The Jason Womack Company

The Great Mississippi Bike Ride: Day 4

Jason W. Womack, MEd, MA — Sat, 19 May 2012 01:42:57 +0000

Day four of our fabulous ride along the Mississippi River. So far we’ve had some great days of cycling.

Day 1: 68 miles
Day 2: 58 miles
Day 3: 69 miles
Day 4: 94.49 miles (yes, I’m including the .49 there as well…)

We started off at the best (only) coffee shop in town: Natchez Coffee Company. Not only a full “southern-style” breakfast (grits DO go with everything), I got a soy latte that was wonderful. (First real coffee drink since last Saturday, when I was in New York City).

I took this photo looking outside, from inside, the coffee shop

We all knew it was going to be a longer day today; that meant a little earlier start. So, we were at the breakfast house as they opened, by 7am. (Ok, maybe a little bit after, but I wanted to roll by the Natchez Technology Incubator one more time, just to see if anyone was in that early!) I’m still super impressed that there IS an incubator here, and hope they achieve some major success in the short AND long term.

I didn’t say anything about this yesterday, but there IS someone I’d like to meet in Natchez. When I checked in to the hotel, I saw a periodical called, “Natchez: The Magazine” (the Spring, 2012 edition). The last page of the magazine is a column called, “Why I love Natchez.” There, in an interview-type article, Ms. Alice Morrison talks about finding her calling to work in education. She references one of the more important books in my own journey of getting from “there to here,” and I’d like to offer Ms. Morrison a signed copy of my book. (I think after reading “Good to Great,” that she’ll get a few more ideas from Your Best Just Got Better that she can use right away.)

Early in the morning, we started along the Natchez Trace Parkway

This part of the ride has been my favorite so far. With over 30 miles (today) along this one roadway, we got an opportunity to ride without having to watch for traffic the entire time. (This is one thing about this ride – so far – that’s been a challenge for me: A LOT of traffic…) I decided I’d ride by myself for a while; amazing things happen when I spend 75 minutes alone, on my bike, with a goal to keep going at +18 Miles Per Hour.

I got to think about the better series (www.facebook.com/YourBestJustGotBetter) and how that may morph and change in the near future. I also let myself go down the thinking stream with this thought-prompt: “What if there were a #Better scholarship program?” I love the idea of having people apply for a scholarship (or, is it a grant…or, perhaps even a loan) to go out, and make SOMEthing better?” I had a LONG time to spin the thinking around. I like it, and am going to see what shows up tomorrow.

I did spend a few minutes at the Sunken Trace

What was more impressive to me than the fact that the road had been “carved” into the ground was this tree – and many more like it. I found myself staring in awe – and making connections all over the place – at the root system that was semi-apparent. (I say “semi” ’cause I only got to see the side that had been eroded away by human and ecological forces.)

The thinking continued: “The roots will seek out new pathways; never straight, and changing direction seemingly ‘on a whim.’ The tree is being supported by a dynamic, chaotic and intent system. A system with but one goal in mind: Allow the tree to grow taller; get more sun on the leaves for food.” Now I have to wonder about my own roots. The structure and support that I’ve put in to place to “feed” the program/system that I’m stepping in to.

We rode for miles and miles and miles and miles…

I can only imagine what you’re thinking, “You’re crazy, Jason.” But, don’t think that way. Change it up. Here’s my prompt, what, if you had “all the time in the world” would YOU like to do for a few days at a time. And, don’t be like some people I know and “want to be a martyr.” (Taking care of someone’s kids; cleaning the house; taking the trip ’cause you HAVE to, but don’t really want to….)

I mean really, REALLY, getting away to be with you. If you could hear yourself think, if you could imagine things for longer than short bursts between meetings, what would you think of? What would show up? Who could you help?

Now, what can you do about that THIS YEAR?

The Great Mississippi Bike Ride: Day 3

Jason W. Womack, MEd, MA — Fri, 18 May 2012 03:09:41 +0000

By about now – the third of 8 days of riding – I’d think that “most” of the work-thinking would have fallen away, by the side of the road, to pick up again later in May. Alas, I was wrong. Well, it wasn’t totally my thought, three of my co-riders (over the course of the day) wanted to talk about the book. “What do you think makes the difference?” I asked? That was all it took to get us started.

After visiting Rosedown Plantation, we took to the road for 68 more miles of fun.

There’s something about sharing time with strangers who become acquaintances, who run the chance of becoming friends. When you do get the chance to get out, and hang out around new people, you’re changing everything. There’s the chance to ask the easy questions (What do you do?) and there’s the opportunity to go in a new direction. Today, someone asked, “Jason, what do you hope your book does?”

I looked down the road, and saw my fellow riders. I know I had some thoughts come to my mind, and then I said, “I need another couple hundred miles of biking to come up with a better answer.” I promised to get back to him…

On the back roads, this was the note we get that we’d crossed the state line.

Here’s a thought: If you weren’t informed, would you know your limits (or, the possibilities)? If we hadn’t been told, I am fairly confident we would have only found out we were in Mississippi some many miles down the road. Not that it’s a bad thing, but it did have me thinking about how “sure” we like to be in our day-to-day life and businesses. Now, I’m not promoting NOT knowing as a strategy; however, I’m going to spend some time wondering about where there could be a bit more trust in the process.

It’s amazing how quickly something “gets known as something.”

Apparently, this ride we’ll be on this road quite a bit. Me…less than the other riders (they’re going all the way to Minneapolis, while I stop my tour in Memphis). Well, in the past few “Route Raps” (the end of the day discussion, where we look at tomorrow’s route), any time we’ve come to North Route 61, someone in the group says, “Our favorite road!”

Unfortunately, it’s not. It’s got a tight shoulder, the cars (and semis!) drive at or above the speed limit, and the rumble strips along the side are brutal.

How amazing is it that I just seem to find “my people.”

I arrived at our hotel for the evening well before the check in time of 4pm. So, I decided to keep on going into town (Natchez) and take a quick bike tour – and, add a few more miles to the odometer for the day. So, as I was cruising through town, I happened to notice a Tech Incubator. What are the chances of that? Here’s the offer: If anyone there could use a copy of my book, let me know and I’ll get one in the mail!

An amazing evening, with more stories than I can share here, coming to a close.

On the walk back from dinner, I took this photo. (Dinner was it’s own, big story. We took the hotel shuttle to the riverboat casino. Upon entering, I was asked for my ID – I think it was the fact that I was wearing a Star Wars t-shirt. Well, my license was/is in my bike-jersey bag, and, well, I was kindly invited to “eat dinner somewhere else.” So, I missed dinner with the crew, but one of the tour leaders joined me – she saw the whole thing! – for southwestern food down the way.

I’m going remember Mississippi as the Mariposa state – I saw dozens of butterflies along the ride. It was nice, as I got a little reminder of Goleta and Santa Barbara. Oh, and although they are few and far between, there are some beautiful wildflowers along the road way.

My BIG aha from three days of riding under the direction of Tour Leader Jeff Lazer is the following:

~ Be Predictable. We did have a crash on the ride today. And, there were shared stories of “close-calls” from some other riders. The best way to ride is to be predictable, and if it is warranted, to let the people around you know what to predict/expect.

I’m thinking that’s just some good, solid, all around advice.

What do you think?

The Great Mississippi Bike Ride – day 2

Jason W. Womack, MEd, MA — Wed, 16 May 2012 19:57:14 +0000

Day 2 of the Big Ride (16 May 2012)

Knowing that I was going to be out on this ride since late last year, it’s amazing to be here.
(NOTE: If you can, be sure to put something big on your calendar for anywhere from 4-8 months out. It was great to have the long “lead-time” as the event approached, and now that I’m here, it’s simply fantastic.)

The pace today was a solid one; though from time to time we did slow down enough for me to catch my breath.

From the beginning of the day, we looked out and saw a beautiful sky, with a call for thunderstorms later in the day. All the more reason to kick it up a mile or two per hour, and get in before the rain had a chance to fall. (Within 1.5 miles of the hotel, after a stop for lunch, we did feel a drop or two. But, the “storm” passed without us really knowing…)

In to and through Baton Rouge, I was reminded of just how important college football is in this part of the country. The LSU stadium will hold (are you sitting down???) 95,000 people on game day. Seriously, that’s a LOT of people!

Riding through the LSU campus was awesome. I’ve been able to visit, since publishing the book earlier this year, quite a few college campuses. There’s something electric about the energy and abundance of opportunity there. Oh, then while I was pedaling along the perimeter road I had a flashback to visiting Baton Rouge many years back while working for another company. I was there to present a two day seminar, and went running along the college grounds.

How can fig newtons, watermelon and chip’s ahoy cookies taste SO good? When they are prepared for us at a SAG stop. Here’s a picture of the guys I rode the entire day with (yes, they’re the fast ones!). The guy on the left, Albert, is here from Holland; he loves to see America by Bicycle! They all know each other, so it was great that they “let me” tag along their pace line over miles and miles of open Louisiana roadway. Thanks!

I simply had to get a picture of this sign – the one off to the right. I travel to the big cities of the world, working in New York, London, Zurich, The Bahamas and more…never have I seen a sign where they offered “deer processin.”

The Great Mississippi Bike Ride – day 1

Jason W. Womack, MEd, MA — Wed, 16 May 2012 10:55:25 +0000

Day 1 – The Great Mississippi Bike Ride (15 May 2012)

As of breakfast, my bike still had not arrived in New Orleans. However, I was still in good spirits and (as I am) ever-hopeful that things would work out. The plan for the day (actually there were two plans: The hopeful outcome, and the backup plan) called for…

The front desk at the hotel let me know that FedEx “usually” drops off around 10am. So, one of the bike tour leaders (thanks, Andy!) volunteered to start the ride with the group at 7:45am and then double back after about an hour to come back to the hotel where I was. This would mean he’d ride a BUNCH extra, to help me build up my bike, as well as ride with me the 68 miles from New Orleans to Gonzales, Louisiana!

It worked! Literally, as the bike-box was being wheeled into the lobby, I turned to see Andy walking in with his bike. From the moment he and I opened the box until we were on the road riding: Less than 30 minutes!

The day was spectactular. There is something amazing that happens when I get to spend 4 hours at a time “just” riding. No music, no working, no worrying, no to-dos; just riding. Some of the things that stood out to me from yesterday’s ride:

The United States is a big country; and, wildly diverse. In the past 15 days I’ve been in Dallas, Texas, Ojai, California, New York City, New York, New Orleans, Louisiana and Gonzales, Louisiana. I’ve met some incredible people along the way, and seen some amazing sights. One thing that continues to fascinate me is how different we all are – but somehow, we’re all the same.

The mind goes in weird places. I don’t know why I started thinking about my 2nd grade teacher, the first concert I went to while attending college, the car I’m thinking of buying, or a myriad of other thoughts. It doesn’t make complete sense, but then again I wonder: Is it necessary at time, sometimes, to let the mind wander that way? Is there some kind of “disk defragmentation” that gets to happen when I don’t “have” to be thinking about work, or life, or responsibility?

Strangers are only that until they’re not. There’s a large group of us riding this tour – 18 (including staff). As of 3pm on Monday, I started meeting them (by the way, some of them had known each other from previous bike tours!). I’m amazed at how each person has their own story, areas of focus and way of getting involved in their life, community, work, etc. Of course, I spent the entire bike ride with just one rider (thanks, again, Andy!) and today I’ll get to ride along with the group and talk to more people.

So far, and we’re just one day in, it’s been a great ride. I’ll share more along the way.

When are YOU at your best?

Jason W. Womack, MEd, MA — Tue, 15 May 2012 20:25:06 +0000

When are you at your best…really?

Tomorrow morning, you have an incredible opportunity! You could possibly wake up on time, well-rested and ready for the day. Being prepared to take advantage of the hours ahead, you could arrive at work with everything you need to get the right things done. And, throughout the day, you could maximize all of your time, focus and resources to be productive…as we say at The Jason Womack Company, “to do what you said you would do…in the time that you promised.”

How is all of this possible? (Notice, I did not say probable – there are days that may go “weird.” Occasionally, things DON’T go according to plan!) By knowing (and doing) what it would take to get your day started right, you can increase the likelihood that you’ll have…well, a right day.

So, let’s get started. Here is a PDF for you to print and use. (At my best when… to download to print – one for you and one for each member of your team.)

You’ll notice, on the top it says, “I’m at my best when…” Then, on each line below, write ONE thing you KNOW goes in to making a better day for you.

For an extra “bonus,” take a digital picture of your “I’m at my best when…” and email it yourself. THEN, make that picture the desktop background picture on your PC…and, look it over at least twice a day for the next 5 days!

FRBNY Managing Workplace Productivity

Jason W. Womack, MEd, MA — Thu, 10 May 2012 03:04:21 +0000

How would you like 7 keys to a more productive day? Just click here…

At the start of the program, we looked at three ways to approach professional development. When we study all three of these, we can make breakthrough change: Mindset, Skillset, Toolkit.

One of the most important questions to answer is: “When was the last time you took time to think of how you manage time?” For many people participating in our workshops, this was the first time…in a long time!

FRB-NY – Managing Workplace Productivity

View more presentations from Jason Womack

Remember, there are 96 fifteen-minute blocks of time in a day. One of the first activities I suggest you DO do is to create your “Time Management Budget.” Do it with a piece of paper, write it on a white board, create a spreadsheet. However you’re going to do it, do it.

At the top, write down the number 96, and then start subtracting:

- sleep

- commute

- meals

- exercise

- meetings

- work

- relaxation

- other (whatever else you can bring to mind)

Now, most of the time our clients do this, they realize that one issue they are facing is that they often need 105 or even 110 of those fifteen-minute blocks to DO everything they think they need to do in a day. So, it’s now crucial that we become more effective and efficient; that we become responsible stewards of our time.

How do you do that? At the beginning of the seminar, I presented to you the 4 “real” limited resources. Time is just one of them the other three are:

Energy: You’re a morning person or an afternoon person or an evening person. You get overwhelmed or excited by deadlines. You need a lot of or a little bit of sleep. You can manage a lot in your head or you need to write things down as soon as you think of them. How you manage your MENTAL and PHYSICAL energy will immediately and significantly alter how you use your time. Later in the seminar, we discussed the importance of knowing when you’re “at your best.” The best reason I can give you for knowing (and following the directions you wrote!) when you’re at your best is so that you can manage your energy more effectively.

Focus: According to one of my mentors, Allyson Lewis (author and investment manager), our attention span is about 7 minutes long. Now, that’s not just how long we can hold our own focus, but it’s about how long we can go before we’re interrupted by someone on the desk. “Do you have a minute?” That question is NOT about time (resource #1), it IS about focus (resource #3). Oh, by the way, as you change your focus you will notice a dip or a lift in your energy. (Have you ever seen someone’s name in your email Inbox and gotten stress? Have you ever seen the caller ID on your phone and smiled ear to ear?

Ecosystem: Now, you’re remembering, is the resource that affects them ALL! Yes, if you change how you use your systems and tools, you can implement the “Focus to FInish” mindset, you will free up energy by completing more tasks and having to remember less, and you will feel (or it will seem) like you’re a better time manager. By the way, this is where it gets so interesting in the “app world.” Why? Because inventor after inventor (and, of course, investor!) gets an idea of a new TOOL that will fix her or his system. The trick is to get you to believe in it enough to change your previous behaviors.

After I showed some of the tips and techniques on how to save time using your tools, I showed you how to do just that.

How stop the “bad” habits? How do you drop those habits that actually worked to your benefit for all these years? You know, the unsustainable habits like:

Arriving to the office an hour or so early, to work without interruptions of your coworkers.
Staying at the office late, to work without interruptions of your coworkers.
Logging in to your computer on the weekend or after dinner, to work without interruptions of your coworkers.

(By the way, are you catching the theme here???)

Scheduling meetings for an hour, even though you’ll only need 45 minutes, knowing people will arrive and the meeting will start late.
Setting reminders on your desktop calendar/task management system that you continually “Dismiss” or “Snooze.”

I’ve got good news, and better news.

Good: You don’t have to stop any of these bad habits.

Better: You simply replace them with new ones that are equal or better in value!

Where do you begin? Start with the three inventories you created during the first half of the program. For the next 5 days, focus in on that page, and I’d even suggest making “the list.” The entire inventory of what:

- you do by 10am each morning

- systems/tools/gear/technology you count on to get your work done

- brings you rest, relaxation, rejuvenation and reinvention

Those inventories are critical to the change process. For until you know what you do, you don’t know what to do differently. If you can clarify exactly what you do out of routine between the time you wake up in the morning and about 10am, you’ll have some information you can use to your advantage. If you want to be more effective, work more efficiently and act as a steward of your time, you get that inventory complete and then you decide what to:

Delete: Chances are high that you’re doing something 5 days a week that IF you only did it 3 times you’d be just fine. One client I worked with recently realized she was spending 10-15 minutes a day reviewing her “Sent Items” in her email looking for items that she had to follow up on. For 5 days, we tried an experiment:

- 3 days (Mon/Weds/Fri) she set a timer for 10 minutes and reviewed her Sent Items (as per her normal). When she came across something to follow up on, she pressed CTRL+SHIFT+K on her keyboard and typed in something like: “08/2/2011 – Jason Womack – Productivity TouchPoint video program proposal” which she organized in a “task list category” called Waiting On.

- 2 days (Tues/Thurs) she set a timer for 10 minutes and reviewed the next two weeks of her calendar. When she came across something to act on, she pressed CTRL+SHIFT+K on her keyboard and typed in something like: “Call Jason Womack 805-640-6401 re: upcoming keynote advisory session at conference” which she organized in a “task list category” called Actions.

Within one week, she had Identified more work and Developed a more up-to-date system than she had seen in years. It only took a little bit of experimentation to realize that she could use a little bit of her morning planning time differently.

Delegate: Of course here it’s a little tricky. If you’re a manager, and have someone on your team who CAN help you with different pieces of work, I’d absolutely encourage you to “Call a meeting” immediately. Sit down once a week for the next 5 weeks, and simply come up with an inventory of what you could delegate. Don’t try to delegate anything yet, simply come up with the list. Now, if you don’t have anyone to delegate to (if YOU are your own assistant!) then I’d recommend you STILL make this inventory. I did. I have a running list of things I’d ask a staff person, intern or co-worker to do, if someone said, “Jason do you need some help?”

You can, however, begin delegating immediately to your “systems.” Consider the examples I gave you of ReQall.com and using GoogleAlerts. Also, consider your own Microsoft® Outlook® Task system the ultimate personal assistant who tracks your reminders, meetings, agenda items and more. I’ve even seen people keep a digital “memo” pad on their iPhone, BlackBerry® or Droid. There, they continue to add things they need to see or think about later. You’re delegating more than actions, you’re giving the reminder to take that action to a system that can help you manage the task, the priority, the conversation and he project much more effectively over time.

One thing we didn’t get to in our program is the how to and when to PROCESS the big “bucket list” you wrote. Remember I asked you to take just 7 minutes and write down at least 50 items that you could bring to mind while we were together in the seminar. Well, one thing you’ll immediately notice is that your “thinking profile” showed up there. Did you write your list as a group of Nouns? Or Verbs? Not that one is right or wrong. One is not better than the other. People are not “normal” if they do it one way and not the other. But, there is some significant information in there. At least there was for me…

The first time I recognized a difference was when I was in a personal development seminar, as a participant, the summer that my wife and I were planning our wedding. We were sitting at a table, and had the experience I showed you…we wrote down a long list of what we were thinking. Well, I was amazed to see that after about 20 minutes (imagine if I had asked you to write for that long!) she and I had two very different lists going…mine, a long list of Nouns. Hers…verbs!

When I recognized the impact of this on productivity and performance (and, our upcoming marriage!) I knew I was on to something significant. Naturally, I think in terms of the big picture, she turns those thoughts into actions. She naturally considers the steps along the way, I easily see the finished product as if it’s already done.

Now, how about you? You need to do both, right? So, go through the notebook, and you’ll see some extra pages there toward the end. I encourage you to spend time turning your Bucket List in to actions and projects, with starting and ending points. Then, go through your email Inbox and apply the same method. Review your notebooks, and your sticky notes, get as much as you can to this level of “action.” You’ll see a difference as you practice this more and more.

I hope you got more than a few ideas from our time together. Oh, by the way, based on the questions during and via email and text message over the next day, I collected a total of 23 questions. I already funded more loans at KIVA.org, and if you’d like to join us please visit: www.OjaiKivaClub.com – you don’t have to live in Ojai to be a part of the club!

Here are some links you may want to review, as you continue pushing on this information. And, of course I’m already looking forward to reading your comments below! (Leave a question, I’ll get an answer to you ASAP…)

Here are some books I recommend…

I just keep learning from TED.com

Royal Bank of Canada – seminar

Jason W. Womack, MEd, MA — Wed, 09 May 2012 11:49:47 +0000

Thank you for attending yesterday’s seminar. I’ll continue adding to this page over the week; whatever questions you have, just let me know.

But first, would you like 8 weeks of Microsoft® Outlook® tips delivered to your inbox? Just click here…

Optimizing Time and Focus

View more presentations from Jason Womack.

At the top, write down the number 96, and then start subtracting:

- sleep

- commute

- meals

- exercise

- meetings

- work

- relaxation

- other (whatever else you can bring to mind)

Now, most of the time our clients do this, they realize that one issue they are facing is that they often need 105 or even 110 of those fifteen-minute blocks to DO everything they think they need to do in a day. So, it’s now crucial that we become more effective and efficient; that we become responsible stewards of our time.

How do you do that? At the beginning of the seminar, I presented to you the 4 “real” limited resources. Time is just one of them the other three are:

Energy: You’re a morning person or an afternoon person or an evening person. You get overwhelmed or excited by deadlines. You need a lot of or a little bit of sleep. You can manage a lot in your head or you need to write things down as soon as you think of them. How you manage your MENTAL and PHYSICAL energy will immediately and significantly alter how you use your time. Later in the seminar, we discussed the importance of knowing when you’re “at your best.” The best reason I can give you for knowing (and following the directions you wrote!) when you’re at your best is so that you can manage your energy more effectively.

Focus: According to one of my mentors, Allyson Lewis (author and investment manager), our attention span is about 7 minutes long. Now, that’s not just how long we can hold our own focus, but it’s about how long we can go before we’re interrupted by someone on the desk. “Do you have a minute?” That question is NOT about time (resource #1), it IS about focus (resource #3). Oh, by the way, as you change your focus you will notice a dip or a lift in your energy. (Have you ever seen someone’s name in your email Inbox and gotten stress? Have you ever seen the caller ID on your phone and smiled ear to ear?

Ecosystem: Now, you’re remembering, is the resource that affects them ALL! Yes, if you change how you use your systems and tools, you can implement the “Focus to FInish” mindset, you will free up energy by completing more tasks and having to remember less, and you will feel (or it will seem) like you’re a better time manager. By the way, this is where it gets so interesting in the “app world.” Why? Because inventor after inventor (and, of course, investor!) gets an idea of a new TOOL that will fix her or his system. The trick is to get you to believe in it enough to change your previous behaviors.

After I showed some of the tips and techniques on how to save time using your tools, I showed you how to do just that.

Remember, you can sign up here for 8 weeks of Microsoft® Outlook® tips, delivered directly to your email Inbox. The first one you get: 19 secrets to help you get more done with Outlook!

How stop the “bad” habits? How do you drop those habits that actually worked to your benefit for all these years? You know, the unsustainable habits like:

Arriving to the office an hour or so early, to work without interruptions of your coworkers.

Staying at the office late, to work without interruptions of your coworkers.

Logging in to your computer on the weekend or after dinner, to work without interruptions of your coworkers.

(By the way, are you catching the theme here???)

Scheduling meetings for an hour, even though you’ll only need 45 minutes, knowing people will arrive and the meeting will start late.

Setting reminders on your desktop calendar/task management system that you continually “Dismiss” or “Snooze.”

I’ve got good news, and better news.

Good: You don’t have to stop any of these bad habits.

Better: You simply replace them with new ones that are equal or better in value!

- you do by 10am each morning

- systems/tools/gear/technology you count on to get your work done

- brings you rest, relaxation, rejuvenation and reinvention

Here are some books I recommend: http://www.BooksWeRecommend.com

I just keep learning from http://www.TED.com

Here is a link to specific ideas you can use right away to work more effectively using Outlook (pass this on to your coworkers!)

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4A446D5899736F1F&feature=mh_lolz

Thanks for joining!

Jason W. Womack, MEd, MA — Sun, 06 May 2012 00:36:21 +0000

Welcome!

Thank you for entering your information to gain access to The Better Recorded Webinar Series. Soon, you’ll receive Registration for the webinar(s). When you get that via email, go ahead and sign up right away.

Each Webinar is produced, recorded and posted with a password so you have access to it from any computer/tablet/smart phone you are on. You can watch the Webinar as many times as you’d like, and you’ll always have access to the one you paid for. (Of course, if you subscribe to the Series, you’ll have access to every Webinar, for as long as the series runs!)

I look forward to sharing this information with you!

“Jason Womack teaches you not to settle for your “best” but to keep the target moving forward. With his help, break through and do better than you ever thought possible, in every area of your personal and professional life.”

~ Keith Ferrazzi
best-selling author of Never Eat Alone and Who’s Got Your Back

2 Ways to make your best better

Jason W. Womack, MEd, MA — Sat, 05 May 2012 22:43:22 +0000

The Better Webinar Series: Improvement and You

In the next 25 minute recorded webinar (you can watch it at any time after it is published), you’ll learn 2 ways to increase your productivity without working later hours.

The May, 2012 webinar is titled: Improvement and You.

Please sign up below.
(The Better Recorded Webinars are viewable after the 15th of each month.)

It takes more than just time management to get the right things done. If there was information available TODAY – to improve what you do, and how you do it – when would you want to know? How about learning this via a webinar you can watch on your computer or your Smart Phone?

Working Harder is NOT the Answer! There will never be more hours in the day. Sign up now to learn 2 ways to work smarter – as described in the book, Your Best Just Got Better – in this recorded webinar presented by Jason W. Womack, MEd, MA, best-selling author on productivity and workplace performance.

Identify just one goal you have for your work or your life. If you’re ready to make progress on that goal, register for the next episode of “The Better Webinar Series.”

During this 25 minute presentation you will watch via recorded video, you will:
• Learn the well-kept secret of real prioritization.
• Identify habits that make it easier to get the right things done.
• Achieve more success at work and in your life and maximize your personal impact.

There are 2 “secrets” of a more productive day Jason will share with you. And, there is good news: You do NOT have to buy some new app, hire a new staff member, or work later hours and on the weekend to catch up with it all.

“Jason’s ability to help people focus on the most important things is a game-changer for personal productivity. His ability to help de-clutter our thought processes and work with more intensity and intention is invaluable. Pick up this book. Read it. Digest it. Read it again. It could change your life.”

–Tony Wilson
Performance Coach to Australia’s leading athletes and executives

Author, speaker and executive coach Jason Womack advises leaders globally on how to maximize more than just their time. His methods provide both strategic thinking and tactical behaviors to improve and achieve at work…and in life. His research is based on 14 years of analysis, writing books, advising leaders around the globe and presenting workshops on productivity and workplace performance

Jason holds advanced degrees in both Education and Psychology. His book, Your Best Just Got Better was chosen as a Business Book of the Year by 800-CEO-READ in February, 2012. He lives in Ojai, CA and has spent more than 150 days a year traveling to meet with clients around the world for the past 12 years.

The Return on Investment of Productivity

Jason W. Womack, MEd, MA — Sat, 05 May 2012 15:11:59 +0000

What happens when you improve your productivity? Being productive will open up new blocks of time to plan for and work on more important projects and priorities.

Uninterrupted Time:

Long increments of “focus time” come from improvements such as typing speed & fluency with the keyboard or by implementing new behaviors like streamlining your organization, so you can access documents and materials when you need them. What do you DO with long blocks of time? Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Nothing. Sit, sleep, walk, play with the dog, meditate, the list goes on…
2. Something: Write a letter to someone you admire, get a workout in, meet a friend for lunch, read a chapter of a book…

Better Quality of Work:

Over the course of a week, experiment with “the 180-second improvement process.” Right before clicking “send” on an email, calling an important client on the phone, or walking in to make a presentation at a meeting, spend just 3 minutes answering these two questions: (1) What’s my goal? (2) What, a week from now, will I wish I did to achieve it?

Remember, our definition of work has less to do with salaries, time off, and bosses; it has everything to do with being productive by our definition, “…doing what I said I would do, in the time I promised.” I could make the case to be more productive, simply to be more available to my own Most Important Things. When I met Tony at Zappos a while back, I went and read his blog. This was an entry I enjoyed…

Increased Accountability:

Working effectively and efficiently lets you stop to assess the work you have done and measure against the work you want to be doing. For the next 5 weeks, consider reviewing your annual goals and objectives at the end of each week and ask, “Is what I am working on now leading me toward my goals?”

Long-Term Goal:

Invest in yourself. Learn new tools, software, and programs. Meet with a mentor once a week a month. Read 3 books that your friends, managers, clients or coaches have recommended… these are tangible things you’ll be doing with the time you save by learning how to be more productive.