My Happy Lists

After starting our new company, Wilson Media Consulting, I experienced what all home-based business owners experience: struggling with discipline and motivation.

Here are some tips on how to be more productive (no matter where you are).

1. 45/15 Split

My background in psychology and experience as a learner and worker has taught me that people have an optimal range of time of which they can learn, focus and be productive. The typical time range is 40-55 minutes. What this means for you: start paying attention to time when you're working. About how long into a task do you start to "fade" or does your creativity or productivity diminish? For me, it's about 45 minutes.

I like to start my work "on the hour" so I can easily do a 45/15 minute split. I start working at 7:00 am and at 7:45 am, I take a planned break. Knowing that I get to take a break helps me focus because I don't create excuses to not work.

When you let yourself expect a break, you'll be more productive in your 45 minutes than if you just take random breaks, get frustrated, and then stop working altogether for a couple hours.

2. The planned break

Before I start my 45/15 split, I have a plan for how I'm going to spend my 15 minutes break. That way, I don't waste time thinking about what I'm going to do when I should be working, or wasting my break time by trying to decide how I want to spend it. For example, I know that in 20 minutes I'm going to get a snack and play with our adorable cockapoo, Mazie. She likes to sleep in, so I won't wake her for a little while.

3. Timing my tasks

Measure, measure, measure! That's how you know if anything is successful. I measure the time I spend every day by using an automatic time tracker. Gone are the days of writing down what you're doing (especially if you spend 80% of your work day at the computer). I use a cool time tracker that lets me add new tasks and then set the timer on them when I start working on them. At the end of the day (or week, month, etc), with a click of a button I can see where all my time went. It also helps me bill clients because it's organized by client profiles. It's a breeze to use, and I've noticed that on the days I don't use it, my productivity plummets. There's something about seeing that little timer on my screen that shouts to me: GET TO WORK!

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After our fun chocolate tasting date at the Chocolate Apothecary, Tyler and I headed over to Auntie’s Bookstore to use another Groupon.com coupon (50% off $20 purchase).

I was so excited to get $10 free dollars to Auntie’s. Tyler and I love that bookstore. Here’s a few reasons why:

• It’s Big AND Local. We haven’t found many local bookstore that have such a huge selection of books at such a big location
• Downtown Spokane. There’s something fun about old downtown buildings. Auntie’s Bookstore is big, open, and old. It’s awesome.
• Great staff. Every time we go there, the staff are friendly and accessible.
• Huge selection of new and used. I love discovering fun little “finds” there – old used books for an affordable price.
• Autographed books. They are always hosting book signings, from local to national authors, including the likes of David Sedaris, Jamie Ford, Sherman Alexie and Chuck Palahniuk. If you can’t make it to one of the book signings, you can still pre-order a signed book, or even purchase one afterwards.

The Hubbie and I (commonly known as Team Wilson) are not wealthy by any means. We work in fairly low-paying jobs (in the $10/hour range) despite our advanced college degrees. And yet, despite living paycheck to paycheck, we have managed to end up owing the government an additional $2,000 this year.

Here are 7 reasons why (my UNHappy List of the month).

1. Miniscule pay raise. I actually worked full time for the whole year and we earned a little more money since I wasn’t going to school. But that leads to #2.

2. No longer a student. Those tuition credits came in handy.

3. Debt Settlement = Taxable Income. So poor that I defaulted on a student loan and settled the debt for about 50% of what I owed. Turns out that counts as “taxable income.” Because that makes sense.

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We’ve all been there.  You look in the rear view mirror, see those lights go on, and panic hits you.  Sometimes I blank out the previous couple minutes, was I speeding? did I run a stop sign? did I make an illegal turn?

Here are some ideas to avoid getting pulled over in the first place.

1. Drive the Speed Limit.  I know this is obvious, but if you aren’t running late, it might be something to seriously consider.  An additional benefit of following the speed limit (versus speeding) is an increase in gas mileage.  That’s a win-win reason.

2. Middle of the Pack.  Need to speed? Find a group of cars going the speed you want and hang out in the middle.  The first car is likely to trigger a cop radar, and the last car is likely to get pulled over first.  Hanging out in the middle is a safer placer to be if you need to speed.

3. Follow a Speeder. Put some distance between you and the speeder and let him trigger the radar.  The distance allows you enough time to slow down when the cop pulls out.

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Tired of your job?  Ready for something new?  Check out some of these ideas for ways to successfully change careers.

1. Unemployment. Check out the rules and requirements for qualifying for unemployment. Before you quit or get fired, you’ll want to be educated about your options for unemployment. The extra money from Unemployment might be enough to get you through a few months while you’re changing careers.

2. Good Resume. Even if you think you have a good resume, get some help.  Your local college and other professionals are good resources for help with writing an effective resume.  Some places offer this service, but shop around.  You don’t want to pay for something you can get for free or do yourself (with some helpful suggestions or advice from people you already know).

3. Counseling. If you’re not exactly sure what you want to do, invest in some career counseling.  Your local college probably offers this service at a decent price (maybe even free!).  Consider it an investment in yourself.  An effective career counselor will take an integrative approach – including personality tests, career inventories, career educations, and other services.  Ask for what your career counseling will involve when you’re calling around.

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When the budget is tight, we all look for ways to save money.  When looking at the bills we have, sometimes the grocery bill is higher than we think it should be.  Obviously you need to eat, but here are some ways to save money while grocery shopping.

1. Actually Go Grocery Shopping.  I realize that cooking takes time and effort, and driving to get fast food seems so quick and easy.  But if you eat fast food all the time (even off the $1 menu), you are wasting money.  Calculate how much money you spend on fast food and go spend that at the grocery store.  You’ll be able to get way more meals out of it.  And if you don’t like cooking, buy meals that are quick and easy.  They may not be the best meals, but it’s better than fast food.

2. Don’t go Hungry.  Everyone knows this one, so why do you keep going when you’re hungry?  Eat before you go!

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