When most people see the term “system” they associate it to something complicated or in the personal development world, something you need to buy. In reality, systems are simply a set of steps to follow and creating systems is a powerful way to become more efficient by minimizing the duplication of effort.

I have systems for a lot of the things I do professionally – and I’m always tweaking them and adding more. Sometimes my bigger systems have smaller ones within them. For example, I have a system for creating a new course and within that, there are systems for creating the audio program for the course as well as the course workbook.

The nice thing about this is that it saves me time because I’m not duplicating my efforts. The workbooks for my courses all use the same template so I don’t have to go through the trouble of setting margins, footers and figuring out which fonts to use. These standards benefit those who take the course as everything has the same familiar look and the courses all follow the same three part format.

The other advantage is that everything is done in a manner so that I can hand it off to someone else – which means I can then focus on running and growing my business. The challenge that so many smaller businesses face is that they are a one person shop. You see this all the time with service businesses ranging from hairdressers and masseuses to professional services such as doctors and lawyers. But many speakers and consultants run into this problem as well. Even though they own businesses, their success is bound by time – and their time has to be split among providing their service and running their business.

Systems help out because they document tasks so they can be delegated to an assistant – virtual or otherwise. Consider this, if you’re a moderately successful speaker, you might average about $100-500 per hour presenting. A good virtual assistant might run you about $20-30 per hour. In theory, wouldn’t it be great to delegate tasks like basic bookkeeping and combing the various social media services for new business to an assistant while you’re out presenting? Of course, life doesn’t always work that way but there are only so many hours in the day so if you have a profitable business, wouldn’t it make sense to pawn off the mundane tasks that take time but not a lot of skill so you can focus on tasks like connecting new clients?

A number of people who take my classes on “Promoting Your Business Online” ask me if I could just do the work for them. Part of the reason is they lack the technical skills and patience to deal with the various services to establish a suitable online presence. So in eight hours, they would accomplish what I could do for them in one. I’m immersed in the technology and have a set of systems developed, which is why I can do things more effectively for them.

The nice thing about systems is that they are easy to create. Here’s my quick process:

1. Identify a task that is repeatable and requires little decision making.
2. Break the task down into steps.
3. Document what you do for each step by creating a simple task list (a numbered or bulleted list will do).
4. Look at the steps and see if rearranging them will make them more efficient. For example, can you group all the tasks that require you to use a certain tool (such as your computer or a program) together so you don’t have find the tool, use it and then put it away multiple times?
5. Run through the list and see if anything is unclear or requires a decision. If so, clarify it.

Once you’ve created the system, test it out a few times. You might find that while you’re doing it, you find better and faster ways to do it so then update your documentation. Even if you don’t outsource the task, you’ll have a standard way of doing that task that keeps you focused and efficient. You may be able to copy the system and add slight modifications to perform a new task.

If you’re not sure where to start out, try creating form letters and/or document templates. If you find that you’re always setting the margins a certain way and picking a particular font for the documents you create, then create a template that already has this done for you (your word processing program’s documentation will tell you how to do this). If your sales letters or event invitations use the same basic format, create a sample one so that you just need to change the name, date and details rather than starting from scratch each time.

Creating systems is a great way to add time to your day and set your business up for growth. Give it a try to see how it can help you.

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These days, cell phones do a whole lot more than just making calls – yes, they still make calls. Of course, with apps that do everything from connect you to latest social network to addictive games that can keep you busy for hours, the fun can cancel out the productivity pretty quickly. I have an Android phone and I love it (for my iPhone friends, you may find that many of these apps are in the iTunes App store as well). And yes, I play lots of games on it. However, I have found some great applications that actually help me be productive. Here are my top five:

1. Evernote

You can do so much with this amazing online notebook. You can store and organize notes, voice recordings, pictures and more. The app is free, all you need is an Evernote account (also free) and you can start organizing your notes. The great thing about Evernote is that you can access it from your Phone (it supports iPhone as well as Android), PC (Windows & Mac) and via the web. While it offers a premium service at $45 per year, most people can make do with the free version.

2. Mint.Com

Like Evernote, this app links in to a web-based service (which is free) that is extremely helpful. Mint.com allows you to track all your financial data from credit cards to bank accounts to loans to investments and much more. While you can’t use it to pay bills, you can use it to quickly check transactions and make notes to any transactions that are made to any of your accounts. You can also see if payments cleared, check balances and see how you’re tracking within your budget. It takes a while to set up (you might need about half a day to collect all your information and register for access to your different accounts) but then after that, you’re good to go. It’s a must have for anyone who’s serious about their financial health.

3. Gentle Alarm :

Gone are the days of needing an alarm clock – most cell phones (even those without all the fancy bells & whistles) have alarms built into them. But this app takes things a couple steps forward. First, the volume of the alarm starts off low but than gradually increases, which helps you wake up in a more natural way. Another great feature is the pre-alarm, which goes off at a low volume before the regular alarm (default is 30 minutes, but you can adjust it) so if you’re partially awake, you’ll hear it and get up (if you’re so inclined). We’re all looking for more hours in the day and this app is a great way to get some (at least partial hours).

4. Juice Defender:

This app is essentially a tool that helps prolong your battery life by shutting off things that you’re not using. Smartphones are notorious for having short battery life so these types of utilities are essential. I’ve found that by using this app, I typically get a 75% increase in battery life, which is very helpful. You might be wondering how a battery saver makes you more productive. Well, if you’re not able to use your phone because your battery has run out (or you’re waiting for it to charge), then you have completely lost any productivity. Minimizing these types of situations will certainly help with productivity.

5. Business Calendar:

While the calendar included with Android is okay (and the one that the HTC Sense phones include is pretty nice), I’ve found this app to be helpful because of its display and it’s widget. Again, the calendar widget from HTC Sense is nice and scrolls a bit better, but the Business Calendar widget uses a smaller font so if you’re like me and keep your to do list in your calendar, then you can see a lot more entries right away without the need to scroll. It also comes preloaded with US holidays and lets you have multiple calendars (work, home, etc…) which you can turn their displays off and on.

So these are some of my favorite apps that I feel increase my productivity. As I discover more, I’ll be sure to add them to future posts. And if there are apps that you think I should know about, leave a comment below or contact me.

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To do lists really are useless. The remind me of the pile of junk mail on my desk – they keep growing and growing until I finally get frustrated and just wipe it out. Throughout the years I’ve experimented with various type of to do lists: paper based, electronic and I even created several types of my own. But I’ve found a tool that’s been around a lot longer that works much more effectively: the calendar.

Yes, you can go crazy with creating lists and it’s a good exercise to start. But there’s something about checking off a task only to add three more that can be quite discouraging. Plus, you need to keep checking your list and sometimes you don’t have enough time set aside to get to a task so you put it off and then the next day’s tasks begin and so forth and before you know it, you’re overwhelmed.

So I’ve decided to get rid of my to do list and instead put tasks directly in my calendar. If something comes up and I can’t get to it, I reschedule it. If I can’t finish it in the allotted time, I schedule time to finish it. I find this to be very effective for most small or independent tasks.

For larger projects, I use either project management or notebook software to break things down into manageable pieces. For example, when I create a new course I’ll create my outline in the notebook software and then schedule time for the various tasks in my calendar. Sometimes I’ll even schedule brainstorming time so I can focus on that particular project as a whole. The great thing about using the calendar is that I have it integrated with my phone and computer, so both nag me whenever I have something to do. I teach these principles (in greater detail) in my Goal Setting Class and the feedback I’ve received from the people who have tried them has been overwhelmingly positive.

The nice thing too is that if I think of something I need to do, I can schedule it right away and make sure that I’m not overwhelming myself. It’s one thing to give yourself a list of ten things to accomplish in a day – it’s another to take a look at that list and figure out just when you’ll fit them into whatever time you have available.

So should you toss out your list? Again, lists are great way to organize things and make sure you don’t forget them. But if you don’t take that last step and actually allocate time to do it, you’re shooting yourself in the foot. Even if you schedule an hour every Sunday night to schedule and organize tasks for the week, you’ll see your productivity jump. And while we’re on the topic of tasks and productivity, try doing tasks right away before they even become a task. Rather than take the time to schedule paying a bill, just pay it and be done with it. Sometimes, it takes just as much time to quickly do a task as it does to fuss about it and write it down.

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Living in the present is much easier said than done. Ever been in a meeting but your mind is drifting elsewhere? Perhaps you’re thinking of a conversation you had right before your meeting or you’re planning out the rest of your day. It’s amazing how so many of us spend our days at work thinking about our next vacation yet when we’re actually on vacation, we spend so much time worrying about work.

Not being present robs you of a few things. First it prevents you from focusing on the task at hand, whether it’s a work related task or something fun. If your mind is elsewhere you’re not taking full advantage of the moment. In the case of business situations, you might be missing out on key information in conversation and in the case of recreation, you’re missing out on some of those magical moments that could become treasured memories.

Second, living in the past and worrying about the future create unneeded stress. It’s fine to reminisce or evaluate past performance and it’s important to plan ahead. But you also have to live your life from time to time. If you’re constantly rehashing things that happened in the past or remembering the good old days, you’re not living your life. If you’re always thinking about the future and what’s going to happen next, you’re missing out on key opportunities right now.

Finally, you owe it to the people you’re around to focus on them. If someone is paying you for your time, whether you’re a business owner or an employee, they deserve to get your attention when you’re with them. The same holds true in non-work related situations: it’s not fair to your family for you to be thinking about work when you’re kids are trying to tell you about their day at the dinner table.

The quick solution is to pull yourself into the present. Focus on the conversation or task at hand. Listen to the people around you. If something is really distracting you and making it to difficult to focus on the present, make a quick note of it and then deal with it when you get a moment to yourself.

Just like there’s more to success than money, there’s more to life than work. Take some time to stop and smell the roses when you’re not working. When you are working, focus on the task at hand – avoid the temptation to spend you’re working hours multitasking. You’ll soon find yourself living a richer life.

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