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6 Tips for Mastering Appointment Reminders for Your Clients

By Jon Bradshaw | Appointment | No Comments

Want to Get More Done? Organize Your Thoughts

Your clients are busy people. They don’t need a reminder for every email you send, but sending no reminders whatsoever isn’t a smart strategy, either.

You could take the age-old approach of sending three reminders — one far in advance, the second a few days before, and the third the day of — but that’s a lot of reminders. When the appointment rolls around, your client may walk in annoyed with you.

Going the no-reminder route can leave clients wondering whether the meeting is still happening, or whether it’s slipped your mind.

The question is, how can you strike a balance between the two?

1. Always confirm via email.

No matter how you set the appointment — over the phone, in-person, via text, or in an email — make sure to confirm the scheduled time via email. An email is a searchable record that clients can check if in doubt of the details.

If applicable, copy the client’s administrative assistant to make sure it gets on their calendar. To avoid crowding the client’s inbox unnecessarily, ask whether reminder emails should go only to the assistant in the future.

2. Make time to personalize.

It wouldn’t be wise to promote an event or product without a plan; take the same approach with your meeting reminders. Every email and text message you send is a representation of your brand.

To track your meetings and appointments, invest in an online calendar tool. Block off time to create customized reminders. If you’re worried you’ll forget, set your calendar tool to remind you to do it.

This might seem a little extra, but the personal touch is important. If you allow your online scheduling service to fire-off automatic, robotic appointment reminders, chances are clients will dismiss them in the swarm of other system-generated reminders they receive.

3. Stay on the radar.

Reminders do not necessarily need to be about a meeting. Clients encounter your brand in all sorts of contexts, so be sure to use those touchpoints as subtle, positive reminders.

Take social media. Encouraging clients to follow you on Instagram and Facebook keeps you top of mind while they’re using those channels. The content you post can trigger them to think about the upcoming appointment.

Do the same if you send an email newsletter. Add clients to your list so that your business regularly shows up in their inbox. And if you host experiential events, be sure to invite clients to those activations, too.

4. Send a response-worthy reminder.

An unanswered meeting reminder can leave you wondering if the client is still planning to attend. The solution is to write a reminder soliciting a response.

Try opening your message with a question. You might ask about the client’s progress on her latest project, or whether she caught the big game over the weekend.

One way or another, get personal. A message that suggests a real person is behind it is harder to put off. Plus, it’s a great way to maintain a long-term client relationship.

5. Include an agenda.

Appointments can be a big waste of time if the agenda for them isn’t set ahead of time. Shortly after the meeting is scheduled, develop an agenda and set it to everyone who plans to attend.

A reminder with an attached agenda not only serves as a reminder, but it also gives the client a way to prepare. Meetings are maximally productive when both parties arrive prepared.

6. Make multiple reminders meaningful.

Sending multiple reminders is not always a bad idea. If a client schedules an appointment months in advance, it’s a good idea to send at least two: one confirming the meeting, and one a day or two in advance of the conversation.

Those messages should not look the same. Use them to build social capital with the client or to grow the client’s knowledge of your business. An introductory survey with questions about the client’s business, interests, and needs can both break the ice and help you provide a better service.

As you learn the art of appointment reminders, check in with your clients. Do they see the reminders you send as useful? Is there some piece of information you might be neglecting to include? You might be surprised at just how much they appreciate hearing from you.

12 Mental Health Hacks for Entrepreneurs

By John Rampton | Knowledge Base | No Comments

10 Deliberate Sacrifices You Must Make if You Want to be Successful

There’s a mental health crisis among entrepreneurs. And, that shouldn’t be all that surprising. Being an entrepreneur is stressful, full of uncertainty, unhealthy comparisons, and social isolation. It’s gotten so bad that research conducted by Michael A. Freeman has found that start-up founders are:

Twice as likely to suffer from depression.
Six times more likely to suffer from ADHD.
Three times more likely to suffer from substance abuse.
Ten times more likely to suffer from bipolar disorder.
Twice as likely to have a psychiatric hospitalization.
Twice as likely to have suicidal thoughts.

These are concerning stats for all businesses. It’s time that we begin to remove the stigma around mental health so that we can address the struggles that entrepreneurs are facing. But, until we reach that point, here are twelve ways that founders can begin improving their mental health.

1. Boost your resilience or walk away.

The level of stress and the weight of uncertainty and anxiety are nearly unbearable to many entrepreneurs and founders. It’s always the company’s responsibility to hire talented individuals who fit within the company culture. It’s challenging to work with all levels in your company, but you’ll have to let an employee go if they don’t work out — this is a business fact. The fact is also a deep stressor. A CEO and founder has to stay on top of market shifts. You have to identify the trends in your space — and keep track of what the competitors are up to.

Not enough? There are also late nights, putting out fires, traveling, and constantly worrying about failure. Each entrepreneur has to walk a different path. Today, that path has to include taking care of mental health. An entrepreneur has to look inside and see that not everyone is cut out for being a founder. Not everyone can live through the pressure or face what the stress and tension begin to make out of you.

You’ve got to know that it’s okay to walk away if you need to walk away. Allow yourself that thought, and you’ll handle the “now” better. Watch for ways to boost your resilience and reduce pressure.

2. Remember your “why.”

Whenever you feel overwhelmed or don’t want to get out of bed, stop what you’re doing, take a deep breath, and remember your “why.” Obviously, this is different for everyone. But, usually, it’s by answering a simple question, “Why did you get out of bed this morning?” You can also ask, “Why does your company exist,” and “Why should anyone care?” when you’re really in a bad place.

When you remember you “why,” it injects passion back into your life. It also pushes you to be your best and put things in perspective. And, it helps you keep your eyes on the prize whenever there’s a setback.

3. Limit social media use.

Don’t think that I’m hating on social media. It’s actually a great way to network, engage with your audience, and market ourselves and companies. But, it can also be distracting and can negatively affect your mental health. You likely can’t go completely off the grid, but there is a compromise here. And, that’s to limit the amount of time you spend on social media.

Personally, I check all of my notifications right before work, after I’ve eaten lunch, and before I leave the office for the day. If you’re crunched for time, you can check social during your commute on when you’re sitting in a waiting room. The idea is to block out specific times throughout the day so that you’re not continually getting sucked into social media.

You could also use tools like Buffer or Hootsuite to manage your accounts and schedule content in advance. Or, if you want to take a step back, you can delegate your social media responsibilities to someone you trust.

If self-discipline is a concern, I suggest deleting the apps from your phone. Not only will this prevent notifications from interrupting you, but you’ll also be able to check your accounts by logging in. That extra step may ease the temptation.

4. Focus on what you have.

Early on in my career, I fell into this trap. I would see other entrepreneurs, friends, or family posting social media updates from their travels all over the world. They would talk about the new house or car they just purchased. And, they would boast about how their business was crushing it.

Sometimes they were putting on a facade or trying too hard to impress others. But, as someone who was struggling to get their business up and running at the time — it stung. Even worse? It made me feel pretty crummy about myself.

It’s taken time and self-discipline, but I no longer worry about what I don’t have. Instead, I focus on what I do have. The easiest way to focus on what you have is to be more grateful. Start by writing a list of the awesome things in your life or keep a gratitude journal and write down the people and pleasant surprises you’ve experienced.

While you can make a gratitude list daily, research has found that those who do this at least weekly are happier and more optimistic about the upcoming week.

5. Ramp up your self-care routine.

“Self-care is any activity that we do deliberately to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health,” writes Raphailia Michael, MA. “Although it’s a simple concept, in theory, it’s something we very often overlook.” And, that needs to change. Self-care can improve your mood, reduce anxiety, and manage stress.

But, as a busy entrepreneur, how can you possibly have time for self-care? Well, start with the basics. Get enough sleep, exercise, and eat a healthy diet. Take breaks throughout the day and use that time to meditate, journal, or go for a walk outside.

During downtime, like after work and the weekends, spend time with loved ones. You can volunteer (nothing helps me more than volunteering) read, pick-up a new hobby, clean your house, play with your kids, go out with friends, or learn something new. Find ways to laugh daily.

6. Strike a pose.

Did you know that you could reduce anxiety, boost your confidence, and help you better deal with stress in just two minutes? That may sound too good to be true, and maybe it is — but perhaps it works somehow through body language.

Body language can increase testosterone, which makes you feel more confident. It can also lower the stress hormone cortisol. But, that’s only possible if you position yourself into “high power” poses, which are relaxed and open.

Some have said that striking a pose doesn’t really work — but stand in front of the mirror and laugh. Pose for a friend and tell them you are boosting your confidence, and you’ll both laugh. Strike a ridiculous pose — for sure, this will reduce anxiety.

7. Create a worrying time.

For some, this may seem counterintuitive. However, as Kim Pratt, LCSW, explains, “employing this cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) tool can help you develop control over the frequency and timing of your worry.” Also, when designating specific times to worry, your mind will be free to focus on the present.

If you want to give this exercise a try, here’s how you can get started:

Set aside 15-30 minutes per day. Ideally, this should be in the morning or afternoon and not before bed.
Jot down all of your worries during these sessions.
If you begin to worry at other times, let them go.
At the end of the week, look at what you have written so that you can spot patterns.
Repeat this until you feel that you have more control over your thoughts.

8. Compartmentalization.

“Compartmentalization is not about being in denial,” says Barton Goldsmith, Ph.D.

Instead, “it’s about putting things where they belong and not letting them get in the way of the rest of your life.” In other words, your problems won’s disappear if you ignore them, “but obsessing on them won’t help either.”

For example, when my first business failed, I went to Disneyland. It was a good distraction from how I was feeling. And, when I returned, I was refreshed and ready to start my next venture.

Another useful tactic would be to speak in the third-person. Researchers from Michigan State University have found that speaking in third-person is helpful because it distances yourself from painful situations that happened in the past.

9. Put a stop to catastrophizing.

Catastrophizing is irrational thinking, also known as “cognitive distortion,” where you believe something is worse than it is. I don’t actually “believe” something is worse — I like to recreationally gripe about stuff. But I’ve noticed that my fun in spinning a horrible situational story can start others looking poorly at issues — and sometimes my viewpoint can become jaded, too.

You may have lost a client or had a weak financial quarter. You then tell yourself that because of these obstacles — both you and your business are failures. Stop it. We all experience bad days. But, instead of going down the rabbit hole, remind yourself that just because today sucked doesn’t mean that every day will be the same.

Other techniques you can try would be to recognize when thoughts are valid and irrational, repeating positive affirmations, and practicing self-care. I’ve also found it helpful to tell my mind to “stop.” When I’m particularly anxious, I may even put my hand up and make a stop sign.

10. Avoid wearing all-grey clothing to work.

Grey is associated with passivity and a lack of energy. It’s also usually worn by people who want to remain neutral or invisible. Sometimes that’s not a bad idea. But, because colors can influence everything from your mood to decision-making, it wouldn’t hurt to add some color to your wardrobe.

Take red, for instance. It’s the color of power, and it can make you appear more attractive to others. Blue is calming and exudes trustworthiness. Green is connected to positive emotional health. And, colors like orange and yellow are warm and can lift spirits.

11. Be productive, not busy.

As entrepreneurs, we idealize those founders who put in 60-80 hours per week. Having a strong work ethic is critical if you want to succeed. But, you can only work for so long before getting burned out. Besides, no matter how amazing you are — your brain still needs time away from work to rest and recharge.

One way to reduce the amount of time you spend working is to be more productive instead of just being busy. You can do this by:

Identifying what’s essential and necessary. These are your priorities, and everything else can wait.
Optimizing your organization by only listing three items on your to-do-list and using systems like “mise en place.”
Minimizing distractions.
Not sweating the small stuff.
Only saying yes to time requests that bring you closer to your goals or that you’re excited about.
Weighing the pros and cons before jumping on the latest trend.

12. Seek help.

“While many entrepreneurs don’t have the luxury of seeking help through an employer, they do have many other options they can use should they suffer from depression,” notes John Boitnott. Exercising, eating eat, taking breaks, and practicing gratitude are all ways to help. But, they also need a reliable support system.

“Due to the nature of the entrepreneurial journey, there is additional job isolation, and long work hours are all too common,” adds Boitnott. “Surrounding yourself with like-minded people, who stay in your corner through your ups and downs — is extremely important.” Also, this can help make you realize that you’re not alone, “even if your depression wants you to believe you are.”

And please, if you’re struggling — please speak with a mental health professional or join a support group. If it’s an emergency, contact the Suicide Prevention Hotline (1-800-273-8255) and The National Alliance on Mental Illness Helpline (800- 950-NAMI).

“Most importantly, as an entrepreneur, don’t neglect your feelings and thoughts,” says Boitnott. “The sooner you search for a diagnosis — or at the very least, seek help — the better your chances of fighting and winning.”

7 Easy Ways to Avoid Burnout at Home

By Jon Bradshaw | Business Tips | No Comments

You know that feeling when you just can’t find the will to work? It’s more than simple stress: You physically and emotionally drained; you don’t feel competent; and it’s causing you an existential crisis.

That feeling is known as burnout, and according to Mayo Clinic, it has real health implications. Burnout is associated with excessive fatigue, insomnia, alcohol abuse, heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

But while burnout can be tough to solve, it’s relatively easy to prevent a few at-home approaches:

1. Get enough sleep.

Sleep deprivation is a risk factor for dozens of different health conditions, including burnout. Stop burnout before it starts by getting the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep every night.

Give yourself enough time to prepare for sleep. Organize some of the things you’ll need in the morning so that you can sleep in peace. And be sure to stay away from screens for a couple of hours before going to bed.

2. Exercise.

Many big-name business leaders make sure that they exercise daily. Some go to the gym early in the morning, but there are plenty of ways they get their workout in other than hitting the weights.

this doesn’t have to happen in a gym or other indoor setting, especially for those who are indoors during their working hours. The great outdoors provides ample opportunities to get physical activity.

Take a walk in the morning, or go for a hike in the afternoon. The great outdoors provides plenty of opportunities to get physical. Stretching and calisthenic exercises are two other ways to keep your stress levels in check.

3. Keep a journal.

Often, burnout stems from a lack of purpose. Scheduling time to journal is a great way for business leaders to release these anxieties and keep things in perspective.

When you journal, think about the reasons that you do what you do in the first place. Consider the people you work with and how you impact their lives. Remember that regardless of what you do, you are helping people or fulfilling someone’s needs with your job.

4. Engage in hobbies.

Another element of burnout is a sense of incompetence. That feeling can be demoralizing and significantly reduce your motivation.

Hobbies give you a break from the work you typically do. More importantly, they allow you to do something that you enjoy without the stress of having to get things just right.

If you don’t have a hobby, take this opportunity to find one. If you’re creative, sewing or crafting could be your cup of tea. If you’re interested in cooking, check out a book of recipes to try out. You might like to take and edit pictures on your phone. It doesn’t have to be complicated.

5. Unplug.

When there’s so much going on in the digital world, it can be overwhelming to keep up. If the constant chime of appointment notifications, emails, and news updates gets on your nerves, practice putting down your phone.

What about while you’re working? You might not be able to change the fact that you work from a computer, but you can keep only a single tab open and turn notifications off — and if all else fails, go take a walk.

6. Schedule breaks.

Be sure to include breaks in your calendar. Working nonstop is a surefire way to burn yourself out. Scheduling tools can help you get through your daily tasks more efficiently and place breaks at times when you tend to be the least productive.

7. Make motivational playlists.

Sometimes, all it takes is the right song to put you in a good mood. Listening to music is proven to reduce depression, speed recovery from trauma, and sleep better.

There are plenty of playlists pre-built by streaming platforms for different moods. If you can’t come up with a specific artist or song, treat them as a starting point to find songs that motivate you.

Playlists are the perfect way to power through household chores and workout sessions. Build one for every activity you dread or put off.

Regardless of your career path, you’re likely to face burnout at some point. Add healthy habits into your schedule so you can avert a crisis. The best antidote to burnout, bar none, is self-care.

How to Squeeze More Time Out of Your Busy Schedule

By John Rampton | Time Management | No Comments

Entrepreneurs have it hard. Not only do they have to operate a business, but they also have to ensure that they can manage their day-to-day tasks on top of it.

Staying busy isn’t a bad thing, but many entrepreneurs find themselves trying to fit too many things into their schedules.

If you’re an entrepreneur who is feeling overwhelmed, or the days just keep getting busier, here are a few ways you can free up your time for the most important things on your calendar:

1. Get Rid of Pointless Meetings.

Your time is valuable and deserves your respect. It might not always feel like it, but you have control of your own calendar. In order to free up your time, it’s critical to take a closer look at some of your meeting schedule.

Stop letting people put unnecessary appointments on your calendar.

Make clear to employees, clients, and vendors what constitutes a meeting and what the expectations are for that meeting. A meeting should have a defined purpose, an approximate start and end time, and a detailed agenda.

Implement a policy that you won’t take a meeting that does not include these items. If someone feels they can’t include these items when scheduling a meeting, perhaps a phone call or email might be a better use of your time.

Evaluate your current schedule and make changes as needed.

As a leader, it’s important to evaluate the effectiveness of your current schedule so you can make the most of your time. Are you meeting deadlines? Is your meeting schedule working each week? Do you feel the pressure of the clock?

Answering these questions and making changes where you see fit will help clean up your calendar and free up more time in the day.

Learn to say “no.”

Although the word “no” has an inherently negative connotation, go ahead and get comfortable with it. Others will understand if you need to decline the occasional meeting. Offer to reschedule it or suggest an alternative solution.

Leverage an online scheduling tool.

Appointment scheduling software like Calendar are incredibly helpful for calendar management. Use them to minimize email back-and-forth, avoid overbooking yourself, and getting a quick glimpse of your day’s appointments.

Go ahead and block off one day a week for deep work. A popular method is to implement a one-day-a-week no-meetings policy. Use that time to prevent or solve complex business problems.

2. Reduce the Amount of Time Spent at Your Desk.

Entrepreneurs often feel like they are “too busy to take a break.” But that simply isn’t true.

Breaks are good for the brain, and spending 8 hours at your desk doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve had a productive day. When you find the luxury of a free, 15-minute time period, try filling it by doing something for yourself, rather than trying to cram in another task.

Options include:

Meditating: If you feel anxious or overly stressed during the workday, use your free time to meditate. It could significantly reduce your stress level and give you the boost you need to continue on with a productive day. Even something as simple as going into a quiet room, focusing on your breathing, and clearing every thought in your mind can make a huge difference in your day.
Listening to a short podcast: Podcasts can be a way to unwind, and a great learning tool. Thousands of podcasts are uploaded every day on topics like business, money, news, politics, comedy and more. Listening to a podcast that aligns with your line of work can offer inspiration on a slow day.
Reading a book: A short, 15-minute break is plenty of time to catch up on a chapter of your favorite book. Whether you’re reading for business or pleasure, reading is relaxing and can heighten brain function.

Don’t be afraid to take that little bit of time for yourself. You’ll be less stressed and more productive.

3. Cut Out Busy Work.

While it’s important to fill up your free time with non-work tasks, you’ll also find that much of your schedule is filled with busy work. Identify these tasks and limit the time you spend on them. To assist with busy work, appoint your top employees to managerial roles, and don’t be afraid to delegate these tasks as you see fit.

Cutting out busy work will free up time for business development. For example, you can focus on managing your business’ social media pages. As an entrepreneur, people want to hear what you have to say, and find your experience and opinions very valuable. By putting out thought leadership pieces or video content, you can gain your following, and next thing you know, you’re viral—and so is your business.

You’ll be amazed at how much better you feel when you pare down your calendar. Be proactive, and don’t try to take on too much. And if you have already, make changes so you can be your best self.

How Do You Prioritize Your Time? 25 Tips for Optimal Time Prioritization

By John Rampton | Time Management | No Comments

You came here for one reason. To get some killer tips on how to prioritize your time. So, let’s get right into it so that you’re not wasting any more time then you have to. Here is how to prioritize your time with 25 tips for optimal time prioritization.

1. Set goals and stick to them.

Goals are like a map. They provide us with a starting point and step-by-directions on how to reach our destination. But, they also keep us focused. If you’ve ever driven in an unfamiliar territory your eyes are fixed sharply on the road so that you don’t miss a turn.

Before doing anything else, get clear on your goals and follow through with them. Not only will this give you purpose, but it will also guide you in determining how you want to spend your time.

If you’re struggling with reaching your goals, here are four strategies that you should try:

SMART goal formula. Always make sure that your goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.
RPM. Developed by Tony Robbins, this involves three-steps to achieving your goals: writing them down, chunking your time, and blocks that contain a plan for reaching your goal.
Start with your action steps first. Instead of setting a goal first, begin in the middle of the goal process. Taking this approach actually gives you a better understanding of how much time and effort it will take.
Run a SWOT analysis. Short for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, this is where you identify the challenges in these four areas. Knowing this, you can then look for ways to overcomes these obstacles.

2. Create a master list.

Those goals you just came-up with? Add them to a list, along with anything else that needs to get done like administrative tasks, meetings, and household chores. Right now, the order doesn’t matter. You just need to get these items out of your head and place them in a notebook or sheet of paper. You could also use digital tools like Evernote, Google Keep, or Todoist.

For some of you, you may end up having a lengthy and daunting list here. Don’t sweat it. Go through your list and begin trimming the fat by arranging your list by date-specific responsibilities. Examples would include deadlines, due dates, and events already booked in your calendar. Also, only focus on important actions that need your attention right now.

As for the rest of your list? If there is something that you need to do, but it’s not urgent, schedule it for later. If there are items that could be delegated or outsourced, then assign them to someone else. And, if there’s anything that isn’t a good use of your time, delete them from your list.

3. Get to Like Ike.

Even if your list isn’t as overwhelming, it’s still challenging to prioritize your list. One way strategy to employ here would be using a priority matrix, such as the popular Eisenhower Matrix.

If history isn’t your thing, here’s what you need to know. The Eisenhower Matrix was named after Dwight Eisenhower, also known as Ike. He was the supreme commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during World War II and the 34th President of the United States. So, yeah, he had to be productive with his time. And, he accomplished this by dividing all tasks into four quadrants:

Important and Urgent – essential items that must get done.
Not urgent and important – activities that still require your attention, but not right at this moment.
Not important and urgent – responsibilities that can handed-off to someone else so that they don’t distract you.
Not important and not urgent – time-wasters that should be scrapped from your list entirely.

4. Enroll at MIT.

Not literally. But, if you have applied and been accepted to the Massachusets Institute of Technology, then congratulations.

The MIT I’m talking about here is your most important task. It’s the one thing that you want or needs to get done today — without question. It should always be aligned with the goals that you’ve set.

5. It’s as easy as A, B, C.

Another way to prioritize your time is to use a system where you list everything as A, B, and C. According to Steve Tobak, here’s how it works:

- A = critical things. These are the things that need to get done right away or there will be repercussions.
- B = business as usual. Everything that you need to focus on in order to achieve your short- and long-term goals.
- C = everything else. These are items like busy work things that would be nice to get to, or just goofing off.

The beauty of this system, explains Tobak, is that you’ll “actually never get to the Priority C tasks. In fact, this system forces you to be very clear on your goals because anything that doesn’t play a significant role in helping you achieve them gets pushed to the C list.”

6. Kondo your to-do-lists.

I’m sure that you’re aware of Marie Kondo’s decluttering philosophy: does this spark joy? If not, it not then throw it away or donate it. But, how does this apply to prioritize your time?

Well, between FOMO and being afraid to say “no,” we often over-commit ourselves. We also feel pressured to squeeze in as much as possible in a day so that you give off the impression that we’re productive. In reality, the more we add to our plate, the less progress we’ll make. The reason? We’re focused on how much we’ve accomplished per day instead of spending time on the right things.

Decluttering your life can help with this. It relieves stress, allows you to make fewer decisions, and encourages you to spend more time on the things that truly matter.

Amy Jen Su suggests on HBR that you can do this by filtering your priorities. “Select a couple of areas to set priorities in; this can help the brain to manage information overload,” explains Amy.

“Researchers have found that it’s the overload of options that paralyze us or lead to decisions that go against our best interests,” she adds. “Two criteria I use with clients to filter for priorities include contribution and passion.” Your highest contribution would be things your purpose, strengths, and experience. Your passion would be the things that motivate and excite you.

7. Follow the 1-3-5 scheduling rule.

Remember that master you created? Go back and use that to shape your day using the 1-3-5 scheduling rule.

Identify today’s top priority from the list. Nothing else matters here. This is your primary focus for the day.
Determine three medium priorities. Ideally, these should be subtasks related to your main priority.
And, schedule no more than five small must-to-do- priorities, such as meetings. While these are important and deserve your time, we call these smaller to-dos since they don’t require as much energy.

8. Use the scales method.

The scales method was developed by Leon Ho, founder, and CEO of Lifehack. It’s similar to a priority matrix in that you’re organizing your to-do-list by importance and the benefits you’ll receive.

Here, however, you would determine the priority of each of your tasks by:

Low Cost + High Benefit. These are easy tasks to complete, but will also get you one step closer to your goals.
High Cost + High Benefit. Here you would break large tasks into smaller and more manageable ones.
Low Cost + Low Benefit. These would be your lowest priority tasks, like checking your inbox.
High Cost + Low Benefit. Here would time wasters that could be automated or delegated.

9. Find your 20%.

The 80/20 rule was developed by the Italian economist and sociologist Vilfredo Pareto — hence why it’s also known as the Pareto Principle. As Choncé Maddox explains for Calendar, this rule “clearly states that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts.”

How does this help you prioritize your work? Well, according to Choncé, “If you’ve found that 20% of your effort is resulting in 80% of your results, you’ll want to prioritize and improve that 20% margin.”

With that in mind, you should always take care of your 20% first. If you find this to be tricky, ask questions like, “Are there any tasks that would make you feel relieved by accomplishing them, no matter what else happened during the day?”

10. Take the 18-minute approach.

Peter Bregman, author of 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done, is responsible for this technique. In reality, though, it’s actually a daily ritual that will help you remain focused on your priorities throughout the day.

Step 1. Before doing anything, start your day by spending five minutes mapping out your day.
Step 2. Check-in every hour for just a minute to help put your back-on-track.
Step 3. At the end of the day, take five minutes to review what worked, as well as when you get distracted. Don’t forget to take note of when you had the most focus.

11. Listen to the oracle.

I’m talking about the Oracle of Omaha, aka Warren Buffett. And, no, it’s not about how to invest your money. Instead, it’s how you should invest your time.

Start by writing down your top 25 goals. Next, draw a circle around the five that you would consider being the most important. What about the other 20 goals you listed? Avoid those at all cost so that you can dedicate 100% to your top 5.

12. Respect dates and deadlines.

Is this obvious? Absolutely. But, a lot of people have a tendency to bite off more then they can chew. For example, you may have had a conference call scheduled for months for Tuesday at 4 p.m. In your eagerness to stay ahead of your work, you squeeze in one last job before the call. Next thing you know, it’s 4:05. Not cool.

Another example would not be adding buffers between tasks and events. Let’s say that you have two meetings planned for the afternoon. The first is at 2 and the second at 3. The first meeting, which is across town, ends at 2:50. There’s no way that you’re going to make it to the other meeting on time. That’s why you should have but a buffer between these events to account for the commute.

In short, when you have something already in your calendar, whether if it’s a deadline or appointment, your day needs to be based around that entry. It was there first. And, it’s just downright disrespectful.

13. Honesty is all the best policy.

I know. That adage is cliche as peanut butter and jelly. But, it still rings true. That’s because if you aren’t honest with yourself, then you won’t be able to prioritize your time. I mean it would be wonderful if you could complete your entire to-do-list in one day. But, that’s just not possible.

Be honest with how much you can realistically get done in a day. And, do your best to block the appropriate time needed for everything that you need to do.

14. Weigh the consequences.

Whenever you’re at a crossroads, or just planning out your day, think about the consequences. For example, if you made a left it may be the more scenic route. But, there’s also no gas station in that direction. In this case, you’re better off turning right so that you don’t run of gas in the middle of nowhere.

15. Make every day count.

Not to get too new agey with you. But, personally, that should be a top priority for everyone. Of course, that doesn’t mean living recklessly. It’s all about spending your time wisely. If that means leaving work early to spend time with your fam, then so be it. If that’s preparing to meet with investors in order to secure a much-need loan for your business, then it’s all good.

If you want to know how this is done, I recommend you check out Benjamin Franklin’s daily schedule. It’s simple while providing structure. And, most importantly, it forces you to answer, “What good shall I do this day?”

16. Do what you dread first.

At some point, you’ve probably had to move. Even if you haven’t, you’ve at least helped a friend or family member. That is, unless, you’ve always hired someone to do this for you. And, if this is the case, then I’m incredibly jealous.

Anyway, let’s not beat around the bush here. Moving sucks. It’s stressful and physical tolling. But, whenever I have to make the dreaded move, I always start with the heavy items first. The reason is two-fold.

For one, do you really want to move a bedroom dresser after spending all day moving? Of course not. You’re exhausted and just want the day to be over. Secondly, if you knock out the heavier and bulkier items, everything else seems to run more smoothly. I guess it’s because with the big stuff out of the way you only have to worry about the remaining smaller items.

Apply the same concept to your time. As Mark Twain famously said, “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning.” In other words, focus on completing your most challenging or dreaded task bright and early. Besides just getting it done and over with, this is usually when we have the most energy.

17. Alternate between a maker and manager schedule.

Back in 2009, Paul Graham wrote that there were two types of schedules; a maker’s and a manager’s. A maker’s schedule is where you have to spend hours working independently on the important stuff. A manger’s schedule is the one leader’s run-on that’s full of meetings and checking-in with others.

The concept is cool. But, most of us are like Malcolm and somewhere in the middle. That means there were times when we need to focus on tasks without being disturbed. But, there also times when we must do things like attending a meeting.

Each is important in their own way. But, if not managed proplet, it can be disastrous. Let’s say you’re in the zone and a calendar reminder goes off letting you know it’s time to head into the conference room. It’s frustrating and disruptive.

One way around this is to alternate days. For instance, reserve Mondays as a maker’s day. Tuesdays, however, would be spent as a manager day since that’s when all of your meetings are scheduled.

18. Deal with constant interruptions.

Interruptions, like Thanos, are inevitable. Thankfully, there are ways for you to be victorious against this intergalactic threat against productivity.

The most obvious place to start would be to turn off your smartphone notifications. You can either turn off your phone, put it on ‘Do Not Disturb’ or block apps from a specific amount of time. To avoid FOMO, check your these notifications at scheduled intervals.

Another option is to work in a quiet place. If this isn’t possible, invest in noise-canceling headphones and shut your office door. I’d also suggest placing a sign-up sheet or share your calendar with others so that people just won’t pop-in on you.

And, only accept time requests that serve a purpose. For example, instead of a status meeting with your team, use project management software so that you can see where everyone is at.

19. Assemble your tool kit.

Regardless if you own a home or rent, everyone needs a basic tool kit, such as screwdrivers, pliers, tape measures, and hammers. The same goes for prioritizing your time. A planner and calendar are your essential productivity toolkit. You need these to organize and manage your time.

However, you also will need tools to meet your exact needs. Let’s say you’re building a room in your basement for a home office. You’ll need tools like sawhorses, circular saws, putty knives, and straight edges for this job.

If you find yourself working with others, as an example, then grab tools like project management software and scheduling apps like Calendar that rely on AI and machine learning. You’ll need them to reduce the time spent on tedious tasks like planning a meeting so that you have more time on the important things.

20. Use a gamification system.

Pritoization is all about staying motivated. And, that can be trying when you’re just not in the right mindset. A simple way around this would be to tap into your intrinsic motivation through gamification. For example, break down your goals into micro-goals and reward yourself when you’ve completed each stage. So, let’s say you give yourself an hour to finish writing a report. If you do, then treat yourself to buying those new hiking boots you’ve been eyeing up.

21. Don’t plug leaky boats.

Let’s say that you own a small fishing boat. Over time, it begins to leak. That means whenever you go out, you have to either patch it up or constantly bail out water. Not only is this a waste of time, but it’s also stressful. Instead of dealing with your battered boat, just invest in a new one so that you can spend more time doing something that you enjoy — which would be fishing.

The point here isn’t to spend money. It’s that when something is broken, it’s not always worth fixing.

22. Plan in reverse.

“Although extensive research has shown the benefits of planning, little attention has been paid to the ways people construct plans and their impacts on subsequent goal pursuit,” said Jooyoung Park, assistant professor in the Department of Management at Peking University HSBC Business School and first author of a paper published in Psychological Science.

His study found that when it comes to more complex tasks, it more effective to plan backward. The reason? It forces you to anticipate the necessary step, stick to the original plan, and feel less pressured.

23. Keep a log of your work.

When you keep a log of your work, you’ll discover how long each task you do takes to complete. As such, you’ll be better suited to plan your time more accurately and realistically. You can also use this as a reference to see which recurring tasks can be scheduled or delegated.

24. Find a muse.

Think about your favorite musicians. They were inspired by someone else to write and perform music. It’s the same thing with prioritization. Pick the brains of people who you consider to be successful and productive like a mentor, family member, or renowned business leader. Whether you’re peaking them in person or reading a book they’ve authored, scout out optimal time prioritization from others that you respect.

25. Build your own prioritization system.

Finally, do what works best for you. Even if you’ve been inspired by someone else, make your own adjustments that meet your specific needs. Again, it’s like a musician. A guitar could have picked up the instrument because of the blues. But, over time, he developed his own signature style that was a better fit for his band.

4 Reasons Leaders Waste Valuable Meeting Time

By Jon Bradshaw | Business Tips | No Comments

7 Ways Appointment Software Supports Sales and Marketing

The meeting that could’ve been an email: We’ve all been there. As much as we want every meeting we attend to be productive, almost every one of us has left a meeting wondering: “Was that really necessary?”

According to a study by Harvard Business Review, 71% of senior managers in a range of industries say meetings are unproductive and inefficient. Executives spend 23 hours per week in meetings, on average, up from 10 hours in the 1960s.

Almost nobody actually enjoys meetings. So why do leaders waste so much time in them?

1. They get sidetracked.

Given how long they spend in meetings, many leaders struggle to create an agenda for each of them. Some are thinking ahead to the next one, while others try to tackle every meeting on the fly.

Meetings should always have a defined purpose. Make that reason clear when calling the meeting, and prepare an agenda immediately after scheduling it. Give other participants a chance to comment on and contribute to it.

Setting a specific agenda ensures that you show up prepared, and it also gives your team members an idea of what to expect. Whether you prepare to use a written list or a series of slides, developing an agenda allows you to guide the discussion.

2. They are disorganized.

Business leaders have hectic schedules as is, and meetings only add to the craziness. Staying organized is key for productive meetings.

Use scheduling software to manage your meetings. Calendar allows you to pick times and dates for your events, share your availability with others, and avoid scheduling conflicts. What’s more, Calendar’s dashboard shows where and with whom you spend your time, helping you make sure that your schedule aligns with your priorities.

Without a shareable scheduling system, it’s tough to know who’s coming to a meeting or whether someone might need to duck out part way through. Those details let leaders structure meetings in ways that make the most of everyone’s time.

3. They have too many meetings on the calendar.

Between meetings, interviews, and training sessions the number of meetings on your calendar can add up quickly. It’s important to know when meetings are appropriate and when they are not:

When you should have a meeting: when you need to plan for the long term, get or give feedback on major projects, host executive-level negotiations, or deliver employee performance reviews.
When to keep meetings short (or not have them at all): when you need to share weekly progress updates, present revenue and expense breakdowns, brainstorm for marketing assets, or explain changes to your personal schedule.

When leaders use good judgment, they can cut out meetings that are unnecessary and focus on the ones that matter.

4. They can’t keep their employees focused.

The most wasteful type of meeting is one that attendees do not find valuable. If you want your employees’ meeting time to be spent effectively, it’s important to keep them engaged throughout.

There are multiple ways to make meetings more interesting:

Add visuals to presentations. Photos and videos can drive home key points. Beware, though, that adding too many visuals wastes time by distracting attendees.
Encourage group participation. Activities encourage buy-in from non-presenting members of the meeting. Ask people to raise their hands in response to certain questions, or request suggestions around a challenge.
Keep all meetings under 50 minutes. Meetings that last for an hour or more should be split into two or more sessions. Set a timer if your meetings consistently overrun their slots.
Identify key takeaways at the end of each meeting. Concluding meetings with action items not only makes them more meaningful, but it provides markers for future measurement. When meetings begin with a review of the prior one’s action items, participants feel a sense of purpose and accountability.

Unproductive meetings may seem like a fact of life, but they do not need to be. Schedule only the meetings you need, always develop an agenda in advance, and keep participants engaged. Neither you nor your employees have time to waste.

25 Brilliant Calendar and Schedule Management Tips

By John Rampton | Scheduling, Time Management | No Comments

Between all of your work-related tasks, the endless barrage of meetings, personal commitments, and those pesky to-do-lists items, how can you possibly get everything done? Do you even have the chance to catch your breath or do the things that you actually enjoy?

While scheduling may be a struggle for some, there is some light at the end of the tunnel. The light begins to shin when you follow your calendar with exactness and start to see the benefits. You begin to see how Calendar and schedule management frees you.

That may sound like an impossible feat. But, it’s within reach if you try out the following 25 brilliant tips.

1. Put first things first.

“Putting first things first means organizing and executing around your most important priorities,” Stephen Covey famously wrote. “It is living and being driven by the principles you value most, not by the agendas and forces surrounding you.”

If you don’t book your priorities, you can be certain that something of less importance will occupy that time slot. That’s why in order to protect what’s more important in your life, then take control of your schedule in advance. How far in advance? Well, some people prefer to create an annual plan.

Again, this will vary from person to person. But, an annual plan is where you simply block out time in your calendar for what’s most important to you. Examples would be business goals, industry events, doctor’s appointments, parent-teacher conferences, or your best friend’s wedding.

Creating your annual Calendar (that you add to) won’t just shield your priorities, it will also keep you focused. It will also make managing your calendar much easier since there are fewer blocks to fill.

2. Schedule the best week ever.

Wait. Didn’t you just draft an annual plan? Yes. But, schedules change and new priorities pop-up throughout the year. That doesn’t mean that they’re any less important. It’s just that you don’t have a crystal ball and see that far into the future.

Either every Friday afternoon or Sunday evening, map out your ideal week. You can start by listing all of your tasks for the week and then prioritizing the list. From there, add your priorities into your calendar.

Just make sure that you schedule the right tasks at the right time. For instance, base your schedule around your energy levels and deadlines. If a deadline is for Thursday morning, then it wouldn’t make sense to work on this task at ten o’clock on Wednesday night.

3. Seize the day!

You’ve got an idea of how you’re going to spend the next week and even year to an extent. But, what would your dest day ever look like? I doubt it would be sleeping-in, rushing to work, and working until the wee hours of the night.

Or, would you rather wake-up and start the day on the right foot? You know, squeeze in an exercise, catch-up on the news, and enjoy a healthy breakfast. How about knowing exactly what to work on and when so that you’re working smarter, not harder. And, wouldn’t you want to end the day by doing something that you enjoy like relaxing or spending quality time with your nearest and dearest?

Determine what would make your day the best day ever. Afterward, schedule accordingly so that you can control and seize the day.

4. Always think before you act.

We’ve all fallen into this trap. You set down at your desk and then open-up your inbox. Next thing you know, you’ve just spent 30-minutes going through your emails. Another example would be you start looking for a misplaced item and then decide that it’s a good time to declutter and organize your office.

These are both activities that need to get done. But, do they need to be addressed at this very second? Probably not. In fact, getting distracted by these less important tasks can throw off the schedule that you’ve already planned.

Before diving into an activity, ask yourself if it’s worth doing right now. If not, schedule it for when you have the availability.

5. Have a well-equipped toolbox.

If you’re a homeowner, then you should know the importance of having a well-equipped toolbox. It’s essential for basic tasks like hanging a picture or doing a little home repair. Even if you rent an apartment, you should still have a basic toolbox handy.

The same idea applies to your calendar and schedule management. Instead of relying on a wall or desktop-sized calendar, download a calendar app. It’s more accessible and portable than the old paper calendar. And, it can easily be shared with others.

On top of a calendar app, also look into tools like scheduling software. Calendar, for example, uses machine learning to make smart suggestions on how to schedule events. It’s much more convenient than going playing phone or email tag when planning a meeting.

6. Your kiss is on my list.

Unlike Hall & Oates, I don’t mean this literally. I’m actually talking about the KISS Principle.

Short for “keep it simple stupid.” The idea comes from a Navy design principle from the 60s. It’s great advice for all aspects of your life. But, it’s particularly useful when it comes to your calendar.

As a computer scientist and author of “The Laws of Simplicity,” John Maeda explains, “Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful.” For example, you wouldn’t want to create a complicated calendar system just to keep track of habitual actions like brushing your teeth. Instead, you would add entries like deep work.

7. Pick-up timeboxing.

Ditch your to-do-lists and embrace a simple productivity hack known as timeboxing. As explained in another Calendar article, this is where you open your calendar and block off an exact amount of time to a specific task.

According to Marc Zao-Sanders over on HBR, timeboxing encourages you to get the right thing done at the right time. Additionally, it “enables you to communicate and collaborate more effectively.” Timeboxing also creates a “comprehensive record of what you’ve done, makes you feel more in control, and fights back against Parkinson’s Law.

8. Become a microscheduler.

You wouldn’t think that Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Mark Wahlberg, and internet celebrities like Elaine Lui, and Casey Neistat would have much in common. But, they all share a scheduling habit where they break their days into five to seven-minute blocks.

Also known as microscheduling, this is a rigid schedule that doesn’t allow for much wiggle room. However, it ensures that you maximize and protect your time. And, according to Insider, “Microschedulers feel calmer when they have their plan, prioritized to-do list, and an organized structure to their day.”

9. Work in batches.

Batching is one of my favorite time management techniques. Besides being easy to implement, it’s also effective. Simply block out time in your schedule to focus on a group of similar tasks. Examples would be running all of your errands at the same time, cooking all of your meals on Sunday, or checking your inbox at predetermined times.

The reason why batching works is because it prevents multitasking. It also reduces the time spent switching between tasks.

10. Aim to be early.

Let’s say that the due date for a project is on the twentieth of the month. Bump that deadline up by a couple of days. No matter how organized you are, Murphy’s Law is always lurking in the shadows. So, it’s better to have met this deadline in advance just to be safe.

You can also use this technique for meetings. If a meeting is scheduled for 2 p.m., then plan to be there at 1:50 so that you don’t run late. Arriving early also gives you the opportunity to prepare and review the agenda.

11. Put a “P” on your calendar.

She may have a song that emphasizes how much she works. But, in reality, Rihanna prioritizes downtime.

“I never used to be this way,” RiRi told Interview Magazine. “It’s only the last couple of years that I started to realize that you need to make time for yourself because your mental health depends on it.”

“If you’re not happy, you’re not going to be happy even doing things that you love doing,” she added. “It’d feel like a chore. I never want to work to feel like a chore.”

To make time for herself, Rihanna places “the infamous ‘P,’ which means personal days” onto her calendar. That’s it. She just puts a “P,” which is a different color, on her calendar to protect her personal time.

12. Break me off a piece of that Kit Kat bar.

I’m not actually a fan of Kit Kat bars. But, that jingle. It’s timeless. And, so is the advice it shares, “Give me a break.”

Make sure that you schedule breaks in your calendar. It gives you the chance to recharge and refocus. After all, we can only focus on one task for so long. Track your energy patterns to see when you’re most productive and when your energy begins to lag. It’s different for everyone. But, usually, we can work for around an hour before taking a break. After that, take a 10-20 minute break before getting back to work.

13. Schedule BBTs.

Back burner tasks are those things that you never get around to. Usually, this is because they’re not all that important and you just don’t want to do. Examples would be calling your insurance company or cleaning the bathroom.

Despite not being a top priority, they’re usually things that you eventually have to get around to doing before they pile-up. Don’t forget to schedule these responsibilities when you have spare time. Saturday mornings as an example, are perfect for scrubbing your bathroom.

14. Use reminders strategically.

Perhaps one of the most underutilized features of a calendar is reminders. Most of us just stick with the default. But, when used correctly and sparingly it can differently be an asset.

Let’s say that you have a meeting scheduled for next week. Set a reminder a week in advance so that you can send the agenda out to attendees. Set another reminder a day prior to giving you enough time to prepare. And, set a final reminder an hour before just in case you get in the zone and lose track of time.

15. Strike while the iron’s hot.

Earlier in my career, I was terrible at following-up with professional contacts. I’d meet people at an event and promise to keep in touch. But, because I didn’t schedule a meeting, I never did. Now, when I meet a contact, I share my schedule with them on the spot and schedule a follow-up with them.

The same is true of any event that you plan on attending. Whether if it’s meeting with clients, a dentist appointment, or conference, once booked add it immediately to your calendar. If not, you may accidentally schedule something else during the same date and time.

16. Stop playing the victim.

Growing up there was this older kid who got a kick out of being a bully. One day I finally had enough and stood up to him. Guess what? He never bothered me again.

I’m not suggesting physical violence here. I’m saying that you need to stop making excuses and stand up for yourself — especially when it comes to your time. If you can’t focus because your phone is constantly going off, then turn the thing off. If you feel like you’re stretched for time, then start saying “no” to time requests.

Heck, even if you do say “yes” you can always reclaim your time if the request seems like a waste. Just make sure to give adequate notice.

17. Change your view.

Did you know that online calendars offer multiple views? These include daily, weekly, or monthly. There are also more specific views like your work schedule or every two days. Find a view that works best for you.

Personally, I enjoy the one that displays every two days. It keeps me focused on today and helps plan for tomorrow. It also events me from getting distracted on what I need to do a week or so from now.

18. Set time limits on your tasks.

If you know that you only have an hour to clean out your inbox, update your social channels, and return a phone call, then you’ll be motivated to do all of these within that timeframe. If you give yourself too much time, then you’ll just goof around since you have too much time on your hands. It’s all thanks to that darn Parkinson’s Law.

I would track your time for more important tasks though. You certainly don’t want to under-or-overestimate how long these items take.

19. Eliminate back-to-back appointments.

Just because it’s acceptable in the business world to schedule back-to-back meetings doesn’t mean you have to. I would even go as far as to say that you should never book back-to-back appointments. The reason? It’s just going to end badly.

You need time in-between meetings to travel, prepare, or just decompress for five minutes. If you have any back-to-back appointments currently in your calendar, reschedule one of them immediately. And, going forward, always give yourself a buffer.

20. Revise your approach to meetings.

Speaking of meetings, you’re probably going about them all wrong. In most cases, meetings are unproductive. Even worse, they’re a blight on your schedule.

Only accept meetings that serve a purpose. If they don’t, find an alternative like a quick phone call or Slack message. If you must plan a meeting, keeping them short, invite-only key stakeholders, and stick to your agenda.

21. Keep your calendar or schedule visible.

We’re visual creates. So, it wouldn’t hurt to place your calendar where you can see it. It could be a giant wall-sized calendar or placed on your desktop. Now you’ll always have a visual reminder on what needs to get done today, tomorrow, or even next month.

22. Create titles that catch the eye.

Spice up your calendar by creating more helpful titles. Instead of ‘Meeting’ go with something like ‘Sales Pitch.” Also use color-coding, boldface, or different fonts for each title. It will make these important entries to stand out and will help you plan more accordingly.

23. Let AI do the hard work.

Artificial intelligence is here. And, it’s changing the world for the better.

Case in point, smart calendars. These calendars can track how you spend your time and analyze your activity in order to make recommendations on how you can better spend your time. These tools can then automatically add recurring events to your calendar.

24. Step back and take a big-picture view of your calendar.

Periodically, review your calendar. Make sure that it’s a current reflection of your priorities and is helping you achieve work-life balance. If not, then find out what items on your calendar can be delegated or dropped.

25. You do you.

Finally, in the immortal words of Jon Bon Jovi, “It’s my life. It’s now or never.”’

When it comes to your calendar and schedule, find the methods and tools that work best for you. It might take some trial and error. But, when you find a management system that suits you, stick with it.

How to Squeeze More Interviews Into Your Schedule

By Jon Bradshaw | Scheduling | No Comments

Why You Should Always Verify Appointments (And 5 Ways to Do So)

“There aren’t enough hours in the day,” is a phrase everyone in business has thought, if not said aloud.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur, recruiter, sales leader, or another role entirely, interviews likely make up a good portion of your day. If you’re looking to make more time in your schedule, why not start with one of your biggest time commitments?

Here are some helpful hacks for fitting more interviews into your busy schedule:

1. Dig deeply into your goals.

As with any new personal or professional project, it’s important to first identify your objectives. If you’re an entrepreneur trying to find the right candidate for an open role, how long are you willing to wait to fill it? How many candidates do you want to meet before you make a decision?

Take your time with this. Hiring is not something to rush. The more narrowly defined your criteria and assumptions, the more satisfied you’ll be with the end result. Ask yourself:

How many rounds of interviews are required throughout the entire interview process (depending on the job position)?
What is the maximum number of candidates that can move forward to next-round interviews?
How long should interviews run to properly evaluate candidates for the position?
Do other executives need to be present? If so, can they fit these interviews into their schedules?

2. Determine availability digitally.

One of the most time-consuming aspects of interviewing is all the back-and-forth communication required to coordinate and confirm an available time slot for two or more parties. For internal meetings and interviews, be sure you’re using a consolidated digital calendar so you can see one another’s availability?

What about interviews with people outside the organization? Tools like Calendar simplify this by letting users embed their availability into their email messages. Calendar automatically prevents double-booking, just in case the interviewee selects a time that’s been taken.

3. Account for interstitial time.

Although it’s tempting to stack interviews one on top of another in order to maximize your time, avoid doing so. Allow for at least 5 minutes, and ideally 15, between each interview.

Interviews are unpredictable. You never know who will show up late or which interviews will go long. You don’t know what else might come up during the workday. Those buffer zones are a great time to catch up on email, take a break, or prepare for the next meeting.

4. Learn to say “no.”

If you’re trying to fit more interviews into your schedule, you have to get better at refusing unnecessary meetings. Even a few meeting-happy clients can eat up hours of a workday that you may need to spend speaking with employees, candidates, or investors.

Just because you’re saying “no,” though, doesn’t mean you need to be rude about it. Do your best to help the person whose meeting you can’t take over email. Could you introduce them to someone else on the team who can handle the situation? If the client is insistent, could you suggest a shorter time slot or a different meeting time?

5. Automate what you can.

Sometimes, to have more time, you need to make more time. Besides refining your scheduling processes, it’s still a good idea to audit other tasks to see what can be handled via a digital automation tool.

Even if it’s something as simple as sending an automatic payment reminder, every little increment of saved time adds up. Email marketing, social media posting, sales follow ups, and even first-round interviews can be automated.

Interviewing takes time, but that doesn’t mean you can’t streamline the process. Use these tips to get more done, hire faster, and have more conversations.

How Time Management Software Can Help Your Company’s Productivity

By John Rampton | Time Management | No Comments

I’m sure we can all agree that time is money when it comes to running your business and it’s daily operations. Unfortunately, in a busy office setting, it’s all too easy for time to be mismanaged or miscalculated. If you’re trying to create a better work environment where everyone can be more productive, using time-management tools and software can be the key.

Keep reading to learn how office time management software can help your company to be more productive.

Manage Paychecks with Less Hassle

Keeping track of employee paychecks is a huge undertaking for most businesses. Taking time to keep track of and record the work of every employee manually can be a tedious task. Regardless of whether you’ve got a couple of workers or a big team, office time management software will allow you to automatically track their attendance, making sure they get an accurate paycheck every time, including deducted time for missed hours or bonus pay for overtime.

Programs like Hubstaff and Gusto are perfect for automatically tracking your team member’s time and distributing timely payments. I like how users can ‘clock in’ with Hubstaff and specify which task they’re working on.

The system will take several screenshots while someone works and you can even connect your business account or debit card to pay team members automatically on designated days.

Generate Reliable Data

In addition to simplifying paychecks, conflicts concerning overtime hours or missed attendance are almost eliminated with office time management software, since there are reliable hard data to analyze against any claims.

This system safeguards both staff and employers’ interests. Having access to accurate, real-time data helps to remove the possibility of personal bias or fraudulent payroll tampering.

Time Tracking Tools For Accountability

The best way to figure out if you’re being productive or not is to track your time. Time-tracking tools and programs like Clockify make this super easy to do and provide you with extra accountability.

Sometimes, I set productivity goals or time-block my schedule and I use Clockify to help me stay on track so I’m not wasting too much time on one thing.

Tracking your time is also a good thing to do when you are just starting a project and not sure how long it will take. The more you know about how long it takes you to complete certain tasks, the better you’ll get at creating an efficient schedule.

Fill Your Team’s Calendar More Efficiently

It’s no secret that most employees aren’t 100% productive during their entire shift. This means if someone works 40 hours a week, they spend less than 40 hours actually doing productive work.

While you should encourage some breaks and downtime to ensure a better balance, time tracking and time management software can help you will everyone’s calendar more efficiently.

After a while, you can use the data you collect to how long certain tasks take and which ones are quicker to complete. When you outsource work to your team members you can fill their calendar with reasonable tasks and responsibilities.

For example, say you have an assistant who works for your business 15 hours per week. You may want to use the data you get from time management software programs overtime to help fill the assistant’s schedule with enough productive work to help you get the most for the compensation that you’re paying.

Doing this will also help ensure that team members are being challenged well enough and aren’t just sitting around bored throughout the day.

Flexibility to Use It Wherever You Are

Office time management software lets you view employee attendance, absence, productivity, and pay records, no matter where you are. Just boot up your laptop, phone, or tablet, and you’re good to go. If you’re a busy business owner who’s always on the move, this can be a real advantage over having to spend your time digging through records and sending emails back and forth.

It also ensures greater employee confidence, since they’re not wondering if you’re being left out of the loop, or if their paychecks will be late when you’re away from the office.

Boost Your Bottom Line

Wasted employee time can significantly affect your bottom line. In-house use of office time management software has been shown to increase employee productivity dramatically. Ensuring that your team gets started with work on time and has a productive day can help you get that additional little bit of efficiency every day.

A couple of minutes every now and then may not seem like a big deal. However, with time, those wasted minutes really add up to less productivity, which will have an impact on your company.

Don’t waste any of your company’s precious time. Implement it for yourself, and see how much more productive office time management software will make your business.

Do you use any time management software or time-tracking tools for your team? Why or why not?

Wake Up, Listen Up: 7 Podcasts to Kickstart Your Day

By Jon Bradshaw | Business Tips | No Comments

In the car, on the train, or while you walk to work: Your morning commute is an ideal time to kickstart the day with a podcast.

Unlike articles and videos, podcasts let you keep your eyes on the road and your mind on your bigger things. Multitasking may not work in many contexts, but audio content lets you learn new things while you go through your morning routine.

What show should you choose? You probably aren’t looking for a dense, data-heavy podcast. But when you’re gearing up for work, you probably don’t want a fluff-filled talk show, either. These podcasts offer the perfect balance of educational and easy:

1. The Daily

This one’s for the news junkies out there who don’t have time to sift through multiple sources. Published each weekday by The New York Times, The Daily is a quick, 20-minute recap of the day’s biggest stories.

Think of The Daily like a first cup of coffee. Host Michael Barbaro brings New York Times reporters in to share a bite-sized version of a larger story they’re reporting. It’s sharp, thought-provoking, and over before you know it.

2. HBR IdeaCast

If you like to start the business day thinking about business, give HBR IdeaCast a listen. Harvard Business Review’s weekly podcast features cutting-edge thinkers in business and management on subjects ranging from digital transformation to combating subconscious biases. The shows, which run between 20 and 30 minutes, invariably offer actionable ideas to help entrepreneurs grow personally or professionally.

3. How I Built This

Have you ever wondered how big-name brands and movements came to be? In NPR’s How I Built This, host Guy Raz interviews innovators, entrepreneurs, and next-generation thinkers about how they developed their signature achievements.

Who are those entrepreneurs? The founders of Patagonia, Zappos, and Lyft have made appearances, as have the owners of “Main Street” companies like Tate’s Bake Shop and Chicken Salad Chick. If you’re looking for a place to start and like the NBC show “Shark Tank,” check out Raz’s interview with Daymond John.

4. The Pitch

Speaking of “Shark Tank,” The Pitch takes the investing show’s approach to the airwaves. The Pitch’s tagline says it all: “Where real entrepreneurs pitch to real investors—for real money.” New episodes air only once a week, but they’re anything but predictable. As with “Shark Tank,” investors sometimes bite on unexpected products and pass on ones that, to the listener, seem promising. Some listeners might find it a little high-stakes for the morning, but it’s certainly a good way to wake up.

5. TED Radio Hour

If you’re a fan of TED Talks, try the TED Radio Hour, which companies multiple Talks around a single theme. The podcast hits on everything from how to be more creative, the power of positivity, and why kindness is so important.

One thing to beware of: TED Radio Hour episodes last, as the name implies, a full hour. Be prepared to hit pause when you pull into the parking lot at work.

6. StartUp

Think of StartUp like How I Built This but for the startup ecosystem. Gimlet Media’s Alex Blumberg hosts an eclectic lineup of leaders who fall outside the lines of traditional business. With his signature offbeat humor, Blumberg interviews personalities from cycling whistleblowers to gay country music stars. With episodes running roughly half an hour, StartUp is a great way to laugh while you explore the nooks and crannies of entrepreneurship.

7. Planet Money

Planet Money might be best described as a podcast about money for people who hate money. Although each episode has some sort of tie to the finance world, they’re often looser than expected. The tale of the FCC taking on robocalls, the cost of free doughnuts, and the business side of choosing the color of the year are some of the more noteworthy topics the show has recently covered. Short, 15-25 minute episodes make Planet Money a great choice for commuters.

Whatever your business background and listening tastes, there’s a podcast for you. Put one on, sit back, and start your day with a good story.