Contents:
1. A Note From Shawn
2. Quote of the Week
3. Article: 5 Ways to Make Your Busiest Days Flow Smoothly
4. This Week’s Simplification Tip
5. In the News & On the Web
6. Featured at ProjectSimplify.com
7. Keep Your Chin Up
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1. A Note From Shawn
Hello, and welcome to the first issue of The Weekly Simplifier!
I have a dream that everybody contributes to the betterment of the world by doing what they love to do. Often this comes down to supporting, encouraging and inspiring each other to grow and overcome challenges. While I have been inspired by the heros that will forever grace our memories and history books, I am also greatly inspired by “each and every tree that makes up the forest” (so to speak).
My area of the forest is helping small businesses and the self-employed. I want your perspective in running your business to be one of ease—all of your admin and operating challenges solved. My intention with The Weekly Simplifier is to help you “Let it be Easy!”
If you have any questions for me, or suggestions for this newsletter, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at shawn@projectsimplify.com, or by phone at 530-205-5775.
2. Quote of the Week
“A little simplification would be the first step toward rational living, I think.”
-Eleanor Roosevelt
3. Article: 5 Ways to Make Your Busiest Days Flow Smoothly
by Shawn Tuttle
Business is up and you are busy! Here are 5 tips to keep you on top of the game when your schedule is packed full of appointments.
1. Decide what you are going to wear the night before.
Yup, this is for men and women. Before going to bed, take a look at your schedule for the next day. Review your appointments, decide which requires the most attention to your clothes, and dress for that one–better to be over, rather than under, dressed for the rest of your appointments.
Ask yourself: What is the best outfit for this appointment? Is everything clean? Looking sharp and fresh? Shoes clean?
2. Be physically prepared for the day.
Get a good night’s sleep. You know how long your morning routine takes—wake up early enough to comfortably allow for that routine. Enjoy a few moments of quality time with loved ones—a significant other, child, pet, or favorite plant. Rooting your day in a positive heart space helps keep your priorities present throughout the day.
3. Check that you have contact names & phone numbers, meeting locations & directions for each appointment the night before.
All these details should be in your palm pilot or planner. (Do you have the most current info?) Do you have necessary maps? Are directions clear? Figure how long it should take to get there, then add extra time (see tip #4.) Is your palm pilot synced? While you are at it, pack your bag with all necessary files or notes that you will need.
4. Plan on arriving at each appointment 5-10 minutes early.
Why hustle frantically into an appointment when you can walk in calmly and confidently? Arriving early allows for unexpected travel slow-downs, a trip to the restroom, or time for a few big picture thoughts about the meeting to come.
This also applies to phone appointments at your home office. Use these extra pre-meeting moments to take a deep breath, check-in, and set your goals for the upcoming conversation. Pick up the phone with a smile.
5. Schedule post-meeting time after each appointment.
Harvest “to do” items, next-steps, and projects from your notes and memory during post-meeting time. This allows you to move on to the next item in your schedule with the peace of mind that comes from completion.
This one is incredibly powerful because you are releasing your mind from “storage” responsibilities. Using your head for information storage is one of the primary culprits of an overwhelmed headspace. Once your head is released from storage duties, you free it up for planning, spontaneous idea development, problem solving, and creativity.
Don’t let your busiest days drag you along for the ride. A little preparation goes a long way in keeping you in charge. Let your day be smooth. Let it be easy!
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Shawn Tuttle is founder of Project Simplify.
4. This Week’s Simplification Tip
Taking on too much? Sleep on it before agreeing to new commitments!
When someone asks you to take on a new commitment or responsibility, get all the details from them and then tell them you will think about it for a day or two and get back to them. Once the excitement of new-adventure and flattery has worn off, review all of your current roles and priorities, listen to your instincts, and only then determine whether to accept or not.
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(Of course, keep in mind that if you have taken on too much, you can call Project Simplify, and we’ll help you unload!)
5. In the News & On the Web
(In this section, we will highlight sites and pages of interest from around the Web, as well as news stories that relate to simplicity, time management, and organization when we see them. If you know of something in the news or on the web that should be featured here, let us know!)
This week, we highlight three weblogs (or “blogs”) which focus on organization, effective thinking, and smart business:
43 Folders
43 Folders is a blog written by Merlin Mann, and it has quickly become a must-read for our Head Simplifier Shawn Tuttle. Merlin is focused on improving personal productivity, saving time, and finding easier ways to do things, and at 43 Folders he shares excellent pointers on a regular basis.
How To Save The World
How To Save The World is, despite its name, less about spreading peace and joy across the planet, and more about smart thinking and excellent analysis of how things work (in business, in the world, and inside our heads). If you’ve ever worried that you might not be able to figure everything out that you might need to know, worry no more: Dave Pollard is doing it for you, and posting it all on his superb blog.
BusinessWorks Inc
Harish Keshwani writes the BusinessWorks Inc blog– and we’ll let Forbes‘ Best of Web give you the lowdown: “BusinessWorks Blog is a must read for any would-be entrepreneur unaware of the painstaking process of building a business.”
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6. Featured at ProjectSimplify.com
Since this is the first issue of our newsletter, we’re using this section to give you a short overview of the main areas of the Project Simplify website. In the future, we’ll use this space to highlight specific items, such as the various features and tools that are spread around the site, or new and old entries that are worth checking out.
The site is currently divided into three main sections: the business section, the blog entries, and the image galleries.
Business section
The business section of our site contains the main information about Project Simplify, the company.
These pages can be found under the “Main Menu” heading in the sidebar of our site. They include information about Project Simplify, and about our founder, Shawn Tuttle; descriptions of our products and how to hire Project Simplify; contact information, our Press Room, and testimonials from clients and colleagues.
Blog entries
The blog entries are our personal connection to our website visitors; they also function as the publishing section of the site, where articles and other created works are featured and filed.
The main categories of blog entries are listed under the “Blog Sections” heading in the site’s sidebar. There are over 100 entries so far! Two of the sections (”Tips, Tricks, and Ideas”, and “Recommendations”) are broken up into smaller sections - you can see them by clicking on the main section’s name. (The “expandable” sections are indicated by a “+/-” symbol after the name.)
The blog entries consist of a steady stream of new ideas, tools, links, and other things that we think our customers and site visitors might find useful or informative. New entries are added several times every week; the most recent entries can always be found on our home page. Most of the entries allow for our readers to post comments, or start a conversation on the site about something that’s brought up in one of our posts.
Image galleries
The image galleries are the newest area of our site; they will feature various collections of images and photos which relate to Project Simplify’s mission.
You can reach them a few different ways. A link to the main gallery area is under the “Site Extras” section in the sidebar (click “more+/-” to expand that section), titled “Our Image Galleries”. A link to our most-developed gallery so far (the Simplicity In Nature photo gallery) is listed under Special Features in the sidebar. And, if you click on a “Random Gallery Image” in the sidebar, you will be taken to that image’s main page, within the gallery it’s stored in.
Besides the Simplicity In Nature photos, we have two other galleries, both of which are still in the early stages. The “Simplicity Is…” Member Gallery is where we will be collecting submissions from site members of photos and images representing what “simplicity” means to them. The Messy Office Photo Gallery is where we will be accepting entries for our “P.S. - My Office is a Mess!” competition. More about both of those is coming soon. For now, may we suggest you check out some of Shawn’s gorgeous photos of simplicity in nature?
7. Keep Your Chin Up
(This section will feature a different inspirational or humorous item each week.)
Attitude Is Everything
(Attributed to Rev. Charles Swindoll)
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think, say, or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.
We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you. We are in charge of our attitudes.
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Thanks for reading - see you next week!
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