Self Employed Success

I never had so much fun cleaning my desk!

Today I created an “accountability day” for myself, to clean my desk and declutter it. I hate doing this sort of thing alone, so I enlisted my friends on Twitter and Facebook to hold me accountable.

If you want to see the great (and really, really funny!) back-and-forth conversations, check out my profile and photo album on Facebook.

Everyone loved this idea! So much so that everyone wanted to have a Clean Your Desk Before It Rebels accountability day of their own. Here’s what I propose:

1. Choose a day during the week of July 6 when you’ll pledge to clean your desk, declutter your office, file your paperwork.

2. Choose a time you will begin and a time you will end. Setting clear goals will help you to focus.

3. If you’re on Facebook or Twitter, friend me here:

http://www.facebook.com/KarynGreenstreet

http://www.twitter.com/kgreenstreet

4. Post your start date and time, and your “before” photo, on your blog or on Facebook. Don’t be shy or embarrassed by your “before” photo of your office…we’re all in this together. (Make sure you post your start date and time to my Wall in Facebook, or use #cydbir in your Twitter tweet, so we can find everyone who is participating. I want to make sure I’m following your progress on your CYDBIR day!)

5. Every 30 minutes or so during your day, post a tweet or message about your status: How are you doing? What have you gotten done so far? Where are you stuck?

6. Post photos along the way so we can all celebrate and cheer you on!

Here’s what my tweets looked like the day I cleaned my desk:

• 1:45 – I’m spending the afternoon cleaning off my desk. Nag me. Poke me. Make me do it! Don’t let me off the hook, folks! <grin>
• 2:15 – All Client folder are sorted and stored properly.
• 2:32 – discovered a Lowe’s gift card while cleaning my desk…from Xmas! This is not a good sign. I wonder what it’s worth???
• 2:43 – running a anti-virus full system scan – might as well clean ALL my desk!
• 2:48 – all book writing project binders and class lesson plan binders put away neatly, with their own labels no less!
• 2:54 – found overdue library books. This is going downhill fast.
• 3:01 – oh, great, a HUGE thunderstorm is coming. How can I clean my desk if I can’t SEE my desk?
• 3:05 – awwwww…found a wonderful photo of my great grandmothers, from 1957 while going through a pile of papers. Things are looking up! (They’re so cute.)
• 3:07 – supply closet – done!
• 3:14 – okay, thunderstorm is scary. Will shut computer down now but I PROMISE to continue to clean my desk! Be back soon!
• 3:15 – re-hung my Vision Board so it was more secure. Yippee!
• 3:18 – sorted my to-be-read and what-I’m-reading-now book pile. Good stuff here.
• 3:29 – uncovered and cleaned my favorite Bowl-O-Rocks. (I like to use them in meditation and when talking with clients on the phone as a focusing tool.)
• 3:35 – had cookies and milk with my husband while the thunderstorm went by. Back to cleaning!
• 3:45 – most papers cleaned up, put away, books stacked…now on to the dusting!
• 3:50 – done! And with 10 minutes to spare!

I posted photos along with each of these tweets to my Facebook photo album. Everyone got a kick out of encouraging me, teasing me, and watching my progress, and I had so much FUN cleaning my desk!

My next personal CYDBIR day is July 8, starting at 10:00 AM eastern. (I have two desks!)

I’m always nagging my clients about being accountable: doing what they say they’re going to do and running their businesses according to their personal values. Now it’s time to turn the tables!

This is my desk. It’s a great desk. It does exactly what I need it to do, and never complains.

But I’ve neglected it for two weeks, just kept piling papers on top of papers. No excuse, really. Just lazy.

Today is “Clean My Desk Before It Rebels Day.”

It’s now 1:45 PM eastern. I promise you, by 4:00 PM eastern, this desk will be SPOTLESS! All tasks completed, all papers corralled, everything in its proper home. Heck, I’ll even give it a dusting off, too, just for good measure.

This is what I posted on Facebook and Twitter, asking my social media friends to help me be accountable: “Time me. If I don’t complete this task, ridicule me. Nag me. Don’t let me off the hook!”

A LITTLE WHILE LATER…

It’s 3:50 and I’m done! Thanks for all your support!

You can see the whole process, start to finish, here.

Whilst sitting on the ferry boat to Ellis Island yesterday, what do I see but “Le Grand Bleu,” a one of the largest private yachts in the world!  (And yes, that is a speed boat AND a sail boat sitting  inside the deck of  Le Grand Bleu.)

Sheesh! Just the other day my husband and I were saying, “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a little sailboat here at our lake?” Now that I’ve seen Le Grand Bleu, my vision for what’s possible is shifting, growing, leaping and bounding!

Small business owners by their very nature are big thinkers. So it’s not that we think too small; it’s that, sometimes, we don’t know what’s even possible until we see it in front of our faces. Open your eyes, look around. But don’t be envious when someone is doing what you want to do or has what you want to have.

Whether it’s Le Grand Bleu, or a TV show staring one of your competitors,  or a guru with less experience than you who gets a publishing deal or a big speaking gig… instead of being envious of others who’ve made it, or who have what you want, thank them for opening your eyes up to a new level of possibility.

(So I’m sending a “thank you” to Eugene Shvidler, current owner of Le Grand Bleu. You’ve opened my eyes to the possible.)

Warmly,
Karyn

http://yachts.monacoeye.com/yachtsbysize/pages/legrandbleu01.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58f-RHl3UUM

Using social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, I asked people to recommend their favorite books on email marketing. By far the most popular answer was “Email Marketing: An Hour A Day” by by Jeanniey Mullen. Here’s the rest of the suggestions:

• Email Marketing: An Hour A Day by by Jeanniey Mullen
• Total E-Mail Marketing by Dave Chaffey
• Emarketing Excellence by PR Smith and Dave Chaffey
• E-Mail Marketing For Dummies by John Arnold
• Internet Marketing and Promotions by Peter Kent and Tara Calishain
• Email Marketing By The Numbers by Chris Baggott
• Sign Me Up by Matt Blumberg
• Advanced Email Marketing by Jim Sterne
• The Practical Guide to Email Marketing by Jordan Ayan
• The Quite Revolution by Bill Nusey
• The Truth About Email Marketing by Simms Jenkins
• Permission Marketing by Seth Godin

A big Thank You to everyone who gave me your book suggestions.