Is a Balanced Life Even Possible When You’re a Business Owner?
For many of us, a balanced life just seems like an impossibility. January is Get a Balanced Life month, which may seem like a resolution that’s destined to fail more than anything else.
Brains and Productivity: What Business Owners Need to Know
The word productivity itself is overused, and can mean different things for different people. It covers both the work I do in helping business owners reclaim their time by working with their brains instead of against them.
What Do You Want More of in 2024?
The last week of the year is (rightly, I think) a time to reflect on the previous year and think about the coming one. The current year is dying so the new one can take its place.
Maybe that sounds a bit morbid (sorrynotsorry). But what do you want to let go in 2023 and welcome in 2024?
Knowing Yourself Brings Better Productivity for Business Owners
When I was a kid, my eye doctor would always tell me that dynamite comes in small packages because I was always short for my age.
Don’t Let Apps Interrupt Your Business
We’ve all heard of work-life balance, but maybe it’s time for tech-life balance. Which is probably easier to achieve, anyway.
Do You Have The Courage To Be More Productive?
You might ask what bravery has to do with productivity.
American culture celebrates “busy-ness”. When people are asked how they’re doing, they often respond “So busy!” And wouldn’t we all be embarrassed to say otherwise? Imagine the looks of horror if you said, “Not at all busy!” Many, but not all, retirees seem to need to be busy too.
One Thing At a Time For Business Owners
December is coming, and there are lots of parties and fun things to do. Business owners might feel like they don’t have enough time to get everything done, and as a result, try to multitask.
Why Buy Nothing Day is Good for Business Owners
My first day of “real” work (aside from babysitting jobs) was the day after Thanksgiving in 1988. I was 16, and the entire day I stood behind the counter and dealt with the hangers (I worked in a women’s clothing store.)
Find Your Four Hours for Productivity
There are a few ways to improve productivity, but they don’t all have the same impact.
Why NaNoWriMo (& Other Creative Pursuits) Are Great for Business Owners
If you’re a business owner, it might seem crazy to devote a month to writing a novel (National Novel Writing Month). I’m not saying I’m perfectly sane, but I enjoy writing. And I’ll use NaNoWriMo to give me a goal, some support, and a deadline.
Doesn’t sound all that different from a business goal, does it?
How Business Owners Can Be More Productive Through Zero Tasking
Does the idea of being more productive with no tasks whatsoever sound crazy?
Probably, but here’s the thing: the human brain, yours included, is not a machine. Unlike your computer, it only has limited time each day (about 4 to 4 ½ hours) for cognitively demanding work that involves numbers, strategizing, planning, etc.
Financial Planning and Productivity
If you’re a business owner, you need to know your numbers.
Turning Info Into Knowledge and Productivity (For Business Owners)
If you feel like you’re living in a firehose of information, you’re not alone – and you’re not wrong, either.
For Freethought Day, Unleash Your Brain and Boost Your Firm’s Productivity
All business owners are engaged in knowledge work. And if you have an accounting, legal, financial, marketing, or architecture firm, your business is also knowledge work. Which makes the most important tool in your toolbox – weapon in your arsenal – ingredient in your pantry… your brain.
3 Ways to Improve Your Office for Productivity
If you’re a business owner, whether you have staff or you’re solo, you know you need a dedicated space to work. You also know that the space you’re in affects how effective you can actually be, and the same is true for your staff.
Are Your Addictions Distracting You?
September is National Recovery Month, and while many addictions are frowned upon, some are socially acceptable. If a substance has you in its grip, you’re losing brain function to it. And if you’re a business owner or other type of knowledge worker, that means you’re losing productivity (and likely profit) as well.
Are You A Business Owner Who’s In Her Own Way?
Have you hit a profit plateau? Or maybe you’re thinking about changing the way you do business to a model that provides a higher margin. You might be able to break through your ceiling with the people that you have, but you’ll probably need to change some processes even if you don’t need to re-evaluate your staff.
But of course, as the business owner, you might be the biggest bottleneck of all!
5 Popular Business Myths That Hurt Your Business
As a business owner, you’re always trying to make the best use of your time. You’re aware that there are only so many hours in a day, and lots of things to do. Maybe you listen to productivity podcasts, or read books and articles, or even blogs and posts like this one.
Which is great… unless you’re reading something that’s based on a myth. Or great for a lion sleep chronotype, and you’re a bear (like me) or wolf or dolphin. Or something that’s based on popular culture that actually doesn’t match up with how human brains actually work.
Why Modern American Business Culture Is Bad for Productivity (For Business Owners)
Do you feel like you don’t have enough hours in the day as a business owner? Or do you feel like you have plenty of time to get everything done?
If you live and work in the US, the chances are you feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day. It’s not necessarily true, but our culture can definitely make you think that there is always more work to be done and that you need to be busy.
But why is that culture so bad for productivity in the workplace?
Your Knowledge Business Needs You To Listen to Music
Did you play an instrument as a kid? Do you still play? Whatever the answer is to those two questions, music can play a big part in a more productive workplace. September is Classical Music Month, but even if you hate classical music, it’s a great month to get back in tune with the music you do like. (See what I did there? I slay me.)