Skip multi-tasking

Multi-tasking is not your friend. As a society we pride ourselves on being able to keep a lot of balls in the air. Unfortunately studies now show that the more we multi-task the less we learn and concentrate. While multi-tasking is often unavoidable try to reserve time to focus on certain tasks. Cut out distractions like phones, email, kids, TV and radio. You will be amazed how much you can get done, and the clarity of which you do it when you are uninterrupted.

a. Foerde, K., Knowlton, B.J., & Poldrack, R.A. (2006). Modulation of competing memory systems by distraction. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 103, 11778-83

It's a team effort

Even when you work alone, success is a team effort.

Who is on your team? This is an important part of your business plan and your long term goals. Your team may consist of just you in the beginning, but where are you going. Eventually will you need more people, a virtual assistant, a web designer, a sales person or do you plan on staying a one-man operation? No matter what your long term plans are remember you are not an expert at everything. Make sure you have access to an accountant a lawyer, a tech person. Evaluate your business and establish, even if it's in your mind, what expert opinions and help you need to succeed.

Organizing is important but don’t over do it. Eric Abrahamson author of A Perfect Mess states "Moderately messy systems outperform extremely orderly sstems,” To much time spent organizing diminishes productivity and creativity. So, let some piles stack up and watch your creativity flow.

Eric Abrahamson, Columbia University professor of management and co-author of A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder (Little, Brown).

Napping = efficiency

As busy moms we are often sleep deprived. Do yourself a favor, take a short afternoon nap. It doesn't make you "lazy", it makes you more efficient; hence, a better business owner, parent, and person.

As a nation, the United States appears to be becoming more and more sleep deprived. And it may be our busy lifestyle that keeps us from napping. While naps do not necessarily make up for inadequate or poor quality nighttime sleep, a short nap of 20-30 minutes can help to improve mood, alertness and performance. Nappers are in good company: Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Napoleon, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison and George W. Bush are known to have valued an afternoon nap. --- The National Sleep Foundation

For the full article:
http://www.healthcentral.com/sleep-disorders/napping-192939-5.html

Birth Your Business Plan

A business plan is a simple, realistic expression of your goals, and how you intend to achieve your desired results. It begins with the start-up phase and moves later to the business development phase. If you are excited about what you are dreaming of accomplishing, then creating a business plan can be experienced as an exercise to capture the thrill and challenge of giving birth to your “new baby”. Philippa Kennealy MD, The Entrepreneurial MD

What are you doing?

Before you do anything you need to envision your business plan. The first part of that is to write a mission statement. A mission statement is a paragraph that succinctly outlines what it is you are doing, how you are going to do, and where you are going to do it. the mission statement is the first step in you being able to quickly describe to people what your business is about. It is the basis for your "elevator pitch" (more on that later).