Apologies and Contingency planning

I am afraid I have been out of town and not found time to manage this blog and write for it. It is a shame, and I regret not writing a load of articles beforehand. The truth is that I thought I would make time. Planning is invaluable. There are times when you can not do much and some things are just inevitable. The vast majority of times though, a well thought out contingency plan would solve any of these potential issues. I did not have a contingency in place.

In life we learn a lot the hard way. Most of the times through laziness. There is so much information out there, so many life hacks, productivity tips, resources, and any other type of advice and information you could possibly need. Why do we all seem to choose to learn the hard way? The answer is quite simple really, we naturally choose the option which requires us not doing anything, not investing time and effort upfront. It takes a concerted effort to plan ahead and sort out our affairs.

When I left town I had very little planned. It was admittedly a last minute and extended trip. I do not own a laptop as of yet. I have never needed one. This left me with some serious problems, considering how much of my business is online. In the last couple of days I have been trying to get on top of things from abroad. I set up a calendar and emails I can access from anywhere. These are the basics that I need. I caught myself out, dont let it happen to you.

So to conclude, my top tips for everyone:

• Have a contingency plan, you never know when you will need it.
• Make sure you can keep on top of your business wherever you are.
• Make sure you have access to your schedule, you do not want to having conflicting plans.
• Plan ahead, you can not underestimate the power of effective planning.

Do you always seem to learn the hard way? What stops us from doing things we know will be beneficial and help us out?

Are you suffering from Infomania?

Are you constantly interrupted by email? phone calls? instant messaging? If so you may be an infomaniac! Can you go an hour without checking your email or phone or feed reader? If not then you are suffering from Infomania!

Infomania is a growing problem in business and those who work at home are exceptionally vulnerable to it. Infomania is characterised by a distraction from duties by an urge to remain informed and up to date at all times resulting in information overload. The improvements in technology and the access to constant up to date information have made this a rising concern in the last twenty years but only in recent times since mobile technology has become more mainstream has Infomania really become a common problem.

Businesses are finding their productivity is taking a hit as technologies widely considered to be business aids are now causing as much harm as good. In 2007 – the year of Facebook, there was near constant mainstream media attention on people spending hours at work on social networking websites.

How can you protect yourself from Infomania?

1. Write a to do list and detail tasks which need to be achieved today.
2. Close all email clients, feed readers, instant messengers and web browsers for a pre defined time period which will be your productive time. In this time you must complete all tasks designated for this time period.
3. Take regular short breaks in which you check your emails etc.
4. Once your break is over, close all your distractions and have another productive hour.

Are you suffering from Infomania? How do you make sure your productivity is not suffering?

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