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How to Take Time Off Without Inconveniencing Your Team

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old-fashioned alarm clock sitting on desk.

Everyone needs a break from work sometimes. Time away improves team morale, de-stresses the mind, and boosts productivity. 

If you aren’t planning appropriately or considering your team, though, your relaxing getaway may turn sour when returning to the workplace. No one wants to work with a team member who unapologetically prioritizes his or her time over everyone else’s.

Here’s how to take the time off you need without making life hard for those around you:

1. Work ahead.

The most important step to making sure your colleagues aren’t adversely affected by your time away is simple: get ahead of your work. Don’t just complete your pre-vacation projects; get a jump on those you know will be happening while you’re out. 

There is no way to avoid some future work pileup, but you can prepare for it. Write down all your outstanding deliverables and deadlines before you leave so you don’t feel swamped when you return. Delegate smaller tasks that others can handle in your absence. For unknowns that may come up, designate someone to make decisions in your absence. 

2. Avoid overlap.

When other members of your team are out of the office, it might be best to postpone your vacation. Treat busy periods the same way: You don’t want to be the person who takes off when everyone else is swamped with work.

Respect your team’s time so they can respect yours. It’s hard to expect a co-worker to adjust his or her schedule for your vacation when you won’t do the same. A great workplace environment is built by team members who have each other’s backs.

When in doubt, consult your company’s online calendar. Encourage co-workers to place major projects and upcoming vacations on it for all to see. 

3. Keep in touch.

Unless you will be going somewhere on your vacation with no Wi-Fi or cell service, stay in touch. You never know when there might be an emergency at work. Because of this, make sure you are never “off the grid” for too long.

You don’t need to be glued to your phone — it is time off, after all — but being part of a team means being accessible. If you use collaboration software, such as Slack or Basecamp, to stay in touch with a remote team, make sure you also announce your break there. Email clients, even those that are not responsive, with the dates you’ll be out. Don’t leave anywhere unchecked.

Finally, before you leave, set up an email auto-responder. That way, people who email you expecting a fast reply aren’t caught off guard when you do not respond for a week. This is especially important if you’re in a customer-facing or sales role. 

4. Use time off wisely.

Vacation time is a tool to use when needed and not too often. Make sure you are utilizing your time away by resting, clearing your head of stresses that may have piled up, and satisfying any other needs you may have. 

You aren’t doing anyone any favors if you come back exhausted from working while away or overextending yourself. Remember, your other team members may need a break just as much as you do.

Even if you’re taking time off for a not-so-fun reason, such as a family member’s death, make time for mindfulness. A meta-study published in the Journal of American Medicine found meditation to be an effective tactic for easing anxiety and reducing stress.

Time off is a gift. Use it sparingly, prepare well, and make sure you get the relaxation you deserve. Your team members want you to take care of yourself, but they don’t want to be left behind in the process. Keep them in mind, and they’ll extend the same courtesy to you when it’s their time to take a break. 

When Are Hour-Long Meetings Worth it?

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How to Make Your Company Vision Resonate With Employees

More than 10 million meetings are held every day in the U.S. Well spent or not, those interactions add up to billions of dollars in employee time.

Given how expensive meetings are, it’s incumbent on businesses to use them sparingly. If something can be accomplished via email or a quick chat, it should be. But while that should be the rule, there are some important exceptions.

When Long Meetings Make Sense

When are lengthy meetings appropriate? At least four common business situations call for them:

1. Executive-level negotiations

When you’re trying to forge a partnership or sway an investor, an hour-long meeting might make sense. High-stakes decisions don’t lend themselves well to snappy phone calls or quick chats at Starbucks.

Start by developing an agenda. Estimate the amount of time you’ll need for each step; before creating the calendar invite, add it up to determine a meeting length.

If you suspect you’ll need more than an hour, consider breaking the meeting up into two or more sessions. Executives and investors are busy people, and they simply may not have a calendar slot large enough to accomodate a multi-hour meeting. 

2. Performance reviews

Whether you’re digging into marketing data, financial projections, or employee conduct, performance-analysis meetings take time. Because these reviews do not happen every day (or even every week), spending more time on them isn’t such a bad idea. 

The greater measure of time between reviews, the lengthier a meeting can — and is expected to — be. A quarterly review may take an hour and a half; an annual, whole-company performance analysis might be worth spending an entire day off site for a retreat. 

3. Long-term planning

Certain long-term topics are worth taking a full hour to discuss. Take hiring: Filling an open role costs more than $4,000, on average. In terms of lost productivity and the company’s reputation, making a mishire costs even more.

Another is product development. New products costs millions of dollars and years to develop, and just 1 in 20 of them succeed in the market. At that level of investment, an extended discussion is warranted: What’s the product’s audience? What need does it fulfill? How does it do so better than similar products on the market?

4. Feedback on major projects

Project feedback is a mixed bag: A blog post doesn’t require a meeting to review, much less an hour-long one; a high-fidelity prototype that cost $30,000 to produce, however, probably does. 

How can you determine where that line is? Ask yourself two questions: How important is the project to the business, and what’s the risk to the company if it does not go well? If in doubt, ask a colleague whether they think it’s worth getting the whole team together to discuss.

Conducted properly, these types of meetings deliver more value to the business than they cost in employee time. But many other common reasons for meetings do not meet that bar.

When to Keep Meetings Short (or Cancel Them Altogether)

Fortunately, knowing which meetings can be cancelled or kept short is relatively simple. Don’t even dream of scheduling a full hour to discuss:

  • Weekly progress updates, especially with individuals or small teams: If the update can be summed up in an email, it should be. If you need to know how an individual is progressing on a project, send them a Slack or set up a quick call. 
  • Revenue and expense breakdowns for the wider team: Understandably, you want your workers to know how the company is faring. But figures can be shared via email; if employees have questions, they’ll stop by to ask.
  • Brainstorms for marketing assets, such as blogs or email campaigns: Competent team members can come up with topic ideas on their own. If a large number of topics are needed at once, ask everyone to bring a few ideas to the table, using the meeting time to pare them down to the strongest ones. 
  • Personal schedule updates, such as vacations or appointments: Use an online calendar to communicate out-of-office events. Send an email to explain where everything stands before leaving the office. Again, expect colleagues to bring any questions they may have to you directly. 

There’s nothing wrong with getting multiple perspectives on an issue. The fact is, though, few business situations require hour-long, team-wide deliberations.

Treat team members’ time with respect, and they’ll treat your company’s time the same way. That’s one topic everyone can agree on, no meeting required. 

4 Inspiring Books for Entrepreneurs to Read in 2020

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5 Ways to Encourage Reading at Your Workplace

Did you read the books you wanted to this year? Whether you conquered your list or barely touched it, you’re about to get the chance to start fresh.

If you want to be the sort of entrepreneur who stands out from the crowd, it’s important to choose reads that inspire and challenge you. Whether you want to increase sales, learn the art of stress management, or start a new company altogether, books can help you get there. 

1. “The $100 Startup” by Chris Guillebeau

Not every new business idea costs a lot of money to turn into reality. The New York Times bestselling author Chris Guillebeau shows you how to lead a life of adventure, meaning, and purpose — and earn a good living along the way. 

Guillebeau explores case studies in which people with no “special skills” discovered how to monetize their personal passions. In each case, Guillebeau shows how the person restructured his or her life to live a life of greater freedom and fulfillment.

You don’t need to be rich or have previously founded a company in order to succeed, Guillebeau shows. All you need is passion, a product or service, people willing to pay, and a way to get paid.  

2. “How to Win Friends & Influence People” by Dale Carnegie

In case you haven’t read this classic, add it to your list for 2020. One of the most popular self-improvement books in American history, Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends & Influence People” has sold more than 30 million copies.

Carnegie’s book isn’t simply about expanding your circle of friends. Negotiation, sales, marketing, HR, and leadership skills all get some love within it’s pages. Dig in to learn to close a partnership, take the focus off of price, and provide a better customer experience in 2020. 

3. “Dare to Lead” by Brené Brown

Brené Brown, another New York Times bestselling author, is looked up to by leaders everywhere. “Dare to Lead” is a thought-provoking book born from the years Brown spent at enterprises, startups, and companies of every size in between.

What did Brown find? She learned that leaders not just in business, but at nonprofits and civic groups all ask the same question: “How do you cultivate braver, more daring leaders, and how do you embed the value of courage in your culture?”

Courage cannot be built in a single day, or even by reading a single book. Brené emphasizes empathy, patience, and helpfulness as key ingredients for leading workers into an unknown future.

4. “That Will Never Work” by Marc Randolph

Netflix may be a behemoth of a company now, but it has come a long way. This book covers the previously untold story of how Netflix went from a concept to a Blockbuster-beating enterprise.

Marc Randolph, the company’s co-founder and first CEO, is exceptionally open in his telling of Netflix’s history. From early-stage conversations about cash flow to employee disagreements, Randolph walks the readers through his choices in a calm yet amusing style.

Not every entrepreneur will found the next Netflix, but bear in mind as you read this book that Randolph’s company could have crashed and burned. It didn’t because Randolph persevered, took care of his team, and had the courage to ask whether an existing model needed an overhaul. 

Entrepreneurs have no shortage of good read to choose from, but these four are great choices for the new year. Make the most of chilly weekends by curling up in your favorite chair, grabbing a book, and keeping your notepad close at hand. You never know what ideas you’ll stumble upon, or just how much they’ll help your company grow in 2020. 

To Be More Productive, Let Tech Lighten Your Load

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You’ve heard it before: “It’s sad how much we rely on technology these days” and “All people do is stare at their phones!”

As someone who works for a tech company, I happen to believe that when used appropriately, technology can actually boost your productivity. Think of it like outsourcing: Yes, asking another team to take on work only you could do is a bad idea — but many projects are a matter of repetition.

If you’re tired of all those smaller tasks getting in the way of your mission-critical projects, take these five tips for using tech to enhance your productivity:

1. Embrace automation.

Why bother spend your waking hours on monotonous work when software can tackle it for you? Automation technology can help you with all sorts of tasks, including:

 

  • Posting on social media: Whether your full-time job revolves around social media or you do it as a side gig, content management programs can save you huge amounts of time. Tools like HootSuite allow you to write posts ahead of time and schedule them for any day and time you’d like.
  • Backing up files: Backing up files is extremely important so that you don’t lose everything when disaster strikes. Fortunately, it doesn’t require your undivided attention. Saving files to an external hard drive used to take hours. Nowadays, cloud-based backup can happen in the background while you work.
  • Responding to emails: If you find yourself repeatedly answering the same questions over and over again, it may be time for some email automation. Certain scripts can suggest responses for common questions. And of course, automated out-of-office responders let people know when you’re away. 
  • Paying bills: Every business has bills to pay. Why write checks by hand every month when you can set up automatic payments? You’ll never miss a payment, which means you’ll also pay fewer fees and have happier vendors. 
  • Signing emails: Developing a professional email signature might sound like a low-priority task, but think about it: How many emails do you send in a day? Do you use the same signature again and again? Stop writing it out every time, and let your email client handle it for you. 
  • Sending reminders: Tools like Slack and Trello let you set reminders for yourself by the hour, day, or week. Stop adding Sticky Notes to your monitor or setting your watch, and start letting software remember for you.

 

2. Use a digital scheduling system.

Time management is one of those things no entrepreneur succeeds for long without. Learn to control your calendar. A cloud-based scheduling system will keep you organized, make you more collaborative, and cut down the time it takes to schedule meetings.

The right online calendar will integrate with your other tools, feature a clean interface, and take relatively little time to set up. Get one not just for you, but for your whole team. Simply being able to look at each others’ priorities at any time will make your company more productive.

3. Default to video conferencing.

Why bother traveling just to take a meeting? Unless it’s an investor interview or an employee firing — the sort of thing that you want to do in person — do it via video and don’t waste your time traveling.

Offices that are thousands of miles apart can use video conferencing software to hold meetings and collaborate between teams. Beyond saving time, videoconferencing also eliminates the stress and cost of flying people in from remote locations.

4. Get an instant messaging platform.

Can you and your employees still be productive when working from home? When you’re away from the office, you can’t just pop over to your co-worker’s cubicle every time you need to ask her a question. Even with email, it may take her hours to respond to your message.

Instant messaging platforms like Slack are used by companies of all sizes. Direct channels let you get fast answers to those random questions, while public ones let the wider team weigh in. Opt for the paid version, which allows you to search back through Slacks since you adopted the tool.

5. Analyze only what counts.

Today’s business intelligence tools let you get a deeper understanding of overall company performance. Most project management software comes with reporting tools to analyze how much time your team is spending on each type of task.

Although you can analyze everything, though, realize that not all data is important. Is knowing the open rate of internal emails really worth your time? What about your intern’s weekly time breakdown? Analyses are only worthwhile if they actually save more than they cost. 

There are many ways technology can boost your productivity to help you get more done. Realize that you’re fortunate to live in an age of smartphones and software. Why not use them to your advantage? 

4 Tips to Start the New Year Strong

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4 Tips to Start the New Year Strong

If winter weather gets you down, remember: Each new year offers an opportunity to create the company — not to mention the life for yourself — you want. Prioritizing your goals ensures that you make progress on those critical projects.

Those projects may feel endless, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a jump on your list. To start out the new year strong, make these four changes now:

1. Rethink your morning routine.

Starting your day right is one of the best ways to make it productive. Nothing is worse than waking up late, missing breakfast, and putting yourself behind schedule for the rest of the day. Crafting a morning schedule that promotes physical and mental health is a skill that will help you in 2020 and beyond. 

Start every day with something physical. Run, ride your bike, or work in the garden — whatever works for you. Be sure, too, to eat a healthy breakfast. If you’re not taking care of your body, you can’t hope to take care of a whole company. 

Mental health is often overlooked but is equally important. As an entrepreneur, you will experience moments of fear and doubt. One of the best ways to improve your mental health is by practicing grounding habits, such as meditation, reading, or writing, in the morning. Not only do these activities kickstart the brain, but they give you time to address personal issues that would otherwise weigh on your mind throughout the day.

2. Map out your day — but be flexible.

For many entrepreneurs, their planner and calendar are their most important tools. Before you ever arrive at the office, map out your day. Things can change quickly, though, so build in breathing room. That way, if a colleague ropes you into an unexpected meeting, your whole day won’t be thrown off.

Breaking your day in 15-minute blocks is a fantastic way to see work get done while also building in time for things like responding to emails and calls. If you use a digital calendar, set it so that you receive notifications 15 minutes ahead of time. Then, when it’s time to switch tasks, you’ll get a notification.

3. Write out the “why” behind major tasks.

If you’re going to spend a significant number of those 15-minute blocks on a project, you need to be clear on your reason for doing so. In a single sentence, write out your larger goal behind each of those tasks.

To slot those tasks into your schedule, think about the goal associated with each. Order them not by the difficulty or the size of the task itself, but by the goal behind it. Even if finding that next salesperson takes time and is less important in the moment than other tasks, you might prioritize it because boosting revenue is your biggest goal for the new year. Good things take time.

4. Learn your natural rhythm.

Knowing when you are most productive, when you tend to slow down, and when you want to be around people is key for entrepreneurs. The better you know yourself, the better you’ll be able to make use of your time. 

Start with standard business hours. If you are most effective with sales and relationship development between 8 a.m. and noon, schedule your appointments in the morning. If you struggle to get work done between 12:30 and 2:30 pm, schedule this time to respond to phone calls and emails.

Think about your after-hours productivity as well. If you have some clean-up work to do later in the evening, should you do that around 7 p.m. or 9 p.m.? Make sure to leave ample time for family, self-care, and personal development as well. And don’t forget about your commute time: Could you respond to proposals or reach out to leads during that time?

2020 will be here before you know it. Re-evaluate how you’re spending your time, think back to your goals, and know when you’re best equipped to tackle each task. The more changes you make now, the easier next year will be. 

5 Tips for Integrating Mindfulness Into Your Workday

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Morning Routine

When you’re building a business from the ground up, it’s tough to slow down and smell the leads. But if you don’t, your mental health will start to show it. 

The success of your company starts with you. Both for your personal well being and for your performance as a leader, you have to make mindfulness part of work life. Here are some ways to do it:

1. Take better breaks.

As a founder or CEO, unplugging from work can feel downright irresponsible. In reality, refusing to give yourself downtime is even more dangerous.

Your core hours might be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., but you’re probably doing something business-related soon after sunrise and well after sunset. That “always on” mentality is a fast track to burnout, and you can’t be an effective leader when you’re burned out. 

Make time during the workday to take breaks — real breaks. Working while you eat lunch does not count, nor does the walk you took to the microwave to warm up your meal. Each day, get a real lunch break away from your computer and, ideally, outside of your office. 

Smaller, periodic breaks during the day are just as important. Tony Schwartz, president of the Energy Project, recommends taking one every 90 minutes to increase your productivity and alertness.

2. Get up and move.

Exercise doesn’t just feel good; it’s a key self-care technique embraced by CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, and Elon Musk.

Find ways to incorporate light exercise into your workday. Use that post-meeting break to stretch at your desk. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Rather than call a co-worker, simply walk over to his or her cubicle.

Before or after work, get a real workout in. Although some studies suggest that aerobic exercise is best for mental health, do whatever is sustainable for you. If swimming, bicycling, or lifting weights is what gets you moving, go for it.

3. Schedule it on your calendar.

One of the best ways to make mindfulness part of your daily routine is to literally schedule time for it on your calendar. Not only does doing so help you hold yourself accountable, but it keeps others from impeding on your self-care time. 

Try blocking off just 15 minutes each morning for a quick meditation session. Alternatively, schedule one for times when you know you’ll feel stressed, like after each sales meeting. Search YouTube or use a meditation app to find a guided session you can listen to from your desk. 

If you’ve never meditated before, the process is pretty simple:

  • Identify a quiet space where you feel comfortable.
  • Sit in a cross-legged position or lie down.
  • Listen quietly, either to ambient noise or to a guide.
  • Let thoughts pass, noticing but not judging them.
  • If your attention wanders, bring it back to the sounds around you.

4. Breathe deeply.

Although many people meditate to the sound of their breath, paying attention to it all the time is an even better idea. Researchers have found deep breathing to reduce blood pressure, improve energy levels, and help the body to release stress.

To breathe in a deep, relaxing way:

  • Start every breath in your belly. 
  • Let your chest rise slowly, feeling the cool air enter your lungs.
  • Hold your breath for 1-2 seconds.
  • Slowly and completely release your breath.
  • Pause for 1-2 seconds before repeating the process.

While you’re sitting at your desk, breathe deeply and consistently throughout the day. When stress or anxiety creep up, acknowledge the feeling and take a few cleansing breaths. Notice the changes in your body when you breathe mindfully.

5. Be a single-tasker.

It’s natural to want to make the most of each day. But when you focus on too many tasks at one time, your brain gets overloaded and doesn’t function at its best. 

Rather than try to tackle multiple tasks at once, prioritize them. Tackle the more intensive, important one during your “magic hours.” Fill remaining slots in your schedule with second and subsequent tasks. If you can’t fit something in, it can wait until tomorrow. 

Nothing is more important than your mental health. Make mindfulness a priority during your workday, and you won’t just become a better version of yourself; you’ll also build your business into a better vision of itself.

5 Tips for Making Time for Your Big Goals

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You know just how easy it is to get caught up in the daily grind of life. When you spend all day putting out fires, it’s easy to lose sight of those big, long-term goals.

Although some of those more tedious daily tasks may never go away entirely, you can start organizing your days with time carved out to work on those larger dreams and priorities. Here’s how to do it:

1. Begin with the end in mind.

Steve Jobs famously spoke about prioritizing his daily tasks based on what he would want to be working on if it were the last day of his life. He defined his long-term goals and then made sure that his to-do list was aligned with what he ultimately sought to accomplish. 

How does what you are working on today fit with your big picture goals and priorities? If your tasks at hand aren’t helping you arrive at that end goal, it may be time to scrap what you’re doing and work backwards. Start with those long-term dreams, and figure out what you can do today to ensure you will get there.

2. Organize your tasks based on urgency and importance.

The Eisenhower Matrix is a time-tested method for dividing your to-do list into four categories: urgent and important, urgent but not important, important but not urgent, and neither urgent nor important. 

Prioritize urgent and important tasks to be the first things you accomplish. If you’re able, delegate the urgent but unimportant tasks to someone else, leaving you plenty of time for your important but not immediately urgent items. These items will often include your larger business goals that transcend your daily tasks that can so easily bog down your day. 

If a task is neither urgent nor important, either delegate it, scrap it, or save it for a space in your day when you need a mental break from your main tasks. Re-evaluate your matrix at the beginning of each day to ensure you are focusing your energy and attention on what is most valuable.

3. Schedule everything.

It’s easier said than done, but strictly scheduling your day will boost your productivity and give you the time to work on those bigger goals. You may not be able to avoid all of the more mundane tasks of your day; some of them are part and parcel with running a business. What you can do, though, is to place your tasks on a calendar rather than letting them sit on a simple to-do list.

Account for every minute of your work day. Then, stick to your calendar. If you have constructed it to be a reflection of your priorities, do not let yourself get sidetracked. Own your time. 

When you schedule each of your tasks for the day, you have a defined start and finish time for each item, giving yourself control of your day. That ensures you have time to work on both your necessary daily tasks as well as your big picture goals.

4. Take advantage of your commute time.

You’re a business owner: There’s no way around the fact that you have a lot of work to do. Even after prioritizing your tasks as much as possible, they will still inevitably take up a fair chunk of time each day.

To make as much time as possible to chip away at your big goals, make use of your commute time. If you commute 20 minutes each way five days per week, that’s more than three additional hours of work time.

How you decide to use your commute time will vary based on your situation. Perhaps you can knock out some of those smaller, more tedious tasks: replying to emails, checking your voice messages, or scheduling meetings. Alternatively, you may find that your commute is the perfect opportunity to brainstorm or listen to podcasts that will inspire you to reach those long-term goals. Make your time work for you, even if it is your drive to work.

5. Keep your big ideas visible.

When your whiteboards are covered in sales and marketing metrics, you may easily lose track of what your long-term goals really are. It pays to write down your most important ideas and keep them in a place where you will see them and remember to keep them central each day. 

How you do it is up to you. Hang an inspiration board with quotes and plans in your home office. Put sticky notes on your desktop. Let your big dreams and plans motivate you in the midst of all the small tasks necessary to get there. Don’t lose sight of the end you desire.

Organize each day, and even each hour, with your big goals in view. Work backwards from those goals to choose how you spend your time. As you take charge of each day, watch the future you want becomes less and less distant.

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