Ok, maybe not save your life, but it will greatly improve it. This isn't a productivity blog, and yet I keep finding myself writing about the topic. I suppose it's because it is the new year. Everyone (including myself) is pumped about improving their lives. As for productivity, be sure you are following smart people like Mike Vardy, Erik J. Fisher, David Allen, and Michael Hyatt (whose calendar idea I borrowed for this version). 

My Killer Calendar

I want to introduce you to an idea that is working for me to stay focused. It's also helping me to reevaluate how I am spending my time. The idea is my Killer Calendar. Don't worry, nobody dies. 

I balance many different projects at once. I have incredible consulting and coaching clients at any given time. I also need time to write content here and in the Nice Maker. I also carpool to get the kids to school, gymnastics, clubs, etc. And then there is Max at my side, who seems to always be anxiously ready to head outside for a pee.

My Killer Calendar has helped me to stay focused by dividing my time into specific chunks dedicated to different topics such as, Client Work, Business Development, Family.

3 Steps to Create Your Killer Calendar

1. Along the left side of the Google Calendar interface, you will see My calendars and Other calendars that you are subscribed to. Turn them all off by clicking the box next to each one. Your calendar should be blank.

2. Create a new calendar and call it  "My Killer Calendar". 

2. Add general daily areas of work you need to do, these should seldom change. This isn't a to do list, for that, grab my daily goals worksheet. Carve out blocks of time for each item. You could have sections like, Gym, Team Meeting, Client Work, Personal Development, etc.

Tip: It helps to make these reoccurring in the calendar, so you don't have to create a new item for each day manually.

Here's my Killer Calendar for weekday mornings. 

3. Along the left side of the Google Calendar interface you can select different calendars. Turn your regular calendar back on, so you see how your work week compares to your Killer Calendar. Moving forward, you will adjust your regular calendar to be sure it fits your Killer Calendar template.

The Killer Calendar will help you know what you should and shouldn't be doing each day. It will also help you realize how you can adjust your life to make up more time in a day.

I have decided to shorten my walks with Max on days I drive the kids to school from 60 minutes to 30 minutes. I also now eat breakfast with my kids, and I shower as they are getting ready. This saved me another 30 minutes. I have adjusted my Killer Calendar to reflect this, and now have an extra hour to work on my clients on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Win!

I recommend you print your Killer Calendar, so you can review it through the day to be sure you are staying focused. Mine is taped to my wall over my desk. I aways find printing items helps me get the work done, which is why I made my Daily Goals worksheet for you. 

Do you do this too? If you try it, let me know how it works for you.

One of my favorite people (who I have never met) is James Altucher. James is a serial entrepreneur and investor who has had big wins and plenty of failures throughout his career. I like his somewhat kooky approach to life. I’m somewhat kooky too, so he appeals to me that way. He’s a big fan of comedy, I am too. He writes from the heart, I do too. He’s had some dark days in his life, moi aussi. 

James’ blog is prolific and his podcasts are always enjoyable. I enjoy listening to his amateur sounding interviews with his stellar guests and amazing questions. You can tell he listens intently and truly gets excited by his guests. I don’t mean amateur in a negative way. I mean that he comes across sincere, with a voice unlike professional broadcasters. That’s what podcasting is all about. 

James has written several amazing books, but the one that has impressed me the most is Choose Yourself. The following are ten takeaways that stuck with me from the book. Consider each point for your own life.

10 Takeaways From Choose Yourself

1. Every second, you have to choose yourself to succeed.

2. Rejection - and the fear of rejection - is the biggest impediment we face to choosing ourselves. 

3. Only think about the people you enjoy. Only read the books you enjoy, that make you happy to be human. Only go to the events that actually make you laugh or fall in love. Only deal with the people who love you back, who are winners and want you to win too.

4. The past and future don’t exist. They are memories and speculation, neither of which you have any control over.

5. What does purpose mean when we are dead? We might as well choose to be happy now.

6. Think of two people in your network who don’t know each other but you think can add value to each other’s lives (I added this idea to my daily goals document). 

7. All you have to do is stay in the present. When you catch yourself upset about the past or worried about the future, say to yourself, “Ah, I’m time traveling,” then STOP.

8. If you don’t promote yourself, nobody else will. 

9. We only ever remember the things we are passionate about.

10. We never learn when we are talking. We only learn when we are listening.

Bonus: Pretend everyone was sent to this planet to teach you.

I recommend you pick up a copy of Choose Yourself today. Get started.

What book have you read this year that left you inspired? Leave a comment, I would love to learn more about the books that mean something to you. 

Part of the purpose of this blog is for me to share things I have learned about being an entrepreneur who works alone. While I’m not a huge fan of the word “solopreneur,” it does encapsulate my work life. I also work from home, so if you do, too, this post is for you. 

Six tips for people who work from home - people like you. 

1. Your couch is dangerous.

Ella was sick, she was home from school with me for a few days recently. She spent the day on the couch watching tv, reading, and resting. I spent the day next to her on my computer. When she returned to school, I worked for two more days from the couch. My back was aching, and I felt much less productive. The couch is a symbol of laziness and procrastination. 

If you work from home, you must carve out your corner. Set up an ergonomic workspace that is distraction-free. Avoid the couch at all costs (unless it’s to console your sick kiddo). I’m back in my office now and feeling much better. 

2. Schedule time daily to use social media to connect with people.

I’ll be the first to admit that social media can distract from getting the work done. However, if you are genuinely being social, it’s not a bad place to pop into. If you work alone, you need interaction throughout your day. People need people. Allocate a little time through your day to log into Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn to say hello. See what your friends are up to and meet some new people. Use an app like Freedom to switch off access to social networks when your time is up. 

3. Beware of the kitchen. 

When you work from home, your fridge is close - too close. Making snacks is a form of procrastination. Your kitchen equals lost time and gained weight. If you must stretch your legs (and you should), pop into your kitchen for a quick glass of water instead. Staying hydrated is essential, and your increased bathroom breaks will get you up for a stretch. 

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4. Stretch!

https://spinecenterbr.com/simple-stretches-to-relieve-back-pain/

Take breaks every hour to stretch. Reach for the sky, reach down to your toes, and get up! The best thing about working from home is nobody hears your grunts as you get into the downward dog position on the floor.  

5. Find a professional lunch or breakfast group you can join or start your own. 

Find a good group of professionals who you can network with. I wrote all about this in my book, New Business Networking. Getting out of your house to meet people is a positive way to spend some time each week or two. If you can’t find a group to join, consider starting your own. 

6. Reward yourself.

When you work for a decent company, rewards are given for meeting milestones. Do the same for yourself. Set your goals and get to them. If you meet your monthly goal, reward yourself with a movie or a hike. Do something for the fun of it because you deserve it. 

Working from home isn’t always easy. Staying productive is vital. Time is your most precious commodity and a terrible thing to waste. 

It feels like it is impossible to stay focused when you work online. We get distracted by social media, email, and cat videos all of the time. When my computer isn't distracting me my iPhone is. I expect you get distracted too. I found a simple productivity tool that works, which I have made available to you here. It's the new and improved, Daily Goals Worksheet. Prepare to conquer your to do list, rock your goal setting, and achieve your personal goals and business goals.

I have used countless apps and software to help me get the work done, but I fail too often. The main problem is each time I have to open an app, I get distracted by something else on the device. I'll see a notification, status update, or my mind will wander and force me to open Reddit.

Last year, I came up with a solution to help me stay focused. It involves three ingenious innovations: paper, pen, and coffee (coffee is optional). 

My Daily Goals worksheet is simple. You print a copy for each day of the week from Monday to Friday and use a slight variation for Saturday. Print it, fill it out, and keep it in front of you all day. That's the most important part (next to filling it out) - keep it where you can see it. 

How to use the Daily Goals

8 Steps to Your Daily Goals Worksheet.

1. Sunday night decide what you need to achieve by the end of the week. Fill in this main goal for each day. This should be the same thing on each page. 

2. Decide what your main goal is for the end of the month. Keep this the same, so you can be laser focused.

3. Add each day of the week. The main document is for Monday - Friday, the other is just for Saturdays. 

4. Add a dollar sign in the box on the left if this item will earn you money. This helps you stay focused on what feeds your family (and buys you coffee).

5. Notice the "P"? The P stands for "personal". Each day of the week, add two personal goals. For example: exercise for thirty minutes, read for one hour, play soccer with junior, write a chapter, cook dinner.

6. Try to introduce two people in your network each day. Everybody knows someone who is looking for a job or is hiring. Perhaps these are people who should know one another because of similar interests. Look at your email and LinkedIn for ideas.  

7. The "B" stands for "business". Each day of the week, add six business goals. For example; follow up with John Doe, update expense report, review analytics. 

8. The tick boxes on the right are for ticking off what you get done. Feel the complete satisfaction of using a pen to check mark this area when you get the work done. You will get the work done.

On the Saturday page you will notice a slight variation. There are two business goals and six personal goals. Focus Saturdays on yourself. There is no page for Sunday. Go outside and play, get to a new movie, watch football. You have earned your free Sundays.

I know we all get interrupted. Distraction happens even with a printed daily goals worksheet in front of you all day. When you do get distracted, look back down on your desk, or up to your whiteboard or mirror (or wherever you stick your daily goals worksheet). Focus on your goals and get back to work. 

Let's make this year your most productive year yet. If you find this helpful, please share it with your friends and colleagues. 

Now go download your daily goals worksheet to get started. 

No, this is not me. 

When I was fifteen, I worked for a full-service gas station and auto repair shop. I know what you're thinking (unless you're in New Jersey or Oregon), "what is a full-service gas station?" Yes, there was a time when a smiling gas jockey would greet your car and fill up your gas. You didn't even need to step out of your vehicle.

Most customers were nice, many even tipped me. One day, a guy in his early 30s pulled up in a Porche with more attitude than his car. He rudely told me to fill it up, check the tires, check the oil and levels, and "clean my windows, kid". I did all of the above and returned to his window when the gas stopped filling. 

I politely asked him for the total amount due. He glanced at his window shield and grunted, "You missed a spot." I sighed and grabbed the squeegee to do his entire window again. When I returned to the customer he told me to clean his headlights. It was obvious he was on a power trip, and I could do nothing but oblige him. I grabbed the squeegee and wiped down his headlights. 

He didn't say a word as he paid me for the gas. He didn't thank me, he didn't even look at me. Then he screeched off the lot into the night. 

I returned to the office and was clearly angry. My boss, Ed, noticed my sudden mood change. When he asked me what happened, I explained the guy was a jerk. He just smiled and sat me down.

Ed gave me some of the best customer service advice I have ever received. This is something I've used in many jobs over the years. When someone is clearly trying to antagonize you, act happy. The worse they get, the happier you get. 

I took Ed's advice on a future customer who was attempting to piss me off. Each time the customer was rude to me, I was friendlier to him. To the point that he was exasperated from trying to get a rise out of me. It was hilarious because I was completely over-the-top friendly - my smile was ridiculously wide.

The results will leave you laughing. 

When I returned to the office, I was laughing out loud. The jackass didn't get me in a bad mood, far from it. I was in an even better mood than before dealing with him, because I won. He couldn't have complained about me being too nice! 

Try this the next time someone is obviously trying to get you annoyed. Smile, act happy, agree with everything he says to you. The results will leave you laughing. 

I was listening to Marc Maron's WTF podcast. He was interviewing comedian and comedy writer, Brian Kiley. Kiley has been a writer for Conan O'Brien for more than 20 years. He is a tremendously successful comedy writer, but it wasn't always that way. 

He explained to Maron how he used to go out of his way to visit a local library to watch old footage of his favorite comedians. This was way before YouTube and this whole internet thing. In order to master his craft, he had to make a point to study the greats.

Kiley described how he once shared a small apartment. In order to stay up late writing jokes, he would go to the bathroom and sit on the toilet lid. It was the only source of light he could use without waking up his roommate. Sometimes his roomie would knock on the door to actually use the bathroom. 

It cracked me up how Kiley said he now does the same thing when he is with his family in a hotel room. He uses the toilet as his chair and the bathroom light for reading and writing, so he won't wake anybody up. 

Sometimes you need to take the extra steps to get the work done and to become the best at what you do. Even if it means working from a toilet in the middle of the night. 

Check out the full episode of the podcast. Maron also interviews Brian Posehn, who I love! 

Illustration by hikingartist.com.

I'm giving up.

We all feel like this some days. No business runs perfectly all of the time. We all have the down periods - I have definitely had some.

I remember working at a restaurant years ago. As a server, I relied on the tips I would earn from my customers. No customers meant no tips. Every so often, for no apparent reason, we would have a dead lunch or dinner. It sucked, but I did't quit. The next shift was always better. 

Since launching Futureforth, I have found the same to be true. If I have no clients, I have no money. That's a scary proposition. I have had good months and no-so-good months, but I didn't give up. 

"Before success comes in any man's life, he's sure to meet with much temporary defeat and, perhaps some failures. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and the most logical thing to do is to quit. That's exactly what the majority of men do." - Napoleon Hill

Understand that all businesses have good and bad periods. Sometimes you need to reevaluate and even pivot what you are doing. We all go through this. 

I absolutely love working on my own terms. Solopreneuriship gives me the ability to serve my clients and my family. Not every month is a good one, but I have found that giving up won't get me further ahead. 

What keeps you going when business is slow? What stops you from giving up?

Photo by Sean McGrath from Flickr.

I walked Max yesterday and froze my butt. When I checked the temperature, I noted it was colder in Nashville than Toronto. The weather app told me it was 28 in Nashville and 41 in Toronto. For the rest of the world that's 5 degrees Celcius in the T-Dot and -2 in Music City.

The cold weather reminded me of a long walk through Montreal one frigid February night. I was on my way to meet my friend, Julien Smith, for poutine and pints. It was -28 that night and I had about a 40-minute walk. I handled the cold way better than I do now. I guess I've been spoiled living in Nashville for eight years. 

When I arrived home from my walk with Max, I was ready to jump into a steamy shower. Then I thought about Julien's excellent book, The Flinch. Have you read it? It's a short, inspiring book about facing the things that make us flinch in our lives. 

You Should Take a Cold Shower

Julien Smith photo by Loic Lemeur from Flickr.

Julien encourages us to take a cold shower. He writes, "As the cold water hits you, you might shout or squirm. But the discomfort lasts only a second. You quickly get used to it. You get comfortable with the cold, instead of trying to avoid it. You put yourself in the path of the shower to speed up the adjustment process. Remember your reaction. You can use this method for everything."

Julien is one of the smartest people I know. I've enjoyed watching him face the cold water through his career. He's gone from renegade podcaster and blogger to a New York Times Best-Selling co-author. Did I mention his start-up, Breather, just received $20M in funding? 

I sucked it up and braced for the cold water this morning. Julien was right. It was shocking at first, I think my scream scared Max. My heart was racing after the cold shower and I felt more alert all day. There are scientific studies that prove taking cold showers can even help with depression and improve memory.

Download a copy.

Do yourself a favor and spend less than $3.00 for a copy of The Flinch. There is much more inspiration inside that will leave you ready to make some changes for the better. Leave a comment here if you read it, I'd love to know what you think.

How about you? Are you going to take a cold shower like I did this morning? Do you already take cold showers? 

I don’t care how big you (think you) are. Treat people the way you want to be treated.  

I wrote this and shared it on my social profiles the other day. It was retweeted, liked and commented on a fair amount. My message seemed to resonate with people.

What I didn’t share was the story that inspired it. As you probably know, I launched a new business a few weeks ago called Futureforth.com. 

I’ve been busy reaching out to my 1st Connections on LinkedIn who are CEOs of Nashville-area businesses. Most of these people are friends, some are people I’ve met at events or online.

Using LinkedIn’s advanced search is a powerful way to find the people you need to connect with. My message is brief. I’m asking for five minutes for a quick phone call, so I can tell them about Futureforth and ask how I can help with their businesses.

One person I contacted is a successful entrepreneur, let’s call him Bob. I won’t bore you with his accomplishments because they won’t seem that impressive when you hear what happened when I called him.

Bob’s reply to my message was curt. He wrote that I could call him. When I tried to set a time, he said setting a time was useless. Instead, I should call him mid-afternoon.

I called him at 1:40 pm.

Bob: “Hello?”
Me: “Hi, Bob. It’s Dave Delaney.”
Bob: “I told you mid-afternoon.”
CLICK.

He hung up on me. I was flabbergasted. What a jerk.

I called him back.

Bob: “Yes?”
Me: “Hi, Bob. I think we got cut off.”
Bob: “I told you mid-afternoon.”
Me: “Sorry, I thought 1:40 would be okay…”
CLICK.

He hung up on me again. Total jerk!

Thoughts raced through my head. I was tempted to share this and publicly shame him on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Who does that? Who hangs up on people? I realize he’s a successful guy who has done very well with his Nashville business, but that doesn’t give him the right.

I had to look back through emails and LinkedIn to see how we originally connected. He had asked me for my feedback on his business many years ago. We had met over coffee and I gave him plenty of free advice.

I decided I wanted nothing to do with Bob again and proceeded to remove him as a connection on LinkedIn. When you remove a connection you lose any private notes you made on the profile. So I decided to stay connected, because I never want to lose my note about Bob. My note is a little too colorful for me to reproduce for you here.

One day he’ll forget about this and ask me for a favor or an introduction. I’ll be sure to refer to my note and tell him to call me mid-afternoon NEVER. I'm all for forgiveness, but a jerk is a jerk. 

Instead of publicly shaming him, I shared a quick thought about what transpired. I have always tried to follow that one simple rule my mum taught me — Treat people the way you want to be treated.