REBECCA HAUGH Female Voice Actor

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Rebecca@lovethatrebecca.com

310-584-7379

ASAP Voiceover Quote

Staying Focused

accountability, business, small business, voiceover

I had SUCH a problem with ‘holding focus’ recently, like others have.

December 2020 was a quiet close to a year that had a lot of big ups and downs. Christmas and New Years provided some relief and relaxation. In fact, memes around New Years were funny, particularly this one, which made me literally laugh out loud:

Meme: Just wait til 2020 turns 21 and starts drinking
Just wait til 2020 turns 21 and starts drinking

Then January 6th, 2021 happened. U.S. news of politics and culture had me “attention-captured”. It’s like that saying about driving by an accident on the road. You can’t help but stare. And this was one big, long accident. News and reaction was everywhere, from email inbox to social media to podcasts to online streaming. How could I not be concerned and affected by all the news about the US election, the Capitol riot and its momentous ramifications?

Awareness is step 1.  Do you find yourself with a lack of focus? 

Whoopsie. I caught myself. I realized that the news about political culture of the USA had jumped into my daily ‘to do list’ like a bad habit. I even recognized that this new habit was taking up the time I gained when I gave up my multiplayer online game.

I recognized I didn’t want this to continue. I wanted to make an adjustment and not only get my time back, but to choose my priorities more consciously. I knew I wanted to keep appraised of further news and reactions, yet wanted to get back into the swing of my normal flow, attending to not only urgent but also important matters.

With that awareness, I made my a personal and professional decision: Hold. My. Focus.

Step 2 is diagnosing what’s going on in your specific case. 

What was causing my letting go of ‘important’  when the world news calls ‘urgently’? What was the actual problem? Distractions? I found some good quotes for this:

Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days.
– Zig Ziglar

Focus is a matter of deciding what things you’re not going to do.
– John Carmack

When walking, walk. When eating, eat.
– Zen proverb

Sometimes, it’s that you can’t be still. That you’re almost, maybe, addicted to being distracted.  In a podcast I listened to yesterday, they discussed many issues that can cause lack of focus distractions:

  • Checking email
  • Checking social media
  • Checking the news
  • Checking all of the above on your phone

Or maybe it’s that you’re worried about something, and those thoughts invade your focus: worried about a loved one, a health prognosis, financial or legal issues.

Or maybe it’s darn hard to remain focused because you’re working at home now, and you simply get interrupted by other household members.

I think for me it was a combination of being worried about what I was reading in the news while being inundated with news updates to my email inbox. STAYING focused while being distracted appeared to be the difficulty.

There are various ways each of us may realize we’ve been distracted. The important part is recognizing you need to re-focus, and examining your life to see how and why you lose focus.

Step 3 is coming up with solutions.

You can’t box yourself into a one-size-fits-all answer. You have to look at what works for you personally. When you’re ready to get rid of distractions, come up with a system or process that allows you to focus and eliminate what was distracting you.

Part of my own personal solution was accepting that I had been distracted. The news was also emotionally and physically draining. Acceptance and recognition also led to me pardoning myself! We can be so tough on ourselves… or at least I can be. I had to let myself off the hook for time lost, pick up from there, and bring the re-focus.

In my case, it was a little bit of ‘cold turkey’ or forced abstinence from news during certain hours. I’m also filtering the incoming emails to a ‘read later’ folder. Best.Thing.Ever!

I’m certainly going to read the news and keep up with American culture. I’m simply re-focusing on higher priorities first.

What solutions have you found for yourself when needing to re-focus?

Have you learned helpful tactics? I’d love to hear from you about it. Drop me a line!

Filed Under: accountability, business, small business, voiceover Tagged With: focus

Collaboration Platforms in 2020

accountability, business, creative professionals, small business, VO tech

Collaboration Platforms?

The year 2020 brought us a great, big, (ugly) new reason to work remotely from home. Although I’ve been working from home and am celebrating my 10th year anniversary, 2020 even brought me and you – us all –  new collaboration tools.

A vital collaboration platform or app is one you can use easily and share with internal employees or external clients easily. You use it to organize, plan, execute projects, and offer media assets to be reviewed or changed. Put simply, it’s any piece of online software that helps people get work done together in teams.

Collaboration platforms have been multiplying as long as I’ve been in business. The year 2020 pushed the use of them to new levels. My clients have shared many tools with me as I travel with them on their project timeline and make my contribution. I’m really impressed and excited by how many companies and people have truly embraced this tech.

Below is a curated list of impressive tools I’ve come across. I use only a few regularly but I really appreciate the strength and agility this gives to so many.

Before I share the list, I have to say this: CONGRATULATIONS to all of you who transitioned to working from home due to a pandemic! The temerity to keep going through this very difficult time, to keep the work flowing, to keep the world somewhat sane – THANK YOU! Take a moment to look at what you’ve been able to achieve, especially without having seen this coming. WOW. 

 

Tools I’ve used regularly

Google Workspace: Formerly called GSuite, now it’s Google Workspace. It holds all the online versions of Office as well as connects to email. I use this daily and have for years. It’s very effective for when I travel, also for my virtual assistant and I to work on shared documents. It’s also useful for surveys you can do with Forms.

Trello: Has an intriguing interface that lets you drag task cards across columns. It’s easy to learn and works well for monitoring projects and assigning tasks. Project management, task assignments, prioritization. Fully customizable. I use this a few times a month with my virtual assistant.

Slack: Started as a simple messaging system and has turned into a scalable, integrated, customizable collaboration tool. Project management, task assignments, prioritization. Fully customizable

Tools clients have shared with me

Wipster: Built for creative teams that need to share a lot of assets, deal with visual and audio materials, client sign-offs, etc.

Basecamp: Project management, task assignments, prioritization, internal communications. Increase organization and communication, with fewer meetings (hopefully). Fully customizable.

Other tools that seem to have good reputations

From a bit of research I recently did, the following three were suggested by some of my LinkedIn connections. These appear to offer project management, task assignments, prioritization, person-to-person video chat and screen sharing. Fully customizable and integrations available. Flowdock even seems to have the capability to adjust time zones per person.

  • Asana
  • Flowdock 
  • Ora 

Contact me directly with any other good platform suggestions!

My email is at the top of this page.

Filed Under: accountability, business, creative professionals, small business, VO tech Tagged With: business building, technology

Boost Your Success with Accountability

accountability, business, small business, voiceover

video meeting

Do you keep yourself accountable to your own goals?

Do you write a list of goals and check them off? Keep measurements of success… or lack of? And how do you keep on top of that?

I have done all of the above. On my own, I’ve used paper and digital lists, posters, sticky notes, calendar reminders, spreadsheets, tracking, more tracking, hired help, more hired help, classes, and so on. All of these bits and pieces have been part of holding myself accountable.  Sometimes it works and sometimes not…

But the truth is, I had been the only one who cared. Aside from family and friends who encourage and cheer you, working remotely as an entrepreneur is a singular thing. Aside from people you hire, or who hire you, there’s not a lot of other peer level, professional interaction. There’s some on social media, but still, meaningful interaction was limited.

I didn’t have the sense of partnership in the professional level of work I was doing, for problem solving, support for small losses or cheers for big wins.

Human nature is community-oriented.

Looking at this from another angle, human nature is full of interaction. And positive interaction that provides  problem-solving, support and cheers. Families, towns, countries, religions, businesses – we feel more confident and protected when another person is ‘in it’ with us. So let’s use this to our business advantage.

That’s what I tried next.

Consider this: Have you ever buddied up with a colleague to hold each other accountable to specific goals? To work through issues you each face? To celebrate success?

I decided I needed my own personal community… someone other than a casual friend and running their own business too… who would have similar issues that could relate with my own, and vice versa.

I needed an ‘accountability partner’.

Define an Accountability Partnership.

My definition: Two trusted associates work together to make progress toward their respective goals. It’s a two-way relationship, where each individual supports the other’s goals in order for each to meet them. You…

  • encourage, challenge and provide focus for each other.
  • each want the other partner to succeed
  • are dependable and committed to helping your partner, while moving yourself forward.
  • communicate clearly, directly, and respectfully, asking difficult questions and offering insightful observations.
  • won’t let your partner get away with excuses, or slip through success without celebration.

It’s a powerful combination of motivation and support.

What are the basics?

Once you’ve found your trusted partner:

  • set up regular meetings at a pace that works for you
  • introduce each other to respective goals, tracking, and relevant processes
  • tweak as you go
  • allow personal goals as you wish
  • keep it going as long as it feels relevant

I’ve been working with my partner now for at least a year, and we’ve both grown during the process. We’ve addressed issues, both personal and business, and some that are a bit of both. We continue, and have modified our focus, meeting times and frequency once or twice.

There are only benefits. You’ll gain and you’ll give.

Partnering with someone  gives you perspective and insights about your own stated goals and real accomplishments. Celebrate the wins and dust yourself off from the losses. Get pushed to grow with challenges. Brainstorm more effective processes for anything. Learn to let go of ineffective habits or systems that no longer serve you.

And vice versa, you’ll serve another professional. Witness them pursue success and transformation. Support them through changes, offer constructive feedback and wisdom to address issues, options and circumstances. There’s a lot of reward in serving another and watching their results.

For the last year, I have worked with an ‘accountability partner’ for my small business. I love it for both what I receive and what I give. It’s mutual growth with the satisfaction coming from individual actions – with a witness.

For me personally, I am more accountable to myself when I know someone else will be watching what I watch. I also have been cheered on when I was overlooking achievements. You can’t beat it!

Filed Under: accountability, business, small business, voiceover Tagged With: accountability, business, business building

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