Challenge Yourself!

Posted on April 20, 2014 by dailyplanit — 6 Comments

There have been several loud rings on my Wake Up Call telephone this week! The above quote really spoke to me, and the following articles just may be enough of a prod to get me to stretch a bit beyond my comfort zone. There are some things I’ve thought about trying, but to be honest, it’s been easier to not expend the effort they would require. To start down the path I truly desire, a path of my chosen direction, will require turning my back on that much easier path: the path of least resistance. Once you know what you want to do, and how to do it, you must commit to it. You must listen to the wake up calls and not the excuses!

10 Ways to Avoid Your Comfort Zone at Inc. Magazine
4 Ways to LIVE Today, and Not Merely Exist at Marc & Angel Hack Life
Behaviors That Define A List Players at Harvard Business Review

I was also greatly impressed with this video of Steven Pressfield talking about turning Pro to Overcome Resistance. (2:32)

To contribute and excel means going above and beyond, it requires venturing beyond the easy path and making the effort it takes to climb.

“Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” -Jim Rohn

Learn more at Conquer Your Fears and Get Stuff Done, Expand Your Comfort Zone

Posted in personal development

Skills Employers Want #8 – Computer Software Knowledge

Posted on April 14, 2014 by dailyplanit

Proficiency with computer software programs is the eighth of the top ten skills employers are looking for. There are many computer software programs, and many resources for increasing skills. A printable outline of levels of proficiency in Microsoft Office programs is available at Concordia University (a five page pdf). There are also MS Office Skills Checklists at danarmishaw.com.

A good place to start is with basic knowledge of Microsoft Office programs like MS Word.

Goodwill Community Foundation’s website, gcflearnfree.org, is an awesome free resource for learning Microsoft software programs (plus computer basics, typing, and a lot more.)

Illinoisworknet.com provides skills for computer literacy.

See more Computer Tutorials on Pinterest, and more links to resources for learning Computer Skills with links to Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced resources, and Computer Tutorials.

Explore more possibilities for online courses at the Smart Skills page.

Tagged with: computer, skills, tutorials
Posted in work skills

The Charge

Posted on April 4, 2014 by dailyplanit — 1 Comment

I’ve been reading “The Charge” by Brendon Burchard, and it’s a book that’s given me a lot to think about.

A charged life is a consciously designed existence that feels evenly engaged, energized, and enthusiastic.

Brendon describes three activators for each of five baseline drives, and five forward drives. He provides free resources at http://www.thechargebook.com/resources-downloads, including a one page productivity planner. He discusses using this tool to Control Workflow in the chapter on the Baseline Drive of Control. There are three parts to this form:

Top 3 projects and 3-5 biggest moves to make them happen.
People to contact today: a)waiting on a decision/information or b)need to share a decision/information.
Things that must be accomplished today.

Brendon’s advice to Control Workflow:

Begin with People, checking for and responding to only emails for those that fit the criteria. Then, close email and don’t check it again until the last hour of the day.

Next Produce by working on the priorities at the bottom of the page. If you finish those, ask “is there anything else I can do right now to move one of my big projects forward even faster and more effectively?”

His system requires self-discipline to avoid distractions! Ironically, as I checked for a summary of the book, I found a website so interesting I found myself spending a lot of time exploring it. Here is the summary of “The Charge” at sourcesofinsight.com.

This is just one of many ideas I got from this book. It provides a great framework to create a dashboard for a visual check of how you’re doing in personal development, and has made me aware of areas to improve and ways to create a more fully charged life.

ChargeDashboard

Free Printable Charge Dashboard based on the book “The Charge” by Brendon Burchard. (pdf)

Tagged with: Brendon Burchard, Control Workflow
Posted in Books, personal development, productivity

The Career Search Process

Posted on March 31, 2014 by dailyplanit

Technical knowledge related to the job is the seventh of the top ten skills employers are looking for. These skills vary depending on the job, as shown at the Technical Skills part of the Skills at illinoisworknet.com . See also Industry Competency Models at careeronestop.org.

The Career Search Process

Discover job related knowledge for various occupations with these resources that are part of the career search process. Download a free one page guide to the Career Search Process.

SELF ASSESSMENT

Try the online assessments available at Discover U and record the results on a free printable Discover U assessment form. These include tools to discover your strengths, uncover hidden talents, identify skills, and more. Personality types and Holland Code interests can help match to a career, as can work values. Find more online tools at the Discover U Toolkit at Wakelet or via Google.
Career assessments at Yale, careerwise, and impacttools.biz

EXPLORE CAREERS

holland

Find careers that could be a good match

Match by skills – careeronestop
Match by Myers-Briggs – Ball State U – Myers-Briggs Pinterest board
Match by DISC – careerproject.org
Match by Holland Code – truity
Match by work values – onetonline.org.

Career Clusters

Opportunities, earnings, needed qualifications and education

DEVELOP SKILLS

Develop Work Skills

Work Skills List
Work Skills Toolkit
SCANS Secretaries Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills

Websites to Develop Work Skills

GCF Global
Illinois Worknet
Learning Topics from MIT Human Resources

Education

College Navigator US Dept of Education
Educationconnection
Financial Aid FAFSA studentaid.gov

Career Skills

Resumes at the Daily PlanIt | Resumes Pinterest board
Cover Letters and Job Interviewing at the Daily PlanIt
Job Interview and Networking Pinterest boards

Starting Points

Careerforce Creative Job Search
MN State career exploration
Georgia Dept of Labor Resource Guide
Northstar course Career Search Skills
- more at the Career Websites Pinterest board

See the Discover U Toolkit at Wakelet or via Google, the Brand and Purpose Toolkit

Tagged with: career, interests, skills
Posted in work skills

Access Emotions With Music

Posted on March 24, 2014 by dailyplanit — 1 Comment

Music can really connect us with our emotions. An mp3 player can be like a time machine, transporting us to memories of experiences with people in another time, another place, and the feelings we felt. Recently a song came on my mp3 player, and I was once again gliding around the roller skating rink alongside my little boy while Whitney Houston sang “I Will Always Love You” as only she could. The words in the chorus so exactly capture the depth and strength of my love for my son.

One of the most popular posts here is about Identifying Emotions. It can sometimes be difficult to know what we are feeling, if we can access our feelings at all. Pain can cause us to numb our emotions, but the painful emotions are not all that is numbed. It can difficult to explore emotions, sometimes help may be needed. If you haven’t already seen the Brené Brown TED Talk on the Power of Vulnerability, I recommend it. Learn more about managing emotions with resources about emotional intelligence. Then consider exploring how the power of music can help to connect us with emotions.

Cindy Hoedel notes this connection in her article, “Music Makes My World Go ‘Round,” in the Kansas City Star Magazine. She also describes the power of music to lift a mood: “I use music like medicine, coffee or alcohol to induce good vibrations or calm the spinning wheel in my brain.” She mentions studies that show “The therapeutic value of music has been confirmed by research.”

Learn from the Experts:

Everything You’ve Always Wanted to Know About Personal Development*

*But Didn’t Know You Needed to Ask

I read this post from Michael Hyatt and I’ve been thinking about it ever since: Am I an expert on what I write about? Well, um, no. A lot of what I’ve learned has been in the school of hard knocks. (Although I have read and studied about a lot of it!) But can I point you to some Experts? Heck, yeah! So this week I’ve been at work compiling a list of experts for a guide to personal development.

For all areas, I asked myself the question: “If you could only read one book, or listen to one expert, which one would it be?” In many cases, there was a clear stand-out. But in some cases, it was impossible to pick only one. For example, there are far too many in the area of Home Helpers to pick only one. I’m certain there are good choices on the list, but I welcome suggestions for additions, especially in the areas of Financial, Recreational, Physical & Spiritual. The experts vary widely in how active they are on the Internet and how much they freely share. Some are sadly no longer with us. Most have at least one book, which you can probably borrow for free from your local library. So there’s no excuse not to learn!

A Year of Personal Development is just one activity a week, so it’s simple to do no matter how busy you are. Why not get growing and try just one simple activity?

Posted in personal development, Weekly Review

2014-3-17 Weekly Review

Posted on March 17, 2014 by dailyplanit — Leave a comment

The theme this week is THINK BIG! We watched a fascinating National Geographic show called “Madness in the White City.”

It’s actually a dark tale of how serial killer H.H. Holmes targeted victims during the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. However, the stories that stuck out to me were about two other people who thought big.

Architect Daniel Burnham, designed and built the amazing “White City.”

“Make no little plans, they have no magic to stir men’s blood.” he said.

Then there was George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr., who was 33 years old when he designed and built the first Ferris Wheel for the Fair. The original Ferris Wheel had 36 cars, each fitted with 40 revolving chairs and able to accommodate up to 60 people, giving a total capacity of 2,160!

Tragically, he died at the age of 37.

I was reminded of a song that always makes me wonder about the possibilities of life: “World” by Five For Fighting. What kind of world do you want? What can you be doing to make it happen? Sometimes I need to think bigger.

In the world of the Daily PlanIt, there was a new post about the 6th Skill Employers Want, complete with resources for learning it. I also worked on organizing all the free tools I’ve been creating and collecting for many years. They had gotten a little jumbled up, kind of like tools thrown randomly into a toolbox. Hopefully now it’s a little easier to find the ones you need. The Free Tools page has always enjoyed the greatest popularity here. The free tools are now organized into productivity and goals, and I created new pages for Home Helpers and Personal Development tools. In other news, I let go of my first electronic organizer, a Palm T3 Tungsten pda. It was very cool in it’s day, but I was no longer using it. Finally, this Irish Proverb (fitting for St. Patrick’s Day) “You will never plow a field by turning it over in your mind” is a good reminder that nothing happens just by thinking about it!

Have a great week!

Want to see more? I invite you to “like” the Daily PlanIt Facebook page and follow me on Pinterest!

Posted in Weekly Review

Skills Employers Want #6 – Analyze Quantitative Data

Posted on March 13, 2014 by dailyplanit

The ability to analyze quantitative data is the sixth of the top ten skills employers are looking for. Quantitative analysis uses statistical methodology to arrive at objective, data-based conclusions. Here are some places to learn this skill.

Analyze This! Tutorial
Analyze data Evaluation Toolkit
Quantitative Techniques for Decision Making at managementstudyguide.com
Understanding Quantitative and Qualitative Measurement at Lynda.com
Khan Academy
Hippocampus.org
More possibilities at the Daily PlanIt Smart Skills page
Beginning Statistics and Using Microsoft Excel at 2012 Book Archive
Links at Alliance of Statistics Consultants
Strengthening Your Quantitative Analysis Ability at Experis.us

Microsoft Excel Tutorials:

Excel 2007 & 2003 at In Pictures
Learn Microsoft Excel or Google Spreadsheets at GCF Learn Free
Microsoft Office Training from Microsoft Office
Excel-Easy.com
Using Excel 2007 & 2010 at Jan’s Illustrated Computer Literacy 101
Excel 2007 Basics at Baycon Group
Excel 2007 at Florida Gulf Coast University
Download a Quick Reference Guide to Excel at Custom Guide

Tagged with: analysis, data, microsoft excel, statistics
Posted in work skills

Combating Procrastination

Posted on March 8, 2014 by dailyplanit — 12 Comments

Procrastination is something I think everyone has experienced. It’s a very common productivity problem, and on my list of top time wasters (with solutions.) Understanding Procrastination Triggers and “Why We Procrastinate” can help. So can identifying priorities and deciding what to say yes or no to.

I thought about selling used books on Amazon as a possibility to earn a little money for a long time. When I finally got around to taking a look at it I discovered there’s a lot of competition. Is it really worth the amount of time it would take to post items and ship them? Probably not. Too many people have already jumped on that wagon. Sometimes, if you procrastinate too long, you miss that window of opportunity and it will pass right on by.

So what can we do about it? One thing is to pause, review and evaluate what we’re spending our time on. Are the projects we’re working on really effective for reaching our goals? Is the idea we’re thinking of a good one to pursue or not? Take a close look at the Return on Investment (ROI). ROI is frequently used in terms of financial return, but on a personal level we really need to consider the investment of our time and energy (both of which are resources available in limited amounts) and the likely outcome or results. Look for VIP AIMS that have BIG impact and HIGH engagement. Life is too short to not being doing the things that support our top priority values.

Once you’re very clear about what it is that you really want to do, the next thing is to get yourself motivated to TAKE ACTION. Like this Nike advertisement says: “Yesterday you said tomorrow. Just do it!”

I did get one thing done this week that I’ve procrastinated about for a long time. On the Daily PlanIt website, I have now added a link to The Daily PlanIt Amazon Store. Here you can find links to my favorite books and products for productivity and personal development.

Here are several articles and inspiring pictures about procrastination I’ve seen recently:

Entrepreneur article: “The 80/20 Rule and Listening to your Inner Procrastinator” by Perry Marshall.
12 Steps to Beat Procrastion from Productivityist
Procrastination is a Mindfulness Problem at Zen Habits
6 Steps to Be a Productive Procrastinator from Success Magazine
“35 Things You do that Waste Your Time” by prolificliving.com.
Overcoming Procrastination at MindTools.
Big Think video on Pre-suasion by Robert Cialdini

From the Daily PlanIt:

Why We Procrastinate with the require/desire grid.
Visual strategies to overcome procrasination based on work by Alex Vermeer. Get your copy of 25 Quotes and Affirmations to Finally Defeat Procrastination.
Conquer Fear and Get Stuff Done
The Daily PlanIt Overcoming Procrastination Board at Pinterest.

How do you combat procrastination? Let me know if you get around to it!

Tagged with: procrastination
Posted in productivity

2014-3-3 Weekly Review

Posted on March 3, 2014 by dailyplanit — 1 Comment

This week I shared How I Created My First eBook, complete with helpful links. I hope this is helpful to those who wish to tackle this project. On the Daily PlanIt Facebook page, I shared a great free tool from David Meerman Scott, a Free Marketing Strategy Template. Plus a lot of other neat stuff, like the Happy song by Pharrell Williams.

During the past week I took a quiz to determine if I am left brain or right brain dominant, and was shocked and dismayed by the results! Let’s just say that it said I’m strongly left brain. Sure, I get that I like to make lists and organize things, and that’s a left brain function. But I highly value creativity and art, and like to think I’m at least a little bit creative. So I was very disturbed to see this result.

It bothered me so much I decided to re-take the test, and then take a closer look at what it is based on. The second time it came out a little better: 69% left, 31% right. I looked at the explanation of the test which came up after the test was completed.

Later I found another article that reassured me that brain dominance is not something to get worked up about. As long as you have a functioning brain, that’s the main thing! Still, I may try to spend some more time exercising my creative side.

Have you heard comedian Jeanne Robertson talking about her left-brain husband? She is one funny lady!

Smead has an article on how to set up an office based on brain dominance. See also Brain Basics. Have a great week!

Want to see more? I invite you to “like” the Daily PlanIt Facebook page and follow me on Pinterest!

Posted in Weekly Review

How I Created My First eBook

Posted on February 28, 2014 by dailyplanit

Creating an eBook was a challenge and learning experience. One thing I learned was that it’s all changing very fast. I would research and find websites, and the next time I looked they were gone. The positive side of that is that it’s become much easier to create an eBook with Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP.) I found it really simple to upload, preview, and edit in KDP. Here is a nice guide from the publishers of the For Dummies books. David Gaughran has a good post about the basics of publishing.

CONTENT

Of course you want to start by having great content for your eBook. This article at Firepole Marketing has some good advice on that. My first challenge was grabbing content from my blog to use in the book. I used http://blog2book.pothi.com/ for this. Then I did a lot of editing to improve and organize that content.

WORD TEMPLATE

I don’t have the newest version of Microsoft Word, so this was a bit of a challenge also.

PCWorld on creating an MS Word Template
This video was helpful.
Now there’s a template at http://www.writeintoprint.com/p/layout-tips.html

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Shauna Kelly has a great explanation of How to create a Table of Contents in Microsoft Word. This video explains how to create a table of contents in Open Office.

FORMATTING

MS Word tends to put extra “stuff” in that might not be visible but looks weird when you publish an eBook. I read a lot about this, and can’t even remember what was most helpful now! It gave me a headache!

COVER

I simply used one of the covers from KDP.

I’m no legal expert, but at Legal Stuff in Ebooks JW Manus says: “Your written work is copyrighted as soon as it is in tangible form- Nor are you required to register your copyright with the US Copyright Office.”

PRICING

Do a search of your topic to see the prices of similar eBooks.
Read How to Price Your eBook from Mill City Press.

MARKETING

Once you are ready to publish, Marketing your eBook is the next step! Find out why, how and tools for getting it done at Checklist to Market an eBook.

CREATE A PDF WITH CLICKABLE LINKS

Sometimes you may want to provide a free eBook as a pdf with clickable links. Here’s how to do this…

With Microsoft Word
With Open Office

Want to see more? I invite you to “like” the Daily PlanIt Facebook page and follow me on Pinterest! My eBook “Get Goaling: the simple guide to set and achieve your goals.” is a clear, concise, step-by-step guide that gives you the tools to learn the skills and get goaling quickly.

Posted in Books, goals, Ideas That Work