How to Increase Productivity, Stay Sane & Catapult Your Business |eWomenNetwork

Phyllis .

Mar 20, 2017

How to Increase Productivity, Stay Sane & Catapult Your Business

Have you ever felt like you were a hamster running a wheel? In red heels? On a deadline? Yes, me too! Working in business management pre-Apple, pre-Dell, pre-Samsung, and all the technology of today, me and my trusty IMB Selectric worked our magic on that running wheel in red heels! Today, there are many more tools you can use to increase productivity, keep your sanity to catapult your business.

Sink or Swim

Like so many entrepreneurs, I worked in corporate America before starting my own coaching/consulting business. I still remember seeing computers that looked like washers while working in a Berkshire Hathaway company. In field management in those old days, or in my own business today, it still is sink or swim or go crazy running the hamster wheel! You know that feeling like you’ll never get it all done. As a business owner, especially those in the early stages, you have to do it all – solve your client’s problem, create a process to get it done, and make it happen.

Hamster on a Wheel

Science proves that the stress of feeling like you’re running on a wheel tends to lead to unhealthy behaviors. In a Neuroscience and Biobehavioral study by the Mayo Clinic (Novak, C.M., Burghardt, P.R. and Levine, J.A., 2012), researchers found that rodents running on a wheel impacts their energy balance causing defensive behavior, aggression and depression. Hey, does that sound familiar?

Increase Productivity and Keep Your Sanity!

It is interesting that these past few months I had that very same feeling when I was invited to be a coach for a pilot program on goal achievement for the multi-million-dollar networking business, eWomenNetwork. The stakes are high, because it is a brand-new program and I was one of only 3 eWomen Premier Success Coaches to be picked. Needless to say, I was very excited to be invited to the table, but I knew it meant adding more work to my already busy schedule.

Now I have to deliver. I got on that wheel again trying to juggle it all — handling most everything at home, working my businesses, writing books, and working on the pilot program as fast as I can in my red heels, backwards (Like Ginger Rogers!).

My Epiphany

Then I had an epiphany of solving the time-consuming problem. We needed processes and systems that would get me (and the other Premier Success Coaches) off that darn wheel to maintain our sanity and provide a valuable service to our participants. In order for them to be held accountable to meet their goals, we had to meet ours. In my busy haste, I quickly developed tools to generate a higher level of productivity for all of us. I created several documents for the participants to fill out to help them keep track of their goals. This establishes a standard operating procedure and puts everyone on the same plane. I have to say, I love this stuff! Creating processes and procedures is in my top wheelhouse. I love seeing the results of higher productivity and peace of mind among all involved.

In hindsight, it would have bought me back several additional hours had I had that epiphany a month or two sooner! Like many of us, we just have to spend the time, while our ideas are incubating in our brains, to envision the answers.

Forms are Your Friend

So yes, I will share my idea to improve my productivity: One of the tasks that was necessary on the pilot program was to follow up with my team of multiple people to gather information. You can imagine how time consuming that little task was, right? Not quite as tough as herding cats, but very close. In fact, just getting communication times set up in multiple time zones was a daunting task. I’m not sure about you, but I LOVE forms. They just make life so much easier, don’t you think? So…I designed not one form, but two! One was for timing and accountability. The second form was all about what each individual had achieved. Way cool. Seriously! …way, WAY cool. The amount of time those two little gems are going to save me and the other coaches is incredible!

The actual process of the forms is for each individual on the team to complete all the information they were expected to deliver to me for compilation. But the most exciting part of this entire process, is that I didn’t have to be on the other end of the phone, the other picture on the zoom call, or fighting with Skype to get the call through! Can you hear the angels singing? Each individual could just electronically deliver the information to me. Ooh, hearing the chorus now!

How to Increase Productivity , Keep Your Sanity & Catapult Your Business

Photo Credit to https://pleasurephoto.wordpress.com/

My New Red Shoes

The deadline for delivery of the pilot program is in a few months, and I just bought myself several hours of time each month! eWomenNetwork will be able to use not only those two forms, but I also have many extra hours to put a beautiful package together of all of the materials I have developed for their new program! Now I will have time to shop and buy a new pair of red shoes and be ready for my next big opportunity! Deadline, check. Processes, check. Off the wheel, check. New red shoes, check!! Okay, so I’m preparing to be done!

Time for You!

Now it’s time for you to step back and look at your life and consider improving it through your processes and productivity. Do you need more time for your business? For your family? For your own self-care? What processes can you put in place TODAY to help you increase productivity, keep your sanity and catapult your business? Sometimes you need to take a step back, breathe and clear your head to allow your mind to get creative and open to new possibilities of freedom--and, maybe start clicking those red heels!

Author, Syndee Hendricks

For over two decades Syndee Hendricks led multi-million dollar divisions of the nation’s top retailers to record-breaking performance and revenues, winning awards year after year. In record time, Syndee provides invaluable insight, inspiration, and action plans that catapult her clients from struggling to thriving in her international coaching/consulting practice. An award winning presenter, multiple author and philanthropist, Syndee’s current projects include co-hosting an eWomenNetwork syndicated, international radio podcast, publishing three books, CEO of Imagine More Success, LLC, a global online resource for entrepreneurs, and founder of Helping Entrepreneurs Leverage Potential, a non-profit foundation. Syndee was selected as a second year Premier Success Coach for eWomenNetwork.

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