131 – She knows how to manage time: Tom interviews Robyn Pearce

Episode 131 – Robyn Pearce
[00:00:09] Welcome to Screw the Commute. The entrepreneurial podcast dedicated to getting you out of the car and into the money, with your host, lifelong entrepreneur and multimillionaire, Tom Antion.

[00:00:24] Hey everybody it's Tom here with episode 131 of screw the commute podcast I've got a really wonderful lady here Robyn Pearce is with us today. And this lady knows about time and how to manage it. I met her about 19 years ago at buttcamp I had in Washington D.C. and we've been friends ever since. And I have one favorite time management tip and I want it to say it because I want to see what she thinks about it. I want to just say what it is and then I'll tell you what it what it means to me later. It's here's my tip. Half is empty. Half is empty and well when we get her on here we'll ask her what she thinks about it when I tell her what it means all right. Last episode was 130 voice search and that Monday training episode I talked about the changing way people are searching and what you have to do to adjust your keyword research so you don't get passed by when they're searching by voice and remember on Mondays I do an in-depth training on something that's made me or saved me a fortune. And Wednesdays and Fridays I interview other great entrepreneurs like Robyn. Now I've got a big freebie to thank you for listening. This podcast is my twenty seven dollar e-book. How to automate your business. And just one of the tips in this e-book has saved me over seven million keystrokes and that's a time saver and a time management thing for you if I ever heard one. And I just might have another little gift for you over there so check it out at screwthecommute.com/automatefree and I hope Robyn grabs a copy of that too because I think she'll enjoy some of the the things that saved me lots and lots of time. All right our podcast app is in the eye iTunes store you can go to screwthecommute.com/app where you will have complete instructions on how to use all the fancy features so you can take us with you on the road a lot easier and also do us a favor and tell a friend about this podcast if they're interested in an entrepreneurship or start a business or improving the one they got that will help us out. We really appreciate it. All right. Today's sponsor is the distance learning school the internet marketing Training Center of Virginia. Did you ever wonder how tens of thousands of people like me sit home and earn legitimate money and don't have to listen to a boss or get up and fight traffic every day. Well it's because we have legitimate online businesses. And the reason I emphasize the word legitimate is because there's tons of scams out there in the online world and that's why I started the only licensed and dedicated internet marketing distance learning school in the country. Probably the world. It's IMTCVA.org where you can have here I go again a legitimate lifestyle business in as little as six months. Check it out and we'll have the link to that in the show notes. And one more thing we've been approved by the Department of Defense for their scholarship program for military spouses. So if you know any military spouses who want to work out of their home from wherever they're deployed please send them my way.

[00:03:53] All right. Let's get to the main event even though solopreneurs and work from home folks have freedoms our office bound friends envy many of them still say they struggle with time. And our guest today Robyn Pearce works with clients around the world helping them win their time battles. And she's got a bunch of practical time tips to help us find more time to enjoy our screw the commute lifestyle. Robyn are you ready to screw. The commute.

[00:04:32] I can't help but laugh when you say that.

[00:04:33] Most women do laugh when I say that. So and commuting where you live. Boy I sure made a mess of that. That you you drive on the other side of the road in New Zealand. Boy you got it. You got to really think twice before you get in a car down there.

[00:04:57] Well hang on a minute. I have to think twice when I come to your country.

[00:05:00] Well that's true. That's true. But you know do you realize when I came down to New Zealand to speak at one time.

[00:05:10] Which I loved having you here by the way.

[00:05:11] Well I was thrilled to come there was one of the one of the most memorable and beautiful places I've ever been.

[00:05:19] I remember seeing a rainbow that was so vivid look like you could touch it and but the interesting. Extra special interesting thing to me was I was there when you sold your air force.

[00:05:37] Oh you've never let me forget that.

[00:05:38] I don't know one or two F-16 jets.

[00:05:44] Oh I think you slightly exaggerate Tom Antion.

[00:05:47] No that's what happened.

[00:05:49] I think it might have been a couple more than two planes.

[00:05:51] Well maybe I don't know.

[00:05:54] But let me just give the record a little bit straight. We do still have an air force.

[00:05:59] Oh you do. I thought you sold the whole thing back then.

[00:06:03] I have three sons in the military.

[00:06:05] Oh that's right. That's right. That's right.

[00:06:07] They're not air force, they're army. The thing is how big do you have to have an air force in order to be of value. So it's used and in fact the whole New Zealand defence force really is a peacekeeping entity more than anything.

[00:06:24] Yeah. I mean. And I don't know who would want to beat up on New Zealand. That's really just wonderful.

[00:06:30] Well I don't think we'll go there at the moment. We had a really awful massacre in Christchurch.

[00:06:35] Well yes. Yeah I did know that.

[00:06:39] Anyway we won't go there. But we are gorgeous country and very friendly people.

[00:06:44] Very very friendly and so let me tell you my time management tip and see if you like it or not.

[00:06:49] I'm curious Tom.

[00:06:50] You remember what I said I said half equals empty.

[00:06:55] So I have this rule when I'm driving if my tank gets to half. I look at that as empty and I stop at the first you know place to get gas and fill up. How many times do you have to you're really desperate to get somewhere. You've got to stop and get gas because you're almost out. So that's my rule. That's my time management rule.

[00:07:19] Well I would say quarter is empty. Maybe our stations might be a little bit closer. But yes certainly it's getting down to the red. I am becoming anxious. So I love that and I'm going to share that. Thank you Tom.

[00:07:34] So anyway so tell us what you've been doing. You've got all kinds of books out and you really mastered this field.

[00:07:40] Oh well I've learned a lot from you over the years Tom and I always remember you saying do the work once and get paid paid paid. You drummed that into my brain. What have I been doing well for the last 27 years. I think it is just about now. I've been speaking writing running training programs for clients around the world. A lot of a lot of writing these days more writing now than face to face work. And I love being at home and working. I'm looking out now it's just morning time now and the sun isn't quite up because we're coming into our winter soon. I live by water. I don't have to get out there and fight the Auckland traffic which is not quite as bad as L.A. but pretty awful in the mornings. So what else have I been doing. Lots of grandkids so yes family time takes up a lot at my stage of life. It's great having the freedom to do things for the family. Although having said that my my children of which there are six they they know they have to put themselves in the diary well in advance if they want my grandmotherly assistance.

[00:08:58] You use the term diary we don't use that much around here is that like your calendar book you mean.

[00:09:03] Yeah. Calendar planner diary schedule you can use any word you like.

[00:09:09] Well us screwballs you know some of us are country bumpkins so we don't know the fancy language of the world.

[00:09:17] Oh no no no no. You could say that we're the country bumpkins down here in New Zealand we're a long way from all you guys.

[00:09:23] But I did see a lot of sheep down there when I was there and they were beautiful the most beautiful sheep.

[00:09:29] So you mainly stayed at hotels Tom.

[00:09:31] I actually stayed with somebody I forget the guy's name. Yeah. I stayed at his house one time and he had these beautiful fields. I mean it's almost like like paintings it was so gorgeous and vivid. I remember. Maybe there's no air pollution or something down there everything was just vivid.

[00:09:49] Yeah well I think you've probably fairly right there. We do have pretty clean air. We try hard to not pollute our beautiful country.

[00:09:59] Yeah. Oh just gorgeous I just remember that how vivid everything was was like being in a painting but. So. So you're doing much speaking or most of your work's remote now with folks.

[00:10:10] A lot of my work is remote although you say I get on planes and go places I'm not not travelling internationally as much as I was and that's by choice although having said that one of my oldest son who's a brigadier is based in London at the moment. So that gives me an awfully fabulous reason to go to London.

[00:10:29] So tell us what the brigadier is.

[00:10:31] A brigadier is a one star general. So he's New Zealand's defence attache at the moment based in London and one of the benefits of the lifestyle that people like you and I lead is the opportunity to travel and be away for an extended period of time like I've written books and I've worked with clients coaching clients when I've been travelling around France Spain and England talking to people that need my help sometimes I've been face to face with clients in England particularly I've done a lot of work over the years in England but it's just that freedom to travel when you like and not to rush back all the time and I know I listen to the lovely Patricia Fripp on one of your podcasts recently who's a dear friend of mine as well and she does the same thing and she's done it for more years than me of when you go someplace to add an extra bit of time before and or after so that you don't just spend all your lives in hotels and airplanes.

[00:11:34] Yeah. Rebecca Morgan was on too I'm not sure if you'd know her or not she said the same things that I do too I go home several days early. I don't like to be rushing and all that. And also because the airlines are having you know when you're the main event you got to be there. So I just I go way early and stay late and take it.

[00:11:57] And Rebecca stayed at my house by the way. You visited my house. No not this house. It was in a different house. Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah.

[00:12:07] So yeah. Soon after I left I think you moved.

[00:12:10] Yes I'm out in the country. I'm right by water.

[00:12:14] It wasn't my fault was it.

[00:12:19] I have to tell you. I have a vivid recollection of you sitting in my office and watching me do something on a keyboard. This is a time tip guys. and use it. Robyn you're a time management specialist why you're doing that that slow way. You taught me you may not remember this but you showed me that little tiny Well we would call it an airport a piece of software short keys. Remember that.

[00:12:46] Yes. Well I kind of remember that. But I'm sitting here thinking the reason I did it is because I had a young person in 1997 sitting behind me telling me why I can't believe somebody making so much money is so stupid just click here. He was always right. So I let him abuse me so I think I must have passed that on to you a little bit.

[00:13:08] Thank you I appreciate it. Because every time I do just a couple of keystrokes and a whole phrase shows up I love it.

[00:13:16] That's the one that saved me seven million keystrokes. We figured it out a couple of years ago.

[00:13:22] I wondered if that's what you're referring to.

[00:13:24] Yeah. Well I want you to grab that automation book because I think it's perfect for you. Just another tip out of it that can save you a lot of time will be perfect. But it's this you know I've handled as much as 150000 subscribers and 40000 customers with one part time temp person. So you got to be you know use these tools that are available to make make that happen and take care of everybody. So. So do you ever have a job.

[00:13:57] Not for a long time. I wonder whether I'm unemployable now. I think most of us would say that yes I did when I left school I didn't go to university but when I left school I became a librarian and I love it. It's not a very well-paid job at all. But if you love books right. Oh you love digging and squirrel laying around looking for answers. It's a great career. And I really did love my library job. I did that. I did my training with the net career for a somewhat over five years including at a university library. And then the next job was having six kids. So that was full time Tom. They all arrived in a nine year period like the Brigadier. He was first.

[00:14:47] Did I see in your bio you had 17 grandchildren.

[00:14:51] You saw that correctly.

[00:14:52] Not even believable as young as you look. The guy that does the podcast thing looked at your picture and you say Hey how could this be this lady's not that all. I don't know. But now I got to go to a grand mother grand child joke. So why do grandchildren and grandparents get along so well. Because they have a common enemy.

[00:15:28] I'm not sure I'm going to tell it to my children. I get on really well with my kids actually.

[00:15:38] So give us some time management tips for the folks out they're in starting a business or either trying to improve their business.

[00:15:47] Oh I'd love to Tom the thing that got me into the time management I would just say is that I used to be really bad at it and people look at me slightly weird when I stand in front of them in a big audience and I tell them this they're thinking well who oh this woman's come to talk to us about time management and that's how she starts. But the interesting thing is that we teach best that which we need to know and we've all heard that phrase but also it it was because I was bad at my time management I had to work harder at it than most people. And so I'd come really from the back place I suppose you could say Oh I forgot to tell you that I also spent quite a few years in real estate as well. One year after the children had gone a little bit older I'd had gone through a marriage break up I'd been a solo mum for a single mum on benefits government benefits for a period of time and then got into real estate and it was it was in real estate where certainly I was making more money then been on government benefit thank goodness. But what I also learned there was that there's no point having the money if you haven't got the health. And that was the real driver that had me thinking I've got to do something about my time now. I'll give you a little tip but in the form of a story is that one day in those real estate days or realtor days I was having coffee with a friend. And to be honest I was having a pity party. I was moaning and complaining because there weren't enough hours in the day. And finally Tony looked at me in frustration and said Oh for goodness sakes Robbie go and get a decent diary. Now you might call it a planner a scheduler or a calendar but in those days it was a paper based scheduler. Go and get a decent one. And that was the first time and it's really a key point about learning in different ways. For the first time I I actually heard somebody explain the principles and how I got to hear them was because I sent away for the diary system that my friend was using. And with it came two tapes. And for the younger listeners they were tapes little old cassettes if you can remember those you used to have lots of those. But the point being is that there's so much valuable information waiting there at really affordable rates just these days even more and more. And that changed my life. Those two tapes it was it. The diary was great but the information was infinitely more important and for the first time I realized that there were principles behind the way we make choices with our time. So some of that and it went on from there I started to adopt those principles all sorts of other things happened and within a few years people started asking me for help. And I I was really surprised when the first person came asking for help I'm going but I'm not good at this stuff I'm always late. And the woman that was asking me she said I've watched you and you understand the principles. So that's a real big takeaway right there is is go drilling down to get those principles. So what are they you know telling me to hurry. Okay. In terms of time what are some of the things when people first start their business because that's where it led. For me it's it's very hard to try and keep a handle on everything because when you begin you're the go to person for every single thing. And very quickly within a matter of months of me started my little embryonic training business and coaching business that really started as coaching I began to feel really overloaded and started to get back into the state that I'd experienced many times previously of feeling close to burnout. And I had done burnout several times when I'd been in real estate. So I thought well what's going on here something something's not right. And my thought was I need some help but then I I didn't have the money to pay for any help. I was hardly making any money myself as it was at that stage and then I thought well what am I actually doing with my time and this is a really useful little technique that I did or strategy that I stumbled across that I share with every entrepreneurial group that I work with. And in fact even with corporate people too because so often we feel like we've got too much going on. But what the heck are we actually spending our time on. I got a little sheet of paper. I made three columns while just an A4 sheet of paper three columns the first column was the big wide one because that was what am I doing. During a week an average week. What are the actual activities I'm doing.

[00:20:46] The second skinny column over to the right was how many minutes or hours per week am I doing on this task. And the third column was how many minutes or hours of the work that I was doing could I pass on to somebody else that if I had that person could do it at a lower pay rate. That took time lower pay rate than what I wanted to by myself. I hadn't quite got there yet.

[00:21:12] Okay let me get this straight. First of all for everybody outside or in the United States A4 is nothing fancy it's just the size of paper roughly 8 1/2 by eleven in different parts of the world so that you don't have to get any kind of fancy paper to do this but give us those those columns again that you were making.

[00:21:33] Column 1 is the activities that I was doing in a normal week. Column 2 was the number of minutes or hours I was typically doing on each activity in that week. And if something was done only once a month for example I would just reduce it so for something that took an hour per month. I would just put 15 minutes. So I was amortizing things. The third column was. If I had somebody else what are of the minutes or hours that I was already doing. How much of that could be passed over to somebody else at a lower pay rate than what I wanted to pay myself.

[00:22:22] Okay great. Now this was all before you made any changes right. Just see what you need.

[00:22:28] Yes. Yes. Because here I was struggling feeling overloaded too much to do not able to afford anybody but really didn't have clarity. It was a what I say to people about this particular strategy is that it really is a diagnostic tool as to where you're spending your time. And secondly as we go further you'll find that it's also a job description for somebody else coming on. So what happened for me was I did this exercise it didn't take very long. And what I it was a shock because I found that I was doing 80 hours a week on the second column. That was what the second column totaled up to I'm going. No wonder I'm exhausted. There were all sorts of little minutia type things going on that I was putting time into but they weren't good use of my time. The third column however that was the biggest shock because that was 40 hours per week. I'm going oh my goodness no wonder I'm making no money. I'm fluffing around day by day doing low level things. So that still leaves me with a problem that I couldn't afford somebody and I have to say this very emphatically is that when we get clarity about what the answer what the need is and we know what it is that we're looking for the answer always shows up because within a matter of a week or two weeks a friend of mine came to see me. She was in a similar situation with a startup business. She also needed help. She was also feeling exhausted and rundown and we found that we could get a young girl from a government work scheme. And in every country there will be people doing like being interns or you know young people that you can get to help get started and that at that stage in New Zealand the government was subsidizing people so that they could get back to work. So all we had to do was commit to keeping the younger we got for six months and she was able to be job shared between the two of us. So I got and the government paid half the salary. So. So I got a half a person and my friend had the other half.

[00:24:51] Which have did you get.

[00:24:52] I got a smart half. We both got a raise. We got a lovely young girl and she came to me for half the time and she went she went to the other girl half the time and we paid a quarter of a wage and that was just enough to get us over the hump and to cut away the low level things and start to focus on the things.

[00:25:13] You said had to keep on for six months what if she was terrible.

[00:25:17] Yeah. If we could have gone back to the organization that was with her.

[00:25:25] You know I'm looking at these three columns you know did some quick figures for myself so you you found 80 hours in column two and that's why you were exhausted. Yeah. Okay. In column two I also found 80 Hours but in column one it was from eating so that's why I'm fat.

[00:25:47] I lost about 100 pounds since the last time you saw me.

[00:25:53] Oh well done you.

[00:25:56] Okay so so this is a good good thing to start with. So besides the you got this this program. So that took a I guess you know part of that 80 hours. So what about the rest of it.

[00:26:12] Well obviously then you've got to stay focused. Well it's not obvious but some of the other things that people struggle with is they are sorry. Make sure I'm answering your question. So would the other 40 hours that I was live in I was focusing on the work that was going to start bringing the money.

[00:26:30] The most money. So you still worked 40 hours but you were able to concentrate and not be so exhausted on the things that are bringing the most revenue.

[00:26:40] Correct. And that's the big thing that a lot of early startups struggle with is how to get over that hump. So that's my big advice is to delegate one way or another. And there are there are always opportunities out there for jobs to be passed on it might be two young kids even. It might be two teenagers.

[00:26:59] Yeah I am totally for that. Well what I am against is when the people are telling you delegate everything and if you had done all the work and so you understood how long it took what's involved where a lot of people delegates stuff and then they're sitting ducks to be ripped off because they don't even understand then somebody could take three hours to do something that's only supposed take 30 minutes and the principal wouldn't know any better. So so I'm against that.

[00:27:29] I'm completely with you on that one Tom. Another source actually while we're just on delegation it is upwork.com. And there are so many amazing people around the world who are offering their services and they work really hard. I've got fabulous book four matters at the moment in India and they're doing an a stunning job even if they make a mistake and there was one little mistake a few days ago they just fixed it so quickly. And at that yeah I really recommend them for. So outsourcing in some form or another but. But it's important to get the young kids around your neighborhood involved as well so that we're teaching young people and I know you're a big one on that one.

[00:28:19] Yeah. So anything crazy or bizarre happen in this business life of yours.

[00:28:29] Well do you want me to tell you the speaker story.

[00:28:33] Yeah. Yeah. Of Course. I love speaker stories.

[00:28:35] Ok. I was speaking in Darwin Australia one time and it was in a casino. I was on. So they were the reason I'm telling you that is because they had a lot of security stuff and it tended to screw up the audio. I was on the stage I hit the people down in front of me the whiteboard was at a particular spot on the stage and what was there was a constant feedback coming so I'd been prancing around in my high heels on the stage. The feedback was a problem a couple of the blokes from the audience jumped up and shifted the whiteboard a little bit further I was using it. They brought it closer to the front of the stage so that I wouldn't get the feedback it was getting away from various microphones. There must have been some technology that was causing this feedback. This wasn't the normal thing but it was because it was a casino. There was so much technology around the place and so I carried on prancing along the stage doing my thing and took a step forward forgot that I now didn't hit the same distance between me and the audience. I landed on the floor on my I'm happy to say on my feet. There was a gasp from the audience. One man had his head down taking notes when this incident happened. He looked up and said Oh I missed it. I felt like saying Do you want me to go and do it again. I fell. I dropped about three feet off the stage. So I was lucky that day. Yes. Yeah. Falling off the stage is probably my most dramatic one.

[00:30:25] So. So what do you like working best about yourself and what's the worst part.

[00:30:31] Working for myself best. Oh my goodness. I just love the freedom. It's all I can do what I like when I like all of the things I think every entrepreneur probably says that the worst part is. Well I don't get lonely so I can't say that if I get lonely I'll go and find people to talk to. I don't think there is the worst part I can't think of a worst part I would if I didn't like it I would have changed it back again.

[00:30:59] Exactly exactly. So what how do people work with you and what's what's your website and how do they contact you. You've got a lot of books out right.

[00:31:09] I do. Yes. My my Web site is gettingagrip.com. There's a bunch of the books are in the Getting a Grip series is getting a grip on time management getting a grip on paper and e-mail all the paper and email getting a grip on leadership which I co-wrote with the lovely lady in the states from North Dakota getting a Grip on business meetings and so on and so forth. And then some other tips books as well. Oh this one called getting a grip on parenting time because with those 17 kids I've got a few lessons so it's about time management for parents and there's so much information on my Web site. Tom you'll grab you can find it there. My books are also actually the easiest way to find out where all my books are because I'm more by the time this goes to where we'll be very close to having them all on. On Amazon and other places as a robynpearce.com and there you'll find where all the books are available on lots of different platforms and formats as well. So Amazon Kindle they will be in et cetera et cetera.

[00:32:34] So do you do any coaching with people or do I do.

[00:32:38] Coaching I do that via zoom typically. If it's somebody very local to me I'll do it face to face but I work with people around the world using zoom and and still doing some speaking and some training that's mostly in New Zealand now but happy to travel.

[00:32:56] And the coaching stuff on your website.

[00:33:00] Yes it is. Go to gettingagrip.com too because you'll get the chance to tap into all of the other information I've got so much free stuff there. Grab the one thing I really encourage people to do because we've only touched the surface with one basic main tip here is get hold of the little free e-book how to master time in only 90 seconds. That's on the right hand side of every page out on the on the screen of getting a dot com and that'll tap you into all of the other ongoing fabulous free resources and time help that we've got.

[00:33:42] Yeah that's so great and it's just so important. Today's fast paced society that lets you get because because you can get eaten up just by just by Facebook alone could just kill your whole day.

[00:33:55] Let me not start on that when we might be here a while.

[00:34:02] So we're going to take a break for a sponsor message and when we come back. We're gonna ask Robyn who's the time management expert. What's a typical day look like for her and how she stays motivated. So folks our sponsor this week it's me again. Hey no kidding. And the Internet marketing retreat and joint venture program where myself and my staff work with you for a year to get you either started in an Internet business or to use the Internet to take your existing business to the next level. Now all the details on that are at greatInternetmarketingtraining.com. But let me just give you the story of how it started back around the year 2000. It was about the time I met Robyn. I kind of turned the Internet training world on its head because people like me at my level were charging 50 or 100 thousand dollars upfront to teach what we knew to business people who didn't want to learn it themselves. So I am a small business advocate and I knew many small businesses could never afford that kind of upfront money. So. So I met all those gurus mad by charging a relatively small entry fee to my program and then I also would get a percentage of profits. That was capped. So you're not stuck with me forever. So for me to get my big money you had to make way bigger money and people just love that. Plus you know I'm not going to disappear on you cause I'm. I want my money. How about that. Then I went another step further. I have a big estate home and a TV studio where my students as part of their yearlong program come for an Immersion weekend at the great internet marketing retreat center. It's the only facility of its kind in the world. So check it out at greatinternet marketingtraining.com. All the things we talked about all Robyn's info and everything will be in our show notes for episode when we get this number. This is episode 131 with Robyn Pearce. So so Robyn So what's a typical day look like for you.

[00:36:06] I'm typically up by around 6 a.m. sometimes earlier. I do few exercises do some meditation. I if it's summertime I would go walking first thing usually.

[00:36:19] Exercise for me. Does going to the refrigerator count.

[00:36:25] No Tom. Have a bit of an aversion to getting in a car to go to exercise. It seemed a bit ironic. So I just I. Most of the time I've got about a 40 minute walk that I do close to my home. But on weekends I will either. I might be sailing or cycling.

[00:36:48] Oh yeah tell us about that sailing you're like a competitive sailor right.

[00:36:52] Yes but it's not every weekend or anything. I love sailing on classic yachts. Yeah. So this is these are real boats with sails people. And the one that I sail on she's a beauty. Her name is Waitangi for anyone that's really curious. The New Zealand classic yacht Association and she's she's she was built in 1894. So there's no push button anything. It's all block and tackle. We can't sail with less than about 10 people on the crew and it's she's just beautiful to sail on. So we do race. We have the whole fleet of beautiful old gaffer rigged yachts which will only mean something to those who are keen sailors. It would mostly sail around the bigger harbour area but I've sailed also in the in the Med and I've sailed in England at Cowes as well.

[00:37:52] Have you sailed a long distance at one shot.

[00:37:56] Yeah. Yes the longest one was from Spain up to Corsica. So it was about three days four days. Oh it was really cool. A lot of people's standards that's pretty small scale but it was my first blue water experience and and that was all very exciting and not so good on the tummy.

[00:38:17] All right you get up you get up you do some exercise then what.

[00:38:22] Exercise and then typically I'm at my computer because the morning is my creative time this depends obviously if I've got a training session or I'm doing a speech or I'm running a workshop I'm obviously up and out the door and because I live an hour out of the city and the traffic is not pleasant I leave really early and that's another time tippers is get there first go really really early. But like your half is empty thing.

[00:38:47] Well that's another thing I say, if you're not early you're late.

[00:38:50] Yeah absolutely. And it's better to get to the other end and have you can have a nap if you're tired or do some other work or something like that. I just hate being stuck in traffic so up and then. So I'll usually be working at whatever current book I'm on at the moment and I'm about to start into fiction writing soon too. But that's a different story at breakfast and then I'll carry on. Often depending on what I'm working on well often it might be with clients via zoom or back to doing more creative work in the afternoons typically I endeavour to do the other stuff in the afternoons. Now this doesn't work every single day it depends just how busy it is. But I look at this as a time tip to actually Tom I look as much as possible to chunk blocks of time to do concentrated work and one of the key things is Do not let alerts drive your life turn off your alerts on your email on your phone and be fully focused on the work that you're engaged in because you'll get more done. Multitasking is actually a misnomer. It's what I mean it happens but it doesn't make you faster and better at your work. It actually slows you down.

[00:40:06] That's a heck of a tip right there. So how do you stay motivated.

[00:40:11] Oh well I love my environment. I look out at the water all the time I'm looking at it now and it just really inspires me. I think this beautiful country is one of my inspirations but I also I just really love helping people. And I've had an affirmation. Many years I encourage people all over the world. I help them to focus and achieve their goals. And it seems to work.

[00:40:39] So they're great parting words for her. We call them screwballs. People who listen to this. One quick question about where you live now. Do you have a sunrise or a sunset on the water.

[00:40:52] Sunset and it's stunning that.

[00:40:55] Send me a picture when you get a chance. We'll put it in the show notes everybody. You'll see the beautiful beautiful place where she lives in the New Zealand overall. Like I said it's just gorgeous.

[00:41:09] If anyone wants to see New Zealand go see Lord Of The Rings.

[00:41:12] There you go. All right. Boy so it's great catching up with you so great. And a lot of a lot of great tips for the people out there because I know everybody struggles with this and then you have surely mastered it. So thanks for coming on.

[00:41:28] My pleasure Tom and thank you for all the wonderful teaching that you've done over the years you've been a real inspiration to me I have to tell you.

[00:41:34] Oh it's my pleasure hope to get that and see you again one of these days.

[00:41:37] Oh I'll come and see you in Virginia.

[00:41:44] All right so check out the show notes everybody that gets your freebie. Robyn's got a great free thing at Gettingagrip.com on the right hand side. Get that because her stuff is great and it'll lead you all the other great stuff she has. And make sure you check out her mentor program if you'd like one on one tutoring and help the really get a serious business going for yourself that you get the upgrade from anywhere in the world even if you go down to New Zealand. All right. Catch ya later.

Join my distance learning school: https://www.IMTCVA.org
OR
Join the mentor program PLUS get a FREE Scholarship to the School: https://www.GreatInternetMarketingTraining.com