The Virtual Office Source

There comes a time in every business when what has been working well is no longer enough. In fact, if you your business is changing…growing…evolving, it’s pretty much a given that you are constantly on the lookout for new and innovative ways to keep it alive and thriving.

Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. It can seem a little scary, and even risky, to try something you’ve never tried before; but it can be exciting and fun too. I’m not advocating acting irrationally. On the contrary, think it through–consider the pros and cons–try to imagine the worst case and best case scenario. The worst case scenario should be something you can live with if it comes to that. But, don’t be afraid to venture out and experiment.

Start small if that feels more comfortable. There is still the risk it might not work, but at least if it fails, it will be a smaller setback, and a lesson learned. The important thing is, try something! If you sit back and do nothing to affect change, guess what’s likely to happen–NOTHING!

It has been is an incredibly cold and snowy winter so far! Even though I live on a mountain near a ski resort, winter is not my season. Therefore, it’s a good time for me to stay in and get things organized.

I’ve gone through my file drawers, cabinets and storage closets. I’ve shredded, thrown out, arranged and rearranged. I still have some things to get put into notebooks, as well as some bookkeeping to bring up to date. Once that is done, I’ll be in pretty good shape.

It will feel so good start out the new year with things in order. I hope you’ll take the time to do the same; I think you’ll find that you’ll be more productive if you do.

Do you have balance in your business? What doea that mean? To explain that, I’d like to put it in a slightly different context. In order to have balance in your business, you need to have balance in your life.

We’re all hearing more and more about mind, body, spirit balance. If you meditate regularly, you know what this means. You realize how it all comes together. For example, when you are out of balance your body reacts to stress and tension, your mind is cluttered with so many thoughts you can’t begin to sort them all out. You’re having headaches, back pain, or possibly more serious health conditions. You’ve totally lost touch with your Higher Power. Getting back to daily meditation can right all of these things in a short amount of time, almost instantly sometimes.

It’s the same with your business. To be the most productive, you need to  balance all the parts of your business. Perhaps you’re the best with customer service. Your customers all love you and enjoy interacting with you, but your finances are in trouble because you haven’t paid attention to them. Or you don’t have new products to sell because you’re focus has been on customer service.

What I’ve found to be true in my own life is that when I am balanced personally, in mind, body and spirit, it makes it much easier to balance other areas of my life. It all starts with ME.

If you are well balanced personally, and continue to exercise control over that, but still can’t get a handle on all the parts of your business, that’s not all bad. It probably means that business is booming, and maybe you need someone to help you manage it all. That’s where people like myself, and Online Business Manager (OBM), or a Virtual Assistant (VA) or two can help you get and keep it under control. Anyone in an OBM role will also help you brainstorm ways to work more efficiently, effectively and productively.

Most importantly, get your personal selff balanced. Everything else hinges on that. Then, decide what your next steps should be.

How do you turn a frantic, out-of-control week into a calm, together week before it’s too late to make a difference anyway?

My week started out frantic and behind before it even got going good. Oh, I had a good plan in place for the week. It was going to be a very productive week. Then…

…being the Disaster Coordinator for my local Red Cross chapter, I was called to respond to an apartment fire at about 12:30 Monday morning. I managed to get a couple of hours sleep before spending the better part of the day Monday at the Chapter office dealing with the aftermath of people who were not allowed to return to their apartment. Needless to say, Monday (and subsequently Tuesday) nights were devoted to catching up on much needed sleep.

Now it’s Wednesday. I’ve gotten very little work done this week, and I have to figure out a way to get a handle on my week. What would you do?
Well, here’s what I did—having finally gotten rested, I woke up early and did my usual meditation & yoga for the first time this week. I like this to be my usual morning routine because it starts my day off just right. This was what I needed to regain my focus and get back on track. It’s still early in the day, but I have no doubt that I’ll have everything in order that I need to by the end of the day. The trick is to work smart—efficiently. This is something I’m normally very good at, when I don’t have curve balls thrown at me, like I did this week.

The important lesson here is that—well—life happens! We need to be flexible and open to options for dealing with it when it does. After all, it’s not the end of the world; just a little bump along the journey.

I hope you’re week is going along just perfectly; but if it’s not, take a half-hour meditation break. Trust me, it will make a difference!