Monthly Archives: July 2008

Blog Goals

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In setting up this blog I probably should practice what I preach. So here are my blog goals in no particular order:

  1. Build an interesting and informative content
  2. Have a high quality of output
  3. Improve my own written communication skills
  4. Balance Blogging with my other interests
  5. Explore new methods of self improvement

I’m aiming for a 2 post a week frequency consistently, but think I need to build up a small queue of posts. I have the content for around a dozen posts in Draft form, but I only want to put it out there when it is good.

The Power Of: Delegation

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This is the first of my ‘Power Of’ series of posts where I look at the power of certain skills used in work and personal life.

By Office Now on Flickr via Creative Commons

By Office Now on Flickr via Creative Commons

“When in doubt, mumble; when in trouble, delegate; when in charge, ponder.” James H. Boren

Utilising the abilities and time of other people effectively is a great lifestyle skill. If you are able to effectively delegate and trust the quality of work, having people work for you can free up your own time greatly for tasks that are a better use of your time, you are more interested in or actually have the skills to do. People often have hurdles to overcome before they are willing to delegate. Common ‘arguments’ for not delegating:

- I can do it quicker/cheaper/faster/better myself

Ask yourself what your time is worth? Do you have the skills to do the task

- It’ll cost more

Again, what is your time worth really?

- It won’t be done correctly

Maybe you aren’t delegating correctly? Sometimes ‘just good enough’ really is fine, or even better than it needs to be.

Tips for delegation:

1. Set clear objectives for the task you are delegating. Begin with the end in mind. If you are unclear about what the required results are, how can you expect the person you are delegating the work to understand? (this is why Wembley Stadium took so long to complete).

2. Seek confirmation of their understanding. (Get the delegated person to explain the task back to you). You could give them instructions verbally and ask them to email you instructions/objectives back for approval.

3. Be clear, concise and consistent with your instructions. Seek not to confuse. If you are not clear they will not understand. If you are not consistent there is room for misunderstanding, doubt and inconsistency.

4. Provide a Timescale. People working for you will expand to fill the time available. Give clear deadlines (even false deadlines) as required otherwise it is easy to creep into overtime and budget problems. Deadlines generate the by-product of making your delegated resource eliminate the unnecessary.

5. Set a Priority. This is useful if you have allocated more than one task to a person, but also if they have to balance several clients with requirements on their time. This is linked to setting a timescale (both elapsed and real time) but gives people a level of focus. Beware of ‘crying wolf’ on priorities; if you use a resource over and over, you need to gain their trust.

6. Reward. This can take many forms. For example, you may in work situations you will have no influence over pay and benefits, however you are still able to provide positive feedback to a superior.

7. Reporting Requirements and Communication Channels. I think that being a good communicator is the single, most important skill that anyone can possess. When delegating, it is important to define reporting requirements (i.e. when and how you want to receive these along with the communication channels (methods)). If the communication flows correctly, there is less room for error.

8. Trust. It is important to trust the person you delegate to. This is a two way process. For them to trust you, you need to behave how you would expect the person working for you to behave. Do what you say you will, be open and honest. For you to trust them this is a mindset you need to get into. To improve trust there are some tools you can use, set guidelines, empower decision making (set fair boundaries).

9. Measuring Results. If you’ve set out your requirements, as stated in the points above, and found the right person for the job, and have open and honest communication you should set out the results your require. Remember when delegating to understand what quality standards you should expect (remember when good enough is good enough). Provide feedback that is honest (this gains respect) and constructive. Also update your own FAQ, quality standards etc. as required. Remember every thing is a constant learning and reviewing process.

Conclusion
Follow the guidelines to utilise the power of delegating to free up your own time and get achieve more. In order to achieve the work:life balance you require, or at least tip the scales in your favour, you want to delegate as much as possible.

“Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don’t interfere.” Ronald Regan

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I hope you enjoyed my post. I’d love to hear your comments below or get a Digg or Stumble!

Domain Name Registered! www.lifestyleproject.net

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Image by Streetart on Flickr Via Creative Commons

Image by Streetart on Flickr Via Creative Commons

You can now find me via www.lifestyleproject.net.

I spent quite a while deciding on what name to go for. In the end I had to go for what was available. I really like the name, so wanted to stick with it! I’ve dropped the ‘THE’ from the title. This is partly because the names were already taken, but also so maybe down the line there with case studies etc. I could take about “Tom’s Lifestyle Project” or Dick’s or Harry’s…

Anyway, another milestone in the blog’s life!

What is Personal Outsourcing?

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Photo by Jspad on Flickr Via Creative Commons

Photo by Jspad on Flickr Via Creative Commons

Ohhhhh…Can’t someone else do it? Homer Simpson

This is an easy post to write, as I’ve just asked my VA Joseph to write it for me! I’ll put my feet up…

Here you go:

Personal Outsourcing

Personal Outsourcing can help grow your business Time is valuable factor in the existing world. Manage your life more efficiently by letting your virtual assistant carry out your routine and mundane tasks.

Hiring a virtual assistant makes a lot of difference in your life. You get to make time with your Family, Children, Friends and Yourself.

Virtual assistants can work for you on an hourly basis, project basis or on a monthly retainer basis.

A Virtual assistant can help you to maintain your databases, create and design your electronic books and reports, answer your routine customer service E-mail, Work with MS Word, Type and send letters or contracts, Make travel arrangements, Order services on your behalf and many more tasks.

When you “hire” a Virtual assistant you can interview him or her over the telephone and learn if your assistant has the skills that you are looking for. You must also make sure that you discuss the best way to work with each other.

Make sure that you organize yourself before allocating a task to your Virtual assistant.

In order to build a good relationship with your virtual assistant you need to have a good understanding of what you need, when you need and why you need. Clear and precise communication is required. Find the right balances for you and your VA so that your working relationship is efficient and productive. Feedback must be provided to help streamline your processes.

Deadlines and To-Do-List are not to be forgotten .Working with a VA can be a significant milestone in growing your business.

The key factor in hiring a virtual assistant is that you can keep doing what you do the best and leave the rest up to your Virtual assistant.

So there you have it. I’ll be posting more about my personal outsourcing experiences but I thought I’d put this quick post up as an introduction.

Note: This was cut and pasted directly from the word document that Joseph set me with no alteration, as was a first draft.


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My Goals

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By Scot Will on Flickr via Creative Commons

Photo by Scott Will on Flickr via Creative Commons

If you want to make your dreams come true, the first thing you have to do is wake up. J.M.Power

I have some content to Post on Goal setting. However, I just wanted to put a post up about my own personal goals (accountability is a great motivator). I expect that my goals with ultimately drive a lot of the content on my blog.

I have spend time eliminating, simplifying and deliberating over what my goals are in my life. I will talk about this separately, but for now I just want to get my current goals posted (I’ve limited it to three, with explanations).

1) Generate Income Without a 9-5 Job

Why is this goal important? Well, for me there are a number of reasons. Firstly, I don’t like working for other people. I am good at my job, and I do work hard but it I don’t want to be the employee, I want to be the employer. Ever since a young age I wanted to be an Entrepreneur. I used to experiment with business ideas, but as I grow older I put too many negative thoughts in to starting any ventures. THIS WILL CHANGE. You have to be in it to win it! Watch this space.

This goal will allow me to achieve my ambition to move abroad etc.

2) Be in a Band

I’m not talking about the next big thing here. Just a covers band to have fun. I’ve played the guitar for over ten years now. I think I am good, but I’ve always wanted to be in a band. It’s just ‘finding the time’ or ‘finding the right people’. I need to eliminate my personal obstacles and Just Do It!

3) Maintain Fitness

I’m quite fit, but my exercise routines vary greatly. I took up triathlon’s once and way very dedicated for a season. It was a time where I had a job that allowed me to finish on time and get my training done. Then it just fizzled out! I did the 62 mile charity bike ride this weekend. I’ve always enjoyed keeping fit, and feel better for it. So my goal here is to maintain it constantly, rather than having short peaks, and long troughs in my training.

So there are my BIG goals. I do have short term goals, but I find that I can’t do everything and need to just do the ones that if I was sat on my death bed I would regret not doing.

More to come…


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Just Do It

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Courtesy of Enzo D on Flickr via Creative Commons

Courtesy of Enzo D on Flickr via Creative Commons

“He that can’t endure the bad will not live to see the good.” Yiddish Proverb

I got the idea for this post whilst out on a 3 hour bike ride the other day (I’m in training for a 100k charity ride this weekend). It was raining hard (which is not unusual in the UK!) and as I was cycling along I was thinking about why I was out in the rain. I enjoy cycling and like to keep fit but not in the rain, however I had to ‘Just Do It’ as I needed to get the training in for my upcoming ride.

Sometime you have to ‘Just Do It’. OK, it makes for the most recognisible tag line for a brand going, but also makes for a good mantra – especially when you are faced with things that you don’t want to do. We all face these kind of things, whether it be at some admin you don’t want to do at work or a social gathering you don’t want to go to. Sometimes you have to ‘Just Do It’.

Tips to ‘Just Do It’

  1. Start - i.e. Just Do It. Don’t think about it too much. If you know it is something you have to or need to do. Then most times it is easier to ‘Just Do It’ than to put it off or make excuses.
  2. Enjoy – I think that you should always try and make the best out of any given situation. If you can’t do that in the ‘now’ of doing something then set yourself a reward up for ‘Doing It’.
  3. Move On – Get it Done, finish it, then you don’t have to worry about it any more.

My leaving work routine

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This your kind of thing? Please think about subscribing via RSS or eMail (it’s free). Thanks for taking the time to visit! Chris

Here’s a post about productivity.

By Mrs. Maze, Flickr via Creative Commons

By Mrs. Maze, Flickr via Creative Commons

Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. Bruce Lee

I try to have leaving work routine so that I can go home and have a clear mind and switch off from work. I think that this is a very important part of productivity. By having a leaving work routine, in conjunction with your GTD and other systems, you shouldn’t find yourself waking up in the middle of the night and wondering if you send that email or phoned that person back.

I have a calendar entry called Daily Review and it appears at 4pm daily (unsurprisingly). This is serves two pruposes 1) to remind me to do my leaving work routine and 2) remind me it’s time to go.

Here’s what I try to do as part of my daily review:

1) Review what I have done today – just a couple of minutes look at the items ticked off on my list also shows you what you haven’t done and is high priority. This then enables you to…

2) Get my Inbox to Zero (or as close as I can – I try not to make my self a slave to this). This means that everything that I need to do should be captured on my to-do list.

3) Set my MITs (Most Important Things) to do the next day. For more about this I’ll let Leo over at ZenHabits explain here.

4) Tidy my desk. When I am not working from home I have a minimal ‘mobile office’ consisting of a meeting book, notebook, pad (for capture of tasks and putting my MITs for the day on), scrap paper, USB stick and Pens. At the end of the day I put it all in a plastic pouch and slip it into my laptop bag. Keeps everything together and not loose in my bag.

5) Get out of there and do something good!