Thanksgiving and Black Friday are over and for the last few weeks, I was not in the Holiday spirit at all. Even if Starbucks hands me a red cup and I order drinks with Holiday flavors and eat Maroni it still feels very wrong that we are entering December shortly. It’s also a bit too warm outside. For the last few weeks of this year, I would like to bring more presence to all my interactions with you and my clients. Presence is important as we are constantly pulled in so many directions, and “energy flows where our attention goes” (Robbins, T n.d., para. 2).

I would like to share with you a small confession: Before I launched my business and when I started to blog, I had a tendency to spend a lot of time on social media. There was a time when my family was concerned that I was getting addicted to Facebook or Twitter. Luckily, I got over this by developing healthy ways of interacting with social media. If you are like me, you can hardly survive a day without your smartphones anymore, let alone access your bank account, google account, or any account for that matter.

When we are offline or have low batteries, it creates feelings of anxiety. I have an ongoing experiment where I am trying to increase my productivity and get more done by using fewer and fewer resources (money, paper, time, people). What it boiled down to over the last years is an annual ritual for this time of the year. Let’s call it the “Reduction Challenge”.

1 – Start with an Inbox List

To write this I started an inbox list I am regularly checking. The list became very long. I am not even sure I finished it yet. I’m not surprised that I am occasionally concerned about inbox anxiety. Once you have completed your inbox list, review my simplification principles and check which ones apply to you. Once you have completed your list review my simplification principles and check which ones apply to you. Can you think of other principles for simplification you wish to share?

2 – Develop Your Simplification Principles

Here are examples of your simplification principles.

• People over Robots! Any personal message is better than an automated response.
• Move from DIGITAL to ANALOGUE on purpose. Use paper or handwriting strategically.
• Delete unused apps from your smartphone at least quarterly.
• Turn your phone off from 9 PM to 6 AM. Give it a space for the night outside of the bedroom. (You will still hear the alarm!)
• Have a physical vision board with everything you need to make progress on. Use Post-its for visualizing goals. Paint ideas and sketch your vision of what you want. 
• Say “No, thank you…” or “yes, if…” to any proposal for meetings, work, and tasks right away. Commit fast and decline fast. Don’t ponder on decisions forever.
• When asked for meetings give two timeslot options only.
• Always set a deadline for when another person should come back to you.
• If you don’t know what to wear because you don’t know if the occasion is formal or not, wear a black suit or a black dress. Ask the organizer if you need more clarity, especially if you are new to the cultural environment.

3 – Write your “Accomplishment List”

Go through the RockMeApp archive and review all that you have accomplished this year. For those who are not on our RockMeApp, go through your daily planner or your journal: I’m sure you have accomplished more than you realize in your professional, as well as in your personal life. You should go through your accomplishments before you go through your annual review with your line manager.

4 – Start Working With the “Ideal Week Planner”

I have developed a template for my coaching clients which should help them to define what their ideal week would look like. Use this planner to make more “Yes/No” decisions and if you feel that you are missing a central point in your life because you are generally only working for other people and supporting their needs you might want to work with your “inner child” more. 

5 – Cut Yourself Some Slack

Allow yourself a weekend in another city or in a hotel in your city. Celebrate yourself and that you are working hard and that you are contributing your part in the world. Speak to your inner child and write a wish list to Santa Clause even if you first think this is ridiculous. Remember what kind of activities you most enjoyed as a child and teenager. Plan a such activity in your weekly planner.

References and Further Reading

7 Books That Will Help You Heal Your Inner Child | by Patrícia Williams | The Conscious Way | Medium

Susan Krauss Withbourne Ph.D., Ten Ways to Make it Through Your Life’s Transitions:

10 Ways to Make It Through Your Life’s Transitions | Psychology Today 

Nichols, Lisa, Find your authentic self and your voice with this mirror exercise | Lisa Nichols. 

7 Books To Help You Begin To Heal From Inner Child Trauma – Defying Resistance

Reparenting & Healing Your Inner Child (11 books)

Robbins, T n.d., Where Focus Goes, Energy Flows, Create a Vision for Your Business and Your Life, viewed on 19 November 2021, <https://essaypro.com/blog/harvard-style-citation>

by Oyin Adedokun  

oyindamola@globalpeopletransitions.com 

There is no doubt that the novel Coronavirus has taken its toll on your business. A lot of things are not working perfectly and the little things that are, are only doing so skeletally. There is a current wave of uncertainty, volatility, and complexities that is sweeping the world. However, I have some good news for you. Yes, good news! You are not the only one in this whole drama. We are all in this together. There is nothing to be gained from asking the question ‘when will this pandemic be over?’ because nobody knows. The best you can do instead is to start taking measures to stay ahead of the pandemic. Now, here is the good news. I will give you seven strategies that will allow your business to stay afloat this pandemic and its gruesome impacts.

Identify the unique challenges confronting your business. The starting point to proffering viable solutions to any problem is to first identify the problem itself. It’s quite amazing that many people run helter-skelter seeking solutions, yet give vague answers such as Coronavirus when asked what exactly the problem is. You must be explicit about the challenges confronting your business.

Be Flexible. This period requires the fortitude to be able to adapt conveniently with the series of changes that are sweeping across the world. A lot of decisions would need to be made promptly as events continue to unfold.

Embrace technology. The novel Coronavirus has fast-tracked the emergence of a digital world. As the need for physical touch and presence in executing and managing business suddenly fizzles out, the need to embrace digital contacts has further been accentuated by the pandemic.  According to Forbes’  the Corona Pandemic is forcing digital transformation. 

Apply for social security packages. You might be eligible for a support package for your business in your location targeted at cushioning the effect of Coronavirus. Governments are making a lot of fiscal and monetary policies geared towards stimulating the economy by supporting companies from suffering bankruptcy and facilitating a sustainable recovery.

Ensure effective Communication. This point ought to be at the head of the list because it is a non-negotiable factor to keeping your business running successfully during and even after Coronavirus.  You must be able to keep in touch constantly with your employees, clients, and customers. This is simply because you must keep intact the trust that relevant stakeholders have in you. The greatest tool for achieving this is tomaintain constant and effective communication with both your customers and stakeholders. Employ the service of a copywriter, if possible.

Think ahead.  It is imperative to think about what would be obtainable after Coronavirus is over or perhaps, when the social restrictions are totally lifted. You need to put strategies in place that would give you a competitive advantage. Think about what could be done differently. How do you deliver to your clients in the most dynamic way that keeps them glued as patrons of your services? These and more are the questions you must consistently ask yourself. Our RockMeApp provides you with the facility to help you get ahead. 

Lastly, keep a positive and optimistic mind. I know that the world is currently a difficult place to live in. And even the image of the Coronavirus itself looks scary on its own (well, maybe for me). However, I want you to know that things will fall back to normal. It might interest you to know that this is not the worst pandemic that has ever confronted the world. The world has conquered over and again. We will whip this pandemic as well. But you need to have a positive and optimistic outlook about life to keep your sanity and maintain belief. The fact that you are taking out time to read this piece means you already have hope that things will get better, and trust me, they will.

This too shall pass. Remain positive. Cheers.

Oyin.

Further Reading:

Is COVID-19 Forcing Your Digital Transfomation? 12 Steps To Move Faster:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/blakemorgan/2020/04/05/is-covid-19-forcing-your-digital-transformation-12-steps-to-move-faster/#44f6f1f5617b

ILO: Social protection responses to the COVID-19 crisis-Country responses and policy considerations 

Doing Business during COVID-19: Going Online to Weather the Storm: https://www.tomedes.com/business-center/doing-business-under-covid19  

by Angie Weinberger

When you are a business owner you often feel torn apart between taking on more clients and providing better service to your existing clients. Sometimes you might even feel that you deserve a higher quality in your personal life. Most business owners I know work every weekend and when they become mildly successful they realize that they have not been in touch with their oldest friends and even their family is often neglected.

While you are transitioning from being in the start-up phase where every penny counts to be on a plateau of a revenue stream coming in from existing clients and before you develop your business further ask yourself these 10 questions:

1) How much turnover do I need in order to have a basic income that is sufficient to survive?
– Write down this number.

2) If I would have more income how would I spend it? Which of needs are not fulfilled with my basic income?
– Start a wish list or wish book.

3) Am I willing to sacrifice quality time for these wishes or is time with friends and family more important to me?
– Mark the wishes you would still like to see fulfilled.

4) Could I provide a better service quality to my current clients and raise my prices before acquiring new clients?
– Go through your services and write down what you could improve.
– Consider the value of your services and explain them to new clients.

5) Do I work for other providers and do I have clients in my portfolio that are not willing to pay for my new price level?
– Communicate your new price level to these providers and clients.

6) Do I believe that my services are so unique that no one else can provide them in the same quality?
– Review your services for the uniqueness and see if you can make them even more unique so people do not really care how much you charge.

7) Am I happy with my services and do I feel rewarded with my price level?
– Check your gut feeling with the price tags.
– Review all your services again and throw out what does not suit you any longer.

8) Am I still doing work that is not well paid? Is it for a good cause?
– If the answer is yes and the work is for profit and not for a good cause I suggest you decline it going forward.

9) Do I believe that I can make a difference in the world with what I do?
– If the answer to this question is “No.” talk to me.

10) Will I learn to say “No” more often in 2019?
– You can only say yes to this question.

The year-end is a good time to review your prices and your service quality. Sit down with a glass of champagne to celebrate your success. Go through the ten questions above and practice to say “No” more often in order to say “Yes” to the right clients and the right jobs.

Join us for #RockMeRetreat2019.

Do you sometimes wonder when you update a spreadsheet, database or presentation, why you went to university in the first place? Do you sometimes feel in meetings that your potential is not fully utilized? Or when you run a team, are you the Chief Entertainer? Are you the parent cleaning up the toys after the kids, trying to stop them from fighting about the electronic devices, the projects and the recognition (i.e. bonus)?

Do you regularly try to calm the storm when one of your colleagues thinks she is right and the other one says that she started picking on him for no reason?

Companies and organizations often feel like kindergarten. As a leader you spend a large part of your day solving problems, easing difficult relationships, convincing colleagues to collaborate and cleaning up sloppy data entries from unmotivated service providers. They should be motivated by the fact that they charge you for their services but their staff lost touch to the end client. For them, it feels as if they are working in a data factory.

It’s a sad reality that shows in employee surveys and Gallup reports across the globe.

In my view, we need to deconstruct global careers and build a new concept for a fulfilled professional life for our expats, their spouses, and our #GlobalMobility teams. Last week, we started to discuss the future of work and how it will affect your “career”. We encouraged you to think like an entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurs have a purpose in their life. They know why they roll up a stone every day, they have an aim for their daily efforts. Being an entrepreneur for me has been the most challenging and most rewarding professional experience of my career. Not that I did not like my work earlier but I love the diversity and self-actualization opportunity that this kind of “portfolio” career allows a “multi-potentialite” with many interests like myself.

Here are five questions for you to reflect on:

1) What if you wanted or had to become an entrepreneur early next year?
2) What would be your three main goals for 2019?
3) Which knowledge can you build on?
4) Which critical skills do you want to develop further?
5) Which attitude would you need and which beliefs would you have to let go of?

If you would like to record your answers in our #RockMeApp or if you wish to join our #RockMeRetreat19 sign up here. #RockMeRetreat2019

Kind regards

Angie Weinberger

We recommend you also listen to and read this:

Podcast by Sundae Bean on Expat Life Upgrade

“The future of work is a complex thing” featuring Luke Skywalker and Buffy by the Libby.

Kai Beckmann’s take on the future of work Are we Curious Enough for the Future of Work?

Join the discussion on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter with #FoW.

For about a year now we have followed the discussion around “Future of Work (#FoW)” and we asked you what you would need to learn if you wanted to be more successful and happier.

You probably know that health and time are your most important assets. You would, therefore, ensure that you exercise, relax and watch your nutrition. You would also guard your time and try to be helpful at the same time. Most importantly, you would celebrate your close friends and family. They will probably stand by you when the going gets rough or when the rent doesn’t get paid.

You are not able to hide behind a manager and let her do the tough jobs only so you can complain that she never lets you do anything exciting. As an entrepreneur, you will stand in the limelight and you will need to perform all of your billable time.

What I have learned over the last few years is that “learning new stuff” took a new dimension for me when I started my business because, in the beginning, you have zero help. You can source support but it is usually too expensive so you will do a lot of tasks yourself that were done by other people in the corporate world. You might have been used to a team and never had to change the paper in the printer. You had a PA who would claim your expenses. Maybe you had a business development professional who would spice up your proposals. You certainly did not have to raise invoices and chase their payments.

On a skill level, we can always improve or learn something. We even need to practice in order not to forget.

If you feel you already know everything, you could write a book or learn Mandarin or Arabic. This will probably humble you.

Stop perfectionism. Start Creation.

Give room for creation.

When you are satisfied with your work because you have a strong purpose, the amount of time you put in is not really that relevant. Your creative process needs a different space than a factory-style task. Deep satisfaction comes from creation, not from the routine and administration. I also believe you can only monetize creation. Routine can be automated and outsourced.

We created the RockMe! App to increase stress for you. No joke. You will probably feel under pressure to achieve when you work with a coach. You might experience though that your energy is more targeted. You will achieve what is important to you and you will do it with pleasure. I advise you to write your three major goals for 2018 in present tense as if you had already achieved them. If you are a visual person try to find an image or photo for every one of the three future states you would like to achieve.

As soon as you start working with the app one of our coaches will check in with you on a regular basis to see how you are getting ahead. Will this cost you anything? Yes. You will need to give us feedback. If you find our work helpful, we assume that you will recommend GPT and the RockMe! App to all your contacts and friends. That’s all.

I wish you a productive week.

Kind regards,

Angie Weinberger

P.S.: Don’t forget to check out Lucie’s post on Expat children and Identity Crisis.

Plus, read this article if you are interested in 12 tips for working virtually in a multicultural team.