Many entrepreneurs talk of having days where they are been as busy as a bee and yet they feel like they have accomplished zero to nothing by day’s end.

Sometimes this happens because as business owners, we have a multitude of things coming at us at any given point in time. AND they all seem important. And yet at the end of a day or a week, the most critical items are left undone.

Can you relate?

Have you ever been in the middle of such a day and you find yourself defaulting by allowing a barrage of stuff to bulldoze you over? Inevitably days like this tend to leave you feeling weary, unfulfilled and sometimes defeated.

Thank goodness, there is a power tool that can help you muster enough mental fortitude to STOP and make a course correction. You can get back on track with the priority tasks of the day.

This power tool comes in paper form (which I’m happy to share with anyone who asks for one).

And the same tool comes in a 99-cent i-phone/i-pad app (since this is my app, I’m happy to send you a gift certificate to get one for free if you wish).

Here’s how to STOP being bulldozed by an abstract random case of busy-ness and gain a new sense of control/productivity back:

First, list out on sticky notes (one item per note) all the things you have to do.

Second, only put the “critical” things that must be done today or you get a kick-in-the-butt into the Today – Critical slot. Everything else goes somewhere else.

Third, prioritize your “critical” list so you know what order you complete your tasks.

Fourth, get going!

If you want an i-phone app version of Today and Not Today search in i-tunes for it. Or send me your e-mail address associated with your i-tunes account so I can send you the free gift certificate. Send your request to:  lyn@coachingtoolkit.com.

Lyn Christian is the founder of SoulSalt, Inc., and a co-founder of Ultimate Coach University – http://www.ultimatecoachuniversity.com/. She is passionate about the “free-agent” worker who wants to earn their living and live their lives by doing what inspires them. Get more information by visiting  www.soulsalt.com or  http://lynchristian.com/. You may also contact Lyn directly through lyn@thecoachtoolkit.com.

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As your health is, so goes your business.

If this statement were true, how would you measure up today? Sometimes, especially in the case of Solopreneurship this statement is absolutely true. For some of us our physical, mental or emotional wellness is the engine to our business. The more vitality you have the more you have to bless your work and your personal life.

How many of these three statements can you say “yes” to?

• I have had a dental check-up in the past nine months.
• I have had my regular annual medical check-up.
• I have had my vision checked in the past 16 months.

Can you answer these questions?

• I know my blood pressure is regulated.
• I know that my cholesterol levels are healthy.
• I have a healthy, regular exercise program custom fit for me AND I follow it.

So now that we’ve pricked your conscious a bit, what do you need to do this week in order to better manage the other side of entrepreneurship known as your health?

Lyn Christian is the founder of SoulSalt, Inc., a coaching and coach training company. She is passionate about the “free-agent” worker who wants to earn their living and live their lives by doing what inspires them. Get more information by visiting www.soulsalt.com or contact Lyn directly through lyn@thecoachtoolkit.com.

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One huge lesson I learned as a writer and developer at Franklin Covey Co. was something Stephen R. Covey said, “How many of us often find ourselves too busy driving to stop for gas?”

Have you ever felt that way in your work? When we are too busy to stop for gas we often find ourselves over stressing to eek our way on fumes until the next weekend or vacation. Other times we find our tank completely empty and we are stranded in an undesirable location unable to move.

As it is with gasoline and cars, so it is with energy and entrepreneurs.  We can and often do wear ourselves thin or completely empty.

So what is one to do?  Here are some basics that when practiced can help us pace ourselves over long and short periods of performance:

Every work-night (typically week days) turn the lights off and leave work behind at a specific time. One powerhouse I know has set the time as 7:00 p.m. At that point all phone calls go to a phone service and everything stops. He spends time with his family which includes sitting down and eating with them.  This practice helps you hit the ground running the next morning and able to keep a stronger stride all week.

At least three of four weekends a month stop working Friday night and don’t return until Monday morning. The only exception is to perhaps spend 15 minutes Sunday night making your weekly plans. This means cell phones and laptops can’t be used for work purposes. Leave it alone for two whole days. You’ll be amazed at how strong you can start a work week when this happens.

Take Vacations. Yes the word is plural so it means more than one a year.  Vacations qualify as such when phones, computers and work are out of place and irrelevant. You can have a couple three or four-day weekends as part of a vacation plan. However, the minimum break time is two weeks a year for strong entrepreneurs. That means you can split the weeks up or take them together for a jumbo vacation. As your success grows you’ll probably start ditching the extended weekend version of vacations and start taking four nice long breaks a year.

Mini-breaks scattered in your day. Finally there are such things as delightful little moments in the day when you allow yourself to eat lunch at a healthy chew and swallow rhythm. Or, perhaps you stop and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine for fifteen minutes with nothing more on your mind than how great it feels to sit still. If you do nothing more than begin to play with this option, you’ll have a good start.

There you have it. And there are two things I know for sure:

The power of renewal gets bigger and stronger, more fulfilling and profitable the longer you practice it.

Million dollar ideas can’t occur in a mind that’s in meltdown.

If you’d like to view or share the video clip of this article please visit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcpRKM7LRb4

Lyn Christian is the founder of SoulSalt, Inc., a coaching and coach training company.  She is passionate about the “free-agent” worker who wants to earn their living and live their lives by doing what inspires them.  Get more information by visiting www.soulsalt.com or contact Lyn directly through lyn@thecoachtoolkit.com.

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Recently I reported to an accountability partner on a professional project we’re completing together. In the midst of our dialogue around time management I said something that made me stop and think.

“Nothing works forever and yet I always go back to everything over and over.”

When I reflected on the meaning behind my words I realized that I do use some darn good time management tools. And since I’m a blessed with my own unique brand of Entrepreneurial ADD none of them work for longer than a 3 to 6 month period at one time. Once I grow tired of a tool I reach in and recycle a different strategy or model from my set and off I go. This self-discovered system keeps me on track and interested in staying that way as much as possible.

The tools and strategies that I use I’d be happy to share. Many are in the book The Entrepreneur’s Toolkit.  If you want more details just let me know. For now here’s an outline of the types of tools and strategies I use:

Annual Strategic Planning – setting intentions and goals for the immediate 12 month period. These are best when the tie into a 3 or 5 year strategic plan (so if you haven’t gone out and dreamed up where you want to be in 3 to 5 years, do that first). This takes me about 2 hours a year.

Weekly Planning – Take 10 minutes Sunday night or Monday morning to set out the “big projects” that you need to complete this week. Those things that take more than 15 or 30 minutes to complete  don’t go on a task list. They get a slot in your calendar with a time assigned to them.

Daily Planning – the first 2 to 3 minutes of the day is for organizing what tasks you need to complete for that day. Remember that tasks take less than 15 minutes to complete.

Cutting Through Chaos – You’ll want something for those times when chaos happens and all your best planning gets thrown out the window.  I use what I call a “Today” grid (soon to be an i-Phone app). The idea behind this strategy is to quickly prioritize what really is the most urgent path through the chaos.

These are the basics to time management. And for me, none of them work forever. I need to mix it up a bit to stay engaged in my own planning process. I’m curious about the tools and strategies you use.  If you’re up for sharing, Neil and I want to know what tools you use.

About the Author:  Lyn Christian is the founder of SoulSalt, Inc., a coaching and coach training company.  She is passionate about the “free-agent” worker who wants to earn their living and live their lives by doing what inspires them.  Get more information by visiting www.soulsalt.com or contact Lyn directly through lyn@thecoachtoolkit.com.

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by Lyn T. Christian MCC, CFCC

In our book the Entrepreneur’s Toolkit:  A Self-Coaching Guide to Small Business, Neil and I talk about the “other side of Entrepreneurship” – our personal life. None of us can completely remove what we do at work with who we are. This is where the part of me that is trained in life-coaching comes out and offers a few thoughts about what we wear to work.

Some of us wear the latest fashion, while others find ways to coordinate the old with the new to create a unique “look”. For some the most important part of our appearance is how our hair is trimmed or if our shoes shined. Others of us could care less. No matter what, I’ve observed that the contents of what shines from within will always trump what we are wearing on the outside. In my opinion, the most important part of what we wear shows up on our face and we take it into our work every day.

My favorite things to find in my own and in other people’s faces would be:

Love– is a golden thread of invincible power that can connect every human being to every other human being. We hunger for it. We need it. Humans must be cared for, wanted, and we must belong in order to reach our highest potential. Mother Teresa said, “Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.” It all starts by connecting unconditionally to self.  Loving self involves smiling at every part of you – from your excellent to your quirkiness. In kind, love progresses when we then grant this immeasurable gift to the rest of the world.

Joy – this complex attribute is the amalgam of several shades of itself:

Truth – the state of remaining true to a personal code of conduct that includes living by a set of sanity bearing, stabilizing core principles or values. Listening to the wisdom of your own heart and mind and then responding well to it is an act of personal honesty.

Courage – the freedom bearing posture of knowing what your truth is and then living it no matter what. It is also the challenging posture facing things that scare us and doing something about them anyway.

Peace – a desire to live in respectful and joint creativity with others. It is a personal -sense of quiet that comes when you are confident inside your own skin. A stillness of soul that is highly aware and emotionally smart.

And when you have all three flowing inside, you have the lightness of character called joy. Joy bubbles up and out of your eyes and face more brilliantly than any man-made object ever could.

Gratitude – How open is your mind? How soft is your heart? How many things can you say “thank you” for each day and mean it? The greater the measure you can answer to these questions, the more stunning effects gratitude has on your face.

So now you’ve heard my opinion. What do you like to see in your face and in the faces of those you work with? Neil and I would love to know.

Follow this link to view a YouTube rendition of this same concept: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0DGu6KfeHs

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Two-to-three times a month I’m approached by an entrepreneurial-minded soul who wants to start up a business.

The first question asked is typically: “What do you think my start-up costs will be?”

As a coach, I usually don’t want to start at this question. I’m still wondering more strategically and I want to ask if we have effectively clarified and verified the business concept or idea first.

However, I do understand that it can be profitable and grounding to quench this early thirst to know about how much something will costs. One of the best worksheets I’ve found comes from www.entrepreneur.com/formnet/startingabusinessforms.html .  They offer several different worksheets to help focus on key concepts.  The one I like best answers the question concerning costs, Startup Costs Worksheet.  This worksheet  can help you find your start-up costs quite quickly.

Startup costs tend to go into two categories, and there are two worksheets to correspond with those.  One sheet is for the one-time only costs.  The other is for recurring expenses.  While the categories may not exactly match what you want, they will certainly prompt your thoughts in the right directions.

While I am not an accountant, I think every entrepreneur has to know enough to ask their own intelligent questions.  Every idea carries a price tag.  Sometimes it’s about money and sometimes it’s about opportunities.   Can you translate dollars into opportunities?  You might want to ask yourself some questions to see:

• Who can I talk to about my startup costs?
• What do I need to do to avoid delays in launching and cost escalation?
• Have I checked to see if my business is marketable?
• Have I strategically crafted a company vision that allows my employees and me to fully understand the direction in which we intend to go?

One thing that we try to do in The Entrepreneur’s Toolkit is to help you find your own answers to questions like these.  They are tough answers, but you will be glad you looked for them.

About the Author:  Lyn Christian is the founder of SoulSalt, Inc., a coaching and coach training company.  She is passionate about the “free-agent” worker who wants to earn their living and live their lives by doing what inspires them.  Get more information by visiting www.soulsalt.com or contact Lyn directly through lyn@thecoachtoolkit.com.

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When we manage people we ask tons of questions. Things like: “When is this due?” “Who is responsible for reporting back?” “Is this within scope?” The list of questions goes on, and on, and on. With so many questions to ask it might be helpful to know that there is one simple adjustment in our questioning that can help us be more effective, and be more coach-like.

This adjustment discourages the use of the word “why.” “Why” seems like such a short, to the point, such a straightforward little word. However short and innocent “why” seems, “why” comes fully loaded for bear. Whenever we use the word “why,” we are placing ourselves in a stance of dominance and force. “Why,” implies judgment. “Why,” sends the brain’s flight and fright system into red alert, and the person attached to the brain with it. “Why,” just doesn’t set well with the people we are managing. It doesn’t set well when used against us either. Go ahead and start noticing how you respond when pressed to answer a question that starts with “why?”

So what is a Manager to do if “why” is suddenly placed on limited usage within your vocabulary? You could replace it with “how” or “what.” You’ll be surprised how well you can get the same basic information you need by starting your questions with these replacement words, and by avoiding “why.” The following two examples outline how this might happen during confrontational situations:

An employee is reporting back to you on several budget items. As you sit down to review the spreadsheet with him, you notice he didn’t use the standard budgeting forms required by your accountant. Instead of asking, “Why are you not using the standard forms?” you might try asking, “How would you like me to review this information? It is presented differently than required. Go ahead and guide me through this and be thinking of how you can transfer this information to the standard form for our next meeting.”

One of your key employees has just challenged your comments during a meeting. As you are walking out of the meeting afterward you decide to deal with the situation immediately. Instead of asking her “Why did you say that?” you could ask, “What did you want me to hear when you challenged my ideas back in the meeting?”

The negative impact of using “why” and the empowerment of using “how” and “what” questions is best demonstrated when you actually adjust your own conversations. As a Coach, I challenge you to fine tune your vocabulary by replacing as many “why” questions as you can with “how” and “what” questions for one day. I challenge you to feel the difference and realize how much more effective you can be by reducing the use of “why.”

In summary, “why” questions often sound accusatory and “how” or “what” questions tend to keep the dialogue open for deeper reflection and calculation. When you manage, do you want accusations to shut down your teams or deeper thinking to open up potential? Now that you know about “how” and “what,” what do you want to about it?

About the Author:  Lyn Christian is the founder of SoulSalt, Inc., a coaching and coach training company.  She is passionate about the “free-agent” worker who wants to earn their living and live their lives by doing what inspires them.  Get more information by visiting www.soulsalt.com or contact Lyn directly through lyn@thecoachtoolkit.com.

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As a coach I have been entrusted with the rewarding experience of sitting on the sideline supporting people who want growth. Every single encounter where this growth occurs, there is one consistent outcome – the client always, always increases their personal level of healthy self-confidence.

Increased confidence is only one of the outcomes; however, it is a critically important one because we live in a world where everything we know is in flux. Earth is increasingly a place of groundlessness. People who have appropriate self-confidence basically have a resilience in a time when power comes from confidence in your own best judgment.

There are many tools, strategies and exercises that we use in coaching that assist in increasing an individual’s confidence. Here is a short list that you might be able to self-coach.

• Stretch yourself. Do something that is just beyond your reach. Push to do something feasible yet something that requires you to push your own envelope.
• Recognize and name your assets. To be more specific, learn your strengths and then learn how manage your life using these as the levers for lift.
• Be willing to be your own best friend. Give yourself the support you want, need and deserve – the support you might be more willing to give to someone else other than yourself. Take assertive action against any inner dialogue that cuts you off at the knees.
• Give from generosity. Give with no strings attached and anonymously. No one may know where the gift originates, but everyone benefits from the pure energy of the interaction. This type of loving gesture heals every soul (and yours, in particular) because the action is charged with nothing but positive action.
• Lead your life from your core values and your principles.

So here is your self-coaching challenge: pick one of these elements and work on it for seven days…see the difference and the growth for yourself!

About the Author:  Lyn Christian MCC, CFCC, is the founder of SoulSalt, Inc., a coaching and coach training company.  She is passionate about the “free-agent” worker who wants to earn their living and live their lives by doing what inspires them.  Get more information by visiting www.soulsalt.com or contact Lyn directly through lyn@thecoachtoolkit.com.

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Since January is half gone, I was curious how the resolutions were going.  Most of us have accidentally or deliberately shelved at least one resolution.  Without constant vigilance, new habits are hard to create and maintain.

To maintain movement towards a goal, one of the best tools I’ve found comes from the Marshall Goldsmith Coach Training.   Frank Wagner and Chris Coffey were the master trainers for my initial immersion in the Goldsmith behavioral coaching method.  While I have used various approaches from the training with most clients, there is one key piece that I use with virtually all of my coaching clients.  The After Action Assessment is designed to allow a detailed reflective assessment of goal oriented activities.  It is a great tool to periodically use to help assess progress, get past mental blocks, and refine future activities. There are four steps:

1. What did you set out to do?  While this should be a quick restatement of the action oriented SMART goal, for some people there is a big WAKE-UP moment when they restate their goal.  I have had clients discover that their original planning:

• Was too general
• Was not what they really wanted
• Was not the right set of activities for the goal.

2. What happened?  This is best done at a rapid pace.  Focus is on the activities and initial results.  Objectivity is a key.

3.  Why did it happen?  This is the biggie.  Tease out the underlying reasons—the cause and effect.  Just keep asking “why did that happen?” until there are no more answers.  Above all, take your time to coax out more than an off-the-cuff answer for yourself.

4.  What will you do next time?  Here is your opportunity to articulate your changes?  Are you happy with your progress?  What can you change to achieve your resolution quicker, cheaper, or better?  Don’t settle for the cheap, “now that I know I won’t do that again.”  What will you do differently?

The After Action Assessment is a great tool to use on your resolutions.  Set an appointment with yourself to use the tool regularly and you will find your resolution is more than a New Year’s wish.

What do you do to keep your resolutions whole?  We’d love to have you share your methods.

About the Author: Neil Phillips is a founding partner of Team Connections and Director of the DSWA Coach Excellence program.  Get more from Neil on his Direct Selling Notebook , the DSWA Coaching Center and Twitter.

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When the resolutions are done, what comes next?  What have you set as goals for yourself?  It’s easy to set goals for a business.  The business is “out there” and you can detach enough from it to create business goals and action plans.  You know that without some concrete steps, your wishes for the business will stay as wishes and not results.

Your resolutions are just wishes if you don’t set goals.  You know how to set SMART goals for your business.  Set SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) goals for yourself.  If you’ve not set SMART goals for yourself, send a quick email to neil@thecoachtoolkit.com and I’ll send you a one page worksheet I use with several coaching clients.  Change your resolutions to SMART goals.  That will let you know how well you are doing at staying on track. 

You Can’t Trust Yourself.  Accountability is a great word for what is often missing.  A useful synonym is “answerability.”  When we set personal goals we are answerable, responsible, liable, and get the eventual credit/blame.  The problem is that we are terrible accountability partners.  We find ways to rationalize our behaviors to allow a little cheating.  We think our way through to forgiving ourselves for giving in because we can always make it up later.  One of the most important things that a coach can do is to hold you accountable.  While you don’t need a coach, you do need an accountability partner. Don’t trust yourself.  Find someone to periodically check on your progress.  You are still accountable for the goal, but when you talk with another person, rationalizations start to sound a little silly when they come out of your mouth.

Celebrate Your Successes. If your resolutions become meaningful goals, they are not something easy.  Changing your resolutions to SMART goals give you some opportunities to celebrate the small successes along the way.  Lock in your wins so you will do them again.  Taking some time to celebrate your successes also lets you correct your course.  You are responsible for achieving the goal.  Let your methods change as you learn along the way.

What do you do to make your resolutions into real activities?

About the Author: Neil Phillips is a founding partner of Team Connections and Director of the DSWA Coach Excellence program.  Get more from Neil on his Direct Selling Notebook , the DSWA Coaching Center and Twitter.

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