Do you tell yourself you could be so much better at your job, your relationships, or even your health with better time management?

Good. This is for you; a new perspective on achieving success with less effort than everyone else.

Let’s begin by ignoring the delusion of waking up earlier, going to bed later, and working harder. It’s a downward spiral to burning out. It may seem productive at first, but the end result is even less productivity and quality than where you began.

Time as we know it does not exist

Time is only a number. It holds absolutely no significance beyond the mathematical means to define the the length of our day. Did you know that our days are not actually 24 hours long? Go ahead and Google it, I’ll wait.

We’ve conditioned ourselves to be prideful in the act of being busy. There is no pride in that.

Think about it this way; if time is a constant length then why does it seem to bend so carelessly? Why does staring at a clock seemingly make time stand still? Why does the anxiousness of running late eat away at time so quickly? If there were any solidarity to time, it would be reliable and never in question.

Time, unlike any other mathematical formula, is governed entirely by perception.

How can we plan for the future on such unstable ground? Isn’t that simply setting ourselves up for failure?

Most of us only budget by time because we lack a better way to plan. We dread the alarm clock that tells us when our day begins. We submit project estimates based on times that are completely fabricated. We submit timesheets for paychecks that valuate our time in an overly casual way.

When co-workers ask for help on projects, friends and family text, call or email, your time becomes their time. An ever growing Venn Diagram where their equal overlap becomes the steady majority. Eroding away any chance of productivity that is surely within your grasp.

Imagine the invigorating power of not planning your day around time, but planning around specific action.

Action Management

Do not create a to-do list for your day. Most people set themselves up for failure by planning for ideal situations.

Let go of the fear that you may miss an important email, phone call or text. Once you react, their priorities become yours.

Electronic communication is only convenient for people that want something from you. Everyone else knows that you’re busy and understands your delayed response.

Repeat that paragraph. It’s important.

Now, pick three things that you will accomplish today. Don’t estimate how long each action will take. Just do them.

For consultants or business owners it may look like:

1. follow up on pitch/meeting/phone call
2. reach out to five new prospects
3. finish specific task on a project

For bloggers it may look like:

1. brainstorm five new blog post topics
2. research and write a new blog post
3. comment and share posts from five other bloggers

That’s it. If you think this is too easy, it is. It’s very easy. Accept it.

Time Management has failed us

We’ve conditioned ourselves to be prideful in the act of being busy. There is no pride in that. Don’t try to give 100% all day, every day because it’s impossible. Ignore the cliche motivators that do more harm than good. Just finish what you start.

If you can accomplish your action list in 4 hours, why would you try to fit more work into your day?

Once you try to do additional work, your brain will begin to compare how much you have accomplished today with previous days. Possibly even against your most productive day. If, by comparison, you accomplished less you will feel like you’ve failed.

Start setting yourself up for success instead of failure.

Working less has been proven to result in higher quality work. For that very same reason, major corporations are shifting focus to this mindset. Burying the timesheet and implementing value pricing in a results only work environment (ROWE).

Customers do not buy our time. They buy our knowledge and the value we provide them.

If you can provide the same value in five hours of time versus pretending to work for forty, shouldn’t you be able to make a similar salary?

If you get paid for an hour of work but your proposed solution to their problem only takes five minutes, should you only get paid for those five minutes?

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UnGeeked came at a turbulent, and complex, time for me on a personal level. I was buying into what someone previously close to me was paltering. They made me question myself a little too much, and that doubt ate at me from the inside constantly.

I was originally set to lead a break out session about interactive psychology on day one. In it, I would provide direct, actionable techniques for a handful of attendees and their interactive projects.

This platform is second nature to me as I do it on a daily basis for Fortune 500 corporations and start-ups. The break out session was well within my comfort zone.

A week before the event, Cd Vann, Founder of unGeeked, offered me an amazing opportunity. Speak, and lead discussion, on influencing behavior through interactive psychology and color theory in front of all attendees as an unGeeked Elite.

My session would lead in to Olivier Blanchard’s forty-five minute block. Olivier is a phenomenal brand strategist that I have always had a great deal of respect for.

As exciting as this was, I hadn’t spoken to an audience like this in over five years. It wasn’t even for the same industry.

But I couldn’t say no.

Seize the opportunities that life brings you

I often talk about allowing for opportunity in life; whether that be personal or business. The future cannot be planned for; only prepared for.

Momentum ebbs and flows with each moment and it’s important you take advantage of opportunity. Even if that means jumping out of your comfort zone and trusting the faith that others have in you.

If you do not step out of your comfort zone you are already at the apex of your life as you read this. You made a conscious effort to cease the growth of you, as an individual. Is that really what you want your life to be like?

On day one we went around the room introducing ourselves. At that moment you realize you are in a room full of friends and a sense of comfort comes over you. When the mental connection is made between the online avatar and a more tangible person it can be an amazing experience.

I will never forget the reaction from Paula Lee Bright (@Almost60Really) as I announced my Twitter handle (@iamlucid) and the banter that came afterward. It’s the closest feeling I will ever have to being a celebrity and I will forever be humbled by that moment.

What makes unGeeked different?

The sessions provide a great source of education and inspiration, but what sets unGeeked apart is the level of true engagement. It’s an open forum for passionate, respectful discussion. You choose to be engaged at the level you find most comfortable.

It doesn’t start and end with each session; everyone is there to help each other grow as a whole. I still talk to quite a few of the attendees on a weekly basis.

It’s been said that our minds, our creativity and our passion for life is at its best while in the presence of those that encourage and understand us.

I’ve spent the last ten to fifteen years of my life building a brand around my perspective on business; something that cannot be entirely recreated by anyone else on the planet. Because of this, there is a lot of vulnerability in letting my guard down and welcoming open discussion for 45 minutes.

My ability to inspire discussion and offer uncommon perspective encouraged a lot of people to get involved. I was also the only discussion leader focusing on color theory,  and utilizing design to guide user focus to increase engagement.

The amount of genuine curiosity in what I do made me fully realize the value of what I provide people on a daily basis. I felt validated. Respected.

Attendees of the session still reach out to me, months later, to learn more about design psychology, color theory and influencing behavior of customers.

The most important experiences are not about business or opportunity

There are great moments that I will never forget. Friendships that were established that I hope to be lifelong. Those experiences will always surpass the business opportunities, book deals and partnerships that originated from simply being part of unGeeked.

Here are a few of those moments:

1. Amanda Hite‘s passion for making the world a better place. For inspiring a room to help someone achieve their dream through #unGeekedLove
2. Peg Fitzpatrick finding her voice and establishing herself as a social leader. She has since begun blogging, and launched the highly successful #MyBookClub.
3. The #tapas movement and the incomparable Katie Felten.
4. Olivier Blanchard’s expression when I answered his question about using design psychology to influence social media engagement with a well designed profile image and a little color theory.
5. Sharing great conversation with Jen Howver over duck tacos while our waiter tried to get us to leave every five minutes.
6. Troy Janisch trying to convince everyone I was throwing a kegger in my rented dorm room.
7. Sam Fiorella hounding me for not buying him coffee.

It’s important to follow the momentum of life. Without stepping out of my comfort zone none of these opportunities, friendships or memories would have ever existed.

I would be a different man at this moment had I not been part of unGeeked.

It’s a powerful thought.

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With clear focus you can bypass the entire fight or flight mechanism.

You can tap into these instinctual responses by standardizing the approach to your website layouts. Our brain goes into autopilot when it quickly locates the navigation and primary content. The same way you understand, without any active thought, that the steering wheel of every automobile turns; the gas pedal accelerates and the brake stops. It all becomes second nature.

Think of it this way; how many websites look like Chris Brogan’s website? How many websites use the Thesis framework? Not only is it fast to launch but it also simplifies the experience of your user.

Studies show that people in passive activities, like watching television, are much more open to the power of suggestion.

Meeting the needs of your visitors

Users typically access your website with one goal in mind. Once that need is met they are open to influence through impulse triggers. This is why online stores feature similar items on product pages. The initial need has been met. Now your brain is open to suggestion.

Another example is the use of the color red in clearance, or high priority, sales. Red excites our brain. Not only does it direct our attention, if used properly, the result is similar to caffeine. And, if you didn’t know, when you drink caffeine you make more impulsive decisions. Buy things we normally wouldn’t buy. Remember that next time you pick up a CD at your local Starbucks register “on a whim”.

Users want to believe they made the right decision

Even if you don’t sell a product or service it’s important that you still view your visitors as potential customers. By establishing your value they will buy into your brand and then look for additional information to support their decision. Users want to believe they made the right decision. Engage them with the resources they are looking for up front. Each time you peak their interest they browse your website a little longer.

With clear focus you can bypass the entire fight or flight mechanism. Which is a fancy way of saying don’t throw a ton of scary information at your visitor right away. This is also why many websites don’t list the price of their service on the front page. They sell you on it first. To sell more disconnect the association between price and value.

Look at the snapshot of the Kitchen Table Companies website. They sell you on the value. They don’t hit you with the price until you are already invested.

Finding the real focus of your website

I say “the real focus” because many websites try and push certain products, or services, on their visitors. Force feeding does not work if you value your customers and their outlook on your brand.

The best way to find the real focus, and greatest value, is by acknowledging your visitor’s actual behavior. Dig into your website’s analytics and look at which three pages are being accessed the most. Pull focus to those three areas across your entire website and unify your goals to build a stronger web presence. A stronger web presence is the first step to providing a successful user experience.

Providing less options will simplify the decision making process. Our brain has an innate ability to categorize and understand options presented in threes. This is why you see many websites, and landing pages, break down their benefits into three columns.

3 simple actions to implement on your website right now:

1. Determine what your visitors want by reviewing usage trending through software like Google Analytics. It’s important to do this often.

2. Remove unnecessary information and focus your efforts on the top three resources / pages / products that you found

3. After your visitor finds value pull them deeper into the website (suggested items, pricing structure, newsletter, etc).

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Google has pulled the psychological rug out from underneath all of us.

What caught my attention was the drastic change in their color theory and overall branding. Google is known for their relatively clean layout and navigation. Previously their tool bar was a very passive white. With time it slowly progressed to a gradient white to grey background. Now? A bold statement powered by a near black with a red line signifying your current location.

While most of us may see this as a trendy approach to a top navigation bar during a public relations push; those of us rooted in the influential world of color theory see something much more significant.

On a basic level the near black navigation represents power and authority. The red highlight is associated with energy, strength and power. Starting to see a trend in their decision making?

Google’s new universal navigation is set against their traditional stark white background forcing even more focus on their core set of products and services. That is what sets Google+ apart from its competitors; I use the term competitors loosely as no one is in direct competition. This isn’t a new service. It’s an extension on a worldwide brand that we all know. This gives them immense freedom in how they influence our decision making through color theory.

What color is predominantly used for social media branding on large, well known, networks? LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter (even MySpace when they were relevant) featured extensive use of the color blue. What type of companies in the offline world use blue as their key color? Banks.

Whether you realize it or not both sell us a very similar business model. They provide a service of trust. We trust them with our security. Our private information. Our money. It’s no coincidence that the color blue represents just that; trust, stability and truth.

When a company can claim ownership of enchantment on that level the restrictions that hold other services back are non-existent.

While social networks continue to try and leverage, and sometimes struggle with, their ability to protect your private data Google has pulled the psychological rug out from underneath all of us. It doesn’t need to gain your trust. Google already has you hooked through their amazing library of free services. Many of which we all use on a daily basis. When a company can claim ownership of enchantment on that level the restrictions that hold other services back are non-existent. The digital world is theirs to re-brand, re-shape and re-invent with their methodical positioning in recent years.

Google isn’t being coy with their goals. They didn’t send us to a landing page with a big colorful button to encourage action. They relaunched a global brand in the last twenty-four hours; re-branded with colors that represent power and strength.

Others need to take notice.

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The strength of that bridge will grow over time and everyone will benefit.

Employee moral has taken a devastating blow in recent years due to drastic changes in our economic outlook. Even when employed, hot button topics such as hourly rates and benefit packages are forced into top of mind and can heavily affect productivity. How can we, as business owners, ensure that our employees are happy and remain loyal to our brand?

Share, Grow and Learn Together

It’s important that we move away from the mindset of a ladder system in business. Where new employees are viewed as less valuable than management from day one. In today’s society, where new hires are typically overqualified, that process of earning empowerment could quickly dissolve any true job security. Not only from a business perspective but from an individual’s as well. Help them transition smoothly from where they are and where they want to be. The strength of that bridge will grow over time and everyone will benefit. That bridge may even support you one day.

That being said, it is crucial that both company and employee work toward a shared experience as well. Your end goals will fork at some point in the road but even short term can be defined in years. Empower them with the knowledge you have learned through first hand experience. Make them better by sharing your mistakes. It will help your company as you are only as good as the team you surround yourself with. Make sure that the best of them want to stay with your company.

Give them freedom to grow and excel in their field.

Providing employees with a passion project they can pilot will help them feel invested in the company. Every employee should have this opportunity regardless of job title, pay scale or length with the company. However, the level of freedom they are given can be directly related to previous success. This approach encourages strong work ethic and establishes commitment to your brand. A reward system in place for those that want to take advantage of it.

The employee draws the blueprint and builds the house. You simply invest the time and provide support.

Staging an open house for co-workers and guests to showcase the passion projects could become a regular event. Attendees could vote anonymously on different categories like more traditional award shows. Grand prize could be additional vacation days, submission of the project for national awards or an engraved plaque. The business may also submit a light-hearted press release to local news channels and share the story on social networking sites.

Not only does this build an adequate stage for employees it also suggests a deadline for their project. Although they are piloting these initiatives your goal as a company is to encourage growth. Not a means to pass the time. Give them freedom to grow and excel in their field. By not allowing this “free time” you potentially negate the ability to keep current on trends, technologies and strategy. What works well today may not be relevant tomorrow. Sheltering your employee from growth does not breed loyalty.

The level of pride, trust and loyalty you build with this employee empowerment will create a sense of allure that will not only keep current employees but to attract high quality co-workers as well.

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Build it. Create it. Finish it.

At some point during our early childhood we were conditioned to live by a structured status quo. Go to school, attend college, get a degree, excel in your career and retire at 65. That was the ideal many of us grew up with. Have you ever asked yourself why?

What happens when we see an opportunity? When the energy of excitement and potential ignites us with opportunity to succeed. A doorway to success without a five step program and twenty five plus years of our life to prove our worth.

There are two types of people in life; those who sit back and talk about doing and those who take action. Those who deliver.

Stop planning for tomorrow and deliver today

…they took the long road to success with blinders over their eyes like Kentucky Derby horses.

Some of the most talented people I have ever met followed the outdated blueprint for success. Each of them had college degrees, were honest and respectable people, hard workers for the most part, but they waited their turn politely. They didn’t open their eyes to the opportunities speeding by them. They didn’t take control.

The only thing that held that back was themselves. They may never realize their dreams because they took the long road to success with blinders over their eyes like Kentucky Derby horses.

Why do we need to work 40 hour weeks?

You may have the seed of an idea that has the potential to grow into something life changing, possibly revolutionary, but the only way to find out is by pushing it further. Build it. Create it. Finish it. Get your idea out there for public consumption. Tomorrow can never be planned for. You never know what tomorrow will bring. You only have today. This moment. Right now.

Archaic structure expires with innovation

The problem lies within the mindset that we must follow a certain path to gain respect. To be viewed as successful. That color by numbers mentality doesn’t innovate. It doesn’t allow for complete freedom of thought or unexpected events in our lives that may take us off course. Where is the excitement in that?

We are destined to repeat a cycle of decision making without asking the all-important why. Why do we need to realize our dreams a certain way? Why do we need to work 40 hour weeks? Why do we even need to go from Point A to Point B? We don’t. And this shift in the social status quo is changing the world we live in every day. Don’t get left behind by a road map that worked best decades ago.

It doesn’t matter what age you are or if you have a college education. It doesn’t matter if you have been at your job three months or thirty years. Do it and do it now or someone else will. It’s that simple. Plan for today. Take action today. Succeed today.

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Buying into our abilities is a leap of faith

The customer assumes we will provide the best quality work for their hard earned dollar. That our history of projects, clients and testimonials are an adequate barometer of what they can expect of us. They buy into the end result before seeing progress on their own project. Based on that the customer is willing to sign contracts, shake hands and trust our abilities to perform. At best, it is an educated leap of faith.

Many customers are even willing to compromise against their own expectations to see actual results. We operate under the mindset that it is reasonable to expect customers to provide content ahead of schedule or pay early. Expect that the customer go beyond expectations we already outlined for them. If you failed to go beyond the customer’s expectations would you refuse payment? Discount your rates?

If the customer gave you an objective would you go above expectations to raise the level of the end product? Imagine that you delivered ahead of schedule, under budget and to their liking even though it wasn’t up to your own standards. Do you still charge the full price? Do you put in extra effort to respect your own work when your customer may not even notice?

As business owners we are so quick to take action when a client fails us. When do we become equally responsible for our own work?

A real world example

Last week Gil Meche, a Kansas City Royals’ pitcher, retired early leaving a guaranteed salary of $12 million unpaid this year. A guaranteed contract is a remarkable opportunity that traditional business models cannot emulate. Its salary is paid to you regardless of performance or health.

In an interview with the New York Times Meche said, “Once I started to realize I wasn’t earning my money, I felt bad. I was making a crazy amount of money for not even pitching. Honestly, I didn’t feel like I deserved it. I didn’t want to have those feelings again.”

Not only did he go against the archetype of major league sports, he went against our own human nature. He walked away from money that was his if he wanted it. If you were guaranteed an annual salary for the entire year regardless of health or performance what would motivate you to deliver a quality product every day?

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Maintaining your audience’s attention

Whether it is as grand as speaking to a large crowd at a conference or a relatively mundane task such as writing an email; being successful stems from knowing what to say at what moment. When done well it becomes an art form.

In the most simplistic form frontloading boils down to one thing. Deliver the most important information first. The details can come after you have their attention. Then, if possible, forget the details and move on.

Less detail is more rewarding

By holding back less important details you can determine if additional information will serve the purpose of increasing retention rates and interest or simply wasting time.

Providing your audience with less information has two key benefits:

1. Entice them into craving more detail
2. Guarantee they receive the most important details

Now, how do you capitalize on this technique? Let’s start by looking at the most common mistakes we make in conversation. Not just in business and social media discussion but also in every day, face to face, talking.

Avoid unnecessary details

If I were to ask you “how was your vacation?” what would your typical response be?

Would you tell me about that amazing technique you have for packing your clothes to save space for souvenirs or how the flight was great aside from the lack of leg room and screaming babies? Maybe name drop that famous hotel you were lucky enough to book last minute? I hope not. Because you lost my attention as soon as you opened with packing technique.

Give your audience more only if they want more

What if I told you that, on my vacation, I was able to see something that only a handful of people have ever seen? Would you want to know more? Then I tell you that you need to fly in on a propeller plane, drive for two days and then hike 12 hours just to see this. Are you still interested? Chances are that you would want to know what it was, how I found out about it and if I took pictures. But why?

Psychologically, I am letting you pilot this conversation. I’m giving you just enough information to gain your interest and trigger your curiosity. I’m not bogging you down with useless information. It’s lean, it’s prime and it’s here if you want it.

The turning point

In any form of conversation you only have a brief moment before your audience decides if they are interested in hearing more. That conversation can be visual or vocal.

The key to retaining attention is finding your key point and delivering it fast. Frontload it so you have more control over your audience’s reaction. Once you lose them it will take much more effort to pull them back in.

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Follow these guidelines at the start of each new year to future proof your business.

1. Don’t depend on one part of your business for complete success

Your most successful service from last year may not do as well this year. Prepare by looking at your mission plan. What is your goal for the company? Does it reflect your current trends? If not, don’t be afraid to rewrite a new mission plan as a blueprint for the next two years.

If it fails, everything fails.

Do you have a particular service, or product, that has become very popular in the past 3-6 months? Shift focus accordingly. Don’t depend on one part of your business to fuel others. It may work short term, but if it fails, everything fails.

2. Past strategies may fail to engage new customers

Don’t be afraid to try something new this year.

If your business has been around for more than 3-5 years you may have relied on print campaigns, direct mail or newspaper and magazine advertising. At a glance, are you seeing the same return on your advertising dollars with that marketing strategy? If not, try something new.

Every few years a new platform emerges that you need to focus on. Don’t overlook potential. Don’t be afraid to try something new this year.

3. Ease into new strategies or marketing platforms

If a strategy, or service you offer, has failed by a large margin, drop it. Don’t do it anymore. To repeat the same tasks and expect different results is literally the definition of insanity. Or, in the least, do not put time and money into pushing something no one wants.

To future proof your business invest 25% in an emerging platform.

Now, look at how much money you spent marketing that product or service. If you didn’t spend money how much time did you invest into it? Remember, time is more important than money. Money can be earned again. Time cannot.

Take that budget and put it in last year’s most successful product or service. To future proof your business invest 25% in an emerging platform such as Social Media or mobile advertising.

Past success does not mean future success is inevitable.

Wake up each day ready to prove your worth. Look for new opportunities to showcase what you have to offer. Remove any failure and replace it with momentum toward success.

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This technique is commonly used by even the most amateur magicians and can be adapted to increase the success of your next marketing campaign.

Act 1: The Pledge

“Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called The Pledge. The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course… it probably isn’t.”

Imagine this scenario. A car company runs a television campaign that showcases a high-end vehicle, fully loaded, but never presents you with branding. They sell you on the features. Impact rating. Gas mileage. Customer service. Warranty and drop dead gorgeous style inside and out. If you are in the market for a vehicle this is your vehicle. No questions asked.

Act 2: The Turn

“The second act is called The Turn. The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you’re looking for the secret… but you won’t find it, because of course you’re not really looking. You don’t really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn’t clap yet. Because making something disappear isn’t enough; you have to bring it back.”

The price is shown. Desperately below what you had in mind. Surely, this has to be a high end vehicle. Maybe a BMW. Maybe a Mercedes. Possibly a Cadillac. You’re lured in. Completely sold on this vehicle. Eyes open. Mind open. But wait. This sounds far too good to be true. How could this be so inexpensive?

Act 3: The Prestige

That’s why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call “The Prestige”

It’s not a BMW. or a Mercedes. Not even a Cadillac. It’s something far less from an industry perspective. Think Kia. Respectable in their own right but not on the level of the others by a long shot. In this situation your reaction would likely be, “Wow, I didn’t expect that.” But why?

When the company marketed their product they focused on the customer experience. The features and functionality. Things that rivaled even the largest names in the business. By not using their name they were careful not to trigger an initial knee jerk reaction based on any preconceived ideas. They removed the bias and landed their message right where they wanted it. On the forefront of a demographic that ignored them.

There will always be a turning point when a business, of any size or industry, steps from the shadows and takes its place as a respected brand. That moment when the larger companies focus their brand strategy on leveraging their name and not their product.

It can be daunting to compete in such a large market place but your well known competitors were in the same position you are right now once. And implementing a three step technique such as the the Pledge, the Turn and the Prestige provides you with momentum to make a memorable impact.

Once your brand is top of mind you have already succeeded.

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