Do You Ever Feel That There Is Never Enough Time?

Do you ever feel that there is never enough time to do everything you have to

do and feeling that you are never going to catch up?

You can get control of your time and your life only by changing the way you think, work and deal with the never ending list of responsibilities that flows towards you each day.

What you can do is stop doing some things and start spending more time on the few activities that can really make a difference in your life.

Success is Predictable

Simply put, some people are doing better than others because they do things differently and they do the things right.

This is the ability to concentrate on your most important task, to do it well and to finish it completely. This is one of the keys to success, achievement and happiness in life.

Eat That Frog

If you are like many people today, you may be feeling overwhelmed with too much to do and too little time. As you struggle to catch up, new tasks and responsibilities just keep rolling in, like the waves of the ocean. Because of this, you will never be able to do everything you have to do.

The Need to be Selective

Your ability to select your most important task at each moment and then to get started on that task and get it done both quickly and well will have more of an impact on your success than any other quality or skill you can develop.

The Truth about Frogs

Mark Twain once said that if the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing it is probably the worst thing that will happen to you all day long.

Your ‘frog’ is your biggest most important task, the one you are most likely to procrastinate on if you don’t do something about it. It is also the one task that can have the greatest positive impact on your life and results at the moment.

Take Action

For the next week, identify your frog each day and make that the first task you do.

I have a frog statue sitting on my desk that reminds me every day to eat my frog.

Thank you and I look forward to sharing more tips, strategies and skills to support you to be more organised so that you too can create a better life.

“Be an inspiration to yourself and

you will be an inspiration to others.”

How to find the energy to declutter?

> Take a deep breath
> Are you an early bird or night owl? Work at the right time of the day for you
> Know your limits – sprinter or marathon runner
> Eat healthy
> Music is a great motivator

Understand that the hardest part is getting started so:
> Put all your focus on getting started
> Just spend 15 minutes
> Know what you are going to achieve
> Start with a small task to get started
> Make it easy to get started
> Have a rubbish bag and recycling bin ready

So take action and start decluttering, one small space at a time.

About Us

LifeStyle Refocus is a Melbourne based personal assistant, corporate concierge and lifestyle management consultancy. They are all about saving you TIME. By taking care of your “to do” list so you can spend time doing the things that are truly important to you. For more information go to www.lifestylerefocus.com.au or contact Silvana on 0417 595 744 or Michele on 0437 311 802.

Clearing the clutter

Did you know that clutter can bring you down? Think about how you felt last time you cleared out a space that was bothering you. It is a real sense of freedom whether it is a whole room, wardrobe or desk. It is worth investing the time in clearing the clutter.

What is clutter?
Over time our homes, have a tendency to accumulate and collect all kinds of treasures, gems and keepsakes. Now we all know that one person's trash is another person's treasures, but our homes can only hold so much!!!

Our motto is “Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful”.

Of course, this process will not be done in one day, after all it took years (or if we are really good, months) to make it this way.

Start slow and take the time needed to follow through. You will find that decluttering is not as hard as you thought it would be.

About Us

LifeStyle Refocus is a Melbourne based personal assistant, corporate concierge and lifestyle management consultancy. They are all about saving you TIME. By taking care of your “to do” so you can spend time doing the things that are truly important to you. For more information go to www.lifestylerefocus.com.au or contact Silvana on 0417 595 744 or Michele on 0437 311 802.

Recruitment vs. Retention

The costs of replacing departing staff can be massive. Companies should be focusing their attention on how to keep their existing staff.

It is an exhaustive process to hire new staff and not one that an organisation wants to do often. So don’t let the recruitment take over, change your focus from recruitment to retention.

Why should I focus on retention?
The cost to replace a single employee is between 25 per cent and 150 per cent of their annual salary[1]. Once you start multiplying those replacement costs out across the number of employees lost each you, the cost of attrition can be crippling.

What is the true cost of losing a member of staff?

• Recruiter's fee




• Advertising costs




• Exit interview costs




• Psych testing




• Interim staff costs [casuals, overtime, contractors]




• Training costs




• Protective clothing , uniform




• IT and systems set up costs
  

These costs are only the beginning, other costs include:

• Lost productivity for the exited person in the lead up to their final day




• Lost peer and manager time to retrain the replacement




• Lost manager time to sift through CVs and conduct interviews




• Lost HR time to sift through CVs, shortlist, interview, briefing and re-briefing and managing agencies, taking calls from candidates




• The de-motivation on your current employees from overwork or changed team dynamics




• Dissatisfied customers, reduced quality, slow service, poor reputation and




• The additional costs of reference checks, farewell parties, induction programs, welcome morning teas, lost team productivity during transition, it goes on and on[2].

Change the focus
We have all read about positive people bring positive outcomes and negative people bring negative outcomes. So don’t focus on recruitment, allocate some of the budget to staff retention. Recognise that staff do work hard, that they do go above and beyond for your business that they do give 100% or more, that they are committed to the vision and goals of the organisation. Recognise that the staff care about the business and let them know you care about them.

What would you consider in a retention plan? It is important to focus on each individual wherever you can, rather than make sweeping changes you hope will pick up most people.

Silvana from LifeStyle Refocus provided insight into what they can do for a company to aid retention of staff. Silvana commented that “we discuss with the management the outcomes they are looking for, find out what they know about their staff, then meet with the staff members that have been targeted. We can then assist them in their personal or business lives to ease the pressure. Personally for them we can organise a family member’s birthday celebrations, arrange for the lawn to be mowed, garden weeded, fridge stocked, book the family holiday, load the iPod, tidy their wardrobe, de-clutter the study. This allows the employee to be fully focused on work yet enjoy their down time with family and friends.

Using the above information as a basis, and steering the engagement planning around what the employee needs, will bring the engagement and retention result that benefits both the employee and business.

The philosophy at LifeStyle Refocus is “Don’t give your employees reasons to leave – give them every reason to stay”.

LifeStyle Refocus is a Melbourne based personal assistant, corporate concierge and life style management organisation. If you wish to engage your staff contact LifeStyle Refocus directly [Silvana] 0417 595 744 or Michele on [0437 311 802] or www.lifestylerefocus.com.au

[1] My Business Magazine. Managing your business section; “Dearly Departed” by Caroline Herman and Lisa Halloran
[2] My Business Magazine. Managing your business section; “Dearly Departed” by Caroline Herman and Lisa Halloran