• blog

How Do Successful People Spend Their Weekends?

Want to be successful? The fastest way you can achieve that success is by studying those who have already achieved it and do what they are doing. It may sound easier said than done, but the truth is that it is just that simple. Successful people are that for a reason, and their success makes them experts in their field. Knowing how they think, operate, and divide their time could be beneficial information. For instance, how do successful people spend their weekend? The answer may not be what you think, and here we will find out just how they use their time, especially their weekends.

You may be surprised to know that weekends for highly successful people do not vary too much from weekends for everyone else in certain respects. Relaxation and minimal work are things everyone looks forward to on the weekend, especially those who perform at a very high rate. The more you do, the more you need to relax. However, just because they are not working in the office does not mean that they are not thinking about their business.

Many successful people view weekends as a great opportunity to reflect on the health and productivity of their business. They are rejuvenated by activities that make them happy and fuel them. Sleeping in on the weekends is something that successful people do not do. They wake up at the same time every day to promote consistency, even on the weekends. Successful people also use their mornings for themselves. Before they get wrapped up in business or other’s problems, they make sure to get some time to mentally and emotionally prepare for their day.

Scheduling adventures, pursuing passions, and exercising are also things successful people do with their weekends. It helps them keep in touch with themselves and with their emotional and physical health. Most importantly, successful people know how to disconnect themselves on the weekend. This means no work phone calls, emails, or texts. If they do not do this, they will not be able to separate themselves from their work, and essentially, they would have never left work for the weekend.

If you own a business, you must work very hard to bring your dreams and goals to life. Your weekends should be a time of rest and reflection to make your business better without burning yourself out. One of the ways in which you can do this is by hiring staff. When you have others working for you who care about the quality and value of your business as much as you do, your company is in great hands. The virtual receptionist at gabbyville.com are trained to do just that- treat your business as it is their own.

  • General

Reduce Your Anxiety With These 3 Tools (Hint: #2 Will Shock You)

Stress is an extremely prevalent issue within our society. The unfortunate truth is that so many of us have too much to do and not enough time to do it all; family, friends, careers, and personal lives all intersect to create a web of tasks to remember and appointments to keep. Keeping your body and mind at a constant state of stress is the biggest cause of anxiety, which can make you feel like the world is crumbling down around you, or like you simply have too much to handle and can’t do it all. Anxiety is debilitating. Fortunately, it can be fought using a few surprising tips:

1. Stay positive

It may seem obvious, but few people make this direct connection: the angrier you are, the more anxious you become. Although stress can lead to mood changes that include lashing out at those around you, try to focus on positive thoughts that allow you to maintain a calm center, leading to a more relaxed and positive outlook.

2. Make time for your seven seconds in heaven

One of the most surprising ways to reduce anxiety? Kiss more often. A recent study conducted by Northwestern University found that people who kiss frequently, in the spur of the moment and without any pre-planned pressure to do so, are eight times less likely to develop stress and anxiety than those who don’t. Kissing creates a feeling of connectedness, which releases anti-depressant chemicals called endorphins in your brain, leading to reduced anxiety even in situations of stress.

3. Consider a virtual receptionist

Sometimes, no matter what kinds of stress exercises you undertake or how much meditation you do, there’s just no getting around it: you have too much work. Too many things to remember, and not enough time to remember them in, can leave you feeling like you are not in control of your life, leading to intense feelings of anxiety. However, one way you can counteract this is by hiring a virtual receptionist to help you with business-related tasks so that you can feel less overwhelmed by the amount of work you have to do.

A virtual receptionist can make calls, take messages, remind you of appointments you have, and just generally take care of all the little things that make you feel stressed out on a daily basis. Best of all, virtual receptionists can help your business by providing your customers with a real voice to talk to, rather than a voicemail (because you have too many things to do to answer phone calls yourself). Learn more about virtual receptionists today!

  • General

Improve Your Life With These 25 Websites (Hint: No Social Media!)

To improve your life, finding websites and apps (outside of social media) that help you stay on top of your goals and desires can be very helpful. Ready to get started? If so, here are 25 amazing services to get you going!

1. Udemy

Provides real-world skills through courses taught by real-life people.

2. Codeacademy

Have you wanted to learn code in your spare time? Codeacademy can help you unlock the ability to use HTML, CSS, PHP, and other popular code languages.

3. eHow

Learn how to perform simple skills using step-by-step processes on this amazing community-content site.

4. Wikihow

One of the more popular how-to community content sites, Wikihow is the Wikipedia for daily tasks as simple as taking your temperature, or opening a bottle of wine.

5. TED

Sometimes reading a full book is simply impossible with your work schedule. To stay on top of innovative ideas, important cultural icons, and more, TED has you covered.

6. Duolingo

Want to learn languages in your down time with an award-winning platform? Do it absolutely free with Duolingo!

7. Digital Photography School

If you want to increase your photography knowledge, Digital Photography School is by far the most important photography blog you should be keeping up with.

8. Spreeder

Speed-reading is a difficult skill to gain. Thankfully, the geniuses at Spreeder have developed a site that makes it simple, fun, and engaging.

9. Investopedia

Don’t have time to keep up with finance gurus, but still want to invest in the stock market? Investopedia simplifies everything you need to know about the ever fluctuating market, allowing you to make smart investments quickly!

10. Zen Habits

For motivational material that will help you find simple moments of Zen in your hectic life, the Zen Habits blog has you covered.

11. edX

Unlock the ability to quickly learn from MOOC’s from top universities around the world with classes provided at edX.

12. Fast Company’s 30-Second MBA

Learn fast business lessons in 30-second spurts from the corporate executives at Fast Company’s 30-Second MBA.

13. Gibbon

Gibbon provides the ultimate playlist for learning, allowing you to build playlist of both videos and articles on any topic your heart desires.

14. Lifehacker

You can unlock tons of useful small skills that will help you function more effectively in life with Lifehacker.

15. Unplug The TV

Want to educate yourself with entertaining videos instead of wasting your time watching basic cable? Check out the videos listed on Unplug The TV.

16. Khan Academy

Do you want a way to view statistics involving your learning habits and progress? Then you’ll love the intuitive user-interface the Khan Academy website offers.

17. Instructables

With Instructables’ easy to understand how-to videos, you can learn how to plant a garden, play tennis, and much more.

18. Freerice

Freerice provides the opportunity to provide hungry people with food while expanding your vocabulary.

19. Powersearching with Google

Want to master your ability to Google with finesse? Powersearching with Google will teach you to be a search engine master.

20. Fitocracy

Fitocracy can help you develop fitness goals and workouts specified to your body type and fitness goals.

21. Daily Page

Have you wanted to increase how often you write? Use Daily Page to stay motivated and on track.

22. Eat This Much

To have a better diet, and control your portion amounts, Eat This Much can provide a great way to stay on top of your goals.

23. Sattva

Want to start meditating each day to increase your mental health? Use Sattva to get started!

24. Stand App

Science is constantly providing that standing is much healthier for our bodies than sitting. To increase the amount of time you spend standing every day, simply fire up the Stand App on your Mac or iOS device.

25. Highbrow

Sometimes it can be hard to determine what you want to learn about. Highbrow makes the decision for you, allowing you to learn about something new and useful every day.

Ensuring that you stay on top of your goals can be difficult if you try and take on all of your daily tasks by yourself. To get help with daily goals and tasks, the Virtual Receptionist services available at Gabbyville have you covered. Try out a free trial today!

  • General

Motivate Yourself by Mimicking These 10 Habits of Successful People

 

Being successful is all about motivation and dedication. Without the proper knowledge, it can be difficult to stay successful. Thankfully, we have put together this awesome list of ten habits successful people have used to stay ahead of the competition:

1. Read as Much as Possible

Reading is the fastest and most effective way to stay informed about things happening in both your industry, and the world. By keeping reading as a key part of your daily schedule, your education never stops.

2. Check Emails Just Twice Each Day

If you are constantly checking your emails, distractions will never cease. To stay on top of communication, and give other tasks the concentration they require, try to check emails just twice each day.

3. Wake Up Earlier

A set sleep schedule is a key to success. If you want to start getting more done, waking up even a half hour earlier can make all the difference in unlocking more time for you to be productive.

4. Keep Healthy

Maintaining a healthy diet and proper exercise regimen will keep your mind, body, and soul awake. By staying healthy, you will tackle your daily tasks with extreme efficiency.

5. Take Proper Breaks

Burning yourself out will destroy your productivity. If you want to stay concentrated when it counts, you need to give yourself proper mental and physical breaks every few hours.

6. Give Back

Keeping the fruits of your success to yourself will hurt your reputation, and rob you of the experience of feeling the joy of helping people. Whether you are taking on a mentee, or donating to great causes in your community, giving back will boost your life.

7. Stay Well-Groomed

Many people will judge you on how well-groomed you are, so it is important you stay well-groomed and dressed when connecting with people in both the community, and your industry.

8. Positivity is Key

The path to success is not easy. To stay successful, you need to learn to keep an air of positivity about your actions.

9. Network Constantly

Never assume you know enough people. Networking constantly unlocks new opportunities, both for yourself, and others.

10. Hire an Assistant

Keeping organized is essential to being successful. However, the many small tasks it takes to do so can take up a full day at times. To stay successful, hiring an assistant can make a world of difference.

To save money in hiring an assistant that will be dedicated to your success around the clock, Gabbyville provides excellent Virtual Receptionist services. Every receptionist has a wonderful personality, and the ability to keep you on track every day. To unlock your potential, consider hiring a Gabbyville Virtual Receptionist today! Free trials are available!

  • Business Tips

Increase Your Productivity by Hiring a Virtual Receptionist

Your productivity level is a major key to the level of your success in business. Productivity goes hand in hand with meeting deadlines and satisfying higher-ups, underlings, and customers. However, maintaining a high level of productivity is often more difficult than it seems. Too often, we try to juggle too many bowling pins only to see them go crashing to the floor. One way to boost your productivity is by hiring a virtual receptionist. A virtual receptionist can perform many of the necessary tasks to help keep your business continually productive.

Lead Generation

One way a virtual receptionist can help you maintain a high level of productivity is by generating leads. Any small business owner knows that good leads are essential to sustaining the company, especially one that is Internet-based.  A strong virtual receptionist knows the ins-and-outs of generating good leads for any business and can spend the time and effort that is necessary to do so. Generating good leads is a skill that requires dedicated time that most business owners do not have to give, so hiring a virtual receptionist can easily and quickly bring in new customers that can help sustain the business.

Maintaining an online presence

We live in a world that is driven by the Internet. Any small business owner who wants to survive needs to have on online presence. Businesses used to be able to get by with a simple website, but that is no longer the case. Now, the website needs to have a regularly-updated blog as well as fresh content. A business also needs to be accessible through social media. So, a Facebook page, Twitter account, and Instagram account are all essential. But, managing all of these tools is time-consuming. It is impossible for a business owner to maintain and update a website and multiple social media sites. But, a virtual receptionist can step in and handle all of the day-to-day responsibilities of monitoring the website, writing blog posts, and maintaining a social media presence, allowing you to concentrate on the other parts of your business.

Administrative tasks

You never realize how much time and effort it takes to complete daily administrative tasks until you have to do them yourself. A small business can easily stagnate if administrative duties are not taken care of. However, when you are completing those tasks, the work you need to complete to propel your business suffers. Hiring a virtual receptionist can solve your problems. A virtual receptionist can take control of the daily administrative tasks, leaving you time to focus on the bigger picture.

If you are looking for ways to be more productive in your business, consider hiring a virtual receptionist. The extra set of hands can help you maintain your productivity without having to take the time to hire additional staff, train them, and hope they are a good fit. Contact gabbyville.com today to see how hiring a virtual receptionist can help increase the productivity of your business.

  • General

10 Things You Can Do Today to Become a More Confident Person

It is the confidence we see in others that makes us admire them. Confidence is something most people want but are not inherently equipped with. Luckily, there are ways to build your confidence and help you take on the world. Here we will discuss ten things you can do to increase your belief in yourself and promote the fearlessness that allows you to tackle any business venture.

1. Take advantage of the things you do well.

Leading with your strengths is a great way to remind yourself that you are capable of achieving something excellent. When you have this reminder, you are likely to feel more self-assured and positive.

2. Start conversations with strangers.

Trying this exercise whenever you leave the house will help you get rid of the fear of not being good enough. It will help you realize that making the effort is not that hard. And, the more you do it, the better you will be at it.

3. Start your day with a to-do list.

Making this list before you start your day will help you focus on your goals, and crossing off each task after completion will make you feel great.

4. Try something new.

Trying something different allows you to explore a new territory, and conquering it can help boost your confidence.

5. Improve your posture.

Body language is important. Some improvements you may want to work on includes adding pep to your step, standing straight and tall, and not folding your arms.

6. Try activities alone.

Doing things by yourself can truly help you get to know yourself, and that assurance will help boost your confidence.

7. Try activities with others.

Activities with others can help you get yourself out there – interacting with others and showcasing your skills.

8. Don’t always make plans.

Spontaneity shows confidence because it means you are not too worried about the outcome of something new and unplanned.

9. Challenge Yourself.

Step outside of your comfort zone to do something difficult. Once you get to the other side, you will have an unmistakable increase in confidence.

10. Expect to be successful.

If you expect success, you are likely to succeed – just as you are likely to fail if you expect failure.

Confidence is a tool that is necessary for overall success, and it can make all the difference in how your run your business. Hiring a virtual receptionist from Gabbyville can help build your confidence in your company, knowing that you have employees who treat your business like it is their own.

  • Business Tips

Become Emotionally Intelligent by Avoiding These 7 Bad Habits

If you can pinpoint the exact emotion you’re feeling, or if you can easily read the emotions of others, you may be emotionally intelligent. People who have a high level of emotional intelligence (EI) can manage their emotions in a productive and healthy way. Here are seven bad habits to avoid when trying to become more emotionally intelligent.

1. Ignoring Your Emotional Reactions

Many of us are so busy with meetings, deadlines, and other demands that we sometimes brush off the emotions we feel about particular events or situations. Our emotions can give us valuable insight into the situation at hand. Hiring a virtual receptionist can give you the extra time you might need to listen to and trust your emotions.

2. Blaming Others for Your Feelings and Behavior

Fortunately, none of us are on puppet strings being controlled by the people around us. However, when someone says or does something that hurts us, we feel like they caused us to feel a certain way or react a certain way. Once you take responsibility for your feelings and actions, your life will be positively impacted.

3. Refusing to Empathize with Others

Your EI will improve greatly when you take the time to understand why someone feels a certain way and communicate that to them.

4. Judging Others and Yourself Critically

Judging others just makes you feel superior to them and does nothing for your EI. Restraining from making negative comments can boost your EI.

5. Panicking Under Pressure

Rather than blowing up or freaking out, take a minute to calm yourself and work to find a solution to the problem at hand. Help avoid the pressure that may cause panicking in the first place by hiring a virtual receptionist to take some of your daily responsibilities off of your hands.

6. Allowing Negative Emotions

An important part of increasing your EI is changing your perspective on situations that may typically give you negative emotions. Don’t personalize other people’s behaviors. This will help you avoid misunderstandings.

7. Ignoring Your Body

Our minds and bodies are connected, and our emotional responses often manifest themselves physically, too. You can improve your EI by paying attention to how certain emotions make you feel physically. For example, stress can give you a knot in your stomach or shoulder pain.

By adjusting these seven bad habits, you will be well on your way to improving your emotional intelligence. Hire a virtual receptionist from gabbyville.com to give you the extra time during the day you need to focus on how you are feeling.

 

  • Business Tips

Highly Successful People Have These 6 Common Denominators

You see them all the time: people who seem to have it all, who are able to somehow make their businesses take off, win coveted awards, or achieve national acclaim. You watch them make headlines and wonder how you could ever achieve “success” on the level that they have.

What few people realize, however, is that those seen as “successful” actually aren’t so different from the rest of us; they aren’t supernatural beings, but just regular people who happen to be really good at what they do. The way they achieve success is by utilizing a few common qualities that few people ever fully harness. As a result, highly successful people have these six common denominators:

1. Passion

The number one difference between a person who succeeds and one who doesn’t is the passion and effort that they put into their work – because chances are that if you don’t care about what you’re doing, you’re not going to get very far with it. Successful people are highly passionate about their work, and this allows them to work harder without ever burning out, because they care about the outcome of their efforts.

2. Focus

Energy is great in the search for success, but it does nothing if your energies are scattered. Instead, it is important to have goals and focus on achieving them. You can start dozens of projects, but move on to the next one before you really have time to fully develop each one, or you can focus all of your efforts on helping one project succeed and reap the benefits.

3. Risk-Taking

You’ve heard it many times before: “If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.” Highly successful people take this to heart – recognizing that you can’t really achieve without putting yourself out there and getting out of your comfort zone. This comes with taking risks, and sometimes losing. However, determination will see you through to the idea that finally takes off.

4. Innovation

Success doesn’t come from resting on your laurels; you have to constantly be searching for the next big idea, the newer model, and the next innovation that will catapult your work to the next level. Success means never truly being satisfied. More can always be done and achieved.

5. Hard Work

It may seem like a no-brainer, but success requires hard work. Most of the highly successful people you know haven’t gotten there without a significant amount of time, effort, and sometimes monetary backing.

6. Help

Even though the road to success may be a solitary journey, few people could realistically balance all of the tasks needed to achieve their goals. A virtual receptionist, such as those offered by gabbyville.com, helps you manage your to-do list and keep track of important appointments so that you can focus on the bigger picture.

  • Receptionist Tips

Five Habits of the Super Successful

Sometimes, it’s the small things which define successful people more than the big things.  Sylvia Plath woke up at 4 a.m. every morning. Stephen King writes a solid ten pages a day, every day. In every industry, small habits can lead to big successes, and the unique things that successful people do can help us understand what makes the ultra-ambitious and powerful reach their high pinnacle.  Here are five things super successful people do to stand out every day.

1.  Meditate

You don’t need Buddhist garb or an existential guru to meditate.  Though the term has been co-opted by the new age movement, meditation is really just about slowing down enough to recognize the small things and spend some time alone processing.  Successful people might meditate over their morning coffee, in the dead time between meetings, or at their own genuine Ashram, but many of the super successful swear by the power of quiet alone time.

2.  Read

If you spend all of your leisure time watching T.V., chances are you aren’t learning and growing as much as you could be.  Successful people make time to read almost every day, which can be a powerful habit to help you keep up with news and stay inspired by the great creative works of others.

3.  Take Detailed Notes

You never know when inspiration may strike, and when you may have the one idea that helps you tackle old problems with new solutions.  What helps define the super successful is that they are better at keeping track of these brief moments of genius, which can be organized into long-term results if you take detailed notes.

4.  Take Every Phone Call

No, the super successful and wealthy elite of the world don’t actually answer their phone every time it rings.  But, at some point in their career, they probably did.  “Taking every phone call” is a metaphor for seizing every opportunity, but actually answering the networking calls of others is helpful, too.

5.  Have a Medium Term Plan

People are usually best at making short term plans or long term dreams, but the super successful way to approach the medium term is with analytical planning as well.  Doing so can help you take control of the small things, which again leads to big successes.

Get in touch with us today to learn about how hiring a virtual personal receptionist can help you adopt these five small habits of the super successful in your daily life.

  • General

3 Cognitive Biases That Affect the Way You Think

As human beings, we often get caught up in certain biases that prevent us from doing our best and reaching our full potential. These cognitive biases affect the way we think, especially in business, and they cause us to view things from a narrow perspective. Here we will discuss some of those biases and how hiring a virtual assistant for your business can help you avoid making these mistakes.

Yes Men

We love people who agree with us, and we love to agree with them because they agree with us. We would much rather stick with people who seem to share our views rather than ones who challenge them. Unfortunately, because of this bias, we often ignore people who do not share our opinions on certain subjects or anyone who makes us feel like our interests might need another look. In other words, we like yes men.

However, yes men are not always good for business, and while they may feel the need to please, that need may supersede the responsibility to be honest. A virtual assistant will have no such problem. The advantage of having a virtual assistant is that no personal relationship is ever formed, so there is no need for one to soothe the other’s ego. A virtual assistant is much more likely to be honest about the direction of your company and what you need to do to help it grow.

Fear of Change

The, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” mentality is another one that often gets us into trouble. We are so fearful of change that we do whatever we can to keep things as close to what we are used to as possible. Instead of being excited about the possibilities that lie ahead, we get scared into thinking that change is a bad thing. In business, change is very necessary. Hiring a virtual assistant means hiring someone who is not afraid of change. Because virtual assistants have no emotional attachments, they are often able to come up with business solutions that are new and fresh ideas from the ones already being used.

Living in the Moment

This bias is especially detrimental to business owners. The inability to see past the current moment means the possibility of not drawing up a plan for the future. It means not setting goals. A virtual assistant can combat this bias with fresh ideas that set a clear path to the future. For example, if you are focused on making the most money for your business this year, it may not help you get ahead. A virtual assistant has the vision to help you see past the very immediate future and to help your business grow over the next five years.

Hiring a virtual assistant from gabbyville.com means more than just someone working for you from home. It means that you have a trusted employee who will do everything in their power to help you build on the success of your company.