Category Archives: Business & Self Development
Why Should You Lead a TV Free Lifestyle?
While many people spend significant amounts of time today watching television, it’s been about 4 or 5 years since I stopped watching TV. I first decided to stop watching the news because it seemed as though there was always something bad going on and it was simply depressing. Later on, I noticed that many productive people all shared the same habit of not watching TV. Eventually, I did decide to buy a TV after I moved to my new flat 14 months ago, a really big one, but opted not to have the cable service hooked up to it, so I could only mirror the screen of my Mac or iPhone through apple TV to watch online courses, movies or some entertainment shows just to relax for an hour or two per day. I suppose that it could be argued that I still watch TV, but the difference is actually that now I am choosing to watch only what I want.
The question is really one of addiction over entertainment. There is certainly nothing wrong with taking a break during the day to get away from work and simply relax. Everyone needs to take a break. Not having cable service has allowed me to choose whatever I want to watch, from YouTube or from my own computer to mirror whatever it is that I want to watch. Now, I can just watch directly whatever interests me, with no commercials and less cost.
In addition, I never have to wait for something to come on that I want to watch. I never waste time flipping through channels while trying to find something that I want. Once you reach that point, it really has become an addiction. That is what most people end up doing and it can be extremely addicting.
Furthermore, it eventually kills your productivity and creativity. You think less for yourself and grow less and less happy. Some people will often say, “Well, I only watch something educational like Discovery Channel.” That’s not really the point. Television is designed to get you in the habit of watching many things that you have not intended to watch or benefit from or even enjoy and over time, it becomes addictive.
For me, it has been tremendously advantageous to simply stop watching. I am more productive and happier. I have also found that watching less TV also makes you more social because it gives you more time to communicate with family and friends. One of the other benefits of living a TV free lifestyle is that you have more time to exercise. You even eat less when you watch less TV. When you spend significant amounts of time watching TV, it encourages you to continue putting something in your mouth. After all, that is precisely what commercials are designed to do, make you want things.
In the end, I have found that a TV free lifestyle makes you far more efficient and actually helps you to lead a higher quality life.
How to Stop your Team from Ignoring your Emails and Assigned Tasks
I work with both online and offline teams and 99% of the time, I manage both teams wirelessly from the comfort of my sofa at home. Today, the primary method of communication is email, along with some other tools, but one of the biggest problems I was experiencing in managing my teams was sending emails and not getting any reply. The problem is that with so many emails you send, it can be difficult to track emails and tasks and keep track of who has responded and what is taking place with each one. This continued to be a big problem for me until I discovered a tool called Asana. This is a task management tool for teams. Of course, there are similar task management software available, but after conducting some research and viewing some videos, I concluded that Asana was the best option available so far.
One of the great things about Asana is that you can use it on your computer or as an app on your smartphone. Basically, Asana allows you to create a project and an unlimited number of tasks. Additionally, it is free up to 15 users. After you exceed 15 users, then it is priced on a monthly basis.
With Asana, you are able to create multiple projects and can even name the projects. Inside each project, you can share with certain members who are able to see the tasks you have created inside that project. In addition, you can create a description for each task and even assign deadlines. You also have the ability to assign that task to someone who will be responsible for completing and delivering that task.
Asana also allows you to assign followers who are able to see and contribute to each task. For instance, you can assign a task manager, but other people can contribute to the task, as well. Whenever someone comments on the task, you will be notified by email. When you add a follower to the project, you do so based on their email address and they receive an invitation to use Asana. In this regard, everyone can complete, comment, or mark tasks as incomplete. This makes it incredibly easy for teams to achieve project while also boosting productivity, regardless of the team size.
My Asana Dashboard Showing Projects, Tasks and one Task with its full description
You have the option of assigning tasks to an assistant, but even if you do not have an assistant, with this tool, it is really worth it to use just for yourself. You can also create the app using your smartphone and it is very easy and fast to use with no loading time. Simply create a task and share with the people you want and then you can track what is going on with that task. You can even come back a few days or a week later to evaluate progress, establish deadlines, comments, reminders, etc. Nothing is ever deleted, everything is documented, and you can ensure that no one ignores your emails. Asana can also be integrated quite easily with other tools, such as Chrome Extension, DropBox, Google Drive, WordPress, Evernote, Mailchimp, wufoo, Calender Sync, Weekdone etc. to make things easier.
As mentioned, if you have more than 15 users, you will need to pay to use it, but if you have a large company, they offer annual pricing that is quite cost effective.
So, with this tool, you can accomplish more, be more productive, and ensure that you never have to worry about your team ignoring your emails again.
How to Negotiate a Leasing Deal with the Leasing Department of any Mall?
Before you set out to get a lease for your shop or kiosk from a mall, there are a number of things that you have to get right, so that you can be sure of a good deal with respect to your lease agreement, so that you can get everything right from the start, and also to safeguard yourself from the lease going awry.
Most malls set their rent per square feet or meters, so it is important that you ask about this beforehand. Ask whether there is any service charges involved in getting the lease, and if possible, whether the mall operators provide the AC for FREE of if this is included in the service or utility bills in the contract.
You should find out what the opening policy of the mall is in the event that the mall is yet to be opened. There are malls that open with 50-70% of the stores occupied, while others will only start operation with 30-40%, and later on replace some of the stores that are failing. On the same note, take some time and look into the track record of the company that is managing the mall, their operation history and how they handle their clients. Remember that not all malls are the same, and that some can take up to one year to really pick up traffic, while others can take up to three.
Take some time and speak to the neighbours to know how much they are paying for their service and utility bills and any other costs that they have to incur to do business. Are there any expected brands that will or might rival or complement your brand? Also take time and look into the entrances, the gates, and determine whether or not they are suitable for you. As you enter into contract negotiations, consider the length of the lease, and the action when the lease expires. There are mall owners who will demand in the agreement that you completely renovate the store after your contract expires, and this can really eat up into your profits earned so far. At the same time, it is also important that you find out if and how much the rent will be increasing per year.
There are some malls that for some reason have their own companies that carry out the repair and maintenance works inside the mall. The costs involved in such can usually be higher than you would have to incur if you hired your own contractors. Because of this reason therefore you need to look into this clause and find out whether or not you are able to handle the costs involved.
Most malls will set different rates depending on the time within which you intend to open your store. In the event that you are dealing in stuff like toys, November and December would be ideal months for you, but remember that you should have at least 6-12 months’ budget in order to be able to survive the challenges involved after you open your store.
Look into the terms and conditions before you sign any document. The pages might be long and boring, but they have a reason for that. If you cannot do it, get your legal advisor to take you through them one by one before you can commit. There are others where you will be required to set a security deposit, while others will want a profit or revenue sharing agreement. Also, consider whether or not there are controlled standards in place for making any renovations in the mall.
The nature of your merchandise will determine the type of the lease you are getting, and whether or not the mall in question is suitable for you. Try and talk with either the mall owner, the General Manager, Leasing Manager or whoever can get you as close as possible to getting a good deal, and understand the contract details.
It is important for you to negotiate a number of free months within which you will be carrying out some repairs, setting up your infrastructure and other structures in the mall. Be very keen on this because most malls offer it but only if you ask for it. Therefore, if you move in and start setting up, you will not need to start paying rent immediately. If you are making any changes or some construction work during the free months, be sure to inform the management if these will require some approval from external authorities. This is important so that you do not have to start paying for time while there is a delay in the approval process.
The termination policy is also an important thing that you have to look into. If you are to terminate the contract before it expires naturally, would there be a penalty, and how much would it be? Knowing about this will help you limit your liability. Consider the installation of the HVAC systems, and whether they are centralized or if you are supposed to install yours on your own? Besides that, find out whether there are enough parking spaces not just for your clients, but also for your employees if possible.
You can also negotiate with the mall owners the nature of the rent agreement once the contract expires. Will they increase the rent, and if so, by how much? This is important if you intend to stay in the mall for another lease period. The other thing that you should not forget is to find out if there is a penalty for not opening your store on the agreed time. If this is there, try and negotiate to shift the date later or to remove the clause altogether in the event that you are not so sure about when you will open. This is because in most cases the penalty is always more than you would be paying for rent.
Why Is it Important to Have a To Do List?
In today’s hectic world, it seems as though we are all struggling to get more done. While we are spending more and more time working, sometimes it seems as though we are actually accomplishing less. What I have discovered is that the key to accomplishing more is having a to-do list. Having a to-do list is extremely important when you want to achieve more and be more productive and efficient.
I actually use an app called 2Do, which is available on MAC, IOS and Android. If you are going to use it on your phone, I recommend that you put it on the main homepage of your smartphone, and if you are using an iPhone then add it to the bottom fixed bar so that it is readily available and visible. You also need to get in the habit of programming yourself to actually use it and checking in with it throughout the day so that you can stay on track of what you need to accomplish.
With 2Do, you have a tremendous amount of functionality, such as the ability to star the tasks that you create and prioritize tasks based on the priority level that you assign to them. Additionally, you can sync it with your MAC so that everything is updated automatically.
Different Tabs / Tasks with different Priority level (From the 2Do app on my iPhone)
It also allows you to create checklists, create projects, create different tasks, etc. Most people use it to create tasks, also you can use different due dates for tasks, assign certain action for your task such as texting or phone calls that need to be made, so that know what action needs to be taken for that particular task. You can even put a time and a location so that if something is nearby, then you will know about it. Audio notes can be added, as well.
New Task Details
As you can see, you can have different tabs on the left side of the app. There is a tab for everything, where you can see all the tasks, projects and 2do lists that you have created. There is also a tap to show you only today tasks. The app will even tell you what the deadline was so that you will know how many days past due it is.
Different Tabs / Tasks with different Priority level (From the 2Do app on my iPhone)
You can also add different tabs based on what it is that you want to achieve. For instance, you might add a computer tab so that when you are at your computer, you can check in and see what you need to do. For most people, it is a good idea to create a work tab for their general work, but you can also create different tabs for different businesses. If you are out and about a lot, you might want to create a to-do list or tab for that as well, so that you do not forget anything while you are out. You could also create a future projects tab for those things you want to accomplish in the future, such as books you want to read, etc.
To Do List (From the 2Do app on my iPhone)
Project List (From the 2Do app on my iPhone)
Another great way to use this app is to create a calls list for the people you need to call. You might also consider creating a home tab where you can enter things you need to buy for your home. In the event that you delegate tasks to someone else, you could also create a special tab for that, as well to shift the delegated tasks into that tab. Also, this app will show you the list for items that are completed, so you know what has been done. There is also a main sidebar that shows all of the tabs you have created with different colors to distinguish the various tabs. Shifting tasks to different tab categories is also very easy to be done through this amazing app. 
If you want to be more productive and achieve more, I highly recommend the 2Do app.
