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Motivation and Momentum – the Missing Ingredients to Effective Time Management

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Artists MBA, Professional Program

Motivation: desire to do; interest or drive
Momentum: force or speed of movement; impetus, as of a physical object or course of events

These two ingredients are critical to the recipe of effective Time Management.  Because ultimately, people only do what they want to do.  Without that desire – you have no motivation.  And without motivation, you have no movement forward – or Momentum.

There are 4 Key Ingredients to effective time management.

These key ingredients are:

  • Time Management Skills
  • Time Management Structure
  • Motivation
  • Momentum

Most Time Management books and courses deal with the first two – and you will find them well covered in Time Management 101. But without the second two ingredients you will find yourself unable to implement the skills and structure with any consistency.

Your schedule may work for a few days or even a few weeks, but then something happens and it all falls apart.

But you don’t need magic fairy dust to create momentum! In this inspiring class you will discover:

  • What motivation and momentum are REALLY made of
  • How to discover what motivates you and use it to create the results you want
  • What 3 things are guaranteed to destroy your momentum and how to avoid them
  • 5 Tools for creating and maintaining your momentum

Additional Resources for this Class:

Prerequisite Class:

Listen to the Class:

Thank you for your interest. This content is visible to ArtistsMBA Professional, Mastery Program members only. Click here to login.

Ready to get serious? Enroll in the Artists Marketing & Business Academy Professional Program to access these classes today!

Your Tuition ($79 per month) includes all Foundation level classes PLUS the Professional level classes PLUS the Time Management Mastery Course & App.

Read the Class Transcript

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Enroll in the Artists Marketing & Business Academy Mastery Lab to access the transcript of this class today


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Next Class:

Ready to get serious? Enroll in the Artists Marketing & Business Academy Professional Program to access these classes today!

Your Tuition ($79 per month) includes all Foundation level classes PLUS the Professional level classes PLUS the Time Management Mastery Course & App.


Thank you for your interest. This content is visible to ArtistsMBA Foundation Program members only. Click here to login.

Get Organized

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Artists MBA, Foundation ProgramSome of the greatest time management challenges aren’t about time; it’s a lack of organization!

Some of the greatest financial challenges have nothing to do with money; it, too, is a lack of organization! And relationship issues? Don’t get me started!

 

Lack of organization costs us:

  • Time looking for the things we’ve misplaced
  • Money because we neglected to pay the bill that was buried under the piles on our desk
  • Opportunities because we missed the due date – it was jotted on that post-it note buried under the 40 other things that came in that day

These are the obvious penalties. But having a disorganized space filled with clutter also costs you energy, creativity, and freedom. It affects your self esteem and your mood.

Are you ready to GET ORGANIZED?

Listen to this class, where you’ll learn:

  • How to set your space up so that it works intuitively
  • Easy new habits that allow you to stay organized
  • Tricks for maximizing your space

Additional Resources for this Class:

Prerequisite Class:

Listen to the Class:

Thank you for your interest. This content is visible to ArtistsMBA Foundation, Professional, Mastery Program members only. Click here to login.

Enroll in the Artists Marketing & Business Academy to access these classes today!

Your Tuition ($5 for first 14 days then $39 per month) includes all Foundation level classes PLUS the Time Management Mastery Course & App.

Read the Class Transcript

Thank you for your interest. This content is visible to ArtistsMBA Mastery Program members only. Click here to login.

Enroll in the Artists Marketing & Business Academy Mastery Lab to access the transcript of this class today


Thank you for your interest. This content is visible to ArtistsMBA Foundation, Professional Program members only. Click here to login.

Next Class:

Ready to get serious? Enroll in the Artists Marketing & Business Academy Professional Program to access these classes today!

Your Tuition ($79 per month) includes all Foundation level classes PLUS the Professional level classes PLUS the Time Management Mastery Course & App.


Thank you for your interest. This content is visible to ArtistsMBA Foundation Program members only. Click here to login.

Procrastination vs. Keeping My Word to Myself

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How do I get myself to do what I’m “supposed” do? So often, that’s what procrastination looks like. I’m supposed to be doing “A”, but instead I’m doing “B”. I’m supposed to get up and shower, but instead I’m cuddling with my kitty and drinking more coffee.

But perhaps the problem is in the way I think about it.

Who says I’m supposed to be doing A?

The problem when you’re a self-employed, small business owner, working for yourself, is that it’s you. It’s all you. And we are not trained to be responsible to ourselves. We are trained to be responsible to others – our parents, our teachers, our bosses. So, how do we learn to be responsible to ourselves?

And therein lies the real skill of time management: being responsible to yourself, keeping your word to yourself. Because I create my own schedule and so, keeping my schedule is keeping my word to myself.

And therein also lies the trap. If I don’t keep my word to myself, what do I make that mean? Does it mean:

“I’ll never be successful.”
“I’m not worthy.”
“I’m a hopeless lazy flake.”

There are so many ways I can torture myself about not keeping my word to myself. But this is just another method of procrastination. Do you see the trap?

The way out of the trap is to embrace the process. Each success or failure doesn’t mean anything in and of itself. It’s all part of the process of me learning to keep my word to myself. I will make mistakes; I will fall on my ass, probably many times. But if I recognize that this is the process of learning to be responsible to myself, no individual failure means more than that one failure.

And so I can learn from that failure and grow.

What did I learn from not keeping my schedule this morning? I learned that the day after I work out, I tend to need more sleep. So, in the future I can schedule accordingly. Going to take a shower now….

Procrastination – A Closer Look

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In the August Newsletter, I wrote about procrastination and I promised to write more about it in the Artist’s EDGE Blog. And here it is 5 months later. The truth is, I’ve been procrastinating about blogging. Oh, the irony! In the Newsletter, my advice is to ask yourself, what’s really going on. So — let’s do that…

When I ask myself — “I’m procrastinating about blogging – what’s that about?” The surface answer is “Oh, I’m so busy. I have too much to do. Other things are more urgent.” And all of that is legitimately true. But it’s not the source of the procrastination. When I look closer and get really honest with myself — it’s fear.

I’m afraid that I don’t have anything important to say. Or that you, my faithful readers, won’t find it important or valuable.

So, this is what I do when I identify fear. I move toward it (as I told the Artists Marketing & Business Academy on our call “Overcoming Fear“).

I have made a few decisions around my writing and blogging. And I want you to know them, so that I am accountable. First, I’ve committed to two hours of writing twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays. I have many things I need to write, such as the Artist’s EDGE Newsletter, classes for the Artists Marketing & Business Academy and new web pages. Plus, I am also starting my first book.

But here is my commitment to you. I will write a blog post at least once a week during these writing sessions. You heard me — once a week! So you have my permission to e-mail me and call me on it, if I miss a week.

Clearing the Space – A Focusing Tool

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During extremely busy times, times of emotional turmoil and major change, you may also find it difficult to focus on what you’re doing because your mind is cluttered with all the other stuff that’s going on. This is a process that I use with my private clients to create focus. I learned this in Coaching School and it goes something like this:

At the top of each private coaching session, I use a process called “Clearing the Space.” Very simply, you set each item aside one at a time by using this 4-step process:

  1. Identify what’s going on – give it a title or a name, don’t go into all the gory details. “What’s going on in the background is the fight with my partner this morning.”
  2. Identify the emotions that are connected with that thing – just use a word or two for each emotion, leaving out all the justification for the emotion. “The emotions connected to this are anger, frustration and sadness.” The tendency is to explain each emotion — anger, because… You want to leave out the “because” and everything that follows it.
  3. State your intention powerfully and in the present tense. “I am setting aside my anger, frustration and sadness so I can focus on writing this blog entry.” Notice, we’re not setting aside the fight or whatever, we are only setting aside the emotions. If you find those emotions to be stubborn, you can reassure yourself that you will come back to pay attention to them when you are done with this. “I’ll give you the attention you’re due after I finish writing this blog.”
  4. Give yourself a moment to set it aside with a deep breath or a visualization of placing that stuff in a closet and closing the door. Really allow yourself to set each thing aside before going on to the next item.

It is really important to leave out the details. The more you think and speak about the details of what’s going on, the more you bring up the issue.  And that’s counter-productive, since the purpose is to set it aside. It is also helpful to do this process out loud. The whole thing takes about a minute and most people report feeling more grounded, focused and energized.

Try it and let me know how you do!