• Where’s Ann Michael?–In San Diego meeting with her mastermind group – strengthening skills and challenging each other.
• Feature Article – A Hitch In Your Giddy-Up
• Ann Michael Recommends –The Small Business Joysummit sponsored by The Joy of Marketing -- see details below.

About 6 weeks into both of my pregnancies, I developed what my husband referred to as a “hitch in your giddy-up”. All of those muscles, tendons, and ligaments that are supposed to relax near the end of your pregnancy would simply let go much earlier for me. As a result, my hip and left leg bones were no longer in alignment. Fortunately by the 2nd trimester, things settled back into place.


In retrospect, this became a time of using my resources productively. Since my mobility was limited – it hurt to move – I got smart about those times when I did move. I didn’t run up and down the stairs as often, instead gathering things by the stairs to make one trip versus many. My husband and I had to redistribute the chore load and by the time the second pregnancy happened delegating to a 3 year old so he could "help mommy" was a pleasure (and great training!).

It's funny how the family-related lessons you learn can apply to your work life as well. Strategies that include doing like things together, delegating, and redistributing tasks can definitely be applied at the office. And, you get to avoid the pain of a "hitch in your giddy-up"!

Mark you calendars for June 28th!

I have been asked to participate in the Small Business Joysummit sponsored by The Joy of Marketing. The Joysummit is a conference where many experts come together to share their knowledge via the Web. You don't have to travel to participate in this event and it's free the day of the event!

The web-base Joysummit will feature a number of speakers including:

• Millionaire Mom and author Joyce Bone
• SEO guru and CEO of Anvil, Kent Lewis
• Author of The New Game of Business Mitch Axelrod
• Lifestyle Business Coach Melanie Benson Strick
• Web strategy expert Philippa Gamse
• Goal setting expert Crystal Williamson
• and Sarah Petty of The Joy of Marketing.

I am thrilled to be part of this extraordinary group of experts. The details are being finalized right now. As soon as they are complete we will send the registration information along to you. I'll also be mentioning this event on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, so please connect with me that way as well so that you don't miss out on the details. If you are interested in growing your business then you won't want to miss this Joysummit event.

Hitch in Your Giddy-Up

I recently experienced another hitch in my giddy up. No, I’m not pregnant! While doing burst training on the treadmill a few weeks ago I pulled a muscle in my leg. I’ve pulled muscles before but this one really hurt. The only relief came when being in a horizontal position. It was hard to sit; therefore, making it was hard to work.

I could sit for short periods of time and get things done before needing to return to that horizontal position. With a limited work day, it was interesting to see how much I was able to accomplish. I'm good at prioritizing my workload, yet I'm human and from time-to-time I procrastinate on some things. With a limited amount of time to get things done, the clarity was obvious and liberating. It was interesting how more focused and productive I became. Here's what this event reinforced for me:

• #1 First - Not knowing how I was going to hold up on any given day, it was even more important to make sure that my top priority was the first task done.
• Chunk Activities - I grouped similar activities together and took advantage of the rhythm that was created as a result.
• No Shiny Objects - With a limited amount of time to work, getting sidetracked - not working on high priority tasks - was no longer an option.
• Talked vs. Typed - Used the phone more than e-mail.
• Yes or No? - It quickly became crystal clear how often I fall into the trap of "oh, it will just take a minute, I'll do it myself". Not anymore, tons of things have been delegated to my team.
  

Thankfully my leg is feeling better, and I hope to be back on the treadmill soon. What was interesting about this experience was that despite my frustration with being sidelined, I wasn't frustrated by the inability to get work done - actually quite the opposite. I was able to tackle several major projects and uncover a number of new opportunities. Maybe I should pull a muscle more often?

Create Perfect Lines

Have you ever viewed or created a document with lines, like in a form to fill out name, address, etc.? You know, when you use the underscore key to try and create a line in a Word document but at the right margin the line edges are ragged looking and uneven?

The trick to creating lines is to NOT use the underscore key but rather the Underline key and the Tab key. To do this:

• Enter your content.
• Add a space or two.
• Then click the Underline feature in the Font area and use your Tab key to create a line that goes to the margin.
• When you enter down to the next line, be sure to turn the underline OFF.

Ann Michael Henry is the Founder and The Productivity Chef for Mise En Place -- an organization and productivity consulting firm devoted to working with clients to discover the right ingredients for managing e-mail, digital data, paper, and workload so that they can "get cooking" at work and still have time to satisfy their appetite for life.

Her personal philosophy...let's get the work done so that we can go out and play is what motivates Ann Michael. If you liked today's issue, you'll love Ann Michael’s productivity tools, products, and training designed to help you improve your focus, organization, and productivity at work so that you have time to experience all that life has to offer.

Having the right ingredients – tips, tools, and proven techniques – to accommodate an individual's work style is what makes the difference. This is where Ann Michael thrives! Her ultimate goal is to find the recipe that works for you!