It’s a feeling of overconfidence, ‘I got this, this is going to be easy’ then the doubt starts to creep in. ‘I’m running out of time, what if it doesn’t go well.’ Then the anxiousness starts to appear. I get worried and fearful. Those feelings bring on the flood of overwhelm and I start to feel out of control and smothered by the looming deadline. This is what happens when I procrastinate. What happens to you?

You may feel alone in procrastinating, like you’re the only one but you’re not. The University of Calgary did a study and found one in five people are chronic procrastinators. That number is probably higher when you remove the ‘chronic’ and add in the everyday.

Rarely do we gravitate to paper and pen these days. So many of us grab our tablet or ipad and start typing. That’s why it’s important when you’re heading out to a meeting and you do reach for a notebook that it looks and feels great. At your meeting, when you pull out your old school notebook you want to make sure it’s professional with a great look, maybe even with your branding colors this can make a great first impression. A client asked me for some information on different journals they could purchase. I’ve added in the pros and cons of each one and where to find them. Here were my suggestions:

One of my last presentations touched upon the isolation a small business owner feels during the day to day work. Someone after the talk came up to me and said “That isolation you were talking about, WOW! That’s real! It happens to me all the time. Thanks for sharing those tips.”

What does community and connection have to do with productivity? Studies show that if you have a strong community of people who support you, you foster good health, less stress and fewer mistakes on the job. Here are three ways you can beat isolation in your office and as a solo business owner. Check out the video at the end.

Meetings can be such time wasters. You get to a meeting on time and wonder when it’s going to start because half the people haven’t shown up. You go through the meeting not exactly sure why your there and what you can contribute. And it drags on and you’re not even talking about work, you’re chatting about the last vacation your colleague had. It makes you want to bolt out the door, leave work and lie on a sandy beach to forget it all.

You can have productive meetings. Here are a few techniques to incorporate to make meetings go more smoothly.

Bri Lords, our guest blogger, spends much of her time organizing garages with Garage Solutions of Arizona. Interestingly, those skills she uses in garage organizing can also work for your desk. Here are some great tips on ways to organize your office space. One tip that didn't make it on her list is not organize your deskspace alone. Get someone skilled in helping you discover the best ways you can work in your office and become more productive. I've got you covered on that.