Archive for the ‘Main Hat’


Conquering Electronic Clutter

Mini Makeover #76

13 pages

While electronic clutter does not pile up on our desktops like paper clutter, it can impede our effectiveness and ability to take action. This Mini will help you to work through creating an effective file storage system for your computer. This Mini covers creating effective file trees within folders on your computer to locate different types of information easily.(It does not include email routing, since each person may use a different email program–although the premise could easily be applied to email as well.)

Mind Mapping

Mini Makeover #70

8 pages

I have used Mind-Maps for the past 18 years for various purposes.  Mind Maps can help us

break through creative blocks
discover solutions and new approaches to challenges
facilitate thinking outside the box
brainstorm
take notes (great for right-brained learners)
help us break down a project into manageable parts

What is a Mind-Map?
Wikipedia defines a Mind-Map as: “a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks or other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea.”

Mind-Maps are most often used to generate, visualize, structure and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, and decision making. Buzan, a pioneer of the Mind-Map, claimed that the mind map utilizes more of the right and left brain hemispheres. The process of using words and diagrams utilizes attributes of the brain that are often not found in standard writing. This technique has been successfully applied to note-taking for students and brainstorming for companies.

In this Mini we will work through a general mind map and then look at ways to apply the technique to the aforementioned areas.

Creating a Mini Goal Grab Bag

Mini #68
6 pages

“Historically more than 80% of resolutions are abandoned by late February, Many women believe they are doomed before they begin. A resolution becomes another pressure in an already pressure-filled life.

As I waited for the clock to strike midnight this year, I was deep in thought about this challenge we face when reaching our goals. With statistics like these, it seemed creating a resolution is a way for many people to procrastinate on the very thing they resolve to do for another year.

If you have been discouraged by goals and set them half-heartedly or not at all, then the technique I present in this Mini offers a new approach for creating fun, Mini goals. You can use this technique to set goals for a week, a month, a quarter or an entire year. It is a great technique for regaining focus that flows with life.

How to Break a Bad Habit

Mini #67
13 pages
Includes positive and negative reinforcement worksheet, habit analysis, and obstacle exercise

Almost everyone has some habit in their life that robs their day-to-day life of a little (or a lot) of joy. Sometimes the habits are obvious—overeating, procrastinating, over-spending, drinking too much caffeine, smoking—other times they are less obvious like avoidance of health-enhancing behaviors (exercise), making excuses, spending too much time on a computer, blaming others, getting angry quickly, not taking care of ourselves… just to name a few.
Over time the word “habit” often becomes synonymous with “excuse.” We begin to feel that we cannot change an area because it is a “habit,” and stereotypically habits are hard to break. However, if we have the power to create a habit, then we also have the power to un-create it. How do we know if a habit needs to be broken? When it begins to negatively impact our relationships, self-esteem, finances, career, or any other area important to us, then a habit has become a hurt.
Habits are not formed overnight, but through repetition. Each time we repeat a behavior, whether positive or negative, we strengthen neuro-connectors in the brain. Fortunately, science has shown that we can “rewire” our connectors and thus rewire our habits. Breaking a habit takes focus, awareness and intention, since we need to turn off the “autopilot” we have created and make deliberate new choices.
In this Mini I’ll walk you through the science of breaking a bad habit. Of course reading the Mini is only the first step. Taking deliberate action on each step over a realistic period of time will be the key to unlock your life of negative habits.

Creating a Goal Poster

Mini #64

Many people think “day dreaming” is a useless exercise – they may be right – but I can guarantee that visualization is not a useless exercise. Visualization is the practice of vividly and clearly envisioning something you wish to manifest in your life. The clearer this image in your mind, the more likely you are to see it in reality.

Visualization in terms of our goals is very important. We must have a crystal clear vision of how it will feel to live this goal to get us through the obstacles that will undoubtedly surface. In this Mini we work through the process of creating a Vision Statement for your goal and then illustrating your goal with a goal poster.

S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Mini #63

Most of us are great at setting goals; in fact, we are goal-setting experts. We have set goals a thousand times or more. What we are not so great at is reaching them. In order to help ourselves reach our goals, we need to concisely state our goal and make sure it is a  S.M.A.R.T.Goal.

This Mini takes you through the five components of creating a S.M.A.R.T. goal– Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely; and helps you create a goal that gets the year off to a smart start.

Reality Routines

Mini #57
Includes Reality Routine worksheet

Please note this Mini will not be available until November 7, 2008.

Recently I have had quite a few conversations with women about their Master Task Lists. I found that many women assumed I followed my Master Task List to a tee.  In one conversation I began explaining that the Weekly list is what is most important to me and receives 90 percent of my energy. The 2x a month tasks, monthly tasks, and quarterly tasks are all those I hope to get to (and often do) but they are not my focus. By focusing on a solid weekly routine the longer term tasks tend to be much more easy to manage because my life is managed. I may not get everything done, but I get what is most important done.

Then there are the times when life goes haywire. The unexpected trip, or unexpected guests. The overtime at work or the problem with a close family member.  The unexpected illness or the emotional rollercoaster. During these times a solid weekly routine is one tool that can help us keep our sanity and stay above the chaos.

This Mini takes you step by step through building your weekly “Reality Routine.” This is not a routine based on everything you WANT to do, but based on the “anchors” that help you stay sane, maintain balance, and feel good about home and self. By the end of this Mini you will have created a solid routine and run it through the reality test.

Creating a Goal-Treasure Book

Mini #52

Study after study has shown how recordig our goals, dreams, aspirations and affirmations improves our ability to manifest our goals in our lives.  In this Mini we explore how to build a “Treasure Book” filled with pages and words that inspire and affirm our personal and professional goals.

You’ll learn book-building basics
How this technique helps you
How to use your Treasure Book to maximize life results
Complete four exercises to beginning building a book of your own

From “To Do” to Done: How to Effectively Break Down (and manage) a Project

Mini #51
In the Make Today Matter Toolbox we learned about projects and tasks. Projects require multiple action steps to complete and often stretch out over a period of time or require the involvement of others. Learning how to break down a project into realistic action steps is the first key to accomplishing that project.; learning how to give your plan a “reality check” is the second key and the third key is implementation and revision.

In this Mini you will be ecnouraged to choose a project you are currently working on and then work through a series of assignments to break that project down and learn the project management tools to get it done.

This Mini is perfect for….

  1. Anyone who has a lot of project management as part of their personal or professional life.
  2. Anyone struggling with all the paper involved in a project
  3. Anyone who finds they tend to “stall” on projects and need proven techniques to keep them moving forward

Mastering the Nightly Reflection

Mini #049

13 pages
Includes Nightly Reflection Checklist

Early on in the Toolbox we cover the importance of a Good Morning. Thousands of women have seen the Good Morning practice change the course of their days. The Nightly Reflection is the partner of the Good Morning. It provides a way to “wrap up each day and be done with it” as Emerson says.
.A Nightly Reflection allows a person to recap, release stress, and give thanks for the day while also preparing for the day ahead. However mastering the Nightly Reflection isn’t always easy because:

  • It is unfamiliar
  • Many of us are tired at the end of a day!

In this Mini we are going to work step-by-step through the process of Mastering the Nightly Reflection so you can confidently implement this practice to decrease to stress and find more joy in each day.

Sanity Savers for Stressful Times

Mini Makeover #038
Includes a 7-Day Anti Stress Calendar

When we are stressed it is often because we something is pressing, or we are overwhelmed with to-dos and projects, or a relationship needs time we can’t find. When pressure reaches its peak, we carve out time to handle a particular stressor. Any guesses on where we most often carve that time out from?

We tend to pick up the needed time by neglecting healthy habits. While this might seem a solution in the short-term, it is actually a catch-22. By skipping healthy habits, we reduce our physical and emotional energy making it harder to cope with the stressful situation. So what’s a gal to do? While eliminating all stress would be ideal, it isn’t a realistic solution. Since we can’t eliminate it, we need to learn to manage it. Proactively minimizing stress and increasing our coping abilities can drastically reduce the impact of stress on our lives.

Studies have linked stress to headaches, heart disease, intensifying existing asthma, gastrointestinal problems, fatigue, and chronic pain.

In this Mini we begin with a quick stress-test to check your current stress-level. Then we uncover your stress-triggers and sources so you can work to stop stress before it starts. A 7-Day Anti-Stress calendar will give you simple activities to do each day to help eliminate stress and create contentment.

The 10 Faces of Procrastination

Mini Makeover #035
12 pages

Many people believe that procrastination is a result of poor planning or poor time management. Other people believe it is a lack of organizational skills. Some believe that people who procrastinate lack focus, ability or willpower. All of these beliefs are false.

Each of the above beliefs deals with the “external” – how procrastination “appears” on the surface, but none of these beliefs deal with the source or root cause of procrastination. The good news is that we are not born a procrastinator—we become one. And anything we learn, we can unlearn. Uncovering your Procrastination Personality is the first step in that process.

In this Mini Makeover you’ll complete a 50 question quiz to determine what procrastination personalities are present in your life. Then you will learn strategies to work with these personalities instead of against them and write a prescription for procrastination.

Creating a Personal Vision Statement

Mini Number #18
11 pages
Includes 6 activities
Includes card template for displaying final statement
Recommendations: It is recommended that you work through Mini #005- Discovering Your Core Values - before working through this Mini.

“One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree.

‘Which road do I take?’ she asked.

‘Where do you want to go?’ was his response.

‘I don’t know,’ Alice answered.

‘Then,’ said the cat, ‘it doesn’t matter.’”-Lewis Carroll

Everything worthwhile begins with a vision. Think of a vision as the “big picture” of why you make specific choices and take certain actions. A vision statement is a guiding light allowing us to live each day with purpose and clarity. A clear vision statement will help us choose goals that are right for us. There may be a million things we want to do-but only a few that we actually need to do.

A Vision Statement encompasses the values we hold dear, the overall “theme” we want to live in our life. Without a vision, you are likely to wander aimlessly because there is no uniting purpose between daily actions and a larger vision. A clear vision statement will help us choose daily actions and make decisions that are right for us. There may be a million things we want to do-but only a few that will truly create the life we desire because they align with our vision.

_______________________________________________

Discovering Your Personal Values

Mini Number: #005

Have you ever felt there must be “something more” but been unable to identify what it is? Have you ever felt your life is a series of to-dos but that you aren’t really living? These feelings are often caused by a disconnection between actions and values. This Mini-Makeover will help you rediscover your personal values–not the values others would like you to have. You’ll work through a values worksheet to deduce your core values.

These core values act as a filter. In times of indecision, we can compare options to our guiding values to make a decision. Values are the seams which shape the fabric of our lives. Without defined values, we have torn seams where the unwanted can sneak in, and our energy can sneak out. Values allow us to advance confidently in a meaningful direction. Without them we will be blown around by the emotions, people, and external events of the day. Recommended for ALL LIFE AREAS.

Related Minis: Creating Value Cards for Your Personal Power Deck #11, Creating a Personal Vision Statement #018 (It is recommend to complete this Mini before working on Mini #018.)

_______________________________________________

Facing Fear and Stepping Outside the Comfort Zone

Mini-Number: 002
Fear is an interesting emotion. As the name implies, fear scares people. Fear causes people to get very creative in how they deal with it. Instead of confronting fear, many people come up with excuse after excuse to avoid the discomfort that fear brings. These people view fear as a negative emotion instead of a positive one. Many people make decisions in attempt to avoid fear. They don’t walk the tightrope, they don’t cross the line, they don’t take a chance, or a risk, because something scares them. Sometimes it is external. Often it is the monsters they make themselves.

_______________________________________________