productivity tips Archives - Excellerate Associates

Your Wiring and How You Set Up Your Business Systems Are Deeply Connected

September 15, 2016 by Lisa Mininni Leave a Comment

Are interruptions at work maddening? Not only are interruptions maddening but down right unproductive. Some researchers indicate that it takes you over 23 minutes to get back to where you left off.

Depending on your biological wiring, you may get easily distracted because you innately and immediately respond to your environment. For some people, interruptions can decrease your productivity 40% or more.

Your hardwiring is biological and drives you in business. Your hardwiring and how you set up your business systems are deeply connected. When you create and use the systems in alignment with how you naturally execute and respond, you create maximum efficiencies in your work environment.

One of my clients was running from one meeting to the next. After each meeting, she became increasingly frustrated at the new list of tasks added to her already growing list.

It wasn’t long before she was overwhelmed. She is naturally wired to need a lightly structured, but sequential work environment.

The first step in solving her problem was for her to hire an assistant who could follow through on multiple tasks. Most importantly, she hired an assistant who was naturally wired with a high degree of certainty who could follow through on the numerous list of tasks and transactions with a high degree of detail, which the job entailed.

The second step for her was to lock in time for tasks she personally needed to complete. She had a tendency to keep all of her tasks in her head keeping her in overwhelm. Instead, she identified specific timeframes each week for follow up calls and set an appointment on her calendar to follow up. The calendar reminders would prompt her to help her keep on task.

She discovered by placing time in her calendar for her projects, she didn’t have to rely on an already overloaded mental list. In the end, she more than doubled her profits in less than 12 months.

Productivity: Clever Tips to Keep You and Your Team Laser Focused

August 27, 2015 by Lisa Mininni Leave a Comment

Do interruptions have you sidetracked?

At some point, it happens to everyone in business. You feel like a squirrel reacting to the latest interruption keeping you and your employees off their game.

With widely popular open-floor plans, it’s more challenging than ever to stay focused especially with noisy co-workers and limited privacy. If you have a virtual staff, then phone calls might be your nemesis.

If you’re reacting to each and every interruption or hear from your employees about how they are interrupted by too much office chit chat, then I have a quick tip that works like a charm.

Each day, have everyone on your team outline the 1-3 priorities they need to complete and post it on their door or cube. Be aware not to post any project of a confidential nature.

When your employees visit someone’s work area, the priority list serves as a gentle reminder to the team member to think twice before interrupting.

Consider pairing this priority process with specific blocks of time – from 9 – 11 am on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, for example – where interruptions aren’t allowed unless they’re for emergencies. As a team, you may also want to identify what constitutes an emergency.

These simple shifts in the way you work increase productivity and employee engagement. It also curbs cube chit chat, reminds the team of the priorities of the day, and will ultimately improve your profitability.

Business Traveler Tips

May 7, 2015 by Lisa Mininni Leave a Comment

If you travel for business, you probably notice that the airline hubs are more crowded and airplane leg room is tighter. Staying comfortable during travel can be a challenge for most business professionals.

After returning from my trip to Hawaii for my 2015 Wake Up Profitable Boot Camp, there were three important tips that made a real difference in my experience. They also affected my alertness, productivity and shortened my recovery time.

What are these traveler tips?

First, stay hydrated. Regular water may not be enough so you may want to supplement it with a product that replenishes your electrolytes, like Pedialyte. I also drank Pedialyte during my conference to prevent further dehydration. Mineral water or squeezing lemon juice in your water can also be a helpful solution to staying hydrated. Lemons contain Vitamin C for keeping your immune system strong, promotes cleansing, and is usually available on most flights.

Second, pack your ear plugs. You would be amazed at what a significant difference a simple pair of ear plugs makes to your flight experience. You can pick up a box at your neighborhood pharmacy or convenience store. While earplugs don’t prevent your ears from popping from the altitude changes, I found myself more alert even after a day of flying and a six-hour time zone change.

Third, remember your neck roll. If you have an early-morning or extended flight, you might want to take a nap. Inflatable neck rolls fit comfortably in your computer bag or purse. I had forgotten mine and the pillows that airlines distribute just don’t provide the necessary neck support.

The next time you travel, remember these value-added tips to arrive refreshed and ready to serve your clients at the highest level.

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P.S. You may have wanted to join us for the Wake Up Profitable Boot Camp in Hawaii; and, you just couldn’t make it.

Well, this is your opportunity to tap into the same transformative information that I shared in a handy self-study version sent directly to you.

You’ll learn the same strategies and tactics and discover how Alumni of this program have:

Increased their productivity by 40%
Increased their sales by 90% in 30 days
Aligned their team for maximum profitability

What’s even better?

You get started now AND receive a bonus ticket to the 2016 Wake Up Profitable Boot Camp for Business Owners in Michigan) by clicking here to register.

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Click here to get started now.

I look forward to working with you!

How to Solve Your Biggest Problems with Your Business Meetings – Part 1

February 12, 2015 by Lisa Mininni Leave a Comment

Did you know that approximately 37 percent of a business professional’s time is spent in meetings? That’s almost three hours each day spent in meetings.

There are a variety of reasons for meetings, like brainstorming, selling, negotiating, informing and strategizing. With technology, they can now take place in person, by phone, and by the web.

There is a fine balance to creating productive meetings. If not managed, meetings can eat away at your productivity and profitability. Running a meeting efficiently is a skill every business owner must master.

Many of my Excellerate Success Institute students discover quickly how meetings can become more effective regardless if they are impromptu or planned. In some cases, it’s easy as making a few simple adjustments to your approach.

The Starting Place

The easiest place to start is with meetings that occur monthly. When you set a consistent day of the month, it’s easier for your team or clients to work around the date.

When we launched the first Profitability Lab Group, we set the last Monday of each month. Each member then uses the recurring feature in their calendar to block this time.

With this process in place, the meeting is only changed by exception rather than taking time out of each meeting to find a date that works. It will also increase your assistant’s time because he or she doesn’t have to try to find a date that works. Use this same technique with your clients to also set up greater efficiencies in working together.

Start with systematizing your monthly meetings and watch how much easier it is to make your business meetings work for you.

Ready to increase your productivity and profitability?

Join us at the annual Wake Up Profitable Boot Camp for Business Owners – April 28-29, 2015 in Hawaii.

Click here to learn more

How to Boost Your Productivity

January 22, 2015 by Lisa Mininni Leave a Comment

Have you ever wondered why you perform better with some work activities and yet procrastinate on others?

When your business is rapidly growing, it can be challenging to keep yourself and even your team consistently motivated. Generic organizing techniques might work for a while, but they are often ineffective in the long run.

To get back on track, I recommend my clients look at their natural wiring. Your natural wiring tells you the environment in which you best thrive. When you know your most productive environment and how you stay engaged in decision making enables you to be productive and focus on the very things that make your business profitable.

For example, one of my clients has a growing practice. By the sheer volume of the business, this created stress. This stress amplifies his wiring.

By his nature, he is an outgoing, communicative person. He will naturally gravitate toward those social interactions. However, secondarily needs a sequential work environment.

At the end of the day, he wondered where the time went without getting some of the more revenue-generating activities complete. Every day, he would talk about what he wanted to get done.
However, without a sequential structure to his work, he would get sidetracked. What was missing was the sequence in his work.

For his wiring, we mapped out a week, involving sequentially clustering and grouping certain work functions, like placing all of his client work or marketing on certain days. This sequential work environment gave him access to new levels of productivity that worked for him.

The key is to understand your own wiring so that you customize your work environment for maximum productivity.

To learn more about your natural wiring, join us for the upcoming:

Profitability Lab: Introduction ONLINE version on January 29 or

The live 1/2 day event on February 17, 2015

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