Select Articles » Time Management

The Keepers of Time

Patrick — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 20:47:45 +0000

I give presentations on organizational skill building as it relates to paper, time, and computer file management. It seems that we all have too much paper, not enough time, and more than enough information stored in our computers if we could just find it!
Part of my job is to help identify the challenges an employee or organization is facing and suggest solutions. Over the course of time I have found that most individuals are simply unaware of the basics of paper and time management. It’s not necessary to know all existing time management theories, but it is important to know the basics.
Appointment books and calendars are two tools that help guide you through your activities and commitments. Here are three basic steps you can take to use these tools more effectively.
Select a user-friendly appointment book
The selection of a type of appointment book and calendar is usually a matter of personal preference. Appointment books or planners come in several different formats and vary in size vary from ones that fit in a pocket to ones that fit in a briefcase. If you use electronics to manage your time that’s great. If it’s not your style, refrain from buying expensive handheld devices. You’ll save time and money by being honest with yourself.
Maintain one and only one appointment book
I frequently find clients trying to maintain multiple appointment books or using scraps of paper as their time management tool. The result is double and triple bookings or completely missed appointments. Using one appointment book will cut down on conflicts and create a less-anxious environment. You can store calendars in several places, but maintain only one appointment book.
Take your appointment book with you?always
Most of us rarely leave the house without our keys and wallet. But I find many people who leave their appointment book behind. When this happens, appointments and commitments are made on whatever is available including napkins and a variety of other things that become misplaced or lost. This not only results in a precious loss of time but is unproductive and stressful as well.
Be prepared and less stressed by sticking to these basic tools and steps when building your time management skills.
Copyright 2005 Cynthia Kyriazis. All rights reserved.
Cynthia Kyriazis is an organizing and time management consultant, trainer, speaker, coach and author with over 20 years management experience in multi-unit corporations. Organize it, a division of Productivity Partners, Inc. is an organizational training firm she founded in 1995 and has been serving Fortune 500 clients ever since. Cynthia works with business and their employees to help improve performance and realize productivity gains.
Cynthia has appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Kansas City Star and the Legal Intelligencer. She currently serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), member of the National Speakers Association (NSA), member of the Kansas City of the International Society for Performance Improvement ? (ISPI-KC) and consultant to the American Coaching Association.

Are You Really Swamped or Just Disorganized

Patrick — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 03:07:08 +0000

"Time is what we need the most and what we use the least." Benjamin Franklin
I asked a potential client if he had received my e-mail sent out four days ago. He replied, "I’ve been swamped." When we visited at his office, I had the opportunity to meet one of the most stressed out and over-loaded people I’d seen for a long time. And most of it was his own doing! Of course he took a while to accept that fact until I showed him just a couple of things he did during our meeting which caused his problem.
About ten minutes into the meeting, his administrative assistant walked in and asked him to remind his friend at Kiwanis the next day to return the PowerPoint projector because they’ll need it for the 3pm meeting on Friday. He said, "Sure", asked her about something else – which developed into a four-minute conversation – apologized to me, and tried to remember what he was saying before the interruption. He answered his phone three times, and agreed later that he didn’t need to take the calls right there and then. It was just a habit.
So, instead of planning the customer service seminar we’d discussed, we decided to postpone it in favor of a workshop on managing time and stress. You can’t give great customer service if you’re not managing your time effectively.
What are some time stealers, and what can you do about them?
1. Playing it by ear ? without a plan. If you start out your day at the office or the factory not knowing the first thing you’re going to do, you are setting yourself up to have your time pre-empted by others. Take a few minutes at the end of your day to determine the three or four priority actions to be taken next day. Firm up the one you’re going to start with ? and make it one that is high priority.
2. Procrastination We tend to put off doing those things we know are important but are not exciting enough to get us motivated. Visualize the expected result from doing something important that you’ve been putting off. This morning, starting at 7am I decided to follow my own advice about procrastination, and I spent a very profitable hour and a half re-organizing the scattered files in my office into the filing cabinet – to free up desk space and reduce the tension that often comes from having many objects of work in your line of vision.
3. Activity versus Action. Do you spend more time involved in activities than in action? It happens often when I’m writing. While searching for background material, I often get sidetracked by an interesting piece of information or another article. Other "activities" might include watching TV, reading a trade magazine, talking on the telephone about nothing in particular, surfing the Net, or reading the mail ? especially junk mail.
The only way to control this is to stay focused. I have a sign in my office that says "I MUST DO THE MOST PRODUCTIVE THING POSSIBLE AT EVERY GIVEN MOMENT." I got this idea from the sales trainer and motivational speaker, Tommy Hopkins.It helps.
Learn to say NO! People avoid saying NO because they don’t want to offend, they’re afraid of letting someone down, or they’re worried what others might think about them. Try this:
a. Say firmly and without hesitation, "I’m sorry I can’t do (whatever they’re asking you to do) today."
b. Give a reason, "because I’m working on this project which has to be finished before Friday"
c. Offer an alternative, "You may want to check with Stephanie, I think she’s got some free time this week, now that the budget is finished.
John Madden is an international speaker, trainer, and author of "Leap, Don’t Sleep" (How to get different results by doing something different). He specializes in customer service, coaching skills for managers, stress management through humor, creative problem solving, and interpersonal skills. You can reach him at 316-689-6932 or 1-800-301-2924; email at john@LeapDontSleep.com; web site: http://www.LeapDontSleep.com

Organization Tips That Add More Hours To Your Day

Patrick — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 01:30:36 +0000

One of the most common complaints that small business owners have is lack of time. What most don’t realize, however is that their lack of time stems from a lack of organization. But with a few simple tips – that you can implement immediately – you can literally add hours to your day.
— Putting Things In Their Place
First and foremost, you should live by the motto, “A place for everything and everything in its place”. When you are finished with a piece of paper, a brochure or any other physical document – file it. What usually happens is that you finish using a piece of paper, “temporarily” put it in a stack and then have to spend two hours cleaning up after yourself once a week. Or, you may leave it in a stack and spend two hours a day digging through the mess to find what you need.
Create a filing system that works for you personally and then use it! Perhaps you’d like a filing cabinet? There are also expandable folders and numerous other filing systems. Choose the one you like, create a folder for it and put it where you can find it again if need be.
— I’ll Be Right There
How many times a day do you say (or think) that? Especially if you work from home, you probably have plenty of interruptions that take valuable time out of your day. If you’re a work-at-home parent with young children, it may be a bit more difficult to end interruptions all together, but these tips will help.
1. Set “office hours”. As much as possible, let your family know that between 8am and 11am, you’ll be working. Then again from 1pm until 6pm you’ll be “in your office”.
(Or whatever hours work best for you.)
2. Ignore your email. Well, partially, anyway. Unless you’re expecting some urgent message, don’t stop what you’re going to run check your messages each time you hear the “bell” ring. Decide on the time frame that works best for you and then check your email at certain times during the day. (Perhaps every three hours or so.) During the rest of your work time, turn your email software off so you can resist the temptation to check each message as it arrives.
3. Screen your calls. These days most people have voice mail or an answering machine. Unless you’re expecting a call, let the machine get it. Just as with your email schedule, you can set aside time during the day to return calls. This is a great way to avoid telemarketers, too!
— Automate and Delegate
When those routine tasks start taking up valuable money making time in your schedule, it’s time to either automate or delegate.
It’s all a matter of how you use your time – make money or waste money. You can earn money each hour by performing work or you can waste money by doing every little thing yourself. There are several options you can look into in this area.
Software – There is software available today that will do practically everything! GoldMine or ACT can automate almost all of your contact information, e-mailings, prospect follow-ups, appointments and much, MUCH more. Outlook is an exceptional ‘Day Timer’ type tool that can help with scheduling as well as email. SystemWorks can automatically maintain your computer’s “inner workings” and automatically update your virus protection. There’s a program to do practically anything you need.
Assistance – I know the first thing most small business owners scream is “I can’t afford an assistant”! Maybe not one that comes to your home and spends eight hours a day with you, but you CAN afford a virtual assistant, a college or a high school student.
A virtual assistant is someone who handles projects or duties for you “virtually” from their computer. Perhaps you need to have a report proofread. Just email it to him/her and, once it’s done, they’ll email it back to you. Virtual Assistants can also schedule appointments, follow up with clients, return routine email inquiries and perform numerous other tasks.
You can also check with the career development or job placement offices of local high schools and colleges. They often have students who are willing to work in exchange for a small fee or for the experience itself.
Whatever you do – make the most of your time. Being unorganized not only wastes hours of your day that you could be making money, but it also is a tremendous stress producer. Getting your office, your schedule and your day in order can make for a much more fulfilling and profitable business.
Diane C. Hughes * ProBizTips.com
FREE Report: Amazingly Simple (Yet Super Powerful)Ways To Skyrocket Your Sales And Build Your BusinessInto A Tower of Profits! ==>> http://madmarketer.com/diane

Time Management: A Fresh View

Patrick — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 14:36:08 +0000

Last week I had the privilege of spending some quality time with a dear friend. Unfortunately we live on opposite sides of the world, so we do not spend a lot of time together, but when we do get together it is an uplifting experience.
Paul, and his wife Glenys, have just finished moving into a beautiful new dream home that they have built. It was the first time that I had seen it, and after showing me through the house we went outside and looked out over their land. Paul pointed out where the large spa pool would be, and how there would be a lake over there, where the Monet bridge would be, and how the paths would be laid out.
I recalled how when we had last met, almost a year before, Paul told me that they had found a piece of land and bought it, and they were going to build their new dream home, a Quaker barn on it. He had described to me how it would look, what it would be made of, and especially how his new workshop would be laid out, and now he had just shown me through the actual completed building.
It reminded me of something I first heard from Jim Rohn, many years ago. Jim said something to the effect that humans were the only species that could start something after it was finished. What did he mean by that? He meant that we could completely build something in our mind before we started physically building it.
So how does this relate to time management? Imagine if someone had visited Paul when he was just starting to build the house. All the materials are there on his land, and the visitor asked Paul what he was building. Imagine Paul had answered that he didn’t really know, but he would just see what it turned into when it was finished. Do you think that Paul would now be living in his dream home? I very much doubt it.
But many of us live our lives by just seeing how it turns out. We would never just collect up some building materials and start putting them together and see how it turns out. But we do get up in the morning, do whatever we are in the habit of doing during the day, and then go back to bed, and repeat the process day after day. We build our lives by taking whatever comes to us each day, and putting it together to see what it turns out to be.
Consider how much more productive it would be if we didn’t get up in the morning until we had decided what we would build with our day. We would usually move ourselves a step closer to our goals each day, in spite of what the day threw at us.
When we are born, we all start out exactly the same, with essentially the same potential. From then on we use that potential differently, and achieve different results. By understanding how and why we achieve different results, we can take control of our results from this day on, and change the whole direction of our lives.
The ‘Power of the Mind’ training gives a deeper understanding of how we can establish worthwhile and meaningful goals, and then move toward achieving them day by day. Go to http://www.mypowerfulmind.com/page/page/1819535.htm to find out more.
Tony McGlinn runs personal development programs, writes and is a personal coach and consultant. You can visit him and subscribe to his newsletter at http://www.mypowerfulmind.com/page/page/1653324.htm

How to Put Housework on Autopilot!

Patrick — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 05:19:49 +0000

My husband and I recently returned from a trip to Austin, Texas. It was beautiful and refreshing. We also left the kids at home.
The reason I was able to leave the kids behind is because they have ROUTINES and a regular schedule.
Therefore, my close family members could read the 5 page printout of instructions I had prepared because the routines were easy to follow and continue.
You can incorporate routines into your schedule. When I say regularity, I do not mean rigid tight schedules.
Here is an example that may or may not work for you.
1. Go grocery shopping on the same day each week. I recommend going Tuesdays because the beginning and end of the week are usually busy.
2. Designate 2 days a week for laundry. I do not worry about the piles of laundry on any other day except Sunday and Wednesday. That way I don’t stress out about it until the regularly scheduled days.
3. I like to grocery shop Tuesday morning and then come home and cook it all Tuesday afternoon. I buy loads of fresh foods and then I freeze it after my cooking fest!
You can create a time map for yourself by listing all of your responsibilities and then plugging them into hour increments. So for me, a list would include- laundry, cooking, shopping, website editing, exercise, newsletter writing, etc.
Then, I plug all of these responsibilities into some hour of my weekly schedule. I try to make that hour the same every week. It’s easy to remember.
Think of what your responsibilities are-they probably do not change much from week to week- and create routines. You can even call it a “ritual” or “event”. Those words are more celebratory and make it fun.
So my “laundry day parade” on Sundays and Wednesdays is somewhat fun. (I try to spice up my life as much as possible)
What are your ideas?
Rebekah Slatkin is a professional organizer with a website full of information dedicated to getting you organized. Check it out at http://www.best-organizing-products-superstore.com The organizing product reviews and ezine are very helpful!

Pacing Yourself Through Change

Patrick — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 05:42:22 +0000

OK…let’s assume that you’re truly motivated to change. Great. But how do you stay that way? That’s a very important question, because most people fail to change not because they don’t want to, but because they can’t sustain their motivating drive throughout the process. Here are a few things to think about, to do, and to watch out for.
First, make a conscious decision about how much of your time and effort you’re willing to invest in the change process. This decision will, of course, influence or determine how long it will take to change, the degree of change over time, and so forth. But by quantifying your time allocation you’ll be less likely to give too much time to activities that aren’t productive. You’ll also more easily focus on NOT trying to over-perfect things that are OK as is. And finally, by allocating your time you’ll keep your effort in this area in balance with the rest of your life
Next, make only wise comparisons. As you make progress, you’re going to want to measure it. Often we measure ourselves by our observations of others. Guard against comparing yourself to the top experts ? those people you believe are absolutely perfect. They’ll represent impossible-to-reach targets and you’ll get discouraged. Measure yourself against those who are just far enough ahead of you to represent a viable challenge for you.
One way to avoid that trap is to measure yourself tomorrow against yourself yesterday. The old sports clich

9 Business Time Management Skills You Need To Succeed

Patrick — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 21:18:36 +0000

Do you have plenty to do, but don’t have enough time to do it all in? These days it appears there is a mad scramble to accomplish more in a shorter amount of time.
As a business owner, there will be times that you feel overwhelmed with tasks you want to accomplish, but seem to never have enough time to complete everything.
Here you will find 9 time management suggestions which will in turn help you accomplish tasks more efficiently and give you a chance to open up more opportunities to do the things you’d rather be doing.
1) Create A To Do List ? Having a well plotted "To Do List" will keep you focused on the tasks that need attention and will help you from straying away from the things you want or need to accomplish.
2) Prioritize Your To Do List ? If you have a "To Do" list that contains several tasks, it is wise to separate the items that must be done now from the ones that hold lesser importance. Tasks with a deadline should be first on your priority list.
3) Spend Time Planning ? Using your time to plan and think ahead is time spent wisely. Having a clear direction where you want your business to be in a few years down the road will allow you to spend your precious time and money more effectively and efficiently. It has been said, that if you do not plan, then you are planning to fail.
4) Create Goals For Yourself ? Without goals your life would have no direction. When setting goals be sure to create ones that are specific, achievable, realistic and at the same time cause you to reach beyond your comfort zone so that you gain the ability to reach those goals that are more difficult to obtain than others.
5) Overcome Procrastination ? Many people put off things that they don’t want to do until the very last minute. One way to overcome procrastination is to work on tasks just a little bit at a time or for only a set time period rather than for long time periods all at once. This way you are still getting your important tasks done, but just at a slower rate.
6) Eliminate Important Tasks First ? Check off on your "To Do" list as to which tasks out rank others as far as importance is concerned. By doing this you will not get side tracked or find yourself in a deadline rush to get the items with greater rewards finished on time. Once the important tasks are completed then you should move onto the less important items on your list.
7) Nobody’s Perfect ? Doing a job well to the best of your abilities is a practice of honorable measures. By spending the time to try and be perfect at everything you do is not time well spent because the time you do spend could be used at accomplishing other important tasks. Although, some things do need to be close to perfect, but not all. Be Flexible ? Plan your time so that if there are distractions or emergencies to attend to, you won’t find yourself in a situation where you must delay the completion of important tasks, but can attend to the distraction and still keep on schedule.
9) Treat Yourself ? To make life happier and healthier for oneself, it is important that you take time away from your work to just have some fun. If all you do is work, work, work, then accomplishing the goals you have set for yourself will have little meaning and you risk mental burnout. Taking time out to have fun is also necessary to relieve yourself from the many stresses that life has to offer.
Dan Preston has been in the ebook business for over 3 years and has enjoyed every moment of it. His website InfoHeaven Digital Books offers a variety of ebooks big enough to answer almost anyone’s how-to questions. http://online-book-store.net

Where Do Your Priorities Fit?

Patrick — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:21:06 +0000

An expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students when he decided to do an experiment. He pulled out a large mason jar, a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one by one, into the jar. When no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, “Is this jar full?” Everyone in the class said, “Yes.”
He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. The instructor then poured gravel in the jar, shook it and asked, “Is this jar full? ” By this time the class was on to him. They replied: “Probably not,”
Next, he reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar until all the space between the rocks was filled. Once more, he asked the question. “Is this jar full?” “No” the class shouted.
Finally, he grabbed a pitcher of water and poured until the jar was filled to the brim. The speaker looked at the class and asked, “What is the point of this illustration?” The speaker listened to a number of very good responses and said: “The truth this illustration teaches us is this: If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all.”
What are the big rocks in your life? Are they your spouse, children and grandchildren? Are they your work, television or gambling? Are you wasting time with things that are unimportant? What is important in your life?
About The Author
Don Schmitz is a well-known writer and speaker on parenting and grandparenting. He is the author of “The New face of Grandprenting…Why Parents Need Their Own Parents” and founder of Grandkidsandme, which includes: Grandparent Camps and Grandkid Days. Don holds graduate degrees in Education, Administration, Human Development and is father to three sons and grandfather to four granddaughters. Contact Don Schmitz at Don@grandkidsandme.com http://www.grandkidsandme.com

Benefits of Speed Reading

Patrick — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 23:26:15 +0000

In this digital age, the importance of being able to absorb information quickly and efficiently is more pronounced than ever. For me, I get tonnes of information every single day. It used to be just the simple newspapers.
Now I get an inbox full of mail, newsletters and every kind of news and information. Websites are publishing new articles and content every day. And it does not help that my newspaper has grown so much that it now comes in 3 sections, or 4 depending on the day.
With such a flood of information coming to you every day, you need to be able to sift through the lot, and absorb only whatever is necessary. And you have to absorb it fast as well.
As such, speed reading is a skill that you should definitely pick up. You need to learn to read at lightning quick speeds. What you learnt in school? Throw it out. As students, we were taught to go through text slowly to understand the words and sentence structure. Yes, that is great if you are learning the language, but most of us are already proficient in English, so why are we still reading like students?
The focus now should be on absorbing knowledge, not improving language. So instead of going through text word-by-word, sometimes just making a fast sweep through the text, and grasping its overall content is all that is required.
As you read, urge yourself to go faster and faster. This takes time and practice, so be patient.
Good readers can "see" and understand a chunk of text at once. Once you get to this stage, you will be saving yourself a huge amount of time. Time that you can now spend doing other more productive tasks!
And when you come across something really useful or interesting that you want to memorise, simply pause, and re-read the portion of text several times. The human mind stores information that you re-read better than something that you just take a cursory glance at. To make an even greater imprint, repeat the main points to yourself out loud, or write the summary of the important details down on a piece of paper.
Just by increasing the rate at which you sieve through the important information and the junk, and learning how to absorb and retain the key points, will suddenly free up a large chunk of your time!
Alvin Poh has been specialising in web development, content distribution, advertising and marketing strategies since 1995. His goal is to provide practical information based upon his years of experience to help webmasters, website designers, and self-employed people achieve their goals in today’s competitive Internet. At his site, you can learn how to make money online.

Procrastination – Understanding & Overcoming it

Patrick — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 13:28:52 +0000

Whenever I’ve worked on ‘de-cluttering’ my living or working space, I’ve always found that it’s the unfinished project ? whatever I’m procrastinating about – that takes up the most room.
Physically, it’s a constant reminder of something I tell myself I SHOULD be doing.
Mentally, it consumes my thoughts and diverts my attention from the present moment.
Emotionally, it weighs down my heart and nicks away at my confidence.
In this article, I invite you to consider how procrastination, as a form of self-sabotage, shows up in the different areas of your life.
Understanding Procrastination – Why do you procrastinate?
Maybe your physical surroundings and your ’systems’ of organization are getting in your way. For example:
~ My workspace is too messy
~ I’m too busy
Maybe distracting or debilitating emotions or thoughts are getting in your way. For example:
~ I’m afraid – afraid to fail, afraid to succeed
~ I’m overwhelmed
Maybe your physical body and its level of well-being is getting in your way. For example:
~ I’m too tired
Maybe your thoughts about the other people in your life are getting in your way. For example:
~ They might not like it
~ It won’t be as good as _____, so why bother?
Procrastination is a habit like any other. If you can envision how you want to be instead and look honestly at what forms of self-sabotage you usually use, you CAN compensate for your procrastination.
Overcoming Procrastination: What type of procrastinator are you?
Are you a Do-er or a Stew-er?
Do-er
A "do-er" will do anything to avoid the task at hand ? the dishes need washing, the dog needs walking, the mail needs sorting, the bills need paying, the files need organizing, etc.
Action Plan for Do-er’s
Set a timer for 15-minutes and tell yourself that as soon as it goes off you can do whatever else you want, but until it does, you must sit in that chair and work on the project in front of you.

Train your self
Keep it short
Stay in your chair

Stew-er
A "stew-er" will sit and "stew" about the thing you’re not doing. Your mind will spin round and round about different possibilities, you will plan elaborate things for when you do get around to working, you’ll be thinking so far into the future that you’ll never catch up to yourself.
Action Plan for Stew-er’s
Focus and calm your mind with meditation, affirmations and mind-body work such as breathing.

Clear your mind
Ground your thoughts
Pause and breathe

Whether you’re a "do-er" or a "stew-er", when we can accomplish our creative goals IN SPITE of having so many reasons to put them off, the rewards are even sweeter.
When I’m feeling overwhelmed, I need to remember that all I have to do is the next thing. A few next things later and I’ve tackled quite a bit!
It’s important to consider the bigger picture of this "thing" that you’re trying to do. There’s always the possibility that you don’t really want to do it or that you’re not meant to be doing it. If this is the case, a part of you knows that and is trying to tell you, so listen up (just make sure it’s not fear or self-doubt in disguise).
Lastly, remember to celebrate what you HAVE accomplished, no matter how small. The more you focus on what you HAVE done, versus what you HAVEN’T, the more confidence you’ll have and the more momentum you’ll build towards the next thing you’re going to do.
Linda Dessau, the Self-Care Coach, helps artists enhance their creativity by addressing their unique self-care issues. To receive one of her free monthly newsletters, subscribe at http://www.genuinecoaching.com/newsletter.html