Get Business Tool

I have been blogging for a couple of years now and one of the things I could never do was add you tube videos or audio that I felt may be relevant to my blogging community. I have found the solution. It is software called JCopia.
It's not just for You Tube, you can also use it to download video and audio from flash players on internet sites like Google Video, MySpace, DailyMotion, Metacafe, Break, and other Blog sites of course. Where ever audio and video content is embedded.

Just play your media online and watch as JCopia saves any clip, music or movie to your computer. If you want it you can download and install from http://jiteco.com/download/jcopia/jcopia.exe

Or lLearn more what is included in JCopia 4.7.11466 on http://jiteco.com/jcopia.html

I know I don't normally do this but it was something that I had been trying to do for a while and could not find the answer. I figured if it was a problem I had maybe its a problem you may have.

Imagining only owning 100 things!

I read an article by Kristin Tillotson from the Star Tribune in Minneapolis where she wrote of a family that are really trying to live green, save money and be free.

Think about what is the minimum number of items you could live with and how different your life would be with only the minimum.

This Swindlehurt’s family is breaking tradition and really going against the grain of current society by getting rid of as much stuff as they can.

Simplifying their lives

Apparently there is a National movement in America of people who are simplifying their lives – and imagine the difference on your savings by eliminating as many possessions as you can and resisting buying anything else.

It is linked towards green living, The Swindlehurt’s who the article focused on said that “The 100 Things Challenge” was what started it all. This challenge dared people to keep only 100 things. It was launched by Dave Bruno three years ago. It has picked up a Facebook following and naturally a book deal.

The goal is to free you from the demands of consumerism, from being stuck on stuff. Imagine how different your life would be. No filing cabinet, no dresser, no incredible collection of DVD’s, no mismatched coffee cups. What would be the 100 things you would keep?

Living minimal like this has definite benefits beyond the reduced environmental footprint such as reduced cleaning time. Not being anchored to material possessions, the money saved the feeling of being more organised.

Times are changing

It is interesting to note that we tend to travel in a circle through our life and many years ago our grandparents or parents grew up in the depression with very little, until now-a-days when we have excess everywhere from our possessions to our weight. Many people are feeling overwhelmed by their possessions and are making a conscious choice to reduce and eliminate.

People are starting to feel different. Material possessions are not necessary to show how successful you have been. According to a study of the American Dream by MetLife Generation Y is more into making friends than amassing objects.

You don’t have to get down to 100 things but really take a look around and every day take some possessions out of your house. It is a real freedom. It opens up so many possibilities. What is the minimum you could live with?

About Us

LifeStyle Refocus is a Melbourne based professional organiser and lifestyle management consultancy. We are all about saving you TIME. We conduct workshops on ‘Managing your Time’, ‘Systemise Yourself to have a Productive Day,’ ‘DeClutter and Take Back Control’ and Mind Clutter.’ We work with individuals and businesses to help them create a better life.

For more information go to www.lifestylerefocus.com.au or contact Michele on 0437 311 802.

Managing your energy allows you to get more done

Last blog we discussed how exercise can help you be more productive. This week we are looking at our energy cycles again. During the day our bodies go through an energy cycle every 90 to 120 minutes. We should be scheduling our tasks around that body rhythm. That is we focus and concentrate on our work for 90 to 120 minutes then do less important work for a rest and recovery break. This type of work includes emails, some calls and perhaps even some meetings.

Our energy cycle is not just physical energy either. Other elements include our emotional energy and mental energy.

Therefore to work at our peak productivity some of the ways to look after ourselves includes:

Physical energy

§  Sleep
§  Nutrition
§  Hydration
§  Exercise
§  Recovery

Emotional energy

§  Positive relationships
§  Do not worry about what you cannot change
§  Enjoyment
§  Recovery

Mental energy

§  Positive thoughts
§  Personal development
§  Recovery

So make small changes over time to look after your body on a physical, emotion and mental level.

 
By doing this you will certainly become more productive and get more done in less time which allows you time to do the things that you really want to do not just what you have to do.

About Us
LifeStyle Refocus is a Melbourne based professional organiser and lifestyle management consultancy. We are all about saving you TIME. We conduct workshops on ‘Managing your Time’, ‘Systemise Yourself to have a Productive Day,’ ‘DeClutter and Take Back Control’ and Mind Clutter.’ We work with individuals and businesses to help them create a better life.

For more information go to www.lifestylerefocus.com.au or contact Michele on 0437 311 802.

Exercise and Increase Your Productivity

Many of us are aware that during the night we have a rhythm to our sleep – light sleep, deep sleep . . .  however did you know that during the day our bodies also have a rhythm?

Take note as to how you work during the day, once you commence work do you find you can get going but later in the day between 2.30 to 3.30 you start to feel sluggish. Well that is your body rhythm telling you that it is fatiguing.

It is during this period of time when you are start to lose concentration and you will know because of the signs and signals your body gives you such as fidgeting, self-distraction, hunger, thirst, looking for easy distractions, not doing the work you really should be doing. Why not take a walk! Just 10 minutes can make all the difference.

After your walk you can come back to work and you will be ready to go again. Rather than persisting and not really being productive taking a break will allow you to come back refreshed and “on” task. This will increase your focus and concentration. If you had not got up and walked away from the desk then you will continue to work slower, make more mistakes, and procrastinate on decisions because you are not clear. So go for a walk and increase your productivity. You will notice the difference.

About Us
LifeStyle Refocus is a Melbourne based professional organiser and lifestyle management consultancy. We are all about saving you TIME. We conduct workshops on ‘Managing your Time’, ‘Systemise Yourself to have a Productive Day,’ ‘DeClutter and Take Back Control’ and Mind Clutter.’ We work with individuals and businesses to help them create a better life.

For more information go to www.lifestylerefocus.com.au or contact Michele on 0437 311 802.

Developing and Establishing Good Habits

To make changes in our life we need to change some of our habits and routines. This means replacing our existing habits and routines with more positive habits and routines. When the going gets tough it is our habits that get us through. So what are the areas of your life that you need to tweak and change?

Do you realise that how you live your life is actually based on decisions you have made? Wow that may be a little bit confrontational really. It is much easier to look for someone else to blame for the areas of our life that are frustrating us or not satisfying us.


So once you have identified an area to change then we need to make the changes part of our daily routine. When it becomes a habit it is easy and natural for us to do. Think about your morning routine – if you are leaving the house late each day is it because you stay in bed and hit the snooze button? If this is the case you have to change that habit and replace it with a more positive habit. Like getting up on the first buzz or only hitting the snooze button once.

It really is the little changes which add up to bigger improvements in your life.

The idea is that these new habits become embedded into your subconscious mind and you do not have to think about it. It becomes automatic.

So don’t tell yourself that you will start tomorrow – start today – start now. You may even want to write it out as a new habit. Tackle one new habit a week – that will be 52 improvements in your life this year! Wow that’s progress.

So what habit are you going to change today?

About Us

LifeStyle Refocus is a Melbourne based professional organiser and lifestyle management consultancy. We are all about saving you TIME. We conduct workshops on ‘Managing your Time’, ‘Systemise Yourself to have a Productive Day,’ ‘DeClutter and Take Back Control’ and Mind Clutter.’ We work with individuals and businesses to help them create a better life.

What are your personal KPI’S?

KPI’S stands for Key Personal Indicators. Many businesses have them for measuring their own performance. Many employees have them to measure their individual performance. Think about a staff member in sales which is a classic area for KPI’s.

Sales staff KPI’s may include number of sales calls, number of meetings, number of referrals, business $ value converted etc.

Personal KPI’s

We talk about setting goals and recommend we break the goals down into a road map of achievable results. Well these can often be broken down into key performance indicators as well. Consider the goal of running a marathon. You do not start by immediately going and running 42 km’s. Instead you break the goal down into sub goals or smaller goals. So for the month of March you may run 5 km’s 3 times a week. Then in April you increase it to 8km’s 4 times a week and so on.

These are your KPI’s. The next task is to measure how often you are hitting you KPI’s. If you run 5km 4 times a week then you are exceeding your KPI’s but if you run 4 km, 3 times a week you can see that you have to improve slightly.

 

We can set our own KPI’s in many areas of our life. Think about what your individual KPI’s may be.

About Us

LifeStyle Refocus is a Melbourne based professional organiser and lifestyle management consultancy. We are all about saving you TIME. We conduct workshops on ‘Managing your Time’, ‘Systemise Yourself to have a Productive Day,’ ‘DeClutter and Take Back Control’ and Mind Clutter.’ We work with individuals and businesses to help them create a better life.

For more information go to www.lifestylerefocus.com.au or contact Michele on 0437 311 802.

Increase Productivity by Batching Tasks

Batching tasks is taking a group of tasks and ‘doing’ them in the same block of time. For example, making all your telephone calls for the day in one group, checking your emails in one group, or when you are going to the shops doing more than just the grocery shopping.

Batching and Shopping

By batching your shopping you are saving time, saving petrol and helping the environment. The following are some elements to consider before you go to the shops for a detailed example of batching tasks.


We know we are going to the shops for the groceries but often there are many errands that we can do whilst we are out such as purchasing petrol, going to the post office, dropping off clothing at a charity bin and so on.


So before you leave the house you need the following:


 A list of all the errands to be done whilst out


 Any items you need for the errands such as the dry cleaners receipt, library books


 Your grocery list


 Eat prior to going shopping


 Dressed comfortably


 A plan of the places you need to go and the logical order in which to complete the tasks. That is place 1, place 2, and place 3. This step alone can save an incredible amount of time


 Estimate how long you think your list will take [each time you learn so you get closer to scheduling the correct amount of time]

Like in your daily work schedule a little planning can save you an incredible amount of time. I know it takes me 10 minutes to drive to the local shops, then get out of the car, complete my tasks and drive home, just by only having to do this once a week it is saving me at least 30 minutes. Time adds up and we lose time easily but planning can easily save time.

About Us

LifeStyle Refocus is a Melbourne based professional organiser and lifestyle management consultancy. We are all about saving you TIME. We conduct workshops on ‘Managing your Time’, ‘Systemise Yourself to have a Productive Day,’ ‘DeClutter and Take Back Control’ and Mind Clutter.’ We work with individuals and businesses to help them create a better life.

For more information go to www.lifestylerefocus.com.au or contact Michele on 0437 311 802.

Get Organised and Reduce Stress

When you feel that your house is out of control – things everywhere. Where did they even come from? It can make you feel like your whole life is out of control.

These piles of things everywhere are clutter.

Clutter can affect you in many ways some of them include:

 You waste time searching for things

 It occupies space

 You lose / forget things
 Extra money is spent on items already purchased
 Makes you feel busy
 You get distracted

 You have trouble focusing

 Unnecessary stress

 It affects you image as you look out of control

 You can not prioritise

So take time to organise yourself both in your environment and you mind. Some ideas include:

Periodic brain dump.

 List everything that is flying around in your head.

 Cross off what you really do not need to do
 Prioritise items from most important to least important
 Complete the most important items first
 Gradually move down the list


Clean the physical clutter
 Just as we are going to clear the mental clutter one item at a time we can do the same with the physical clutter
 Pick a space, whether it is the top of the desk, a draw or a cupboard
 Pick up one item at a time and decide whether you really need it
 What does the item contribute to your life?
 Can you dump it?

 Can you donate it?

 If you have to action it can you do it now?

 If you can not do it now can you date it? That is select a day in the next week when you can complete that task.

These are just some ways you can start to move forward and get rid of the clutter in your mind and your environment.

By moving forward each day you are developing new habits, a better more productive environment and a more focused you.

About Us

LifeStyle Refocus is a Melbourne based professional organiser and lifestyle management consultancy. We are all about saving you TIME. We conduct workshops on ‘Managing your Time’, ‘Systemise Yourself to have a Productive Day,’ ‘DeClutter and Take Back Control’ and Mind Clutter.’ We work with individuals and businesses to help them create a better life.

For more information go to www.lifestylerefocus.com.au or contact Michele on 0437 311 802.

Goal Setting

It is time to think about setting goals for the year both in a personal sense and a business sense. However before we even set a goal some things to consider include:

What is your sense of purpose?

What is your purpose in life, what do you love, what do you value, and what do you really want to do? Answer these questions without too much thought it is known as ‘a rapid fire exercise’ rather than ponder for a long time. In a rapid fire exercise you answer the question with 5 answers in 30 seconds. Most of the time you get the same answers even if you pondered for 2 hours. So take 30 seconds and write down five things that are your purpose in life, what you love, value and really want to do.

What is the direction you now have to take?


We now know our purpose so what direction and changes do we have to implement to allow us to achieve our purpose. Make a step by step plan so we know our long term purpose and our short term direction to reach our purpose.


This develops our goals both short and long term. It is important to have a balance of both. By achieving the short term goals we know we are moving forward to our longer term outcome.


Are these plans in line with your values?


It is really important to complete a self-assessment of your purpose, direction and goals to know if they are in line with your personal values. Does it feel right? Does it feel good? Are there any elements you are not comfortable with? Ultimately if your purpose, direction and goals do not match your values even if you get there the feeling will not be as wonderful and you may ultimately be disappointed in yourself or what you have achieved.


Be flexible

Whilst we have our direction and goals it is important to always be flexible along the way. Opportunities that were not available when you made your plan or you did not see may come along. They may just be the right tool or way to propel you forward to achieving your goal so always be open and flexible to amend and change your plans as new opportunities present themselves.

About Us

LifeStyle Refocus is a Melbourne based professional organiser and lifestyle management consultancy. We are all about saving you TIME. We conduct workshops on ‘Managing your Time’, ‘Systemise Yourself to have a Productive Day,’ ‘DeClutter and Take Back Control’ and Mind Clutter.’ We work with individuals and businesses to help them create a better life.

For more information go to http://www.lifestylerefocus.com.au/ or contact Michele on 0437 311 802.