Monthly Archives: September 2011

5 Ways to Minimize Multi-Tasking

The summer is winding down, kids are back in school and the fall work projects are ramping up. It’s so tempting to get over over committed this time of year. Doesn’t that sound familiar! But we quickly regret saying yes to so many requests – our plates are overfilled and tipping over. So we just work harder and “multi-task” even faster. But is that really effective? Many times it is not.

Downsize of Multi-Tasking

The research (and our own observation) confirm that we simply can’t do several things at once and do them well. Do you know that it takes between 9-15 minutes to refocus when you have been interruped from a task. So while you’re trying to get back to where you were you are losing valuable time and energy. We can feel our stress level going up because we’re not getting anything done well – and we’re making mistakes – silly, stupid mistakes that take even more time to fix. And it leaves us with a feeling at the end of the day “I didn’t get anything important done today.”

Beach ChairReduce Your Multi-Tasking

Resist the temptation to multi-task by practicing on concentrating on one thing at a time. Select what is most important (to your business, to your job, to your boss) and make a personal commitment to be the best that you can be by being present in the moment. Stay focused until you get the job done. Sounds simple but it’s actually takes practice, practice and more practice. Especially when you’re getting pressured to do several things at once – being pulled into other people’s urgent requests. But by managing your time and energy effectively you are doing what you’ve been hired to do. But it’s tough to resist the temptation to start juggling tasks. But this has several things that have worked for me . . .

  1. “Chuck” your time by setting aside a block of time to concentrate on one task at a time.
  2. Resist reading your email early in the morning because it pulls you away into multiple directions – many relatively unimportant.
  3. Be more realistic about how much time a task will really take and build in some extra time as well.
  4. Close your eyes when talking on the phone so that you can really concentrate.
  5. Take at least three things off your list today to minimize feeling fragmented.

So think about it . . . are you ready to resist the popular notion that multi-tasking is the way to go? If so, try these tips to see how they work for you. You will be pleasantly surprised!

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New England Chocolate & The Entrepreneur Spirit!

The New England Chocolate Company is a delightful oasis in the midst of the busy beach town of Salisbury, MA (north of Boston). In 2002, Jayne Murray, owner & entrepreneur extraordinaire, decided she was ready to leave 22 years of being a speech pathologist. But what could she do or want to do? A delicious idea began bubbling up . . . she and her husband, Les, really like (love) chocolate especially fine Belgian chocolates. In their many travels over the years, they have always gravitated to the chocolate shops in every city and village. But they couldn’t get that quality of chocolate in New England. An idea . . . could they make and sell fine chocolates themselves? The answer was yes.

Chocolate making it was. One year later Jayne & Les were in business making Belgian chocolates from their kitchen and selling it out the side door. In time, they rebuilt their property to accommodate a 750′ sales and kitchen area with their living spaces custom built above it. It all worked out and now Jayne & Les make undisputably the best Belgian chocolates in all of New England.

So what can we learn from the New England Chocolate Company? Jayne is my twin sister, Diane, favorite breakfast buddy and fellow twin mom. Just last week I had the chance to join them for a early breakfast in Salisbury. I asked Jayne the secrets to her success as a Chocolatier and a successful small business owner. With her wonderful laugh and savvy business sense, Jayne shared several tips for the new business owner. The first I want to share with you is the best . . . love what you do!

You Have to Like (Love) Chocolate!

Conversation on a Pier in MaineTo start your own business you have to like (preferably love) the product or service you are providing. Sounds so simple but it’s amazing how often this idea is overlooked when entrepreneurs start their own businesses. Loving what you do and what you provide will sustain you both during the prosperous times but, more importantly, during those tougher economic times. If you’re not very excited about the actual work you do then the work will become drudgery and you will quickly lose your interest, passion and commitment to making your successful.

So think about the work you do, or would like to do. Do you like it as much as Jayne likes her chocolates? Can you work day after day, month after month and year after year in this kind of work? If the answer is yes, you are well on your way to creating a business that truly fulfills you and that is profitable and fun to boot.

Now go celebrate with a piece of chocolate. Order direct from Jayne www.newenglandchocolatecompany.com or just stop in and see her when you are next in the New England area. You’ll be glad you did!

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Be Welcoming, A Valuable Tip from Starbucks

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the Starbucks Coffee distribution center located here in Northern Nevada. With beautiful views of the Carson Valley mountains, this distribution center is a huge operation shipping coffee throughout the western region. As I waited in the lobby, I was intrigued to read the Starbucks’ mission statement posted on the wall. Was it just words or does the organization really do what they say they believe in?

Within minutes I had my answer – yes, they really have a warm and welcoming culture that radiates out from all the interactions between HR, supervisors and the employees or “partners”. It’s not only words on the wall here at the distribution center but in every Starbucks store I’ve visited across the country. This core philosophy of “Be Welcoming” is included in The Starbucks’ Five Ways of Being which is captured in a pocket-sized book called The Green Apron Book given to each partner.

I love this idea . . . and how often we forget that being welcoming is not only critical to attracting new clients but to keeping our current and past clients engaged with us. Starbucks defines “be welcoming” as “offering everyone a sense of belonging”. It’s creating that sense of genuine connection (not just a transaction) that we all naturally want with others. Here are a few simple ways we can provide this in our own businesses and professional work.

  • Learn people’s names – remember & use them always
  • Listen to at’s important to people in both their personal & work lives
  • Be flexible in responding to people’s needs – everyone is different
  • Do a little extra for others – you will be appreciated and remembered
  • Stay in touch – don’t ignore people once they start to do business with you.
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The Starbucks Experience

The Starbucks Experience: 5 Principles for Turning Ordinary Into Extraordinary, by Joseph Michelli, 2007.

There is a wealth of wisdom in this short, easy to read book about how to get and keep loyal customers that come back to you over & over. Michelli takes us through the Starbucks “Five Ways of Being” that have created a company that “aspires to enrich the human spirit”. Starbucks knows what’s important to all of us – a sense of connection – and has consciously built that into their business plan very successfully. Enjoy reading each of the five principles and learn how to turn the ordinary of your business into the extraordinary of your future.

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Common Mistake in Email Communication!

Email subject lines make all the difference in getting your email read by someone else.  If you want your colleague, boss or customer to read your email sooner than later you must write a subject line that catches their attention and personalizes it as well.  This is the most common mistake I see in emails.   Yes, I know that it’s easier to just jot a quick response to someone – not change the subject line – and then hit the submit button.  But don’t be surprised if then the other person doesn’t get around to reading your email for days thinking that it is old news.

I’m sure I’m not unique when I start my work day out with rapidly scan my incoming emails for those that are first priority.  A quick glance at the subject lines alert me to those that need my attention first and then those that are less urgent and can wait a bit. Sometimes there are red flags but I don’t find those as helpful as a personal note from someone I know.  The subject lines give me a quick and easy way to sort through the flood of emails – on the bottom of the pile goes those emails that were forwarded and that have old subject lines.  And I’m pretty ruthless about deleting all misc. and junk emails – I just have to delete, delete and delete or I will be buried within two days.

Hidden in the Email

But sometimes I’m wrong!  I’ll click on an email a couple of days later to discover that it actually had something really important in it and that someone needed me to take some immediate action.  I never knew it was a priority because there was no indication in the subject line.  Then I feel like I’m playing catch up – or worse – I may have totally missed out on a great training, coaching or networking opportunity.  And it’s a bit awkward to suggest that if only the sender had written what they needed in the subject line I could have gotten back to them much sooner.

3 Quick Tips to Get Your Email Read

So here are three quick tips to make sure your email gets read.  First, change the subject line to say exactly what you need from your reader.  Second, add your first name so they know who is writing them.  And third, you can ask a question to make sure you get a response.  An example for an email regarding an upcoming meeting could be “Mtg. Wed. Sept 7th/Can You Attend?/Kit”.  And a little bit of humor is perfectly okay as well – we want the reader to always respond positively to seeing our name in their email in-box!

 

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