Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - July 27th

 

To be successful, you have to be able to relate to people; they have to be satisfied with your personality to be able to do business with you and to build a relationship with mutual trust. - George Ross

Networking is an enrichment program, not an entitlement program. -- Susan RoAne

It occurs to me that our survival may depend upon our talking to one another.― Dan Simmons, Hyperion

Over the last year and half, we have learned how important interaction with other human beings is.  As we begin interacting with people in social and professional settings again, it is important that we are prepared.  Recently, the author was messaging with a friend online at work and the author made the comment that she was starting to push herself to get out of her apartment more and start interacting with people.  Her friend responded that she had recently gone to a party and her socializing skills were lacking and she needed to work on them.  Like every other part of life, any skill that we do not use regularly becomes rusty.  To help break the ice and be prepared for socializing, preparing questions can be beneficial.  To prepare for social interactions, here are some quick, easy steps:

 

•        Think about the event/activity that will be attended.  Will the reader be meeting new people or will the event/activity be with people the reader already knows?
•        What is the event?  Is this a social event or a business matter?
•        What is the topic?  Is there research that the reader should do before attending the event?  Quick research provides background and something to discuss with other attendees.
•        For social events with friends, think about fun things done while in lockdown or even this summer. 

Simple preparation for attending social events will help overcome fear and reduce awkward quiet times of trying to find things to discuss. 

 

ACTION: This week, come up with easy steps to complete each time you will be going to a social interaction.  It does not have to take a lot of time, but the preparation will help the event go smoother.  

 

Resources

This is the All Important Question - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-is-the-all-important-question/id1449270369?i=1000528218006

Clearer Thinking - https://www.clearerthinking.org/

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=231871741367991

https://www.success.com/too-busy-for-relationships/

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - July 20th

 The power to question is the basis of all human progress. – Indira Gandhi

By doubting we are led to question, by questioning we arrive at the truth. - Peter Abelard

The author read the following quote recently and took time to contemplate how she uses questions:

 

Effective questioning brings insight, which fuels curiosity, which cultivates wisdom. – Chip Bell

 

Dreamers and goal-achievers can ask questions to unlock the door to new ideas, experiences, adventures, etc.  Asking questions can also solve problems.  By asking questions, we learn from other people’s experiences and implement ideas to help move us along on our journey faster by learning from others.  The most important thing to know about questions is that they have to be asked.  Never be afraid to ask a question. 

 

The only stupid question is the question that is never asked. ― Ramon Bautista, Bakit Hindi Ka Crush ng Crush Mo?

 

To use questions as a learning tool, the questions should be open-ended and include one of “The 5Ws”: who, what, where, when and why.  In Darren Hardy’s podcast titled “Two Tricks to Asking Better Questions”, he states that questions should be open-ended with an emphasis on how.  Second, asking follow up questions brings clarification, produces more knowledge and provides the opportunity to dive deeper into an answer helping the reader learn more. 

 

ACTION:  Take time this week to listen to the questions you ask.  Do they allow for people to talk or do they close the conversation down by not allowing the individual to speak?  Learn from your analysis and tweak the way you ask questions to help increase your knowledge. 

 

Resources

Two Tricks to Asking Better Questions – Darren Hardy - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-tricks-to-asking-better-questions/id1449270369?i=1000526718036

This is the All Important Question - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-is-the-all-important-question/id1449270369?i=1000528218006

Clearer Thinking - https://www.clearerthinking.org/

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=231871741367991

https://michaelmcqueen.net/blog/3-keys-to-asking-better-questions

https://serveleadnow.com/15-great-quotes-about-questioning/

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - July 13th

 I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones. - John Cage

 Life is full of risks anyway; why not take them? - Lindsay Lohan

How much is the reader’s time worth?  As the author contemplated the time value of money, she searched the web and found a calculator that took many different factors into account.  However for this scenario, let’s make it simple.  Take the reader’s current salary and divide by 52 weeks and then divide by 40.  This will give a rough estimate of how much the reader makes per hour.  Hold that dollar figure and we will get back to it!

Recently, the author’s coffee pot broke and she decided not to replace it.  Instead, the author took coffee filters and placed coffee grounds in it and then placed a rubber band around the coffee filter to close it.  For planning purposes, she did this in the evening and in the morning, she would place water and the coffee filter in her coffee carafe, heat it and let it “brew” while she worked out in the gym.  Returning from the gym, she would heat the coffee again in the microwave.  Ingenious way to make coffee; however, think about the steps and the time the author spent preparing the coffee.  Was this the best use of her time?  That was the question Mama Flow asked when she came to visit in July.  When the question was posed to the author, she analyzed her process.  Thinking about the various articles she had read by Rory Vaden and his principle of procrastinating on purpose, she determined it was not the best use of her time and took Mama Flow’s advice and purchased a new coffee maker. 

Why did the author talk about the time value of money and how she made coffee?  The author was spending her time with extra steps to make her coffee based on the process she developed instead of purchasing a new coffee maker.  The author took the estimated amount of money she makes per hour and multiplied it by the time she spent making coffee.  She soon realized it was more beneficial and cost effective to purchase a new coffee pot.  By making the decision to purchase a new coffee maker, she makes money by having that time to work on other tasks or studying to work towards accomplishing her dreams.  Additionally, the coffee taste better providing more enjoyment in life to the author!

Asking "Why?" can lead to understanding.  Asking "Why not?" can lead to breakthroughs. - Daniel H. Pink

 

ACTION:  Why do you do what you do?  Is it because it is the way you have always done it?  Is it to save money?  Take time this week to analyze everything to determine if the actions and processes you are using are beneficial and helping to move you closer to your dreams.  Darren Hardy discusses another story about “why” we do things in his podcast titled “This is the All Important Question” listed in the resources below.

 

Resources

This is the All Important Question - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-is-the-all-important-question/id1449270369?i=1000528218006

Clearer Thinking - https://www.clearerthinking.org/

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - July 6th

 But when I focus on multiplying my time, everything changes.  My horizon is expanded and my intention shifts to beyond just today.  As I start to make considerations of Significance, I start paying more attention to how spending my time today will affect tomorrow. (Procrastinate on Purpose - Rory Vaden - p. 50)

 

For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned. - Benjamin Franklin

In Procrastinate on Purpose. 5 Permissions to Multiply Your Time, Rory Vaden discusses that there are certain tasks that we spend time on regularly that we could spend extra time on now to provide more time in the long run to work on dreams and goals.  One of those is technology.  Society uses it in so many facets of life today.  Certain aspects can definitely make life easier including automation, which the author found to be a true time saver. 

Why is automation beneficial?  How many hours a week does the reader spend on paying bills, purchasing items online, etc.?  For the author, she spends time each month paying her bills including her rent, electricity, internet, transferring funds for savings, etc.  Due to some issue with setting up bill pay for a couple months, she spent more time on the front end.  However, she knows that by having bill pay established, she will have more time to do other activities and peace of mind knowing she will not have to be concerned about paying these bills or late fees.

Vaden says that there are many tasks that can be automated.  For example, he discussed bill pay, backing up computer files, social media management, online learning, etc. 

Automation is driving the decline of banal and repetitive tasks. -  Amber Rudd

ACTION: What can you automate this week to save you time and use those minutes to make an impact somewhere else?

 

 

Resources

• https://www.planplusonline.com/minute-spend-planning-saves-ten-minutes-execution/
• http://crossbridgediscipleshipschool.weebly.com/uploads/7/8/2/3/78234118/tyranny_of_the_urgent.pdf
• https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=roy+vaden+ted+talk&docid=608023298824688536&mid=B513A02D71FBE0D817B3B513A02D71FBE0D817B3&view=detail&FORM=VIRE
• https://www.eisenhower.me/eisenhower-matrix/
• https://toggl.com/blog/tyranny-of-the-urgent#:~:text=The%20term%20%E2%80%9Ctyranny%20of%20the%20urgent%E2%80%9D%20was%20first,life%20take%20a%20backseat%20to%20the%20urgent%20ones.
• https://productivephysician.com/procrastinate-on-purpose/#Significance
• Vaden, Rory. (2015).  Procrastinate on Purpose. 5 Permissions to Multiply Your Time.  Penguin Random House.
• https://johnmaxwellteam.com/2021-winning/?c=jmax-em-np-bo&jmtc=mwm-word&jmta=mwm-word-cta/
• http://www.jerryachadwick.com/article_18.pdf
• https://www.teamnationalusa.com/Who-we-are/Blog/post/can-you-jig-it
• https://littlechoicesmatter.com/sunday-planner-printable-and-fillable-pdf/
• https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-uber-successfuls-guide-to-faster-better-easier/id1449270369?i=1000524935400 
• https://impossiblehq.com/pomodoro-technique/
• https://www.askdifference.com/process-vs-routine/
• https://www.success.com/the-success-line-episode-02-putting-process-before-results-with-stacie/
• https://quickbooost.com/parkinsons-law/
• https://impossiblehq.com/parkinsons-law/
• https://www.lifehack.org/articles/featured/how-to-use-parkinsons-law-to-your-advantage.html#:~:text=How%20to%20Use%20Parkinson%E2%80%99s%20Law%20to%20Get%20More,...%204%20More%20Tips%20on%20Being%20Productive.%20
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson's_law