This dang pandemic has changed things for the third kid.  Daycare rules make it so that kids basically have to stay in batches so they don't cross-contaminate other batches of kids.

Since the third kid can't go to preschool, I've had to up the academics with the baby. I have been teaching my three-year-old her letters.  I feel dumb because it really doesn't take that long and I really let the big kids down.  

We just make super tiny little games out of learning the basics.  She walks into the room, I ask her what a certain letter is, what sound it makes and then we go about our day.  It's that simple.  What a relief!

If you would like a list of my favorite tools, check them out here: resources.timehackingradio.com.

If you're looking for a great podcast editor I found one for you: https://fiverr.com/jay717.

For a super awesome podcast editor, check out mine.  https://fiverr.com/jay717

For an amazing podcast editor, I highly suggest: https://fiverr.com/jay717

We're not the type of parents who handle things for our kids.  In fact, we're quite the opposite.  We teach our kids how to handle things for themselves.  It's awful, and difficult, and terrifying, but I'm in the business of raising successful adults, not coddled kids.

My husband helped my son to rehearse what he wanted to say to his coach.  My husband hung back and let our son speak to his coach on his own.  He explained his frustrations and explained why he was sad after the game.

My son's coach was super awesome!  He listened, took the feedback, and responded with actions that my son could take to improve.  

Result:  my son felt empowered and had the absolute all-time best practice.  His little spirit was lifted and we all had a great week.  I highly suggest letting your kid learn to advocate for themselves.  

If you're looking for tips or tricks or tools that I like, check them out on my resources page at: resources.timehackingradio.com.

If you need a super awesome podcast editor, you can share mine.  He's at https://fiverr.com/jay717

For an absolutely amazing podcast editor, check out mine at: https://fiverr.com/jay717

The author discusses all of his reasons for coming to this understanding, but moving beyond the doomed future, Roose makes some powerful recommendations to help you survive the coming revolution.

The book says that our best tool to fight the machines is our humanity.  Humans like human-made things.  There is still more value in the things that are crafted by people.

In my own chimney sweeping business, we are trying to create a blend of automation and humanity, with an emphasis on humanity. 

We have chosen automation in much of the office administration and humanity in the customer-facing roles.  

The point of this lesson is to encourage you to bump up your humanity as you think about your business automation.  

If you would like a link to "Futureproof" you can find it on my resource page by clicking the link.

If you're looking for an awesome podcast editor, I highly suggest connecting with mine!  https://fiverr.com/jay717

This book was the first time I was exposed to these larger, universal lessons, and that in itself was pretty transformational.  I plan to read it again soon.  I imagine that it is one of those books that you read multiple times and I expect that each time I read this book I will be experiencing something new and important and I'll be able to draw new lessons.

The second book I read was "The Little Book of Big Change" by Amy Johnson.  I picked up this book because I have been on this quest to be the best version of myself.  In this book, the author uses the same concept, being the larger self, to describe a simple way to combat urges.

Combined, I highly suggest these two books to work through any unwanted habits you're carrying around.

For a link to my favorite tools, check them out here: resources.timehackingradio.com

If you're looking for a superb podcast editor, you can find mine at https://fiverr.com/jay717

If you're looking for an amazing podcast editor, I'm willing to share.  You can find him here: https://fiverr.com/jay717

What I've learned about competing in any 50-yard event is that since it's a sprint, you have to be perfect to beat the other people in the pool.  Every little mistake can cost you.  You have to have a perfect dive, perfect turn, and a perfect finish.  As a spectator watching the event, you can't actually tell who wins.  The difference between first and second was .02 in this particular race.

Results aside, what she told me after the event was pretty impressive.  She said that before the race, her coach asked her to visualize.  She visualized one version of the race and realized that in that version she would have to take an extra kick.  So, she changed the visualization, went through it twice, and ended up out touching her competitor, exactly as she had visualized.

The next step for her was to call a larger shot.  She is currently visualizing what is the next step in her life.  After a tangible result, she realized that in order to get to the level of success she desires, she needs to put it out in the universe what she's looking to accomplish in order to make it so.

Understanding that it's easier for kids to accomplish their goals because life happens so fast, I really feel like this kind of practice can help everyone.  No one is immune from calling your shot and making it so.

If you would like a list of my favorite tools and tricks, check out my resource page at resources.timehackingradio.com.

Looking for a cool podcast editor?  Look no further: https://fiverr.com/jay717

For a super awesome podcast editor who is excellent to work with, check out mine at https://fiverr.com/jay717.

To connect with a great podcast editor, you can find mine here at: https://fiverr.com/jay717

If you're looking for my favorite tools and tips, check them out here: resources.timehackingradio.com. 

If you need a podcast editor, mine is awesome!  https://fiverr.com/jay717/

But, this episode is primarily about Canva.  Canva is the design tool that I use every single day.

I started to learn design by taking a class on Adobe Illustrator.  Then I graduated to the Affinity suite.  All of these tools are great, but it's a slow process for me to create something using them.

Instead, I started using Canva.  Canva is great because all of the things you need to make a pretty decent design are right there in the app.  You don't have to go searching for extra images to add to your design it's all in there.  

A little hack that I've done before is if I don't have an idea about where to start, I will send my colors to an actual designer on Fiverr or Freelancer.  They produce something I like then, for all of the other designs I need for the project, I just use the logo as inspiration and kind of riff off of that design.

Canva is fun!  Seriously, it's where I spend so much of my time.  If you're not a designer yet, I highly recommend becoming a Canva designer.

If you're curious about more of my favorite tools and tips, you can check them out here, on my resource page: resources.timehackingradio.com.

If you're looking for a super podcast editor, look no further: https://fiverr.com/jay717

Building a business is always hard, but for us, we're also running the same household.  This means that we don't have the luxury of working together too often.  At any given time, one of us is working on making a living to survive, while the other might be running a kid to practice with the three-year-old in tow.

My point is that we are not at a phase where we can hire long-term yet.  We can muster the funds for project-based tasks, but we haven't gotten to the point where we get to hire for the sake of taking something off the plate yet.

Now I'm at a point where I'm starting to research how to take a break without losing momentum.

I'm on a quest for information about micro-breaks if anyone has any.

If you're curious about the tools that I love, check them out at resources.timehackingradio.com.

If you would like to connect with a super cool podcast editor I would like to suggest connecting right here: https://fiverr.com/jay717

Second, something funny happened.  My brother wished me a happy birthday three months early.   This was the wake-up call I needed.  It kicked my butt into gear and I've been going strong since then - with nutrition - I was doing alright with workouts.

I started following the "Slow Carb" diet created by Tim Ferriss.

I'm eating WAAAAYYY more vegetables, LOTS of beans, meat, and I drink a TON of water, coffee with nothing in it,  and I have a cheat day once a week.

The one thing that I've been trying to figure out is why I crash the day following my cheat day.  I'm experimenting with that.

If you're interested in any of the tools I like check them out here: resources.timehackingradio.com

If you're looking for a super awesome podcast editor, look no further!  Here's a great one right here: https//fiverr.com/jay717

To connect with Andrea, find her at https://www.facebook.com/thecashflowcfo

Or you can visit her website at https://cashflowcfo.com.

To get a list of my favorite things, visit my resource page at resources.timehackingradio.com.

I always recommend my awesome podcast editor!  Check him out here: https://fiverr.com/jay717

If you would like a list of my favorite tools, check out my resource page at resources.timehackingradio.com.

If you would like a super awesome podcast editor to work with, check out mine at https://fiverr.com/jay717.

The other day I spoke with a person who was buying a home with a metal chimney.  Just like every other appliance, metal chimneys have a lifespan.  This means, at some point in time, the entire system will need to be replaced.  Before understanding this, the buyer was getting ready to walk away from buying the home.

I ended up hanging out on the phone explaining chimneys to this home buyer for not less than 30 minutes.  This was the opposite of time hacking, but by hanging out on the phone with this person, I managed to alleviate some of her fears and build trust with this person.  Sometimes, this sort of service is exactly the value that you need to bring to make your service the one that customers rely upon.  She came to the understanding that the repairs being done to the would-be home were normal and that she shouldn't be afraid to buy the home.

By spending a little bit of extra time with this customer, her day was better and we brought value to her agent too.

I hope this helps and gives you permission to hang out with your customers when they need it!

To get a list of my favorite tools, check out my resource page at resources.timehackingradio.com.

If you're looking for a podcast editor, mine is awesome!  You can find him at https://fiverr.com/jay717

I have been focused on finding new and awesome tools.  As is the case whenever I focus on something, the universe tosses me what I need. 

While in an online conference, I was listening to a speaker who was discussing how he was previously a hardcore Trello user.

Trello is a tool that I've used on occasion, but I found myself wanting more from it, so I just didn't get into it.  I never really took the time to figure it out.

In this speaker's case, he had moved away from Trello and started using Asana.

In my case, I have been focused on the next action that needs to be done for any one of my projects.  Asana allows me to make a  task list that merges a bunch of different boards so I can "next task" on a bunch of different projects and I can still see at a glance what I need to do.

Hooray for new tools!

If you would like a list of my favorite tools, check them out here: resources.timehackingradio.com.

To connect with my awesome podcast editor, you can find him here: https://fiverr.com/jay717

This journal is what one would use to create a bullet journal.

It helps me to organize my thoughts.  It is basically a quarterly goal acomplisher.

In this episode I break down how I have been using this tool and how you can too.  I love it...and minor update...I'm still using this journal at the time of publication and it actually helps.

To get a link to that awesome tool you can find it here: resources.timehackingradio.com.

To connect with my super cool podcast editor, you can find him here: https://fiverr.com/jay717/

1. Get rid of the things you don't want.
2. Organize what is left.

It's that simple!  Discard, then organize.

I think the same thing is true for time hacking.  All of the little micro-responsibilities add up to a great big pile of soul-crushing commitments.

I don't have a solution to eliminate all of the things that you're doing that you shouldn't be doing, so for now I'm focusing on the organization part of the equation.

I read another great book called How To Live on 24 Hours A Day.  It is a delightful book that was written in 1910, but it holds up.  The idea is that you have sleep time, you have work time, and most people consider the time not at work as kind of shoulder time.  Instead of treating that time with disregard, what if you added some purpose in there?  You could definitely find 7 hours in your week just by adding a little bit of purpose into your shoulder time.

So, our take-away is to focus on 1. ELIMINATE followed by 2. REPURPOSE.  

If you are looking for my favorite reads, you can find them at resources.timehackingradio.com.

If you need a super cool podcast editor, might I suggest my own?  You can find him at https://fiverr.com/jay717

My aunt did the work, but I was the back-up team who did the purging.  

The result of this organization process was two complete cars full of STUFF to be removed.

In this process, I realized that my former laundry storage system was awful.  I had our dirty laundry tucked into a corner of the closet that was somewhere I couldn't see.  The result was a seriously unruly laundry situation.  

In this recent purge, my aunt managed to give me enough space in my closet to move our laundry to a place where we can actually see it.  

I know this sounds like the stupidest time hack...EVER, but just being able to see our laundry that needs to be cleaned has managed to revolutionize our laundry system.

The time hack is that now I can do laundry in a reasonable amount of time instead of doing seven loads at a time.  

For more tips and tools, check out my resource page at resources.timehackingradio.com.

Looking for a  podcast editor who is super cool?  Here's mine...he's cool! https://fiverr.com/jay717

Be prepared when doing this, if you're like me, you'll end up doing a kitchen clean-out session too.

In this process, you'll be writing everything down like a massive inventory.  

I got hung up on the best tool to record all of this stuff, but I landed on a sheet of paper and then I typed everything on a Google Sheet that I then shared with my husband.  It seemed like the easiest solution.

Once everything you have in your kitchen is recorded, you can go to the grocery store and just fill in the holes rather than guess what you have.  Once something runs out, you put an x next to the item and you'll know to grab it next time you shop.  It's that easy.

As a heads up, this is massively time-consuming to perform the initial inventory, but it is a huge time saver going forward.  Not to mention, it saves money because you don't have to buy 4 containers of sour cream because you think you've run out.  It's a double win.

Thank you Apartment Therapy for the wonderful time hack.

If you would like a list of my favorite tools and tips, check them out here: resources.timehackingradio.com.

Looking for an awesome podcast editor, well look no further!  Mine is super awesome: https://fiverr.com/jay717

I spoke with her on my Time Hacking Summit, which is when she discussed the massive benefit of an air fryer.  

In this conversation, Rhino Julie gave me permission as a mom, to let my kids eat what they'll eat and to feed myself with the good, healthy things.  Kind of a relief.

In this conversation, she suggested investing in an air fryer.  An air fryer is a mini convection oven that sits on your countertop and heats food up super fast. (No, it's not a real fryer.)

I got one for Christmas and I've been making myself some delicious, nutritious food for my lunches.  Now, I make myself some easy broccoli and chicken and I feel so good about the amount of time I spend preparing food (which is minimal) and the kind of food I'm putting in my body (which is healthy).

Thank you Rhino Julie for the wonderful tip!

If you would like to know about more of the tools that I love, check them out here: resources.timehackingradio.com.

If you're looking for a podcast editor, here is mine.  He's super cool!  https://fiverr.com/jay717/

She is a super hard worker, despite her hard work, her swim times were still getting worse.  This then, made her even more anxious and made her work even harder.  So, her body was revolting because she was EXHAUSTED.

Her coach explained to her there are a few different kinds of workouts.  What she is in right now is a maintenance cycle.  The point of the daily workouts is to maintain fitness levels, not to level up.  There is zero possibility of competition any time soon, so we're just doing what we do, working on form and technique, and trying not to get injured.

This resonates for me, because how many times have I pushed, and pushed, and pushed, without getting the results that I was looking for.  The conversation with my daughter, made me stop and consider what cycle I am in right now.  For me, I'm not getting results because I'm in a cycle of learning and content creation.  I understand now that I'm also in a maintenance cycle.  I'm moving toward something bigger, but I need to cut myself some slack.

Hopefully, this gives you permission to allow yourself a maintenance cycle.  If you're getting ready for the big event, by all means, consider pushing, but if you don't have a competition coming yet, maybe you can find a way to chill.

If you would like a list of my favorite tools, please check out my resource page at: resources.timehackingradio.com.

If you need a podcast editor, mine is rad!  https://fiverr.com/jay717/ Check him out!

We train our technicians by paying minimum wage, and immediately after passing training, we increase the hourly rate by $3.  The way we historically handled it, however, was it was on the technician to organize themselves to get through this training.  In this case, the time benefit was that we're not setting the pace for getting a raise.  

I realized recently that in order for this model to be successful, we need to have a person in that role that is used to organizing their own time.  

What I learned was that I need to be more forceful.  Yes, we can still allow our employees to set their own pace, but I will be adding my deadlines to move things forward faster.

If you would like access to my favorite tools, check them out here: resources.timehackingradio.com

If you need a podcast editor, I have a great one.  You can find him here: https://fiverr.com/jay717/

The first is a FREE 5-Day Challenge.  The idea is to give you to the point where you can see the time challenges in your life that need to be eliminated.

The second project is to craft a library of sorts.  It consists of different time hacks that I use in my business that you would be able to easily implement in your own business.

What I've been researching in this process is how home organizers solve organizational challenges for their clients.

Here's how we're the same:

1. Set goals for how you want to use the space. (Or use your time.)
2. Categorize your stuff. (Put our time into categories.)
3. Contain your stuff. ((How to contain your time to maximize your efficiency.)

Like a bolt of lightning, I realized just how similar our processes can be.  They're super cool, so I'm totally going to be learning from them when creating my own frameworks.

If you would like to see what my favorite tools and tricks are, check them out here: resources.timehackingradio.com.

If you are looking for a podcast editor extraordinaire, look no further!  Here's a great one: https://fiverr.com/jay717

In speaking about parenting, Dax Shephard's point was that all you have to do is go to the supermarket and down compare yourself to parents you see and you'll realize, "Hey, I'm better than that person," and you'll be confident in your ability.

Without trying to crap on other people, I find myself looking at others and realizing that I might be 1% better than that person.

What I realized is that I don't have to be the BEST in the world, instead, I just need to be a little bit better than what I was yesterday.  Or, if it helps, feel free to head to the grocery store and find a freakshow and feel better about yourself.  Whatever gets you through the day.

Hack your motivation and get some results.

Want some resources?  Check out mine!  resources.timehackingradio.com 

Need a podcast editor?  Go see my favorite at https://fiverr.com/jay717/

For me, I've decided to complete two fitness challenges in 2021 all around me turning 40.  

Challenge number one is, I have to go 400 miles by the time I'm 40...which happens in May.  This averages out to less than 3 miles a day.  Simple.

The second challenge is I have to do 40,000 situps and pushups this year.  This one averages out to around 110 each day.  Totally doable.

If you would like to join me in this challenge...hop on board.  I'd love to have you!

Looking for a list of my favorite tools and tricks?  Check them out at resources.timehackingradio.com.

If you need a podcast editor, I don't mind sharing.  https://fiverr.com/jay717/

Together, those two apps are responsible for the majority of my time.  

I had resisted eliminating those two apps for a long time, but I think it's time to remove them.  I will miss exchanging content with my 13-year-old, but I feel like we'll be able to find other ways to bond as humans.

I encourage you to consider how you are using your phone.  If you are bored for even the briefest amount of times and you can't help but pick up your phone, you might need to ditch your distractions.

I still have my Audible account, I still have little puzzle games to help me turn off my brain before I go to bed.  If a game creates a craving, it does not make the cut.

I encourage one and all to use your phone for good, not for distraction!

Check out my resources at resources.timehackingradio.com.

Looking for an awesome podcast editor?  Here's mine: https://fiverr.com/jay717/

I try to start to be organized all the time, each time starting with a little notebook to jot my thoughts throughout the day.  But, inevitably, I misplace the notebook.  The other thing that happens is I will assign a separate notebook to a certain topic.  Then, when it is time to record some deep and insightful idea about a given topic I can't find that specific notebook. I'm left recording this earth-shattering thought in the nearest available notebook, and that deep thought is lost forever because I have no idea where I recorded it.  Sheesh!  The hard life of a disorganized fool!

So my historical solution is to go to technology.  The problem is that technology sucks the creativity out of me.  In order to be creative, I require a pencil.

In my quest for a solution, I found this super cool notebook called the Rocketbook.  It is a real live notebook that you use a regular pen to write in.  Here are the steps to use this awesomeness:

1. Download the app
2. Assign where the icons go in the app
3. Write something in your notebook
4. Mark the icon on the page where you want your notes to go
5. Scan the page with the app
6. The app automatically sends your notes to where you want them to go

The benefits are infinite!!!!!

To access more of my tips and tools, check it all out on my resource page at resources.timehackingradio.com.

In need of a podcast editor?  Might I suggest mine?  He's super cool and you can find him here: https://fiverr.com/jay717/

A few years ago, I attended a teleconference by Michael Bernoff.  He is a very dynamic speaker who gets his audience to take massive action.  

His former definition for success was "getting to do what you want, when you want, where you want, with whoever you want."  However, the hack that he proposed was to change your wording.  Instead of having to get all of these things aligned to be a success, instead, he proposed using the word "or".  So, the new definition of success is, "getting to do what you want when you want, OR where you want, OR with whoever you want."  

I love this definition as a time hack because it gives you a short cut to how you think of success.  It is now so much easier to reach a level of success without requiring an entire list of things to be done first.

If you would like to know about my favorite tips and tools, check out my resource page at resources.timehackingradio.com. 

If you need a podcast editor, mine is rad and I'm willing to share.  You can find him at https://fiverr.com/jay717/.

For me, I had been starting with reading or learning and a kid on my lap.

However, this little routine hasn't been working.  Instead, I'm getting back to my daily highlight. Just focusing on the highlight helps to slow things down and put things back into perspective.

If you're interested in any of the tools I swear by, check out my resource page at resources.timehackingradio.com.

I highly recommend my podcast editor, if you need one.  Check him out here: https://fiverr.com/jay717/

To start, OSHA has a billion free resources that you can use for your company's safety program and I downloaded them all.

To time hack this, I made a massive folder in Google Drive where all of these OSHA documents live.  I grouped them by category and created quick quizzes about what I had asked my team to read.  The quizzes are Google forms that are easily referenced and the answers are put together in a nice, tidy spreadsheet, should any incident arise.

Also, all of our upcoming topics are in the drive.  The best part is that if there is any reason to check on a safety topic, our team can go into the drive and see what OSHA has to say about any of the covered topics.

I share my link to all of the OSHA documents on my resource page at resources.timehackingradio.com.

If you need a podcast editor, check out mine.  He's great!  https://fiverr.com/jay717/

1. Get the reading material...don't stress about reading it.
2. Peruse YouTube.  Watch or listen to some free tutorials.
3. Take some open-book practice tests early on.  Take your time and figure out the right answer.
4. Go back over your practice test and figure out why you got the answers wrong that you missed.
5. Take the mandatory class.
6. Study the numbers that are important.  In my case, clearances were very important.

I spent a week studying for my exams using this method.  Seriously, it was so fast.

If you want to know more about the resources I swear by, check out my resources page at resources.timehackingradio.com.  

If you're looking for podcast help, go see my favorite podcast editor at https://fiverr.com/jay717/.  He's great!

For those of you who don't know, Dream 100 is a way to build traffic into your business.  The idea is that by making real connections with your "Dream 100" the traffic that those people have coming to their business will help you with your business. Basically, it's a way to leverage relationships to drive traffic to what you're doing.

Sometimes, finding your Dream 100 can be challenging.  You might find a company that your audience likes, but it might stop there.  However, SparkToro solves this challenge.

In my case, I know that my dream audience follows a certain social media account.  Based on that social media account, the tool tells me what websites this audience frequents, their favorite YouTube channels, the podcasts they engage with, and the social media accounts they engage with. 

So, my advice to you is, if you're wondering where your customers hang out online, check out my new favorite tool, SparkToro!

If you would like to see my favorite tools and tips, check out my resource page at resources.timehackingradio.com.

My podcast editor makes me happy.  If you need a podcast editor, check him out https://fiverr.com/jay717.

Due to the fact that I work out of my home and virtual learning is a thing now, I have been having a super difficult time answering the phones.  Because of that, I decided to hire a virtual phone team.

The phone team I hired is certified by Housecall Pro, which is the software we use for scheduling.  Since this team is certified, they already know how to do the scheduling part.  I just had to teach them about chimneys.

Here are the perks: 

1. The amount of money we spend is directly proportional to how much business we have.  So, when we're making more, we can afford to pay for more phone time.
2. When we're lean, this  phone team can be activated to drum up some business for us out of our database.
3. The team is super happy and super nice and keep me up to date.

Here is the one challenge so far:

1. Optimize driving time is difficult to do with a team that doesn't know the area.

I solved this by making a drive time chart that conveys approximate driving time.  Problem solved.

As for my experiment, here's where I started:

I was annoyed because I can't answer the phone all the time.  I was also annoyed because my productivity was down the tube.  I did a horrible job time blocking because I was constantly interrupted by either a family member or a phone call.

My goal for this experiment was to have a team who can help me increase my productivity and be more responsive for my customers.

If you would like to have a gander at the tools Iove, check them out here: resources.timehackingradio.com. 

Looking for a super cool podcast editor?  Look no further!  Here he is: fiverr.com/jay717/

But my challenge is that I still need to publish.  What is a gal to do?

Here's what I want: 

1.  I want to put out content when people are actually online.  
2. I want to put out content without having to actually sign in to my social media accounts.  (I'm careful about when I do that.)
3. I want to publish to four different places online.

As it turns out I found a tool that can help me with most of this.  It's called Buffer.  Buffer allows me to publish at specific times of day without signing into my account and publish to multiple places.  (They do 3 with the free version.)

I'm totally cool with using the free version for now because I'm small potatoes.  Once I'm a massive media conglomerate, you bet your britches I'll be paying to publish to more accounts.

If you're interested in the tools I love, check them out on my resource page.  Go here to find it: resources.timehackingradio.com.

If you're looking for a supreme podcast editor, check out mine!  Here's his link: fiverr.com/jay717/

They recently released an update that allows their users to send their customers to a different landing page than the standard one.

I've been figuring out how to maximize cart value.  In this case, I made a very simple landing page through Clickfunnels.  

The page thanks the customer for booking an appointment and it mentions some of our other services that they can still add to their appointment.

The customer can then checkboxes for whatever they would like to add.  

Once the customer chooses additional services, an email is autogenerated through Zapier and sent to our office, who then manually adds the extra services into the appointment.

How cool is that?  

If you would like to access my favorite tools, check them out here: resources.timehackingradio.com.

If you're looking for a podcast editor, mine is awesome.  You can find him here: fiverr.com/jay717/

If you've haven't listened to Tommy Mello's podcast it's called The Home Service Expert. (Here's a link to the episode I'm talking about.) He runs a super successful garage door company and he interviews business experts who can speak about running home service companies.  

In one of his episodes, he spoke to an expert named Danny Kerr.  Danny shared how he leverages his network and his team's network for hiring.  Brilliant.  Absolutely brilliant!

So my experiment is to use Facebook messenger to hire my next technician by messaging everyone in my network.  You can even sweeten the pot by incentivizing the employee who brings in the employee.

My starting point is I have a job description and Facebook friends.  That is it but the best part is that is all you really need.

If you want to know what kind of tools I a currently using, you can check them out here: resources.timehackingradio.com.  

If you're looking for a superb podcast editor, I'm willing to share.  You can find him here: https://fiverr.com/jay717/

I then used the same techniques for my husband's  summit about soccer parenting.

My next experiment will be to use this technique for my chimney sweeping company.

In Frank Kern's course, he shows his students how to run traffic for cold traffic, warm traffic, and hot traffic.  Obviously, converting cold traffic is the most costly way to get customers.  

In my case, once I start to run ads for my chimney sweeping company, I will be only targeting warm traffic.  We have a large database, lots of amazing online reviews, and a pretty simple organic reach.

So in this case, I will be running retargeting ads only.  I'll keep you updated on how this goes in episodes to come.

If you want to know what tools I've been talking about check it out at resources.timehackingradio.com.

If you're looking for a super cool podcast editor, might I suggest my own?  Check him out at https://fiverr.com/jay717/.

Flash forward to the present day, however, and my company does not have a primary focus on the environment.  Do we provide a valuable service? Yes!  Are we saving any part of the planet? No.

That's about to change.  Please know, I am not over here thinking that Emily Martinez will save the planet.  However, if I can come up with processes for my business that decrease our carbon footprint and as a direct result increase my bottom line...well, now we're talking.

I don't expect everyone to share my environmental obsession, but I imagine that many people share my "make more money obsession".  If you've been listening to this podcast, you know that I am all about solving more than one problem with a single implementation and in this case, I hope to find profitable ways for my company to be less of a burden on the planet.

If you have any ideas about things I can do to make this happen, please let me know!  I need help to make this a reality!

If you're wondering which tools I use, check out my resource page.  resources.timehackingradio.com

If you need a FANTASTIC podcast editor, check out mine! https://fiverr.com/jay717/

Then, I had a couple of kids and I managed to get back in shape after the second one was born, mostly because I had a very physical job.

Now, I've had one more kid and my job mostly involves sitting at the computer and typing.  It's time to reel it in.

Since we're all pandemic-ing right now I've picked an at-home workout regime.   Since I've used Beachbody in the past, I went with that program again.  

The starting point here is: 0.  No fitness.  I mean I take my dog for walks.  The goal is: to do 30 pushups in a row, without stopping...also not on my knees.  This is going to be funny, people.  Stay tuned for my slow plod toward fitness.

If you're wondering about the tools that I've been using on my time hacking journey check them out on my resources page.  resources.timehackingradio.com

Need a podcast editor?  Mine is awesome! My podcasts sound HORRIBLE before he gets them. https://fiver.com/jay717/

I've started writing daily highlights  as a goal for what to accomplish for the day.

In the beginning, it was going great because I was selecting highlights that were time-appropriate.

To be successful with highlights, they work best when they can be accomplished within an hour to an hour and a half.  After a few days, I started messing up my highlights.  I was picking things that were solidly a two to three day amount of work so the sticky note with my highlight just hung out on my computer...mocking me.

My weekday highlight picking got a solid D.  Final verdict...weekday highlights to require improvement.

My weekend highlight picking ability is much better.  I always pick things that involve my family, such as trash-talking my 10-year-old, which I haven't managed to screw up yet.

In conclusion, I will continue to improve my highlight process and share what I find.  As I've said before, this is all a work in progress.

If you would like to know about the tools that I love, check out my resources page at resources.timehackingradio.com.

If you're interested in creating your own podcast and you need an editor, pick mine!  He's great! https://fiver.com/jay717/

I've had some practice hiring freelancers on Fiverr, which has turned out to be super helpful and remarkably easy to navigate.  Also, I expect that this is great practice for hiring the real thing. Hiring freelancers to fill in gaps in my knowledge has been the best thing for my personal use of time.

My plan is to hire a VA who can handle my social media presence.  I am HORRIBLE at content production, so if I can get help there, all the better.

I'll keep you posted about my progress once my VA is hired.

If you'd like to hear about my tips and tricks for time hacking, check out my resource page at resources.timehackingradio.com.

If you're looking for a super professional podcast editor go see my editor here.

It not only made it easier on my marriage, but I carried that "let them do it their own way" motto into how I parent too.  In fact, I showed my daughter too early how to get her own water.  It's one less thing that I have to handle.

If you are stressed about getting things done, I advise you to figure out how to let some of the optics go and allow people to get things done in their own way.  Your life will be better off because time will be your own.

Are you looking for a podcast editor?  Check out mine!  https://www.fiverr.com/jay717 (You'll love him!)

Are you curious about the tools that I use?  Check out my resource page here.

Try making your kid clean the bathroom when they mess up.  Sure, they might end up liking to clean the bathroom, but hey, at least you get a clean bathroom out of the situation.  Also, as an adult, wouldn't it be cool if you loved to clean the bathroom?

I call that a win/win.

Now, you don't have to always make them clean the bathroom, you can pick something else that you hate to do.

Want more resources?  Check out my resources page at resources.timehackingradio.com.

If you need an awesome podcast editor, I'm willing to share mine.  Check him out here: https://www.fiverr.com/jay717

Here are the steps:

1. On Wednesday night, sit down with a Google Doc.
2. Write out absolutely everything that needs to be done in personal and professional life.
3. Filter top 5
4. Turn top 5 into real-life events on the calendar

This goes hand-in-hand with experiment number 1, which is selecting highlights for each day of the week.

Wednesdays are ideal because they are nestled nicely in the week after the craziness of getting your week started.

My starting point is a constant brain fog and I'm hoping that this helps to solve it.

My goal is to turn this into a life habit.  I won't have to stress and worry that I'm forgetting something.

If you would like to access any of the awesomeness that I share here, check out my resource page at resources.timehackingradio.com. 

Also, get yourself an awesome podcast editor right here: https://www.fiverr.com/jay717.

Here's how the onboarding process went:

1. They set up a phone number that receives calls that I forward to them.
2. I sat down and hashed out a bunch of FAQs including information about our area and our industry in general.
3. They sent me a phone script that they wrote out and all I had to do was edit.
4. They went in and looked at my answers and asked for further clarification.
5. They set up a group in WhatsApp for us to communicate.

So, during the first week of working together, I am absolutely LOVING how kind this group of people is.  I'm so happy that these are the people who are representing my company.

They are Housecall Pro certified and they're used to booking jobs for the service industry, so the larger training doesn't have to happen.  They just need to learn a little bit about our specific industry.

If you want a link to their company, check out my resources page.

Hiring this group has actually changed how my brain works.  I can sit and focus again!  It's glorious!

If you are looking to get a hold of the awesome tools that I LOVE check out my resources page at resources.timehackingradio.com. 

If you have a podcast and you're looking for the BEST podcast editor, go see mine at https://www.fiverr.com/jay717.

My theory was that if I could improve my efficiency and productivity things might get better.  I realized that while efficiency and productivity are great, my actual goal was to just make time more memorable and meaningful.

In the book, "Make Time" the authors pointed out that there are basically two ways to structure your goals.  The first is to check the boxes.  Accomplish your daily task list, get up the next day, rinse and repeat.  The second is to work toward your BHAG (Big Harry Audacious Goal).  So you are either a robot, checking the boxes every day, or you are a dreamer who doesn't have anything to show for your days until you reach your goal.  Lame.

The authors of "Make Time" propose a third option, which is picking a daily highlight.  It's something to achieve or look forward to each day that frames the day.

So, my first experiment is to implement daily highlights.  My experiment will involve work highlights each weekday and family highlights on the weekends.

My starting point is I have to be better at picking my highlight.  I've been trying it out and the highlights I have been picking are too long for the allotted time.  I guess my true starting point is...nothing.

My goal in this experiment is to do a highlight every day.  I think I can.  I think I can.  I think I can.

If you want a directory of my favorite things, check out my resources page at resources.timehackingradio.com.

If you have a podcast and are looking for a super rad editor, I'm willing to share mine.  Here's how to find him: https://www.fiverr.com/jay717

In preparation for a responsiveness test, I made a HUGE leap.  (Huge for me anyway.) I hired a virtual phone team.  I was under the false impression that this was a cost-prohibitive leap and BOY was I wrong.  

If you want to see what sort of tools I've been using and content I've been absorbing check out my resource page at resources.timehackingradio.com.

If you have a podcast and would like an amazing editor, check out my personal favorite here: https://www.fiverr.com/jay717

My personal focus is getting time back in my day.  I ask myself "how can I earn more time each day?"

The framework I'm working on:

1. Automate Operations
2. Automate Sales
3. Automate Marketing

The operations are going very well, everything else is improving.

If you're interested in the cool things I like, check out resources.timehackingradio.com.

If you're thinking about starting your own podcast please go see my amazing podcast editor: https://www.fiverr.com/jay717

1. Kind of Lazy
2. Selfish with my time
3. Not a natural connector
4. Not organized
5. Super forgetful

If you are wondering about some of the tools I'm loving right now, check it out at resources.timehackingradio.com.

Also, if you need help editing your podcast, check out Jay.  Here's his link: https://www.fiverr.com/jay717

That being said, I want to be sure that I am representing myself properly in this podcast, which is how I decided to experiment on myself.

I have been taking inspiration from two amazing books, Make Time by John Zeratsky and Jake Knapp, and 2 Second Lean by Paul Akers.  Both books encourage an experimental spirit.

Here's how I'll be doing things:  

• Roll out a new experiment every week.
• Give myself at least a week to try a new experiment.
• No more than one new process each week.
• After a solid effort I'll give you an update on the before and after of each trial.

Things I want from this process:

1. More time to do things I want to do like...
2. Spend more time with my kids...generally hanging out.
3. Spend more time with my husband.
4. Grow my chimney sweeping company.
5. Get my health back in check.
6. Systemize my house cleaning.

If you're wondering about my progress, you can follow me on Instagram @denimautomation where I'll be sharing some insider content.

Check out my resource page at resources.timehackingradio.com.

My advice when looking for a business coach:

1. Get a coach immediately...preferably someone who is part of a mastermind group
2. Be a part of a group that isn't specific to your industry
3. Listen to Podcasts
4. Read
5. Listen to Audiobooks

Check out my resource page at resources.timehackingradio.com.

My Awful Business Routine

When I first started working in my business, I had a mindset that business was like some sort of badge of honor. I used to get up at 5:00 AM, start working and keep working all the way until dinner time. After feeding the kids, I go back to work and consider this as my life. I believed that was cool. I was living with a false belief that I had to be involved in everything and busyness was cool. But sooner I realized that it was awful and a horrible way to live. With this daily routine, I was not moving forward and not much forward momentum happening in my business. Sooner I found out how to free myself from the equation. It wasn't until I figured out that I was the problem and I needed to not be involved in many things in order for the business to grow.

How did I start to change my Business Routine?

As soon as I realized that I did not need to be involved in everything and busyness was not cool, that's when I was able to start growing things. I started asking what can I get rid of today? So, I started solving what should not be part of my life. This is when I realized that I can earn time by implementing a new system that runs without me.

When my mindset and the sole focus shifted from doing everything by myself to finding new methods to run the business without me, then I started thinking and questioning what can I earn? What can I do to run my business without me? I started looking into how to write standard operating procedures (SOPs). I also bought a book that says how to write standard operating procedures. I read it and started to implement it, but the big issue was that I hated writing. It takes me an immense amount of time to write. In this stage, I realized that as I am horrible at writing, so I don’t have to write standard operating procedures myself. So, instead of writing, I started filming what I was doing. After that, I sent those recordings to my technical writer friend who turns them into step-by-step written PDF documents, and then I just edit those documents. With this approach, I created my SOPs. Now I could easily send those training documents to anyone who needs them. This way, I have performed the work efficiently, eventually saving a lot of time.

I have also started spending time listening to the mentors and letting other people listen to what I really liked. One of the guys that I started listening to is an online marketer named Russell Brunson. He is fabulous and brilliant. He said one thing out loud that our job is to come up with the big ideas and to find someone to do it. That is just what you have to do. You don’t have to do all the little stuff. This is the moral of today’s story that we have to start thinking and questioning our way of doing business and then find the time-efficient solutions and the right persons who can do those tasks efficiently. I hope this approach helps you too.

Do you want to know what tools I love?  Check out my resource page at resources.timehackingradio.com

Soon after that, I started to re-evaluate how I was doing everything. As my mind shifted, I started thinking of shifting or rearranging many other things. I started asking the question, what am I doing that I don't have to be doing? The first and most obvious thing for me was scheduling appointments. As we are a small company, I was answering phones and doing the scheduling from my house.  We had an online booking function, but few people knew online booking was an option.  For me, answering phone calls was not an issue. I am totally fine talking to our customers and answering questions. But it seemed silly to me to spend hours on the phone every day when all people wanted was to just book an appointment. It seemed like I was in the way.  So it was time to time hack:

Operations: As I had to remove myself as the medium for scheduling appointments, so I started looking at things I could do to change how people booked their appointments. We had the online booking setup for booking appointments, so I knew it’s the way to remove myself from the middle. So, the operations part was done, as the customers could simply book an appointment online.

Sales: Working from home involves a certain amount of chaos. I have two bigger kids 13-year old and 10-year old.  I also have a 3-year old kid. The bigger kids have started doing schoolwork from home due to this pandemic. It’s always challenging to operate a business and keep a balance in the house. To handle the sales part of scheduling, I decided to put on my message; “hey, I will give you a call back if you have a question and just let me know what your question is here. But if you just want to book an appointment, you can do that without me. You can go to our website and click the book now button, and from there you will be redirected to our booking software”. This strategy worked!  I would see that I missed a call and then like ten minutes later, the appointment would just pop up. Customers wouldn't even leave a message because they just needed to know how to book an appointment. To make the online appointment process run smoothly, I had to spend time on the website because I had to explain and write things out a little bit to explain what services they were buying. I totally simplified it and made it a language that people could understand.

Marketing: The marketing part of scheduling was just adding the message on my voicemail and diverting the customers to the online booking portal that was automated and I didn’t have to be part of it.

The moral of the story is that you should start asking yourself what am I doing multiple times a day that I don't need to be doing. You should start seeing like I'm spending two unnecessary hours on this tedious task that I don't actually need to be doing. Then you can start to work on how to solve that gradually. I hope this episode was helpful to you and I hope that you can find a really awesome solution to whatever you are doing that you don't need to be doing.

Want more ideas?  Check out my resource page at resources.timehackingradio.com 

Join our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/timehackercentral