Issue #2287
- WEALTHY: Are you making this tax refund mistake? (Jason Holland)
- HEALTHY: Eat to burn calories (Craig Ballantyne)
- WISE: Paul J. Meyer on productivity
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- How to quadruple your productivity… as soon as tomorrow! (Michael Masterson)
- A simple trick for getting people to read your headlines (Suzanne Richardson)
- It’s Good to Know… about the photic sneeze reflex
- Add "avidity" to your vocabulary
What’s Wrong With this Picture?
By now, you could be forgiven for thinking making money online is akin to some kind of black magic! You’ve probably heard the talk about SEO, XML, PPC and ended up more confused than when you started.
But you know, it’s really very simple. Make no mistake, what I’m about to share with you (for FREE) is THE secret. It only fills a couple of lines but this is the truth you’ve been denied by so many of the so-called “gurus”.
Ready? Here it is (drum roll please)…
Borrowing Your Own Money
By Jason Holland
Walk in with your W-2 and walk out minutes later with your tax refund. This service is available from many tax preparation companies. It may sound too good to be true. That’s because it is.
That speedy refund is costing you big time. You see, it’s not really your tax refund. You are actually borrowing your own money and paying interest on it. It’s called the refund anticipation loan (RAL).
RALs are trotted out every year by tax preparers like H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt. These companies front you the money you expect to get back from the IRS. Then you don’t have to suffer through the one- or two-week wait if you file online directly with the IRS.
In exchange for your rapid refund, you pay significant up-front interest charges. Those charges can eat away as much 10 percent of your total refund, according to a Georgetown University study. On top of that, you pay fees for the privilege of having a temp fill out your tax return and file it with the IRS. If you choose to have your loan deposited directly in your back account, that’s another fee. Put the loan on a debit card? Another fee, plus usage fees.
RALs are perfect for the impatient and the broke. Low-income earners make up the biggest part of this market. And it’s no surprise that college students are targeted heavily in ads for this "service." People turn to tax prep companies when they don’t understand IRS forms. They often don’t realize they are signing up for a loan, let alone that they are paying huge fees.
If you have a complicated financial situation, you should probably contact a CPA. Otherwise, there are plenty of helpful free resources available in your community and online. Then you can file your own return, at no charge, with the IRS at IRS.gov, with either eFile or Free File. You’ll have your refund in your bank account in as little as a week.
Two tax prep resources to look into are:
- Volunteer Income Tax Assistance: Call 1-800-TAX-1040 or go to tax-coalition.org to find trained volunteers in your area.
- AARP’s Tax-Aide program for seniors: Go to aarp.org/money/taxaide/.
"Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort."
Paul J. Meyer
Using Daily Task Lists to Accomplish Your Goals
I didn’t always plan my days. For most of my career, in fact, I didn’t.
I had written goals. And I referred to them regularly. My goals kept me pointed in the right direction, but I was always moving back and forth. Often for no good reason.
Driving to work in the morning, I would think about my goals. That helped motivate me and often gave me specific ideas about what tasks I should accomplish that day. I’d walk into work meaning to complete those tasks… but by the end of the day, many of them were not done.
What happened? The same thing that may be happening to you right now. You sit down at your desk, and there is a pile of new mail in your inbox. You pick up the phone, and 15 messages are waiting for you. You open your computer, and find that you’ve received 50 new e-mails since you last checked. You tell yourself that you will get to your important tasks later. Right now, you have to "clean up" all these little emergencies.
Before you know it, the day is over and you haven’t taken a single step toward achieving your important goals. You make an effort to do something, but you are tired. Tomorrow, you tell yourself, you will do better.
Does that sound familiar?
If so, don’t feel bad. You are in good company. Most people deal with their work that way. Even people who set goals and achieve them. Over the long term, they get everything done. But on a day-to-day basis, they are constantly frustrated.
You can be successful without planning your days… but you will have to work a lot longer and harder. The reason? When you don’t plan your days, you end up working for other people – not just for yourself. You feel that before you get to your own work, you should first deal with their requests.
Starting your day by clearing out your inbox, voicemail inbox, and e-mail inbox is just plain dumb. Most of what is waiting for you every morning has nothing to do with your goals and aspirations. It is work that other people want you to do for them.
If you want to be the captain of your soul and the master of your future, you have to be in charge of your time. And the best way to be in charge of your time is to structure your day around a task list that you, and only you, create.
As I said, simply writing down my goals helped me accomplish a good deal. But my productivity quadrupled when I started managing my schedule with a daily task list. If you use the system I’m going to recommend, I’ll bet you see the same improvement.
I have used many standard organizing systems over the years, but was never entirely satisfied with any of them. The system I use now is my own – based on the best of what I found elsewhere.
At the beginning of the year, I lay out my goals for the next 12 months. I ask myself "What do I need to achieve in January, February, etc. to keep myself on track?" Then, at the beginning of each month, I lay out my weekly objectives. Finally, every day, I create a very specific daily task list.
Here’s how I do it…
My Personal Daily Task List
I begin each day the day before.
What I mean by that is that I create my daily task list at the end of the prior day. I create Tuesday’s task list at the end of Monday’s workday. I create Wednesday’s at the end of Tuesday’s workday.
I begin by reviewing the current day’s list. I note which tasks I’ve done and which I have failed to do. My new list – the next day’s task list – begins with those uncompleted tasks. I then look at my weekly objectives to see if there are any other tasks that I want to add. Then I look through my inbox and decide what to do with what’s there. I may schedule some of those items for the following day. Most of them, I schedule for later or trash or redirect to someone else.
I do all this in pen on a 6" x 9" pad of lined paper. I divide the paper vertically to create columns for the tasks, for the time I estimate it will take to do each one, and for the actual time it takes me to complete it. I also create a column for tasks I will delegate to my assistant.
On most days, I end up with about 20 15-minute to one-hour tasks.
I like doing this by hand, in pen and ink. You may prefer to do it on your computer. The point is to enjoy the process.
Because longer tasks tend to be fatiguing, I seldom schedule anything that will take more than an hour. If you have a task that will take several hours, break it up into pieces and do it over a few days. It will be easier to accomplish. Plus, you will probably do a better job because you’ll be doing it with more energy and with time to review and revise your work as you go.
A typical day for me includes two or three one-hour tasks, three or four half-hour tasks, and a dozen or so 15-minute tasks. The kind of work you do may be different, but I like that balance. It gives me flexibility. I can match my energy level throughout the day to my task list.
Ideally, you should get all of your important tasks and most of your less important tasks done almost every day. You want to accomplish a lot so you can achieve your long-term goals as quickly as possible. But you also want to feel good about yourself at the end of the day.
You may find, as I did, that when you begin using this system you will be overzealous – scheduling more tasks than you can possibly handle. So set realistic time estimates when you write down your tasks. And double-check them at the end of the day by filling in the actual time you spent on each one.
When you complete a task, scratch it off your list. One task done! On to the next one! I’ve been doing this for years, and I still get a little burst of pleasure every time.
Creating each daily task list should take you less than 15 minutes. The secret is to work from your weekly objectives – which are based on your monthly and yearly goals.
This system may not work for you, but I urge you to give it a try. I think you’ll like it.
Before your colleagues, competitors, and coworkers are even sipping their first cup of coffee, you’ll have figured out everything you need to do that day to make you healthier, wealthier, and wiser. You will know what to do, you will know what your priorities are, and you will already be thinking about some of them. You will not have to worry about forgetting something important. And you will have a strong sense of energy and excitement, confident that your day is going to be a productive one.
[Ed. Note: Achieve all your personal, social, financial, and business goals with the help of ETR's Total Success Achievement Program . Learn more by clicking here.]
Are You Ready for a Thrilling, Positive Change In Your Life?
This may be the life-changing opportunity you’ve been waiting for. If you continue doing everything the same way, you’re going to get the same results. You must make a change TODAY to see a change in 2008.
I’d like to show you how to dramatically increase the chances of making all your dreams – whatever they may be – come true in 2008.
- Charlie Byrne
Reader Feedback: "What a blessing to receive advice from so many talented, successful people."
"I am a nurse scheduled to work 13 hours today, but was cancelled at 0500 because of low hospital census. I have taken the opportunity to spend the time today that I did not originally have to write down my goals for the year, catch up on some ETR reading, and ’sweep out the old.’ I just finished the ‘ 11 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential‘ article. What a blessing to receive advice from so many talented, successful people. I have taken notes, and, by the way, am presently reading Michael’s Seven Years to Seven Figures. I am determined to have a more successful 2008."
- C. Turner
St. Petersburg, FL
[Ed. Note: Want to get your name and opinions published in ETR? Let us know how reading ETR has helped you - maybe even changed your life. Send your comments to ReaderFeedback@gmail.com. Include your name and hometown... and we may print your e-mail in a future issue.]
Copywriters Get a Pass When It Comes to "Misusing" Quote Marks
By Suzanne Richardson
I’ve noticed a trend among copywriters that drives me up a wall. Many of them put superfluous quote marks around their headlines. Since quote marks – like all punctuation – have a specific purpose, I find their use for no apparent purpose maddening.
So when expert copywriter John Forde, of The Copywriter’s Roundtable, mentioned quotation marks during his October Bootcamp presentation, I demanded an explanation.
"Quote marks have the strange ability to call attention to words," John told me, a little taken aback by my anti-quote vehemence. "Even if they’re otherwise useless, they get people to pay attention to what you’re saying. They give your words added importance. And when you’re trying to get people to read your headline, a little extra emphasis certainly helps."
Then, while looking through Ogilvy on Advertising, I noticed that David Ogilvy said that quote marks in headlines increase reader recall by an average of 28 percent.
So I have grudgingly stopped being annoyed by this. Putting quote marks in your headlines could get them a little extra attention. And that extra attention means that more people will read the first sentence of your ad. And the more people who do that, the more potential buyers you have.
Who knew a couple of unnecessary punctuation marks could mean money in your pocket?
Calorie-Burning Foods
How would you like to get the benefits of one cardio session per week, without having to do any work? Sounds great, doesn’t it? Well, all you have to do is eat more protein.
That’s right, eat to burn calories.
Greek researchers gave 30 women a meal rich in either protein or fat in tests spaced one week apart. And they found that diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT – calorie-burning caused by the digestive process) was three times greater after the protein meal than after the fat meal. The scientists concluded that, over the long term, a low DIT associated with eating fat may contribute to the development and maintenance of obesity.
To benefit from this information, base your meals on lean protein sources and fruits and vegetables. Substitute broiled chicken breasts for fried chicken, grass-fed beef for ordinary hamburger, and poached fish filets for breaded shrimp.
[Ed. Note: Fitness expert Craig Ballantyne is the creator of the Turbulence Training for Fat Loss system. For a free online source of information, motivation, and social support to help you improve your health, lose weight, and get fit, sign up for ETR's free natural health e-letter.]
It’s Good to Know: The Photic Sneeze Reflex
About a third of the population sneeze when suddenly exposed to bright light. It’s called the photic sneeze reflex. And researchers at the University of California believe finding out what causes it could lead to cures for epilepsy and migraine headaches. Epileptic seizures can be brought on by flashing lights, and migraine sufferers are often sensitive to light. This has led the scientists to believe that all three could be genetically linked. Find the light-sneezing gene, and you’ll find the root cause of the more serious disorders, they say.
(Source: Scientific American )
How to Get the Heart of 370 Business Magazines in Just 30 Minutes a Month
Did that headline catch your eye?
How about this one:
"32 Ways to Save Time and Money From the Pages of Good Housekeeping."
Gene Schwartz knew the power of a compelling headline. He wrote those two – and went on to generate over $2 billion in advertising sales during his career.
Now you can find out, step-by-step, how to accomplish breakthrough marketing results no matter what you are selling, with our "accelerated marketing" program.
If you are involved in any form of sales, the benefits you’ll receive could be worth hundreds of thousands to you in future earnings. Click to continue…
- Patrick Coffey
Word to the Wise: Avidity
"Avidity" (uh-VID-ih-tee) is greediness.
Example (as used by Francine Prose in a New York Times review of A Person of Interest by Susan Choi): "All we need to hear about his disastrous second marriage is what he is left with after it’s over: astonishment at the avidity with which his wife took everything that could be taken in a divorce."
[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker ... build your self-confidence and intellect ... increase your attractiveness to others ... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's new Words to the Wise CD Library.]
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2008
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