Organizing

October 8, 2021November 1, 2022

4 step method to help you decide if you should call a meeting

It’s truly life-changing once we start to honor our time and stop wasting it on activities that serve us very little.

One of those activities are meetings. If you’re a coach who is on their way to level up, communication with your team is your daily necessity. However, there is a big difference between time well spend and time well wasted.

If you’re a micromanager who likes to know and be in control of everything that happens in your business, it’s time to switch a few things around. It’s great and necessary to be informed of major aspects, but not everything is important enough to require your presence and involvement at every level all the time.

If you’re a high achiever, you know that productive action matters when it comes to reaching your goals. So does effective communication. Unfortunately organizing and attending meetings is a big waste of your time. Especially when the task or issue could have been solved with a quick phone call or email.

Here are a few suggestions to keep you responsible for your time and help you decide whether the meeting is necessary or it’s just another way to steal your time away:

1. Are you clear on the situation? If the answer is “no”, then hold off the meeting. What you need to do instead is to create a plan. A strategic approach to a situation will save you time and help you get clear on agenda. This process will give you a clear idea of what to come and what to do about it. If the answer is “yes”, move on to the next question.
2. Do I need others’ input to make progress? If there is something blocking you from making a progress, then move to the next question. However, if you feel that can get on with the situation yourself, there is no need for a meeting. All you have to do at this point is dedicate time in your calendar to get going with the work.
3. Do you need to have a real-time conversation to make a progress? If you do need help from outside sources, establish whether you need that support in real-time. Maybe an email would work just fine?
4. Do you need to meet face-to-face to make progress? If so, you have reached that point when you need to organize that meeting. If it’s not the case and you know that message or a phone call would love your problem, go for it.

"Organizing and attending meetings is a big waste of time." - Agnese Rudzate

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It might not always be easy to decide who to invite to a meeting. Especially when an important decision needs to be made. Inviting too many people, or people who cannot help you reach your goal can cause major ineffectiveness. To determine whether a specific person will serve the agenda of the meeting, ask yourself these 2 questions: Do I need input from this person? Will this person add value?

If you’re not an organizer but have been invited to a meeting, there are a couple of things you can do to save your time:

1. Ask for the agenda. If a meeting doesn’t have one, there is no need for it to happen in the first place. This is a great sign that your time in that meeting will not be spent on strategic goal achieving plan creation 🙂
2. Encourage collaboration. Trust that your team is strong enough to handle situations without your constant presence and involvement. Encouragement and trust will reward themselves and show up in your time freedom and more effective teamwork.
3. Ask for meeting notes. If you want to be informed of the situation, meeting notes is the best way to save yourself some time, but still, be in the loop of what happening.

I see a lot of time wasted why coaches who want to squeeze every precious minute out of the day. If that is the case for you start by doing a little inventory of where your time goes and how you could minimize unproductive activities creeping in. Join us at the Less is More program to create an effective communication system!

I would love to hear from you if you are a “meeting” person and how meeting impacts your time freedom?

Talk soon!

xx Agnese

Want to increase your productivity to have time freedom while running a thriving business?

Want to boost your productivity by restoring your mind to balance, harmony and clarity?

What to know how to organize anything?

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Why do coaches keep struggling to take productive action and how to fix it?

There’s a big difference between taking action and taking productive action. The only secret there is lies in our intention behind our actions. That’s it. That is your answer to the unproductive action you’re taking to keep yourself busy without any clear return on your time investment.

There is nothing wrong to scroll through Facebook if that’s what you intend to do. However, when you mindlessly swipe one reel after the other it’s when innocent minutes turn into wasted hours.

Here are a couple of reasons why you keep struggling to take productive action when running a coaching business:

1. You have a to-do list. Yes, that’s right! Having a to-do list is highly ineffective and distracting. If you choose to have one, it’s your responsibility to make it as short and focused as possible. If you choose to never create one again – simply schedule the actions you have on your to-do list into your calendar. That way you will assign time for important tasks and eliminate what is not actually serving you.
2. You’re afraid of leveling up. And that fear is keeping you unproductive. Maybe you don’t even know it yet, but unconsciously you are making decisions that keep you in your comfort level. Nothing bad with that, because you are in a great place. However, if you want to reach that Next Level of success, you have to be willing to commit to changes and stretch yourself to grow.
3. You know and do everything. Yes, there are a lot of coaches who wear too many hats and “think” they know how to do everything better than anyone. While that might be true in your mind, it’s time to invite more trust int to your management system. Doing everything by yourself is not productive, it’s exhausting. Time is precious, so are your other recourses (money, energy, ..). If you think that you’re saving money by doing everything yourself, you’re right. But other resources like time and energy are fading at a lightning speed. It’s all about prioritizing well enough so you can enjoy a great balance of all of your recourses.

"Doing everything by yourself is not productive, it’s exhausting." - Agnese Rudzate

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Taking action is fairly simple. Although many struggle with that and tend to procrastinate, make excuses, and waste time by doing trivial tasks. It seems so simple on the surface – just do it! But what to do when “just do it” doesn’t work?

Spending even a couple of hours a day in focused action is not an easy task to complete. However, there are few proven methods that will support you.

1. Reconsider deleting your to-do list and never creating one again. If you want to know more about my theory on this, please have a look here: The great benefits of deleting your to-do list.
2. Work on your pain. Your inner tigers highly affect your actions. When we feel discomfort we tend to avoid the task and lean for distractions. It is our inner pain that causes us to waste time. Fear of getting hurt is one of the biggest natural reactions in our bodies that try to keep us safe. However, there is very little growth in “safe”. Stepping out of the comfort takes time and dedication. But it’s possible through your courage to lead by example and create an even greater impact with your talent in coaching.
3. Trust the process and your team. Even if you don’t have one yet, because “you can do it all”, doesn’t mean that it’s the best way for you to move forwards. Especially if you’re planning to level up as a business owner hoping to change more and more lives. Meditations have helped me to ground and trust the processes around me, and I’m sure they will help you too. Business growth is not possible without technical improvements, team building, and leadership growth. It’s all part of creating an impact that is far greater than your imagination.

"Change is not scary, it's necessary." - Agnese Rudzate

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A lot of components need to come together for you to be able to manage your time with confidence. But it is not as scary and complicated as it might seem. With the right support system, technologies and guidance anything is possible. I mean it!

I would love to hear from you in the comments if you are willing to try one or a couple of my suggestions to fix unproductive action? Which would you choose?

Want to increase your productivity to have time freedom while running a thriving business?

Want to boost your productivity by restoring your mind to balance, harmony and clarity?

What to know how to organize anything?

About Agnese

“LESS” & “SIMPLE” approach to life, business and mind for next level success

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How to make planning Liberating instead of Restricting?

Planning liberation blog article agnese rudzate productivity business systems

How to make planning Liberating instead of Restricting?

I can’t tell you how many times I have heard that planning just puts you in the box leaving very little to no space for changes, it restricts your creativity and dictates your every step. At the end of the day, you only get disappointed if something doesn’t go as planned.

There are both sides of this story (like it is with any other, right?)

Planning can indeed create frustration if expectations are not met.

It all depends on how you look at it (yes, it’s that “mindset” thing again!)

There are 2 possibilities:

1. Plan every smallest step to the point where you have now flexibility for any changes to appear.

The first option is the one that people are mostly referring to when thinking about planning. I have to agree that it can be very frustrating when you have planned a trip and suddenly things get canceled and you have to replan the whole trip… Things like that are inevitable, they are out of your control. And that’s the beauty of it. How boring would life be if we would know exactly what’s gonna happen next?

Unfortunately because of this perception that planning is boring and puts you in a “frame” many people avoid it in hopes to save their flow, freedom, creativity, and to avoid frustration, disappointment, and feeling of restriction.

But let me tell you, planning is so freakin’ FREEING!

2. Plan general steps allowing interactions and having space to make the best lemonade out of any lemon that is thrown your way.

This is where you know your biggest steps, but have not set in stone any of the smaller parts allowing to “go with the flow” when it’s necessary and not get disappointed when things don’t turn out the way you expected. (Expectation is another thing you should not be leaning on too much, but that’s a topic for a different article). And when you push aside the negativity, fear, and unwillingness to accept the changes, you will see that in fact the moment a plan doesn’t work out, means that there is change happening. Change in the right direction.

How can planning Liberate you and make you feel in control at the same time?

1. Have a Plan B in mind, even when wishing for Plan A.

In no sense, I’m suggesting that you should give up on Plan A at the very beginning. What I am suggesting is that you have clarity in case it doesn’t. This is how you will not get overwhelmed and will know exactly how to proceed to achieve your goal. Be open-minded and don’t get too attached to your Plan A. I’m sure you know that sometimes life gets in the way and things happen….

There are always to sides to every story and I want for you to be on the success side.

To avoid disappointment allow yourself enough room to explore plan B:

- - - - What is it that you can do if Plan A wouldn’t work out?
      - What other options are out there?
      - What would it mean for you to take a different path?
      - Is Plan B doable?

As you start to explore other options you will start to feel a sense of peace knowing that even if things don’t go as planned there are enough other things you can do.

2. Have clear action steps to take for any possible outcome.

No matter what happens think of a couple of ways you can make any situation better and turn it around to work in your favor. That will give you peace of mind and confidence that things will always work in your favor. Here I will repeat what every guru has already said, meaning, that every cloud has a silver lining. Once you start to look at things thou this idiom, your mindset switches into action mode instead of miserably wondering in disappointment land.

"Things always work out in your favor." - Agnese Rudzate

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3. Change your mindset into success mode.

I can’t repeat it enough – mindset is everything! I have experienced myself and have seen many amazing transformations just by a small shift in a mindset. Remember that everything happens for a reason. And the fact that you plan A didn’t might be the best thing that happened.

That’s the biggest difference between successful people and the ones that are just let’s say “complainers” and “other blamers” and,… ok, I’ll stop now.

"Successful people own every situation, every mistake, every achievement." - Agnese Rudzate

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It might not seem that easy at first, but once the situation unfolds, there is always some good that comes out of things not going exactly the way you planned!

To be confident in your delegating decisions, there are a couple key elements to delegate the right way

At the end of the day, you and your team are the ones building your business. I probably don’t have to remind you that it is crucial to choose the right team. Be specific in your requirements when hiring, ask for a specific skill set to be sure they will meet the requirements for the job to be done smoothly.

This is how I see planning – being more of a liberation than restriction. Without a plan, we would all just be lost and have no clarity around anything.

I know that many like to shame planning, but in reality, we all plan things – what to cook for dinner – you have to buy the product you will need, so there the planning you do every single day! How about business projects? You would be able to achieve results without a plan, right?

So we all do plan, some are more strict with sticking to it, and others like to get more into the flow marking of the biggest stepping stones. Either way is fine as long as you are achieving what you sent yourself up for.

Let me know if you are a “planner” or more “go with the flow” kind of lady? And have this article change your mind in any way about planning for liberation? I’m looking forward to hearing from you in the comments.

Here’s to having a plan and being able to enjoy the freedom it brings!

Agnese

Want to increase your productivity to have time freedom while running a thriving business?

Want to boost your productivity by restoring your mind to balance, harmony and clarity?

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How to Delegate the right way

Delegate the right way Agnese Rudzate productivity strategist mentor coach

How to Delegate the right way

Stop feeling guilty and start trusting others.

I’ve been there myself. I felt like I don’t deserve to even have things that I could potentially delegate or outsource because I thought that it would make me less of an achiever. My mind said that I should be able to do all this by myself, but my brain new that it will lead to constant overwhelm and overwork.

Delegation can take many different forms, and each option depends on your business and your needs.

"Whatever system you choose for your business it needs to be able to grow and change as your needs grow and change." - Agnese Rudzate

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The two most common ways are to hire an employee or outsource to an independent contractor such as a virtual assistant.

To avoid my trial and error along the way I want to introduce you to a couple of points to take into consideration when planning to delegate and help you to figure out what is best to outsource.

Why delegate?

By delegating you’re not only giving yourself time to focus on your most vital business activities, but you’re alleviating some of the pressure of always doing everything yourself.

The big starting point is TRUST.

Delegation requires trust and that is something that for many women doesn’t come naturally. Plus it is even harder to build trust when you’re overloaded already. And to be sure that your money is well spent (because you are paying to whoever is completing your delegated tasks), you need to understand the technicalities of those tasks.

To be confident in your delegating decisions, there are a couple key elements to delegate the right way

What to delegate?

Remember that you are paying for this, so make sure to delegate important, well-defined tasks that are bringing results.

- - Let’s be honest – you are not a genius at everything. The good news – you don’t have to be. There are so many people other ready to help, dive deep, and really make it for, all you need is trust in them. So first take a look at your business processes and notice what doesn’t bring you joy. No one loves every task equally, and if there are things you find yourself avoiding because you just don’t like doing them, it could be something you could delegate.
  - Things that can’t be automated. Anything repetitive can be automated, which saves not only time but also money. There is no pint on waisting someone else’s time and your money on things that you can give to an internet-robot helper. If technologies scare you, you’re not alone, but the good news is that everything is figuroutable as Marie Forleo states.
  - Things that can’t be eliminated. This might sound scary but is crucial to greater success in time freedom and business profits. Did I already mention that you are wasting your money and someone else’s’ time by delegating unimportant tasks that doesn’t bring real results? Not everything is important, not everything needs your personal attention and not everything is supposed to be on your shoulders. Take some weight off by clearing your business activities from unimportant tasks.

2. Whom to delegate?

You might already have a small team or at least a Virtual Assistant. What to keep in mind here is that each team member has different strengths. By learning those along with weaknesses will highly increase their work efficiency and quality. You want for them to perform their best because this is your business we are talking about.

"Successful delegation, to someone who’s ready and able to complete the work, will help you build trust for future assignments." - Agnese Rudzate

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3. How to Delegate?

Crystal Clear Communication is key here. I’m convinced most people to want to do a good job, but they may need to know what you consider to be a job well done. This means clearly articulating exact steps from start to finish and explaining what are your expectations as far as each step of the process. If you can get clear on that, preferably in writing, then you can give them something to look out for if they have questions. A face-to-face explanation is great, but write directions can hilly save your time and misunderstandings.

Now, are you ready to delegate?

Let me know down below what obstacles you have had to overcome before delegating?

And I would love to hear what are you most likely to delegate or outsource in your business?

Here’s to taking charge of our time and getting clear on our strength to be able to delegate areas of weaknesses.

Talk soon!

Agnese

Want to increase your productivity to have time freedom while running a thriving business?

Want to boost your productivity by restoring your mind to balance, harmony and clarity?

What to know how to organize anything?

About Agnese

“LESS” & “SIMPLE” approach to life, business and mind for next level success

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20 fun facts about me

It’s time to get more open and reveille some facts about myself just for fun

There are things that I share openly and others that I hide deliberately 🙂

But I feel like it’s time to get more open and reveille some facts about myself just for fun and because I wanted to challenge myself to see if I can even come up with 5 facts worth sharing.

Some of the things you might already know, some will be new and others… I’ll let you judge for yourself. Either way, I hope this takes your mind off your to-do tasks for a moment and lets you switch off the brain.

So, I say we get to know each other a whole lot better, shall we?

In the spirit of sharing, here are 20 fun facts about me:

1

I don’t drink coffee. The taste and the aftertaste – eww. I’ve tried to acquire a taste for it, but it’s just not going to happen. Instead I drink tea. Lots of it. Mostly herbal tea that me or my family have been collecting during summer time. It’s the whole thing to know what tea to drink when as each of plants has their own benefits.

2

My top VIA Character Strengths are: 1) prudence; 2) honesty; 3) leadership; 4) judgment; and 5) teamwork.

3

I believe in Karma. We create our own reality and what we give, we receive.

4

I’m an aspiring vegan and I’m doing it to better my health. I’m constantly experimenting to see what is the right fit fo me so I can feel my best. It’s not that I’m against eating meat, but rather industrial farming and the chemicals/antibiotics in it that I don’t like.

5

Public speaking = biggest fear. Although I’m pushing myself to get out of my comfort zone, the thought of public speaking still turns my stomach into knots.

6

I’m constantly humming and singing – can’t help it! Apparently is quite healthy as it releases endorphins that makes people happy.

7

I have a certificate in nail care and artificial nail modelling.

8

I have the cutest dog. His name is Scooby Do, he weights 3 kg and is a Lion in heart – true protector of the house.

9

I’m a Virgo and ISFJ. And boy do these describe me to a T! That means I’m loyal, hard working, have a strong attention to detail (a nice way of saying I’m a perfectionist), like to help others, grounded, reliable, introverted, empathetic, conscientious and enthusiastic.

10

In primary school I use to be a huge fan of Britney Spears. I had a whole notebook with cutouts from journals with her pictures and interviews. I’m still a fan by the way, just without the notebook 🙂

11

I’m kind of (to not sound too cray-cray) in to conspiracy theories, unexplained stuff and mysteries oft he world. It’s nice to get my head in to totally different direction from time to time. Kind of like a reset button.

12

I’ve been living in the ski resort for over 8 year and never properly learned to ski or snowboard. Although I enjoy snowboarding more, I guess none of them are really “my thing”.

13

In primary school I sang in a choir, played piano, participated in a musical ensemble and sports activities. All that after my regular school day. Still to this day I’m wondering how much I could do in one day. Poor me! How did I manage all that and still have fairly good grades?

14

I’m too much into sweets (maybe that explained the previous point). It’s something I’m I have been trying to cut down for over 2 years, without success. I know artificial sugar is bad, but those buns, muffins…

15

My hobbies include knitting (I have made couple of beanies, socks, jumpers and other knitwear only for myself though – the quality is not for others), sewing (blazers, skirts, home decors. Yes, I have my own sewing machine), arts&crafts, like making dreamcatchers.

16

I have 2 younger brothers. We have quite an age difference so when I was a teenager I had to babysit them – oh boy, I didn’t like it. But i’m glad I did- that though me a lot about responsibility and patience. Although I can be quite impatient, imagine how I would be without the early training? My mom new what she was doing.

17

Since I was little, I wanted to be a teacher. I even stole chalks from the class to go home and pretend that I’m teaching what ever subject I had to do a homework on. I use my wardrobe door as a blackboard.

18

Biking with my son is probably one of my favourite sportive activities. He loves it too, so it makes it much more enjoyable.

19

One thing I cannot live without in my kitchen is fruits and berries. Ok, thats 2 things, or maybe more. Anyways, I always need to have something juicy and fresh.

20

I love gardening (in moderation). Those beetroot fields are not for me, but flower beds I can handle with confidence. Plants inside home makes me happy.

Can’t believe I got to 20. I would love to hear what resonated with you most, what was surprising and what made total sense?

Let me know in the comments or write me a quick email to tell me about yourself.

Till next time!

To more fun and less seriousness 🙂

Agnese

Want to increase your productivity to have time freedom while running a thriving business?

Want to boost your productivity by restoring your mind to balance, harmony and clarity?

What to know how to organize anything?

About Agnese

“LESS” & “SIMPLE” approach to life, business and mind for next level success

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Are you scared of working LESS?

Working less blog post Agnese Rudzate productivity strategist

Why are you scared of working LESS?

Can you really earn more when working less?

I’m not the only one who has been conditioned to think that the harder I work the more money I will make; the harder I work, the more successful I will be; the harder I work, the more worthy I will be; the harder I work, the more appreciated I will be and so on….

I have to admit that I have actually been working HARD...

… working hard on changing my believes in all the above. Still in the process of that and I have to say, it’s quite challenging especially when they lurk their ugly head from people around.

But I get it.

We believe that working less will somehow minimize our success, our worth, and our deserving for better.

This is what we keep hearing:

“What comes easy, won’t last.”

“Hard work pays off.”

“Power means happiness; power means hard work and sacrifice.” – Beyonce Knowles

“We live in the kind of society where, in almost all cases, hard work is rewarded.” – Neil deGrasse Tyson

“There is no substitute for hard work, 23 or 24 hours a day. And there is no substitute for patience and acceptance.” – Cesar Chavez

“Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work.” – Peter Drucker

When we read these famous people telling us that hard work equals success, it’s hard to believe the opposite, right?

Starting your own business takes time, patience, sacrifices, energy, and endless motivation. All that is hard work. BUT now when you’re couple years in your business with constant income flow, shouldn’t it be the time to actually be able to enjoy the results?

"Lets put our conditioned believes aside for a moment and enjoy the freedom of choosing what we want to do, how we want to do it, and how much time we want to spend on it." - Agnese Rudzate

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It opens endless possibilities, in fact, there are many successful people who have proven that fewer working hours have worked in their favor by not only giving well deserved time freedom but also a significant increase in profits. Here are a few examples.

Entrepreneur Timothy Ferriss said he made more money working four hours per week than he did from working 80. In his book The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich, Timothy wrote that he was able to go from making $40,000 per year and working 80 hours per week to making $40,000 per month and working four hours per week.

Investor Sam Dogen said that at the beginning of his career he was working 70+ hours per week, but he retired at the age of 34, because he’s been saving and investing ever since he got his first job.

Even the whole companies have seen crazy income boost by applying fewer working hours:

An experiment that involved reducing the workweek by one day led to a 40% boost in productivity in a Microsoft subsidiary in Japan. The company said it also reduced the time spent in meetings by implementing a 30-minute limit and encouraging remote communication.

Their example only shows that everything is possible with the right mindset, strategy, and plan. Don’t exhaust yourself thinking that you will rest later or have some family time during the weekend only to realize that your to-do list needs finishing.

Search for answers, seek advice and you will find that it is also possible for you to work fewer hours without sacrificing well-built success.

If you are ready to bring better structure, systems, management and build time freedom for yourself, book your free call with me and lets talk strategy:

Otherwise, please know that you can always write me a quick note, short email (or a long one, I really don’t mind) if you have any concerns, questions, or need a little guidance in reducing the workload. Stop trying to figure it all out on your own, world is full of experts that are willing to guide you 🙂

To more time freedom and thriving businesses!

Agnese

Want to increase your productivity to have time freedom while running a thriving business?

Want to boost your productivity by restoring your mind to balance, harmony and clarity?

What to know how to organize anything?

About Agnese

“LESS” & “SIMPLE” approach to life, business and mind for next level success

Let's connect

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[VIDEO] Eliminate before you delegate

Eliminate before Deligate video blog Agnese Rudzate productivity coach for business owners

Eliminate before delegating

By delegating unimportant tasks you waste your money + someone else’s time.

This simple action will set you free from unnecessary, unimportant and badly-defined tasks that shouldn’t be done in the first place, because they not only waste your time, but also your money.

"Eliminate before you delegate to save time and money." - Agnese Rudzate

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If you have ever been given weird tasks, unimportant work, illogical assignments, you understand when I say that it’s not fun, productive or motivating. Quite the opposite – boring and complete waste of your time, knowledge and experience that could be used to bring real tangible results to the company instead.

As a leader it’s your job to show you know better. Be sure to use delegation to grow your business rather than as excuse to create more movement without clear results.

Watch my video where I talk about the importance of eliminating before delegating.

How about you? Are you assigning important useful work that not only saves you time, money, but also brings results?

I would love to hear your experience with delegation and how it has affected your business profits and time freedom?

To wise choices!

Agnese

Want to increase your productivity to have time freedom while running a thriving business?

Want to boost your productivity by restoring your mind to balance, harmony and clarity?

What to know how to organize anything?

About Agnese

“LESS” & “SIMPLE” approach to life, business and mind for next level success

Let's connect

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Tackle your distractions to gain back your focus

Agnese Rudzate business productivity blog post tackle your distraction to gain back your focus

Tackle your distractions to gain back your focus

While it is quite handy to use different platforms to connect with people form all over, this is also how we get distracted way too often.

We live in a century of connection. It is harder than ever to keep focus on assignment and stay committed to the task without letting outside world distract us. Not even mentioning that out inner world takes a great deal in all this and keeps us stuck.

There has been quite a few researches done showing that people get distracted as often as every 11 minutes, but the worst part is that it would take about 25 minutes to actually settle down again to your task. And of course the complicated the project, the longer it takes for your brain to regain focus. You can learn more about this research here.

But if you’re reading this, you value your time and want to take control of your focus. So let's not waist anyones time and tackle distractions to stay focused and get things done.

1. Eliminate Your Options.

Try to surround yourself with as little possible distraction as possible. Before you start working on your next task, identify those distraction to eliminate them. For example, if you have your phone or bag of peanuts on your working desk, it is very likely you will get yourself distracted by one of them. To avoid that, put your phone somewhere else and hide peanuts so they are not in hands reach.

Outside distraction hugely impact out work, but we tend to distract ourselves more than we should. Keep focusing on your tasks and eliminate your options for distractions – its all in your hands.

“Sick of getting distracted? Eliminate your options.” - Agnese Rudzate

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2. Set Boundaries for Yourself.

If laptop is your main working gadget, you obviously can’t eliminate it from your distractions list. However to keep yourself in focus, set boundaries to spend certain amount of time on where you shouldn’t be spending time at all.

If you are taking a break from your work for 10 minutes and start to watch Youtube videos about funny cats, it can drag much longer than just 10 minutes (trust me, I know!). So instead of continuously procrastinating, set boundaries. For example, watch only 2 videos or if you allowing yourself to do it for 5 minutes, make sure to set a timer on it, to keep yourself accountable and productive.

3. Control your Environment.

We might not be able to control outer distractions, like a urgent phone call or sirens outside out window, but what we can do is to make out environment as distraction free as possible. We get triggered by our 5 senses constantly.

- - - Sound – chit chat, pets, white noise, music
    - Touch – your chair, your clothes, table
    - Sight – screen, wallpaper, environment, view
    - Smell – coffee, flowers, perfume, nature
    - Taste – aftertaste, what you’re eating/chewing

Your work environment should be triggered by as less of those triggers as possible, so choose wisely. To do that, you must identify what distracts you most in terms of the five senses. For some, coffee shops are their places to focus because they are comfortable with the white noise and the smell of coffee keeps them energized; but for others, people moving around can be quite distracting. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different types of places to find the most suited environment to help you get things done!

Win back your focus

Be sure to take the advices in to serious account if your unproductive days are starting to win over your productive ones. You need to do an inventory to figure out where your distractions originate, and put a stop to them. No matter what your distractions are, you are in control of your time, what you do with it and where you spend it. Be sure to keep that control in your hands and never give it away to anyone else.

Now you have a solid system to identify and tackle distractions that you weren’t aware of.

Let me know how are you managing to set boundaries for yourself, find the right environment or eliminate potential distractors.

Is there any other tactic that you have found useful to increase focus and productivity?

let me know in the comments section your way of tackling those nasty productivity destroyers.

Have a productive day!

Agnese

Want to increase your productivity to have time freedom while running a thriving business?

Want to skyrocket your productivity with private coaching to become a top performer?

Want to boost your productivity by restoring mind to balance, harmony and clarity?

What to know how to organize anything?

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“LESS” & “SIMPLE” approach to life, business and mind for outrageous success

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[INTERVIEW] Rachael Jencks secrets to productivity

Vicki Chisholm productivity Agnese rudzate

Rachael Jencks secrets to productivity

Learn how Rachael manages her day, family and work life without feeling overwhelmed and being “busy”

As a mom myself, I can relate to women feeling like they do not have enough hours in a day, because there are just too many things to handle! But if doesn’t have to bee that way if you don’t want it. Yes, juggling your kids, business and household can be challenging to say the least, however there is a solution to every overwhelming situation + you don’t have to put yourself, your wants and needs on the back seat anymore! Practicing Productive Action can bring massive peace in to your life, especially if you are work-from-home mom.

Meet Rachael Jencks – Productivity Coach for Women Coaches. She went to school for a long time to become and Attorney and CPA to realize that she did not want to be tied to a desk because she wanted to have the flexibility to work while she chased after her kids. She now helps other women increase productivity and profit in their dream businesses. She practices Productive Action which allows her and her clients to work less and get more done.

“Productive workday is one in which every hour has a purpose.” - Rachael Jencks

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Isn’t it why we all started our online entrepreneurship – to have time freedom, financial independence and all the family time in the world? However couple years in, that dream of yours might have faded and gotten blurrier. If that is the case, lets bring it back right now and remember all your WHY’S.

Not that you are back on track with your vision, lets make it a reality with Rachael’s advices, tips and tricks to not only scale you business, but also profit personally.

What is the key to productive work?

“Break down each task into tiny pieces, create a time estimate, and then schedule the pieces into your day. Having a plan before you start work is essential.” – Rachael

I have always loved planning, and because of that I have been put down and minimized. Never the less, I started to think that because of organizing and planning I was boring, couldn’t “go with the flow”, allow what ever happens happen, and so on…. But because of my inner voice that did not let me give up on that and follow the crowd, I have managed to not only plan my way to success, but help so many women do the same! Planning doesn’t get in away of your creativeness, it serves to bring out your genius when is the right time. Honestly, planning is freeing and stops overwhelm come in to your life – and that is a true gold.

If you need more convincing hear Racheal out: “Productive workday is one in which every hour has a purpose. The purpose may be free time, kid time, or work time, but you have an intention with each hour. Overwhelm develops when we feel like we should be doing something else or when we spend too much time thinking about when we are going to do certain tasks. This is true for creating a sales funnel or laundry! Have a schedule is truly freeing.”

But how to know what to do first, what projects need more attention than others, how to prioritise them? Follow Rachaels example:

1. Look at due dates, how much time they are estimated to take, and the ease of completion.

2. Look at the available time slots in you schedule and start scheduling.

“If it is a project that does not need my full focus, I might schedule it while my kids are working on school work next to me, but if it needs focus time I make sure that I schedule it at a time when they are either asleep, not at home, or doing something where they do not need me. I always make sure to schedule in time to refresh myself and to focus on my kids. I limit each day to no more than 3 projects.” – Rachael.

What time of the day you are you most productive?

It is so important to prioritize your tasks not only considering your family schedule, but also your productivity flow. That way you can save plenty of time, not drag your tasks for far too long, have way less overwhelm and way more free time.

Rachael says she is most productive first thing in the morning and tries to do the work that requires focus at that time. “I am worthless after 8 PM!” – Rachael.

Do you know when you are most productive? Are you using it to your advantage? Knowing this will save you hours and help finish big projects faster and with much better quality.

How to keep yourself focused?

“I stay focused by scheduling “focus time”. During this time, I turn off notifications and avoid looking at email and messages. I have projects that require my concentration scheduled at this time and I know this is the only way they will get done.” – Rachael.

Those who have been following me for some time might know that I do not have any notifications that beep or show up on my screen, simply because they are DISTRACTING! If you really need and want to do your best work without interruptions during certain time, eliminate your options to get distracted. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that you shouldn’t allow yourself any social media time, just make sure you don’t do it to distract yourself or procrastinate.

To make it easier for you, make sure to plan your breaks as well. It is important to refresh, stretch, clear your mind so you can get back to work with full force. Rachael also schedules brakes, which length depends on what she is doing for the day – it might be the time when she brings kids to practice or even 15 minutes to scroll through Facebook.

You don't have to do everything!

Delegating some of your tasks is a great way to reduce working on things that you don’t necessary like or aren’t good at, creating more time to work on what no-one else can do for you – your genius. Rachael: “I have a VA that helps me with my podcast after I record it. There are just parts of business that I do not enjoy so I like to hand those over to someone else. I will not do a very good job if it is not fun and it gives me more time for the tasks that only I can do like coaching.”

Lack motivation?

“To boost energy when I am lacking motivation, I exercise, listen to music, and chat with my kids. I also do a ton of self-coaching to get to the bottom if why I am lacking in motivation. Once I find out why, I can get back at it.” – Rachael.

“Take Productive Action instead of Massive Action. Massive Action is driving 100 miles an hour using the wrong map. Productive Action is planning your trip before you take the journey!” - Rachael Jencks

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It has been my pleasure to interview this amazing women to open my #wisewomen blog series.

My biggest take away from this experience is to to be reminded about taking productive action instead of massive one. It is SO important if we truly want to reach our goals faster but without overwhelm.

I hope you will take away her experience to get more productive in your life and business, because productivity=profits.

If you want to know Rachael better, feel free to visit her homepage and join her Facebook group where she will help you with Productivity, Time Management, Accountability, Business Strategy/Systems and Mindset.

Now I would love to hear from you! What tips from Rachaels experiance you can take away and implement to boost your productivity?

What time if the day are you most productive?

Don’t hesitate to add your own suggestions and experience on how you are managing to boost your productivity in life and business?

Have a productive week!

Agnese

Want to increase your productivity to have time freedom while running a thriving business?

Want to skyrocket your productivity with private coaching to become a top performer?

Want to boost your productivity by restoring mind to balance, harmony and clarity?

What to know how to organize anything?

About Agnese

“LESS” & “SIMPLE” approach to life, business and mind for outrageous success

Let's connect

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To-don’t list for productivity super-boost

Agnese Rudzate business productivity blog post to-don't list

Create your own to-don’t list

to super-boost your productivity

All different circumstances that we have, believes that we have grown up with, influences that we are following, new habits we are adopting….all that is shaping our reality.

That reality consist of things we do and things we don’t do. How to choose what is write? How to know what actions to take and what to leave behind?

In todays world with information overload, thousand of suggestions to do more and more things, I think it is time to make an inventory and really start doing LESS.

You might know that to-do list is an amazing way to get things out of your head and on to a paper to clear your mind, so you have more space to work on your genius rather then occupy yourself trying to not forget your next step.

And how good does that feel, when you cross out or check off a task?? (It’s the best!)

However so many of us still struggle to reach deadlines and find hard to focus, have thousand thoughts running through head and our to-do lists seems never ending…

Is it because even though we do our to do list, we also do things we know we shouldn’t do!

“It is time to make a to-don’t list so you super-boost your productivity and live better-quality life.” - Agnese Rudzate

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What goes in to this list?

1. Things you like doing but you don’t need to do.

2. Things you keep doing although they are not that important.

3. Things that you think you need to do but that are not really necessary.

Creating a list of the things that distract you during the day will make you more aware and better prepare you for avoiding distractions.

When you don’t think about what you shouldn’t do then it’s much easier to get distracted and waste time doing things you shouldn’t do while things on your to-do list go undone.

So let me help you with basic things you should include on your list to super-boost your productivity so you are able to focus on what you actually should be doing:

1. Don’t work in a distracting place.

If you ave an office, it should be the most inviting, motivation and inspiring place where you are in the zone to create. (more not that in my other blog about home office). If there is anything that takes your attention away, you should get rid of that. If you get easily distracted, try avoiding working n coffee houses, on your couch next to tv or other places where you KNOW you will not be productive. It is not a atome science, your working space defines your productivity, so make the most of it and do yourself favour by choosing wisely where you will work on your genius.

2. Don’t spend time on social networks.

While for most of us networking is part of business, it is very easily to get distracted and start stalking people. If it is the case for you, make sure you designate time that you spend on socialising for work and for pleasure. For really productive day you should not spend more than 15 minutes on social media for pleasure. If you need to work on Facebook, then focus on your work and once finished, close it to move on to the next task.

3. Don’t leave your email open all day.

It is proven that notifications are our biggest distractions. Weather they are coming from your email or any app you may have on your laptop or phone, they cause disruption in your creative flow. I have always suggested to turn off all notifications, but when it comes to emails it is super important. Without designated time specifically to work on emails, we might as well spend all day checkin our inbox, answering as soon as new email comes in while trying to complete other tasks. Designate time in a day when you are dealing with your emails, instead of dragging it out through out the day. There are many different tools that can help you to work on your email with better effectiveness, like Boomerang. This way you will be able to focus and deal with more emails in shorter amount of time and create extra time for what ever you want! How cool is that?

4. Don’t help everyone who asks.

Yes, might sound harsh, but hear me out. Your inbox might be filling with offers, request, suggestions and invitations. Your job is to filter what is serving your and what doesn’t. I am very well aware of a want to help everyone. However it is physically impossible! It is the good old “learn to say NO” truth that liberates. A good way to filter is to make a list on what interest you, what you would like to participate in, what serves your business and therefore your legacy on helping others. If the request you receive is not in your wheelhouse, don’t think about it too much, politely decline and move on.

5. Don’t spend too much time on your to do list.

It is understandable that you want to be careful on what goes on it, but this should be a fairly quick task without taking hours of your time. 15 minutes daily should be more than enough to be clear on your tasks for the day.

Leave a comment below and share your thoughts and insights with me.

Which item in the to-don’t list resonates most with you? How do you intend to act upon this?

I would like to challenge you to stop doing at least one of the items above that is most relevant to you.

Tell me how you go in the comments below, or if you are serious enough about making a self-improvement move and super-boost your productivity.

What would you add to this list? What’s one thing YOU need to put on your TO-DON’T list today?

Feel free to add your suggestions in comments to better everyones focus and super-boost productivity.

Have a productive week!

Agnese

Want to increase your productivity to have time freedom while running a thriving business?

Want to skyrocket your productivity with private coaching to become a top performer?

Want to boost your productivity by restore mind to balance, harmony and clarity?

What to know how to organize anything?

About Agnese

“LESS” & “SIMPLE” approach to life, business and mind for outrageous success