Tag: measure

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Better Goal Setting Tips for Maximum Productivity

Research shows that setting the right goals increases your success by as much as twenty-five percent. However, you can’t just set any goal. You need to align and refine them to specifically suit your needs and the direction you want your life to go.

 

Here are the five goal setting tips you need to improve and be more successful in life and business:

 

First Imagine Your Ideal Life

Block out all distractions, everyone else’s opinions, what you currently have, what career path you’re on, and where your life is presently going, and imagine for a moment your perfect and ideal life. Where would you like to live? What activities would you be enjoying outside of business? How much work would you be doing to get there?

 

These are all important questions and things you need to evaluate to be sure you are creating the right goals to achieve happiness. Just because something is popular, or you already went to school for something, doesn’t mean you need to keep doing it or can’t change up your plan. Reflect and understand who you really are and what you want.

 

For example, if you would like free time with your family or enjoy the “four-hour workweek,” then you must do hard work now and set your life up with the right goals and action plan to get there. You can’t expect that kind of life working as a brain surgeon to give you a different perspective.

 Building a Freedom Lifestyle

Think Quarterly, Weekly and Daily

All goals require more goals or action steps to get them done. Think about the big picture or objective you need to achieve. Then break it down into weekly and daily goals that you can get done within 90 days. Research shows that 90 minutes is the perfect amount of time to get big things done while using your time more while avoiding rushing.

 

Keep Them “SMART” And Prioritize

As stated earlier, picking just any goal isn’t the right strategy. While it still increases your success more than going with the flow, you can get even more out of it by giving it more focus. In other words, a vague goal will produce lackluster results when you could get even more value by working on them a little harder.

 

A common and successful way to do this is to follow the mnemonic acronym, S.M.A.R.T:

 

  • Keep them specific and to the point.
  • Make them measurable.
  • They need to be attainable.
  • Keep them relevant and realistic.
  • They must be time-sensitive.

 

Establish Strict Deadlines

All goals must come with strict deadlines; otherwise, you will continue to permit yourself to use more time than needed for the tasks. Providing a sense of urgency can give you the motivation and inspiration you need to finally get them done and achieve more goals in the long run.

 

Setting goals are a powerful tool for your business as long as you have the right strategies in mind. Keep them S.M.A.R.T and always remember what you want for your business and life to be more successful.

 

 

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Home Office Automation Tips

When thinking of automation, you may forget that the work you do in your office is also a place that you can start automating. Yes, you want to automate as much as you can outside the office, too but one of the first places you can streamline your efforts is via office automation. There is more to office automation than going paperless. It’s about removing the human component or at least your need to act to get something done.

 

  • Design Your Workflow – For every project, you do in your office, there is a process that ensures successful completion. Design a workflow for each project so that you know the full process. You cannot automate anything if you don’t know each step that it takes to get to finished properly.

 

  • Notice Anything You Do Repeatedly – If you do it again and again, chances are it can be automated. For example, if you always need to transfer data from one place to another to get started with your work, can that task be automated using IFTTT.com?

 

  • Ensure Your Office is Compatible with Your Real Life – Most people who work for themselves need their office to travel with them. You’ll want to avoid using any system that is not compatible with mobile devices and systems. You should not have to go to your PC to get it done. The more mobile your tools are, the more likely you are to be able to use automation software too.

 

  • Check Compatibility with Your Existing Software and Systems – When you choose new tools to use for your business to enhance automation, it needs to work seamlessly with the software and systems you already use to be worthwhile. Of course, the one exception is if you’ve been stubborn about upgrading and using the best tools due to the cost of investment. If you are using older free tools cobbled together, you will have more issues making automation work than if you bite the bullet and invest.

 

  • Always Test the Results – Each tool that you use has native analytics and reports that you can use to determine if you’re getting the results that you wanted. If you’re not, don’t keep doing the same thing. Use the metrics to inform your next steps. Always make data-centric choices for your business.

 

  • The Small Stuff Does Matter – Even the smallest thing can change your entire workday. For example, what if you automated your office so that when you walk into your office, the light turns on, and so does your computer? Anything you can reasonably do to cut down on the steps will make you more productive and save tons of time, your most valuable resource.

 

Automating your office, whether it’s designed to turn on your computer, make you a pot of coffee, or turn on the lights, or it’s using software to let artificial intelligence do the task for you, will all help to make your days go much more smoothly. You’ll save time and be able to stay on top of the important stuff that needs your personal touch.