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Kylie Saunder

Melbourne SEO Copywriter, Health & Medical Writer, Content Creation, Articles, Blogs & Website Content

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Helpful tips for getting things done

Helpful tips for getting things done

Do you ever get to the end of your day and feel like you’re not getting stuff done?

You’ve tried different time management tips and tricks.

From the Pomodoro technique to turning off your phone and shutting down email and internet browsers.

But you’re still not getting your work done!

Sure you’re keeping up with your client work…but the work that you really want to do (from writing a blog to mapping out a new workshop) always comes last.

This common issue goes beyond time management techniques.

If you want to find more space in your day for ‘you time’ it’s time to re-think where you’re investing your energy.

Kylie Saunder

Visualise this…

When you wake up in the morning you’ve got a full jar of sand (energy) for you.

Next to this full jar is an empty jar – waiting to receive deposits of sand (your energy) from your jar.

The empty jar is any interaction that you have during the day and includes:

  • Phone calls,
  • Email interactions,
  • Social media time, and
  • Face to face interactions.

These energy deposits are easy to recognise, but there are other deposits you’re making that aren’t so obvious.

For instance:

  • The energy you spend worrying that your competitor is doing better than you,
  • The energy you spend when you wonder if your proposal will be accepted, or
  • The energy you spend reliving the argument you had with your friend on the weekend.

Is it any wonder that so many people feel utterly drained of energy at the end of the day?

So here’s some helpful things to keep your jar of sand way at a healthy level:

Ask yourself:

  • Am I giving the right amount of sand to the right things and people?
  • Are there people in my life who ‘steal my sand’ without me realising?

Get curious:

Find out how your colleagues and role models manage their energy. Experiment to work out what works for you.

Look after your energy:

Your energy is precious – if you don’t have enough your physical, emotional and mental health can get compromised.

Be mindful of where you spend it and ‘savour the sand’!

 

 

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Read this if content creation makes you break out in a sweat

Content creation, blogging, social media and online marketing…

You know that you need to create ‘quality content’ for your business and brand to be noticed.

You know that regular blogging will help you with SEO.

You’ve read blogs, attended events and conferences and have seen what others are doing.

And if you’re like a lot of other small business owners, you’ve started the year with a resolve to write more blogs and post more on social media.

But deep down, you feel stuck.

The idea of ‘creating compelling content with a unique voice to attract your ideal audience’ makes you break into a sweat.

So what can you do to unravel yourself from this maelstrom of emotions – after all, you want to grow your business!

tea in bed1

Step 1 Step away from your screens

When my clients get frustrated or confused about what what to write about I advise them to step away from all their screens.

Why?

If they’re not sure what they want to write about, they’ll end up looking at what ‘everyone else’ is doing.

They’ll bounce around from website to social media post and back to another website – wasting time and energy.

And let’s face it, after an hour or so of looking at what everyone else is doing, you will always come off second best…

“They’re posting up to date and interesting content…their photos and images are so pretty…wow, they’ve forecast a new trend…OMG their content is so good, how can I compete?”

Step away from your screens and grab a journal / notebook and pen. Head to a cafe and while you enjoy your favourite coffee and snack:

  • doodle,
  • make thought bubbles,
  • write phrases and questions down, and
  • jot down random ideas.

The aim of this is to release the expectation and stress that you’ve placed on yourself – to invite your creativity to return.

 

Step 2 What do you really want to write about and share?

If you’re not feeling excited about writing things for your clients (and prospective clients) you’ll either:

  • not get around to it, or
  • write something that doesn’t sound like you and /or represent your brand and business in a great light.

Here’s a little ‘fill in the blanks’ exercise to help you work out what you want to write about and how often:

I like to read blogs and social media posts about _____________________

The blogs and posts I read regularly make me feel ____________________

Outside of my industry I love reading __________________________

People in my industry usually write about __________________

I really want to write about __________________________

I hold back from writing about this because _______________________

I’d love to write and publish the following each week ___________________________

 

Step 3 Write and review

Now you’ve isolated what you’d like to write about, it’s time to put your butt down and write it.

But here’s the thing – sitting down in front of a blank screen can ‘kill off’ any creative inspiration you’ve got!

Which is why a lot of bloggers and writers, don’t do this – they use journals, notepads and Post-It notes as prompts.

Once you’ve written your content, it’s time to review.

Ask yourself:

  • is it something I would want to read?
  • do I feel proud / happy / excited that it’s on my website and /or social media pages?
  • is the content a fresh take on something or does it sound like everyone else?

Gone through these steps and still aren’t convinced you can write great content?

I help small and medium businesses with ghost writing – click here to find out more.

Or why not email me here and let’s set up a time to chat about how I could help!

 

 

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Do these things well to get noticed

Want to get noticed in 2015?

It doesn’t matter whether you work for yourself or for someone else.

You may work in a cubicle, a cafe, an open plan office or from a laptop in your lounge room.

If you want to get noticed, appreciated, and remembered – you need to do the little things well.

From the tone you use:

  • in an email,
  • on your social media posts,
  • on your voice mail messages, or
  • in your face to face chats.

To the intention behind the words you use, or don’t use.

Words have the power to delight, inspire, help and heal.

But they can also confuse, confound, make you turn you away.

little things

Think about a time when you’ve experienced average or bad customer service.

The attitude may have come across as a ‘who cares’ because of the tone, the language, the words.

Now how about when you’ve had fabulous customer service?

You felt special, like you mattered when:

  • the right things were said at the right time, in the right tone,
  • an email arrived just when you needed it, confirming your appointment,
  • your online purchase was followed up with a personal thank you note.

Each of these touch points in your business and personal life depend on how you choose your words.

Like to build you personal and business brand in 2015?

Look at the touch points in your business including:

  • what’s being said when the phone is answered,
  • what’s being written in emails and letters, and
  • the tone of your social media posts and blogs.

Need some help with your business touch points?

Email me here and let’s chat about it.

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Why My Vision Board Has No Pictures

“In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision” Dalai Lama

If you’ve ever read or listened to experts talking about how the “Law of Attraction” or how they “manifested their future” many of them will talk about the importance of “vision-boarding”.

So what is a “vision board”?

They can help you clarify and define what you really want in life.

I like them because they:

  • Keep you focused when you’re having a bad day,
  • Can make your dreams and goals seem more achievable, and
  • Help you stay on track when distractions creep in.

But I didn’t always feel so fondly about them…

It was the early 1990’s when I was first introduced to “vision-boarding”, a workshop with lots of glossy magazines, scissors, glue and large scrapbooks.

The workshop leader had the best of intentions but as I sat there being suffocated by her “Poison” perfume I couldn’t get excited.

I looked across the table and there were pictures being cut out of Mercedes convertibles, island holidays, Rolex watches and Hollywood style mansions.

There was laughter at the next table as someone found a picture of Brad Pitt circa “Thelma and Louise”…yup she cut it out and put it as her “vision for husband”!

Fast forward to now and I’ve fallen in love with doing them MY WAY!

I figured out why the “traditional” vision boards just didn’t align with me – at all…

The ‘must have’ brands, consumer goods, large houses, massive diamonds, luxurious getaways on a boat captained by your own skipper.

Not much of this made me feel inspired…and I wonder if any of the other course participants also felt this?

The images I was “sold” as being something to strive for, to achieve, and desire felt heavy and lifeless.

But for years I kept thinking this was “the only way” to achieve what I wanted!

So what does my vision board look like now?

A purple Moleskine journal with no images!

It’s jam packed with words…phrases, sentences, quotes that make me come alive inside.

There are details of what it feels like to wake up on holiday in a luxurious resort….how I feel as I walk through the hotel lobby and realise that this is my home for the next month.

Like a “fast forward” into the future of imagining, feeling and living what that life…right now!

This is my vision board.

No fancy pictures.

No “luxury” or aspirational brands.

Because it’s not the things that make our life richer, it’s how we feel as we’re surrounded by family, friends and a peaceful sunset.

 

 

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Don’t Think, Do!

Post-it notes, to-do lists and whiteboard scrawling.

Half finished blog posts, word documents with just a few sentences on them and over 75 Evernote documents.

Looking at all this unfinished work brought up anger – the white hot anger that’s fuelled by frustration.

And then the frustration turns into waves of anxiety and panic.

That I’m wasting time, not accomplishing what I really want to.

And so I distracted myself.

Gardening, walking the dog, practicing yoga…all things that nurture my soul and align my spirit.

But the day came when the white hot anger became unbearable.

The angst-ing, over-thinking, worrying and anxious thoughts suppress creativity.

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worry

I’ve seen first hand that “worrying about worrying” isn’t healthy – it’s yet another distraction.

In the vortex of worry, anxiety and frustration, it’s just not possible to escape by thinking!

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And yet, this can be the default setting.

Feeling stuck and cranky can lead to more procrastinating as we try to think our way out of the grey funk.

So what’s an alternative?

As a Melburnian, sporting mad AFL football fan, I remembered this quote from one of Hawthorn Football Club’s legends.

“At least DO SOMETHING! DO! Don’t think, don’t hope, do! At least you can come off and say ‘I did this, I shepherded, I played on. At least I did something.'” John Kennedy Sr, Australian Rules football player and coach.

Taking action, whether it’s for 10 minutes or 2 hours is my new antidote.

The willingness to take action, and to then act is the first step to gaining confidence and belief again.

Belief that your creative pursuit does mean something – that it makes a difference to you, your community, the world.

Confidence that you haven’t lost your ability to create – that your creative muscle thrives and flourishes when you take action.

 

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How to tame the comparison virus

It can happen so quickly.

That crumbling of confidence and hope as envy and jealousy enter the heart.

And in the unlikeliest situations.

From standing outside your home chatting with a neighbor, seeing a social media update from a friend, reading a magazine article about “someone that you used to know”.

Or it might seep into your consciousness as you’re having a quiet morning coffee at your local cafe, slowly easing your way into the day and feeling pretty happy with your life!

When the “comparison virus” enters our head and then our heart it hurts.

Here’s some examples of what can set this virus rampant in our system:

  • “He’s bought another block of land overlooking the ocean and now I have to work with the architect to build another home…I mean I’ve got enough to do with our house in town, at the country and our other property at the beach.”
  • “She wants us to go to Europe again for 6 weeks and tour the gardens and wineries, but we did that 2 years ago…”
  • “When he graduates from university we’re giving him our apartment in town…we don’t really use it much anyway and with a rooftop pool and 3 bedrooms, we’re sure it will give him a leg up into the property market…”

Whether we’re talking to someone who has exactly what we want, have overheard a conversation or read about “someone else” our brain usually goes into the same panicked overdrive.

Before logic and cool reason can step in and take charge though, the jealous thoughts go something like this:

  • “How freaking lucky are they…why are they complaining about having more beautiful properties…and at the beach with ocean views…how ungrateful is she?”
  • “I haven’t had a decent holiday for 4 years now and he’s complaining about going to Europe for 6 weeks…*in a sarcastic tone* what a hard, awful life he must have!”
  • “So this guy finishes university, gets a great job and has property gifted to him by his wealthy parents…some people are really born into the luckiest families…why didn’t I get them for parents?”

Once we’ve cooled down though our head begins to ache as we desperately try to figure out how they’re “so lucky”.

We just want their life and we want it now goddam it!

We project ourselves:

  • Into their perfect life,
  • Walking around in their perfect beach home,
  • Travelling first class on their perfect holiday and
  • Being given the perfect apartment.

And then the “comparison virus” gets even trickier with the way it invades our mind, body and spirit.

It starts to poison us by making us believe so strongly that if we could just switch lives with them, we would be happier, wealthier, better.

But behind the facade of everyone’s life lies depths of complexities and complications that we wouldn’t want and couldn’t live with.

Their relationships with their family & friends wouldn’t suit us.

The expectations placed on them would seem ridiculous.

And if we could listen to their internal dialogue, it would be just as worried and thwarted with insecurities as our own. 

Because underneath it all we’re the same.

When the “comparison virus” starts to niggle at you, don’t judge or be deceived by outward appearances. Your life path (yup, cliched but true!) can’t be the same as the next person.

Is there an antidote available? 

The often used to “be grateful for what you have, make a list, acknowledge what’s good…” can help.  

Yet in the midst of a “comparison virus outbreak” the last thing your mind will do easily is slip into is, I’m grateful for:

  • A roof over my head,
  • Clean drinking water,
  • Healthy body….

Acknowledging that the virus has hit you is easier and will allow you to get grounded and take charge quicker. 

And a simple “hello” to what’s going can stop the thoughts of “everyone is so much better off than me” heading towards the tunnel of despair and anxiety.

What helps you?

 

 

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How to embrace mindfulness in an online world

Have you ever jumped online and had a bad reaction?

I have!

Whether it’s clicking on a link that ended up wasting 30 minutes of my day…signing up for eCourses that I didn’t complete…or buying books and music that weren’t my taste because someone I was following said “they rocked!”

It’s so easy to be swept up in what “everyone else is doing”.

The instantaneous buy this, read that and follow this person because everyone else is can be mesmerising.

And it’s this hypnotic trance that can lead to feelings of:

  • Exhaustion – mental, physical, spiritual and emotional fatigue
  • “I’m not good enough, smart enough, enough…”
  • “If I don’t buy this, consume this, read this, learn this I will be a loser who will never ever make it…”

I love the freedom of owning an online business – the connections, conversations, friendships and information sharing makes my heart sing.

But there are days when I quietly “step away from the keyboard”, turn off email, put on some “peace, love and yoga vibe” music and light my favourite candle.

This is my version of mindfulness of having soul soothing practices I can gently insert into my day – to support me, make me feel lighter in spirit while being more grounded.

A few years ago I was formally introduced to mindfulness techniques through eating a raisin.

Yup, I was just as surprised as you!

I thought I knew about being present, staying with the breath and drawing my attention back to the now, from my 20+ years of yoga practice.

So when the therapist quietly asked permission to go through an exercise using a raisin, my curiosity ramped up to 11!

She came back in the room with a fresh box of raisins and offered me one – just ONE raisin.

(I was thinking, “hey lady, I’m a bit hungry over here…I had to rush to this appointment before I could get lunch, and I am paying you $150 for this session…WTF one raisin only?!) 

And this is what we did…

  1. Hold and look at the raisin in your palm: I looked at it closely, noticed the wrinkly ridges, the colour, the way one end of it was shaped differently to the other. She told me to look at it like I’d never seen a raisin before…as if this was a new food to me. To hold a sense of wonder and awe with this one raisin.
  2. Touch, hear and smell: I then rolled the raisin between my fingers, holding it up to my ear as I gently squashed it. Then I smelt it as if it was a new smell…taking it in as I would take a deep breath of air at the ocean.
  3. Tasting then swallowing: rather than popping the entire raisin into my mouth (by this time I was pretty hungry!) I had to nibble a small piece off without swallowing it at first. Instead of “just swallowing the raisin” I had to observe when I wanted to and to watch how this made me feel.
  4. Notice: I had to notice how my stomach felt as the raisin moved into it (apart from starving!)

After I finally ate the whole ONE raisin, I noticed it had taken me nearly 5 minutes…*mental note: maybe this could be a new diet idea, eat very very slowly so you end up falling asleep and forget that you’re still hungry…

And this is what I learned from eating ONE raisin…

  • That mindfulness, staying present, knowing how I want to feel and checking in with how I do feel can soften the mind and open the heart.
  • That mindfulness doesn’t require a set of crystals or the ability to sit cross legged on a mat for hours.
  • That mindfulness can be practiced without having to sign up for courses, read books, or get coaching.
  • That mindfulness is essential to stay balanced, centred and calm.

So here’s my definition of mindfulness…

“Checking in with each of your senses and quietly noticing what’s going on, without judgment”

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So how can you take this “raisin eating lesson” back to the online world?

Next time you notice a link to a new eBook, course or a networking meeting and you click through…cultivate mindfulness.

Notice:

  • How your heart feels as you read –  jumpy and scared, calm and grounded?
  • What your breath is doing – is it fast and shallow, deep and slow?
  • How your shoulders, upper back and neck are feeling – tight and sore, relaxed and supple?

You will quickly work out what’s going to help and support you in moving towards your intentions and what won’t!

Let me know how you go below…

 

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Find Your Voice

Find your voice.

Type this into a search engine and you’ll be bombarded with information.

Tips and advice from experts.

Courses and workshops to attend.

Masses of information to digest – which takes time and energy…taking you further and further away from actually connecting with your voice!

So why does it feel hard to connect with your voice?

It’s there in your head – day in and day out.

But your voice isn’t the everyday worries and chitter chatter.

It’s your values, passion – the juicy interesting stuff that makes you stand out.

Your voice can help others learn, be inspired and even change their life.

So why is it so challenging?

Waves of doubt flood in…maybe my voice isn’t any good?

Then in comes procrastination, followed by “research”.

Searching for what others are doing – your peers, colleagues, competitors and role models.

Hours wasted “mooching around” and reading what others are doing, saying and feeling.

It’s time to stop digesting (reading others words) and start writing what you’re thinking.

Set aside 10 minutes each day to either handwrite or type any musings or observations down.

By the end of the week you will have a few pages of notes.

Notice:

  1. What themes or patterns have emerged,
  2. How you could craft these ideas into a blog or social media post, and
  3. What would help your audience.

Do this for a month and discover what happens.

Your voice won’t be hiding anymore under layers of self doubt, apprehension or procrastination.

Give it a go and let me know how you go below…

PS Need some help with “finding your voice”? I’ve got some FREE 15-minute Skype coaching sessions up for grabs. Email me here.

 

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How to get your blogging mojo back

It’s a common sticking point that isn’t spoken about openly.

And it can be hard to get over.

Life as a blogger has its ups and downs but when your creativity feels like it’s dried up for good, what do you do?

The first thing to remember is that you’re not alone!

Creating original content on a regular basis is fun when your ideas are flowing freely.

It’s not so fun when your brain freezes up and your fingers refuse to move over the keyboard.

Instead of trying to force creativity and blogging genius out – stop!

Step away from your keyboard and forget about it.

Staring at your blank screen and being distracted by what “everyone else is doing” is only going to make you feel more uptight.

Creativity doesn’t thrive in a state of contraction, it needs space to grow and breathe.

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Change your environment:

  • Visit your favourite cafe,
  • Go to the local beach,
  • Take the dog for a walk, or
  • Pour yourself a cool drink and sit on the deck.

And as you’re having a cool drink or a hot espresso, allow your brain some space to expand.

When you feel like you’ve “hit rock bottom” it’s really hard not to panic.

That really loud voice in your head telling you that you’re “never going to be able to write anything good…ever…ever again” is real.

But is it realistic?

When these moments arrive to bother me, I use something I learned from “Seinfeld”!

In “The Opposite” episode, George Costanza decides to do the opposite of what his instincts are telling him to do. If you’re not familiar with this episode, check out this 3-minute YouTube clip. 

“I should sit here until it’s done, until my ideas are out on the page and then I can go for a walk…I should be able to do this, after all how many blog posts have I written…”

I replace all these “freaked out” thoughts which want me to do something that will make me even more uptight and freaked out with “The Opposite”:

“I need to get this done now

THE OPPOSITE

I will go to the shops, run the errands, have a coffee then get it done”

“I am stuck and just need to push on through this

THE OPPOSITE

I need to give myself some breathing space, to release the anxious brake that’s holding me back by practicing yoga for 30 minutes.”

I have 3 other things to do before I can call it a day, if I don’t get this done now I will have to work late into the night

THE OPPOSITE 

I have other work I can do now that doesn’t require as much “creative juice”

How do you get your creativity flowing again?

Let me know below…

 

 

 

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How To Find Your Creativity

Ever wondered where your creativity has gone?

One day you’re in the “creative zone”.

Words are flying out of your fingertips – writing content is a breeze.

Then out of nowhere you’re stuck!

You’re in a desert where there’s no inspiration flowing at all.

There’s no escaping the frustration as white hot anger wells up inside you.

Perhaps the self-talk starts up next:

“I need to get this done today…I’ve got a deadline to meet…I haven’t got time for this…Maybe I’m just a big fraud!…”

But what if everything you thought about being creative was a cliche?

The stereotypical picture of someone being creative tends to look like:

  • an artist painting a masterpiece,
  • a ballerina flying effortlessly across the stage,
  • a potter sitting at their wheel making masterpieces from lumps of clay.

But creativity doesn’t end there – and this is where so many of us get stuck.

In the rush to be creative, make an impact and be noticed, we don’t notice what we create everyday.

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Creativity expands when we stop and notice what we create everyday – no matter how insignificant it seems to be.

Our creative energy is used when we:

  • organise our work schedules,
  • arrange a bunch of flowers, and
  • make nutritious meals.

Our creativity combines with our intuition when we:

  • create a peaceful and calm home, or
  • provide space for our friends to be heard and loved.

So the next time you feel like your creativity has gone forever – give yourself a break.

Be kind to yourself as you step away from your screen to get grounded.

For it’s this touch of kindness that gently rekindles the creativity flame.

Be gentle

Image from Pinterest