Julie has helped me turn my home into a sanctuary instead of a chaos zone. - Amy H.
Julie does more than help you get control over your space and time–she’ll help you rethink the way you approach your work… B. Emerson
Riverstone Endeavors
…first time ever, I am finally doing the work I enjoy. Michelle K.
She (Julie) did not make any negative comments or judge my mess. It was really a breath of fresh air for me.
Mara F.
Working with Julie has both increased my productivity and improved my general mood. Jeff O.
Julie is patient, a good coach, a great organizer, and really works to understand your objective. Jim Zaniello, President Vetted Solutions
...provides just the right amount of encouragement and accountability to keep me moving forward towards attaining my goals. Lorraine F.
My only regret is that I didn't call Julie sooner. Working with her is one of the best investments I ever made! Kara T
Self-employed people who actually want to have a life would be crazy not to hire Julie. Lucas Seipp-Williams
Julie's a great communicator and empathetic to the real challenges leaders face in balancing business, family and life. Bill Roth
Since I’ve worked with Julie, I’ve gained control over my time, my business and my life! -Lisa Carroll
As business owners and professionals who have the freedom to set your own schedule it can be challenging to follow through on all of the projects that you start.
That is why I have dedicated this month’s video to outlining the critical strategies you can use to not only finish what you start but make the process that much more easier and enjoyable (it’s true!).
Just click below to watch the video and be sure to let me know your comments below.
When you really think about it, constant email checking is like running down your driveway to the mailbox every few minutes to see what’s inside and then closing it back up with everything still in there. Talk about exhausting.
Put a time limit on your email processing sessions and voila! Your email now has a home AND you’ve created more interruption-free time in your day to focus on getting your actual work done.
In my Time For Life program we actually walk through a process for making you aware of how much e-mail time you need. I had one client go from being ‘on’ email about 10 hours a day (she was working closer to 15) and drop to 90 minutes a day. After practicing that for a month she realized she only needed 30 minutes a day to deal with email. Obviously, her work experience has been transformed.
Retrain your recipients to expect your level of service to improve dramatically because you are no longer chained to responding to them instantly.
What new email habits are you going to experiment with? Please let me know by commenting below!
Boy does this year feel different or what?!
I am enjoying the energy of 2012 but I’ve got a feeling we are in for quite a ride.
And I want you to feel that same way too.
I want you to feel ready and excited to handle the new projects, new clients, and new fun that is coming your way this year.
In this report I teach you how to leverage the #1 Time Saving Tool out there. This tool is is exactly what you need in your back pocket to feel ready and prepared for all of the good stuff waiting to flow your way this year.
You will also learn 5 simple steps to get you out of overwhelm, save you hours each week, and help you find the peace of mind to relax knowing just what you what you have to do and when you are going to do it.
This report will reveal:
The information in this report is guaranteed to save you hours every week.
When it comes to organizing your space and time there are three types of sacred spaces you want to consider creating.
They are:
All three have the following characteristics in common:
How you create these sacred spaces is the same for each type:
Here are some real-life examples of sacred spaces I have created with clients:
Frustration: I can’t ever get to these long-term projects! They sit and stare at me all week and nothing ever moves forward.
Solution: I am going to hold time on my calendar for the first 2 hours of each morning for specific project work. This is a beautiful sacred space.
Frustration: I keep finding bills that I have forgotten to pay! I need a place where they can be stored so that I see them which will remind me to pay them.
Solution: Since I typically spend Saturday morning responding to personal emails, I will make a spot next to my computer that is clearly visible and plan to pay any bill that comes into my home during this time that I am already at my computer. THIS IS A SACRED SPACE. Actually the location for bills by your desk is one and the time in your calendar when you will pay them is another sacred space.
Frustration: I have all of these knitting and sewing materials strewn throughout my house. I tend to work in various rooms and I don’t know how to get it all together so that I can find things but also be able to transport things, too.
Solution: I need a central craft area to store all of my materials. I have a spare corner in my office which would fit a sewing desk and bookshelf for supplies. This way I can carry around only what I need depending on the project and always have a place to put this away when I am finished with it. This is a wonderful sacred space.
What sacred space do you need? Please share your comments below!
It is that time of year when sticking to our stay-sane-and-healthy-routines can be tricky. When you add in the extra travel, parties, food, shopping, etc. it makes sense why things can feel compressed and off-balance.
This year I really wanted to keep in the flow of my routines wherever I happened to be so I came up with an easy way to keep me on track and that would also allow me to get more enjoyment and fun out of this holiday season.
I hope this strategy not only helps to keep you on track through the holidays but well into 2012!
How do you stay on track? Be sure to post your comments below!
There is a fear of being more productive and efficient with our time that no one ever talks about.
Without addressing this deep-seated fear it can be challenging to create an organized schedule and space that truly supports your goals and allows your days to flow with ease and enjoyment.
I have noticed it surface time and again with my clients. They are yearning to be out of the chaos and overwhelm they feel inside. They want to live a life that feels in control, balanced, and one lets them be present even if they’ve never felt that way before.
But to find this state of mind and to develop the systems that will allow you to keep it, you have to first get clear about what you are going to do with the time and energy you have gained from being more organized.
Without this clarity can you guess what happens?
What will happen is that you will sabotage your organizing efforts. This makes sense because if you aren’t clear on how you will spend this time, this fear will take over.
That fear is this: at a deep level we are afraid that the more efficient we become, the more productively we use our time – the more work and effort will flow in.
Kind of makes sense doesn’t it?
If we are in a state of overwhelm and we go through the effort of creating more time in our day without getting clear about how we will use it, it makes sense that our brains and bodies would assume we are getting organized so we can work harder and longer.
Now for some of you that might be exactly what you want to do and that is perfectly fine. As long as you are clear up front that this is your goal and your brain and body are in alignment, then you won’t have any trouble with this.
For the rest of you that are looking for less work and more freedom and energy, I encourage you to take a few minutes right now and jot down how you would spend a few extra hours each day.
Because here’s the rub: If you don’t know what you want from this time, it will be impossible to create it.
So decide right now what you want your days to look like. This will help you start to get comfortable with the idea of things moving in the direction you desire. You can then leverage the motivation this conjures and take a step toward this goal today.
Here are some great places to start:
What would you do with more time each day? Be sure to post your comments below!
In today’s video I have pulled out one of my very best tips from my brand new paper program: Ending Paper Overwhelm For Good. Click on link below to learn my favorite strategy to sorting your paper backlog.
And let me know what you think by adding a comment below.
“There just isn’t enough time in the day!”
It is a common frustration I hear. Or this one:
“I have too much to do – I will never be caught up!”
Sound familiar?
I tend to get stuck in these patterns of thinking, too. That time is the enemy. That there is never enough and so I always need to be rushing off to the next thing so I can squeeze in as much as possible in any given day.
And for what reason?
What are we rushing to?
What are we hoping to achieve with all of this doing?
I believe it is part of my life’s purpose to understand this phenomenon in myself and others. The other part is to teach what I learn on my journey.
So here is what I have learned so far:
And one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned so far is this:
That in order to create more time in our days we have to give time to ourselves first. This is my secret trick. We have to demonstrate to the universe that we trust there is enough time by keeping some of it for ourselves – every day. I call this tithing your time.
It is amazing to me how much calmer, more relaxed, and more spacious my days are when I meditate or do yoga in the morning. So much so that I believe tithing your time is a necessary part to ending the cycle of rushing and finally break free from ‘time is the enemy’ thinking for good.
How could you tithe your time today? Please share below.
Are you ready to make life flow more easily? To give your home and schedule room to breathe?
Does the frustration over how things have been make it feel like things will never change?
How do you finally go from where you are to where you want to be?
That’s what today’s video message is all about: How to Create the Change You Want
In it I share with you an exercise that will help you get clear on the Why and the How of creating change in your life.
Have you made a decision about the changes you wish to create? Be sure to tell us by posting a comment below!
You’re just about to leave for your dentist appointment, when you receive a phone call saying the dentist has been called out on emergency and will have to reschedule your appointment.
Congratulations! You are the winner of one unexpected free hour!
What will you do with your winnings?
Answer your email? Return to the project you were working on before you had to leave? Pay bills? Return phone calls?
Ever consider doing nothing?
If you’re like many of us today, the thought of doing absolutely nothing for an entire hour seems as wasteful as throwing a week’s worth of groceries out with the garbage. Indeed, free time with nothing to do can generate near panic among some of us who are overloaded and time-starved.
“We seem to have a complex about busyness in our culture,” says Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul. “Most of us do have time in our days that we could devote to simple relaxation, but we convince ourselves that we don’t.”
And yet, the harder we push, the more we need to replenish ourselves. As Stephan Rechtschaffen, author of Timeshifting, says, “Each of us needs some time that is strictly and entirely our own, and we should experience it daily.”
The importance of this downtime cannot be overstated. We see more clearly, we hear more keenly, we’re more inspired, we discover what makes us feel alive.
On some level, we know this already. But claiming time to ourselves—time that is often labeled “unproductive”—and sticking to it can be difficult. We need to establish formal boundaries around our idle time to ensure that others—and we, ourselves—honor this time.
Here’s a list of how you can create this sacred time.
How we define idle time varies by individual. For example, for one person, gardening may be meditative downtime, whereas for another, it is one more item on the to-do list (to be done as quickly as possible). The woods is a great place to stroll through for one person, an opportunity to be in and with nature; for another, it’s a great place for a power walk while dictating letters into a small tape recorder.
Our idle time should be like a beautiful flower: it has no purpose. It’s just there. And yet, it refreshes us and reminds us of nature’s glory.
Do something that has no purpose other than joy. Take a half-hour a day to surprise and delight yourself. Keep it simple, and keep it consistent. If your idle time becomes a “program,” or becomes progress toward some productive goal, begin again.
It’s stunning, how simple it really is.
How could you create more free time in your life? I’d love to know! Please comment below.
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Linda Claire Puig is a professional writer since 1983, Linda’s articles have appeared in newspapers and magazines throughout the country. She has been creating newsletters since 1990 and is considered a newsletter marketing expert, particularly in fields in which client contact is essential.
Author’s content used under license, © 2008 Claire Communications
