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Better Business, Better Life Newsletter – Issue 4
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Here’s this week’s business tip, life hack & find of the week… And don’t forget the inspirational quote, which you can download as wallpaper or a screen lock for your phone.
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.
BETTER BUSINESS
How STRONG is your Business?
When I work with clients, using EOS (The Entrepreneurial Operating System), we regularly check-in to see how they are going on, improving the 6 key areas of their business.
That’s because the 136 issues that exists in all organisations can disappear once you strengthen the 6 key components to 100%:
- Vision
- People
- Data
- Issues
- Process
- Traction
Of course 100% is Nirvana but even getting to 80% can make a significant, tangible difference in your business & your life.
Just recently, one of my Leadership Teams revisited their organisational check-up and they’ve moved from 18% strong to 76% strong in just 12 months. This has led to a 163% growth in revenue for the team. Plus, lots of other benefits… too many to mention in a short newsletter 😁
So, how do you know where your business sits? Have a go at the Organizational Check-up from EOS & see where your strengths & opportunities lie. It’s free to do & will not only give you insights into where you are – it also gives you tips about how to improve.
And if you send me a copy of the results, I’m happy to show you how you could strengthen the 6 key components using the EOS tools.
BETTER LIFE
Is sleep really that important?
There has been so much written about the importance of sleep but we’re also told about leaders who barely slept, sleeping only 3-6 hours per night – Margaret Thatcher, Winston Churchill, Barack Obama, Donald Trump & Richard Branson to name a few.
So, which is right? Trump aside, I have huge respect for the others & what they achieved but I just know I couldn’t function on that amount of sleep.
I’m no doctor & my Biochemistry days are way behind me, however from all the research I have done, I still think the answer is – ‘it depends’.
I think it’s a very personal thing in terms of how much sleep you need but maybe more importantly it’s the quality of your sleep that is important, so how do you monitor that?
Personally, I need 7-8 hours of good sleep each night otherwise I know, I don’t function at my optimal levels. And, I’m an early riser so to ensure that I get this, I have a bedtime routine that sees me getting ready to sleep at 8.30pm, reading for up to an hour before I sleep.
I also have 2 devices that I use every night to monitor & track what things have an effect on my sleep.
The first is my Oura ring. I was introduced to this little piece of technology a couple of years ago by a doctor specialising in preventative medicine. I had tried Fitbits & Bella Beats & smart watches but I actually like an old fashioned watch & this just added another device, plus they weren’t that comfortable at night.
The Oura is small & is worn just like a normal ring. It monitors things like your heart rate, your temperature & your movement. You can then link it to pick up your exercise & you can record what you might have done that might affect sleep (such as having a drink or taking medication) so that you can see what effect all of these things have on your sleep. Throughout the night it measures Sleep Contributors (Total sleep, efficiency, restfulness, REM sleep, Deep Sleep, Latency & Timing), Sleep Stages (Awake, REM, Light & Deep) & Resting heart rate. It then tells you what stage of readiness your body is at for the next day & makes recommendations about what sort of exercise you should do & what time you should go to bed.
The second is an app called Sleep Cycle. This does similar things to the Oura in terms of monitoring how long you sleep, what stage of sleep you are in. But, what it can do that the Oura can’t is that it can record sounds – which much as it’s embarrassing, I am talking about snoring.
FIND OF THE WEEK
How Smart is Your Home or Office?
Both Steve & I are tech geeks so our home is fully Google Homed. Every room has a Google assistant which controls all the lights, heating, music, cat / dog feeders & waterers etc. Yes, you read that right, we can remotely feed the cats & also know when their water fountains are running out. We can also video conference with them & talk to them when we’re not home. 😃
It’s fun being able to ask google to do things for you. It’s practical setting up timers & geofencing so that your heating & lighting comes on when you’re on your way home or turns off when you leave & it’s good to know when your smoke detector is activated.
It’s also fun fighting with her when she doesn’t understand what you asked or having her call you ‘Your Highness’ which is my current google name.
However, I’ve also found there’s a positive side for the office too. Ever worried about whether you turned the hot water urn or laminator off? Or want to turn on the coffee machine on your way into the office so that it’s ready for when you get there?
We swear by Philips Hue for lights around the home & garden as they really are superior & you can’t go past a google nest doorbell for seeing & speaking to couriers when you’re not home, but for many other devices, there are some great, cost-effective alternatives.
Kogan (under the name Dick Smith here in NZ) have a range called SmarterHome plus they stock other brands too.
You can get all sort of devices, such as light bulbs, power plugs, security cameras, vacuum cleaners, door locks, doorbells, blind openers, cat & dog feeders, water fountains, heaters, coolers, fans, kettles, ovens, electric blankets, garage door openers – almost everything comes in a ‘smart’ version now.
You can even convert your old non Wifi air conditioner with the Sensibo device as we did.
And, all are controlled through an app that enables you to set timers, automation rules, geofencing & be controlled by your Google Home or Alexa etc… So, you never have to worry about whether you left something on. But, more importantly, you can save precious energy.
INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE
When everything is important, nothing is important.
Gino Wickman
Remember, you can download this quote as wallpaper or a screen lock image 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