Learn the Power of No so that you don’t become overbooked, over-committed and looking down the barrel of stress and burnout. Here’s why Yes! Means Less.

Using a personal management system turns you into a productive task master. Once your systems, processes & tools are in place, you can cruise through tasks.
I’d say I’m a very productive person, especially when I take on several tasks that I am passionate about. Sometimes I take on more than I can handle because I really love what I do and it questions my limitations and about productivity. So to get more productive, here are some of my reflections on productivity, time management and how to stay focused and organized.
It’s pretty common for people to procrastinate, whether it’s a small task or a large one, there always seems to be some reason that it’s just not “the right time.” Creative excuses arise when the task at hand is important…
In your virtual assistant practice, you are always going to have to find a way to schedule all of your tasks and those of your clients, into your 8-hour workday. There are certain times of day where you are more productive than others, known as your prime productivity time and be protective of that time.
Scope creep needs to be managed from the very start of a project occurs when someone decides they want to change something or take things in another direction. Daunting to prevent, but doing so will keep your costs, processes, and deadlines where they belong. Here are four tips to reduce or eliminate scope creep, whether for a seasoned project manager or a virtual assistant tackling a client project.
“I’m awesome! Who can do a better job than me?!” Where have I heard this before? Let’s get down to basics, if you are a small business owner, you can not do everything, nor should you. Because of your uncertainty that delegated work will be done to your standard, you cannot move on to new tasks. You’ll have to learn how to let go and to train your team to do your usual tasks. Don’t forget, your team includes your contractors, assistants (virtual, or otherwise), bookkeepers & accountants and anyone else you pay to help you stay productive.
Think about all the tools that you use on a daily basis – the ones that make and drive your business. If one of them were to disappear or become irrevocably unusable, do you have a Plan B? If you don’t, sit down and really think about the impact of not having a backup system. Without a Plan B, if something goes awry, and things will go awry, you need to have a plan, a process, and a procedure, to keep moving and keep your productivity levels high.
How often do you use the word “no” to protect your time, productivity and creativity? You are probably aware of the power of “no” when it comes to the concept of time-management as a whole, but you may have overlooked it purely as a technique to boost your productivity and more so to your creative output.
If you feel you are surrounded by chaos and never get to do what you originally planned to, you are probably blaming it on poor time management. Such a scapegoat! It is easy to fall into this trap when you consider all the things that can disrupt your day no matter how carefully you planned it. Even the best leaders are faced with the same challenges, but they deal with them not through better time management, but through more effective management. Rather than defining each activity in terms of planned versus unexpected, they find ways in which to accomplish the planned through the unexpected. One method involves breaking each activity into three steps – prepare, do, review.