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Lyn Bailey – Life by Design

Tag: working moms

  • What Does It Mean to Live in the Now?

    What Does It Mean to Live in the Now?

    What Does It Mean to Live in the Now? 

     

    Living in the now means you maintain your focus on the present moment. It means that you don’t look to the past. Dwelling on the past is one of the reasons that so many people find themselves unhappy. You might be feeling like you wasted years of your life being in a certain relationship.

    You might struggle with feelings of inferiority when looking at the past because you think of the life that you should have led. You might worry that the life you’ve had wasn’t productive enough. Maybe all you can see are missed opportunities. This leads to a struggle with regret.

    Sometimes, this discontent leads to a struggle with shame. All that looking backward at the past does is to make you feel regret, nostalgia, or wish that you could rewind time to go back. You might think that if only you could go back in time, you could change things and have a better life.

    “If only” thinking leads to deep dissatisfaction with the life that you have now. It can lead to feelings of grief and that can turn into depression. Looking toward the past is detrimental to living in the now. It can steal your present happiness. Accept the past for what it is. It made you who you are and gave you the strength and wisdom you now have. Appreciate it, but don’t let it be your focus.

    If you’re looking to the future, that’s not living in the now either. When you live with what could be or focus on the future, you can get stuck in judgement. This can lead to not accepting yourself in the now or the life that you’ve built, which causes deep unhappiness.

    It’s okay to look forward to the future and to plan for it, but not to the extent that it prevents you from being present in the moment. Living in the now is something that you want to strive for. It can be useful during times of stress or crisis when you keep your focus on the present. You won’t find yourself worrying about what has happened or what could happen.

    You’ll be able to develop an attitude of handling a problem as it arises rather than living in a state of bracing for something to happen.

    Not only can living in the now help you in times of stress and crisis but also just in managing day-to-day life. You’ll be able to take imperfections for what they are rather than allowing them to blossom into big deals. You’ll be able to appreciate the little things. You’ll stop measuring yourself and focus on self-love.

    If you need help to start living in the Now, with the current world pandemic, then book HERE for a FREE 30 minute How to Live in the Now coaching session.

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  • 5 Easy Steps To Take The Headache Out Of Productivity

    5 Easy Steps To Take The Headache Out Of Productivity

    LaptopAre you working longer hours yet getting less done? How would you like get more work done in less time? If what you are doing right now isn’t working, then it is time for a change. It’s time to develop a whole new productivity system for your business, home and life!

    The thing that trips most people is that it takes time, energy and know-how to develop and use a good productivity system from scratch. It took me years of trial and error to develop the system that I’m using now and work out all the keys. A great way to shortcut the process is to look for a proven productivity system and adapt it to your unique situation. In the rest of this section, I’m going to take you through a simple five-step process that can serve as the core or foundation of your personal productivity system. If you want more help creating your own productivity system, don’t hesitate to contact me for a one-on-one introductory session to get a system in place.

    To get my FREE “8 Simple Ways to Have a More Productive Day” Cheat Sheet just click here!

    5 Step Basic Productivity Process

    1. Capture: Capture and collect all your projects and tasks to get them out of your head and into your system.  
    2. Organise: Organise your projects and tasks in a way that makes sense so you can wrap your head around them and use them more effectively in later steps.
    3. Prioritise: Prioritise your most important projects and tasks so you know the most valuable way to spend your time. 
    4. Plan: Plan your weeks and your days so you can maximise your productivity and focus on what is most important to you. 
    5. Act: – Act NOW! What one step do you need to do today to move you closer to your goal? 

     

    By following these 5 easy steps, you can start to take control of your projects, your business and your life. You can start to let go of those feelings of overwhelm, “Oh my goodness, I’m not getting anywhere,” frustration, and guilt that you have spent all this time working in your business and you have nothing to show for it. 

    To get my FREE “8 Simple Ways to Have a More Productive Day” Cheat Sheet just click here!

    Let me share an example of how one of my clients was able to put massive change into his business using this system. He was a young real estate agent. He was full of life and very enthusiastic and loved what he did, and showed me his to-do list, and showed me tick, tick, tick, tick. All these things were ticked off and he was so excited about this.

    I said, “Well, what’s your income like?” He said, “Well, that’s the problem. I’m not getting listings and I’m not selling houses.” I said, “Well, hang on. Let’s look at this to-do list.” He would have 20 things on his to-do list. He would cross 18, 19 of them off every day and the one that was left sitting there day in, day out was to follow up prospects which would lead to finding new leads, people who wanted to sell their houses. Day in and day out, finding houses to sell was on his list, but not getting done. He was so excited about doing everything else, he was missing the number one action that he needed to do. 

    Once we got him to rearrange his projects and we put finding new listings as his number one priority, his whole attitude towards his business changed. He started to find listings. He started to sell houses and he started to make an income in his real estate business. That just gives you a little bit of an idea of what I’m talking about with how important it is to manage our projects wisely. 

    Give this system a go. Let me know what is working and not working for you.

    To get my FREE “8 Simple Ways to Have a More Productive Day” Cheat Sheet just click here!

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  • Is Multitasking really the answer to productivity?

    Is Multitasking really the answer to productivity?

    Is Multitasking really the answer to productivity?

    Multitasking seems like a great tool to get more done. But you have to ask yourself, are you really ever truly multitasking and won’t it just set you up for confusion?

    “Think you’re good at multi-tasking? Feeling energized that you can whip through email messages while simultaneously listening to discussions on a conference call? You might not be as efficient as you think.

    It turns out that 98% of the population doesn’t multi-task very well. Only about 2% are good at multi-tasking and these “supertaskers are true outliers.” For most of us, we’re not really multi-tasking – we’re actually shifting back and forth from one task to another, such as typing an email and then listening to that conference call conversation, then back to our email and so on.

    The problem with trying to multi-task is all that shifting back and forth between tasks isn’t all that efficient because, each time we do it, it takes our brain some time to refocus. So while it might seem efficient on the surface, it isn’t – studies show that multi-tasking can reduce productivity by as much as 40%.” See Forbes

    If you are typing an email, it is unlikely you will be able to concentrate on something else at the same time. If you are on the phone, can you really give your attention to who you are talking to if you are reading your Kindle book at the IThe truth is, we are not really good at multitasking.

    Looking at even a higher level, if we try to be a jack-of-all-trades, we tend not to be good at any one thing. On the other hand, if you focus on just one skill and put every effort into being the best at that skill, you are going to do a pretty good job at that skill. It will only take a matter of time before you are expert at it.

    My Family

    As a working mother of 4 young children, I used to pride myself at being great at multitasking. The truth was that my world was falling apart around me. I didn’t see myself as a good wife, a great mum or a good midwife. I was a jack of all trades and a master of none. Something had to give. I changed the way I started to look at my day and my To Do list. I learned how to focus on 1 or 2 really important, productive goals each day and worked at them until they were completed. This allowed me to feel I had achieved what I set out to do, and, in turn, feel better about myself.

    While it’s true that we live in a fast-paced society, one requiring more and more of us to take on more tasks, it remains to be seen whether we are improving productivity by doing this. If instead, we figured out what the most important tasks are to move the organization ahead and then focus workers’ resources on those tasks, it is likely that the productivity gains could be greater from this.

    Buddhists believe that people should focus on one task and one task only. They widely hold the belief that we are not good at multitasking, in fact, we are terrible at it. Even if the task given is mundane, it should be completed to the best of our abilities and only then do we move onto something else.

    You’ll find plenty of people who will swear that they are good multitaskers. But if you look deeper at what those people are doing, more often than not you will find they are not good at it at all. These people tend to get easily distracted because they are trying to do too many things at the same time. It’s not that they are necessarily worse at it. It’s just that since they hold the belief that they are good multitaskers, they tend to do it more than others. So they appear to be worse at it. None of us are really good at it. You will find your productivity will increase if you focus on one task at a time.

    If you would like some help in making this change in your life, then contact me for a FREE 30 minute strategy session to point you in the right direction. Click here to arrange a time.

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  • The Power of Focus

    The Power of Focus

    The Power of Focus

     

    The Power of Focus

    How do you get the most out of your day?
    Where do you find the extra hours you want to pursue your passion or live your life to the fullest?
    What is the secret to unlocking that extra time to do what you love to do, instead of what you think you have to do?
    Women are very capable of multitasking. As mothers, we are even more capable of it. Employers encourage it. Unfortunately, statistics show that multitasking decreases our productivity, no matter what we are doing.
    “About 2.5% of subjects can multitask without performing worse at either task, in controlled studies. These are being dubbed “supertaskers.””
    Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 5/2010
    While many people aspire to be “supertaskers”, only 2.5% succeed. For the rest of us, that means that we decrease our focus and attention on each of the tasks we are tackling at any given time. How do we change this? The answer is simple – FOCUS.

    7 Steps to Focus

    1. Have Goals – know what you want. Set clear, concise goals so that you know what you want and when you want it.
    2. Avoid Multitasking – multitasking is not the best use of your time. Block out 1-2 hour blocks to focus on your goal.
    3. Take Regular Breaks – give yourself a short 5 minute break every hour to keep yourself rested and hydrated.
    4. Identify Distractions – identify your 3 greatest distractions and take steps to eliminate them.
    5. To Do list – this will keep you on track as you will always know what the next step is.
    6. Keep Your Eyes and Mind on the Prize –Focus on the end result until you achieve it. This will keep you motivated and moving forward towards your goal.
    7. Reward Yourself – Decide at the outcome how you will reward yourself when you achieve your goal, then reward yourself on completion. You deserve it!

    Go for it now. Start to give yourself time to see the Power of Focus as you incorporate it into your day and your life!

    Where will your FOCUS be today?

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