10 SNS Steps to Being Productive

There are as many Productivity Secrets out there as there are people on this planet. But when you get right down to it they are all just tools and techniques. The trick is to get out of the quagmire of 12-step programs and secrets and simply see them for what they are. Ideas.

Stand above these things and pick them out as you need them instead of just accepting them as a package deal. Understand what each tool does, what its strengths and weaknesses are and if its the right tool for you to wield.

Motivation vs. Discipline

During my morning walk, my brain helped me realize something: I should focus on being motivated rather than being disciplined. Motivation gets the job done just as good as discipline does and, added bonus, its a lot more fun.
Motivation is what gets you up in the morning and makes you excited to start your day. Discipline makes you dread all the tasks on your to do list.

Motivation is what pushes you to work through your lunch hour or your favorite show because you just had a great idea for that project you're working on. Discipline, on the other hand, forces you to stay late at the office because you should have gotten your taxes done two days ago.

The idea of discipline has led me to schedule my work day from 8 to 5 no matter what because I feel like I'm doing something wrong if I start work late or leave early. And because...well...it's what everyone else does. It's hard to go against traditional mindsets. When I don't start work until 9 I feel like I'm doing something wrong. But then I have to remind myself that this is whole reason why I started working for myself in the first place: so I can set my own unique rules and standards.

Energy, Space & Time

I was surfing around the World Wide Web this morning and came across the words

Energy, Space & Time

These three words carry quite a punch. They speak of the universe and quantum physics. They speak of Star Trek and Firefly. But they also speak of what each of us strives for every single day.

We all want more energy to do what we love; start a business, work on hobbies and generally bring our dreams to reality. We all want more space to feel free and be ourselves. And we all want more time with our family, our friends and time to ourselves.

The great thing about these three simple words is that when they are put together in a magical way they lead to something much more than their individual parts. They can lead to happiness, success, wealth and satisfaction.

The Sane & Satisfied Checklist

The other day I saw something (doesn't matter what it was) and I automatically thought to myself, "That's Sane & Satisfied". And it occurred to me that I've never really laid down a set of criteria for something being Sane & Satisfied but somehow I just knew it was.

It's been difficult for me to put into words what exactly I mean by Sane & Satisfied but I thought it might be helpful for a newbie if I wrote a Sane & Satisfied Checklist. I envision this checklist being most helpful when you have to make a decision about something. That decision doesn't have to be life or death and can be as mundane as, "Should I say yes to helping out with the PTA this year?" Every choice we make takes up more of our time, energy and resources. So each choice can make us either more relaxed and happy or more stressed and unhappy. I find I'm most unhappy when I do things that go against my current path. Likewise, I'm most happy when I'm doing something in my element.

Saturday Smorgasbord: Marketing Techniques

What is Saturday Smorgasbord?

Gurus and leading experts act like there's only one way to succeed. I believe there are so many ways to accomplish things that it's silly to narrow yourself to just one path.

So every Saturday I will list all the options, techniques and ways to accomplish various things from marketing your business to losing weight.

There is a Smorgasbord of tools at your disposal, why pick just one?

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This Week's Saturday Smorgasbord: Marketing Techniques

When I started my first business I read everything there was to read about marketing, advertizing, promoting, word-of-mouth and social media. I subscribed to any free newsletter that promised to show to me how to market my business. They usually included steps and secrets that only they knew about. Fortunately I only wasted my time and didn't send any of these "gurus" any money.

Entrepreneur Torture & Vulnerability

My friend, Jake and I have shared a few booths at local craft fairs and Farmer's Markets. On a particularly slow day I looked at him and said, "Why do we put ourselves through this torture?"

I mean, we make all our products, we setup our booth (sometimes in the rain or extreme heat), we have to deal with all the customers and many times we don't make back what we put in.

Yet we keep going back.

Even though the last couple weeks in Midwest Illinois have been ungodly humid and in the 90s to 100s I keep setting up my booth at the Farmer's Market.After all the no's and false hope I still offer my homemade Tea Tree Lotion to every women (and sometimes man) who walks by.

So, why do we do it? A smarter person would just stay home or get a 9-5 job. But not Entrepreneurs. Oh no, we like to feel the hope when someone says, "Ooo, that's cute. How much is it? Not bad, my daughter would love that." And then the crushing defeat when they add, "Well, I'm just looking around at what everyone has." Or that woman who can't quite just tell you No. She has to string you along for a few weeks saying, "Will you be here next week? Ok, I'll buy some then." (This is a true story. The woman said this to me for 4 weeks in a row. Thankfully, she stopped.)

Saturday Smorgasbord: Creative Exercises

What is Saturday Smorgasbord?

Gurus and leading experts act like there's only one way to succeed. I believe there are so many ways to accomplish things that it's silly to narrow yourself to just one path.

So every Saturday I will list all the options, techniques and ways to accomplish various things from marketing your business to losing weight.

There is a Smorgasbord of tools at your disposal, why pick just one?

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This Week's Saturday Smorgasbord: Creative Exercises

Learning how to be more creative is far from an exact science in my opinion. I don't believe that creative people were simply "born creative". Creativity is a skill like any other and creativity doesn't only exist in one area of study, skill or industry. Some people might be naturally inclined toward creative thought but no matter what your core talents, skills or abilities are you can make creative leaps, solve a problem creatively or think of your work in a different way; all of which are creative skills.

Sunday Pages

I started a new task management/scheduling system this week. It was actually inspired by my dad. I was upset one day that I felt overwhelmed but that nothing was getting done. He suggested that I clear out my current schedule and just take things week by week.

So that's what I did! And now when I look at my schedule I see a bunch of "free time" to do with how I choose.

Tea, Opening Days & How to make a Million

Wow, I've been away for while, haven't I?

Oh, well...let's pick back up, shall we...

So, I'm reading this book called The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly. I usually read sci-fi and fantasy but I was drawn into this book because the main character moves from 19th Century London to America and starts a tea shop. I'm in love with starting new businesses (I've started 4 myself). I was also intrigued by the historical backdrop (Jack the Ripper makes a cameo).

Shut it down & Put it to bed

So life seems to always come at me all at once. It seems to never fail that I manage to schedule a whole bunch of responsibilities at the same time. I have a calendar and I check it before I commit to anything but somehow I end up with weeks where my hours are packed with meetings and tasks.

Last week was one of those weeks. I won't bore you with details. I'm amazed I got through it. But I did learn something very important that will help me in my own Sane & Satisfied journey. A lot of my stress comes from not feeling like I finish anything. I think this feeling has stemmed from the fact that I just have too many ideas and it's hard to finish one idea before moving on to the next. But lately I've realized that this unfinished feeling also comes from me not putting anything to bed at the end of my work day.