Your management report is due––now. A customer wants a spontaneous meeting––today––to discuss a recurring issue. Your boss assailed you in the hallway to remind you that the expense report from your trip overseas is overdue.

And those 15 minutes a day you committed to spending on social media is adding up fast.

How do you focus on anything in a manic world where everyone expects results and responses right now? Do you often feel as though the file cabinet in your brain’s got all the drawers open at once?

You’re not alone. In today’s rapid-paced, complex world, the distractions are plenty. Add to that a business climate in which everyone’s tasked with doing more work with less time. If you feel chronically overwhelmed, it’s time to practice just a few simple steps to achieving razor-sharp focus. Try these for starters:

Five Steps to Zeroing In on the Task at Hand

• Turn off the notification for e-mail
  That little “bing” creates an insidious Pavlovian response. E-mail sucks up time like a Hoover, so start small by checking it once on the hour. Then later, graduate to checking it just four times a day. And bam! you’re a rebel!
• Tackle the toughest task first
  Ever heard of the “swallow the frog” theory? When you arrive at your desk, dive into the task you detest the most—the one that keeps you up at night. Don’t take any calls unless necessary, and promise yourself you won’t do anything else until it’s finished. The rest of your day should seem much easier by comparison, and you’ve won a battle against procrastination––the archenemy of focus!
• Work backward
  When everything seems urgent, start with the jobs attached to a hard-and-fast deadline. Then work on each task in order of priority. Sometimes you have to remind yourself that a complaining customer can be staved off with a little empathy: “I’m sorry the elevator’s broken, sir. I realize that causes issues. I’m sending a mechanic over––and I’ll call you back in a few hours to check on the status.” You can fend off a lot of emergencies just by listening.
• Write it down
  It sounds simple, but part of focusing is removing the scattered forces from your thoughts and recording them elsewhere. Make lists on your smartphone or notepad––and clear the gray matter for critical thinking.
• Work by the “egg-timer.”
  Figure out how many tasks you need to accomplish, and assign them a time limit. Set the timer or your smartphone alarm, and get started. Don’t allow yourself to do anything else until the timer rings. You’ll create a new habit in no time!

Try any combination of these steps––and when you’ve enjoyed success, be sure to treat yourself to a Facebook break! (For 10 minutes. The clock’s ticking!)

Matthew Toren is an Award Winning Author, Serial Entrepreneur, and Investor. He Co-Founded YoungEntrepreneur.com along with his brother Adam. Matthew is co-author of the newly released book: Small Business, Big Vision: “Lessons on How to Dominate Your Market from Self-Made Entrepreneurs Who Did it Right” and also co-author of Kidpreneurs.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @matthewtoren

The NextWomen Tech Theme.

Amy Sheng is Co-Founder of CellScope, a venture-backed mobile health startup creating a suite of optical attachments for smartphones to enable remote diagnoses.

Its first product is the CellScope Oto, a smartphone otoscope for capturing diagnostic quality ear images and videos to diagnose ear infections.

CellScope spun out of a bioengineering lab at UC Berkeley creating mobile microscopes for disease diagnosis in the developing world.

Amy previously led a team to develop an automated hematology analyzer with automated classification of white blood cells that was cleared by the FDA. She has an MS and BS in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from Berkeley-Haas. She can be followed on Twitter @amysheng.

Amy was named in Inc Magazine's 10 Women to Watch in Tech in 2013.

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Do you want to be able to modify every last detail, or would you prefer a platform that works right out of the box? Are you after a basic package that you can choose additional features for later on, or do you want to go all-in and pay a single cost up front? How many channels do you want to manage from the get-go – and do you want to add to these as you go along?

These questions are important, but they often overwhelm would-be ecommerce shoppers. You don’t need the added burden of looking into every intricate detail whilst trying to run a business – so Brightpearl have done the hard work for you! Follow their “Which Ecommerce Platform is Right for Me?” flowchart to take the stress out of ecommerce research.

Media coverage––online, print, and social––has the potential to launch your start-up or established business from obscurity to buzz-worthy. But without a glitzy PR firm on retainer (yet), how can you garner the attention of journalists?

First rule of thumb––journalists typically want to make some sort of difference. Their mission is to tell a unique story that spurs action, inspires, or achieves killer scoop status. So help them separate themselves from the pack. Do your homework, and glean a thorough understanding of the type of content featured across their publication––blog or site. Then offer a few of these things: breaking news, provocative content, or the chance to showcase a cutting-edge product, person, or idea. In other words, if content is king, give them a crown jewel. Here’s how:

Five Tips for Garnering (and Keeping) Media Attention

1. Choose a current, relevant, unique topic

Is your story relevant? You’re in a hurry to sell your product or idea, but with an endless supply of media outlets competing for eyeballs, your story’s got to have teeth. Ribbon cuttings? Maybe. New locations? Meh. But a product developed by a veteran amputee for other amputees? Now that’s an interesting backstory.

2. Nix the canned press releases

Journalists have to mine through scores of these to uncover the diamonds in the rough. Instead, scan industry journals, blogs, and websites and determine who’s covering the type of story you want to tell. Connect personally via phone, e-mail, or Twitter, and make your pitch worth their time. (They’re busy trudging through weak press releases, so make yours stand out.)

3. Build Strategic Relationships

Many journalists are people who enjoy interpersonal relationships, so make connections. Post a recent article they’ve written via social media and compliment their work. In other words, figure out what you can do for them first. (Try submitting a personal pitch to their editor and request a journalist by name. Yes––flattery gets you everywhere!)

4. Consider their audience in your pitch

What type of content gets robust responses, “Likes,” “Shares,” or “Follows”? Pay attention. Prepare your pitch ahead of time, and deliver it succinctly. For example: “I enjoyed your popular piece on how a small-town hospital beat their biggest competitors on achieving EHR Meaningful Use. Our company has a story we think your readers would love––it’s about refusing to give up after failing a dozen times first before we won a local robotics grant competition. Would you have a few minutes to talk over coffee?” Give them just enough to whet their appetite.

5. Offer sources, information, quotes, links, and samples

Many writers love building stories but loathe research. Make their jobs easier––send statistics and sources, links to relevant articles, samples of your product, and videos or photographs they can use to draft the story.

Once your story has printed, posted, or aired, send the writer a personal thank-you note via good old-fashioned snail mail. Most of them remember paper fondly––give them a reason to call you in the future!

Adam Toren is an Award Winning Author, Serial Entrepreneur, and Investor. He Co-Founded YoungEntrepreneur.com along with his brother Matthew. Adam is co-author of the newly released book: Small Business, Big Vision: “Lessons on How to Dominate Your Market from Self-Made Entrepreneurs Who Did it Right” and also co-author of Kidpreneurs.

Follow Adam on Twitter: @thebizguy

Rebekah Monk, Founder at Bathrooms.com, talks to Lexi Mills about how she grew what started as a side project to a £5m turnover business.

Bathrooms.com is a consumer website that sells bathroom products; built on the ethos that good design should also be affordable.  

The business began has a side project when Rebekah Monk had her first child, however it grew sharply to such a scale that her husband, Ian Monk, had to leave his full time position to help manage it. Since then, the business has grown to more than 50 employees in the UK and China and has a turnover in excess of  £5 million that is expected to more than double over the next 18 months.

Lexi spoke with Rebekah about the tactics she used to scale the business; what she thinks were the key success drivers for her company; and how she dealt with the challenges of raising funding and international expansion.

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Since starting my own company Green Crowding last year, I’ve absorbed a lot of information about entrepreneurship. I read business books in the evenings, listen to podcasts while running and watch youtube videos during lunch breaks. Stories of fellow entrepreneurs, their struggles, achievements and lessons interest me most. So I was excited to review the book ‘Dear Entrepreneur’, a collection of letters from entrepreneurs for The Next Women.

Let’s evaluate the book like a 3-minute startup pitch. First of all the idea, the execution and the presentation. Then, I’ll provide my overall rating on a scale from 1 to 5.

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As research indicates that the U.S. is an increasingly difficult place for foreign founders to come and build companies and founders tell horror stories of the massive challenges they faced dealing with byzantine U.S. immigration policies, Canada is burnishing its reputation as open for business — and open for new residents.

Canada’s new startup visa has received a huge amount of attention in the U.S. as the the global war for talent heats up. Senators such as Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) have tried to address the situation via legislation like the Startup Act 3.0, but that’s a slim hope after deaths of 1.0 and 2.0.

Source: Wikipedia

Jason Kenney, Canadian Minister of Citizenship, Immigration, and Multiculturalism.

The Startup Visa provides immediate permanent residency in Canada if a founder meets just three criteria. An applicant must:

1. Secure an investment from a designated Canadian VC or fund
2. Demonstrate English language proficiency
3. Have at least one year of postsecondary education

This weekend, Canadian member of parliament and Citizenship, Immigration, and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney is in Silicon Valley promoting his country’s Startup Visa.

We chatted with Kenney about the visa’s goals, his intentions, and the U.S. immigration system.

VentureBeat: What’s the ultimate goal of the Startup Visa?

Jason Kenney: We want a pathway for the world’s best and brightest to come to Canada and to harness that drive and innovation to be at the cutting edge of the modern economy.

VentureBeat: Why are you coming to Silicon Valley right now?

Kenney: The U.S. immigration system is dysfunctional, and it’s really difficult for talented immigrants to stay in the U.S. permanently. I’m coming to further raise the profile of the program and send the message that Canada’s open for business.

If you’re a young startup entrepreneur having trouble renewing your visa, come here! We offer immediate permanent residency.

VentureBeat: What’s the response been so far?

Kenney: There’s been a great amount of interest, but we only opened for applications on April 4, so it’s too early to tell. We will issue up to 2,500 per year, but I don’t anticipate it will be fully subscribed for the first year because it’s still new.

I know there’s a huge pent-up demand in the U.S., and I think the word is going to spread virally: If you want to stay permanently in NA, think of Canada.

VentureBeat: You’re offering permanent residency to anyone in who secures an investment. What about those who fail?

Kenney: Many countries, such as Australia, only offer temporary resident status. In Canada, we’re going to give you the “green card” right up front.

We know full well the rate of failure in startups is high, but if they come up here and don’t succeed, they have demonstrated they they have high human capital. And in the long run, their chances of succeeding and building a successful enterprise are high.

We want Canada to become a magnet for people like that.

VentureBeat: Why is Canada a good place to come build a startup?

Kenney: We have really strong tech sectors in Kitchener/Waterloo, Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and a few other places, an increasingly strong venture capital industry, and very well-run industry associations, angel associations.

Plus, we have the lowest business taxes in the developed world, and the strongest fiscal position in the developed world.

In terms of macro-economic terms, that’s important … Canada weathered the storm of the economic downturn better than any other country.

In addition, we have an immigration system that works, which means you have access to global talent … and human capital is even more important than financial capital.

VentureBeat: Any other message for Silicon Valley?

Kenney: While here we’ll be meeting with the CEOs of many major IT companies just to emphasize what a great place Canada is to invest in.

I think we’re really going to kick this into hyperdrive.

photo credit: PhOtOnQuAnTiQuE via photopin cc

This post is the result of my obsession with making everyday tasks fun. There’re hundreds of apps meant to rethink how you handle your chores, and a combination of ADD and compulsiveness means I have way too many installed on my phone. I picked the best of the best to share with you, dear reader, and I hope you end up downloading one or two of ‘em.

As a disclaimer, I’m an iPhone user. I tried to find either multi-platform apps or a suitable Android alternative for all of my suggestions.

Business Basics

1. Note-taking

Evernote – iOS/Android/Windows Phone/Blackberry – Free (Premium $45/year)

The best part about the smartphone is that I’ll never again be in need of a pen. My iPhone sits neatly in my pocket at all times, and Evernote is the bridge between my PC, brain, and business meetings. It’s easy to forget stuff and Evernote keeps me honest.

2. Cloud Storage

Dropbox – iOS/Android/Windows Phone/Blackberry – 2 Gigs of Free Storage (Paid plans available)

Smartphones really do make life easier for forgetful folks. All I have to do is drop my presentations into the Dropbox folder on my work PC and they’re automatically downloaded to my iPhone when I make my rounds. The 2 gigs of free storage has been more than enough for me, but their prices are reasonable if you’re looking for a heftier solution.

3. Networking

CardMunch – iOS (Android version coming soon) – Free

Business cards, no matter how tastefully bland, are easy to forget about. After discovering CardMunch, I’m glad to say that the to-contact slot in my wallet is now filled with Starbucks punch-cards instead. CardMunch automatically reads business cards and inputs the information into my smartphone. If you don’t have it, you already need it.

Time-Management

1. Taskmaster

OmniFocus – iOS – $79.99
ToodleDo – iOS/Android/Blackberry – Free ($14.95/yr Pro $29.95/yr Pro Plus)

Organization is a bit of a balancing act, but these apps transform your schedule into manageable chunks. The idea is as issues and obligations pop up during the day, you record them on your iPhone similar to how EverNote works. Both OmniFocus and ToodleDo really shine after you get home, though. The apps save all of your notes and then allow you to organize them based on priority, type, and due-date. They also use cloud computing to organize your tasks on all of your mobile devices.

2. Punctuality

LeaveNow – iOS – Free
Google Now – Android – Free

If you’ve ever uttered these famous last words, “Ten more minutes” then you need the help of these apps. After downloading either LeaveNow or Google Now, your cell phone will be the voice in the back of your head that finally has the power to say, “No. I’m leaving now.” Both LeaveNow and Google’s productivity app use GPS and real-time traffic reports to give you an accurate prediction of how long it’ll take to get to and from wherever it is you’re going.

3. Office Favorite

ToDoIst – iOS/Android – Free (Premium $29/year)

Productivity is a tough nut to crack. Rewarding yourself with a break after a couple of hours could turn into another Mad Men binge. ToDoIst combines many of the productivity functions seen in other apps but adds a scoring system that tracks and acknowledges your productivity. I’d really suggest going premium if you end up working with ToDoIst, as the app definitely opens up afterward.

Reminders

1. Ah-Ha Moment Tracker

Checkmark – iOS- $4.99
Spoty Location Reminder – Android – $1.49

Ever kicked yourself for walking past the market on your way home without buying the milk you desperately need? Meter maids costing you hundreds of dollars? Location based reminders are built for you. These apps are built around your routine. They let you save favorite locations, name them, and then structure a system of notifications around your daily activities. Checkmark has kept my fridge stocked and my windshield free of red papers. For that I am grateful.

2. Catch-All

Remember the Milk – Android/iOS/Blackberry – Free (Pro Upgrade $25/yr)

This is the reminder app that started it all. Remember the Milk is, by far, the most popular to-do list across all platforms. It has a bunch of extensions and add-ons to better suit your needs. If you’re looking for a no-frills list of stuff you need to get done then look no further.

3. Cyberparenting

Carrot – iOS – $.99

Remember Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey? The folks behind Carrot brought him to your cell phone. You add a list of tasks and check them off as you complete them. The catch, however, is that failing to complete certain tasks in the allotted timeframe means that Carrot will be angry with you. This app does not take, “I’m afraid I can’t do that” for an answer. Making Carrot happy, however, means you’ll be rewarded with funny animations and also animated cats.

Lifestyle

1. Sleep

Sleep Cycle – iOS – $.99
Sleep as Android – Android – $2.89

We’ve all heard about the five stages of sleep, but we haven’t been able to do anything about it until smartphones hit the scene. Sleep apps use the motion sensors in your phone to gauge which stage of sleep you’re currently experiencing and wake you up at the best possible moment. It’s basically the antidote for waking up on the wrong side of the bed.

2. Task Timer

30/30 – iOS – Free (optional in-app purchases)
Activity Timer – Android – $1.99

The 30/30 system basically sets a time limit on your daily tasks. Its iOS iteration lets you plan out your day in 30 minute increments. After you finish your allotted 30 minutes for coffee and breakfast, you might plan a 30 minute brainstorm for your next project. Afterward, the app will let you relax for 30 minutes. The system is intended to reward you for spending time productively, which results in more effective work and well-earned play.

3. Running for Your Life

Zombies, Run! – iOS/Android – $3.99

I’d certainly be a lot more inclined to work on my cardio if I had to run away from a bunch of monsters hell-bent on eating my brain. Zombies, Run! is an app that ingeniously combines the storytelling of zombie movies with fitness. You throw in your ear-buds, get outside, and the game uses GPS tracking to see how fast you’re running and throws zombies at you accordingly. After you’ve finished running for your life, you get to build up your base and organize your survivors. Also, the story is surprisingly original.

Good Habits

1. Journaling

Day One – iOS – $4.99
Diaro – Android – Free ($3.99 for Pro Version)

In lieu of keeping a moleskine notebook next to my complete collection of beat poetry, I’ve discovered some cool apps for recording my thoughts. It’s an easy habit to keep because I just type out a couple of lines (or weepy poems) into my phone after I set my nightly alarm.

2. Consistency

Streaks – iOS – $1.99
Habit Streak – Android – Free (Pro version $2.99)

Habits take time. The letters around my snooze button are beyond smudged and breaking my snooze habit took the help of Streaks. Streaks provides a visual representation of how often you do something you’re trying to do daily. Simply check off the in-app calendar if you get something done. After three months of this, I was able to start getting out of bed and work on some other lifestyle improvements as well. Check it out.

3. Number Crunching

Mint – Android/iOS – Free

Getting involved with your finances has never been easier. Mint, a free software suite, allows you to track your spending, debt, and set specific goals for that trip to Burning Man you’ve always wanted to take.

Found a new way to organize your life? Already have your organization solution? Let us know. Don’t forget to gives tell us your app recommendations for our next round-up. What do you think the iOS and Android markets are missing? We’d love to hear from you.
 

Matthew Toren is an Award Winning Author, Serial Entrepreneur, and Investor. He Co-Founded YoungEntrepreneur.com along with his brother Adam. Matthew is co-author of the newly released book: Small Business, Big Vision: “Lessons on How to Dominate Your Market from Self-Made Entrepreneurs Who Did it Right” and also co-author of Kidpreneurs.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @matthewtoren

I grew up in a family of three girl siblings, no brothers, and that’s exactly the way my Asian parents wanted it.

Defying millennia of beliefs and thought processes, my parents were and are a fascinating balance of modern progressives and traditionalists. They strongly believe in the nuclear family, providing a profound sense of love, commitment and closeness that in today’s generation may seem foreign or stifling. To me, my parents are the greatest blessing in my life. They gave openly of their love and constantly reinforced that we girls could and should achieve greatness and to never be intimidated by men.

Without my father’s encouragement to shadow his every step at his office during my pre-teen years, I may never have brought to fruition the innate entrepreneur in me.

The very idea that I could create something of value, that I could be my own boss, that I could build a huge company-these were instilled early on.

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