"Discipline
is doing the things you don't want to do…
but you do it because you know they will
get you the results you want."
~ Teresia LaRocque, MCC
Fireside Chat - a personal
note from Teresia & Sonia
Hello Sassy and Savvy
Women!
What's that we hear? The click of things falling
into place? A few sighs of relief and satisfaction?
Over past few months, we've encouraged
you to take a journey of self exploration
and really dig deep to find out what makes
your life work - and what makes it not work.
And from what we hear, you ladies are making
some big changes!
In our last Savvy
Conversation, we were talking about
the ways that standards, tolerations and
boundaries come together, how they interrelate
and feed each other. (Be sure to read this
month's Sassy Breakthrough… Joan's
experiences brought out some great insights!)
Now that you have more time and energy
to work with, we're going to help you focus
on big results by making some key changes
in how you relate to your work hours. It's
savvy approach to time management, and we
love it because it makes life work.
Don't miss this
month's "Savvy
Conversation," a *fre'e* conference
call that will help you learn and adopt
new perspectives about your work hours.
JOIN US and other like-minded professional
women on Thursday, May 17th at 8 AM PST
to dig into the details of how to build
a thriving business that lets you soar.
Click here
for more details, and to register!
Your Sassy Catalysts
Teresia LaRocque & Sonia Stringer
SassyandSavvyWomen.com
In this issue:
feature
article
Four Keys to Time Management
(and Sanity!) for the Self-Employed Woman
Being self-employed is an infinite game -
you could work 24/7 for the rest of your life
and never run out of things to do! First,
pay the bills. Then answer e-mail. Then return
a call, and open the mail, and compile an
invoice. Marketing? Oh yeah, better get to
that… someday… but first there's
that letter to write and that gift to order
and, and… so much to do! So, how do
you stay sane and focused in the midst of
a business that feels like a perpetual pinball
game?
As your business grows and gets more complex,
there are so many things demanding attention
that it can be a real challenge to focus.
Everything feels important (except for the
things that feel urgent), and you find yourself
scrambling around, desperate to catch whatever
comes flying your way and praying that you
won't get crushed in the avalanche of incomplete
tasks. It's all too easy to start thinking
I just can't win!
Women may be the most capable multi-taskers
in the world, but when we're running a business,
that skill will only take us so far. You
could be the most efficient, focused, organized
woman in town - and still sink in the quicksand
of daily life.
And when you do, it takes a huge toll.
You lose your self esteem; your personal
inspiration dries up; relationships suffer;
professionalism is compromised. What a disappointing
place to be. You've worked so hard to get
where you are… shouldn't it feel a
little better than this?
YES! It should, it can, and it will - IF
you take a different approach. We're living
proof that the pinball game does have an
escape hatch, and we're going to help you
find it.
We challenge you to step out of reaction
mode - and be super efficient when you are
working. This strategy is based on one question:
what's most important? It may sound like
a simple place to start, but when you really
embrace this strategy, it has a profound
effect on how you run your business - and
your life. Let's take a closer look at four
"perspective shifts" that really
bring this concept to life.
1. Become the
CEO of your business.
When a good CEO starts her day, she has
a plan. She moves with purpose, methodically
devoting her full attention to each objective.
She has results in mind. Does she answer
every call that comes in? Does she let other
people determine when to meet, and for how
long? Does she run around putting out fires
and saving the day? Not a chance.
You are the boss of your company, and it's
okay to act like it. You get to decide where
to invest your time, and that means you
don't necessarily respond to every little
thing right away. Go ahead, let that call
go to voicemail!
2. You won't get
it all done - and that's okay.
It's the dark side of ambition… that
driving need to get everything handled.
It haunts our nights and eats into our personal
time. Many of us believe that in order to
be successful, we have to get everything
done. It's not true!
Handle your biggest priorities every day
and let the small stuff take care of itself.
It is ok if you don't get it all done -
really! Getting to the next level is about
doing what's most
important - always.
3. Perfectionism
isn't profitable.
Remember the golden rule in business: 'Tis
better to get it done than to do it perfectly.
Don't waste time with details that don't
really matter in the end. If high standards
are compromising your productivity or adding
to your stress, take some time to explore
whether you have an unmet personal need
(such as a need for approval). If this is
the case, find ways to meet your needs outside
of work. (In a future savvy call we will
be talking about needs!) Remember, your
job is to make sure things get done - one
priority at a time.
4. Contain your
business: declare office hours.
When you're self employed, and especially
when you work from home, your professional
life and your personal life tend to blend
together. You conduct high-powered meetings
over the phone in your pajamas; your faxes
end up with salsa smudges; you stop shopping
for a new bra to take a call from your assistant.
But when you set up boundaries between your
personal time and your work hours, you'll
start to experience some wonderful benefits:
- You become much more efficient. In an
effort to make the most of your work hours,
you stop tending to the minor details and
start tackling the bigger picture.
- Your time off actually becomes "down
time"… so you feel much more
rested.
- At the end of the day, you feel satisfied
instead of resentful; in control instead
of chaotic; purposeful instead of panicky.
Of course, you only realize these benefits
if you actually honor your office hours.
Take them seriously, and demand that everyone
else does too.
Once you have decided what your work hours
will be, the next step is to know how to
invest the time you have. Next month, we
will share a simple but strategic way to
divide up your work hours so that all your
priorities get handled (even the marketing).
A
Sassy Breakthrough -Joan Noel
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Another Sassy Breakthrough!
When I first started looking for tolerations
in my life, I was really surprised at
how quickly the list filled up! Most
of them were just tiny irritations -
the ratty dishtowels, the toys on the
floor - but the thing is… I thought
about them over and over. If a drop
of water on the head over and over can
become torture, these things were my
tiny torture. But until I built my list
of tolerations, I didn't realize how
much they affected me, or why I was
putting up with them.
I have strong values, and for the most
part, they have served me well. But
as I explored my tolerations, I realized
that some of my values were in conflict
with each other. For example, my values
about being ecologically responsible
were in conflict with my values around
a nice home environment. The end result
was a huge toleration: ratty dishtowels.
How many holes must they have before
they're worn out? How many times am
I going to think about how ugly they
are, or quickly tuck them away as company
comes through the door? Another example:
my values around a nice home environment
were in conflict with my parenting values
around providing a stimulating environment
for my playful four-year-old son. The
end result: my house was becoming a
24/7 playroom and I was getting irritated.
I don't want to be a grumpy mommy who
fights about toys every day, and I don't
want to feel dismay when I walk into
my kitchen or clean up at night. My
standards are higher than that. So why
on earth was I tolerating these situations?
This is where the story starts to get
interesting. It all boils down to one
thing: fear. I was afraid of feeling
like a hypocrite if this self-professed
"green" citizen tossed out
the old towels before they were threadbare.
I was afraid of being in conflict with
my son if I set a boundary around picking
up his toys every night.
When you stop tolerating, raise a standard
and/or set a boundary with someone,
you permanently change the situation
or relationship you have with that person.
For some reason, that can be scary.
But when you push through the fear,
set a boundary, and get to the other
side, you realize that the fears were
all imaginary. Most of what we worry
about never really happens. Instead
of more battles with my son, I have
fewer. (And I have space for my yoga
mat!) Instead of feeling hypocritical
about my pretty new dish towels, I feel
uplifted by them. But perhaps the best
part about this process is that I feel
stronger now - much more willing to
communicate my standards and boundaries
in order to protect my state of mind.
It gets easier and easier, because when
I honor what's really important to me,
I'm happier, lighter, and more effective
in my life.
Joan Noel
www.lightcyclescoaching.ca
Women empowering women! Be an inspiration
to other women and share your own Sassy
Breakthrough! If you've experienced
some inspiring successes and you'd like
to be profiled in the Sassy and Savvy
Newsletter, we want to talk to you!
Have you had a win in dealing with your
tolerations, raising your standards,
setting boundaries, send an e-mail with
a brief description of your breakthrough
to stories@sassyandsavvywomen.com,
and we'll be in touch!
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Savvy
Steps: Hitch up your pantyhose and get moving!
Imagine that you're a contestant
on a game show called "Beat the Clock!"
You have just 30 hours every week to get as
much done as possible. If you knew that a
buzzer would sound at the 30-hour mark, and
you couldn't work even one minute more, you
would approach that week with a plan to be
as efficient as possible.
This isn't "Beat the Clock"... this
is the Game of Life! And the stakes are much
higher.
This month, your assignments are simple:
define your office hours and stick to your
priorities. Constantly ask yourself, "Which
result is most important now?" Post
a sign or make a note to keep you focused,
and when the end of the day comes, close
the door. We're willing to bet that in a
couple of weeks, life will feel better and
your results will impress you.
Featured
Tools & Resources
 Double
or Triple Your Income While Playing in Your
Comfort Zone
Want an additional resource to help manage
your time?
Want to spend more of your day doing what
you love - and be paid well for it?
We want that for you too! Learn how to
build a foundation for a thriving business
that's based on your own natural abilities,
your Comfort Zone. The Double
or Triple Your Income program includes
audio recordings and an ebook with notes
and action exercises designed to help you
implement the concepts and step up to the
next level of professional satisfaction
and success. To learn more about this product
and to get your copy today, please click
here.
Thursday Mastermind
calls
Every Thursday at 8:00am PST/12:00pm
ET is your time to get Sassy and Savvy support,
join an on-going Savvy Mastermind Group
Dial-in#: 712-432-3900 Passcode: 5077473.
Make this a regular part of your professional
development! Click here
to register.
Savvy
Conversation - May 17th at 8am PT/11am ET
If you'd like to explore the topic of "Four
Keys to Time Management (and Sanity!) for
the Self-Employed Woman", get coached,
and experience the momentum of other like-minded
women who are setting boundaries in their
lives, join us
on May 17th at 8:00am PST/11:00am EST for
the latest Savvy Conversations Coaching
Call.
In this *fre'e* teleconference, we'll be
exploring the challenges, secrets and shortcuts
to defining, establishing and maintaining
your own boundaries. In this candid discussion,
you learn about some of the most effective
ways to raise the bar, in both your business
and your personal life. We'll "see"
you there! Click here
to register.
Watch for more upcoming developments from
the Sassy and Savvy Women! We are building
one amazing community, full of top-notch resources
and high-caliber guidance for the self-employed
woman.
And we're hard at work on our powerful
new book: Sassy
and Savvy Self-Employed Women: The Ultimate
Guide to Leverage Your Business and Love
Your Life. If you'd like to preview
a chapter, click here!
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