Now, I’ve always avoided learning how to speed read.

Why? Because I always believed it’d take hours of training to really “work properly.” And I’d heard a couple of horror stories too. (One very well-known six-CD course essentially suggests listening to fast music while reading. Now that’s incredibly draining – and not exactly suited to a slow-paced romance!)

Michael promised I would literally triple my reading speed in well under an hour (without fast music or other gimmicks!) — and said that his audio course included tests to prove it. He also said I’d be able to maintain that super-fast reading speed, even weeks later.

I took the course. It worked. And I’m STILL reading at lightening speeds!

That’s exactly why I wanted to tell you about Michael’s “Speed Reading Secret” course today!

But don’t listen to me chat about it. If you want to blast through e-mail messages, Web pages, revision, books or reports (and pick up an amazing new vocabulary along the way), then check out his site:

The course includes tests, so you can literally see just how well you’ve improved. And if you don’t improve enough, claim your money back through his guarantee!

Michael predicts the average American could save one day a week following his advice. I think he’s probably right.

Click here to get your Speed Reading Secret Course today!

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1.  Prioritize
Create to-do lists either the night before or the very first thing each morning, make a list of the things you MUST get done that day.  Then work your way down the list starting with the most important until you finish.

2.  Stay Focused
Keep your business goals or a dream board posted of what you would like to acheive to help keep you, motivated and focused on your business priorities.

3.  Use Timers
Determine how long you have to spend on certain tasks.  Then set a timer when you start them.  When the timer stops so do you!  Now move on to the next task and do the same.

4.  Break Things Down
Try breaking bigger tasks down into smaller ones that can easily be marked off your list so that even at a glance it seems like you’ve accomplished something.

A common problem among Internet Business Owners is becoming overwhelmed and overworked.  Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day and your business won’t be either.  Take your time and cut yourself some slack if you don’t get everything accomplished as quickly as you had hoped in the beginning.

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Here are three gems from Dan…why not try them out this week and see what happens?

1) Absolute punctuality is absolutely powerful. As a professional speaker for nearly three decades, Dan has shared the stage with some of the most successful people on the planet, including Colin Powell and Henry Kissinger. The one discipline the top achievers all share is punctuality: being where you are supposed to be, when you’re supposed to be, as promised, without excuses. This provides personal power for a number of reasons – it demonstrates your integrity, it’s a simple way to impress others, and it speaks volumes about your self-esteem and self-discipline.

I’ll admit, this is one area where Dan and I differ. Especially in social situations, I’m not one to get stressed out about being late…plus, I find that when I am on time, I often find myself sitting there alone because the other people are late. Well, that might just prove Dan’s point: punctuality stands out, in a good way. I think I’ll give this approach another try, by integrating it with the next tip:

2) Make the most of “Odd-Lot” time. Although Dan is a fanatic scheduler who looks for efficiency when setting up meetings and business trips, he still has to sit in traffic from time to time or wait in offices or airports. In the car, he listens to books on tape, both educational and entertaining. He keeps files of articles torn from magazines that have caught his eye and carries them with him on trips; once an article is done, he generally throws it away and lightens his load as he goes.

I always have a notepad handy to jot down ideas and make a note of copy that I think is good. When I’m waiting to pick up my kids, I use that time to make these notes or just “ideate” on things that would help my business. Who knew you could be more patient and more productive at the same time?

3) Improve your work environment and hit peak productivity faster. Take a look at where you’re working: is it somewhere you’d be proud to show the world? Do you feel comfortable there? Dan is a big believer in psychological triggers and packs his home office with images that remind him of qualities he wants to attain. He has several clocks positioned around the office to remind himself of the passing of time, and he has been using Asian Feng Shui principles since they first caught the attention of Western business.

Sometimes it’s challenging to work in a home office, no matter how tidy it is or how ‘Feng Shui compliant’ it might be! One way to get to a more productive place is to literally get up and go work in another place: at a coffee shop, a shared office, heck, even a park bench might work. Some people even take train rides just to have an uninterrupted place to work, and I’ve read of one entrepreneur who occasionally rents herself a hotel room in her own town when she has a bunch of work to do. As Dan says, if they can’t find you, they can’t bother you!

All in all, what makes these so powerful is that they are 100% in your control. When you start paying attention to how you spend your time and making small changes, great things start to happen. You may get the feeling that you’ve been given a big helping of the most precious, irreplaceable resource there is: time.

About the Author

Copywriting guru Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero has been helping entrepreneurs and copywriters get their marketing messages razor sharp since 1999. Get free access to 5 tips to turn your “blah” sales message into red-hot copy that ROCKS… at  redhotcopy

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Well, the first thing to do is to get to the root of your procrastination. Find out why you are stalled. Sure, you’re putting off a task, but there is something deeper at the heart of your procrastination.

Many times, the root of procrastination is fear. Fear of failure, fear of having to confront a new situation, fear of the unknown. Sometimes, procrastination happens because we’re depressed, or because we’re just too darn tired. Procrastination can happen if we don’t have the necessary tools to complete the task, or we are not sure how to
complete the task. Other times, procrastination happens for the simple
fact that we have no interest in the task.

For me, I’ve procrastinated tasks for all of the above reasons. The important thing to remember is that everyone procrastinates from time to time and you can overcome it.

It’s pretty easy to recognize when you’re procrastinating something. The thing to do though is to figure out why – figure out what is at the root of your procrastination, and move through it.

Exercise

Think of something you are procrastinating. Write it down at the top of a piece of paper. Under that, write a paragraph about what will happen when you overcome your procrastination and get your task done. Now, write a paragraph about what will happen if you do not do the task. Ask yourself why you are putting off the task. Write down your answer and be honest. See what comes to light. Are you afraid you will
not do it correctly? Are you afraid of failure? Is there information you are missing that you are afraid to go after? Once you get an honest answer as to why you are procrastinating your task, write down what you can do today to get the process moving.

Now that you have some thoughts around why you are procrastinating, you can take steps to move through it.

The best thing you can realize about procrastination is that there is a root to the matter, and you can find it, and work to overcome it.

About the Author

Jenn Givler is a Business Empowerment Coach. She teaches women entrepreneurs how to start and market their businesses. For weekly business tips and advice: jgivlercoaching

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