Monday, February 17, 2014

Productivity Tips From President Obama

Happy Presidents Day! There’s always a lot of buzz about how to get more things done in your day, so today we’re looking at the productivity methods of one of the busiest guys in the world: President Obama. He’s spoken to Vanity Fair and several other publications about how he stays sane and on top of his tasks. These are some of his best tips: Strategize to avoid decision fatigue. Have you ever wondered why it’s so hard to choose between catching up on GIRLS or Scandal at the end of a long day? It’s because the more decisions you make, the more your ability to make later decisions erodes. That means it’s crucial that you prioritize your decisions and try to minimize the unimportant ones. Obama explained this to Vanity Fair, saying, “You’ll see I wear only gray or blue suits. I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make.” Start your day the night before. You’re the most productive when you can work without any distractions. For President Obama, this is at night after his family has gone to bed. He’ll often stay up until 1:00 am working on a big task that will carry into the next day. If you’re not a night owl, you can still adopt this method; simply figure out at what point in the day you feel most productive and use that time to get a jump start on tomorrow’s tasks. Shut out critics. For President Obama, that means sticking to watching ESPN and avoiding news channels when at all possible. He said, “One of the things you realize fairly quickly in this job is that there is a character people see out there called Barack Obama. That’s not you.” So if you’re obsessing over that one negative comment that someone left on your blog, take a step back and try to let it go. You’ll be more productive if you worry less about other people’s perceptions. Exercise. The leader of the United States carves out 45 minutes or more each day to do cardio or weight training. Obama said, “You have to exercise or at some point you’ll just break down.” It might seem like a good idea to skip your yoga class to work on that big project, but you’ll actually get more done if you make time to workout. Exercise reduces stress, boosts your mood and gives you the chance to clear your head. Remember that your personal time is sacred. For the President, this means setting aside three separate times in the day: his morning workout, dinner with his daughters and the nighttime after his family falls asleep. As his schedule shows, it’s important to diversify personal time. If you use all of it to accomplish the same goals, your life won’t feel very balanced. Set aside times to do something for your health, have some social interaction and catch up on whatever major things you didn’t get to during the day.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

How to Woo your Customers this Valentine's Day

The week of Valentine’s Day is finally upon us. If you haven’t made your Valentine cards or decorated the walls with paper hearts, you’re more than a little behind the game. However, it’s not too late to take advantage of the holiday and do some themey marketing. What better day is there to show your customers some love? Take a look at these last-minute ideas for sweeping your customers off of their feet: Make the most of social media. Social media is the procrastinating marketer’s dream. There’s no printing or mailing involved, so you can reach out to customers instantaneously. - Consider holding a contest on Valentine’s Day. You could have people tweet or post about their love stories or worst date experiences. Whether you appeal to emotion or humor, a chance to share personal experiences will get people engaged. - Tweet at other businesses that you have good relationships with, saying, “Happy Valentine’s Day, @insertyourfavoritebusinesshere! We love what you do!” Chances are, they will reciprocate your affection. - Come up with a fun Valentine’s Day-themed game. For example, find or make cupids of some kind (they can even be printed out pictures) and place them throughout your neighborhood or city. Instagram, tweet and post pictures of them in their different locations. The first person to find each cupid can return it to you for a prize. - If you’ve hopped on the Snapchat bandwagon, take a quirky picture of the people in your office and adorn it with hand drawn hearts and typical Valentine’s Day sayings. Your customers will appreciate your playfulness. Harness the power of email. It’s another method of immediate communication and is perfect if you’re going for a slightly more professional tone. - Send messages to your best customers. Thank them specifically and tell them why you appreciate their business so much. If you want, include a gift of some kind. - Send a mass email to all of your customers. Whether you make it fun and flashy or sophisticated and romantic, they will appreciate that you took the time to design a special Valentine’s Day greeting for them. It’s also a great opportunity to announce any sales or promotions that you’re having.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Why You Should Mentor and How to be Awesome at It

If you consider yourself at all successful (which you definitely should), chances are you can look back and identify a person or people who invested time in you, shared their wisdom, and helped you get where you are today. Having a great mentor is one of the keys to success, and if you’ve benefitted by being a mentee, it’s time to start paying it forward by being on the other side. Here’s what you need to know before you become a fantastic mentor: The Benefits - You’ll be recognized as an expert in your field. You’ve invested a ton of time and energy into developing your skills, and your mentee will be incredibly thankful that you’re willing to share your expertise. - You’ll be exposed to fresh new ideas, perspectives and approaches. Mentors can learn a ton from their mentees, and the meeting of generations will spark some innovative concepts. - You’ll be able to recognize young talent when you’re recruiting in the future. Who knows? Maybe your mentee will be the next rockstar employee at your company. The Requirements - Mentoring is time consuming, so you have to truly make a commitment to meeting regularly. Don’t promise more time than you’re actually able to give. - You have to believe in your mentee. Trying to help someone whose interests and goals don’t have anything in common with yours is a waste of both the mentor and mentee’s time. How to Be Awesome - Be open-minded and compassionate. Your mentee should be able to ask the “dumb questions” without feeling intimidated or judged. - Be accessible outside of your typical meeting time. Your mentee should be able to call you when problems or questions arise. If you let a lot of time lapse between speaking with your mentee, you’re not actually building a relationship. - Be honest. Keep things positive, but don’t be afraid to give constructive criticism or talk about the challenges that are ahead. No one has ever grown by having someone sugar-coat everything for them. - Listen with intent. Listening can be every bit as powerful as speaking, but you have to do so in a way that allows your mentee to think critically. If your mentee tells you about a problem that he or she has encountered, ask more questions, draw parallels to your own experiences, and help generate ideas for solutions. - Always focus on the goals of your mentee. Get to know what he or she hopes to accomplish in the short-term, long-term, professionally and personally. While you may hope that your mentee will join your company, put his or her interests first and help your mentee get where they want to go.