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Better Business, Better Life – Issue 39
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Wow, suddenly 2021 was gone & the holidays were over… So, welcome to 2022…
I hope you are as excited about this year as I am!
I saw this Meme on Facebook & I just loved it. You have to imagine 2 characters in a 2022 shaped garden…
Character 1: “Aren’t you terrified of what 2022 could be like? Everything is so messed up…”
Character 2: “I think it will bring flowers”
Character 1: “Yes? Why?”
Character 2: “Because I am planting flowers 😊”
So, I have planted flowers & I am looking forward to beautiful flowers this year 💐 Let’s hope they don’t turn out to be weeds!
As we head into another week, I take great pleasure in sharing my curated articles, tips & tools in a short read that will hopefully give you a few ‘aha’ moments as well as some laughter or joy. Most of all I hope it gives you pragmatic inspiration & helps you on your journey to doing what you love, with people you love, making a huge difference, being compensated appropriately with time to pursue other passions – #TheEOSLife.
Here’s this week’s business tip, life hack & find of the week… Some of them are original, most are things I have come across in my weekly pursuit of self-improvement & living a better life, through creating a better business. And don’t forget the inspirational quote, which you can download as a wallpaper or lock screen for your phone.
As always, if you find great things that you’d like to share then feel free to email me for inclusion in one of my weekly newsletters. I’m always looking for new & exciting things to share each week. And if you think someone else would like to receive the newsletter in their inbox, directly from my inbox (no newsletter apps used here!) then please let me know – debra@debrachantry-taylor.com
BETTER BUSINESS
Design your year… Before someone else does!
Based on the ‘Big Rocks’ idea, that Stephen Covey popularised, have you planned out your year & calendar to ensure that it includes all the big things in your life first?
This idea was originally raised with me at a conference that Gino spoke at – he talked about ways to maximise your energy & how you decide what the best number of hours & days per week are for you, work out how many hours in a year you want to work & then take it from there to plan your year how you want it to be.
The essence of this talk is now included in his EOS Life book.
What I am talking about is outside of doing your V/TO (Your 2-page business plan) & your rocks for your business & life, it means making sure that you have the time put aside to achieve these.
For me this meant working on an Annual Planner to make sure that I had all my holidays planned out (I want 6 weeks off this year in total so that I can visit my overseas family & spend time with my NZ family & friends), time off for any events that are important (community & family), all of my board meetings scheduled, my trips to Australia planned out & then understanding what days I had available for my EOS client sessions, whilst still allowing time for admin & running my other business.
This was a superb process for me – it really got me thinking & now I have a plan that I can actually share with clients & they can pick the days they want to do their quarterly & annual EOS sessions with me. You can see a copy here – https://bit.ly/DebraYear2022
I have also put all of these onto my physical wall planner – which I love, as I can see at a glance whilst in the office, what I have upcoming & scheduled.
On top of the year planner, which sets days aside for certain things, I also have regular appointments in my diary for the things that are important to me – practising my saxophone, sleeping, Clarity Break, Date Nights, writing in my journal etc.
Anyone who has been in one of my sessions has probably seen me share my calendar & had a good old laugh at my morning & evening routines that are blocked out so that I can get my 8 hours of sleep & the things that I need to perform at my best.
And before you think that all this planning must be highly restrictive – it’s quite the opposite, it frees you up & allows you to manage your energy.
If you haven’t seen the video of Stephen Covey introducing this concept then take a look at this. The video is old & a little dated but still very clearly gets across the concept:
Again, here’s my completed planner – https://bit.ly/DebraYear2022 – and if you’d like a copy of a blank year planner like this then let me know & I will happily share one with you. (I had to adapt this from an American one as I struggled to find a Kiwi one!)
BETTER LIFE
Living the EOS Life!
Business is just one part of life right?
And it’s great to use the EOS tools to get this simplified & clear.
But have you ever thought about using EOS to plan your family life too?
If you listen to my podcast this week you’ll hear how Scott Rusnak uses the People Analyser on his friends & chooses his friends & manages them using this tool. He follows the 5, 15, 150 model around friends & family & then uses the People Analyser to decide who fits where. He explains all of this in the podcast.
Whilst I think this is a fabulous idea, this might be a little bit too much if you’re just starting out – so how about just using a version of the VTO (Vision/Traction Organiser) for planning your life with your family.
Called the ‘Family Plan’, EOS has a template that is designed just for this.
It’s a slight modification of the original Business VTO & includes a few tweaks that make it family-friendly plus that all-important bucket list, called ‘The Lifetime wish list’.
You sit down with your family & conduct a mini annual planning session, where you define what your shared Core Values & Passions are, what your 10-year plan looks like, your lifetime wish list & your 3-year picture & then bring it down to the ground with Traction.
Before we did this, Steve & I reviewed the Year that had been, using this template that I have developed over the years & then we worked on the Family Plan.
If you’d like a copy of the EOS Family Plan then click here to email me & I will send you a copy.
FIND OF THE WEEK
Better Business, Better Life Podcast
Ok, so shameless self-promotion here & yes, I have mentioned this before, however, the podcast that I mentioned with Scott above will be live this Tuesday & that’s a great one to not miss.
Plus we have had so many awesome guests over the last few months, so if you have missed any, then now is the time to catch up.
Each episode is 20-25 minutes of me talking to a guest who has either run an established family or privately owned business & they share with you their experiences (the highs & lows) or they’re an established expert who will share with you what they have learned through working with these types of businesses.
At the end of the episode, each guest always shares 3 tips, tools or ideas so that you can put these things into action.
We’ve got some fabulous guests lined up for this year, so why not give it a try & see if you want to add it to your regular listening?
It’s available on all the top podcast channels so take your pick by clicking the link below.
I’m also always on the lookout for other interesting guests so if you’d like to join me for a chat about better business, better life, you know someone who would be great or you have ideas about who you’d like to hear from then let me know & I will do my best!
INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE
“The New Year means nothing if you’re still in love with your comfort zone” — Rachel Wolchin
Are you ready to lift your game & step outside of your comfort zone this year???
You can download this as a wallpaper or lock screen for your phone.
NEED HELP?
If you’d like to learn more about any of these tools or would like to find out how I can help you achieve a better life through creating a better business, then book a free Discovery Call with me.
We’ll talk about what you want to get from your business & your life & come up with a plan to do that!
Debra Chantry-Taylor
Certified EOS Implementer | Accredited Family Business Advisor | Entrepreneurial Leadership & Business Coach | Speaker & Workshop Facilitator