Get a Grip on Your Time and Money (Podcast Bonuses)

Welcome friends and listeners of my time and money episodes on The Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur Podcast!

Brian is a good friend . . .

Time and Money - Podcast bonuses - Nat Harward and Brian Lofrumento

. . .  but enough of that.

Here are the FREE spreadsheets and tools I talked about.

Make copies and use them to help you create and adopt systems for getting a grip on your time and money.

▶ Ep 171: Time

▶ Ep 173: Money

JUMP TO:


[1] Tracking time

Use the Time Tracker for 3-6 months to establish your baseline for how much work you get done in a month.

After clicking the link to access (below) . . .

Log into Google Docs

Go to File >> Make a copy… (if you try to make a copy when not logged in, it won’t work)

Add your name to the file name

Choose the folder in your Google Drive for where to keep it

Check “Copy comments”

Press “OK”

==> Click Here to access the Time Tracker

Or find a time-tracking app that works for you.

I use Hours TogglTrack.


[2] Forecasting time

After using Time Tracker for 3-6 months to establish your baseline for how much work you get done in a month, have a go at the Time Forecaster.

Same as above, open the file and make yourself a copy

Go to File >> Make a copy…

Add your name to the file name

Choose the folder in your Google Drive for where to keep it

Check “Copy comments”

Press “OK”

Once you have your copy set up, click the down arrow on the “MONTHLY TEMPLATE” tab at the bottom, and select “Duplicate”

Then click the down arrow on the duplicate tab, and click “Rename…”

Change the name to something like “MAR 2018” or “APR18” or “18.05” … and then repeat the process until you have at least 6 months’ of tabs to work with.

==> Click Here to access the Time Forecaster

If you find a slick time forecasting app, tell me about it!

Just leave a comment below and include the name and/or a link.


[3] Tracking revenue

You want to know which people (clients) or items (products) are making you the most money! And … on what kind of schedule. Do this with the Revenue Tracker.

Same process as above to copy and make your own!

The Revenue Tracker complements the Money Tripper (below) with a little more detail on where exactly money is coming from. The Money Tripper is simply for tracking money once it lands. The Revenue Tracker will allow for better sorting and insights on revenue.

SIDEBAR: Yes. Eventually you want to upgrade from measuring just revenue to measuring profitability and margins so you can do the things that make you the most money, even after expenses. If you’re a service provider, straight revenue is a good start and then take that number and divide by hours tracked against it in your Time Tracker to see your real hourly rate by project/client/type of project.

==> Click Here to access the Revenue Tracker

Invoicing systems for getting paid faster (and easier) … hello Bonsai!

I’ve gotten checks in the mail (slow, paper isn’t super secure).

I’ve been paid by PayPal (30 cents + 2.9%).

I’ve been paid by credit card (30 cents + 2.9% or more).

And now my preference is bank transfers/ACH (just $5!).

I use Bonsai, a super awesome platform with several tools for freelancers:

  • proposals
  • contracts
  • invoicing
  • expense tracking
  • and more

Time and Money - get paid faster with Bonsai!

40,000 freelancers around the world use it. I recommend you check it out. Use this link to sign up and get a FREE month.

If your business is product-based or high-frequency in transactions, then you need an e-commerce solution. But if you’re billing monthly, bi-weekly or taking deposits and final project fees for high-ticket items and professional services, this is a great option.


[4] Managing cashflow

Use the Money Tripper to manage cashflow and stop spending money you don’t have or wondering whether you “really can” afford something.

Follow the same instructions above to make a copy for yourself of my Money TripperAfter.

Be sure to check “Copy comments” so you keep the instructions on how to use the sheet!

==> Click Here to access the Money Tripper

A more advanced tool is YNAB (You Need a Budget).

YNAB is designed primarily for personal budgeting, but you can have one budget for business and another for yourself. Just link your business accounts with your Business Budget and your personal accounts with your Personal Budget.

YNAB is built on the same principles the Money Tripper is built on:

  • spend only dollars you actually have and
  • every time you get a dollar, give it a job. Which, naturally is followed by
  • spend dollars only on the job you assigned them to.

Get a free month when you sign up for YNAB with my link.

PS If you haven’t done so already, open separate bank account(s) for your business.

It makes bookkeeping, taxes, and all that so much easier. You just don’t want to waste time muddling through personal expenses to find those that count as business expenses. I use Small Business Bank — no fees, no minimum balance requirements, they have an app for mobile check deposit and of course you get a debit card with your business checking account. To get started, that’s all you need.


Get a grip on your time and money!

Time is the ONE resource you can NEVER get back once you’ve spent it.

And you’ll succeed faster when the way you spend and invest money matches your priorities.

It’s easy for time and money to become “the tails that wag the dog.” But you’re the dog. You’re the boss. Be the boss. Take control.

I’ve shared these tools because they are the methods I followed to take control at a time of my life and business when I had it backwards … when I had lost all the freedom I wanted when I struck out on my own, and had become a prisoner to the business I had made for myself. But as I MADE IT, I could UNMAKE it. And REMAKE it. Which I did. And so have hundreds of entrepreneurs the world over.

So give yourself some grace in whatever has happened up to this point, and try these on (one at a time!) to start the process of remaking your business for the better.

Good luck!

Nat Harward

P.S. I’m here. Leave a comment below or send me a note and I’ll be touch.

By |2021-12-22T14:15:17-07:00February 23rd, 2018|Marketing|1 Comment

Export ROTOR FIT Files: How to get data off the app and into Training Peaks, Strava

As per my new whip write up, I upgraded to a ROTOR 2INpower MAS (pictured below) and it took some time to figure out how to export ROTOR FIT files from the app and get them into Training Peaks and Strava. I thought I could do it from the app on my phone, turns out (at this point in time), you can’t. A little wonky, but whatever. Here is the solution.

Export ROTOR FIT Files - 2INpower

Not really useful to have the data unless it gets to TP. And if it isn’t on Strava, it didn’t happen!

Ha.

While I can sync the ROTOR to my Suunto Spartan Ultra via Bluetooth (which would then send watts to TP), only the total power number gets sent. The ROTOR app captures L/R power, OCA, OCP, torque effectiveness, pedal smoothness . . . a bunch of custom stuff that no watch is set up for (yet).

How to Export ROTOR FIT Files from the ROTOR App (iPhone + iTunes) [3:03]

If the video doesn’t display, view it here.

No idea what the Android corollaries are, but probably similar.

If this changes or you find some better way … leave a comment. Will update.

Power on.

#

More info on the additional data captured by the ROTOR Power app

Why I say use the ROTOR app then export ROTOR FIT files to another program

Left/Right balance

Different leg lengths, hip disequilibrium or simply stronger/weaker muscles in one of your legs lead to left/right irregularities. Here you have the chance to optimize your pedal stroke to the extent that both legs deliver 50% of pedaling performance.

Pedal smoothness

This function demonstrates the fluidity of your legs’ movement. It’s the relation between average and maximal force during a pedal stroke, measured in percentages. Pedal Smoothness is simply average power versus maximum power.

Torque effectiveness

The ratio of total torque versus positive torque. During a complete pedal rotation, data gets sampled to measure force and crank velocity. Resulting values will determine your torque effectiveness.

Torque 360º

Represents your distribution of force throughout a pedal rotation. This metric reveals how your force is applied to the pedal during 360º of pedaling and yields your Optimum Chainring Angle.

Optimum Chainring Angle

Your OCA value indicates the angular position where the work from pedaling is concentrated. This will help you understand how you pedal and will enable you to optimize the position of your Q-Rings.

By |2023-11-05T20:59:39-07:00March 16th, 2017|Triathlon|9 Comments

Morning + Evening Routines (with screenshots)

Recently on Quora someone asked about AM/PM routines, and in my answer I shared screen shots from my morning routine app to show what I do. Thought I’d republish here with some improvements.

Do you have a morning/night routine? What are they?

I sure do.

At the advice of Noah Kagan I downloaded a morning routine app called Morning Rituals ($2 in the AppStore, no affiliate status).

AM Routine: Screenshots from my Morning Routine App

Here’s my exact routine for the time being. I make adjustments here and there.

I don’t follow it to a T every day. It’s a great guide.

Btw, Morning Rituals released an update this week and the new UI is way cleaner than what you see below. New UI screenshots in my follow-up post with friends’ routines.

Morning Routine App: Morning Rituals

Lights -> best way to speed up wake up

Weigh -> I weigh myself with a FitBit Aria scale which sends weight and body fat % to my FitBit account. I don’t worry about the day to day. I look at the trends.

Water -> we lose a lot of H2O while asleep, great thing to replace in the morning

Make Bed -> surely you’ve seen this:

#1 lesson of basic Navy SEAL Training: “If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day.” – Admiral William H. McRaven, University of Texas at Austin 2014 Commencement Address

Morning Routine App: Morning Rituals

breathe -> aka meditate aka sit still and listen without thinking

read -> a real paper book

Side bar: One of the common bits of “How to Be a Good Mormon” wisdom that, IMHO, gets tossed around rather cavalierly is “just read your scriptures for 15 minutes a day.” As a full-time missionary I relished in a full hour of personal study time each day and another full hour with my assigned companion. And that’s how every day went. I also had no idea what else I would do in the mornings to be productive, and it was the first time in life I wasn’t a full-time student. So for both those reasons, I loved having the study time as much as an approved diversion as it was independently fulfilling.

Outside of being a full-time missionary (and up until Jan 2016), I can’t say I made a habit of reading 15 minutes of anything on a daily basis. Perhaps through long sections of high school and college I did read 15 minutes or more every day — but that would have been assigned reading. Reading by assignment and reading by choice … two different experiences and outcomes.

Well, I’m now several weeks into reading just 10 minutes a day of what I want and simply because I want to. And … I’ve discovered … 10 minutes is plenty of time to cover a lot of meaningful ground. I think I discounted the advice to read 15 min daily because people said it like it was something everyone “should” do. But I never heard the advice by someone using first-person pronouns and present-tense verbs (see Clayton Christensen’s 2002 piece on this, just below “Constants and Variables”), and hence, I wasn’t believably touched or inspired by this suggestion.

Well, I am reading 10 minutes a day and it’s fantastic. It’s fantastic on the level of daily accomplishment, like making my bed; it’s fantastic on the level of seeing myself work through books when normally finishing a book had been a rarer occurrence; it’s fantastic on the level of starting my day by thinking about what I want to think about — typically something enriching — vs. staring with what my inbox wants me to think about.

Currently reading The Articles of Faith and other works.

10 ideas -> a la James Altucher and his Ultimate Guide for Becoming An Idea Machine

reddit -> I jump on to support people with questions on r/triathlon and r/running and learn from the other experienced people there

Morning Routine App: Morning Rituals

fig4 + lunge + pigeon -> stretches for my hips … I run a lot, this helps

crunch-push-plank -> core strength … I run a lot, this helps

workout -> 59 minutes is the max time allowable on the app right now … I do whatever my workout calendar calls for and either pause, exit, or advance this morning routine app to adjust accordingly

fuel -> post-workout: mix of carbs + protein is essential to solid recovery

Morning Routine App: Morning Rituals

goodies -> fish oil, safflower oil, vitamin D, digestive matrix; sometimes magnesium, glutamine and vitamin B12

shower + dress -> final stage to get ready for the day

stop -> is where the morning routine ends. I stop the timer, exit the app, and come back to that spot when it’s time for my night routine.

PM Routine: Screenshots from my Morning Routine App

Morning Routine App: Morning Rituals

stop -> I resume here at night time and use that minute to close up whatever I am doing

change -> a strong action and change of physical state to signal to my mind that the day’s work is done and I’m now headed for bed

“fish” “oil” + “night” “pill” -> a little healthy fat (fish oil, an omega-3) before bed is a good way for me to keep general inflammation down and support proper brain function. I take melatonin only if I’m feeling super alert and/or in a sub-optimal sleep environment.

Morning Routine App: Morning Rituals

brush -> duh

floss 1 tooth -> as Ramit Sethi says (on page 6), tell yourself to floss just one tooth and you’ll end up flossing them all

3 actions+attr -> I reflect on my day and write down 3 actions I am pleased I took that day and the attribute that I have that matches that action

read (part 2) -> while I listen to lots of books during the day, while driving, and so on, this time is reading a paper book. What I’m currently reading.

There are lots of options for your morning routine app and the routine you choose.

Good luck!

P.S. Find any of that helpful or inspiring? I’d like to know. Leave a comment or otherwise holler at me.

By |2021-01-15T15:37:23-07:00April 5th, 2016|General Life|2 Comments