job than you? Probably not.

Time to take control of the wheel and drive the bus where you want to go. Passengers can always disembark at the next stop if they don’t like your destination. And they can always get back on board when they realise that you’re committed to the journey you’re on.

What does confidence mean to you? Who do you know who’s confident? What is it about the way they think that makes them so? What would happen if you stopped worrying about what others think?

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So, what have you been doing all day?

Do any of you feel slightly explosive when asked the question ‘what have you been doing all day?’ and realising that despite your best efforts, there’s not much to show for it? Seriously, if ever a question invited domestic violence, that one would surely top the list. You know you’re ready for an overhaul if any of these apply to you:

  • You’re sick of doing laundry at 10pm
  • You procrastinate by absorbing yourself in social media, housework and emails
  • You procrastinate by over-doing the housework when a big project looms
  • You’ve overloaded your kids with extra-curricular commitments so none of you have time to stop and breathe
  • You started your business so you could have a better lifestyle…but the business has taken over your life
  • You’re tired of missing out on school sports day or other kids’ activities because you had to play catch up and didn’t plan ahead
  • You’re sick of your messy house and office and want it sorted out FOREVER
  • You do WAY too much housework…and for what purpose?
  • You’re drowning in email and paperwork
  • You were put on this earth to be so much more, but you’re trapped in ‘busy’
  • You want to reduce the stress and enjoy your weekends instead of playing catch up
  • You feel like you’re always behind and miss out on things, which costs more money and even more time
  • You want to free up more time to spend with family and friends

Thank you to all those who honestly answered the question – ‘What is your biggest time thief?” We had a huge number of responses. Eight categories stood out as the main time thieves. The chart below shows your answers. Take a look at the results and see which ones you want to knock for a six: biggest time thief chart

Here are all the activities you call ‘time thieves’. Some are obviously not ‘thieves’ but a normal part of getting through every day. But the point is that it’s about perception. If you called it a ‘thief’ it’s because you feel you’re spending too much time in that particular area. Administration, helping others, housework, email & social media, kids activities, failing to plan / procrastination, travel and work. The biggest thieves of all are the internet (which includes social media) and failing to plan. (Note – I would argue that kids activities are never a waste of time, unless they’re disorganised).

Good news – those are precisely the issues we will help you nail in our member program. Join now and we’ll get you started immediately. Failing to plan as you know, is planning to fail.

I’m very excited about the transformations that are happening every day in our member community. The 7 ‘secrets’ that make up the member program were taught to me by some of the most influential and successful game changers on the planet. These 7 steps are the ones that bring about the most profound results with our clients. If your children get to experience you mastering even a few of these steps through you’re modelling them at home then they’ll become masters too.

So next time someone (hopefully in full body armour) asks you ‘What have you been doing all day?’ You can say “I’ve been Milking It, by working the plan.” Isn’t that what life’s all about?

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Time to change the way we think about time.

Time to changeMore than 60% of Australian women say they are suffering from time pressure. This is causing stress, arguments and inner turmoil. Even our kids are struggling. Employees waste 10 weeks a year searching for missing documents, grappling with sharing files and other lost administrative tasks.

We try to play catch up by multi-tasking, better known as ‘faulty tasking’, but we lose 30 minutes of thinking flow every time we switch tasks, making it the most overrated in our list of bad habits.

When did we lose touch?

My darling grandmother would not believe the way I live my life, were she still gracing this world with her wisdom and charm. With so many “time saving” devices at my disposal – washing machine, iPhone, car, Thermomix, vacuum cleaner, dishwasher, microwave. She may well wonder why I don’t swing in a hammock all day long reading a book, with all the help at my disposal.

How many devices can claim to save us hours per day? And yet here we are, more ‘time poor’ than our grandmothers. Their perspective of time was completely different.

The thing is, time is a totally man-made construct. What’s your relationship to time? What does it mean to you? Is it something to tame? To conquer, keep, spend, waste, have, make? If you could find 12 extra hours per week, would you spend it doing what you’re already doing and feeling as stressed as you do now? Or would you use it in a way that changes your life for the better?

We need to change our inner ‘talk’ about time, and remember that we already have what it takes to make a massive difference in our own lives and the lives of those around us. Of the three sources of personal power – time, energy and money – time is the only one that we can NEVER get back. The clock is always ticking. Spend money and you can go and earn it. Expend your energy and you can re-charge with a good night’s sleep. But no one has ever been able to turn the clock back.

Sometimes it feels like you’re there all alone with that massive ‘to do’ list and your mind racing about endless tasks you haven’t done, worrying about tomorrow, next week, next month. But there are millions of women who all share these frustrating time issues. Time to stop overwhelming and start living. It’s time to change the way we think about time.

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How to Create a Vision for Your Business

Are you ready to start turning your ideas / passion into money?

Whether or not you have your business up and running yet it’s critical you begin to visualise an existing business and see yourself running a successful enterprise. When I’m faced with challenges in my business, it’s my vision that keeps me going. When I look at the inspiring vision I set when I started my company, all complications fade and I’m motivated to push through and carry on.

Every major company in the world has a vision or mission statement – a broad, futuristic idea of what their company will achieve and look like in the future. Our five-step process helps you get there, but you need to know where “there” is first.

So, let’s take a look at what a vision statement is, and why it’s important for you to create one for your business.

A vision statement is a broad, inspiring image of the future state a business aspires to reach. It describes without specifying how aspirations will be achieved, or when. It’s ambitious and forward-thinking. It’s not about where the organization is now… it’s about what the organization will be, or aspires to be.

A vision statement needs to:

  • describe aspirations and intent
  • be inspirational for your future staff and customers
  • project a compelling story • paint a clear picture
  • use engaging and descriptive language
  • be realistic
  • align with your company’s values

The vision statement will also provide a clear criteria or measuring stick for decision-making. When making tough choices, ask “Does this support the vision statement?” If major initiatives don’t support the overall business vision, chances are they aren’t worth the investment of time and money.

If your business doesn’t have a vision statement, it needs one. If you already have one, then take this opportunity to strengthen it or make sure it’s aligned with the current dream you have for yourself and your company.

Your vision statement – once created, agreed to and perfected – should remain consistent and unchanged for several years.

Your staff need a strong, clear vision statement just as much as you do. When creating a vision statement, keep this in mind. The vision will need to be something that your staff can embrace, get excited about and that will motivate, inspire and build morale.

How will you communicate your vision to your employees once you’ve created it? How can you inspire them to nurture and support your vision on a daily basis, and in everything they do? How can you empower and motivate them to take ownership of the company’s future and their stake in it?

Let’s start creating your unique vision statement.

1. Start by looking at your strengths and weaknesses from the perspective of everyone who does business with you.

Think about strengths and weaknesses from the perspective of customers, staff, management, vendors or suppliers and owners.

For example, what would your customers say about your customer service standards? Would this area be considered a strength or a weakness? What would your staff say, or what would you want them to say about training and professional development opportunities? What do you think about your income and overall financial growth? Use this chart as a guide:

Strengths Weaknesses Customers Customer service Product or service availability and quality Business location Business image Staff Training Salary Professional development Benefits Quality of work environment Management Training Benefits Staff skills Vendors / Suppliers Product or service quality Owner (You) Income Business image Salary

2. Analyze your observations, and remember that your weaknesses represent great opportunities for change and improvement, while your strengths need to be nurtured and developed.

Take a look at what you’ve written and answer the following questions on your pad of paper:

  • What does the overall picture look like?
  • How does the overall picture align with the dream you have for your business?
  • What great achievements and qualities exist in the strengths section? (List 10)
  • What opportunities exist in the weaknesses section? (List 10)

3. Now that you’ve assessed where your business stands today, where do you want it to be? What opportunities exist?

Here you will take the strengths and opportunities you identified in step one, the analysis you completed in step two and start describing them in words. Use the chart below as your guide. Write three sentences that describe the future state of your business.

3. What opportunities and aspirations are the highest priorities for you and your business?

Take the sentences you created above and list them in order of importance to you. You may have to do this several times before you feel the order is accurate. Then combine duplicate sentences or ones that describe similar things. Once you’ve finished your list, take the top three to five sentences and combine them into a cohesive paragraph.

4. Refine your statements so that they’re broad, future-oriented and use words that reflect your values, priorities and dreams.

You need to refine your statement so it’s smooth, clear and easy to understand. Here’s a checklist to use when reviewing the words you’ve written:

  • is it inspirational for your staff and customers?
  • does it project a compelling image? • does it paint a clear picture?
  • have you used engaging and descriptive language?
  • is it realistic? • does it align with your company’s values?

TIP: You can use phrases like:

A leader in… Support the development of… Offer opportunities to… Continually create… Build on… Inspire… Develop… Facilitate… Achieve… Deliver… Bring together…

5. Include your staff in the vision creation process and ask them for feedback.

Do they understand the vision? Do they support it? Does it inspire them? Can they find meaning in their work based on it? Incorporate their feedback where possible and relevant.

6. Put your vision statement where everyone can see it – your staff, management, customers and vendors.

Once you’ve created your vision statement, share it with the world. Your vision is something you’ve committed to, and it lets everyone know where your company is heading. It allows them to see where you want to go, and gives them the opportunity to help you get there.

Now, do you have everything you need to start working towards your vision?

In the Momentum Business Academy e-learning program, we will show you how to work through a comprehensive goal-setting process that will act as the roadmap for achieving your vision. You’ll also review, in depth, the five-step process which is the strategy that you’ll use to achieve your goals, and in turn, the vision you’ve created. Find out more here: www.momentumbusinessacademy.com

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Help! I’m drowning in paperwork and e-mails! Where do I start?

Drowning in paperwork? Overwhelmed with your to do list?

You’re not alone. It’s hard to focus on anything when you’re in a mess. Your confidence takes a beating and you feel anxious and stressed. Not to mention snappy with loved ones.

You just KNOW you’ve forgotten something important, you arrive late, leave early, say no to invitations because you don’t have time. If enough’s enough, read on.

Step 1 – Don’t stress. We’ve got you covered. In fact, we’ve helped around 20,000 people sort their mess out and fall in love with their new system for managing paperwork and emails. We’ve done it for big businesses as well. With our help and your determination to get and stay organised, you’ll nail it in no time.

Step 2 – Start fresh today. Don’t look back. Simply forgive yourself for getting into a mess – it happens to the best of us. Now commit to a new system and new way of doing things.

Step 3 – Set up your new paperwork system first before you touch any of your paper or emails. Your system needs to include five main features:

1. an in-tray,
2. a set of folders to separate and contain your regular ‘to dos’ – like Bills to Pay, Correspondence To Complete, Blog to Post, Transactions to enter, Items to read, Contacts to enter, etc.
3. A set of folders for each of your projects – like Summer Holiday, Sale of Car, School enrolments, Business Launch event, etc
4. A set of folders for all the other paperwork and e-mails you need to keep to refer to but you don’t need to act on. Let’s call these your reference library. Important documents like birth certificates, passports, marriage certificate. Another reference folder might contain all your vehicle information, another your health records.
5. And finally the out ‘system’ which is where the paper and e-mails ‘exit’ your life forever – either off to the next stage in the journey, or to the bin or the scanner or into archives (for family history, financial or legal reasons).

Step 4 – create some rules to live by. Each regular ‘to do’ file needs a day of the week that you’ll attend to it. Put it in your diary. Likewise with your projects – what day will you do them on? Decide how many projects is enough in your life at any one time. We recommend no more than 7 or it’s too hard to move them forward. Focus is key.

Step 5 – get an accountability partner to help you and join our member program. We’ll give you all the training and support for setting up your new system and coach you until its second nature.

To find out more, click here

Brigitte’s book Organise your Paperwork is available in Officeworks stores nationwide

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There are only three ways to store your belongings

When it comes to storage, there are three main ways of organising your belongings:

  1. Fitted or built-in storage
  2. Storage furniture or containers
  3. Or out on view – a method that shades into ‘display’.

Whether it’s 1, 2 or 3, there’s no limit to the style you can adopt, from a sleek contemporary look to a rustic or retro approach. In the following blog posts, I’m going to explore many different types of storage ideas.

Let your individual taste dictate your choice of storage. And if you need a bigger reason to get sorted, my real estate friend tells me that organised homes fetch a higher sales price. So there’s a great incentive for anyone wishing to sell! Share your thoughts and opinions here – I’d love to know your reaction.