“Just step off the ledge,” I could hear myself chanting inwardly as the force of the harness against my body made my heart lose gravity. And then, it was so simple rappelling into a bat filled cave.
As a self-proclaimed work-o-holic, it was a challenge to let go of my blackberry and laptop for two weeks. But so easy to embrace the freedom that accompanied having absolutely nothing scheduled!
Rested and recharged from a double duty vacation - Polished Promotions’ 1 Year Anniversary and the 2nd anniversary of coupledom with my boyfriend – It took me 5 post-holiday days urging the worker bee in me to emerge from her hibernation.
And here I am. Regardless of if you spent the holiday season with friends and family at home or away –here are a few tips to help launch into a new year!
1. Reflect and record. What happened in 2008? What would you like to improve and/or embrace? Write down your goals.
2. Compile a to-do list. This tactic has worked for me since high school. A to-do list holds you accountable to the tasks at hand (getting you closer to your goals). Plus it feels really great to check things off and recognize your daily accomplishments.
3. Insist on balance. If you’re like me (and almost every other small business owner I have met) intentions to balance life are always there – but more often than not, they seem impossible to achieve. Now, with a fresh calendar in front of you, you can schedule in your much deserved time with family and friends.
4. Create new habits. Some sources say it takes 21 days to create a habit (others say 3 months). Why not start now. My business coach, Cathy Clark has the best suggestion - use a timer. On my to-do list I have time allocation written next to each project. I set the timer on my blackberry or over (we don’t have a microwave) and diligently finish the project – avoiding web surfing, phone calls and emails.
5. This is really an addition to number 4 – stop multitasking. I used to think that multitasking was the key to my success. Then I realized it was taking me twice as long to finish projects and I was doing only satisfactory work. Spend the time, do it right and then move on.
Happy New Year!
However you celebrate your holiday season, I hope you have a very merry time with family, friends and all of your loved ones.
Basics:
First – You’ll need a program to open and create zip files
Rarlab has a free download WinRAR 3.80 (it’s the first choice)
Next - follow the directions:
It will ask you to “Run” or “save” the program
“Run” the program
Unzip a folder:
Once WinRAR is installed select the folder you want to unzip
Right click it > Choose “Extract Here” (which will make the contents unzip in that very spot)
The file folder will download into the same folder
A Little Techie:
First - Combine files into a file folder:
Create a folder
Right click in desired folder > create > new folder > [insert name of folder] > drag and drop files into folder.
Second -Create a Zip File:
Right click on the file folder or the singular file you want to “zip” >
choose the action: “Add to [file name here].rar” > file should combine with an icon that looks like a stack of three books
More Techie
Sending Large files 5 MB +(because most email programs allow you to upload 10 MB total – and most email recipients don’t like getting large emails that clog up their inboxes)
If you are sending 100 MB or less in any given week, sign up for a free web program called You Send It.
If you are sending more than 100MB a week and you’d like to track your file transfers – click on the affiliate link on the right and it will take you through a sign up process there.
To send a file: Ensure file is zipped or a singular file > go to send file > choose email addresses (separate multiple emails with a comma) > choose file to send using the browse button to look on your computer > send file > DO NOT close the browser window while file is sending, it may take several minutes
You will receive a confirmation in your email when the file transfer is successful.
Welcome to our marketing world chaos. With just a few weeks to go before Christmas - and only two weeks to go before Polished Promotions takes a well deserved break - we thought we’d get a blog up and running - just to prove how easy it is for all of our clients to do. Watch us while we chip away at the theme, the sidebar widgets and posting! If you want to skip all of that jazz, just mark your calendars for January 31, 2009 when we’ll be ready to rock and roll. Or visit Polished Promotions to learn more about us.
