Friday, June 22, 2018
Home Based Business Ideas UK: The 4 D’s Of Getting Things Done And Feeling Bette...
Home Based Business Ideas UK: The 4 D’s Of Getting Things Done And Feeling Bette...: This simple, 4 step process will help you stay on top of things and feel better about yourself what ever the outcome. Do you find you...
The 4 D’s Of Getting Things Done And Feeling Better About Yourself Whatever The Outcome
This simple, 4 step process will help you stay on top of things and feel better about yourself what ever the outcome.
Do
you find yourself feeling overwhelmed by endless to do lists and a tray full of
things to sort out? If the answer to this question is, yes, join the club! Most
of us have been there!
I
want to give you a quick 4-step process to help you get more organised and, more
importantly, feel better about yourself whatever the outcome.
The
process has evolved from the combination of things I’ve learned over the years and the many
books. For instance, Life Leverage by Rob Moore and Getting Things Done by renowned expert and bestselling author David Allen.
David
Allen’s book is great, well I say great, but I haven’t actually read it!
I’ve read bits and pieces and I think it will be a dipper rather than a page
turner. It will, however, look great on my bookshelf and people will think that I must be super organised!
My advice to David is, if you write in the book aimed at people who are
overwhelmed and can’t get things done,there is no point in writing a 300 page,
small print book, with no photos because no one will ever finish let alone
someone who is disorganised! How will they ever get round to it? Your book will
end up in that pile of unread books and things to do and cause them more
stress!
Before
I start, over the years I have observed hundreds of people, many of whom I have
employed in my businesses, and I have come to the conclusion that there are two
types:
Organised tidy desk person (OTDP)
Disorganised messy desk person (DMDP)
Sorry
to disappoint you, but that’s the way it is.
Incidentally,
I have a messy desk. I really do envy those OTDPs who can breeze into work on time and looking fresh and just eat admin, get everything done and then leave the office with a completely tidy
desk, other than a photo of their loved one and their favourite personally washed clean mug! Bang on leaving time, they smile and wave goodbye to everyone, pick up their gym bag and walk out of the office knowing they have finished the jobs they set out to finish and some more.
Invariably,
I have found that if you want to employ someone in an admin or an office based
role you better make sure they are an OTDP.
When it comes to getting things done, how
do you feel about things matters more than you imagine.
If
you are already stressed about a task or hate doing that task, the chances of you
getting on with it are slim. Invariably, you will leave until the eleventh hour and do it
badly or miss the deadline altogether.
There
must be a better way of going through life than being stressed all the time - becasue there will ALWAYS be things to do, problems, grass growing under your feet and so on.
Have you read the book, 1000 places to see before you die? How on earth can
you say 1000 places all over the world? It might well be called 1000 places you
probably won’t see before you die, so get over it! I started reading that book
a few years ago and at first it was great. There I was, highlighting the places I
had already seen and would be visiting in the near future. But then it started
to become a little overwhelming. How was I going to get to all of these countries
in the time I had available? Even if 5 years off and went backpacking around the world I
never get to all the places. Most people only have one or two main holidays a year where they travel abroad, so that's about 80 places you might get to in a forty year working life!
Back to getting things done and feeling good regardless. Here are my 4 Ds:
- Do it
- Delegate it
- Defer it
- Ditch it
1. Do
it
Sometimes
you’ve just got to knuckle down, lock yourself away, turn off the TV and get it done! Sorry, but nothing moves without action, so you may need disciplin or a kick up the arse from someone or yourself.
Things stop us getting things
done are fear and not knowing how to do them.
Fear is easy to overcome - just get started.
Not knowing how it's done is easy to overcome. There is a very simple way to learn
how to do almost anything nowadays - Google it. You can now google almost any
task on earth and quickly find out how to perform even the most technical
things in minutes. When a friend of mine was locked out of her Porsche Boxster
because the battery had gone flat. We got the door open and then realised that the boot lever was electronic
and needed battery power! The battery was in the boot and the boot lever needed a full battery.
After
searching the manual in vain, I googled it and within minutes I was watching a
video of how to get the boot open with a flat battery. It worked!
If
you really can’t get things done you might need some help or you might need to
go to step two
2. Delegate
it
Delegation sounds obvious, but so many people fail to master it or think they are the only ones who can do the job right.
You have to learn to let go, recognise your strengths and weaknesses and delegate tasks you don't like doing or don't do very well.
I
don’t like admin and things like tax returns and forms. This is why I delegate
it to a PA, accountant or bookkeeper.
I
also get no fun out of cleaning and mowing the lawn, so I hire people at £10 an
hour so I can either do things I enjoy doing or tasks that will earn me more
than £10 per hour.
You
can also delegate thousands of tasks using the millions of freelancers listed sites such as
Upwork.
If
it’s a job you cannot delegate you may need to go to step three.
3. Defer
it
Deferring
something will not cause the stress by not doing it and worrying about
why you have not done it.
In other words, you’re making a deal with yourself to
say, I can’t do this right now, but I will do it at a future date. Pop it in your calendar. Stress over.
It’s
ok to have a “someday Isle” list of things you may or may not do.
If
you can’t do it, delegate it or defer it you know what comes next.
4. Ditch
it!
This
can be the most liberating step at all, but I would suggest you go through the
first three steps before you start throwing everything away!
Ditching
it can mean that you just tell yourself that you’re not going to do a certain
task and you’re not bothered about it. You could still go back to in the
future, but in the meantime it’s not weighing on your mind.
At the end of the day you can lower the high standards of efficiency you mentally set for yourself in many areas of your life. It's fine to have a messy garage or unpacked boxes from the last move. Don’t worry about it.
When I ran a business, I would have a good clear out of old papers every once in a while. It was amazing to find that many of the things that hadn't been done or responded to months back had not made any difference to my life. So many seemingly important things to do, which I thought were problems and caused me stress and worry at the time over time actually 'went away' by themsleves. I could have ditched those things at the time and never had to worry bout them.
I'm not suggesting that you ignore problems, but do apply the 4 D process to them.
Mark
Twain once said something like, I’ve had many problems in my life, but most of
them never happened.
Check out my Podcast version, "The 4 D’s Of Getting Things Done And Feeling Better " from Money Tips Daily by Charles Kelly, former IFA and author of on Anchor: https://anchor.fm/charles-kelly/episodes/The-4-Ds-Of-Getting-Things-Done-And-Feeling-Better-e1mrtf
Saturday, June 16, 2018
Home Based Business Ideas UK: London £1 million Property Glut As UK Market Stagn...
Home Based Business Ideas UK: London £1 million Property Glut As UK Market Stagn...: London estate agents are seeing a glut of properties on the market priced at over £1 million plus. The market is even slower at the £3-5 ...
London £1 million Property Glut As UK Market Stagnates
London estate agents are seeing a glut of properties on the market priced at over £1 million plus. The market is even slower at the £3-5 million level following higher stamp duty and less foreign buyers.
Oliver Reed's old house was once on the market for £12 million in 2009
In
some cases properties have been on the market for several years and the price of the
late actor Oliver Reed’s Surrey mansion has been slashed by £10 million!
The 12-acre estate set in the beautiful Surrey Hills was once up for sale for £12 million in
2009, but the price-tag has been gradually reduced since. In 2016, the six
bedroom, five bathroom house was marketed it for £4.95m and is now for sale by
auction at a guide price £2.6 million via Allsop.
Brexit uncertainty is being blamed for the slowdown in the UK property market and this month has seen the first annual fall since 2009. Buy-to-let landlords have bee deterred from investing in property by recent tax hikes and tighter mortgage rules.
If you would like to learn more about property investment and attend a seminar, I have a limited supply of complimentary tickets for an event with a leading training provider - email me charles@charleskelly.net.
Check out my Podcast episode "London £1 million Property Glut As Market Stagnates" from Money Tips Daily by Charles Kelly, former IFA and author of on Anchor: https://anchor.fm/charles-kelly/episodes/London-1-million-Property-Glut-As-Market-Stagnates-e1lh5m
Check out my Podcast episode "Leasehold Property Is A Legal Landmine, Read This Before You Buy" on Anchor! https://anchor.fm/charles-kelly/episodes/Leasehold-Property-Is-A-Legal-Landmine-So-Be-Wary-e16oof
Previous articles:
Leasehold properties are a legal minefield
UK Government To Change Visa Rules For Doctors And Nurses
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
Home Based Business Ideas UK: 70 Years To Make A Decision?
Home Based Business Ideas UK: 70 Years To Make A Decision?: Don’t be like the UK government and take 70 years to come to a decision to build a new runway at Heathrow airport! In hi...
70 Years To Make A Decision?
Don’t be like the UK government and take 70
years to come to a decision to build a new runway at Heathrow airport!
In his book, Think
and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill lists lack of decision as one of the major causes
of failure!
In this episode, I
give you real life examples of how making a decision has turned my life around
in more ways than one and created a multi-million pound business in one day.
Check out my
Podcast episode "70 Years To Make A Decision " from Money Tips Daily
by Charles Kelly, former IFA and author of Yes, Money Can Buy You Happiness. on
Anchor: https://anchor.fm/charles-kelly/episodes/70-Years-To-Make-A-Decision-e1jest
Home Based Business Ideas UK: 70 Years To Make A Decision!
Home Based Business Ideas UK: 70 Years To Make A Decision!: Don’t be like the UK government and take 70 years to come to a decision to build a new runway at Heathrow airport! In his book...
70 Years To Make A Decision!
Don’t be like the UK government and take 70 years to come to a decision to build a new runway at Heathrow airport!
In his book, Think
and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill lists lack of decision as one of the major causes
of failure!
In this episode, I
give you real life examples of how making a decision has turned my life around
in more ways than one.
Check out my
Podcast episode "70 Years To Make A Decision " from Money Tips Daily
by Charles Kelly, former IFA and author of Yes, Money Can Buy You Happiness. on
Anchor: https://anchor.fm/charles-kelly/episodes/70-Years-To-Make-A-Decision-e1jest
Monday, June 4, 2018
Home Based Business Ideas UK: 12 Simple Steps Get Out Of Debt Fast Forever
Home Based Business Ideas UK: 12 Simple Steps Get Out Of Debt Fast Forever: Consumer debt is becoming one of the scourges of modern life with average debts per household soaring. I’m not talking about loans and de...
12 Simple Steps Get Out Of Debt Fast, Forever
Consumer
debt is becoming one of the scourges of modern life with average debts per
household soaring. I’m not talking about loans and debt used to buy assets,
such as houses or commercial buildings, but credit used to buy depreciating
consumer goods like cars, TV’s and furniture.
See also:
How to Monetise Your Knowledge and Skills and Turn Passion into Profits
In
an earlier podcast
episode, I talked about the rent-to-own stores which prey on the poorer
members of society selling them consumer items at ridiculous prices and then
charging extortionate interest rates on top!
Whatever
the reasons for getting into serious debt, if you want to live without worry
and fear it is vitally important to get out of debt fast and stay debt free
forever.
Here
are my 12 steps to get out of debt fast and stay out of debt for good
- Prioritise debts in order of importance and cost of
servicing the debt. Obvious priorities are things like keeping a roof over
your head and maintaining power supplies, rather than paying those who are
shouting the loudest. Look at the cost of your loans or credit cards and clear
the debts with the highest interest rate or repayment. Clearing the high
cost debts first will give you breathing space to pay off other debts
faster by saving money on interest.
- Slash non-essential outgoings. Go through all your
standing orders and direct debits and ruthlessly cut out everything you
don’t need, especially things like Sky TV or that membership of the gym
you only visit once a month. Exercise at home and find a way to walk more
often.
- Make a plan to start paying off debts and stick to it.
Most people don’t realise that if you just pay the minimum amount required
on a credit card it will take several years before the debt is paid off. Start
clearing expensive debts first so that you can reduce the rising tide of compound
interest drowning you by by increasing your balance faster than you can
clear it. List all debts and monthly repayments on a spreadsheet and plan
your route to financial freedom. This one step of making a list of your
debts will make a huge difference.
- Get a balance transfer card. Whilst this is a
short-term measure, transferring credit card balances from high interest
charging companies to 0% cards will give you breathing space. Watch out
for the balance transfer fees which can be a high as 3%. Sometimes it can
be cheaper in the long run to pay a small interest rates with no balance
transfer fees.
- Earn extra cash. One of the most obvious ways of
reducing your debts is to increase your income. This can be achieved in a
number of ways including starting part-time business, working extra hours,
qualifying for a pay rise or getting a higher paid job.
- Check if you are entitled to any benefits or tax
credits. This especially applies to single parents and people in low paid
work. It’s more benefit or tax break could transform your finances
overnight. To find out more check on the government website or see
citizens advice if you live in the UK.
- Never ignore a bill, demand and especially a debt
collector or court letter. Burying your head in the sand will not make the
problem go away and ignoring any of the above will make matters worse and
cost you more in the long run with interest and penalties. Ignoring bills
and letters will ultimately lead to County Court Judgements and debt
defaults which will stay on your record and credit file for six years and
effectively ruining your credit rating.
- Speak to your creditors if you are having difficulties.
- Ask for help. This could involve your Citizens Advice
office, an independent debt counsellor or even a relative. We all need a
little help from time to time and being in debt can be lonely and
depressing.
- Stay out of consumer debt for good. Never borrow to buy
expensive consumer items which depreciate in value and avoid rip-off deals
like rent to own products like the plague. The old adage of “if you can’t
afford it do without it” should be drummed into this modern ‘I want it
now’ age! We have become too accustomed to the ‘buy now pay later’ culture
of easy credit, which should be called easy debt, and keeping up with the
joneses, which I mention in my forthcoming book ‘Yes, Money Can Buy You
Happiness’.
- Never use expensive payday lenders, unless you have no
other choice, and especially unauthorised doorstep lenders will charge you
a small fortune interest.
- Start building your credit rating by making repayments
on time and clearing credit cards faster. The higher your credit rating,
the more access you will have to cheaper finance and the less you will be
dependent on expensive credit.
Finally, measure and monitor to keep the momentum and maintain and debt free lifestyle.
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