By Michele Connolly, Get Organized Wizard

Everyone talks about the benefits of social media. You can get Google juice. You can build your reputation. You can position yourself as an expert in your field.

But the prospect of producing all that social media content can be daunting to many of us – especially if we already have busy business lives.

How do we get around to doing all that posting, tweeting and status-updating?

One smart solution is to create a social media schedule. This allows you to turn your social media activities into a habit. You slot the tasks into regular blocks in your business life.

Here’s how you can do it.

How To Create a Social Media Schedule

First, plan your social media output around frequency. There are certain tasks you’ll do daily, others weekly, some monthly, and maybe a few each year.

Daily

It’s very important to respond to people in your online social networks. Before you think about putting stuff out there, be sure to acknowledge anyone who’s taken the time to communicate with you.

So each day:

• Reply to comments on your blog – I have two blogs (52WeightLossMissions.com and GetOrganizedWizard.com), so I allow a little more time here
• Reply to comments on your Facebook page (here I’m talking about your professional page rather than your personal profile)
• Reply to tweets to your Twitter profile
• Thank people who have retweeted you
• Reply to comments on LinkedIn or other social media sites.

Once you’ve listened and responded to other people, you can think about what you want to say.

How prolific you are on social media sites depends on your network.

I tweet anytime I have something interesting to share because Twitter is about real-time communication. I share links, post observations, reply to other people, retweet interesting stuff, link to my own blogs – anything that might interest or amuse my followers can go into my stream.

I post less often on Facebook because it’s less real-time and easier to overwhelm people. I vary the frequency, but typically post three times a week. Aim for a combination of links to your own blog posts, links to other sites that may interest your network, and general comments, ideas or observations.

I’ve linked my LinkedIn account to Twitter, so my tweets automatically show up there. I’ve done this because Linked In has been a lower priority network for me so far. If you’re involved in HR, LinkedIn may be a higher priority for you.

I allow about an hour each day to do these tasks. Some days I get away with less, other days it’s much more.

Next time: How to Create a Social Media Schedule – Part 2

MORE GREAT POSTS BY MICHELE CONNOLLY:

• Making A Good Impression: 7 Keys To A More Professional Image
• How To Boost Productivity at Work
• Get Organised for Better Productivity: Design a Productivity Ritual

By Suzi Dafnis, Australian Businesswomen’s Network

It seems that the clock has been put on high-speed and time before Christmas is moving at double speed. I know my list of things to do ‘before Christmas’ seems to be on the increase and, frankly, causing me some stress.

So, I decided to break it down and get a handle on it. And to get EVERYTHING done. Yep. Everything.

Here are my steps for getting everything done before Christmas. And, it involves making a list and checking it twice…

1. Make a List

In David Allen’s book, Getting Things Done, he recommends we write down EVERYTHING that needs to be done so that to-dos are not floating around in our head. I can’t tell you how many items are on MY list, but it goes for pages and pages.

I use a few methods for capturing to-dos (I’m not organised enough to just use one) including notebooks, online applications, voice memos, emails to myself. It’s not pretty! But, I still manage to get a lot done and to stay on top of things, most of the time.

Today though, I am creating a NEW list of ONLY the things that will get done before 25 December – the things that are most important. And this pre-Christmas list is a subset of the bigger list – but doable.

If you’d like to do the same, I’ve attached a simple form for you to compete and stick up near your desk!

TIP: In order to achieve everything, make a succinct list of the top 3-5 things that the completion of which will move you closer to your goals if it were done by 25 December.

2. Check it Twice

Review the list and, if necessary, reduce the number of items. I find at times, as I’m making lists, one thing leads to another and 3-5 priorities becomes an overwhelming number of items.

So, exercise restraint. Check your list (at least twice) and pull off everything that is NOT top priority.

I KNOW you have more than 3-5 important things to do, but don’t set yourself up for failure. Most things are NOT going to be finished by Christmas and the new year is just a few days away so you can tackle the longer list of items then.

The point of this process is for you to have a win. So, don’t list ANYTHING on the pre-Christmas list that you know you have no chance of accomplishing. It’s better to tick check things off and get them complete and THEN, if you still have time, add another item from your POST-CHRISTMAS list and have a go at completing that too.

TIP: Choose items that you would feel excited about achieving. Remember – just 3-5 big items, for now.

3. Schedule time to take action

I tend to over commit. You? One of the reasons I’ve chosen only 3-5 items is because I want to achieve these while managing my day to day work. It’s not as though I’m sitting idle – so I want to be sure these ‘big rocks’ can fit into my schedule.

If your items need focused time, time out of the office, or away form your inbox and Facebook account then schedule that time.

Beyond scheduling… I know that you now what to do, so I’ll keep it short.

4. Take Action

Easier said than done, I know. Do something. Do something every day. It’s 20 December. So, say you have 5 items and about four days to get them done, that’s 1.25 items a day. Start today and you’ll be on your way. (I know, I could have posted this last week and given you more time… But hey. This was the first chance I could get THIS done. (Smile.) )

5. Celebrate

Reward yourself for every item you check off. It doesn’t have to be a big reward. Time alone in a coffee shop with my iPad is one of the greatest rewards I rarely give myself. So, find what will have you feel good.

I’d love to hear what you’re setting out to do and what you achieve. So, drop me a line or add a comment below.

And, good luck.

MORE GREAT BLOG POSTS BY SUZI DAFNIS

• How Guy Kawasaki Enchanted Me
• Make Telephone Interviews Work: Tips for Preparing and Conducting Virtual Interviews
• Boardroom to Bedroom – Three cornerstones for success

Does it ever feel like time evaporates? As it gets closer to Christmas, I’m feeling the pressure of ‘too little time’ more than usual.

But, with two weeks until we close the office for Christmas, I’m determined to continue to have focused and productive time in the office.

That’s why I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s webinar with Angie Spiteri of Time Equals Money.

This event, which is free for premium members of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network (i.e. StartUp and Growth members) is called: The 7 Pillars to the Ultimate Efficient Business – National Webinar.

Angie promises to shows you how to recover time and work super efficiently, so that you and your team can get on with your work… and enjoy life!

I’m looking forward to picking up some tips! And I know that sometimes being more productive is a matter of being reminded of the strategies that work.

Here’s what she’ll cover:

• Create uninterrupted focus in the workplace (Oh, yeah!)
• Resolve conflicting priorities
• Formulate the BEST solutions to create a REAL sense of urgency
• Keep in the direction of your targets (WITHOUT stress)
• Uncover personal time-stealing habits – and create unique solutions to resolve them
• Lose the team habits that STEAL your time and MONEY

I hope you’ll join me. Call 1300 720 120 today to register or register online here.

Webinar Details:

Date:	Tuesday, 13 December 2011
Time:	10.15am for 10.30am – 11.30am AEDT (Check your timezone.)
Venue:	Webinar, from your home or office
Price:	Growth Members: FREE
	StartUp Members: FREE
	CommunityPlus Members: $35
	Community Members: $39
	Non-Members: $39

Suzi

Sue Murray is CEO of the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Australia’s leading community-funded organisation dedicated to research into the prevention and cure of breast cancer. For over 10 years Sue has been responsible for increasing participation in, and support for, breast cancer research throughout Australia.

In this interview we discuss:

• The importance of relationship building to doing business
• The role that innovation and creative thinking play in business success
• And, Sue shares career tips for businesswomen

Enjoy this interview with Sue Murray

Watch this interview on the Australian Businesswomen’s Network website now.

About the In Her Shoes series In Her Shoes is a regular video series presented by the Australian Businesswomen’s Network and BNet.com.au. Each interview features an inspiring businesswoman and her strategies for success. New episodes are released regularly. Become a Community Member for regular updates. StartUp and Growth Members get updates automatically. Become a Community Member with the Australian Businesswomen’s Network.

Susan Williams is the founder of award-winning business The Finishing Touch.

From modest beginnings 16 years ago, The Finishing Touch now employs more than two hundred casual staff nationally, and has a franchise in New Zealand. It has been independently recognised with more than 20 major industry and government awards.

In this video interview we discuss:

• How Susan has differentiated her business, The Finishing Touch, from competitors
• The strategies Susan uses to manage over 200 casually-employed staff
• Why employing mature aged people has proved to be a winning formula and
• The challenge of having such a wide network of operation, and how technology helps overcome this

Enjoy this interview with Susan Williams.

Watch this interview on the Australian Businesswomen’s Network website.

About the In Her Shoes series In Her Shoes is a regular video series presented by the Australian Businesswomen’s Network and BNet.com.au. Each interview features an inspiring businesswoman and her strategies for success. New episodes are released regularly. Become a Community Member for regular updates. StartUp and Growth Members get updates automatically. Become a Community Member with the Australian Businesswomen’s Network.

Member Alycia Edgar is making the news with her business program Bizfficiency.

Systems can be the making of a small business, but without them everything falters. When it comes to driving their businesses, some owners can be the roadblocks.

As a small business owner and innovator, Alycia Edgar knows this situation very well, but she also found the solution and created the Bizfficiency program to help others achieve complete business systemisation.

The five-week Bizfficiency – Discover the Business of Business teleseminar series reveals the secrets behind business efficiency, based on techniques tried and tested by Alycia herself.

“I run my business using a number of different systems that all work together to drive efficiency and productivity, making me a much better – and happier – business owner. I have reached systems nirvana and want to share my tips with others,” Alycia, who created the award-winning small business accounting system Bookzkeeper, explained.

Bizfficiency graduate Kelly Exeter from Swish Design said she now understood the need for firm systems in business after completing the program last year.

“Creating these systems allowed me to outsource all the jobs I hated the most and freed me up to spend more time doing what I love, and that is being creative. Being creative makes for happy days,” Kelly said.

“In fact, I have applied many of the principles I learned from Alycia to my everyday life and am now using that increased productivity to free up time to spend on myself and with my family, rather than to just ‘do more stuff’. This has given me a better quality of life, and if I am honest, has made me a nicer person!” she added.

Using her own experiences as a small business owner who struggled to keep all the balls in the air before systemising with great results, Alycia launched Bizfficiency with a free call on 2 November 2011.

The series starts on 8 November and covers a different aspect of system implementation every week:

• Weeks One and Two – Personal Productivity System
• Weeks Three and Four – Marketing Systems and Client Systems
• Week Five – Financial Systems, Strategy and Measurement Systems

“Small business owners who commit to systemising their operations now will start 2012 ready to thrive, because they understand the link between their business goals and financial numbers and are armed with productivity tools to drive that success,” Alycia added.

The Bizfficiency program includes five weekly teleseminars, checklists and templates for $397.

For more information about Bizfficiency visit www.bizfficiency.com.

To find our more about Alycia Edgar go to www.bookzkeeper.com.au and www.numbersarelife.com.

Alycia Edgar is one of our herBusiness bloggers.

Enjoy these great posts written by Alycia:

• This year is nearly over… but not yet
• Take a Chance
• Stop! Let me off this train, this wasn’t the ticket I bought!
• I don’t know enough.
• What can you achieve in 90 days?
• Can you care too much about clients?

By Yvette Vignando, www.happychild.com.au

In this last fortnight, I have been looking for one or two interns for the happychild website, which is nearly 18 months old now. And I had to do some thinking about why, and whether, an intern would be a good thing for both the business and for any prospective intern. I know, through my work as an executive coach, that mentoring others can be one of the most professionally rewarding exercises – so I have been thinking about how happychild could be involved in this.

Why offer an internship?

As the happychild website grows and blooms (it really does feel like blooming now), I have been able to offer more opportunities to writers and bloggers to showcase their fantastic writing and ideas on the website. And I am proud to say we even have one commissioned writer – it may not sound like much to you, but it’s a big deal for a micro-business!

But I’m always looking at opportunities to publish more writing and I cherish the chance to pass on ideas and skills to other people. So I started thinking about offering an internship. It seemed like the ideal opportunity to offer work experience to somebody in a flexible way that only an online business can offer. Sure, the work an intern may do is likely to be wonderful for the website also – but if you’re thinking of offering an internship (particularly unpaid), you need to be sure that you can offer more than you take.

In the case of the happychild internship, we have offered a flexible arrangement to suit an applicant’s parenting or work arrangements and that can even be worked off site. But this can be tricky of course – so it’s important to think carefully about how to give useful feedback, how to mentor your intern and how to create diverse opportunities for an intern that will deliver them the educational and work experience they are after. I’ll get back to you in a few months and let you know how that worked out!

Australian Employment Law and Internships

Before reading this, please take note that I have no expertise in employment law – although my former career was in law, this was not my specialisation. So before entering into any paid or unpaid arrangement with an employee, work experience placement or intern, you should consult an expert lawyer or at least talk to a relevant government department such as Fair Work Australia.

However, to get you started in thinking about what an internship means, I can give you the following tips:

• Employee: Just because you are not paying somebody to work for you, does not mean they are not an “employee” in Australian law. If the way someone is working for you is part of a legally binding contract for example, they are more likely to be considered an employee. However, you may choose to offer a contracted paid internship in which case you’d be obliged to pay that person the relevant minimum wage for the work they are required to do.
• Obligations to employees: If somebody is an employee, then you have all sorts of obligations towards them and they of course have rights – think about things like pay, leave and superannuation.
• Hours and length of time worked: If a person is working for you as an “intern” then they should not be working for you on a long-term (or possibly full time) basis. An example is given on the Fair Work website of ‘Stuart’  who works full time for three months at a newspaper and who is given specific tasks and deadlines to meet – in that example, Fair Work Australia said Stuart may be considered to have been engaged as an employee.
• Intern is there to learn: Your intern should not be a critical part of your business’ producitivity – they are with you to learn and get experience.

More information is available at the Fair Work website.

MORE GREAT BLOG POSTS BY YVETTE VIGNANDO

• What are Your Favourite Business Books?
• Starting a Business – What Do You Want to Know?
• Overwhelmed by Your Own Deadlines? Think Again.

By Julie Wise, The Silver Owl

If you ever ask my team when they run for cover, they would immediately say when she starts a sentence with, ‘What if’.

I have to admit, I use this phrase fairly often when I sense there’s more we can be doing or when I really want to challenge the way a business is doing something.

Surprisingly, or perhaps not, we come up with so many ideas…

When we do ask that question – What If:

• I stopped producing that report – would anyone notice?
• We opened only 4 days a week?
• I dropped my website?
• We didn’t have an office – could my staff do their jobs?
• We only used Facebook – no email, no paper, or intranet?
• We had a best ‘what-ifs’ of the year competition running?

The trouble isn’t really generating the possibilities. You will end up with a list of ideas, some more plausible than others, because that’s just how it works. The problem will be being paralysed or overwhelmed by the list.

I invented a simple ranking system to help put some order on the list.

The ranking system looks like this…

It’s a good idea to rank the ideas quickly without too much thought by using your first instinctive reaction to the suggestion - you understand your business better than anyone else, so TRUST yourself!

Now start working on the ideas ranked 7 or higher to look at what or where they improve your business and start making the changes.

So if you’re ever wondering how to get some ideas, or looking to resolve a problem, ask yourself: ‘what if’.

What if I called this brainstorming?

MORE GREAT POSTS BY JULIE WISE

• Networking – Beyond the Business Card Shuffle!
• Build your Business: Steve Jobs Style
• Mobile Devices : Is your slip still showing?

By Michele Connolly, Get Organized Wizard

You may not be thrilled with the way you manage time in your business life. On the other hand, you may not want to invest precious money, energy, thought and – yep, even time – into finding a whole new time management system.

If you’d just like to get more done in your business day, follow the 5 easy steps below.

Streamline Your Work Tasks And Be More Productive

Step 1: List Your Work Tasks

Jot down all the things you generally do in your work day. This list will of course vary depending on the work you do, but it may include items like:

Step 2: Simplify or Eliminate

Go through your list for anything you can cut down, streamline or cross right off the list.

For example:

• Can you stop replying to emails that don’t really need a response?
• Instead of answering calls as they come in, could you return messages all at once?
• If you write a lot of proposals or presentations, could you create a template to save time on the repetitive work?
• If you answer emails with common questions, could you create an FAQ?
• If you manage staff, could you schedule weekly, bi-weekly or daily meetings with each person to address all their concerns at once?

Step 3: Delegate

Next, look for items you can delegate to someone else in the company.

For example:

• Could you train a junior staff member to draft reports, proposals, or presentations – which you could then edit and polish?
• Are you doing tasks that could be handled more effectively by another person or department?

Step 4: Outsource

Now check for tasks you can outsource or sub-contract to someone outside the company.

For example:

• Would specialist companies save time and money in areas like customer service or research?

Step 5: Batch

Finally, see which of the remaining tasks can be batched together for greater time efficiency and mental effectiveness.

For example:

• Can you schedule whole hours, afternoons or days for admin, financials, meetings or other work, to save mental ‘transition time’?
• Can you schedule all uptown meetings on Tuesdays and all downtown meetings on Thursdays, to save travel time?

Dos & Don’ts

• Don’t worry about capturing every little task that occasionally comes your way on your list.
• Do focus on the big, time-consuming challenges, the frequent, repetitive tasks and the annoying, de-motivating parts of your job. These are the places you’ll make the greatest productivity and time-management gains.

These steps will leave you with a streamlined list of work tasks that focus on areas where you can be most productive.

Well done – you deserve a nice long break.

Check back tomorrow for the next blog post in 30 Days to a Great Career! 1-30 September 2011

MOST RECENT 30 DAYS TO A GREAT CAREER POSTS

• Resolving Conflicts (when they happen)
• Interview thank you letters – a simple branding strategy for jobseekers
• Signals it’s time to move on

ABN Member Tina Tower, owner of Begin Bright early learning centres, had the opportunity to test drive the new Ford Focus for a week and tell us how it fit her life as a mum of two and a business owner. Here’s what happened:

By Tina Tower, Begin Bright

        Tina Tower and the 'Ruby Rocket'

The first time I got into the new Ford Focus, I was a mixture of excited, happy and very confused. I could smell that beautiful new car smell and nestled into the comfy seat, but I couldn’t find a key and was blown away by the number of buttons on the dash! Feeling a little silly, I was told I just need to press a button to turn the car on. In the days that followed, this would turn out to be an awesome time saving mechanism. Getting into the car without having to fish around my bag for the key – wonderful.

My typical day involves me running two tutoring centres and the lives of my two little boys, aged 2 and 3. Between my children and my business, the amount of ‘stuff’ that I carry with me in my car is quite substantial. I was wary of a small car not fitting all of my things. The Focus is a large car perceived as a little car. The boot is huge! I can fit my sons bike, a scooter, my briefcase, my files and the groceries all in at once. I can fit in two car seats along the back and someone still fits in the middle.

Productivity

I am of the general belief that a car is to get you from one place to another. The time that the Focus saved with its bluetooth technology was astounding. Time spent on the way to the city in traffic was safely productive. The first day that I made phone calls with the touch of a button on the steering wheel, people would have been wondering why they had me giggling on the other end of the line. All my phone calls were done in the car in clear reception and without me having to take my eyes of the road.

Night Driving

The night driving is where I most enjoyed the Focus. Getting in at night is like the cockpit of a plane, pretty lights all round! One thing I din’t like about driving at night is the bright lights shining in the revision mirror. This has been eliminated by some clever tinting that makes it looks like you’re seeing through night vision goggles, no hurting your eyes.

Automatic Parking

The main feature I was told about the Ford Focus was its automatic parking. The first time I tried this, the wheel started turning and I freaked out about it crashing and parked the car myself. After three days I decided to try again. I drove next to a car, hit the automatic park button and the lovely computer told me when to stop. In one swift movement, the car parked itself. Perfectly. From then on, I parallel parked wherever I could – it’s simply amazing sitting back looking at a hard parking spot and watching the car get itself in there in 30 seconds.

Smart Features

It’s the little bits and pieces though that I came to love. The way that when you lock the car, the mirrors automatically fold in so you don’t worry so much in tight parking spots. Even the blinker lever has a groove for your finger to make flicking it on more comfortable It’s easy to play your iPod through the car stereo and it sounds so good.

It’s a powerful car that takes off if you hit the accelerator. It tells you how many kilometres there are left until you need to get petrol and what your average fuel consumption is so I could learn the more economical way of driving (don’t floor it!).

All up, I loved what I nicknamed the Ruby Rocket. It is so much more than a car, it helped to make my days just that little bit easier and more productive.

Tina Tower is the owner of Begin Bright early learning centres. Begin Bright gives children a HAPPY start to learning. Their school readiness program is designed and taught by qualified early childhood specialists. Classes currently run in NSW, VIC, QLD & WA.

Connect with Tina:

Website: www.beginbright.com.au
Phone: 02 8544 0649 or 0414 810 749
‘Like’ Begin Bright on Facebook: Click here

Learn more about the Ford Focus

Website: www.ford.com.au/focus
Media Release: Read here
Facebook: The Ford Focus Facebook Page