I was Skypin’ the other day with a friend of mine and she said, “I want to hire you – hire you to do my email and just give me the stuff that is important.”

The conversation went a little like this:

Me:  What is wrong with your email?  I mean, why does it bother you so much?

Friend:  I open it and get sucked in…responding to the new emails and putting out mini-fires.  Next thing I know half my day is gone and I haven’t even gotten to my projects.

Me:  Well, why do you open it?

Friend:  Because I keep the stuff I need to get done right there in my Inbox.

Me:  Why do you have to open the new stuff?  Why can’t you just go straight to the stuff that needs to be done?

Friend:  Because I’m curious and don’t want people to think I’m not taking care of them.

Me:  You’d be taking care of them eventually, right?

Friend:  Well, sure!  I can’t have new mail sitting there though because I want to know what it is.

Me:  So, what if it wasn’t new?  I mean, what if when you opened it there wasn’t new mail there – just your stuff to do.

Friend:  Yeah, that’s why I want you!

I love friends!  They just know I’m a Virtual Assistant and that I fix stuff, so they want me to fix stuff for them.  That is easy work, right?  I don’t like to just fix stuff up and give it back.  If there is a way I can help fix something long-term then I’d much rather do that.

To me this email problem seemed like a no-brainer.  When you are stuck you can only see the obstacle though.  It is hard to see the no-brainer someone else can easily see from the outside.

I could tell there were two things bothering my friend: the bold number in parenthesis next to the word Inbox and she didn’t want to let anyone down.

I suggested she set up a new folder like Incoming or something that made sense to her.  Then, set up a rule to mark any incoming email as read and transfer it to her new folder.  That way, when she opened her email at the beginning of her day she wouldn’t have 10 things to do and 35 new emails to look at…the only emails to be seen were the 10 things to do!

This really only solved one of the issues.  She needed to feel like she took care of those folk who were reaching out to her.  I suggested she pick a time that was comfortable for her depending on what time she normally started her day, commit to herself she wasn’t going to look at her new “Inbox” until that time and set a reminder to keep her on track.

Her time of choice was noon and she thought most people wouldn’t be freaking out if they didn’t hear from her by then anyway.  In addition she set reminders at four and eight to keep her in the right mindset the entire day.  My friend also decided she would start managing expectations with new clients regarding how quickly she would respond to them.

That Skype conversation was on Tuesday.  When I checked in on Friday she was on course and happy with the way things were going.  Yah for my friend!

Let’s talk about your obstacle.  What can I help you with that is a long-term fix?  If I can’t make a good suggestion then I bet I know someone who can or one of the readers could have an amazing idea for you.  You’ll never know if you don’t share your trouble!

Nibbling away -

Sundi

I *finally* finished 9 Lies That Are Holding Your Business Back…and the TRUTH That Will Set It Free by Steve Chandler and Sam Beckford.  I’ve already decided to read it again.  I read it with my book club and it has taken us months to get through.  If I read as we go along I miss the big picture.  If I read ahead I only vaguely recall some details.  So, I’ve decided to read everything twice.

“That is absolutely silly!” you say.  It may seem like it to someone who has never been in a book club like ours!  We are all in the same industry so the discussions get pretty deep when it comes to the hows, whys and ways to make something work for each of us.

Chapter 9, which I finished on New Year’s Day, is titled I Am a Victim of Circumstance and it proves the case that we make the circumstance we are a victim of regardless of it being good or bad.  The section which really hit home for me was Time Management is Ownership – maybe it was because I was reading it on New Year’s Day, which is naturally a time to reflect on ways to do things better.  The author suggests using two of four motivational quotes to enact positive change on the ownership of your time.

Call me a dud but I picked only one.  It speaks so strongly to me and it is something I struggle with regularly.  There are things I want to do and I don’t – which makes me the victim.  Knowing this – acknowledging it – makes me crazy.  I can’t stand the victim mentality and I intentionally avoid people who have it.  So, wait a second.  I want to share the quote:

“You never ‘find’ time for anything, if you want time you must make it.” 
-Charles Buxton

That stack of books I want to read.
Those ten blog posts I have on my list.
The training I want to attend.
A local networking event I want to check out.
The newsletter that was at the top of my list last year.

All those things I want to do and I never find the time to actually DO them.  Gee, now I think I get it.  Nobody can do them but me.  What good does it do me to have someone else read the books or attend training for me?  I might have the titles written down yet those posts are still in my head.  Is there someone out there who can market my company at an event better than me?  Now the newsletter……..

Here are the other three quotes:

“Start by doing what is necessary, then what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”  -St. Francis of Assisi

“Learn to use ten minutes intelligently. It will pay you huge dividends.”  -William A. Irwin

“You have more to do than you can possibly do. You just need to feel good about your choices.” 
-David Allen

If you were to choose one to start your New Year out right which one would it be and why?

Nibbling away -

Sundi