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7 Leadership Strategies that Build Trust with Your Remote Team

By John Rampton | Business Tips | No Comments

The infrastructure of any solid relationship is trust. While certainly true in every sphere of your life, it’s essential in the workplace. After all, it’s been found that employees working in high-trust environments have reported:

76% more engagement
74% less stress
70% more alignment with their companies’ purpose compared to employees in low-trust environments
50% higher productivity

Moreover, numerous studies have found that trust is critical to team success. And, this is most true as remote managers are struggling with trust issues during COVID-10. Thankfully, you can use the following 7 strategies to turn this around.

1. Mitigate your team’s stress.

According to author and leading trust expert Paul Zak, stress is one of the most forceful oxytocin inhibitors. Why’s that important? Well, oxytocin is the hormone that’s responsible for social and romantic bonding.

As such, this chemical is kind of important when building trust with your team. Specifically, it helps teams work and grow together. And that can completely transform the workplace for the better.

“In my research, I’ve found that building a culture of trust is what makes a meaningful difference,” wrote Zak. “Employees in high-trust organizations are more productive, have more energy at work, collaborate better with their colleagues, and stay with their employers longer than people working at low-trust companies.”

“They also suffer less chronic stress and are happier with their lives, and these factors fuel stronger performance,” he added. So, yeah. This just makes sense.

But how exactly can you reduce workplace stress?

For starters, stop micromanaging your team. Instead, grant autonomy by letting them work however and whenever they want. Since they’re currency WFH, this is key since it can make work-life integration easier — like juggling work and homeschooling their kids.

Additionally, make it a point to communicate with them regularly. Regardless if it’s a quick phone call, weekly Zoom check-in, or through Slack, this gives you a chance to acknowledge them or address any concerns.

What’s more, you should make yourself available so that you can provide guidance. For example, if they’re struggling with time management, which is a stressor that 46% of employees, then offer advice on how they can fix this problem.

You should also encourage them to take time off and be respectful of their boundaries. That means not bombarding them with messages when they’re off-the-clock. And give them access to mindfulness apps like Calm.

2. Serve up the feedback sandwich.

Giving credit where it’s due is a proven way to build trust in the workplace. In fact, a Globoforce study found that those who received recognition from their leaders recently were significantly more likely to trust them (82% vs. 48%).

Here’s the thing, though. Eventually, singing your team members praises loses meaning. Studies actually show that “negative” feedback (if delivered appropriately) is more helpful than positive reinforcement.

The reason? People want to learn and grow. And, they want to be challenged, not cuddled.

A simple way to achieve both types of feedback is using the sandwich method. Here you would deliver feedback as follows; positive, constructive, positive.

Why does this work? Because you’re kicking and ending things on a positive note. At the same time, you’re also delivering honest and constructive feedback.

3. Get to (virtually) know your team members.

The cornerstone of fortifying any relationship is getting to know the other person. And, by that, I mean getting to know them outside of the workplace. Even if that’s regularly meeting with them in person, it’s having frequent and informal chats with them via text, email, or scheduled “coffee” meetings through Zoom.

While you don’t want to cross any lines here, ask them how they’re doing. Inquire about their hobbies, passions, or how their family has been. It sounds simple. But, spending a couple of minutes each week getting to know each team member helps you bond over similar interests while showing that you genuinely care about them as a person.

4. Make sure that your goals, objectives, and intentions are crystal clear.

Not to be too crass here. But, this is leadership 101. Always make sure that you always do this from jump street.

For instance, let’s say that when a team member has completed their portion of a project, they must notify the project manager. That may not sound like a biggie, but what is the preferred channel here? If it’s through Slack, but they sent an email, that could cause bottlenecks and lots of ibuprofen for the headaches this caused.

In short, make sure that you share your goals, objectives, and intentions with your team. More importantly, double-check that they understand them so that you’re all on the same page.

5. Be competent but also vulnerable.

“Trust in leadership is also based on a leader’s demonstration of on-the-job expertise and ability,” writes executive coach Dina Denham Smith. “In virtual teams where people can feel disconnected, strong communication is an especially critical leadership skill, one on which your competence will be judged and trust built or diminished.”

While you certainly do not want to cause information overload, “there’s no such thing as over-communicating,” adds Denham Smith. After all, “if you don’t communicate frequently and clearly, your people will fill in the blanks with their own, usually worst-case, assumptions.” Additionally, you need to be open about your expectations and transparent “on company direction, policies, and procedures, including the decision-making process.”

At the same time, admit that you don’t have all the answers. You should even own-up to your mistakes. And, if you need help, ask for it.

“While it may seem counterintuitive, leaders who ask for help draw others to them through this display of humanness, inspire others by making them feel needed and garner trust and followers,” adds Denham Hill.

6. Freshen up your virtual events and meetings.

Even though virtual meetings have been around for years, they’ve become the status quo thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. While an adequate way to keep-in-touch and build rapport, they’re also exhausting. However, you can spruce them up to establish trust while also bolstering morale.

If you need some ideas, Calendar Co-Founder John Hall has the following suggestions:

Get underway by acknowledging your team’s achievements or sharing a joke.
Host theme events, like a holiday party or virtual lunches where participants share their favorite recipes.
Conduct weekly check-ins to provide updates or ask how everyone is holding up.
Always follow virtual meeting etiquette, like muting your mic when not speaking.
Encourage silent brainstorming sessions.
Organize virtual team-building activities such as fitness challenges or “happy hour.”
Keep them engaged by challenging them. For example, you could ask how they’ve overcome a problem in the past.
Shake things up occasionally, like surprising them by taking a virtual field trip or inviting a guest speaker.
Schedule events when it’s best for your team. While you’ll never find the perfect time and date, you could poll them to see what works best for the majority.
Wrap each function up on a high note. For instance, you could ask positive-direction questions like, “What did you find most valuable?”

7. Be consistent.

According to Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman, there are three elements of trust; positive relationships, good judgment/expertise, and consistency. I think that you should have an idea about the first two. So, let’s go over what consistency means.

Consistency “is the extent to which leaders walk their talk and do what they say they will do,” they explain for HBR. “People rate a leader high in trust if they:

Are a role model and set a good example.
Walk the talk.
Honor commitments and keep promises.
Follow through on commitments.
Are willing to go above and beyond what needs to be done.

While this may not be the most important element, it’s still essential. For example, let’s say that you penciled in a one-on-one for Thursday at 3 pm. You had a family emergency and didn’t let the team member know you had to reschedule.

Your team member arrives on time and patiently waits. After some time has passed, they email you, and you reply that you had to cancel. That’s not only disrespectful of their time; it also shows them that you can’t be trusted to hold-up your end of the bargain.

Motivation Secrets of Productive People

By John Rampton | Time Management | No Comments

Make no mistake about it. Motivation will increase your productivity.

“Motivation and productivity are twin concepts in organizational development,” wrote Kristina Dems for Bright Hub.

“First, motivation works as the means toward attaining productivity as an end. Another point: Motivation is the best road to follow to reach productivity as a favorable effect. Lastly, motivation is the stimulus to trigger productivity as a response.”

Think about how this effects you and effects your life. When you’re not feeling motivated, you’re not going to accomplish much. That’s because you don’t have the drive to get things done.

And, to put it lightly, that sucks.

Now you’re behind on your planned goals or a task, which means you’re going to get behind another and another. Eventually, everything starts to pile-up. With no end in sight, you become even less motivated.

That’s why the most productive people employ the following motivation secrets to guarantee that they’re always ahead of the game.

1. When plans are made, they anticipate obstacles.

Peter Gollwitzer, a professor of psychology at New York University, in New York City, conducted a study in 2009 that compared two groups of women who wanted to be more active. The groups were both provided information on how to live a healthy lifestyle.

However, the second group was also taught how to foresee obstacles by using if-then statements. For example, if they wanted to jog, but the weather is poor, then what will you do? The women would say, “if it’s snowing, then I’ll go to the gym and use the treadmill.”

Suffice it to say, the second group fared far better.

Gollwitzer concluded that those who plan for obstacles are more likely to follow through on projects. This is because they don’t have any excuses for completing the task at hand.

2. They “don’t break the chain.”

Years ago software developer Brad Isaac asked Jerry Seinfeld if he had any tips for a young comedian. Seinfeld told him that the only way to become a better comic was to create better jokes. And the only way to create better jokes was to write daily.

But, that was just scratching the surface. Ultimately, the legendary comic unveiled his unique calendar system that kept him motivated every day.

Jerry told Isaac to get a huge wall calendar “that has a whole year on one page and hang it on a prominent wall.” Then, go get a red magic maker.

He told Isaac that for each day he writes to to put a big red X over that day. “After a few days you’ll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You’ll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break the chain.”

“Don’t break the chain,” Seinfeld said again for emphasis.

Isaac says that this “works because it isn’t the one-shot pushes that get us where we want to go, it is the consistent daily action that builds extraordinary outcomes.” And, those daily actions build habits.

3. Live life from their calendars.

According to The Busy Person’s Guide to the Done List, by Janet Choi and Walter Chen of iDoneThis:

41 percent of to-do list items are never completed.
50 percent of to-do list items are completed within a day, many within the first hour of being written down.

Why is this the case when so many people swear by to-do-lists?

For starters, tasks on your to-do-lists are distinguished between those that only take a couple of minutes and those will last hours. Additionally, they emphasize the urgent instead of the important. And, they can add unnecessary stress.

Because of these reasons, highly productive people don’t use to-dos. They live from their calendars instead.

“Use a calendar and schedule your entire day into 15-minute blocks,” says Jordan Harbinger, co-founder of The Art of Charm. “It sounds like a pain, but this will set you up in the 95th percentile as far as organization goes.”

“If it’s not on the calendar, it doesn’t get done. If it’s on the calendar, it gets done no matter what. Use this not just for appointments, but workouts, calls, email blocks, etc.”

4. They don’t multitask.

Despite the myths, multitasking doesn’t make you more productive. In fact, it slows you down. This is because your brain is switching tasks and focus, which means it takes you longer to complete tasks.

In order to stay productive, you need to focus on thing at a time. Due’s Miranda Marquit uses the Pomodoro Technique to stay focused on one specific task at a time. This also boosts productivity since you’re dedicating your mental energy on one specific item.

As a perk, since you’re giving this one task 110 percent, chances are that there will be fewer mistakes. This means you won’t have to back and fix your errors, you can just move onto to something else.

5. Not controlled by technology.

“I was a Division I college athlete, and I grew up with five brothers and two sisters. I’ve always been a competitor. [But] I’ve learned that productivity should not be a competitive sport. You’re never going to win,” Cathy Engelbert, CEO of Deloitte, tells Fast Company.

“I am responsible for almost 80,000 people. I prioritize people over tasks. One Note allows me to put different tasks [involving] each of my executive-team members in a tab. That way when I talk to them, I can be more effective, because the five things I want to talk to them about [are right there].”

“If I looked at email and Twitter and texts [during the day], I don’t think I would ever give my full attention to anything. You cannot be insightful if you’re deluged with information.”

Engelbert adds, “We’re all drowning in data. We all need moments of recovery. For me, that includes not going right to my phone when I wake up in the morning. I got on a plane about six months ago, and I forgot my phone. For two days, I didn’t have my phone, and nobody died.”

Her final words of advice? “Technology should help you do your job, not control your job.”

6. They use a notebook.

Richard Branson, Bill Gates, and Sheryl Sandberg all carry a notebook around. The reason? They rely on pen and paper to keep track of and remember all of their thoughts and ideas.

“I can’t tell you where I’d be if I hadn’t had a pen on hand to write down my ideas as soon as they came to me,” Branson wrote in a blog post.

“You think you’ll remember, but you won’t, and you’ll forfeit all the thoughts that flood you after you’ve freed your mind from remembering the initial spark,” adds Drew Hanson.

For Sandberg, she uses a notebook as a kind of daily planner. She jots down her to-do lists. Once she’s accomplished those items, she rips the pages out of her notebook. It’s a simple way to stay motivated for staying on track.

7. They work backwards from the future.

Steve Jobs once asked, “If today was the last day of my life, would I want to do what I’m about to do today?”

“If too many days passed by with the answer being ‘no,’ he’d adjust his lifestyle until he hit a consistent yes,” explains HubSpot’s Scott Tousley. “This forced Steve to define long-term goals and stay motivated.”

This may sound drab, but the most productive people “think about the end of their lives,” which helps them define their legacy.

With this in mind, they then “work backwards to achieve those goals.”

“This touches on the psychological theories and models of motivation. If we’re driven by a purpose, we’re more likely to work extra hard,” says Tousley.

But, how does starting with your purpose keep you productive and motivated?

Starting with a purpose or “personal mission statement,” leads to the creation of long-term goals. Long-term goals lead to smaller goals, which create to-do-lists.

So, if you want to productive like Steve Job, define your purpose first and everything else will fall into place.

8. They’re friends with time.

Really productive people, or RPPs as Marie Forleo calls them, are friends with time. In other words, “they don’t look at time as the enemy.”

If you do, you’ll end-up always struggling with productivity and motivation. And, this makes sense. Whenever you could something the “enemy” it’s only going to end-up being a source of pain.

Instead, make time your ally. You can start by ditching time-stealing habits like multitasking and procrastination. You can achieve by practicing:

Mindfulness. This will help you focus on one task at a time.

Acceptance. Concentrating only on what you can control.

Authenticity. This encourages self-management since it helps you decide what to do and when to do it.

9. They create theme days.

Want to know how Jack Dorsey juggles all of his obligations at Twitter and Square? He creates theme days. Here’s what Jack said about this in 2011:

“The way I found that works for me is I theme my days. On Monday, at both companies, I focus on management and running the company…Tuesday is focused on product. Wednesday is focused on marketing and communications and growth. Thursday is focused on developers and partnerships. Friday is focused on the company, the culture and recruiting. Saturday I take off, I hike. Sunday is reflection, feedback, strategy, and getting ready for the week.”

How has that schedule help Jack work eight hours at both companies?

The first reason the schedule works is that it establishes a rhythm. You know what to expect every day because you’ve created a routine to keep you focused.

Secondly, it challenges you to complete tasks on certain deadlines. If you record a podcast every Tuesday like John Lee Dumas, then you know that you have the podcast prepared by that day.

Finally, it batches similar tasks together. This keeps you productive since it streamlines activity and eliminates distractions.

10. Bring optimism and fun back into the picture.

This may sound hokey, but research shows that the key to motivation is bringing optimism and fun.

Ron Siegel, a psychology professor at Harvard University, explains:

“Our modern brains are still wired up for the ancient evolutionary purpose of surviving in a dangerous environment. Over a million years or so, we developed specialized neural structures that selectively tuned in to danger signals. The prospect of getting attacked necessarily outranked all other neurological priorities.”

And, unfortunately, we still go into that survival mode. Instead of thinking about the pleasurable and rewarding experience of conquering a task, we focus on anxiety and fear.

For example, you just started a new business. You’re probably dwelling more on the fear of failure instead of the excitement of improving your community.

The best way to overcome this? Create basic two-columned pros and cons list so you can notice that the joys outweigh any fears or anxieties. When you actually see the positive, you’ll get yourself out of the rut you’re headed into.

As Rick Steves has written, “Be fanatically positive and militantly optimistic. If something is not to your liking, change your liking.”

Good Leaders Don’t Surround Themselves With “Yes” People

By John Rampton | Knowledge Base | No Comments

When you’re hiring, your initial instinct might be to build your company full of people pleasers. After all, wouldn’t it be nice to have people who are more than willing to help? You probably also like the fact that your new hire wants to explore new opportunities and they are extremely reliable.

If you’re fortunate, as you suppose, your new hire will probably even share similar backgrounds and interests. And, you probably won’t have to worry about them causing any trouble — like questioning your leadership skills.

Sure. In theory, that sounds like a good deal. Realistically, though, only surrounding yourself with “yes” people is a terrible, no good idea.

The dangers of “yes” people.

The major drawback of people pleasers is that they have problems with time management. Because they’re willing to lend a hand or take new responsibilities they fall behind deadlines. Also, since “no” isn’t in their vocabulary, they end-up stretching themselves way too thin.

Eventually, that reliability that made them an asset is out the window — they may even become resentful of you. They’re now scrambling to catch-up. And, that’s just a one-way-ticket to Burnoutville.

What’s more, they also have difficulty maintaining a healthy relationship with work and life. Everyone, no matter who you are, needs time away from work. It’s a proven way to rest and recharge so that you can be at 100% peak productivity.

Being on all of the time may also cause problems with their personal relationships. Instead of attending a family gathering, they’re trapped in the office working on next week’s presentation. That may not seem like a bid deal, but relationships are the key to happiness — and if you’re not happy, you’re not productive.

As if that weren’t enough, they are unwilling to share with you critical feedback. As a consequence, this may prevent you from correcting workplace operations. They may also be hesitant to make suggestions on how to improve the products or services you offer.

Also, if they aren’t transparent with you, then don’t expect them to critique you. I understand that hearing constructive criticism is never easy. But, it’s essential if you want to grow as a person and leader.

The solution? Well, as industrialist and founder of Wrigley Chewing Gum Walter Wrigley Jr. once said, “When two people always agree, one of them is unnecessary.”

In other words, don’t surround yourself with “yes people.” Instead, have a diverse team that challenges you. And, you can do that by…

1. Fill in the blanks.

Take a good look at your team. What skills are lacking? How diverse is your current staff?

Answering these questions is a great starting point. Hiring someone based on specific needs is obvious. For example, if you need a coder, then you’re going to go out and find the best one available But, the second question can be tricky.

“Although you own the business, don’t be fixated on hiring people from only particular backgrounds,” recommends Choncé Maddox in a previous Calendar article. “After all, the business world is very dynamic. To ensure you are adaptable to inevitable changes, get employees from as many backgrounds as possible.”

“As much as where the concerned employee is coming from is important, it is their potential to grow with your business that really matters,” adds Choncé. “In just about five to ten years, your business is going to change. Ask yourself where the concerned employee fits in the whole picture.”

If need further assistance hiring a diverse team, here is a 6-step process from Ideal:

Conduct a diversity hiring audit on your current hiring process
Pick one metric to improve for your diversity hiring
Increase your diversity hiring in your candidate sourcing
When candidate screening, look beyond criteria like their prior company, school, or personal connection.
Increase your diversity hiring in your candidate shortlisting using technology to remove bias
Evaluate your diversity hiring metrics

2. Grant autonomy.

While there are times when you might have to micromanage your team, most of the time you need to grant autonomy. For control freaks, that can induce a panic attack. However, it’s one of the best ways for your team to learn and grow.

More importantly? Giving your peeps this type of freedom keeps them motivated and engaged. And, on your end, you’ll have less on your plate.

Simply put. Autonomy is a win for everyone from the top to the bottom. And, despite your fears, it’s easy to implement if you do the following:

Clearly communicate why the work they’re doing is important. Don’t forget to also frequently share your mission and vision as well.
Allow them to speak their minds. Solicit feedback on your performance. You could also leave room at the end of meetings for them to share their opinions. Or, you could go old school with a suggestion box.
Let them choose how, when, and where to work.
Allow them opportunities to showcase their strengths and pursue their interests.
Give them the right tools and resources to succeed.
Make sure that you’re delegating the right job to the right person.

3. Listen effectively.

“Leaders who don’t listen will eventually be surrounded by people who have nothing to say” — Andy Stanley

Arguably, one of the most important traits leaders can have is to actually listen to what others are saying. Sometimes that can be as easy as speaking less and asking lots of questions. Other times you may need to utilize techniques like not going into the conversation with an agenda.

Overall though, getting back to communication basics is your best course of action. I’m talking about making eye contact, not looking at your phone, and responding accordingly. You may not like what you’re hearing, but that’s no excuse to lose your cool.

4. Let them fail.

As someone who has experienced failure, I can tell you that it’s never a pleasant experience. At the same time, failure has pushed me to become more resilient. I’d even say that it’s been the greatest teacher I’ve ever had.

With that in mind, let your team have an occasional setback. I know that just the thought of this may keep you up at night. But, it will encourage them to grow as individuals and think innovatively.

In the immortal words of Micheal Jordan, “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

5. Seek out different perspectives.

Outside of work, you should also surround yourself with people who challenge you. Besides helping you embrace this at work, it will help you become a better person. And, you can do so by:

Joining an exercise group that pushes you and holds you accountable.
Attending conferences, after-hour meetups, or mastermind groups outside of your niche.
Finding a creative community, to learn something new or discover a new interest.
Networking and engaging with people who have diverse opinions on social networks.

How to Foster a “Connected Culture” Remotely

By John Rampton | Appointment | No Comments

While the COVID-19 may have resulted in more people working from home, the truth is, working from home was already having its moment. In fact, between 2005 – 2017, there was a 159% increase in remote work. And, regardless of what happens when there’s hopefully a vaccine, the majority of people who have been working from home would like to continue doing so — even it’s just a couple of days per week.

And while there are flaws, those who work from home tend to be happier and more productive. However, if you want to take it up a notch, then you need to foster a “connected culture.” According to a survey from RingCentral, “58% of employees who said their companies are attempting to help them connect said they feel physically healthy.”

Furthermore, “75% of employees reporting high levels of emotional well-being said they feel more connected to their colleagues.” In short, if you and your team want to thrive in a remote world, then you need to make this a priority. And you can accomplish this feat by taking the following steps.

1. Culture is more than just ping-pong tables.

“The first thing to realize is that your culture has to be built around more than ping pong tables,” writes Wade Foster for Zapier. “Games and other group activities that lend themselves to being in person are simply not a possibility on a day-to-day basis for remote teams.” As such, “your culture has to be built around something more than playing table tennis to unite the team.”

Instead, Foster states that culture is about how you work. Specifically, it should be rewarding. And, most importantly, it should be built around your mission and values.

2. Promote clear, open, and frequent communication.

“Communication – the human connection – is the key to personal and career success.” — Paul J. Meyer

Communication is, without question, the cornerstone of any healthy and productive community. In addition to making collaboration possible, this helps everyone get to know each other better. And, more imperative, this is how you share your company’s values and expectations.

What’s more, you need communication to give and receive feedback and address conflicts. And, it’s the only way that you’re going to keep everyone in the loop.

Tried and true solutions, like email, project management software, and conference calls are a start. But, you should also think outside the box. Some ideas would be:

Before your weekly Zoom team meeting, have everyone go around and recap their weekends.
At Buffer, team members share an aspect of their personal life they want to improve on Hackpad. You could also kick off each event by acknowledging a team member’s work or give them a birthday shoutout.
Host a weekly AMA (ask me anything) — make sure it’s the same time and day.
Plan a virtual lunch or after-hour events, such as a movie or game night.
Encourage virtual water coolers using tools Donut.
Have different Slack channels, like #Pets or #Music, so that your team can connect over common interests.
Create virtual clubs, like a book or film, for your peeps to bond over.
Schedule one-on-ones to check-in with your people.

And, to recreate an open-door policy, set your status to available on platforms like Slack or Hangouts. If others see that you’re online, then that’s when they can ask you quick questions or share a concern. If this will be a long time commitment, then share your calendar with them, so schedule a one-on-one.

3. Save teams from information overload and burnout.

Information overload, as described by Calendar co-founder John Hall, “is exposure to excessive amounts of information or data.” While not exactly a new phenomenon, we use media for an average of 12 hours and 9 minutes per day. Moreover, since we’re working from home, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to unplug.

As if that’s not enough, we’re feeling overwhelmed by the amount of information being consumed. As a consequence, this is making us more stressed. It’s also negatively impacting our relationships and productivity.

While communication is critical, you also don’t want to over-communicate with your team. For instance, to avoid Zoom fatigue, you could replace video meetings with email, Slack, or whatever text method you prefer. Since this requires some extra effort, you’re more likely only to share relevant and essential information.

You could also follow in the footsteps of Help Scout. The company switched their weekly all-hands call with a video recap that’s sent every Monday.

“I love the Monday video updates,” states Nick Francis, Help Scout CEO. “They’re a great way to keep our remote team connected, celebrate accomplishments and update everyone on company news. The weekly team update has turned into something we all look forward to and talk about over the course of the week.”

4. Create psychological safety.

“A culture of psychological safety enables employees to be engaged,” writes Jake Herway for Gallup. “They can take risks and experiment. They can express themselves without the fear of failure or retribution.”

“Juxtapose this type of culture with one where employees feel too intimidated to speak up or share a new idea,” adds Herway. “It’s hard to imagine these employees can mentally allow themselves to be engaged at work.”

How can you cultivate psychological safety among remote teams? Start with the following techniques:

Share your mistakes, struggles, and weaknesses with your team.
Encourage feedback and ask for suggestions.
Invite them to challenge your ideas.
Rather than pointing fingers, use mistakes as learning opportunities.
Find ways for quieter members to contribute. For example, if they’re not comfortable speaking in front of others, they can share their ideas with you through email or one-on-one.
Let all team members be involved in the decision-making process.
Grant autonomy by letting them work when and however is best for them.

5. Overcome a challenge together.

While this may seem impossible when apart, you and your team can still bond over a challenge remotely. At Calendar, we’ve set up health and fitness challenges over Slack. Groove HQ has also done this with a 30-day push-up challenge.

“It may sound a bit odd, but right away, it felt energizing,” noted CEO Alex Turnbull. “Like we had just developed a deeper relationship across the team in a matter of hours.” In fact, over the next month, “tackling a shared goal has helped us connect on a deeper level than we do in our regular day-to-day work.”

The challenge was also “another touchpoint for our team to communicate with each other on,” says Turnbull. And, it helped counter the dark side of working alone.

“Even those of us who prefer to work ‘alone’ can struggle with that isolation every now and then,” he writes. “That’s why it’s so important to take breaks, play, have a social life, or do whatever it is that keeps you sane.”

6. Create a mentorship program.

One study found that mentors were more satisfied with their jobs and committed to the organization. Additionally, mentoring programs can develop new leaders, increase diversity, and retain your top talent. Also, they create a learning culture, promote personal and professional development, and reduce stress and anxiety.

Best of all? You can use your existing communication methods. For example, you could pair a new sales team member with a seasoned vet. From there, they could have weekly video meetups or quick chats with instant messaging apps or MentorcliQ.

7. Listen to Bill and Ted.

Finally, as William “Bill” S. Preston Esq. famously said, “Be excellent to each other!” How you decide to be kind and show gratitude is totally up to you. It could be something as simple as letting a colleague vent or offering to help them solve a problem.

You could also randomly send them a handwritten note or text thanking them for all of their hard work. If you have the budget for it, you could also send them snack boxes or goodies for their families, like books or dog toys.

And, if your entire team knocked it out of the park this past month, throw a pizza party. Just pick a time and then order some pies from their local pizzerias. Once you arrived, you could hop on Zoom for your virtual celebration.

9 Things You Need to Do Every Morning to Have a Productive Day

By John Rampton | Time Management | No Comments

15 Productivity Hacks that Have Become Irrelevant (Thanks COVID)

Want to be in the same league as the most productive and successful people in the world? Then you need to make the most of your morning by doing these nine things. When you do, the rest of your day will be extremely productive and fruitful.

1. Plan the night before.

Because we have a limited amount of willpower and decision-making abilities, you want to eliminate as many decision-making tasks in the morning. This is why American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault ends his evenings by jotting down the three things he wants to accomplish the next day.

It also explains why Mark Zuckerberg and President Obama had limited wardrobes.

“You’ll see I wear only gray or blue suits. I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make,” President Obama told Vanity. Fair.

When you have fewer decisions to make your saving mental space and will have better productivity throughout the day.

2. Wake up refreshed.

You also can’t have a productive day if you don’t wake-up feeling refreshed. Think about those days when you only got 4 hours of sleep. You’re dragging the entire day.

Establish a nighttime ritual where you limit or avoid stimulates like alcohol, caffeine, and electronics right before bed. Instead, have a quiet and relaxing evening by meditating or reading. And, don’t forget to go to bed at the same time every night.

Ideally, your bedroom should be as dark and quiet as possible. It should also be a little cool. This way you’ll sleep undisturbed the entire night and will wake-up refreshed and ready to take-on the day.

3. Create a morning to focus your mind.

Claire Diaz Ortiz, a productivity expert and author of Design Your Day, says that if you want to be more productive — then you need to create a morning routine that works for you. She explains that how you start your day anchors you and ensures that you stay focused.

According to Renzo Costarella in a previous Calendar article, here’s what you should include in your morning routine:

Wake-up before everyone so that you’re free of distractions.
Drink at least one 24 oz. glass of water when you first wake-up.
Exercise for around 30 minutes before breakfast. If possible, do this outside since taking in that sunlight first thing in the morning lets your internal clock know it’s time to start the day.
Eat a healthy breakfast — that means skipping sugary cereals and pastries.
Read for at least 10 to 15 minutes so that you learn something new.
Practice mindfulness for about 10 minutes — this clears your mind and assists with focus.

My morning routine also consists of writing in my journal — hey, it’s worked for Da Vinci, Mark Twain, Oprah, and Tim Ferris.

I also make my bed every morning. It’s not that I’m a neat freak. It’s a small task that gets your day off to an excellent start.

“If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day,” said U.S. Navy Adm. William H. McCraven. “It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task, and another, and another. And by the end of the day that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed.”

4. Set a daily intention.

You know, I never really did this until I came across this article from Purple Carrot. It’s great advice, so I’ll let them explain:

“Setting your daily intention is just like paving your day ahead. In the early part of the day when things are calmer, and you have a moment to think clearly, set your intentions focusing on at least two goals that you want to accomplish for the day. Have extra time? Write these goals on post-its and bring them to work with you so you’re constantly reminded of what you want to accomplish.”

I want to emphasize that last part there. Research shows that writing down your goals enhances your goal achievement.

5. Daily affirmations.

“Affirmations are short, powerful yet simple statements intended to help you manifest a particular goal,” writes Choncé Maddox. “This is power is positive thinking and it only takes a few minutes to recite some positive affirmations.”

6. Avoid your phone.

Don’t just dive directly into emails, texts, and social media when you first wake-up. Doing so will help you lose focus. Even worse it steals your time and gives it to other people.

Instead, spend these precious first moments of the day to do something that you find relaxing, such as walking your dog, meditating, or reading, This will help set calm and positive tone for your day, as opposed to a frantic start.

This may take some discipline, but try to avoid your phone until after you’ve eaten breakfast.

7. Schedule your day.

Want to get all all of you tasks done? Then make sure that they’re scheduled into your calendar.

As entrepreneur and author Dave Kerpen explains, “If it’s not in my calendar, it won’t get done. But if it is in my calendar, it will get done.”

“I schedule out every 15 minutes of every day to conduct meetings, review materials, write, and do any activities I need to get done. And while I take meetings with just about anyone who wants to meet with me, I reserve just one hour a week for these ‘office hours.’”

Don’t forget to also schedule in breaks and your lunch.

8. Network over coffee.

Yes. Coffee is good for you. So while you’re enjoying that morning cup of Joe do a little networking. For example, you could reach out and connect with colleagues on LinkedIn or Twitter. Or, you could schedule meetings with potential business partners or investors.

9. Eat the frog.

Brian Tracy, author of “Eat the Frog,” has based his morning philosophy off of a quote from Mark Twain: “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.”

Obviously this doesn’t mean literally eating a frog. The frog is “your biggest, most important task, the one you are most likely to procrastinate on if you don’t do something about it.” As the day goes on, this doesn’t just linger over our heads, we have less energy to complete this task.

Don’t put this task off until later in the day. Tackle it first thing in the morning and get it done.

Disciplines That Pays Off: 11 Time Management Tips for Freelancers

By John Rampton | Time Management | No Comments

As a freelancer, time management is one of the most important skills that you need to develop. If you aren’t properly managing your time — then you’re not going to earn as much money.

Are you spending an hour or two of social media every morning? This may not seem like a biggie — but is this your time-suck? You have to decide this. Could you have been working, networking, or strengthening your skills? Should you have been doing that?

I’ve been freelancing for a decade. Time management was something that I definitely struggled with over the years — and still do occasionally. What I’ve found, however, is that it takes a lot of discipline to effectively manage your time as a freelancer.

These eleven time management tips for freelancers have definitely helped me in the time management area. As a result — I’ve become a more productive and successful freelancer.

1. Rethink your to-do-lists.

I’m a big fan of to-do-lists. I would say that most productive people are. The thing is, if you aren’t using them correctly — they can become too frustrating and demotivating. If you have a to-do-list containing 30 vague items like “check email,” make phone calls,” and “write blog posts,” you’re not going to be very productive.

Reasonable, specific, and prioritized.

To-do-lists need to be reasonable, specific, and prioritized. Instead of 30 items listed in the way those above str — trim your list to under 10 items. Make them more detailed — and compelling — like: “email Jim,” return Sue’s phone call,” and “write two time management blog posts.”

How will you do your experiment?

You will need to experiment and find an approach that works best for you. Some people love the traditional checklist on paper or bullet journaling. Others rely on apps like Todoist or Trello. Some freelancers prefer adding the to-do-list to their calendar.

There’s one of my favorite techniques — the Eisenhower Matrix — which is a to-do list that’s divided into four quadrants: Do first, schedule, delegate, and don’t do.

2. Track your time.

If you want to improve your time management, then you need to see how you’re spending your days and how long it takes you to complete tasks.

You could go old school and carry around a notebook with you for a week. Jot down how long your morning commute takes, the time you spend wasting online, or the amount of time it takes to complete a task. You can use your phone’s stopwatch to assist you.

You have many choices — including staying just as you are.

However, there are hundreds of software and apps that can do this tracking and timing for you — through timers and time sheets. How long you spend on specific websites — Timely, for example, automatically tracks your time and then makes smart suggestions on where you can improve.

However — knowing — can help you decide.

The idea is that when you track your time you’ll be able to see how and where you’re wasting time. It will also give you a better idea on how long it takes to complete a task and when you’re most productive. Knowing this can help you create a schedule.

3. Make and stick to a schedule.

“Being self-employed means you can literally work whenever you want. Experience shows me it’s best to set specific work hours,” writes Choncé Maddox in a previous Calendar article. “If you don’t, you’ll run the risk of procrastinating, missing deadlines or becoming easily distracted and falling behind.”

Setting specific work hours.

Choncé also says that, “It’s important to set your work hours because you also want to know how much you can realistically accomplish in a workday.” She uses block scheduling and a to-do list to organize her tasks for the day. It’s a simple and effective way to help “get a full understanding of what my day is going to look like and what I’m going to be working on.”

“Once I get toward the end of my set work hours, I know it’s time to wind down and start wrapping up. This helps me transition into other areas of my life without feeling stressed out or ‘guilty’ for stepping away from my business.”

Here’s a rough example of what my daily schedule looks like:

6:00 – 7:00 A.M.: Stretch, breakfast, email, and RSS feed.
8:00 – 11:00: Research and outline articles.
11:00 – 12:00: Meet or touch base with clients.
12:00 – 1:00: Lunch, email, texts, social media, and RSS feed.
1:00 – 2:00: Exercise and take the dog for a walk.
2:00 – 5:00: Write articles for clients.
5:00 – 8:00: Dinner, finish client articles, and prepare for tomorrow.

Bonus Tip:
Work during off-hours. I try to get my day started early, like everyone else. This way I’m not distracted by the other people in my home, emails, or texts. I’ve even gone into coffee shops after dinner because they’re not as crowded at that time.

4. Identify and eliminate distractions.

Distractions are arguably the biggest barrier between you and effective time management, as well as productivity. The common distractions are smartphones, social media, email, and messaging platforms.

The easiest fix of all — turn off notifications.

The easiest fix is to turn off any alerts or notifications on your phone or computer — both Android and iOS devices have “Do Not Disturb” features.

However, if you’re freelancer working from home, you may have to deal with distractions like the TV, your family or roommates, household chores, noisy neighbors, or not having the right tools or equipment.

Ever heard of earplugs or “Beats?”

Find which distractions are hameping your productivity and then find solutions. For example, you may want to start working at a coffee shop or coworking space since they eliminate most of the distractions listed above.

If that’s not an option, then have a dedicated work area that’s in a quiet location. Ideally, this is would be a spare room where you can close the door.

You should also invest in noise-cancelling headphones and dedicate one day a week to household chores so that they don’t take your focus away from work.

5. Break larger projects down.

You just received a large project assignment from a client. Your first instinct is to look at the entire project as a whole. As a result, you get overwhelmed and procrastinate because you don’t know where you’re going to start.

Break down large work projects — just as you would any project.

Instead, break that project down into smaller tasks. For example, when I’ve had to write an eBook, I focus on one chapter at a time. I start by researching and outlining only that chapter that I’m working on. After it’s been outlined, I focus only on writing that chapter.

A place to start and makes the project seem much more manageable.

Here’s another tip I’ve learned along the way –break your day into blocks. This is a productivity hack known as the Rule of 52 and 17.

So when I’m writing a big project, I block out two hours of writing into my calendar with a 17-minute break in-between where I go for a block, meditate, or clean the dishes real quick. This keeps me focused on what I’m currently working-on, while also preventing distractions from disrupting my flow.

6. Limit your client base.

When you’re just starting out as a freelancer you have no reservations in accepting each and every gig that comes your way. It’s not a bad idea when you need the cash and building a portfolio.

Eventually, however, you’re going to start working with more high-profile clients. Because they’re paying you decent money, they’ll demand more of your time. In this case, you may no longer be able to handle those smaller jobs.

You take the next advice — when you have the luxury to do so — and not before you are covering your bills. Until bills are paid — shut your mouth and hustle.

Additionally, you may also want to fire specific clients — even if they pay well. I know that may sound ridiculous, there are just some clients who demand constant revisions because they’re perfectionists or don’t know what they want. This prevents you from getting other work completed, which means you may have to part ways with them.

7. Just say “no!”

Your best friend texts you asking if you want to go to lunch. A client emails you asking if you can start working on a project ASAP. Your gut reaction may be to say “yes” to either situation. This means you’re getting pulled away from the work at hand.

I know that you don’t want to offend anyone, but sometimes you just have to say “no.” If you’re swamped, then you need to let the client know that you have a full plate today and can’t start on their project until next week. If you’re in the “zone,” then plan to have lunch with your friend on another day where you have some more flexibility.

8. Work in batches.

“Batching is a form of productivity where you arrange tasks in set groups,” writes best-selling author Amanda Abella. “In other words, you block off time on the calendar for similar tasks.”

For me, when I go to write — I do all of my research and outline for the day’s articles in the morning. I then write all of my article — then edit and format them. This way I’m not switching between tasks or bouncing between tabs.

When it’s time to write, I can just crank an article out, instead of researching, writing, and editing it at the same time.

9. Gamification.

This doesn’t mean that you literally turn you work into a game. It means using game principles in your process to motivate you and make work more fun.

This gamification can be accomplished by:

A reward system. You completed a project ahead of the deadline, so you reward yourself by going out with your friends.
A point system. You receive points for completing tasks, such as earning one point for cleaning out your inbox.
A timer. You have a specific amount of time to complete a task.

Find out which one of these suggestions beats with your heart. You will have to figure this out — if you succeed at freelancing.

Compete with a fellow freelancer. Set up a challenge to see who can complete a task or project faster.
Chart your progress. I’ve tracked how many words I can write in a day. It’s amazing how many more words I can write now compared to when I started. And, it motivates me to do even better.

10. Outsource and automate.

As a freelancer, I’ve had to learn many new skills over the years in order to market and manage my business. Whenever I have to balance my books or market my services, I’m taking time away from work.

Learn when it is time to outsource and automate the extra tasks.

For example, I recently had to launch an email marketing campaign for a client. Even though I know how to, I found someone on Fiverr to get it started for me. This way I could focus just on creating a content calendar and composing articles for the client.

Once set up, the campaign used automation to respond to clients, such as receiving a welcome email when signing-up for the newsletter or receiving a confirmation of a sale.

11. End-of-day reviews.

“Before finishing up work tonight, review your calendar and reprioritize your meetings, appointments and planned work for the next day. Look to see if you can reschedule non-priority meetings to the following day if you need to,” suggests Jason Womack, author of: Your Best Just Got Better: Work Smarter, Think Bigger, Make More

You should also look into the following week of your calendar to see “if you can collapse two meetings into one by meeting with two people at the same time.”

Don’t forget to locate “and schedule 30 – to 60 – minute chunks of a time (perhaps even multiple times per day) during which you can close your door or turn off your email or phone. You can take these chunks of time if you must focus on a single project or priority without being interrupted.”

Jason Womack adds that he has found his clients like this technique and have reported that they “become more aware of the changes they can make for a more productive, engaging day.”

12 Ways to Avoid Self-Sabotaging Your Productivity

By John Rampton | Time Management | No Comments

I don’t think that’s it’s always deliberate. But, when it comes to productivity, we’re sometimes our own worst enemy. For example, you did your due diligence by adding your most important tasks to your calendar. But, you didn’t schedule them around when you’re most productive. Here are 12 ways to avoid self-sabotaging your productivity.

That may sound inconsequential. But, since you didn’t plan your day around productivity peaks, you may be working on an essential task during an energy dip. As a result, it may take you longer since you don’t have the energy and focus.

But, that’s just one example of how you may be self-sabotaging your productivity? If you want to avoid participating in this self-destructive behavior, then here are 12 ways you can do so.

1. Manage your attention.

Maura Thomas is an award-winning speaker, trainer, and author of several books, including “Attention Management.” According to Thomas, if you want to avoid self-sabotaging your productivity, then you should first pay attention to your attention.

“We have framed our efforts around productivity and efficiency as ‘time management’ for way too long, all the while knowing that no one can actually ‘manage time,” Thomas told Forbes. “It passes, no matter what we do. We can’t slow it down or create more of it, and we all have the same amount.”

In other words, not having enough time isn’t the culprit when it comes to productivity. “It’s a distraction and misplaced attention that interferes with our ability to achieve the results that are most significant to us,” argues Thomas. The solution? Attention management.

Thomas defines attention management as “the practice of controlling your attention.” While not necessarily a new concept, this idea can be traced back to William James in the 1800s, Thomas believes that this “is an essential productivity skill of the 21st century.”

At its core, attention management is about being proactive and not reactive. It’s deciding where we want our attention to go. And, it’s identifying and changing the bad habits that prevent us from being productive.

To get you started, Thomas suggests:

Either put your phone away or put it in do not disturb mode.
When on your computer, work offline or close distracting websites.
Allocate specific times to focus on less important tasks like email.
Declutter your workspace.
For uninterrupted work, find a quiet space where you aren’t distracted by others.

Most importantly, “plan, organize, and make thoughtful choices about what gets our attention.” Ideally, this should be based around your priorities.

2. Don’t get too comfortable.

“The critical inner voice likes to keep us in a box, pigeonholed by an identity assigned to us and not necessarily one we earned,” writes Lisa Firestone Ph.D. “It can be tricky and flood us with thoughts that are seemingly self-soothing. After all, it’s much easier “to recognize an internal enemy when it’s yelling at you that you’re stupid or a failure.”

However, most of us struggle with identifying those thoughts that encourage us to engage in unhealthy habits. For example, when you’re exhausted after a hectic week, you may tell yourself that you’ve earned the right to eat junk food and veg out on the couch all weekend.

“Listening to this voice may feel comfortable at first,” adds Dr. Firestone. But, “once we give in to bad habits or avoid going after what we want, our inner critic starts in with the self-punishing thoughts,” such as “You’ll never amount to anything.”

Definitely — make (and schedule) time to rest and celebrate your accomplishments. But, at the same, don’t get too cozy. Keep looking for ways to learn, grow, and get out of your comfort zone. When you do, you’ll embark on more productive and healthy habits. It’s also a great way to silence that pesky inner critic.

3. Create a Pavolian reinforcement system.

We all have those days when we don’t feel like doing squat. As a consequence, we end up procrastinating. Next thing we know, your productivity has taken a hit. More worrisome, this could screw up your entire schedule for the day or even week. And, you may also put your business in jeopardy by failing to meet deadlines.

The good news is that you can use some good old classical conditioning to address this problem. It’s a simple way to trick you into doing anything that you don’t want to. For example, I was having difficulty getting in the zone this week. But, I promised myself that as soon as I completed my work, I would treat myself to a trip to the movie theater. It was simple, but it worked.

The key here is to find a reward system that works best for you. If you don’t want to go to the movies, then treat yourself to a healthy snack, having lunch with a friend, or purchasing a new book.

4. Get over your preconceived notions.

I’m sure we’ve all been guilty of forming an opinion about someone or something before meeting or experiencing them. For example, you may skip a party or networking event because you assume that it will be a waste of time. Other times you won’t try new food, tool, or business process since you’ve already told yourself that you won’t like it.

Sure. There will be times when your preconception was right. But, if you always listen to this bias, then you aren’t opening the door to new experiences, ideas, and perspectives. What’s more, by refusing to try out new things, you’re potentially missing out on an improved routine or system that can boost your output.

5. Working through breaks.

In theory, it’s understandable why we do this. You’ve got a million things to do, or you’ve fallen behind on a project. To resolve these problems, you don’t take any breaks throughout the day. You even work straight through your lunch break, subsisting on a Snickers bar — or two.

You begin to believe that it’s counterproductive to stop what you’re doing merely to take a breath — a breather, or eat a healthy lunch. But, breaks are essential to productivity. We need these intermissions to decompress, rest, and recharge. We can also use these lulls to process everything that’s going around us. And, they give us a chance to refuel so that we have the stamina and mental energy to get through the remainder of the day.

6. Making decisions — quickly.

As a leader, you’re expected to make tough decisions daily. Because some of these decisions are important, you should take your time so that you can weigh the advantages and drawbacks.

But what about less essential choices? You should be able to make them quickly. If not, we’ll spend a portion of your day ruminating over something insignificant.

Author and former clinical psychologist Alice Boyes use picking a hotel as an example. Instead of doing extensive research each time you search for a room, you should have five criteria points that you look for. If the hotel meets your requirements, then book it.

“This helps me de-prioritize marginally productive behaviors, like spending 30 mins returning an unsatisfactory low-value item to a store when I could be doing something much more productive,” Boyes writes for Harvard Business Review.

7. Avoid comparing yourself to others.

“How much time he gains who does not look to see what his neighbor says or does or thinks, but only at what he does himself, to make it just and holy.” — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

It’s so easy to fall into this trap. Between conducting market research or just scrolling through social media, you’re tempted to compare yourself to others. Whether it’s sizing up your competition or seeing which tropical location a college friend is currently at, comparing yourself to others isn’t just a waste of time. It also sabotages your productivity because you’re more worried about others are doing than how you can improve yourself personally and professionally.

8. Don’t fear change.

Change is a part of life. But, that doesn’t mean that it comes easy. Most of us resist change because we’re petrified of the unknown. Others are just creatures of habit and don’t want to shake things up.

Whatever the exact reason, change is confusing and frightening. But, by embracing change, you can evolve into a more well-rounded, knowledgeable, and productive individual.

Some ways that you can fight back against this resistance is to seek out different perspectives and try something new. For example, if you’ve never had Indian cuisine, make visiting that new Thai restaurant in town a part of your date night agenda. And, make sure that you ask lots of questions.

9. Seek out inspiration.

Although often attributed to C.S. Lewis, it’s most likely Les Brown, one of my favorite quotes is, “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” The reason? It encourages me to chase my dreams and find new sources of inspiration constantly.

If you feel like you haven’t felt excited in quite some time, then everything from motivation, residence, and productivity will stifle. Eventually, like The Boss, you’ll get stuck in the mud somewhere in the swamps of Jersey.

Thankfully, there’s an inspiration all around you. Books, podcasts, exploring your city, or taking in the arts are all simple ways to give you an inspiration spark when you need it.

10. Lower your standards.

Obviously, you don’t want to ditch your high standards when it comes to your work or the products and services you offer. You should also expect your team to deliver quality work. But, it’s unreasonable and not possible to demand perfection.

Perfectionism prevents you from improving, discovering new opportunities, and wrecks your productivity. To avoid this cycle, lower standards just a little — a smidgen won’t kill you or anyone else. Try:

Not being so demanding and nitpicky.
Setting realistic goals.
Welcoming feedback from others.
Not comparing yourself to others.
Admit to the fact that you’re imperfect.

11. Delay gratification.

Our brains prioritize instant gratification. The main reason for this is because of the emotional part of the brain that responds positively to immediate rewards.

“Our emotional brain has a hard time imagining the future, even though our logical brain clearly sees the future consequences of our current actions,” says David Laibson at Harvard University. “Our emotional brain wants to max out the credit card, order dessert and smoke a cigarette. Our logical brain knows we should save for retirement, go for a jog and quit smoking.”

While you should savor the moment, you also need to find the right balance. If you stay up all night drinking, then how productive are you going to be the next day? If you keep neglecting your health, then you aren’t going to have the energy and focus to power through your to-dos.

So, definitely have fun. But, it should be within reason. And, more importantly, don’t immediately reward yourself. Save it for later so that you’ll make a better choice.

12. Embrace failure.

Finally, don’t fear failure. You should welcome it.

I know that it isn’t fun and wasn’t your intention. But, failing is one of the best ways to learn and grow. You can take that painful experience and use it to your advantage so that you can become a smarter and stronger entrepreneur. It may even make you a better person overall.

What are the 4 D’s of Negligence in Time Management?

By John Rampton | Scheduling | No Comments

How to Squeeze More Time Out of Your Busy Schedule

I’ve experimented with various time management hacks over the years. The time management hack I’ve found to be most practical and useful is the 4Ds of time management. People will continue to get better and better at their jobs and productivity, yet time management will continue to be an issue in business. We’ll look at the 4D’s of time management first, but what are the 4D’s of negligent time management?

The 4D’s of Time Management

If you’re not familiar with this technique, the 4Ds of time management are: delete, delegate, defer, and do.

Delete is where you remove unnecessary time-wasters from your schedule, such as projects you never complete or unproductive meetings.
Delegate is taking tasks that are important but can be assigned to someone else.
Defer means, essential tasks that don’t need to be handled right now. Schedule these jobs when you have the availability.
Do is for the jobs (or anything) that take a couple of minutes to finish quickly. Don’t let these micro-tasks pile-up — get them done and over with, now. But, do also means diving directly into a task, building up your momentum and working on a bigger job to get it done.

Personally, using the 4Ds of time management has increased my productivity. How? Using the principle has encouraged me to focus on what truly matters. Also, because this has reduced the number of activities I need to worry about, I’m not cluttering my calendar. The 4D’s have helped prevent decision fatigue, which gives me more mental energy throughout the day.

What’s interesting, however, is that different industries have their variation of the 4D’s. Case in point, the medical industry has the 4Ds of medical negligence. These (negligent areas) are duty, dereliction, direct causation, and damages.

The 4D’s of Medical Negligence.

Recently, I had to visit urgent care. Nothing serious. While waiting to see the doctor, I saw a parallel between the 4Ds of time management and negligence.

I know. That probably shouldn’t have been my main concern. But what can I say? I’m always on the lookout for ways to improve time management. I think the 4D’s of negligence can be helpful in the Calendar, business, and productivity space.

Duty

No matter the exact field of expertise — doctors must adhere to strict rules, guidelines, and protocols. Drs listen to the patient and are respectful of their views.

The same system of confidentiality should be practiced in businesses, with customers and client’s financials and other information. A physician must also practice confidentiality. How confidential are we with our clients and customers data, requests, sales, and so forth? In short, Doctors must always provide the best care possible for all of their patients. Do we do the same in business?

Additionally, if the doctor believes that they can not help a patient — they must refer them to someone else. For example, if you have a rotator cuff tear, then your primary physician wouldn’t attempt to do surgery. Instead, your primary care doctor will refer you to physical therapy, and then to an orthopedic surgeon.

How duty relates to time management.

To begin with, whenever you accept a time request, you have a duty to follow through with the job. If you accept a meeting invite — then you need to block that timeframe in your calendar to prevent scheduling conflicts. You will follow through with the meetings set up on your schedule.

Ditching-out on your scheduled appointments at the last minute isn’t done unless there is an emergency. Your doctor doesn’t cancel appointments for no reason. It wouldn’t be very professional for your doctor to visit with two patients in the same room at the same time, either.

You have a responsibility to arrive on-time for your appointments and end the event as scheduled.

Not only is this respectful to the other attendees, but it also protects your time. Have you planned a meeting for thirty minutes, and the meeting ends up being an hour? The lax in protocols change your plans for the day — and creates conflict in everyone’s schedule.

Similarly to the medical duty of time management — if you don’t have the availability — then be honest about this upfront. If your Calendar is packed for the next month, don’t take on any new responsibilities. Don’t keep adding to your duties or accept any meeting invites until you have more time.

Finally, like doctors, if you aren’t an expert — then send your clients and customers to someone who is an expert. Obviously, for those in the medical field — it’s for legal purposes. But, for most of us, this is a simple way to avoid wasting time.

For instance, I just repaired a couple of things at my home. These weren’t difficult, but because I had never done them before — I spent hours on the project. It may have been expensive to hire a maintenance specialist — but I would have saved a ton of time. Next time I’ll call the repairman. I’ll stick with what I am an expert at — for the sake of my business.

Dereliction

Whenever a doctor doesn’t meet expectations or overstepped boundaries, this is called dereliction negligence. Examples would be not providing a clean and safe environment, misdiagnosis, missing a diagnosis, doing unnecessary procedures. Dereliction also includes surgical errors or prescribing the wrong medication.

How dereliction relates to time management.

Did you commit to a new work assignment? If so, that should be your priority. You should also allocate the right amount of time to performing the jobs you said you would accomplish. By Calendaring your tasks and meetings you’ll be sure to meet the deadlines. If you don’t have the time or skills for this exact task, just as a doctor would do, the job should be handed off to someone else whose expert.

Furthermore, dereliction is defined as “the state of being abandoned.”

And, as it just so happens, finishing what you started is one of the best ways to manipulate time to your advantage.

“It’s very common for tasks to get interrupted or delayed throughout your day.” Renzo Costarella wrote previously for Calendar. “Often, it’s best to finish the task at hand before starting new ones.” If you visited your doctor to get stitches, you would expect the doc to finish the job — not leave you half-stitched.

“However, other things may take priority,” adds Renzo. “For example, if a customer needs immediate assistance, it’s probably best to serve them right away.” But, “you need to make a point to return and finish your unfinished duties” after handling the current crisis.

“Again, this sounds simple enough, but it’s common for individuals to get distracted and leave loose ends.”

Direct Causation

If there was a dereliction of duty, then it must be proven that the healthcare provider was at fault. Usually, this is straightforward. I’ll give you an example of my personal life. My grandfather went in for simple cataract surgery. But, the doctor operated on the wrong eye. As a consequence, he began to experience vision problems in the wrong eye and he still had a cataract on the original eye.

In this case, the error was obvious. But, other times, errors and mistakes are not so black and white. Let’s say that a patient had a broken arm that didn’t heal properly. Maybe the patient will claim that the error was because the orthopedist did not apply the correct methods to the fractured arm correctly.

However, in the background, we may find out that the patient fell while the cast was on — which was the real causation of further injury. If the patient doesn’t admit the actual error or mistake — it could be challenging to prove that it wasn’t the surgeon’s fault. Dishonesty from the patient causes problems for us all.

How direct causation relates to time management.

Causation and time management fit together like a glove. If you don’t manage your time effectively by holding yourself accountable, there will be negative consequences. You may want to pin the blame on others — but, ultimately, the buck stops with you.

The surgeon who operated on my grandfather’s eye blamed the nurse who prepped my grandpop. But, the doctor should have double-checked the information himself before operating. When it comes to your responsibilities, you can say that you were late for a meeting because your other event ran late. However, if you had built-in a buffer between these meetings, this issue wouldn’t have occurred.

Another example of direct causation is not focusing on meaningful work because you’re getting distracted.

The solution? Identify these distractions and eliminate them. If your phone is the primary causation of your time management lag, then turn it off or put it on do not disturb mode. Behind on your priorities because you’re devoting too much time on unnecessary things? Drop those time-sucks from your to-do-list for the time being.

There are times when you aren’t at fault in business. One way around the vast majority of excuse ridden situations is to schedule white space in your calendar. Leave a block of time blank to catch up and in-between meeting. Leave buffer times in your schedules. If you don’t have anything scheduled use that time to address the unexpected events that occur.

Damages

Businesses have a lot of issues that appear as damages. But nothing could be worse than the current medical malpractice issues. Doctors respond to the question, “did the patient suffer physically, mentally, emotionally, or financially?”

The patient is entitled to a monetary amount that would help cover wage losses or medical bills. Damages would also take care of any pain or suffering or emotional distress that the patient has experienced.

How damages relate to business time management.

Poor time management affects every area of your life. Let’s say that you’re aren’t punctual or always rushing from Point A to B. Not only is this stressful, it also puts a strain on your relationships. If you miss a deadline, for instance, you might lose a client. If you are arriving late at home each night — you don’t have a chance to spend quality time with your family.

Other symptoms of poor time management would be procrastination, inability to set goals, and decreased quality of work. Poor time management causes damage in many areas of your business — and certainly in your life.

You’ll find poor time management causes you, your family and your clients and customers to suffer physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially. Unhealthy habits, like eating fast food, not exercising, and getting burned out can be attributed to poor time management.

In other words, poor time management will definitely lead to physical, mental, emotional, and financial distress — and there is no one to blame but ourselves. You aren’t going to recover any monetary amount for slacking on the job and causing yourself and your family pain and suffering. But you can recover monetary setbacks through better time management.

When you feel pain and suffering in business — look to time management for the cure.

4 Ways to Maximize Your Time Between Thanksgiving and Christmas

By John Rampton | Appointment | No Comments

The holidays are a time for relaxation and reflection, but that doesn’t mean you can afford to ease up on the gas. Some people will take a turkey nap until the new year. Others will keep their noses to the grindstone — and reap the rewards while everyone else nurses a holiday hangover.

CBS News reports that 61 percent of employees admit feeling distracted by the holiday season as early as November first.

Founders can’t take that kind of break. Follow these tips to keep your company growing through the end of the year:

1. Push harder and reward more.

Your employees might be ready to slack off, but that doesn’t mean you should let them. If you push too hard, though, they will resent your leadership. Enjoy the best of both worlds by giving employees extra time off during the holidays and asking more of them in the weeks leading up to the break.

The Olson Group argues that employers should give employees longer periods of vacation time for a variety of reasons.

Not only do longer vacations make employees more productive, but they also make employees feel more motivated to contribute to the success of the company. For startups, where every employee needs to pull a lot of weight, buy-in is essential. Tell employees about the extra paid time off, then use that as motivation to keep them working harder, earlier, in the meantime.

When employees know they won’t have to worry about work for a whole week, they are less likely to spend the middle of December idly shopping for last-minute gifts.

2. Start every day hard.

The longer you put it off, the more difficult it becomes. Rather than stroll into the office at 8:30 and tackle a few easy tasks before lunch, commit to get to work a little earlier during the holiday season. Once you arrive, tackle the hardest thing on your plate first.

Many successful people disagree on this subject. Michael Hyatt starts with the easy stuff and works his way up.

However, I have found that by tackling my hardest project first thing in the morning, I am better able to respond to the emergencies that pop up later in the day. I can also attend meetings and brainstorm without that nagging feeling that something else requires my attention.

3. Plan time to handle personal errands.

Your business is important, but you still have friends and family who will expect gifts, cards and other reminders that you exist during the holidays.

Don’t be that person who waits until the last minute. Research from Needle found that shopping is now the biggest stressor during the holiday season, ahead of other factors like familial obligations and travel. Stress negatively impacts productivity in a big way, so take precautions to minimize the damage.

Take an afternoon off during one week in December to get all (or at least most) of your shopping out of the way. If you absolutely can’t miss work, put a weekend morning on your calendar and keep that appointment. Make time to take care of the personal stuff so you don’t end up trying to multitask and harm the quality of your work.

4. Leave when it’s time to leave.

Even if you work on Christmas to give your team the day off, take some time around the holidays for your own vacation. Make it last at least a week — not just for your benefit, but for your team’s.

Startup teams look to their founders for guidance. If the founder works all through the holiday without a break, team members will feel like they must either follow that example or be perceived as selfish.

Aron Ain, CEO of Kronos, moved his company from a PTO-based vacation policy to an unlimited one to keep more talented workers. During the transition, he discovered that his managers were reluctant to give new recruits as much PTO as they had at their old jobs.

Even though they were allowed to do so, they didn’t want to be the first to break the mold. Only when the executive team set the example did the dynamic change.

Time has a habit of moving quickly after Thanksgiving. Rather than admit defeat and go into hibernation until the new year, use these tips to buckle down and get more done without losing the respect of your team in the process.

4 Ways to Maximize Your Time Between Thanksgiving and Christmas

By John Rampton | Time Management | No Comments

3 Things to Keep in Mind When Setting Holiday Hours

CBS News reports that 61 percent of employees admit feeling distracted by the holiday season as early as November first.

Founders can’t take that kind of break. Follow these tips to keep your company growing through the end of the year:

1. Push harder and reward more.

The Olson Group argues that employers should give employees longer periods of vacation time for a variety of reasons.

When employees know they won’t have to worry about work for a whole week, they are less likely to spend the middle of December idly shopping for last-minute gifts.

2. Start every day hard.

Many successful people disagree on this subject. Michael Hyatt starts with the easy stuff and works his way up.

3. Plan time to handle personal errands.

Your business is important, but you still have friends and family who will expect gifts, cards and other reminders that you exist during the holidays.

4. Leave when it’s time to leave.

Even if you work on Christmas to give your team the day off, take some time around the holidays for your own vacation. Make it last at least a week — not just for your benefit, but for your team’s.

Even though they were allowed to do so, they didn’t want to be the first to break the mold. Only when the executive team set the example did the dynamic change.

All posts by John Rampton

1. Mitigate your team’s stress.

2. Serve up the feedback sandwich.

3. Get to (virtually) know your team members.

4. Make sure that your goals, objectives, and intentions are crystal clear.

5. Be competent but also vulnerable.

6. Freshen up your virtual events and meetings.

7. Be consistent.

1. When plans are made, they anticipate obstacles.

2. They “don’t break the chain.”

3. Live life from their calendars.

4. They don’t multitask.

5. Not controlled by technology.

6. They use a notebook.

7. They work backwards from the future.

8. They’re friends with time.

9. They create theme days.

10. Bring optimism and fun back into the picture.

The dangers of “yes” people.

1. Fill in the blanks.

2. Grant autonomy.

3. Listen effectively.

4. Let them fail.

5. Seek out different perspectives.

1. Culture is more than just ping-pong tables.

2. Promote clear, open, and frequent communication.

3. Save teams from information overload and burnout.

4. Create psychological safety.

5. Overcome a challenge together.

6. Create a mentorship program.

7. Listen to Bill and Ted.

1. Plan the night before.

2. Wake up refreshed.

3. Create a morning to focus your mind.

According to Renzo Costarella in a previous Calendar article, here’s what you should include in your morning routine:

4. Set a daily intention.

You know, I never really did this until I came across this article from Purple Carrot. It’s great advice, so I’ll let them explain:

I want to emphasize that last part there. Research shows that writing down your goals enhances your goal achievement.

5. Daily affirmations.

6. Avoid your phone.

7. Schedule your day.

8. Network over coffee.

9. Eat the frog.

Don’t put this task off until later in the day. Tackle it first thing in the morning and get it done.

These eleven time management tips for freelancers have definitely helped me in the time management area. As a result — I’ve become a more productive and successful freelancer.

1. Rethink your to-do-lists.

Reasonable, specific, and prioritized.

How will you do your experiment?

2. Track your time.

You have many choices — including staying just as you are.

However — knowing — can help you decide.

3. Make and stick to a schedule.

Setting specific work hours.

Here’s a rough example of what my daily schedule looks like:

4. Identify and eliminate distractions.

The easiest fix of all — turn off notifications.

Ever heard of earplugs or “Beats?”

5. Break larger projects down.

Break down large work projects — just as you would any project.

Here’s another tip I’ve learned along the way –break your day into blocks. This is a productivity hack known as the Rule of 52 and 17.

6. Limit your client base.

You take the next advice — when you have the luxury to do so — and not before you are covering your bills. Until bills are paid — shut your mouth and hustle.

7. Just say “no!”

8. Work in batches.

When it’s time to write, I can just crank an article out, instead of researching, writing, and editing it at the same time.

9. Gamification.

This gamification can be accomplished by:

Find out which one of these suggestions beats with your heart. You will have to figure this out — if you succeed at freelancing.

10. Outsource and automate.

Learn when it is time to outsource and automate the extra tasks.

11. End-of-day reviews.

1. Manage your attention.

2. Don’t get too comfortable.

3. Create a Pavolian reinforcement system.

4. Get over your preconceived notions.

5. Working through breaks.

6. Making decisions — quickly.

7. Avoid comparing yourself to others.

8. Don’t fear change.

9. Seek out inspiration.