Do you know where you’re going today?

Many people don’t.

In fact, many aren’t going anywhere.

Others are traveling in circles, repeating the same things over-and-over.

The most important part is knowing where you are going in the first place.

Where are you headed today?

Travelling in Circles

Some people drift through their days and life. Claiming they are carefree, they let life take them where it might.

Others are so disorganized that they can’t tell up-from-down. Their chaos is usually self-inflicted.

In either extreme, you are not in control of your path.

Show me someone who doesn’t write down their todos or goals…

And I’ll show you someone who doesn’t know where they are going in life.

If you don’t know where you are going… how will you know when you get there?

Know Where You Are Headed (& Get There!)

Knowing where you are going is the first step in getting there.

Here are 10 Ways to Know Where You Are Going Today & Get There:

1. Look at Your Todo List – Keep a detailed todo list. It doesn’t matter if it is on paper or your smartphone. What is important is that you are aware of the tasks you need to do and write them down.
2. Review Your Calendar – Where are you supposed to be today? Managing your calendar prevents conflicts, last-minute issues, and can actually recover much wasted time. Give your calendar the attention it deserves.
3. Write Down Your Goals – Where do you want to be down the road? What are your hopes and dreams? Write them down. Be specific. Many people hesitate to write them down because they feel it locks them in. You can change your goals as your life changes. But, you must have them in the first place.
4. Do Something That You Should be Doing - Put priorities first. Being productive is good, but working on the things that take you where you want to be is better. Make sure you do the things that matter most.
5. Take Care of Yourself – You won’t be going anywhere if you don’t take care of yourself. Too many people put off taking care of themselves. Make sure you maintain your health and well-being each and every day.
6. Don’t Repeat Yourself - Learn from your actions. That is what experience is all about. Don’t be afraid to take risks and make mistakes. Just makes sure you learn from them or you are bound to repeat them.
7. Partner With Others - The journey is much easier and better with others. Often, your travelling partners can point out things along the way that you might have ignored or taken for granted.
8. Do Your Habits Today – You are what you do today. If you want to get where you are going, make sure you do your habits each and every day. It sounds simple, but it is not.

Where Are You Going Today?

Don’t be driftwood in your daily life.

Instead, be deliberate about where you are headed each and every day.

You just might get where you are going.

Share Your Thoughts: Do you know where you are going? Do you have written goals and todos?

People who decide to become fulltime freelancers often struggle in the beginning with this new way of life. Working at home and making your own work hours seems perfect in theory, but with such a lifestyle come many new obstacles that you have not faced in the past. The amount of distractions that come with this type of job scenario tend to pile up. Therefore, serious changes are needed in order to successfully transition from being someone who is on the clock to an independent worker who only reports to him or herself.

Here are five tips that will help you to make this transition as smooth as possible and guide you along the road towards become a successful freelancer worker, no matter what type of work you have chosen to focus on from the comfort of your own home.

1 – Set Goals

As a freelancer, you no longer have people who are telling you when and how you have to work. You are given deadlines, but you are allowed to take your own path towards meeting them. The fact that you are independent is all the more reason to set goals for yourself and to focus on meeting them. In order to be a successful freelancer, you need to think about the long-term.

Set a goal for your desired and needed income every month and make sure that you always have enough jobs lined up to meet these financial goals. Living from one job to the other creates stress that you don’t need and freelancers who are new to the lifestyle could find themselves in a serious financial predicament if their job offers all of a sudden dry up and they don’t have anywhere else to turn to for money.

Once you have set your financial goals, you need to find a way to meet them. You will also have to analyze them month after month to see whether you need to alter them in any way in order to continue living off freelance work. Setting ambitious goals and challenging yourself to meet them is the best way to ensure that you remain productive over time and also remain financially secure even when you are having a slower month or some jobs fall through.

2 – Manage your Time

When you are at home, the number of distractions that can keep you from working increase tenfold compared to when you were going to the office every day. That is why time management is important. If you are someone who is easily distracted, creating work hours for yourself is an absolute must. Many people who start freelancing tend to lose their work habits and drift into the mindset of not having to work when they do not feel like working.

This leads to long nights of chasing deadlines, huge last-minute workloads, and in the end, a decrease in the quality of your work. Set aside time that will be dedicated to getting work done and set goals for home much work you need to get done within this period of time each day in order to meet your deadlines comfortably and without unnecessary stressors piling up.

Remember, when you are a freelancer, you still have a boss. The only difference is that you are your own boss – so approach giving yourself assignments like you would approach giving them to an employee of yours.

3 – Control Your Working Environment

Your working environment is another important factor that influences the amount of distractions you will have and the amount of work you will be able to get done. If you are someone who can get work done while sitting in a café or a park, or traveling by train or bus, then by all means do it. But not all of us can work that way. Find a place that is conducive to getting your work done and make sure that it is always available to you.

Find a room in your house where you will be free of distractions, and let the people living with you know that when you are in this room, you should not be disturbed. Freelancing gives you freedom, but it is the inability to manage this freedom that leaves a lot of wannabe freelancers stressed out after a couple of months and ready to give up on this type of lifestyle and head back to the cubicle.

4 – Choose Your Jobs Wisely

Since you already have the choice of picking your jobs, take full advantage of that. The more familiar you are with something and the better you are at it, the easier it will be for you to perform this task without any boss breathing down your neck. Remember, most freelancers pick this lifestyle because they were not happy with what they were doing in life previously. If you are still doing things that you hate to do as a freelancer, then you haven’t really made many changes in your career path.

For example, if you are translating as a freelancer, do not take jobs that have to do with a field that you are not familiar with. If you have no previous experience translating heavy-handed legal documentation, do not take these types of job offers. Find your niche and be the best at what you are doing. It is always better to be great at several things than mediocre at everything.

You also need to measure the financial lucrativeness of each job that is offered to you. Do not be quick to snap up every job offer that is sent your way. If you take on a job that pays little and involves a lot of work, it is possible that you can get a much better offer while you are working on this unprofitable job, which you will have to turn down because you do not have time for it because of the prior commitments that you have already made to a low-paying assignment.

5 – Don’t Neglect Your Health

If you are living your life as if you are on vacation every day, you will not be a successful freelancer. Freelancing is a job, it just comes with a new set of rules. Just because you do not have to wake up early every morning to go to work, does not mean that you should be staying up late every night and sleeping in each day.

Your health is important to the quality of your work and your ability to manage your time and set your goals accordingly. You need to make a proper schedule for yourself and your body, and make sure that you maintain healthy sleeping habits so that your work quality does not suffer.

Time management is also a very important part of managing your health, both physical and mental. Give yourself work hours so that you can have time to do other things. If you simply tell yourself that you have to finish something today, you will usually wind up working on that task sporadically throughout the day and end up finishing it at the break of dawn. Make yourself get these tasks done within a given period of time so that you can spend the rest of the day taking care of yourself by eating right, getting some fresh air and exercise, and maintaining a healthy sleep schedule.

It is important to remember that life as a freelancer is not one long paid vacation, it is a new type of job, and one that can be very fulfilling and fruitful once you figure out how to approach it accordingly.

Question: What are your best productivity tips for freelancers?

This guest post is by David Lazar. He is a regular blogger at the PDF Converter blog. With a background in journalism, he specializes in writing blogs on a variety of topics, including freelancing, careers, writing, technology and new media.

I was in a client’s office recently as they were getting ready for a meeting.

They were looking for a document. (Actually, they were frantically looking for a piece of paper.)

I asked if could help.

As they moved piles around their desk, they replied, “No… I put it right here. I know where it is.”

Apparently not.

Five minutes later, they gave up looking for the document and headed off to a meeting (late!) without their reference materials.

Piles Are Not Organization

People tell me all the time that their messy desk is organized.

“I know where everything is!”

“It works this way.”

“This is my system.”

The truth is… people pile things up because they don’t have a way to organize their work.

“Piles are not organization.

They are a procrastinator’s excuse to avoid organizing.”

Piles don’t let you find your work.

They aren’t an efficient way to store your important things.

In fact, piles are slow.

Ditch the Piles

The next time you are looking for something that is buried in your piles, think twice about adding to the problem.

Here are just a few tips to help you avoid the piles:

• Put It Away Now! - The next time you are “piling” things up, ask yourself how much longer it would take to put things away right. It may take a couple extra minutes now, but will save you even more time and effort in the future.
• Have a System – Many people create piles because they do not have a system for organizing their stuff. Whether it is papers at work or supplies at home, invest in the filing or organization tools you need to put things in order. A filing cabinet or shelving system can make all the difference.
• Clean Your Desk Regularly – One way to keep the piles in check, is to have a regular clean-up session. I clean up my desk and surrounding workspace every Friday before I depart the office. Not only does it keep things in check, but it sets me up for a clean start to the next week.
• Throw It Out – I am a big believer in disposing of things that you will not need again. “If in doubt, throw it out!” More likely than not, you will not need that paper again. Or that random item. Trash it, donate it, or give it to someone who can use it.
• Go Paperless – Paper is always one of the main things than people pile. However, it is easier than ever to go paperless. Eliminate paper bills and opt for e-bills. Scan or take pictures of documents. File your e-documents via Evernote or Dropbox.

Piles Are Slow

Piles are not organization.

They are not part of an organizing solution.

Take a few minutes today to address the piles in your life.

Question: Are piles part of your organization system? What are your best tips to avoid piling things up?

Most people hate starting their week.

(And thus, Monday gets a bad rap.)

Many come back to work dragging worse than when they left Friday afternoon.

Are you one of those individuals that dreads restarting the work week?

What would it take to start the week fully charged?

Starting on Empty

Do you come back from your weekend needing another weekend to recover?

“How to start the week” is one of the most popular questions that I am asked.

Ironically, much of the “starting the week” stress is self-inflicted.

It is either due to not being prepared or irresponsible behavior over the weekend.

“If you start your week with nothing in your tank…

then it is bound to be a rough start.”

Ever start your day and realize that you forgot to plug-in your phone the night before?

Unfortunately, many people do this with their body.

And then they wonder why Mondays are so tough.

Start Fully Charged

If you want to start your week right, you need to take steps to take care of yourself and your obligations.

Here are 10 Ways to Start the Week with Your Batteries Fully Charged:

1. Get Enough Rest - Many people claim they need a weekend to recover from the work week. However, when they get there, they end up getting less sleep than during the week. Have the discipline to get the rest you need. If your tank is empty when you walk in the door Monday, it’s going to be a rough week.
2. Know Where You Are Going – Starting your week without reviewing your calendar is like driving your car with a blindfold, you are going to hit something. Know where you are going before the week starts. Review your calendar in advance.
3. Know What You Have to Do – Your todo list is just as important. If you are unaware of what you have to do and when it is due, you are setting yourself up for a fall. Look at your list before you leave the house. You just might remind yourself of something you need to be ready for.
4. A Good Finish, Allows a Good Start – Ever come back to a project that you left in disarray? It’s a mess. Trying to figure out where you were and where everything goes. Make sure you finish the previous week right. Clean up before you leave the office and tie up loose ends. That way, you won’t walk into a mess upon your return.
5. Do Your Homework – Many people take the weekend “off” as literal. Meaning they don’t do anything to prepare for the next week. However, you have to do your homework. If you have a big presentation, prepare for it. If you have an assignment that is due, finish it. Just because you aren’t in school doesn’t mean you don’t have homework.
6. Workout – Want to start you week full of energy? Start it with a workout. Some fear that this will wear them out before they get to work. Quite the contrary. It will pump you up. And fill you with confidence.
7. Start Early – It’s true, the early bird gets the worm. Opportunity favors the early. If you have to pick one day a week to get an early start, Monday would be the day. Arriving at the office before the rush will let you get a head start.
8. Motivate Yourself – Need some inspiration to start your week? Read something motivational. I keep several of my motivational books, quotes, and even video clips nearby, in case I need that extra push to go out and attack the world.
9. Start the Work – A great way to start your week fully amped up is to finish something early. Do an important task before the week even wakes up Monday morning. (See #7)
10. Positive Attitude – Bring your best attitude to the new week. Being positive can overcome many of the week’s obstacles. Your attitude defines your reality more than you think.

Charge Your Batteries

Don’t start your week on empty.

Get the rest. Do the homework. And get motivated.

Start your week fully charged.

Question: Do you start your week fully charged?

You might think that time management and creativity are bit like chalk and cheese. If you’re a creative type (or if you want to be more creative), then all the usual advice about organizing yourself and avoiding procrastination might just not seem to apply. After all, isn’t a bit of disorganization and procrastination just part of the creative process?

Well, you might be perfectly happy doing your creative thing while everything around you is in a state of chaos. There’s a good chance, though, that some simple time management skills will hugely boost your chances of actually finishing that novel, or completing that painting.

Good Time Management Frees Up Extra Creative Hours

When I talk to writers, one big problem crops up over and over again: finding the time to write.

However much you love your creative work, you need time for it. That means being organized in the rest of your life: finishing your day job on time, getting the chores done efficiently, scheduling your creative sessions in your calendar, and so on.

Yes, time management might not seem nearly as exciting as creating your new composition, or sketching out some ideas … but it’s a critical support for your creativity.

Good Time Management Helps You Stay Focused

Does your creative time ever end up as a few hours of web surfing and smartphone fiddling?

Most of us struggle to focus, and creative types are no exception. Sure, you’ll have days when you’re completely in the zone … but to get to that point, you probably need to push past the initial few minutes when you’re tempted to procrastinate.

By learning to sit down and concentrate on one task at a time, you’ll be doing your creativity a huge favor.

Good Time Management Helps You Organize Big Projects

If your creative work involves big, complicated projects – like publishing a comic book, producing an album, putting on a live event, or writing a novel – then you’re going to be juggling a lot of moving pieces.

To avoid everything falling down around you, you’ll need strong organizational skills. This is a key part of time management and, even if you think you’re “just not very organized,” it’s something you can work on.

My rule of thumb is to put as much as I can onto paper, rather than keeping it in my head – even if it’s just little stuff, like “don’t forget to buy milk.” That way, I free up more mental RAM for important stuff, like mulling over the newest plot twist in my novel…

Good Time Management Lets You Know When to Be Creative

We all have peaks and troughs of creative energy during the day. You might be at your best at 9 – 11am, but you may have friends who thrive at 6 – 8pm.

It’s important to know when your personal peaks are, so that you can harness them for your creative work. Let’s say you need to do a few chores on Saturday and you also want to work on your latest poem: if your best creative hours are in the morning, you’ll want to leave those chores for the afternoon.

I know this might sound like it’s obvious – but it’s surprising how few of us are careful about scheduling things so that we can use our most energized times to the full.

If your life involves a lot of creative activity (or if you wish it did!) then drop a comment below. Let us know what works for you, or what you’re struggling with.

This guest post is by Ali Luke. Ali is currently on a virtual book tour for her novel Lycopolis, a fast-paced supernatural thriller centered on a group of online roleplayers who summon a demon into their game … and into the world. Described by readers as “a fast and furious, addictive piece of escapism” and “absolutely gripping”, Lycopolis is available in print and e-book form. Find out more at www.lycopolis.co.uk.

Life moves pretty fast.

Often, we let it slip by.

Bit-by-bit. Minute-by-minute.

Are you letting your time slip by?

The Potential of Just a Few Minutes

Want more time in your day?

I can’t help you there.

We all get the same amount each day.

But, you can make more of the time you have.

You can be more productive. Not letting life’s little moments slip by.

The few minutes before a meeting. The short time waiting for something or someone.

“5 minutes is more than enough time to get a small task done.

And small tasks add up to big productivity.”

Don’t underestimate the power to make the most of even five minutes.

You can get something done or even just enjoy being where you are.

What Can You Fit Into Life’s Little Moments?

It is not always the big time periods.

Sometimes, what matters most, is what you do with the little times.

Here is a list of 21 Things You Could Do in Just 5 Minutes…

1. Answer 5 emails.
2. Return a phone call.
3. Read a few pages of a book. (On your phone or iPad.)
4. Tell someone how much you appreciate them.
5. Listen to someone tell you a story. (And just be there.)
6. Write in your journal. It doesn’t have to be long. A few notes here and there add up quick.
7. Pay someone a compliment.
8. Do a favor for someone. (Even a stranger…)
9. Review your calendar.
10. Affirm your goals. (They are written down, right?)
11. Listen to a motivation song.
12. Check your todo list. (If you don’t look at it, it can’t have your back.)
13. Clean your workspace.
14. Go for a walk, around the office.
15. Text someone just to say you love or miss them.
16. Do a quick task. (Or even a couple.)
17. Delegate an item that you have been holding up.
18. Slow down and catch your breath.
19. Add a new phone number to your address book.
20. Do some preventative maintenance. (Before there is an issue!)
21. Enjoy where you are… you will never be in that exact moment again.

Just 5 Minutes

It’s not about cramming more and more into the day.

It’s not about constantly running yourself ragged.

However, it is about making the most of your time.

It is about enjoying yourself and not letting life’s small minutes slip by.

So, what are you going to do with those 5 minutes?

Question: What do you get done when you find yourself with just a few minutes?

Get up! What day is it?

The answer is easy: it’s today.

In fact, it’s always today.

The question is… what will you do with yours?

What Day Is It? Today, of Course.

I want you to make today count.

Because it is the only day you can act on.

Because you don’t know how many more you have.

And because…

Today always beats tomorrow. There is no competition.”

Why Today Is Always the Most Important Day:

• Today Always Wins – In the battle of getting it done, today always wins. Don’t put off what you can do today.
• Live It Like It Was Your Last - You never know how many todays you have. Live each one to its fullest.
• Today and Every Day. – Discipline is how big things are done. Consistency wins in the long run.
• You Are What You Do Today – Many people say they have good habits. Yet, their daily actions do not reflect it. Want to know your true nature? Look at what you are doing today.
• Just Do It Now. – Today is about action. Take the initiative. Don’t procrastinate. Just Do It Now.
• Today Is Your Best Friend - Tomorrow may promise you many things, however it is a fair weather friend. Today is there for you when you need it.
• Tomorrow Can’t Deliver Without Today – Dreams don’t come true without true work. Do the work today.

Make Today Count

You can start the rest of your life today.

The question is… What are you going to do today?

The small todos that don’t get done.

We all have them.

You know, the little things that always seem to slip through the cracks.

We tell ourselves that the small things will take care of themselves.

But, what happens when they don’t? 

What’s Not Getting Done?

Normally, it is about getting the big things done.

After all, we have to stick to our priorities, right?

However, if we let enough little things by… they start to add up.

Before we know it, the flood waters have reached our waist.

And then there is a lot more work to do.

Little things unattended become big things.

Tasks undone create more work.”

We intend to do these seemingly simple and innocuous tasks, but we never get to them.

Why can’t we get the small things done?

Catching the Little Things

The small tasks are often the hardest to get done.

They are the ones that linger on our todo list indefinitely.

Here are some tips to ensure that you “Do the Little Things:”

• Have a System – If you hope to catch the small things, you must have a method to do it. Many people miss the small things simply because they are not tracking them. Keep a list. It doesn’t matter whether it is on paper, or on your smartphone, but ensure you have a way to track your todos.
• Capture Them – Small tasks are easily forgotten. When one presents itself, don’t let it slip by. Write down even the tiniest of tasks down immediately.
• Review Regularly – Your todo list can’t have your back if you don’t look at it. Ever find that abandoned list in your desk drawer of the things you were going to do? Look at your list regularly, and keep it in a prominent easy-to-see place.
• Do Them Bit-by-Bit - When the list of “small things” piles up, it can become quite daunting. A todo list with 100+ items can leave you wondering where to begin. However, small tasks are easily whittled down. Attack that list bit-by-bit. Soon it will be under control again.
• Fit Them In – Small tasks are just that… small. You can fit them in during even the smallest of opportunities. Instead of wasting that 5 minutes before the meeting playing “Words with Friends,” use the time to get a small task done. Return a call, answer an email, or prepare for your next appointment.
• Delegate Them – Small tasks are often the best ones for delegating. They can often be done by others without much explanation. So, keep the tasks that require your expertise and delegate the smaller ones that a team member or colleague could address.
• Do One Thing You Wouldn’t Have Done Today – Small tasks are ones that don’t scream for our attention. So, you need to give them extra effort when appropriate. Do one extra small task each day that has been lingering on your list.
• Group Them – Small tasks don’t take much time. When you have a small time block, do 3-5, or even 8-10 little tasks in a bunch. Knocking out small tasks in groups is not only productive, but feels great! This motivation can help drive your bigger priorities, as well.

Adding Up the Small Things

Getting the most important tasks done is normally our priority.

However, you can’t ignore the little things.

If you do, they will catch up to you.

So, take a look at your list and make an extra effort to do a few small things today.

Question: What small things regularly slip by you?

There has a lot of talk lately about Dropbox.

Or more specifically, about many of the competitors out there.

Seems everyone supposedly has a “Dropbox Killer.”

In my opinion, Dropbox is still the leader in this category.

Their UI presents a simpler, better experience. As well, Dropbox works on almost all platforms.

(iCloud works only on iPhones and iPad. Google Drive only on Android phones.)

So, go with the one that just works.

Living the Cloud Life

Our digital lives have become more and more dispersed and fractured.

Smartphones. Laptops. iPads. Desktop computers.

We have our data spread across many locations.

You may find yourself asking…

- “Where did I put that file?”

- “Drat. Is that file on my home computer?”

- “Did I sync the latest version of this file after my trip?”

Dropbox solves this problem by giving you an Internet-based location to put all your files. It is accessible from all of your devices from desktop to smartphone.

“Stop emailing yourself to transfer documents.

Stop wasting time looking for files on multiple computers.

Stop syncing every time you get home from a business trip.”

Make your life easier by putting your files in one location… in the cloud.

Get a Dropbox and start saving yourself time and effort today.

Saving Time in the Cloud

Technology tools are there to save us time. Otherwise, they are just toys.

Here are 10 Ways to Save Time Using Dropbox:

1. Stop Emailing Yourself - Ever email yourself a document to transfer it to another computer? Just stop it! With Dropbox you can keep files out of email attachments. Instead, simply drop it in your Dropbox and you can access it from any of your computers.
2. Reference Files Wherever You Are – Ever been on the road or at an appointment and not had that important file with you? I was recently at my accountant and realized I had forgotten a reference document. Within a few moments, I had sent the file via my iPhone Dropbox app to my accountant’s desktop. The recipient can download the file or even view it right in their browser.
3. Sync Your Work – A friend recently related to me that every time he returns from a business trip, he has to sync all of his work to his home computer. He currently does this tedious task by hand. Let Dropbox do this for your automatically. When you turn on your home computer, all your new Dropbox files will appear! It even tracks versions in case you did something accidentally.
4. Photos in the Cloud – Most people are bad about getting their pictures off their mobile device. They are even worse about backing them up. Dropbox will now upload your photos to your Dropbox for safe keeping or sharing. You can do this from your phone or your desktop.
5. Simple as Drag and Drop – You can set up a Dropbox folder in your file system to make it easy to transfer files to the cloud. However, the Dropbox UI also allows you to simply drag-and-drop to the web interface. Talk about easy!
6. Avoid Lost Devices - How many USB sticks have you lost over the years? What was on those devices? Stop carrying portable media and keep your files in one place in the cloud.
7. Collaborate with Others - Dropbox makes it easy to share a folder with another person or group of people. I share individual folders with different individuals that I am working with. For example, my book designer has access to my draft files in one folder, while a friend has access to documents for a joint project in a different folder.
8. Mobile File System - Most of our mobile devices lack a true file system. (Smartphones, tablets, etc.) Dropbox fills that gap and can be your mobile filing system. Additionally, mobile apps can sync across this system. For example, my journal app syncs via Dropbox from my iPad to my desktop.
9. One Link Sharing – Need to share a file quick? With Dropbox you can immediately share a single file with anyone via email. I was recently on the road and a colleague texted me in a panic that he had lost a file. I was able to simply mail him a link from my phone within minutes.
10. Safe in Multiple Places – Dropbox syncs your files between all your systems. It is not a complete backup solution. However, it will save your important files when your laptop hard drive suddenly crashes. It is a good feeling to know that you can immediately access your Dropbox files on another machine.

Get Your Own Cloud

Stop emailing yourself. Stop wasting time looking for that file that you left at home. And stop worrying about losing important files if one of your devices has a problem or is lost.

Start your own cloud. Send your files to Dropbox so that you can access them from anywhere.

I use Dropbox myself and recommend that you get your our own Dropbox today.

Question: What do you need Dropbox for? Or if you already use it, what is your best story about Dropbox saving you time?