productivity and organization

What’s Your Morning Routine as a VA?

I have had several conversations about routines lately. I guess at this time of the year it can be challenging to get back into the swing of things after taking some time off for the holidays. Do you have a morning routine? The conversation I started was about your business routine, but certainly a lot of people talked about getting up early to work out, or walk pets, or read before getting started on work. I don’t have a real morning routine per se, but I do make a point of doing one thing: I do a whole hour of business work before I ever check email and voicemail. Every single morning.  I learned a long time ago that getting up and… Read More »What’s Your Morning Routine as a VA?

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It Takes a Minimum of 21 Days to Form a New Habit

Lately I have been working on a new strategy to market my business. My business has changed completely in the last year – totally planned changes! – I have gone from running a full time VA business of my own, with some VA training and coaching on the side – to now owning two VA associations, and having my training and coaching at the forefront, and my VA business considerably downsized. It’s been a complete flip – and with that come new challenges. I have earned my main income from my VA business for many, many years now. I know how to market it. I know how to network for it. I know how to find clients whenever I want… Read More »It Takes a Minimum of 21 Days to Form a New Habit

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Say No to Get More Done In Your VA Business

Do you ever feel like you are running so fast that if you stop everything will crash in on you? It’s like that scenario of having so many balls in the air, and if someone tries to catch one for you, they will all drop. That was me, the last couple of weeks. I have a lot going on, like most of us, and my life is busy and so is my business. But it’s really not a good way to be all the time. You have to have ebbs and flows of activity. You have to be able to rest and then come back strong to work well. I know this. I teach this. But sometimes I don’t do… Read More »Say No to Get More Done In Your VA Business

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Daily Actions to Help You Get More Done

How does your to-do list look? I bet some days it makes you want to bury your head in the sand. I know mine does sometimes! The idea that we have so much to do and not enough time to do it is common for business owners. Overwhelm is often the word of the day! It’s how we manage our time that will help us get things done, or stay in overwhelm. So I thought I would share a few of my tips with you so that you can move past that feeling and get back into control of your to-do list. 1. Write it all down. First things first, you have to be able to look at what needs… Read More »Daily Actions to Help You Get More Done

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Following My Own Advice

Certain times of year, picking up email can get tiresome. I notice that the busiest time for my inbox usually begins before American Thanksgiving, and continues all the way till the end of the calendar year. Before the ‘holidays’ as the US refers to them, things are relatively calm. (In Canada our ‘holidays’ usually refer to Christmas – from say the 22nd till the day after New Year’s Day). This year I have more email to manage than normal – since I purchased GAVA and CAVA, that it totally okay with me! And I am also slowing down my client work and transitioning some clients to new VAs, so my inbox is slowing down for that kind of work. So… Read More »Following My Own Advice

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Manage Your Day Better!

People often ask me how I stay organized. I guess I look like I’ve got it all together LOL. But that’s not always the case! I do have a great system in place and it works well. Working with multiple clients, we can often lose focus and the priorities can shift from hour to hour. So I have one tip for you that will help you get and stay organized: Find a task or project management system that works for you and use it. My system is simple. I use GQueues and a spiral notebook that stays on my desk all the time to manage what I need to do. After I have a production call with a client, I… Read More »Manage Your Day Better!

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The Number 1 Productivity Killer for Your VA Business

I have read a lot of articles about productivity over the years. They tell you how to streamline your work, your procedures, how to work effectively, lots of different tips. And many of them are right on the money. But I absolutely agree with the ones that talk about what the number 1 productivity killer is. It’s email. It’s a dark hole that you can go very deep down so easily. Being a virtual business owner means that a lot of our communication depends on email. I know mine does! But how we manage our email is what is important. If you start your day by picking up email you are starting your day in a reactive mode. You can’t… Read More »The Number 1 Productivity Killer for Your VA Business

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Simple Tips To Get Motivated Now

Too much to do and no motivation to get it done? As a solopreneur, the responsibility to motivate yourself (unfortunately!) falls squarely on your own shoulders. If you were working in an office setting, you have the support of others so it can be easier to stay ‘up’. But on your own, I know it can be tough sometimes. So here are a few simple things that you can do to help motivate yourself right now! 1. Get up out of your chair. Posture plays a huge role in how our motivation increases or decreases. If you get up and stretch your arms over your head and out into a big circle down the sides of your body, you inject… Read More »Simple Tips To Get Motivated Now

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