If you are like most people, you find yourself in a mad dash from the time you wake up until the time you go to bed. People these days are busier than ever before and this adds a lot of stress. But there are ways to reduce the stress of being busy by managing your day and life a little better.
First of all, you have to realize that it's okay to say no. Many people will over schedule themselves because they feel guilty about saying no when someone asks something of them. They may feel that by saying no, they will disappoint others, but the only person they end up disappointing is himself or herself, because there is no time left to do what they want to do.
Many people lose site of the most important priorities. They over schedule themselves so much to please others, or commit to doing so many things for others that they overlook their own needs. How many times have you been so busy that you skipped lunch? Do you make time to exercise? Sit down and make two lists. One is a list of priorities and what is most important to you. Now make a list of everything that you do in a day. Compare the two lists. Do they match up? If not, you need to make some changes. Remember to always make time for yourself.
Here are six ways that you can manage your stress:
1) Manage your money wisely. Many people are working long hours and sometimes two jobs to make ends meet. Take a long, hard, look at your financial situation. Are there things that you could cut back on to ease the financial stress you are under? Learn to manage your money more efficiently. If you get your financial life under control, your stress level will go down a bit and you may be able to cut back on your hours at work.
2) Stay organized at home and at the office. Looking for lost items or documents is a huge time waster. Not to mention the stress you feel each night when you come home to a cluttered, disorganized home.
3) Take your vitamins. This can help relieve stress, especially the B-complex vitamins and vitamin C. In addition, vitamins can help fight the damage that is being done to your body by stress.
4) Listen to music. Music has proven physical and mental health benefits. It can go a long way in relieving stress. Listen to your favorite music on your commute to and from work and while at work if allowed.
5) Practice breathing exercises. This is something that can be done anywhere and is a great way of releasing tension and lowering your stress level.
6) Develop a positive attitude. For a lot of people this is one of the hardest things they will ever do. It's a fact that people with a positive attitude have less health problems, less stress and more luck in life.
These ideas may not help you become less busy, but they will help you to deal with it all.
Remember, you are the most important person in your life. Take care of yourself. Learn how to deal with the stress of being too busy.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
100 Year Project
Imagine what you could accomplish if you were given 100 years to complete any project of your choosing. How would you approach your project management and your time management? What would your timeline look like?
How many years would you devote to study, observe, listen and learn? You would probably spend several years gathering information, educating yourself and learning as much as possible. Your studies would likely become more focused and detailed as you gain knowledge and expertise related to your project.
How many years would you devote to plan and prepare? Before making any significant investments of time or money, would you establish goals and objectives? Would you take time to develop a strategy with milestones and a plan for successful completion of your project?
How much effort would you put into gathering and nurturing your resources? How would you select the people that you would need to help you accomplish your goals? What characteristics would be required of these people? How would you support your resources in a manner that would help them to be successful? Working with others requires a significant investment of time and effort to support the other team members, and the schedule would need to accommodate time devoted to others. To be successful, there must be common goals, common commitment and common understanding. There must be mutual dedication to shared objectives. How will you accomplish this with your team, your resources and your associates?
If you had 100 years to complete a complex and important project, how would you manage your time in between all of your other responsibilities? How would you balance your time between working on the project and personal relaxation? How often would you stop to measure your progress and direction? How flexible would you be to adjust your schedule or your strategy based on your timeline or your resources? Would you try to accomplish key goals ahead of schedule, or wait until the end of your timeline and hope to reach your objectives? How would it change your timeline if you had 100 years?
Perhaps the most important step is identifying and understanding which objectives are most important for you.
In business, projects may last as long as a year or a business quarter, or be as short as one week. Personal projects may be as short as a weekend, hours or a day. In any case, once the objectives of the project are defined, it is amazing how quickly time passes. The time ahead seems so long, while the time behind seems to have passed in the blink of an eye. Do we plan for the time ahead of us to pass as quickly as the time behind us? If you are truly focused on your goals, it is likely that you will not even notice the time at all. There is sweet satisfaction in accomplishing objectives and discovering the freedom to focus on other important aspirations.
Are you working to accomplish objectives of your own, objectives that have been assigned to you, or a combination of the two? It is likely that you have many different responsibilities to family, friends, associates and work. How do you balance responsibilities to others and your personal commitments? If you were to map out the timeline of your project to accomplish specific goals in 100 years, how would you define your goals and your place on that timeline? How would that change your activities? How would you manage your time and your life?
Every day is a new day when you only have 100 years to live.
______________________________________________________
Words of Wisdom
"How does a project get to be a year behind schedule? One day at a time."- Fred Brooks
"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing."- George Bernard Shaw
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards."- Soren Kierkegaard
"My life has no purpose, no direction, no aim, no meaning, and yet I'm happy. I can't figure it out. What am I doing right?"- Charles M. Schulz
How many years would you devote to study, observe, listen and learn? You would probably spend several years gathering information, educating yourself and learning as much as possible. Your studies would likely become more focused and detailed as you gain knowledge and expertise related to your project.
How many years would you devote to plan and prepare? Before making any significant investments of time or money, would you establish goals and objectives? Would you take time to develop a strategy with milestones and a plan for successful completion of your project?
How much effort would you put into gathering and nurturing your resources? How would you select the people that you would need to help you accomplish your goals? What characteristics would be required of these people? How would you support your resources in a manner that would help them to be successful? Working with others requires a significant investment of time and effort to support the other team members, and the schedule would need to accommodate time devoted to others. To be successful, there must be common goals, common commitment and common understanding. There must be mutual dedication to shared objectives. How will you accomplish this with your team, your resources and your associates?
If you had 100 years to complete a complex and important project, how would you manage your time in between all of your other responsibilities? How would you balance your time between working on the project and personal relaxation? How often would you stop to measure your progress and direction? How flexible would you be to adjust your schedule or your strategy based on your timeline or your resources? Would you try to accomplish key goals ahead of schedule, or wait until the end of your timeline and hope to reach your objectives? How would it change your timeline if you had 100 years?
Perhaps the most important step is identifying and understanding which objectives are most important for you.
In business, projects may last as long as a year or a business quarter, or be as short as one week. Personal projects may be as short as a weekend, hours or a day. In any case, once the objectives of the project are defined, it is amazing how quickly time passes. The time ahead seems so long, while the time behind seems to have passed in the blink of an eye. Do we plan for the time ahead of us to pass as quickly as the time behind us? If you are truly focused on your goals, it is likely that you will not even notice the time at all. There is sweet satisfaction in accomplishing objectives and discovering the freedom to focus on other important aspirations.
Are you working to accomplish objectives of your own, objectives that have been assigned to you, or a combination of the two? It is likely that you have many different responsibilities to family, friends, associates and work. How do you balance responsibilities to others and your personal commitments? If you were to map out the timeline of your project to accomplish specific goals in 100 years, how would you define your goals and your place on that timeline? How would that change your activities? How would you manage your time and your life?
Every day is a new day when you only have 100 years to live.
______________________________________________________
Words of Wisdom
"How does a project get to be a year behind schedule? One day at a time."- Fred Brooks
"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing."- George Bernard Shaw
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards."- Soren Kierkegaard
"My life has no purpose, no direction, no aim, no meaning, and yet I'm happy. I can't figure it out. What am I doing right?"- Charles M. Schulz
Eliminate Six Common Mistakes in Time Management
Do you wish there were more hours in a day to get everything done? Well, isn't it true that you have the same amount of hours as any other person on this planet? Maybe what you need is not more hours, you just need to learn to manage the hours you already have. Here are six common mistakes that people make, and how you can avoid them.
For some reason, it is common belief that to get more done, you need to work harder. This is totally false. The secret to accomplishing more is not to work harder, but to work smarter. That is why you should always start your day with a plan of action. Every morning write down what you will accomplish that day. Start your day with this plan in mind. Mark through each item as you accomplish it. Do not let anyone derail you from this plan.
Another big mistake is being out of balance in your life. If your financial life is a mess, you can't focus on your personal life, so therefore your personal life may suffer, which will cause you to be unable to focus at work. Each area of your life influences the other. Do your best to achieve a healthy balance in all areas of your life and your day will flow better with less stress.
Trying to work on a messy desk is another big mistake. Studies show that a person who works on a messy desk spends one and a half hour per day looking for things. Being organized is the key to good time management. Knowing where everything is at can be a great stress reducer. Need to find that important document for your boss in the next five minutes? An organized person, with an organized desk, would have it ready with four and one half minutes to spare.
Not getting enough sleep can mess up your whole day. If you are tired, you can't work as effectively as you should. Projects will take longer to complete and therefore more time is wasted. Get eight hours of quality sleep a night. The quality of sleep is important. If you are tossing and turning, waking up every hour, you are not getting quality sleep. You may have been in bed for eight hours but you will still be tired.
Not delegating is a huge mistake in managing time. If you have the resources by all means delegate. There are other people out there that can do a job as well as you can. Don't waste time by trying to do it all yourself.
Not taking a lunch break is another common mistake in managing your time. Sure you may get that extra half hour of work in, but is the work quality work? Could you have done it better and faster if you would have taken the time to eat and recharge your mental batteries? Our minds need a break every now and then. Take a lunch break and relax. You may find that you get a lot more accomplished.
These are the most common mistakes people make in managing their time. Stop making these mistakes and stand out from the crowd.
For some reason, it is common belief that to get more done, you need to work harder. This is totally false. The secret to accomplishing more is not to work harder, but to work smarter. That is why you should always start your day with a plan of action. Every morning write down what you will accomplish that day. Start your day with this plan in mind. Mark through each item as you accomplish it. Do not let anyone derail you from this plan.
Another big mistake is being out of balance in your life. If your financial life is a mess, you can't focus on your personal life, so therefore your personal life may suffer, which will cause you to be unable to focus at work. Each area of your life influences the other. Do your best to achieve a healthy balance in all areas of your life and your day will flow better with less stress.
Trying to work on a messy desk is another big mistake. Studies show that a person who works on a messy desk spends one and a half hour per day looking for things. Being organized is the key to good time management. Knowing where everything is at can be a great stress reducer. Need to find that important document for your boss in the next five minutes? An organized person, with an organized desk, would have it ready with four and one half minutes to spare.
Not getting enough sleep can mess up your whole day. If you are tired, you can't work as effectively as you should. Projects will take longer to complete and therefore more time is wasted. Get eight hours of quality sleep a night. The quality of sleep is important. If you are tossing and turning, waking up every hour, you are not getting quality sleep. You may have been in bed for eight hours but you will still be tired.
Not delegating is a huge mistake in managing time. If you have the resources by all means delegate. There are other people out there that can do a job as well as you can. Don't waste time by trying to do it all yourself.
Not taking a lunch break is another common mistake in managing your time. Sure you may get that extra half hour of work in, but is the work quality work? Could you have done it better and faster if you would have taken the time to eat and recharge your mental batteries? Our minds need a break every now and then. Take a lunch break and relax. You may find that you get a lot more accomplished.
These are the most common mistakes people make in managing their time. Stop making these mistakes and stand out from the crowd.
Six Ways to Become More Efficient At Work And At Home
Most of us are eager to give of ourselves and then give some more. Whether it's giving advice to friends or coworkers, volunteering for activities in the community or at our child's school or just saying yes to every request that comes our way. What happens with all this giving is you become so buried under a mountain of responsibilities that the most important things in your life suffer. You have to take time for yourself and your family. One way to do this is to become more efficient in every area of your life. Let's look at six ways to become efficient.
1) Schedule your day. If you have to, get up an hour early each day and write out your plan for the day. Then priotize each task on your list and put it in order of priority. Schedule what you need to do into a planning sheet and block out time to get it accomplished. Do this every single day, even on the weekends.
2) Stop trying to multi-task. Turn off the email notification function on your computer. Email kills your concentration and makes you lose focus on what you were doing. Don't get side lined by interruptions from others. If you are trying to finish a report for an important client or meeting, don't accept a request from a drop-in visitor who "just has a quick question"
3) Learn to control self-interruption. You are at your desk absorbed in your work, when all of a sudden you brain starts talking to you. It reminds you of something that you need to tell a coworker or an important task that you need to take care of. Instead of grabbing the phone or shooting off an email, write down what you need to tell that person or the task that you need to do in a separate binder that you keep for such purposes. Keep working on your current project and set aside time later to take care of things on your binder list.
4) Say NO more often. Know what your priorities are. When someone requests something of you and it doesn't fit into your priorities, just say no. You don't have to justify your answer with a long explanation or excuse.
5) Delegate as much as you can. We often think we can do everything ourselves, or that others will not devote as much care to the task as we would have. That is delusion, as we do not have enough time to do all that anyway. Other coworkers or other members of your family could easily do some of the tasks. Get away from the thinking that you are the only one who can do the job right.
6) Stop trying to be perfect. Some tasks can be done and are just as successful even if they are not perfect. Trying to be perfect with everything will slow you down and cause too much un-needed stress in your life.
Your time is a very precious resource that should not be wasted. Efficiency is the key to getting things accomplished in your work and at home. Implement the above steps and you will find yourself accomplishing more in less time, and with less stress.
1) Schedule your day. If you have to, get up an hour early each day and write out your plan for the day. Then priotize each task on your list and put it in order of priority. Schedule what you need to do into a planning sheet and block out time to get it accomplished. Do this every single day, even on the weekends.
2) Stop trying to multi-task. Turn off the email notification function on your computer. Email kills your concentration and makes you lose focus on what you were doing. Don't get side lined by interruptions from others. If you are trying to finish a report for an important client or meeting, don't accept a request from a drop-in visitor who "just has a quick question"
3) Learn to control self-interruption. You are at your desk absorbed in your work, when all of a sudden you brain starts talking to you. It reminds you of something that you need to tell a coworker or an important task that you need to take care of. Instead of grabbing the phone or shooting off an email, write down what you need to tell that person or the task that you need to do in a separate binder that you keep for such purposes. Keep working on your current project and set aside time later to take care of things on your binder list.
4) Say NO more often. Know what your priorities are. When someone requests something of you and it doesn't fit into your priorities, just say no. You don't have to justify your answer with a long explanation or excuse.
5) Delegate as much as you can. We often think we can do everything ourselves, or that others will not devote as much care to the task as we would have. That is delusion, as we do not have enough time to do all that anyway. Other coworkers or other members of your family could easily do some of the tasks. Get away from the thinking that you are the only one who can do the job right.
6) Stop trying to be perfect. Some tasks can be done and are just as successful even if they are not perfect. Trying to be perfect with everything will slow you down and cause too much un-needed stress in your life.
Your time is a very precious resource that should not be wasted. Efficiency is the key to getting things accomplished in your work and at home. Implement the above steps and you will find yourself accomplishing more in less time, and with less stress.
How To Get Yourself Organized By Using A Checklist
checklist is the best way to get organized for any event. Most of us make a grocery list before going to the store, why not make a list for everything else in life? The benefits greatly outweigh the time that it may take to make one. The more checklists that you make, the faster you will get at it. So what kind of checklists should you make? The following lists some general ideas for checklists:
Checklist for everyday. Start your mornings by making a list of all the things that you need to accomplish each day. Carry it with you and mark each item off when completed. This will give a great feeling of accomplishment and closure.
Household maintenance. Develop a household maintenance list divided into months. For instance for the month of October or November your list may include cleaning the gutters. Every month may have a day to change the filter on your furnace or central air unit. Check the list a few months in advance to see if you need to schedule specific maintenance people to do a job for you.
Christmas preparations. This list will only be used once a year but can save a lot of time and frustration. List dinner preparations such as what recipes to use, who to invite etc. You may want to include the date that you should send out Christmas cards and who to buy for including their special likes and dislikes. This will alleviate a lot of stress for you during the hectic holiday time.
Packing list. Packing for vacation or for just going on a business trip can seem like a daunting task. Make a list of everything that you need to pack. Include on your list things that you need to arrange before leaving on vacation such as stopping your mail, giving the neighbor the needed information, turning down the thermostat and car maintenance.
Christmas gifts. You use this list once a year also, and it too saves you a lot of time. List all the people for whom you need to get presents for. List the items that you intend to get for them, and when you should complete the shopping for this. If you are buying online, plan for the delivery time as well.
Weekly cleaning list. A weekly cleaning list should be developed and hung on the wall for everyone to see. Beside each job include the person's name that is responsible for the job that week. Make sure they mark through the job when completed.
Car Maintenance checklist. Schedule times when you need to make appointments for an oil change and general car maintenance.
Developing checklists for your life with go a long way in reducing stress. Having a list will also make it easier to delegate tasks to other people in your household. The great thing about these checklists is they can all be stored on your computer and printed out as needed. Or if you prefer, create a special binder for all of your checklists. Once you start making checklists, you will wonder how you ever lived without them.
Checklist for everyday. Start your mornings by making a list of all the things that you need to accomplish each day. Carry it with you and mark each item off when completed. This will give a great feeling of accomplishment and closure.
Household maintenance. Develop a household maintenance list divided into months. For instance for the month of October or November your list may include cleaning the gutters. Every month may have a day to change the filter on your furnace or central air unit. Check the list a few months in advance to see if you need to schedule specific maintenance people to do a job for you.
Christmas preparations. This list will only be used once a year but can save a lot of time and frustration. List dinner preparations such as what recipes to use, who to invite etc. You may want to include the date that you should send out Christmas cards and who to buy for including their special likes and dislikes. This will alleviate a lot of stress for you during the hectic holiday time.
Packing list. Packing for vacation or for just going on a business trip can seem like a daunting task. Make a list of everything that you need to pack. Include on your list things that you need to arrange before leaving on vacation such as stopping your mail, giving the neighbor the needed information, turning down the thermostat and car maintenance.
Christmas gifts. You use this list once a year also, and it too saves you a lot of time. List all the people for whom you need to get presents for. List the items that you intend to get for them, and when you should complete the shopping for this. If you are buying online, plan for the delivery time as well.
Weekly cleaning list. A weekly cleaning list should be developed and hung on the wall for everyone to see. Beside each job include the person's name that is responsible for the job that week. Make sure they mark through the job when completed.
Car Maintenance checklist. Schedule times when you need to make appointments for an oil change and general car maintenance.
Developing checklists for your life with go a long way in reducing stress. Having a list will also make it easier to delegate tasks to other people in your household. The great thing about these checklists is they can all be stored on your computer and printed out as needed. Or if you prefer, create a special binder for all of your checklists. Once you start making checklists, you will wonder how you ever lived without them.
Get Email under Control
Email was designed to be a tool to expedite and simplify communication. Tools are effective when managed properly. What happens when the tool starts to manage the person? What happens when a tool for communication replaces conversation and personal interaction? What happens when a time saving tool begins to consume our time? Then it is time to get email under control.
Use Separate Email Accounts
Many people have an email address that is associated with the workplace. This email address should be strictly limited to work related communications and should not be used for personal correspondence. There are many free services available for creating a personal email address that can be used for personal correspondence. If you want to stay in touch with friends, family or classmates, use your personal email address. If you want to share jokes, keep it outside of work. If you want to use an email for registrations, updates or informational newsletters, then use a personal email address. Your personal email address can go places that your work assigned email address can not go, like your next job for example.
Maintaining separate email accounts will help schedule time by maintaining a clear delineation between time at work and personal time. Keeping a personal email address out of the workplace will help to keep your personal life just that - personal. There also may be observations, jokes or comments that you want to share that may not be appropriate for a work related email account. Remember that everything that you send through a company email server is typically stored or archived, and that makes it available long after you deleted it from your own computer. Email correspondence is a favorite target for courtroom entertainment, and a single sentence taken out of context can be devastating. So use the work related email for professional communication and keep the personal correspondence on the side.
Folders and Archives
There are many useful ways to organize the incoming emails. Some individuals prefer to file email by the sender of the email. This makes it easy to locate historical email if you can remember who sent it to you. Some email tools also have functions to immediately sort and store incoming email by the sender. Keep in mind that the email chain may be copied into multiple folders if there are several people copied on the email and participating in a chain of updates.
An alternative method of organizing email is to file according to topic. This is a manual process that requires thought and manual effort. It can be useful if there are many individuals associated with an organization or event that you want to manage as a group.
Another useful tool for organizing email is to create monthly folders for temporarily holding emails that you intend to delete. Start at the beginning of each month by creating a folder or directory for holding email that has been read and is intended to be discarded. The directory may be a place to put email that is not intended to be preserved for historical reference, but might be handy to keep around in case it is needed. Continue making a new directory at the beginning of the following month, and the one after that. Once you have collected three months worth of email in three separate folders, then each time that you create a new folder at the beginning of one month, you can delete the folder that is ninety days old. For example, once you have accumulated folders for January, February and March, you might consider deleting or archiving all of the email associated with the January folder when starting April. This is a simple and easy way to manage archiving email on a scheduled basis.
Keep Your In Box Empty
Organize your priorities, file email by person or topic, and archive monthly. If there are still unresolved emails that need to be addressed, then create another directory labeled HOT or PRIORITY for follow-up. Move outstanding or unresolved email into that category for future follow-up and get it out of the general in box. This makes it much easier to manage the new incoming communications clearly and effectively. Clearing out the In Box will also help to reduce stress. Leaving unresolved email in the general In Box is sometimes perceived as a convenient reminder or 'to do' list. Why torture yourself with a constant nagging 'to do' list of things that you can not resolve immediately? Move it out of the way until you can resolve it and eliminate the distraction.
Schedule Time
Brace yourself, this observation may come as a bit of a shock, "email is not intended to be a conversation". Email is not a tool for real time communication. Email is not instant messaging. Email is not in person and it is not a phone call. Email is not an effective tool for carrying on real time interactive discourse. If there is an emergency, consider other methods of communication. If there is a need for continual clarification or interaction then consider another form of communication. If the email dialogue has been reduced to a conversation then the tool is managing you.
Create a schedule for checking email. Stick with your schedule and some amazing things will happen. The first amazing thing is that some email chains will resolve themselves before you become an active participant. Just because a group of people participated in a real time email communication, it does not mean that you have to do the same. Wait for the activity to subside and you may be able to catch up on the whole chain of communications by reading one long string, as opposed to being constantly interrupted by multiple other comments as they are added to the pile. It is easier to read the chain all at once rather than sporadically as it develops throughout the day.
The second amazing thing that will happen if you stick to your schedule is that other people will come to recognize and accommodate your schedule. If you are a morning person then people will come to expect your replies in the morning. If you check emails at night because you travel or have meetings during the day, then people will come to expect your response the following day. If you schedule your email periodically at certain times during the day, then people will get to know your routine and will anticipate your replies accordingly. Not surprisingly, it means that people will also adjust the times that they send the email to you. Overall, handling email in scheduled blocks of time is useful for organizing schedules for the sender and the recipient. It allows you to give your full focus on the conversation or activity of the moment will full confidence that you will see your email at a scheduled time, and thereby reduce distractions all around.
Functional versus Conversational
Do you ever find yourself sitting at your computer and waiting for the next email to arrive? Do you respond to every pop-up message alert? If so, then you are addicted to email conversations and need to break yourself of the habit. There is a much better life waiting for you, complete with sunshine and fresh air. Email is intended to be a functional tool. It is useful for communicating to large groups of people simultaneously. Email is a good tool for documenting communications. Email is a great way to stay in touch over long distances and extended periods of time. Email is not a tool for real time communication. If you find yourself using a work related email account for conversational email, then consider scheduling time for your personal email account and make the separation for better time management.
Don't Everyone Thank Me at Once!
Positive reinforcement and personal recognition are important for motivation and relationships. If you are compelled to respond to an email correspondence with a 'Thank you', then send it to one person. If the accomplishment or contribution is so outstanding that it is worthy of informing a large group of people or the entire company, then take the time to document with detail the effort and result that is being appreciated. A simple "thank you" between two individuals is fine. Copying a multitude of people on the simple expression of appreciation is not necessary. If it is important enough to copy everyone on a personal 'thank you', then it is worth taking the time to write more.
Be Explicit or Be Brief
Email can be brief to be effective. For example, a simple response or "yes" or "no" may be sufficient under certain circumstances. If brevity fits the situation, then be brief. On the other hand, sometimes a detailed explanation may be a useful response, especially if there are important nuances or details that may otherwise be overlooked. Adapt your email style to the content, message and the recipient.
Are you getting email from other people who could use some advice to get their email under control? Share some tips with them and see if you get a "Thank you" in return. Who is really reading your email?
______________________________________________________
Words of Wisdom
"The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of the light of letters, is simplicity."- Walt Whitman, Songs of the Open Road
"Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee and just as hard to sleep after."- Anne Morrow Lindberg, "Gift from the Sea'
"Electronic communication is an instantaneous and illusory contact that creates a sense of intimacy without the emotional investment that leads to close friendships." - Clifford Toll, "Silicon Snake Oil"
______________________________________________________
John Mehrmann is a freelance writer and President of Executive Blueprints Inc., an organization devoted to improving business practices and developing human capital.
Use Separate Email Accounts
Many people have an email address that is associated with the workplace. This email address should be strictly limited to work related communications and should not be used for personal correspondence. There are many free services available for creating a personal email address that can be used for personal correspondence. If you want to stay in touch with friends, family or classmates, use your personal email address. If you want to share jokes, keep it outside of work. If you want to use an email for registrations, updates or informational newsletters, then use a personal email address. Your personal email address can go places that your work assigned email address can not go, like your next job for example.
Maintaining separate email accounts will help schedule time by maintaining a clear delineation between time at work and personal time. Keeping a personal email address out of the workplace will help to keep your personal life just that - personal. There also may be observations, jokes or comments that you want to share that may not be appropriate for a work related email account. Remember that everything that you send through a company email server is typically stored or archived, and that makes it available long after you deleted it from your own computer. Email correspondence is a favorite target for courtroom entertainment, and a single sentence taken out of context can be devastating. So use the work related email for professional communication and keep the personal correspondence on the side.
Folders and Archives
There are many useful ways to organize the incoming emails. Some individuals prefer to file email by the sender of the email. This makes it easy to locate historical email if you can remember who sent it to you. Some email tools also have functions to immediately sort and store incoming email by the sender. Keep in mind that the email chain may be copied into multiple folders if there are several people copied on the email and participating in a chain of updates.
An alternative method of organizing email is to file according to topic. This is a manual process that requires thought and manual effort. It can be useful if there are many individuals associated with an organization or event that you want to manage as a group.
Another useful tool for organizing email is to create monthly folders for temporarily holding emails that you intend to delete. Start at the beginning of each month by creating a folder or directory for holding email that has been read and is intended to be discarded. The directory may be a place to put email that is not intended to be preserved for historical reference, but might be handy to keep around in case it is needed. Continue making a new directory at the beginning of the following month, and the one after that. Once you have collected three months worth of email in three separate folders, then each time that you create a new folder at the beginning of one month, you can delete the folder that is ninety days old. For example, once you have accumulated folders for January, February and March, you might consider deleting or archiving all of the email associated with the January folder when starting April. This is a simple and easy way to manage archiving email on a scheduled basis.
Keep Your In Box Empty
Organize your priorities, file email by person or topic, and archive monthly. If there are still unresolved emails that need to be addressed, then create another directory labeled HOT or PRIORITY for follow-up. Move outstanding or unresolved email into that category for future follow-up and get it out of the general in box. This makes it much easier to manage the new incoming communications clearly and effectively. Clearing out the In Box will also help to reduce stress. Leaving unresolved email in the general In Box is sometimes perceived as a convenient reminder or 'to do' list. Why torture yourself with a constant nagging 'to do' list of things that you can not resolve immediately? Move it out of the way until you can resolve it and eliminate the distraction.
Schedule Time
Brace yourself, this observation may come as a bit of a shock, "email is not intended to be a conversation". Email is not a tool for real time communication. Email is not instant messaging. Email is not in person and it is not a phone call. Email is not an effective tool for carrying on real time interactive discourse. If there is an emergency, consider other methods of communication. If there is a need for continual clarification or interaction then consider another form of communication. If the email dialogue has been reduced to a conversation then the tool is managing you.
Create a schedule for checking email. Stick with your schedule and some amazing things will happen. The first amazing thing is that some email chains will resolve themselves before you become an active participant. Just because a group of people participated in a real time email communication, it does not mean that you have to do the same. Wait for the activity to subside and you may be able to catch up on the whole chain of communications by reading one long string, as opposed to being constantly interrupted by multiple other comments as they are added to the pile. It is easier to read the chain all at once rather than sporadically as it develops throughout the day.
The second amazing thing that will happen if you stick to your schedule is that other people will come to recognize and accommodate your schedule. If you are a morning person then people will come to expect your replies in the morning. If you check emails at night because you travel or have meetings during the day, then people will come to expect your response the following day. If you schedule your email periodically at certain times during the day, then people will get to know your routine and will anticipate your replies accordingly. Not surprisingly, it means that people will also adjust the times that they send the email to you. Overall, handling email in scheduled blocks of time is useful for organizing schedules for the sender and the recipient. It allows you to give your full focus on the conversation or activity of the moment will full confidence that you will see your email at a scheduled time, and thereby reduce distractions all around.
Functional versus Conversational
Do you ever find yourself sitting at your computer and waiting for the next email to arrive? Do you respond to every pop-up message alert? If so, then you are addicted to email conversations and need to break yourself of the habit. There is a much better life waiting for you, complete with sunshine and fresh air. Email is intended to be a functional tool. It is useful for communicating to large groups of people simultaneously. Email is a good tool for documenting communications. Email is a great way to stay in touch over long distances and extended periods of time. Email is not a tool for real time communication. If you find yourself using a work related email account for conversational email, then consider scheduling time for your personal email account and make the separation for better time management.
Don't Everyone Thank Me at Once!
Positive reinforcement and personal recognition are important for motivation and relationships. If you are compelled to respond to an email correspondence with a 'Thank you', then send it to one person. If the accomplishment or contribution is so outstanding that it is worthy of informing a large group of people or the entire company, then take the time to document with detail the effort and result that is being appreciated. A simple "thank you" between two individuals is fine. Copying a multitude of people on the simple expression of appreciation is not necessary. If it is important enough to copy everyone on a personal 'thank you', then it is worth taking the time to write more.
Be Explicit or Be Brief
Email can be brief to be effective. For example, a simple response or "yes" or "no" may be sufficient under certain circumstances. If brevity fits the situation, then be brief. On the other hand, sometimes a detailed explanation may be a useful response, especially if there are important nuances or details that may otherwise be overlooked. Adapt your email style to the content, message and the recipient.
Are you getting email from other people who could use some advice to get their email under control? Share some tips with them and see if you get a "Thank you" in return. Who is really reading your email?
______________________________________________________
Words of Wisdom
"The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of the light of letters, is simplicity."- Walt Whitman, Songs of the Open Road
"Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee and just as hard to sleep after."- Anne Morrow Lindberg, "Gift from the Sea'
"Electronic communication is an instantaneous and illusory contact that creates a sense of intimacy without the emotional investment that leads to close friendships." - Clifford Toll, "Silicon Snake Oil"
______________________________________________________
John Mehrmann is a freelance writer and President of Executive Blueprints Inc., an organization devoted to improving business practices and developing human capital.
Deal with Time Wasters for Effective Time Management
There are two main categories that time wasters or time bandits can fall under. The first category is self generated internal time wThere are two main categories that time wasters or time bandits can fall under. The first category is self generated internal time wasters. These are the things that you do yourself to waste time and are the easiest to control. The second category are the external time wasters. These are the things other people do to waste your time. This can be more diffucult to control, though it can be controlled with a little bit of effort and ingenuity.
Let's look at the self generated internal time wasters and some possible solutions:
1) The lack of planning and priorities. Many people never get anything accomplished because they don't know where to begin or how to proceed once started. It is important that you keep a weekly schedule. List your priorities in order of importance. If needed, discuss the priorities with your boss or coworkers. Make a schedule that starts at the beginning of each week and incorporates all of your priorities into the schedule with goals for completion dates. List every hour and what you should be working on for that hour. Schedule tight so there is not a lot of time in between projects. Too much time between projects is wasted time.
2) Disorganization. Disorganized people spend way too much time looking for lost items. Keep your office neatly organized and free of clutter. If you can't do this yourself, recruit a friend or hire someone to help you.
3) Procrastination. This is a big time waster. Set a deadline for those projects that you don't want to do. Plan a reward for yourself when finished. Work on the project in small chunks until completed. Sometimes it helps to work on it first thing in the morning to get it out of the way.
The second category of time wasters is the external time wasters. These are not as easy to control since they involve external factors. Here are some solutions to help control or at the very least, keep them to a minimum:
1) Visitors. If you get a lot of visitors dropping to your work area this could be a huge time waster for you. The solution is to move your desk so that your back is to the door. This will make you seem less approachable. When someone stops in to talk, stand up. This will send the message that you don't have time to chat. If all else fails be honest. Tell them thanks for dropping by, but tactfully let them know that you need to get back to work.
2) Telephone calls. Screen your calls. Let the voice mail take your calls during the day when you are busy. Schedule time during each day when you will return the calls and let your clients know when that time will be. Keep your answers short and to the point and end the conversation politely when it has achieved it's purpose. With a little practice you can be personable and still keep the conversation short.
3) Mail. It can flood your desk and take it over before you it. Schedule time each day to go through your mail. Make it a rule to handle each piece of mail only once. Throw out the junk mail immediately, file" information only" mail in a file box to be read later and respond to the others by telephone or fax. Faxing a response is a great idea because the response is immediate and takes very little time.
4) Email. Clean out your email box daily and don't use your business email address for personal use.
Using these solutions, your productivity will increase and your stress level on the job will decrease. The best part is, you can say goodbye to the time bandits forever!asters. These are the things that you do yourself to waste time and are the easiest to control. The second category are the external time wasters. These are the things other people do to waste your time. This can be more diffucult to control, though it can be controlled with a little bit of effort and ingenuity.
Let's look at the self generated internal time wasters and some possible solutions:
1) The lack of planning and priorities. Many people never get anything accomplished because they don't know where to begin or how to proceed once started. It is important that you keep a weekly schedule. List your priorities in order of importance. If needed, discuss the priorities with your boss or coworkers. Make a schedule that starts at the beginning of each week and incorporates all of your priorities into the schedule with goals for completion dates. List every hour and what you should be working on for that hour. Schedule tight so there is not a lot of time in between projects. Too much time between projects is wasted time.
2) Disorganization. Disorganized people spend way too much time looking for lost items. Keep your office neatly organized and free of clutter. If you can't do this yourself, recruit a friend or hire someone to help you.
3) Procrastination. This is a big time waster. Set a deadline for those projects that you don't want to do. Plan a reward for yourself when finished. Work on the project in small chunks until completed. Sometimes it helps to work on it first thing in the morning to get it out of the way.
The second category of time wasters is the external time wasters. These are not as easy to control since they involve external factors. Here are some solutions to help control or at the very least, keep them to a minimum:
1) Visitors. If you get a lot of visitors dropping to your work area this could be a huge time waster for you. The solution is to move your desk so that your back is to the door. This will make you seem less approachable. When someone stops in to talk, stand up. This will send the message that you don't have time to chat. If all else fails be honest. Tell them thanks for dropping by, but tactfully let them know that you need to get back to work.
2) Telephone calls. Screen your calls. Let the voice mail take your calls during the day when you are busy. Schedule time during each day when you will return the calls and let your clients know when that time will be. Keep your answers short and to the point and end the conversation politely when it has achieved it's purpose. With a little practice you can be personable and still keep the conversation short.
3) Mail. It can flood your desk and take it over before you it. Schedule time each day to go through your mail. Make it a rule to handle each piece of mail only once. Throw out the junk mail immediately, file" information only" mail in a file box to be read later and respond to the others by telephone or fax. Faxing a response is a great idea because the response is immediate and takes very little time.
4) Email. Clean out your email box daily and don't use your business email address for personal use.
Using these solutions, your productivity will increase and your stress level on the job will decrease. The best part is, you can say goodbye to the time bandits forever!
Let's look at the self generated internal time wasters and some possible solutions:
1) The lack of planning and priorities. Many people never get anything accomplished because they don't know where to begin or how to proceed once started. It is important that you keep a weekly schedule. List your priorities in order of importance. If needed, discuss the priorities with your boss or coworkers. Make a schedule that starts at the beginning of each week and incorporates all of your priorities into the schedule with goals for completion dates. List every hour and what you should be working on for that hour. Schedule tight so there is not a lot of time in between projects. Too much time between projects is wasted time.
2) Disorganization. Disorganized people spend way too much time looking for lost items. Keep your office neatly organized and free of clutter. If you can't do this yourself, recruit a friend or hire someone to help you.
3) Procrastination. This is a big time waster. Set a deadline for those projects that you don't want to do. Plan a reward for yourself when finished. Work on the project in small chunks until completed. Sometimes it helps to work on it first thing in the morning to get it out of the way.
The second category of time wasters is the external time wasters. These are not as easy to control since they involve external factors. Here are some solutions to help control or at the very least, keep them to a minimum:
1) Visitors. If you get a lot of visitors dropping to your work area this could be a huge time waster for you. The solution is to move your desk so that your back is to the door. This will make you seem less approachable. When someone stops in to talk, stand up. This will send the message that you don't have time to chat. If all else fails be honest. Tell them thanks for dropping by, but tactfully let them know that you need to get back to work.
2) Telephone calls. Screen your calls. Let the voice mail take your calls during the day when you are busy. Schedule time during each day when you will return the calls and let your clients know when that time will be. Keep your answers short and to the point and end the conversation politely when it has achieved it's purpose. With a little practice you can be personable and still keep the conversation short.
3) Mail. It can flood your desk and take it over before you it. Schedule time each day to go through your mail. Make it a rule to handle each piece of mail only once. Throw out the junk mail immediately, file" information only" mail in a file box to be read later and respond to the others by telephone or fax. Faxing a response is a great idea because the response is immediate and takes very little time.
4) Email. Clean out your email box daily and don't use your business email address for personal use.
Using these solutions, your productivity will increase and your stress level on the job will decrease. The best part is, you can say goodbye to the time bandits forever!asters. These are the things that you do yourself to waste time and are the easiest to control. The second category are the external time wasters. These are the things other people do to waste your time. This can be more diffucult to control, though it can be controlled with a little bit of effort and ingenuity.
Let's look at the self generated internal time wasters and some possible solutions:
1) The lack of planning and priorities. Many people never get anything accomplished because they don't know where to begin or how to proceed once started. It is important that you keep a weekly schedule. List your priorities in order of importance. If needed, discuss the priorities with your boss or coworkers. Make a schedule that starts at the beginning of each week and incorporates all of your priorities into the schedule with goals for completion dates. List every hour and what you should be working on for that hour. Schedule tight so there is not a lot of time in between projects. Too much time between projects is wasted time.
2) Disorganization. Disorganized people spend way too much time looking for lost items. Keep your office neatly organized and free of clutter. If you can't do this yourself, recruit a friend or hire someone to help you.
3) Procrastination. This is a big time waster. Set a deadline for those projects that you don't want to do. Plan a reward for yourself when finished. Work on the project in small chunks until completed. Sometimes it helps to work on it first thing in the morning to get it out of the way.
The second category of time wasters is the external time wasters. These are not as easy to control since they involve external factors. Here are some solutions to help control or at the very least, keep them to a minimum:
1) Visitors. If you get a lot of visitors dropping to your work area this could be a huge time waster for you. The solution is to move your desk so that your back is to the door. This will make you seem less approachable. When someone stops in to talk, stand up. This will send the message that you don't have time to chat. If all else fails be honest. Tell them thanks for dropping by, but tactfully let them know that you need to get back to work.
2) Telephone calls. Screen your calls. Let the voice mail take your calls during the day when you are busy. Schedule time during each day when you will return the calls and let your clients know when that time will be. Keep your answers short and to the point and end the conversation politely when it has achieved it's purpose. With a little practice you can be personable and still keep the conversation short.
3) Mail. It can flood your desk and take it over before you it. Schedule time each day to go through your mail. Make it a rule to handle each piece of mail only once. Throw out the junk mail immediately, file" information only" mail in a file box to be read later and respond to the others by telephone or fax. Faxing a response is a great idea because the response is immediate and takes very little time.
4) Email. Clean out your email box daily and don't use your business email address for personal use.
Using these solutions, your productivity will increase and your stress level on the job will decrease. The best part is, you can say goodbye to the time bandits forever!
Finding Balance on the Tightrope
Finding Balance on the Help Tightrope
Too much help? Too little? What is enough when it comes to helping with schoolwork? It’s the tightrope that every parent walks.
In the past, education has been left up to the schools. Now, with a more demanding curriculum, overworked teachers, an under funded education system, parents find themselves increasingly more involved with their kid’s schoolwork. That is a good thing! However, learning how to help your children has become more important than ever.
The help tightrope is narrow with extremes of “too little” and “too much”, hovering on both sides of that fine line—the fine line that separates the independent learner from the dependent one. Examining both sides will help you to identify your helping style.
On one side, you work with your child all the time—through the complete processright to the finished product. Sometimes if your child is having difficulty with any part of an assignment you do it with him, well maybe for him/her, just a little bit---so that s/he will know what to do, of course. You check everything that your child is doing just to make sure it is absolutely perfect—up to your standards, and if not the work needs to be redone, again and again if necessary. You want your child to learn early on what an acceptable finished product should look like—acceptable by your standards.
On the other side you have a completely hands off approach to any schoolwork your child has. Schoolwork is totally his/her responsibility. Sometimes you sense that your child may not be doing schoolwork---she was on the phone for quite a while, he was instant messaging last time you were in his room, however you’re not getting involved. How else is your child going to learn any responsibility…. and schoolwork is your child’s responsibility, not yours.
You feel that by comparing your child to his/her siblings or peers this sets a good example for him/her to follow—something to strive for. After all we all need someone to look up to, so you make very sure to provide many examples to your child of people doing better. These positive examples of success will serve as a role model—will define expectations for your child.
On the other side of the tightrope, you don’t provide any expectations for your child to strive towards, even in areas of strength. Your child will accomplish whatever s/he chooses to without any examples to help from you. They will find their own road to success. They don’t need you to provide any role models to guide them on their way.
You continuously lecture, nag, correct your child, focusing on the areas of need. Whatever it takes to remediate your child’s challenges, you will do---tutors, computer programs, books, additional work---even if other extracurricular activities have to be suspended. You feel that it is worth it in the long run. Hockey, dance lessons, soccer, all of that can wait. You have to “fix” the problem, now. You completely focus in on what s/he isn’t “good at”.
On the other hand, you never lecture, nag or correct—ever. You’re sure your child will get the help s/he needs when they feel like it. You’re not too worried that your child isn’t doing well in say, Math. After all, s/he comes by it quite naturally since you’re not good at it either. Must be genetic. Why focus on something that can’t be fixed?
You develop your child’s strengths by enrolling him/her in many lessons and extracurricular activities—so much so that schoolwork is taking a back seat, squeezed in between one lesson and the other, done in the car or right before bedtime. Your child is constantly on the go, with no real downtime or schoolwork time. You want to help your child be well rounded, with well developed skills in his/her abilities. After all, when a child feels good about him/herself, their confidence is higher and they do better in school, right? And…. it is good to expose them to many things, it opens their mind.
Your child isn’t in any lessons at all. After all children need to be children. They have a great deal of unstructured time with nothing really to fill it. Their strengths will develop naturally.
When your child has a long term assignment, you are there—fully involved. You assist in every aspect, correcting, editing, extensively offering numerous suggestions and incorporating many of your own ideas. After putting in all those finishing touches, the end product is simply an outstanding success---if you do say so yourself. This is absolutely the best assignment you—er—your child has ever done.
The other side of the help tightrope doesn’t get involved at all. You may be aware of the general overview of what has to be done, if your child chooses to tell you. If asked, you will take your child to the library or to the store to buy supplies, however it is all left up to the child. You feel that your child will have a greater sense of accomplishment if they do the work totally on their own….and, they will learn how to plan and organize.
You take complete ownership of your child’s concerns and never allow for natural consequences, even in repeat offences. If your child forgets their assignment at home or a book at school or doesn’t complete something on time---you spring into action—picking up, dropping off, explaining, justifying, whatever you need to do. You feel that it is your job to protect your child—help your child in any way possible for as long as possible.
On the other hand, you don’t take any ownership at any time for any reason, whatsoever. Tough love at all costs is your motto.
You insist your child stick to a task until totally finished---never mind thefrustration. Perseverance is important---it really pays off in the end. Allowing a break would only take his/her focus off what needs to be done and in the long run the task will take longer to complete. If necessary, you will sit with your child and make sure s/he finishes.
On the other side, you allow your child to negotiate when completing a task or even make excuses for him/her when they decide not to finish something because it takes too much thought and effort, or is “too hard”. Schoolwork then gets done, sort of, in between television shows, phone calls, outdoor activities, if at all. Even if you feel that your child has not really tried their best on something, you let it go, accepting their rationalizations.
You have a set schedule to which your child must rigidly adhere to. A time forschoolwork, a time for recreation, a time for bedtime—for everything there is a time—no exceptions of any kind. If something unexpected occurs, then it throws you in a tizzy. Flexibility has no place in your home.
You, on the other hand do not have a framework or a set of guidelines of any kind regarding schoolwork and studying. Everything will get done in its own time at its own pace. A schedule of any kind has no place in your home.
The ultimate “too much” is when every test, every performance, every school related activity your child is involved in gives you a headache, an upset stomach, sleep disturbances—makes you apprehensive. That is when you know you have fallen off the help tightrope.
Balancing is precarious. You need to provide support without total involvement. You need to provide guidance without control. You need to provide structure without rigidity. You need to know—really know what your child needs and then help them to help themselves. If you find yourself doing the work for your child, no matter the reason, you are doing “too much”. On the other hand, if you find your child is frustrated, overwhelmed, overworked and you don’t know why, then you are doing “too little”. Look to the end results —to determine if your child is becoming increasingly independent—to determine if your child is achieving success in school---to determine if you have achieved balance on the help tightrope.
Too much help? Too little? What is enough when it comes to helping with schoolwork? It’s the tightrope that every parent walks.
In the past, education has been left up to the schools. Now, with a more demanding curriculum, overworked teachers, an under funded education system, parents find themselves increasingly more involved with their kid’s schoolwork. That is a good thing! However, learning how to help your children has become more important than ever.
The help tightrope is narrow with extremes of “too little” and “too much”, hovering on both sides of that fine line—the fine line that separates the independent learner from the dependent one. Examining both sides will help you to identify your helping style.
On one side, you work with your child all the time—through the complete processright to the finished product. Sometimes if your child is having difficulty with any part of an assignment you do it with him, well maybe for him/her, just a little bit---so that s/he will know what to do, of course. You check everything that your child is doing just to make sure it is absolutely perfect—up to your standards, and if not the work needs to be redone, again and again if necessary. You want your child to learn early on what an acceptable finished product should look like—acceptable by your standards.
On the other side you have a completely hands off approach to any schoolwork your child has. Schoolwork is totally his/her responsibility. Sometimes you sense that your child may not be doing schoolwork---she was on the phone for quite a while, he was instant messaging last time you were in his room, however you’re not getting involved. How else is your child going to learn any responsibility…. and schoolwork is your child’s responsibility, not yours.
You feel that by comparing your child to his/her siblings or peers this sets a good example for him/her to follow—something to strive for. After all we all need someone to look up to, so you make very sure to provide many examples to your child of people doing better. These positive examples of success will serve as a role model—will define expectations for your child.
On the other side of the tightrope, you don’t provide any expectations for your child to strive towards, even in areas of strength. Your child will accomplish whatever s/he chooses to without any examples to help from you. They will find their own road to success. They don’t need you to provide any role models to guide them on their way.
You continuously lecture, nag, correct your child, focusing on the areas of need. Whatever it takes to remediate your child’s challenges, you will do---tutors, computer programs, books, additional work---even if other extracurricular activities have to be suspended. You feel that it is worth it in the long run. Hockey, dance lessons, soccer, all of that can wait. You have to “fix” the problem, now. You completely focus in on what s/he isn’t “good at”.
On the other hand, you never lecture, nag or correct—ever. You’re sure your child will get the help s/he needs when they feel like it. You’re not too worried that your child isn’t doing well in say, Math. After all, s/he comes by it quite naturally since you’re not good at it either. Must be genetic. Why focus on something that can’t be fixed?
You develop your child’s strengths by enrolling him/her in many lessons and extracurricular activities—so much so that schoolwork is taking a back seat, squeezed in between one lesson and the other, done in the car or right before bedtime. Your child is constantly on the go, with no real downtime or schoolwork time. You want to help your child be well rounded, with well developed skills in his/her abilities. After all, when a child feels good about him/herself, their confidence is higher and they do better in school, right? And…. it is good to expose them to many things, it opens their mind.
Your child isn’t in any lessons at all. After all children need to be children. They have a great deal of unstructured time with nothing really to fill it. Their strengths will develop naturally.
When your child has a long term assignment, you are there—fully involved. You assist in every aspect, correcting, editing, extensively offering numerous suggestions and incorporating many of your own ideas. After putting in all those finishing touches, the end product is simply an outstanding success---if you do say so yourself. This is absolutely the best assignment you—er—your child has ever done.
The other side of the help tightrope doesn’t get involved at all. You may be aware of the general overview of what has to be done, if your child chooses to tell you. If asked, you will take your child to the library or to the store to buy supplies, however it is all left up to the child. You feel that your child will have a greater sense of accomplishment if they do the work totally on their own….and, they will learn how to plan and organize.
You take complete ownership of your child’s concerns and never allow for natural consequences, even in repeat offences. If your child forgets their assignment at home or a book at school or doesn’t complete something on time---you spring into action—picking up, dropping off, explaining, justifying, whatever you need to do. You feel that it is your job to protect your child—help your child in any way possible for as long as possible.
On the other hand, you don’t take any ownership at any time for any reason, whatsoever. Tough love at all costs is your motto.
You insist your child stick to a task until totally finished---never mind thefrustration. Perseverance is important---it really pays off in the end. Allowing a break would only take his/her focus off what needs to be done and in the long run the task will take longer to complete. If necessary, you will sit with your child and make sure s/he finishes.
On the other side, you allow your child to negotiate when completing a task or even make excuses for him/her when they decide not to finish something because it takes too much thought and effort, or is “too hard”. Schoolwork then gets done, sort of, in between television shows, phone calls, outdoor activities, if at all. Even if you feel that your child has not really tried their best on something, you let it go, accepting their rationalizations.
You have a set schedule to which your child must rigidly adhere to. A time forschoolwork, a time for recreation, a time for bedtime—for everything there is a time—no exceptions of any kind. If something unexpected occurs, then it throws you in a tizzy. Flexibility has no place in your home.
You, on the other hand do not have a framework or a set of guidelines of any kind regarding schoolwork and studying. Everything will get done in its own time at its own pace. A schedule of any kind has no place in your home.
The ultimate “too much” is when every test, every performance, every school related activity your child is involved in gives you a headache, an upset stomach, sleep disturbances—makes you apprehensive. That is when you know you have fallen off the help tightrope.
Balancing is precarious. You need to provide support without total involvement. You need to provide guidance without control. You need to provide structure without rigidity. You need to know—really know what your child needs and then help them to help themselves. If you find yourself doing the work for your child, no matter the reason, you are doing “too much”. On the other hand, if you find your child is frustrated, overwhelmed, overworked and you don’t know why, then you are doing “too little”. Look to the end results —to determine if your child is becoming increasingly independent—to determine if your child is achieving success in school---to determine if you have achieved balance on the help tightrope.
Balance Your Work Life and Home Life
Balancing your work life and your home life can be very difficult. Your job can require more of you than you are able to give in a typical 8 to 10 hour day. A lot of people will bring work home with them at night or on the weekends or will work longer hours to get their jobs finished. But the more time that you spend on your work, the less time you can spend with your family. A lot of marital problems can stem from one or both spouses spending more time at their job than with each other. However, there are ways to get your work life and your home life into balance.
* Take care of yourself. Eat a healthy balanced meal three times a day. Drink plenty of water and schedule exercise into your day, even if it's only 15 minutes. Get at least 8 hours of sleep a night. These are the most important steps that you need to take to get your life back in balance. Someone who is tired, skipping meals and is out of shape cannot function at their maximum capacity.
* Say no to the unimportant tasks. Many people do not know how to say no. They get themselves so buried in doing things for others that it becomes impossible for them to do anything for themselves.
* Make a list of your priorities. Think about what you want to be remembered for. If you had to write your own obituary, what would you want it to say? Do you want to be remembered for being an excellent employee and a "yes" person or do you want to be remembered as being a loving parent and spouse whose greatest accomplishment is family? Learn to say no to the things that will not help you achieve your goal.
* Another great way to balance your work with your home life is to find a job that is family friendly. Find an employer that recognizes that you have other people in your life and these people have needs too. Things such as employee assistance programs, health insurance that covers dependents and spouse, on-site child-care and paternity leave are all benefits to look for.
* Simplify your life. De-clutter your office at work and at home. Group your errands and take your child with you when you go. This is a great way to spend some alone time with your child. Turn off the television. Turning off the TV will free up precious time to play board games with the family or get out and take a walk with them.
* Eat together. Make it a priority for the family to get together for a least one meal a day at the table. This is valuable time that can be spent learning about your kids and some of the challenges they may be facing.
These are a few suggestions to help balance your work life and your home life. List your priorities and make a schedule to stick to them. Learn to say no to the unimportant things. You only get one chance at life. It's up to you to do everything you can to make it count.
* Take care of yourself. Eat a healthy balanced meal three times a day. Drink plenty of water and schedule exercise into your day, even if it's only 15 minutes. Get at least 8 hours of sleep a night. These are the most important steps that you need to take to get your life back in balance. Someone who is tired, skipping meals and is out of shape cannot function at their maximum capacity.
* Say no to the unimportant tasks. Many people do not know how to say no. They get themselves so buried in doing things for others that it becomes impossible for them to do anything for themselves.
* Make a list of your priorities. Think about what you want to be remembered for. If you had to write your own obituary, what would you want it to say? Do you want to be remembered for being an excellent employee and a "yes" person or do you want to be remembered as being a loving parent and spouse whose greatest accomplishment is family? Learn to say no to the things that will not help you achieve your goal.
* Another great way to balance your work with your home life is to find a job that is family friendly. Find an employer that recognizes that you have other people in your life and these people have needs too. Things such as employee assistance programs, health insurance that covers dependents and spouse, on-site child-care and paternity leave are all benefits to look for.
* Simplify your life. De-clutter your office at work and at home. Group your errands and take your child with you when you go. This is a great way to spend some alone time with your child. Turn off the television. Turning off the TV will free up precious time to play board games with the family or get out and take a walk with them.
* Eat together. Make it a priority for the family to get together for a least one meal a day at the table. This is valuable time that can be spent learning about your kids and some of the challenges they may be facing.
These are a few suggestions to help balance your work life and your home life. List your priorities and make a schedule to stick to them. Learn to say no to the unimportant things. You only get one chance at life. It's up to you to do everything you can to make it count.
Work Smarter Not Faster for Maximum Efficiency
With our busy lives and mounting responsibilities we think that the faster we work, or the harder we work, the more we will accomplish. While this sounds good in theory, it is just not true. When we try to work faster, we may lose focus and this results in taking longer to complete a project. The following tips will help you to work smarter and accomplish more without having to work faster.
* The most important thing to remember is that you do not have a million things to do: you have one thing to do at a time.
* Prioritize your goals. Then make a list of steps that you need to take to reach those goals. Make sure that each step or action on your list is vitally important to reaching that goal.
* Set aside work that can be done at home. Take that work home and work on it at night. Just make sure that you save some time for yourself and your family.
* Do your most important projects in your peak energy times. Everyone has a time of day in which they work better. Identify this time and schedule your most important projects then focus on what matters most and less on staying caught up.
* Use an appointment calendar and avoid letting people just drop in. If people do drop in for something important, see if you can put them in your appointment schedule at a later time.
* Resist the urge to multi task. Trying to do too many things at once just results in a loss of concentration and getting off track.
* Get rid of distractions. Close you email program and your instant messages. You can live without them for the time it takes you to accomplish something on your task list.
* Start each project by asking yourself "Just what do I need to accomplish here?" This question will help you focus and allow you to map out steps to finish the project in the fastest time possible.
* Set a standard for the outcome of each project and stop when you reach that standard. Far too much time is wasted trying to achieve perfection.
* Admit when you are overloaded and seek help when needed. You do no one any favors by keeping an excessive work load that cannot be completed in a timely manner. If you need help ask for it or ask for an extension on a deadline.
* Use email and direct voice messaging as much as possible to communicate throughout the day.
* Use email instead of phone conversations to help insure clarity. You will have the details in black and white instead of trying to remember a phone conversation.
* Go to work 30 to 60 minutes earlier so that you have quiet time to devote to important projects. This will also give you time to plan your day and gather any necessary documents or information that you might need.
These tips will help you to become more efficient without having to work faster or harder. The person who works smarter will be the person that moves ahead in any business.
* The most important thing to remember is that you do not have a million things to do: you have one thing to do at a time.
* Prioritize your goals. Then make a list of steps that you need to take to reach those goals. Make sure that each step or action on your list is vitally important to reaching that goal.
* Set aside work that can be done at home. Take that work home and work on it at night. Just make sure that you save some time for yourself and your family.
* Do your most important projects in your peak energy times. Everyone has a time of day in which they work better. Identify this time and schedule your most important projects then focus on what matters most and less on staying caught up.
* Use an appointment calendar and avoid letting people just drop in. If people do drop in for something important, see if you can put them in your appointment schedule at a later time.
* Resist the urge to multi task. Trying to do too many things at once just results in a loss of concentration and getting off track.
* Get rid of distractions. Close you email program and your instant messages. You can live without them for the time it takes you to accomplish something on your task list.
* Start each project by asking yourself "Just what do I need to accomplish here?" This question will help you focus and allow you to map out steps to finish the project in the fastest time possible.
* Set a standard for the outcome of each project and stop when you reach that standard. Far too much time is wasted trying to achieve perfection.
* Admit when you are overloaded and seek help when needed. You do no one any favors by keeping an excessive work load that cannot be completed in a timely manner. If you need help ask for it or ask for an extension on a deadline.
* Use email and direct voice messaging as much as possible to communicate throughout the day.
* Use email instead of phone conversations to help insure clarity. You will have the details in black and white instead of trying to remember a phone conversation.
* Go to work 30 to 60 minutes earlier so that you have quiet time to devote to important projects. This will also give you time to plan your day and gather any necessary documents or information that you might need.
These tips will help you to become more efficient without having to work faster or harder. The person who works smarter will be the person that moves ahead in any business.
Proper Perspective on Priorities
Sometimes it seems that the responsibilities that we have for coworkers, company, career and family are in tragic conflict. How can we balance the requirements and the responsibilities between personal and professional lives? There are a limited number of hours in a day, so how
do we measure them and where do we draw the line?
A good friend of mine was contemplating a very difficult decision. For several months he had been planning to take a vacation with his wife and two children. During the week leading up to his vacation his management asked repeatedly for him to cancel the trip or to send his family on it without him. The management even went so far as to offer a bonus if this trip would be cancelled. He explained this dilemma to me as we were leaving his office and walking through a dark parking lot after he had just completed another fourteen hour work day.
My good friend shared with me that his last vacation was seven years ago. He had spent the last three weeks managing two shifts of operations Monday through Friday. For the last five years he also worked Saturday, Sunday or both days on the weekend. The people in the organization looked up to his unselfish dedication and continuous effort. He never asked anyone to do something that he was not willing to do himself. The consistent display of individual responsibility was an inspiration to everyone in the company. It was a tough decision for him to take personal time when so many other people looked up to him for guidance.
We paused for a moment beside his car and I shared a personal story in memory of Harold Burwell.
Harold Burwell was one of my managers at a very early time in my career. Harold also worked nights and weekends. He was always available for his employees with advice or a sympathetic ear. At the company Christmas party, Harold would dress up as Santa Claus and pass out small gifts to every member of his staff. In the summer, Harold would surprise his employees by catering a picnic in the parking lot. Quick with a smile and a joke, he also demonstrated a consistent personal commitment and dedication for each and every one of his employees.
One weekend Harold arrived early and was working alone in the office. As he concentrated on the financials and reached for his keyboard, his arm accidentally spilled his fresh cup of coffee across the desk and into his lap. Steam rose from his trousers as his eyes widened and a flurry of angry words escaped through clenched teeth. Harold dashed to the restroom, took off his pants and rinsed them in the sink. Then he draped the trousers over the stall and went back to his office wearing a white button down shirt, boxers, socks and cowboy boots.
As Harold was busy using paper towels from the restroom to wipe up the rest of the coffee from his desk, chair and ledgers, he heard a familiar voice. He quickly sat behind his desk just before his administrative assistant put her head in the doorway and issued her morning greeting. From behind his desk Harold straightened his white button down shirt in a very businesslike manner, smiled and waved with a pleasant greeting in return.
By the time that I arrived at the office that day, several more people were already walking around and catching up on month end activities. For several hours Harold remained seated behind his desk, reviewing the financial statements and making notes. If anyone came by his office, Harold would wave and smile with a polite explanation that his was very busy and needed some privacy to concentrate on the numbers for a big report that was coming up. Then he would roll up his sleeves, rearrange his paperwork and stare intently at the documents on his desk.
As the sun was going down and evening was upon us, I put my head in Harold's office and waved that I was leaving. Harold asked politely if there was anyone else left in the building other than the two of us. When I responded that we were the only two remaining in the office, Harold jumped up from behind his desk and bolted toward the restroom. A few minutes later he reappeared, wearing his dry trousers and a grin that spread from ear to ear. This was only one of many laughs that we shared.
A few years later, Harold was on a business trip to visit some important clients when we received a phone call that he died in his sleep in the hotel room. Several days later a caravan of cars proceeded in solemn procession from work to his funeral. Many of us stood in the rain and comforted one another as they lowered his casket into the earth. As flowers and tears were left behind in reverent memory of a kind and unselfish man, we noticed that his own family did not attend. After several more days passed, we packed up his belongings from the office and shipped them to his wife and children. We carefully wrapped each picture, each ceramic figurine that had been crafted by small hands several years ago and each precious memory that had slowly gathered dust on the bookshelf in his office. On top of the of the personal belongings we placed a note of sympathy that was signed by everyone in the office, each with a personal comment or memory of the man who had touched so many of our lives. I do not think that the card was ever read or even discovered.
As I shared this story with my good friend in the empty parking lot, we quietly reflected on the other responsibilities in life. The people who mourn you when you pass are the people who love you the most while you are alive. These are the people who need you the most in their own lives. Where do you need to be? Who will miss you when you are gone? How much have you made these people a part of your own life? Creating a proper perspective on priorities comes from recognizing all of your responsibilities and giving the proper portion of your life to those people who cherish it the most.
Thankfully, my friend went on vacation with his family and knocked the dust off of some precious memories.
______________________________________________________
Words of Wisdom
"If I had to live my life again, I'd make the same mistakes, only sooner."- Tallulah Bankhead
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards."- Soren Kierkegaard
"Creating a proper perspective on priorities comes from recognizing all of your responsibilities and giving the proper portion of your life to those people who cherish it the most." - John Mehrmann
In respectful memory of Harold Burwell
do we measure them and where do we draw the line?
A good friend of mine was contemplating a very difficult decision. For several months he had been planning to take a vacation with his wife and two children. During the week leading up to his vacation his management asked repeatedly for him to cancel the trip or to send his family on it without him. The management even went so far as to offer a bonus if this trip would be cancelled. He explained this dilemma to me as we were leaving his office and walking through a dark parking lot after he had just completed another fourteen hour work day.
My good friend shared with me that his last vacation was seven years ago. He had spent the last three weeks managing two shifts of operations Monday through Friday. For the last five years he also worked Saturday, Sunday or both days on the weekend. The people in the organization looked up to his unselfish dedication and continuous effort. He never asked anyone to do something that he was not willing to do himself. The consistent display of individual responsibility was an inspiration to everyone in the company. It was a tough decision for him to take personal time when so many other people looked up to him for guidance.
We paused for a moment beside his car and I shared a personal story in memory of Harold Burwell.
Harold Burwell was one of my managers at a very early time in my career. Harold also worked nights and weekends. He was always available for his employees with advice or a sympathetic ear. At the company Christmas party, Harold would dress up as Santa Claus and pass out small gifts to every member of his staff. In the summer, Harold would surprise his employees by catering a picnic in the parking lot. Quick with a smile and a joke, he also demonstrated a consistent personal commitment and dedication for each and every one of his employees.
One weekend Harold arrived early and was working alone in the office. As he concentrated on the financials and reached for his keyboard, his arm accidentally spilled his fresh cup of coffee across the desk and into his lap. Steam rose from his trousers as his eyes widened and a flurry of angry words escaped through clenched teeth. Harold dashed to the restroom, took off his pants and rinsed them in the sink. Then he draped the trousers over the stall and went back to his office wearing a white button down shirt, boxers, socks and cowboy boots.
As Harold was busy using paper towels from the restroom to wipe up the rest of the coffee from his desk, chair and ledgers, he heard a familiar voice. He quickly sat behind his desk just before his administrative assistant put her head in the doorway and issued her morning greeting. From behind his desk Harold straightened his white button down shirt in a very businesslike manner, smiled and waved with a pleasant greeting in return.
By the time that I arrived at the office that day, several more people were already walking around and catching up on month end activities. For several hours Harold remained seated behind his desk, reviewing the financial statements and making notes. If anyone came by his office, Harold would wave and smile with a polite explanation that his was very busy and needed some privacy to concentrate on the numbers for a big report that was coming up. Then he would roll up his sleeves, rearrange his paperwork and stare intently at the documents on his desk.
As the sun was going down and evening was upon us, I put my head in Harold's office and waved that I was leaving. Harold asked politely if there was anyone else left in the building other than the two of us. When I responded that we were the only two remaining in the office, Harold jumped up from behind his desk and bolted toward the restroom. A few minutes later he reappeared, wearing his dry trousers and a grin that spread from ear to ear. This was only one of many laughs that we shared.
A few years later, Harold was on a business trip to visit some important clients when we received a phone call that he died in his sleep in the hotel room. Several days later a caravan of cars proceeded in solemn procession from work to his funeral. Many of us stood in the rain and comforted one another as they lowered his casket into the earth. As flowers and tears were left behind in reverent memory of a kind and unselfish man, we noticed that his own family did not attend. After several more days passed, we packed up his belongings from the office and shipped them to his wife and children. We carefully wrapped each picture, each ceramic figurine that had been crafted by small hands several years ago and each precious memory that had slowly gathered dust on the bookshelf in his office. On top of the of the personal belongings we placed a note of sympathy that was signed by everyone in the office, each with a personal comment or memory of the man who had touched so many of our lives. I do not think that the card was ever read or even discovered.
As I shared this story with my good friend in the empty parking lot, we quietly reflected on the other responsibilities in life. The people who mourn you when you pass are the people who love you the most while you are alive. These are the people who need you the most in their own lives. Where do you need to be? Who will miss you when you are gone? How much have you made these people a part of your own life? Creating a proper perspective on priorities comes from recognizing all of your responsibilities and giving the proper portion of your life to those people who cherish it the most.
Thankfully, my friend went on vacation with his family and knocked the dust off of some precious memories.
______________________________________________________
Words of Wisdom
"If I had to live my life again, I'd make the same mistakes, only sooner."- Tallulah Bankhead
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards."- Soren Kierkegaard
"Creating a proper perspective on priorities comes from recognizing all of your responsibilities and giving the proper portion of your life to those people who cherish it the most." - John Mehrmann
In respectful memory of Harold Burwell
6 Simple Tips To Achieve More In Less Time
If you want to get the most from life you need to manage your time correctly. If you do you will get more done in less time, feel happier, less stressed and get more form life and these tips are simple ones, that you can apply in your work or home life.
So let’s look at how to do much more in less time.
We all know the main key to effective time management is planning and these 6 points will fit into any plan, so let’s look at them.
1. Divide your day into segments
Divide your time for specific tasks into time slots and group them together try to avoid multi tasking – you wont get more done you will get less, because a single task won’t have your full attention.
Also get used to avoiding the bombardment of modern communications such as trying to answer emails all day long or constantly answering your mobile phone.
Clear you mind and for parts of the day turn off your mobile phone and shut your email box.
2. Prioritize
Prioritize your tasks and do your least favourite tasks FIRST.
There are tasks we all hate (there a bit like going to the dentist you know your going to have to do them eventually) so clear your mind of them and do them first.
Then number the tasks in order of priority and clear them in sequence.
3. The 15 Minute Rule
If a task takes less than 15 minutes try and do it right away or on the same day.
This is a great way to stop tasks piling up. One of the keys to time management is moving on tasks quickly, getting them out of the way and the 15 minute rule will help you.
4. Clear Your Desk
Don’t allow your desk to pile with paper!
As soon as you receive correspondence and tasks they should be in your diary, in order of priority and out of the way.
Having a clear desk and a clear mind to concentrate
5. Delegate
How is your time best spent?
Put a value on your time and if you find that tasks that can be done cheaper by delegating then delegate them and spend your time on the ones that you know make you the most productive.
The industrial age was built on division of labour and trying to do everything went out of fashion in the 19th century!
6. Beware of Others
There are plenty of people who may want favours from you, or want to take up your time with their problems, but there is a time and place to do this!
Don’t try and solve the world’s problems, when you can’t get to grips with your own life. Make sure you are sensible in the time that you devote to others.
The above are simple tips that will allow you to manage your time more effectively and make you more productive, giving you more quality time to devote to yourself and do the things that you enjoy most.
So let’s look at how to do much more in less time.
We all know the main key to effective time management is planning and these 6 points will fit into any plan, so let’s look at them.
1. Divide your day into segments
Divide your time for specific tasks into time slots and group them together try to avoid multi tasking – you wont get more done you will get less, because a single task won’t have your full attention.
Also get used to avoiding the bombardment of modern communications such as trying to answer emails all day long or constantly answering your mobile phone.
Clear you mind and for parts of the day turn off your mobile phone and shut your email box.
2. Prioritize
Prioritize your tasks and do your least favourite tasks FIRST.
There are tasks we all hate (there a bit like going to the dentist you know your going to have to do them eventually) so clear your mind of them and do them first.
Then number the tasks in order of priority and clear them in sequence.
3. The 15 Minute Rule
If a task takes less than 15 minutes try and do it right away or on the same day.
This is a great way to stop tasks piling up. One of the keys to time management is moving on tasks quickly, getting them out of the way and the 15 minute rule will help you.
4. Clear Your Desk
Don’t allow your desk to pile with paper!
As soon as you receive correspondence and tasks they should be in your diary, in order of priority and out of the way.
Having a clear desk and a clear mind to concentrate
5. Delegate
How is your time best spent?
Put a value on your time and if you find that tasks that can be done cheaper by delegating then delegate them and spend your time on the ones that you know make you the most productive.
The industrial age was built on division of labour and trying to do everything went out of fashion in the 19th century!
6. Beware of Others
There are plenty of people who may want favours from you, or want to take up your time with their problems, but there is a time and place to do this!
Don’t try and solve the world’s problems, when you can’t get to grips with your own life. Make sure you are sensible in the time that you devote to others.
The above are simple tips that will allow you to manage your time more effectively and make you more productive, giving you more quality time to devote to yourself and do the things that you enjoy most.
Procrastination: An Unfortunate Way Of Life For Many People
For some people, procrastination is not just a word, it is a way of life. Many men and women out there are up to their necks in damaged relationships, poor health, and financial stress, all of which can be credited to putting off their responsibilities.
But what exactly is procrastination? How do you recognize whether or not you have a problem with it? How does a person understand whether the negative experiences that they are having in life is the result of procrastinating?
First take a look at the word "procrastination". It is created from the combination of the Latin words "pro" and "cras" which means "for tomorrow". When a person procrastinates, they are making a conscious decision to put off something that they have to do until some undetermined future time. They may decide to keep putting it off indefinitely or wait until the very last minute to begin the job. Either way, life becomes stressful because of these choices.
If you are a member of the procrastination club, then you more than likely have a big list of responsibilities that you have not gotten around to or at the very least have made it a habit of beginning certain jobs and activities at the last minute. Most of the time, the damage is already done. Procrastination is a problem for you if you have a regular habit of telling people that "I'll get to it later" or "I have too much to do now, and I will try to get to it next week", etc.
Why do we ignore such responsibilities?
Every person has their own specific reasons why they choose to put aside their responsibilities. For some people, the item that needs to be attended to may appear to be too difficult or endangers their comfort zone.
Take smoking for example. This habit is one that literally kills people every day and thousands of men and women have promised themselves to quit, yet they procrastinate on actually doing the things they should be doing to facilitate that goal. But quitting smoking would be just "too hard". Even though they want to quit, and must quit, they would rather put it off after "just one more cigarette" or "I'll quit after this pack of cigarettes is finished" or "I'm really stressed right now, and the cigarette will calm me down, so I'll quit tomorrow when I feel better".
Does any of this sound familiar to you? Do you understand now what procrastination is and why your life is suffering from making these choices? Not everybody is faced with life-threatening decisions that they keep putting off, such as smoking, but if you are reading this article then the chances are high that there is at least something in your life that you wish to change for the better and can be turned around if you can just master the habit of getting things done when you're supposed to. Your job is to kill procrastination, change your habit patterns, and live the life you are supposed to.
But what exactly is procrastination? How do you recognize whether or not you have a problem with it? How does a person understand whether the negative experiences that they are having in life is the result of procrastinating?
First take a look at the word "procrastination". It is created from the combination of the Latin words "pro" and "cras" which means "for tomorrow". When a person procrastinates, they are making a conscious decision to put off something that they have to do until some undetermined future time. They may decide to keep putting it off indefinitely or wait until the very last minute to begin the job. Either way, life becomes stressful because of these choices.
If you are a member of the procrastination club, then you more than likely have a big list of responsibilities that you have not gotten around to or at the very least have made it a habit of beginning certain jobs and activities at the last minute. Most of the time, the damage is already done. Procrastination is a problem for you if you have a regular habit of telling people that "I'll get to it later" or "I have too much to do now, and I will try to get to it next week", etc.
Why do we ignore such responsibilities?
Every person has their own specific reasons why they choose to put aside their responsibilities. For some people, the item that needs to be attended to may appear to be too difficult or endangers their comfort zone.
Take smoking for example. This habit is one that literally kills people every day and thousands of men and women have promised themselves to quit, yet they procrastinate on actually doing the things they should be doing to facilitate that goal. But quitting smoking would be just "too hard". Even though they want to quit, and must quit, they would rather put it off after "just one more cigarette" or "I'll quit after this pack of cigarettes is finished" or "I'm really stressed right now, and the cigarette will calm me down, so I'll quit tomorrow when I feel better".
Does any of this sound familiar to you? Do you understand now what procrastination is and why your life is suffering from making these choices? Not everybody is faced with life-threatening decisions that they keep putting off, such as smoking, but if you are reading this article then the chances are high that there is at least something in your life that you wish to change for the better and can be turned around if you can just master the habit of getting things done when you're supposed to. Your job is to kill procrastination, change your habit patterns, and live the life you are supposed to.
Increase your effectiveness through Time Management
Time management is important but why? The reason is very simple, time management is about getting more value out of your time and using it to improve the quality of your life. It is not just managing your time; it is managing about one relation to time. This is a skill few people master, but it is one that most people need badly as success is very elusive without managing your time. Managing time is a real activity management or it can also be called as life management.
Effective time management is the basis of good personal and professional habits. It is a continuous decision making process where we decide what is important and according to that plan actions to be taken around us. In professional life you need to juggle many tasks and responsibilities every day, effective time management is absolutely critical for your success.
Spending time is like spending money as it is a very personal matter. Once a time is gone it can’t be brought back. In fact, poor time management is one of the reasons for poor performance.
Learning to manage your time can make you even more successful. Many of us have done mastery in the art of procrastination. To break the procrastination cycle, we need to learn how to manage our time. A important consideration for effective time management is finding regular time-period in your day when you can work without any interruptions. Perfect time management is not a realistic expectation. Effective time management requires us to actively categorize our priorities. This brings about peace and balance to our life. It is not necessarily about working hard and for long hours it is all about how smartly you finish your work. It is about getting organized and being aware of what is important to your work and for your success. It is simply based on your attitude and the choices you make.
Keys to Successful Time Management:
· Identify Your Goals and Priorities.
· Analyze How You're Spending Your Time Now.
· Match How You're Using Time With Your Priorities.
· Develop A Plan To Spend Quality Time On Your Priorities.
· Developing and maintaining a personal, flexible schedule
If ever you get stuck, start again from the scratch. Identify your long-term goals, break them into short-term goals for your success. Think is there anything that you feel you can do? Or you should be doing. Once you have started to it you have left procrastinating way back, and you are on your way to success!
Effective time management is the basis of good personal and professional habits. It is a continuous decision making process where we decide what is important and according to that plan actions to be taken around us. In professional life you need to juggle many tasks and responsibilities every day, effective time management is absolutely critical for your success.
Spending time is like spending money as it is a very personal matter. Once a time is gone it can’t be brought back. In fact, poor time management is one of the reasons for poor performance.
Learning to manage your time can make you even more successful. Many of us have done mastery in the art of procrastination. To break the procrastination cycle, we need to learn how to manage our time. A important consideration for effective time management is finding regular time-period in your day when you can work without any interruptions. Perfect time management is not a realistic expectation. Effective time management requires us to actively categorize our priorities. This brings about peace and balance to our life. It is not necessarily about working hard and for long hours it is all about how smartly you finish your work. It is about getting organized and being aware of what is important to your work and for your success. It is simply based on your attitude and the choices you make.
Keys to Successful Time Management:
· Identify Your Goals and Priorities.
· Analyze How You're Spending Your Time Now.
· Match How You're Using Time With Your Priorities.
· Develop A Plan To Spend Quality Time On Your Priorities.
· Developing and maintaining a personal, flexible schedule
If ever you get stuck, start again from the scratch. Identify your long-term goals, break them into short-term goals for your success. Think is there anything that you feel you can do? Or you should be doing. Once you have started to it you have left procrastinating way back, and you are on your way to success!
Personal Development - How To Gain More Time.
What is the one thing you need to know about proper Time Management? You need to establish your priorities and values. To be successful at managing your time first you need to establish your top priorities based on values you believe in.
To begin your time management journey, you need to first find out how you are spending your time at the moment. Then you will know how to allocate your time to achieve maximum result.
Identify what obstacles are stopping you from achieving your goal like procrastination and any time wasters. You have to stay focus and do not go off your track. Focus on results. Ask yourself, is what I am doing getting me towards my goal or not?
We all have 24 hours in a day, but why is that some get more than others at the end of the day? Those who get more done work smarter, than longer. They know why they are managing their time and have a reason to do so.
Now the big question is what is your reason for managing your time? I believe time is our most valuable asset. Once you use it, you cannot get it back. Today is not your own. You are just a caretaker. When your time is up you give back what you made of your life.
What are some of the benefits of managing your time? First and foremost you get to spend time with the people who matter most to you. In order to achieve this you have to be discipline in your time management. Manage your time according to your priorities and at the end of the day you will not regret. Days are expensive so use them wisely.
Know your priorities. The things that must be done before anything else. Learn how to differentiate the major things from the minors so not to waste your time. To be able to work your priorities, list them in the order of importance and work from the most important to the least.
I am not a master on personal development and I make it a point to learn from the best teachers available at Success University. For more information on how you can benefit from Success University click on your personal development.
To begin your time management journey, you need to first find out how you are spending your time at the moment. Then you will know how to allocate your time to achieve maximum result.
Identify what obstacles are stopping you from achieving your goal like procrastination and any time wasters. You have to stay focus and do not go off your track. Focus on results. Ask yourself, is what I am doing getting me towards my goal or not?
We all have 24 hours in a day, but why is that some get more than others at the end of the day? Those who get more done work smarter, than longer. They know why they are managing their time and have a reason to do so.
Now the big question is what is your reason for managing your time? I believe time is our most valuable asset. Once you use it, you cannot get it back. Today is not your own. You are just a caretaker. When your time is up you give back what you made of your life.
What are some of the benefits of managing your time? First and foremost you get to spend time with the people who matter most to you. In order to achieve this you have to be discipline in your time management. Manage your time according to your priorities and at the end of the day you will not regret. Days are expensive so use them wisely.
Know your priorities. The things that must be done before anything else. Learn how to differentiate the major things from the minors so not to waste your time. To be able to work your priorities, list them in the order of importance and work from the most important to the least.
I am not a master on personal development and I make it a point to learn from the best teachers available at Success University. For more information on how you can benefit from Success University click on your personal development.
Time Management – You Can't Do It All
Time management. Even the words evoke a response. How can we manage our time? Time passes, whether we manage it or not, and along with it our lives. You may want to “do it all”, but really, you can’t do it all.
Doing it All
Most people in today’s busy world are so full of options on how to spend their time, even at their workplace, that choosing what to do, and how long to do it often ends up in not doing it at all. No one can do it all, so it’s all about priorities.
Setting Priorities – Time Management’s Key Secret
If you wish to properly manage your time, you will need to sit down and write out your life’s priorities. Make this the Red List. These are the essential tasks you must do. Next, make the Green List. These are the tasks and actions that your really want to do. Then, make out the Yellow List, of low priority tasks. Finally make out the Black List of things you should NOT do.
With your priorities set, its time to move on to determining your available time.
Available Time
There are 24 hours in the day. With Time Management on your mind, you need to understand how many of those are available to you. Obvious you must allocate the hours of sleep first. Some people need more or less, but if it’s time management you are seeking, we suggest you follow Napoleon’s guide to sleep
He said, “men need 6 hours sleep, women need 7, children and older people need 8”.
So, if you are man, you seem to have 18 hours of available time at your disposal. You must subtract from that essential tasks such as eating, washing, grooming, and so on, On the average, your available time is about 15 hours a day.
Time Segments
Working with your available time, you next need to divide those up into segments. If you are in a standard job, you need to segment your job time and travel time (to and from work). This will no doubt be close to 10 hours. There fore you have segments of travel, work, travel and so on.
A large segment of time left to you is your 5 hours free segment. Here is where you apply as many items from your Red List as possible. Finishing the Red List, you can add items from your Green List.
The Weekend
Here is your magic period. You have a full 48 hours to plan out and fulfill as many planned and necessary tasks as you need to. Never waste your time! It is life’s most precious commodity.
Plan out your weekend as you do your week. You do not have to be a robot and work like a computer, turning on and off at specified time periods. However you need to know how much time you have to accomplish what needs to be done. If you manage time well, you can become very productive, and really, quite content.
Achieving your goals on the three lists will make your life more fulfilling and certainly more productive. Never waste time.
Doing it All
Most people in today’s busy world are so full of options on how to spend their time, even at their workplace, that choosing what to do, and how long to do it often ends up in not doing it at all. No one can do it all, so it’s all about priorities.
Setting Priorities – Time Management’s Key Secret
If you wish to properly manage your time, you will need to sit down and write out your life’s priorities. Make this the Red List. These are the essential tasks you must do. Next, make the Green List. These are the tasks and actions that your really want to do. Then, make out the Yellow List, of low priority tasks. Finally make out the Black List of things you should NOT do.
With your priorities set, its time to move on to determining your available time.
Available Time
There are 24 hours in the day. With Time Management on your mind, you need to understand how many of those are available to you. Obvious you must allocate the hours of sleep first. Some people need more or less, but if it’s time management you are seeking, we suggest you follow Napoleon’s guide to sleep
He said, “men need 6 hours sleep, women need 7, children and older people need 8”.
So, if you are man, you seem to have 18 hours of available time at your disposal. You must subtract from that essential tasks such as eating, washing, grooming, and so on, On the average, your available time is about 15 hours a day.
Time Segments
Working with your available time, you next need to divide those up into segments. If you are in a standard job, you need to segment your job time and travel time (to and from work). This will no doubt be close to 10 hours. There fore you have segments of travel, work, travel and so on.
A large segment of time left to you is your 5 hours free segment. Here is where you apply as many items from your Red List as possible. Finishing the Red List, you can add items from your Green List.
The Weekend
Here is your magic period. You have a full 48 hours to plan out and fulfill as many planned and necessary tasks as you need to. Never waste your time! It is life’s most precious commodity.
Plan out your weekend as you do your week. You do not have to be a robot and work like a computer, turning on and off at specified time periods. However you need to know how much time you have to accomplish what needs to be done. If you manage time well, you can become very productive, and really, quite content.
Achieving your goals on the three lists will make your life more fulfilling and certainly more productive. Never waste time.
Get Ahead with Time Management
Print out this quick tip to get ahead with time management and try it for one week to see how it works for you. It can take less than five minutes for you to get ahead of your projects, your schedule and your competition.
Five Minutes in the Morning
Do it first thing in the morning, maybe as you are enjoying a cup of coffee or sitting at your desk and mentally preparing for your day. Get a notebook and pen ready. Do not get distracted by email or phone. Prepare to donate five minutes or less of your time to yourself. Go ahead, you are worth it.
Some people prefer to do this exercise at the end of each day and that is not a problem. I suggest doing this at the very beginning of each day because it sets the tone for the rest of your day. It is more effective to feel rushed by the desire to get started on your activities than to feel rushed by the distractions of what is really on your mind at the end of the day.
Your List of Things to Do Tomorrow
Many people find it effective to make a daily list of things to do today. It can be helpful in keeping track of important activities, meetings or chores that need to be completed. It also creates a feeling of accomplishment as items get checked off the list one by one. It is always nice to see progress.
Starting today, we are going to kick progress into the next gear. We are going to start thinking about what we need to accomplish tomorrow.
As you start each new day you will already have a list of things that you need to do today because you made it yesterday. You already have a jump start on your projects and your competition because you were already thinking about what you will do today. Furthermore, your mind had a chance to sort out some of the details on how you will accomplish your goals because you had time to think about them the day before.
As you make your list for tomorrow, you will be able to reflect on how your decisions and actions today will contribute to your activities and goals for tomorrow. If you are planning to complete some paperwork, presentation, or interaction tomorrow then you may be able to do some of the preliminary research, analysis or preparation today. Planning for tomorrow will change the way that you think about your priorities and how you invest the quiet moments of today.
Another important advantage of planning based on your list of things to do tomorrow is that many activities require collaboration with other individuals. By planning in advance, you can communicate and coordinate with other resources so those people can also plan and prepare accordingly.
Urgent or Important?
What is the difference between urgent and important? The urgent things are those milestones that must be complete by a scheduled deadline. The deadline may be today, tomorrow or several days in the future. Important things are milestones that have significant meaning. Important milestones may have an impact on business decisions, results or future activities. You know which items are urgent to complete and which ones are important to you, but do you
allocate your time accordingly?
Review your list of 'Things to do Tomorrow' and annotate the items that are urgent or important. If something has an urgent deadline then write down the date and time that it must be completed next to the item on the list. If something is important then give it a rating. Some people use a rating scale of 1, 2 or 3. Some people prefer to use an asterisk or a star to identify an important task, adding more stars as the significance increases. The list and the rating belong to you, so mark it in the manner that has meaning to you.
Keep It in View
One common mistake of making a priority list is putting it out of the way once it is done. Some people will take the time to make a list and then close up the notebook or fold up the piece of paper and put it out of the way. Out of sight is out of mind.
Once you have started this process, you should have two lists at your fingertips every day. One is your list of things to do today, and the other is your list of things to do tomorrow. The most effective way to manage your lists is to keep them in a notebook or daily calendar and place it prominently on your desktop. The list contains the items that are urgent and important to you, so it should be in plain sight as a constant reminder and for easy reference.
Celebrate Accomplishment
How do you celebrate accomplishment? Check off each one of the milestone tasks as you get them done. Do you feel the sense of satisfaction? How can you reward yourself for keeping commitments that you have made on your list? Some people celebrate by taking a short walk from the desk to get some fresh air. Some people celebrate with a cup of coffee or a snack from the vending machine. Some important accomplishments deserve to be rewarded by a nice lunch or fancy dinner. Treat yourself with something special when you complete a commitment that you have made to yourself. Go on, don't be shy, you are worth it.
Another Way of Looking at It
Another way of looking at it is a style that combines the list of things to do today with the list of things to do tomorrow into one list for easy reference.
TODAY
To Do ________________________________ Urgent? ______ Important? ______
To Do ________________________________ Urgent? ______ Important? ______
To Do ________________________________ Urgent? ______ Important? ______
To Do ________________________________ Urgent? ______ Important? ______
TOMORROW
To Do ________________________________ Urgent? ______ Important? ______
To Do ________________________________ Urgent? ______ Important? ______
To Do ________________________________ Urgent? ______ Important? ______
To Do ________________________________ Urgent? ______ Important? ______
Give this a try for a week or two. When someone introduces the "issue de jour" because the sky is falling, and you are asked to jump though flaming hoops in three directions at once, then pause to reflect on your structured schedule of urgent and important milestones for today and tomorrow. How does the new issue of the day compare to the previously scheduled commitments? There is no need to panic. Simply prioritize your list of urgent and important activities, discuss your availability and schedule with those other individuals who may contribute or be affected by it.
______________________________________________________
Words of Wisdom
"A schedule defends from chaos and whim."- Annie Dillard
"One of the simple but genuine pleasures in life is getting up in the morning and hurrying to a mousetrap you set the night before."- Kin Hubbard
"'Good Faith' implies mutual trust and commitment. Without mutual commitment, 'Good Faith' is really nothing more than 'Blind Faith'. Wander around blindly long enough and eventually you will step in something."- John Mehrmann
"There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full." - Henry Kissinger
______________________________________________________
About the Author:John Mehrmann is a freelance writer and President of Executive Blueprints Inc., an organization devoted to improving business practices and developing human capital
Five Minutes in the Morning
Do it first thing in the morning, maybe as you are enjoying a cup of coffee or sitting at your desk and mentally preparing for your day. Get a notebook and pen ready. Do not get distracted by email or phone. Prepare to donate five minutes or less of your time to yourself. Go ahead, you are worth it.
Some people prefer to do this exercise at the end of each day and that is not a problem. I suggest doing this at the very beginning of each day because it sets the tone for the rest of your day. It is more effective to feel rushed by the desire to get started on your activities than to feel rushed by the distractions of what is really on your mind at the end of the day.
Your List of Things to Do Tomorrow
Many people find it effective to make a daily list of things to do today. It can be helpful in keeping track of important activities, meetings or chores that need to be completed. It also creates a feeling of accomplishment as items get checked off the list one by one. It is always nice to see progress.
Starting today, we are going to kick progress into the next gear. We are going to start thinking about what we need to accomplish tomorrow.
As you start each new day you will already have a list of things that you need to do today because you made it yesterday. You already have a jump start on your projects and your competition because you were already thinking about what you will do today. Furthermore, your mind had a chance to sort out some of the details on how you will accomplish your goals because you had time to think about them the day before.
As you make your list for tomorrow, you will be able to reflect on how your decisions and actions today will contribute to your activities and goals for tomorrow. If you are planning to complete some paperwork, presentation, or interaction tomorrow then you may be able to do some of the preliminary research, analysis or preparation today. Planning for tomorrow will change the way that you think about your priorities and how you invest the quiet moments of today.
Another important advantage of planning based on your list of things to do tomorrow is that many activities require collaboration with other individuals. By planning in advance, you can communicate and coordinate with other resources so those people can also plan and prepare accordingly.
Urgent or Important?
What is the difference between urgent and important? The urgent things are those milestones that must be complete by a scheduled deadline. The deadline may be today, tomorrow or several days in the future. Important things are milestones that have significant meaning. Important milestones may have an impact on business decisions, results or future activities. You know which items are urgent to complete and which ones are important to you, but do you
allocate your time accordingly?
Review your list of 'Things to do Tomorrow' and annotate the items that are urgent or important. If something has an urgent deadline then write down the date and time that it must be completed next to the item on the list. If something is important then give it a rating. Some people use a rating scale of 1, 2 or 3. Some people prefer to use an asterisk or a star to identify an important task, adding more stars as the significance increases. The list and the rating belong to you, so mark it in the manner that has meaning to you.
Keep It in View
One common mistake of making a priority list is putting it out of the way once it is done. Some people will take the time to make a list and then close up the notebook or fold up the piece of paper and put it out of the way. Out of sight is out of mind.
Once you have started this process, you should have two lists at your fingertips every day. One is your list of things to do today, and the other is your list of things to do tomorrow. The most effective way to manage your lists is to keep them in a notebook or daily calendar and place it prominently on your desktop. The list contains the items that are urgent and important to you, so it should be in plain sight as a constant reminder and for easy reference.
Celebrate Accomplishment
How do you celebrate accomplishment? Check off each one of the milestone tasks as you get them done. Do you feel the sense of satisfaction? How can you reward yourself for keeping commitments that you have made on your list? Some people celebrate by taking a short walk from the desk to get some fresh air. Some people celebrate with a cup of coffee or a snack from the vending machine. Some important accomplishments deserve to be rewarded by a nice lunch or fancy dinner. Treat yourself with something special when you complete a commitment that you have made to yourself. Go on, don't be shy, you are worth it.
Another Way of Looking at It
Another way of looking at it is a style that combines the list of things to do today with the list of things to do tomorrow into one list for easy reference.
TODAY
To Do ________________________________ Urgent? ______ Important? ______
To Do ________________________________ Urgent? ______ Important? ______
To Do ________________________________ Urgent? ______ Important? ______
To Do ________________________________ Urgent? ______ Important? ______
TOMORROW
To Do ________________________________ Urgent? ______ Important? ______
To Do ________________________________ Urgent? ______ Important? ______
To Do ________________________________ Urgent? ______ Important? ______
To Do ________________________________ Urgent? ______ Important? ______
Give this a try for a week or two. When someone introduces the "issue de jour" because the sky is falling, and you are asked to jump though flaming hoops in three directions at once, then pause to reflect on your structured schedule of urgent and important milestones for today and tomorrow. How does the new issue of the day compare to the previously scheduled commitments? There is no need to panic. Simply prioritize your list of urgent and important activities, discuss your availability and schedule with those other individuals who may contribute or be affected by it.
______________________________________________________
Words of Wisdom
"A schedule defends from chaos and whim."- Annie Dillard
"One of the simple but genuine pleasures in life is getting up in the morning and hurrying to a mousetrap you set the night before."- Kin Hubbard
"'Good Faith' implies mutual trust and commitment. Without mutual commitment, 'Good Faith' is really nothing more than 'Blind Faith'. Wander around blindly long enough and eventually you will step in something."- John Mehrmann
"There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full." - Henry Kissinger
______________________________________________________
About the Author:John Mehrmann is a freelance writer and President of Executive Blueprints Inc., an organization devoted to improving business practices and developing human capital
Don’t count time, make time count
DON’T COUNT TIME, MAKE TIME COUNT
I often receive time management questions from sales reps. This week I thought I would provide you some of the best time management tips I have used to help stay focused and make more sales
Losing control of your time is the worst mistake a sales professional can make. You must jealously guard your time in order to stay productive. Here are 6 ideas to keep you focused:
1. Set a monthly sales target, and calculate how many prospects you need to talk to each month in order to generate enough business to hit that target. Once you have those numbers set, your priority becomes making the calls. Put that number on a piece of paper in front of your phone so you are looking at it everyday. Close your door and don’t get up from your desk until those calls are made.
2. Block time off in your calendar everyday to make calls and prospect. Don’t just make a mental note – actually block the time off physically so you and everyone else can see it clearly. Put your phone on ‘do not disturb’ so you can’t be bothered and shut off your email during this time to avoid any distractions.
3. In a place you can easily see everyday post your revenue goal in big, bright numbers. Staring at this number everyday will remind you what you need to do first thing every day. As you accomplish sales, cross off the revenue number to reflect what you still have left to sell. This countdown will keep you motivated to make one more call each day!
4. Stay away from the Life Suckers in your office. They are not customers, and they will not buy from you. Your customers are on the outside (or the other end of the phone). Life Suckers will only waste your time complaining. They provide no motivation to get your work done.
5. Close your doors, hide, or work from a different office! As Dan Kennedy says: “If they can’t find you, they can’t interrupt you.” If you work in a cubicle find an empty office space or meeting room to make your calls from.
6. Turn off your cell phone!
7. Be on time. Show respect for other people’s time and they will eventually show respect for yours. Its reciprocity at work.
8. Use a CRM and enjoy Sales force automation tool to stay organized. If you are not organized you will waste tremendous amounts of time finding leads, looking for files and trying to remember what you talked about last time. All your notes, follow ups and client information should be in one place, ideally in an automated follow up system found in a CRM database of sales force automation. I don‘t care what you use – although some, such as Maximiser and Salesforce.com are better than others (in my opinion anyway!). Pick one that suits your business and your budget.
9. Know the value of your time, and outsource anything that can be done for less than you are worth. If you don’t know what your average hourly rate is, then I suggest you figure it out using the following simple formula:
· Add up your total earnings for the year. This includes salary plus commissions and bonuses, as well as any benefits you receive, such as health insurance or retirement savings plan contributions. For most people, benefits are generally equal to about 1/3 of their annual base salary. For example, total earnings for someone with a $60,000 base salary plus $40,000 in commissions and bonuses would be about $120,000 ($60,000 salary + 1/3 + $40,000 in commissions and bonuses).
· Divide this amount by the number of working hours in the year. For most of us, this would translate into 210 days x 8 hours a day = 1,680 working hours. This includes 2 weeks’ vacation, or 10 days. For your own calculation, use the number of vacation days you would normally take.
· Divide your total annual earnings by the number of working hours in the year. In the example above, this would result in an average hourly wage of $71.43.
10. Now that you know your hourly wage, your goal is to increase it, every month. There are two ways to do this: increase the amount of sales you make to increase your total commissions, or reduce the number of days you work. The choice is yours.
To get you started, begin by taking note of how you’re spending your days today. For help doing this, download a free copy of our Time Allocation Worksheet.
After two weeks of tracking your time, determine what percentage of your week is spent exclusively on prospecting, presenting and closing. Then, set a goal to increase that percentage by a specific amount over a specified period of time, and write that goal down in the present tense to show the world (and yourself!) you mean business. For example:
“By December 31st, I will be spending 60% of my time on prospecting, presenting and closing.”
Next, spend 30 minutes writing down everything you could be doing to increase your selling time, and reach that goal, such as:
· Hire a bookkeeper at $15.00 per hour to complete and submit your expense reimbursements.
· Make 5 more cold calls per day.
· Ask for 1 more referral every day.
· Attend 2 networking events per week rather than 1.
· Get your manager involved on deals that are over $XX to help close them faster.
· Tell your manager your goal to enlist his or her support.
· Outsource support calls to the support department rather than taking them yourself.
· Try to get at least 20 activities down on paper, and then spend time every day implementing at least one of them. Before you know it, you’ll find yourself focusing your time on your paying customers, rather than on those tasks that bring in no additional revenue.
If you are waiting to get motivated before you make calls remember this: Motivation comes from action not the other way around. Most sales people wait to get motivated before they take action. You must do the opposite. Take action now! Regardless of how you feel. Simply pick up the phone and start making calls. Your activity will motivate and focus you to keep going. You will always feel better after you accomplished something profitable.http://www.engageselling.com
I often receive time management questions from sales reps. This week I thought I would provide you some of the best time management tips I have used to help stay focused and make more sales
Losing control of your time is the worst mistake a sales professional can make. You must jealously guard your time in order to stay productive. Here are 6 ideas to keep you focused:
1. Set a monthly sales target, and calculate how many prospects you need to talk to each month in order to generate enough business to hit that target. Once you have those numbers set, your priority becomes making the calls. Put that number on a piece of paper in front of your phone so you are looking at it everyday. Close your door and don’t get up from your desk until those calls are made.
2. Block time off in your calendar everyday to make calls and prospect. Don’t just make a mental note – actually block the time off physically so you and everyone else can see it clearly. Put your phone on ‘do not disturb’ so you can’t be bothered and shut off your email during this time to avoid any distractions.
3. In a place you can easily see everyday post your revenue goal in big, bright numbers. Staring at this number everyday will remind you what you need to do first thing every day. As you accomplish sales, cross off the revenue number to reflect what you still have left to sell. This countdown will keep you motivated to make one more call each day!
4. Stay away from the Life Suckers in your office. They are not customers, and they will not buy from you. Your customers are on the outside (or the other end of the phone). Life Suckers will only waste your time complaining. They provide no motivation to get your work done.
5. Close your doors, hide, or work from a different office! As Dan Kennedy says: “If they can’t find you, they can’t interrupt you.” If you work in a cubicle find an empty office space or meeting room to make your calls from.
6. Turn off your cell phone!
7. Be on time. Show respect for other people’s time and they will eventually show respect for yours. Its reciprocity at work.
8. Use a CRM and enjoy Sales force automation tool to stay organized. If you are not organized you will waste tremendous amounts of time finding leads, looking for files and trying to remember what you talked about last time. All your notes, follow ups and client information should be in one place, ideally in an automated follow up system found in a CRM database of sales force automation. I don‘t care what you use – although some, such as Maximiser and Salesforce.com are better than others (in my opinion anyway!). Pick one that suits your business and your budget.
9. Know the value of your time, and outsource anything that can be done for less than you are worth. If you don’t know what your average hourly rate is, then I suggest you figure it out using the following simple formula:
· Add up your total earnings for the year. This includes salary plus commissions and bonuses, as well as any benefits you receive, such as health insurance or retirement savings plan contributions. For most people, benefits are generally equal to about 1/3 of their annual base salary. For example, total earnings for someone with a $60,000 base salary plus $40,000 in commissions and bonuses would be about $120,000 ($60,000 salary + 1/3 + $40,000 in commissions and bonuses).
· Divide this amount by the number of working hours in the year. For most of us, this would translate into 210 days x 8 hours a day = 1,680 working hours. This includes 2 weeks’ vacation, or 10 days. For your own calculation, use the number of vacation days you would normally take.
· Divide your total annual earnings by the number of working hours in the year. In the example above, this would result in an average hourly wage of $71.43.
10. Now that you know your hourly wage, your goal is to increase it, every month. There are two ways to do this: increase the amount of sales you make to increase your total commissions, or reduce the number of days you work. The choice is yours.
To get you started, begin by taking note of how you’re spending your days today. For help doing this, download a free copy of our Time Allocation Worksheet.
After two weeks of tracking your time, determine what percentage of your week is spent exclusively on prospecting, presenting and closing. Then, set a goal to increase that percentage by a specific amount over a specified period of time, and write that goal down in the present tense to show the world (and yourself!) you mean business. For example:
“By December 31st, I will be spending 60% of my time on prospecting, presenting and closing.”
Next, spend 30 minutes writing down everything you could be doing to increase your selling time, and reach that goal, such as:
· Hire a bookkeeper at $15.00 per hour to complete and submit your expense reimbursements.
· Make 5 more cold calls per day.
· Ask for 1 more referral every day.
· Attend 2 networking events per week rather than 1.
· Get your manager involved on deals that are over $XX to help close them faster.
· Tell your manager your goal to enlist his or her support.
· Outsource support calls to the support department rather than taking them yourself.
· Try to get at least 20 activities down on paper, and then spend time every day implementing at least one of them. Before you know it, you’ll find yourself focusing your time on your paying customers, rather than on those tasks that bring in no additional revenue.
If you are waiting to get motivated before you make calls remember this: Motivation comes from action not the other way around. Most sales people wait to get motivated before they take action. You must do the opposite. Take action now! Regardless of how you feel. Simply pick up the phone and start making calls. Your activity will motivate and focus you to keep going. You will always feel better after you accomplished something profitable.http://www.engageselling.com
Finding Storage Space in Small Areas
Messy rooms, disorganized closets and jumbled junk (I like to think of them as resource drawers) add un-needed hassle to our already hectic days and lives. I sat by two colleagues at a meeting today and the one was telling us about the flood she recently had in her office when she was on vacation. The man was telling us they remolded a room in their house and how disorganized everything was during that time.
Both of them were expressing their feelings of frustration at the disorganized state their lives were in because of these two instances. Organizing our possessions, treasures, and 'stuff' does give us peace of mind and a feeling that we can accomplish other things in our lives.
Do you ever feel you just don't have enough space to put things? If you had a bigger place you would be organized? Even small spaces and homes can be organized. Here are some ideas of places to use for storage.
Under the bed. If the bed is low, buy (for around $10.00) raisers that raise the bed up about 8 inches. Or you can use cinder blocks and raise it about 12 inches. Then under the bed plastic storage boxes made for this purpose are perfect. Some come on wheels.
In the closet. Plastic boxes can hold out of season clothes and be placed on the top shelf. If the closet is deep they can be stored on the floor. A doublet, which is a two tiered rod, can maximize space in a closet. Many organizing stores carry these, including The Container Store. Use tie racks that can also be used to hang jewelry or scarves. Shoe racks come in a variety of models. Over the door, on the floor, and hanging racks.
Under the sink. There are racks that fit around pipes or removable shelves that can hold twice the amount of things to go under the sink. On the other side of the sink the kitchen trash bin can be placed. When it isn't in plain sight it reduces both visual and floor space clutter.
Donating useful but no longer needed items, getting rid of unwanted junk and by keeping what we do need organized and accessible we let our personal spaces become welcoming havens instead of uninviting areas that make us want to stay away.
Both of them were expressing their feelings of frustration at the disorganized state their lives were in because of these two instances. Organizing our possessions, treasures, and 'stuff' does give us peace of mind and a feeling that we can accomplish other things in our lives.
Do you ever feel you just don't have enough space to put things? If you had a bigger place you would be organized? Even small spaces and homes can be organized. Here are some ideas of places to use for storage.
Under the bed. If the bed is low, buy (for around $10.00) raisers that raise the bed up about 8 inches. Or you can use cinder blocks and raise it about 12 inches. Then under the bed plastic storage boxes made for this purpose are perfect. Some come on wheels.
In the closet. Plastic boxes can hold out of season clothes and be placed on the top shelf. If the closet is deep they can be stored on the floor. A doublet, which is a two tiered rod, can maximize space in a closet. Many organizing stores carry these, including The Container Store. Use tie racks that can also be used to hang jewelry or scarves. Shoe racks come in a variety of models. Over the door, on the floor, and hanging racks.
Under the sink. There are racks that fit around pipes or removable shelves that can hold twice the amount of things to go under the sink. On the other side of the sink the kitchen trash bin can be placed. When it isn't in plain sight it reduces both visual and floor space clutter.
Donating useful but no longer needed items, getting rid of unwanted junk and by keeping what we do need organized and accessible we let our personal spaces become welcoming havens instead of uninviting areas that make us want to stay away.
Pack Away the Summer and Fall Into the Next Season
Although the truly hectic part of fall doesn’t really start until the end of October for most people, you don’t want to be tripping over summer over the next couple of months. So, take this time to store, put away or organize your summer items and clothing, souvenirs, photos, etc. It’s also a good time to shift some of your habits and those of your family from “vacation” mode to “normal” mode.
Summer Items and Clothing Once the summer is over, is it really necessary to keep the beach towels, inflatable rafts, and water slides out? If you are one of those people who live where the weather and lifestyle accommodates these things year-round, then this section does not apply to you. For the rest of us, who have distinct seasons, we really need to clean up and pack away these things until next year. The same goes for summer clothing. Ask yourself before storing it if you intend to wear the clothes next year. Also, check to see if the children’s things will even fit them by the time next summer comes around. If not, why take up the storage space? Donate it or get rid of it now.
Souvenirs and Photos People often come back from summer holidays with mementoes of their days away. Who wants to deal with undeveloped rolls of film, jars filled with beach sand and shells, and numerous brochures, ticket stubs and receipts from summer’s attractions in October? Don’t put it off.
Back to “Normal” During the summer, many of us tend to get lazy on a variety of fronts. Chanting the mantra “I’m on VACATION!”, we eat less healthy, we stay up later and sleep in later, we put off chores, we dress more casually, we exercise less (except for kids who probably exercise more!), and we spend much more time on entertainment (DVD rentals, movies, video games, shopping, Internet, etc.) than we normally do.
While some of these things may translate into our everyday lives without any visible problem, many of these habits are not healthy ones to carry over into the fall. In fact, several of the ones I’ve mentioned have a horrible circular effect. We eat less healthy foods so we have less energy. So, we don’t exercise as much and we watch more TV. Because of the sugar and caffeine, we end up staying up later and have trouble getting up in the morning. We feel sluggish, slow and not up to par during the day, so we consume more caffeine and sugar and put off doing more of what needs to be done and so on.
It’s a dangerous cycle to get into. The next thing you know, your home is a total wreck and you have become a couch potato with little to no desire to do anything and experiencing little joy in the process. It’s perfectly OK to “take a vacation”. The key is not to take it to excess.
Prepare to “fall” into the next seasonEven as you are packing away the summer, it’s a great time to start prepping what you’ll need for fall. You don’t want to get caught off guard by the first bad storm of the season or the first really cool day. Start making arrangements now to turn off the air conditioning and turn on the furnace or heater. Make sure that your car is ready for autumn.
Things like windshield wipers may have dried out with the summer heat and may crumble during the first downpour leaving you struggling to see out of your front windshield. Begin unpacking, airing out and cleaning your fall clothing items and linens, checking at the same time to see if any are obsolete or unusable. Just doing some of these things ahead of time can save you a lot of scrambling later, allowing you the time instead to fully enjoy the season.
Summer Items and Clothing Once the summer is over, is it really necessary to keep the beach towels, inflatable rafts, and water slides out? If you are one of those people who live where the weather and lifestyle accommodates these things year-round, then this section does not apply to you. For the rest of us, who have distinct seasons, we really need to clean up and pack away these things until next year. The same goes for summer clothing. Ask yourself before storing it if you intend to wear the clothes next year. Also, check to see if the children’s things will even fit them by the time next summer comes around. If not, why take up the storage space? Donate it or get rid of it now.
Souvenirs and Photos People often come back from summer holidays with mementoes of their days away. Who wants to deal with undeveloped rolls of film, jars filled with beach sand and shells, and numerous brochures, ticket stubs and receipts from summer’s attractions in October? Don’t put it off.
Back to “Normal” During the summer, many of us tend to get lazy on a variety of fronts. Chanting the mantra “I’m on VACATION!”, we eat less healthy, we stay up later and sleep in later, we put off chores, we dress more casually, we exercise less (except for kids who probably exercise more!), and we spend much more time on entertainment (DVD rentals, movies, video games, shopping, Internet, etc.) than we normally do.
While some of these things may translate into our everyday lives without any visible problem, many of these habits are not healthy ones to carry over into the fall. In fact, several of the ones I’ve mentioned have a horrible circular effect. We eat less healthy foods so we have less energy. So, we don’t exercise as much and we watch more TV. Because of the sugar and caffeine, we end up staying up later and have trouble getting up in the morning. We feel sluggish, slow and not up to par during the day, so we consume more caffeine and sugar and put off doing more of what needs to be done and so on.
It’s a dangerous cycle to get into. The next thing you know, your home is a total wreck and you have become a couch potato with little to no desire to do anything and experiencing little joy in the process. It’s perfectly OK to “take a vacation”. The key is not to take it to excess.
Prepare to “fall” into the next seasonEven as you are packing away the summer, it’s a great time to start prepping what you’ll need for fall. You don’t want to get caught off guard by the first bad storm of the season or the first really cool day. Start making arrangements now to turn off the air conditioning and turn on the furnace or heater. Make sure that your car is ready for autumn.
Things like windshield wipers may have dried out with the summer heat and may crumble during the first downpour leaving you struggling to see out of your front windshield. Begin unpacking, airing out and cleaning your fall clothing items and linens, checking at the same time to see if any are obsolete or unusable. Just doing some of these things ahead of time can save you a lot of scrambling later, allowing you the time instead to fully enjoy the season.
The To Do and Did It Lists
The To Do List is certainly one of the most popular stay-on-your priorities approach for reducing stress and using time effectively. Recently I was asked in an interview: Does the To Do List really work? My immediate response was: yes and no. Yes, it works for some people; no, it does not work for everyone. Yes, it works sometimes; no, it does not work all the time.
The To Do List
The primary principle behind the To Do List technique is that you can view a list of key activities you have decided you must accomplish. This is helpful if you believe that you might forget something or if you need a map to see more clearly which task needs to be performed before another. The writing process can focus, propel, and inspire you.
You will surely have your own way of using your To Do List. As a planning tool, the To Do List allows you to organize items on paper or stickie notes before you begin the actual tasks, avoiding the generally frowned-upon approach of starting in on the first task that meets your hands or eyes. With top priorities in view, you can more often avoid crisis management that demands you put out the fire that burns the hottest or gets closest to the boss.
I often suggest that people write a To Do List and then select the priorities, either by circling or checking items or by creating a second list. The purpose of a To Do List is to simplify life, not complicate it. So, keep it simple. You do not want to add routine tasks or those activities you know you will do without a reminder. Brushing your teeth is very important, but it has no place on a To Do List. On the days that the list of items seems overwhelming, you might find are the days to not create or not refer to the To Do List.
In addition to providing a central place for organizing tasks and recording progress, the To Do List can provide satisfaction when you cross out or check off completed items or crumple up a piece of paper.
The To Do List = The Undone List
When the To Do List is unrealistically long or overly detailed, it can elicit feelings of frustration or overwhelm. After all, those items are the undone deeds that face you. Each one has the potential to discourage or inspire you. Many possibilities sit undone on your shelves, drawers, tables, desks, or in your head. It is, of course, more healthy and fun to let them inspire you than discourage you.
Some people use a To Do List faithfully to organize tasks into categories or to organize papers into piles. Weeks later, though, they might return to the list or pile to find that top priority items were not done at all, only organized.
The To Do List is designed to propel you into accomplishment, not induce guilt or other negative feelings. On those days you need it to propel you, the To Do List can focus your activities. On those days that the list is frustrating, you need another technique or no technique at all. It is up to you to find your balance and to know that each day you may have a different relationship with your To Do List.
I sometimes suggest a client put no more than three items on a To Do List each day, re-naming the list: The Focus List. You can and will do more than three activities, but a shorter list helps you embrace the larger picture. Of course, you have to work with attention to detail, but your vision needs to be broader than the forty-two tasks you will move your hands through. Your Focus List keeps your attention on the key issues that yield satisfaction.
The Did It List
The idea of the Did It List emerged because I work with some clients who feel discouraged about the tasks that they have not completed. Feelings of guilt and frustration lead them to use the not-yet-finished items on the To Do List as a way to show themselves they have procrastinated, wasted time, or been unsuccessful.
If this scenario describes you, write a list at the end of the day of the activities you have accomplished. If you prepare a daily Did It List for three weeks, you will become impressed with your accomplishments. If you and a friend join together to share your Did It Lists with each other, you will be even more deeply empowered. After you feel sufficiently empowered, you might find that the exercise naturally falls away.
The Did It List is not intended to be merely the transfer of the completed items from a To Do List to a new list, although that is a viable way to start a Did It List. However, I think of the Did It List as a new list, started afresh at the end of each day. Perhaps items that did not even make the To Do List appear on the Did It List. Instead of calling it the Did It List, one client calls his an "Accomplishments List" and another calls hers a "Success List."
Living in the Doing and Being
How you view your lists (or your decision not to write lists) is all important. "To do" can put your consciousness in the present, usually with future results. "Undone" tends to put you in the past feeling guilty. "Done" or "did it" tends to put you in the past or the present, usually feeling positive. My words convey only tendencies, but your feelings about the words you use are all important.
With all this talk about doing, did, done, undone, it is important to remind you to be. You can even use your To Do List to remind yourself, with such items as "Relax" or "Breathe deeply every hour on the hour" or "Meditate." Or you can write a daily affirmation on the To Do List so that each time you look at the list you are reminded of the affirmation.
What about You?
The question for you is: what about this topic is most empowering, inspiring, and joyous? Remember, the idea for the To Do List is to free you, not put you in bondage. Do you like to look at your accomplishments day by day on a fresh list? Do you like to make lists and see those accomplishments crossed out on the To Do List? Do you like to work without any list at all? Do you feel good about what you need or want to do? Do you feel good about about what you have done?
The To Do List
The primary principle behind the To Do List technique is that you can view a list of key activities you have decided you must accomplish. This is helpful if you believe that you might forget something or if you need a map to see more clearly which task needs to be performed before another. The writing process can focus, propel, and inspire you.
You will surely have your own way of using your To Do List. As a planning tool, the To Do List allows you to organize items on paper or stickie notes before you begin the actual tasks, avoiding the generally frowned-upon approach of starting in on the first task that meets your hands or eyes. With top priorities in view, you can more often avoid crisis management that demands you put out the fire that burns the hottest or gets closest to the boss.
I often suggest that people write a To Do List and then select the priorities, either by circling or checking items or by creating a second list. The purpose of a To Do List is to simplify life, not complicate it. So, keep it simple. You do not want to add routine tasks or those activities you know you will do without a reminder. Brushing your teeth is very important, but it has no place on a To Do List. On the days that the list of items seems overwhelming, you might find are the days to not create or not refer to the To Do List.
In addition to providing a central place for organizing tasks and recording progress, the To Do List can provide satisfaction when you cross out or check off completed items or crumple up a piece of paper.
The To Do List = The Undone List
When the To Do List is unrealistically long or overly detailed, it can elicit feelings of frustration or overwhelm. After all, those items are the undone deeds that face you. Each one has the potential to discourage or inspire you. Many possibilities sit undone on your shelves, drawers, tables, desks, or in your head. It is, of course, more healthy and fun to let them inspire you than discourage you.
Some people use a To Do List faithfully to organize tasks into categories or to organize papers into piles. Weeks later, though, they might return to the list or pile to find that top priority items were not done at all, only organized.
The To Do List is designed to propel you into accomplishment, not induce guilt or other negative feelings. On those days you need it to propel you, the To Do List can focus your activities. On those days that the list is frustrating, you need another technique or no technique at all. It is up to you to find your balance and to know that each day you may have a different relationship with your To Do List.
I sometimes suggest a client put no more than three items on a To Do List each day, re-naming the list: The Focus List. You can and will do more than three activities, but a shorter list helps you embrace the larger picture. Of course, you have to work with attention to detail, but your vision needs to be broader than the forty-two tasks you will move your hands through. Your Focus List keeps your attention on the key issues that yield satisfaction.
The Did It List
The idea of the Did It List emerged because I work with some clients who feel discouraged about the tasks that they have not completed. Feelings of guilt and frustration lead them to use the not-yet-finished items on the To Do List as a way to show themselves they have procrastinated, wasted time, or been unsuccessful.
If this scenario describes you, write a list at the end of the day of the activities you have accomplished. If you prepare a daily Did It List for three weeks, you will become impressed with your accomplishments. If you and a friend join together to share your Did It Lists with each other, you will be even more deeply empowered. After you feel sufficiently empowered, you might find that the exercise naturally falls away.
The Did It List is not intended to be merely the transfer of the completed items from a To Do List to a new list, although that is a viable way to start a Did It List. However, I think of the Did It List as a new list, started afresh at the end of each day. Perhaps items that did not even make the To Do List appear on the Did It List. Instead of calling it the Did It List, one client calls his an "Accomplishments List" and another calls hers a "Success List."
Living in the Doing and Being
How you view your lists (or your decision not to write lists) is all important. "To do" can put your consciousness in the present, usually with future results. "Undone" tends to put you in the past feeling guilty. "Done" or "did it" tends to put you in the past or the present, usually feeling positive. My words convey only tendencies, but your feelings about the words you use are all important.
With all this talk about doing, did, done, undone, it is important to remind you to be. You can even use your To Do List to remind yourself, with such items as "Relax" or "Breathe deeply every hour on the hour" or "Meditate." Or you can write a daily affirmation on the To Do List so that each time you look at the list you are reminded of the affirmation.
What about You?
The question for you is: what about this topic is most empowering, inspiring, and joyous? Remember, the idea for the To Do List is to free you, not put you in bondage. Do you like to look at your accomplishments day by day on a fresh list? Do you like to make lists and see those accomplishments crossed out on the To Do List? Do you like to work without any list at all? Do you feel good about what you need or want to do? Do you feel good about about what you have done?
Get Control Of Your Time
The average person has absolutely no control of their time. When it comes to managing this area of their lives, people tend to be abysmal. Some might be competent when it comes to their working hours. However, when their personal lives are factored in, they receive a failing score.
Have you ever met someone who is consistently late? For whatever reason, they are always 5-15 minutes behind. Of course, they will be courteous by calling to let you know that they are running behind. Yet the bottom line is that they never met you at the agreed upon time. What is interesting is to note how these same people live their lives in general. It seems that someone with this problem tends to have a life that is a mess also. They cannot manage any aspect of it. Their basic operation is to run from one situation to the next. Amazingly, even though they are constantly busy, they appear to get very little done.
There is a fundamental philosophy that comes true regardless of what people do to get around it. Basically, if you do not get control of your time, there is no way that you will ever have control in your life. Failure to manage our time puts us in the position of duplicating the aforementioned scenario. We move from one activity to another without making any apparent progress. Our time is spent in a continual state of emergency while we place our focus on the urgent instead of the important. True success comes from being able to handle those activities which have a meaningful impact upon our lives. Getting to this point accelerates all our efforts in everything we do.
There are two simple practices one can implement immediately to garner a bit more control. The first involves keeping your word. It is essential that we begin to do those things we say that we are going to do at the time that we agreed upon. The habit of letting ourselves off the hook is too easy a trap to fall into. We must raise our standard of conduct in this area. Regardless of what else is occurring, treating each time commitment as a life or death situation will aid in creating a new habit. If we are consistently late, it is a sign that we need to more attentive to the commitments that we make. It is a good idea to initially cut back on some of the activities we consent to. This relieves us of some of the pressure which results in us operating at a harried pace.
The second area that can be immediately changed is to be conscious of any perfectionism complex that we might have. Many people with time management issues have an need to do everything perfectly. They will continue with an activity far beyond the acceptable level of performance. This stems from having a low self worth. To compensate, they attempt to make their results extraordinary. Unfortunately, this creates a situation where things take longer than they should. Watch someone operating under this premise and you will see a task take 3 times as long as it should. The easiest way is to remember that a great deal of success is derived from the simple act of completing something. Often, others expectations are a lot less then ours. Give them what they require, but allow yourself to be less than perfect.
Gaining control of our time instantly improves every area of our lives. The more that we can focus our attention on those things which are truly important to us, the fuller our lives will become. Some of the most successful people operate at a pace that is fast yet unhurried. People who are hurried tend to make senseless mistakes. Careful consideration to how you are spending your time and what you are agreeing to will show those tasks which are important to you. A little planning will go a long way to achieving your ultimate end.
Have you ever met someone who is consistently late? For whatever reason, they are always 5-15 minutes behind. Of course, they will be courteous by calling to let you know that they are running behind. Yet the bottom line is that they never met you at the agreed upon time. What is interesting is to note how these same people live their lives in general. It seems that someone with this problem tends to have a life that is a mess also. They cannot manage any aspect of it. Their basic operation is to run from one situation to the next. Amazingly, even though they are constantly busy, they appear to get very little done.
There is a fundamental philosophy that comes true regardless of what people do to get around it. Basically, if you do not get control of your time, there is no way that you will ever have control in your life. Failure to manage our time puts us in the position of duplicating the aforementioned scenario. We move from one activity to another without making any apparent progress. Our time is spent in a continual state of emergency while we place our focus on the urgent instead of the important. True success comes from being able to handle those activities which have a meaningful impact upon our lives. Getting to this point accelerates all our efforts in everything we do.
There are two simple practices one can implement immediately to garner a bit more control. The first involves keeping your word. It is essential that we begin to do those things we say that we are going to do at the time that we agreed upon. The habit of letting ourselves off the hook is too easy a trap to fall into. We must raise our standard of conduct in this area. Regardless of what else is occurring, treating each time commitment as a life or death situation will aid in creating a new habit. If we are consistently late, it is a sign that we need to more attentive to the commitments that we make. It is a good idea to initially cut back on some of the activities we consent to. This relieves us of some of the pressure which results in us operating at a harried pace.
The second area that can be immediately changed is to be conscious of any perfectionism complex that we might have. Many people with time management issues have an need to do everything perfectly. They will continue with an activity far beyond the acceptable level of performance. This stems from having a low self worth. To compensate, they attempt to make their results extraordinary. Unfortunately, this creates a situation where things take longer than they should. Watch someone operating under this premise and you will see a task take 3 times as long as it should. The easiest way is to remember that a great deal of success is derived from the simple act of completing something. Often, others expectations are a lot less then ours. Give them what they require, but allow yourself to be less than perfect.
Gaining control of our time instantly improves every area of our lives. The more that we can focus our attention on those things which are truly important to us, the fuller our lives will become. Some of the most successful people operate at a pace that is fast yet unhurried. People who are hurried tend to make senseless mistakes. Careful consideration to how you are spending your time and what you are agreeing to will show those tasks which are important to you. A little planning will go a long way to achieving your ultimate end.
Take Time to Save Time
Frequently, People say, "I don't have time to ......" Often this is an excuse to justify doing something else or not doing anything. You may want to read these items with the intention of identifying just one that is the most important for you at this time. Successful individuals already perform many of the ideas on this list.
1. Take Time to Plan. One minute of planning saves three minutes of work or re-planning.
2. Take Time to Organize. Your work needs a structure that reduces unnecessary, repetitive decisions.
3. Take Time to Set Goals. A goal that is identified and acknowledged can be achieved. When written, goals become more real.
4. Take Time to Schedule. A deadline that is not set might not be met. Set several intermediate deadlines to meet a major deadline.
5. Take Time to Decide Priorities. Knowledge of the relative importance of activities reduces re-inventing a system at the beginning of each task. Focus your attention on the important issues.
6. Take Time to Focus. Focusing on one item at a time is an important key to personal empowerment, efficiency, and effectiveness.
7. Take Time to Analyze the Situation. Although it is not possible to have all the facts all the time, it is important to review the essential ones.
8. Take Time to Reflect. Reflection can take many forms throughout the day for maximum effect. More than reviewing, reflection allows you to sort the essential items from those that are less important.
9. Take Time to Involve Others. Involve in the decision-making process those who will carry out the decision yields dividends in individual commitment. And, these are the persons who have relevant ideas!
10. Take Time to Divide the Job. Many small tasks reach the goal in less time than a few larger tasks. Additionally, it is more satisfying to achieve several objectives en route to your higher goals.
11. Take Time to Delegate. Distribute tasks to enhance others' experience and increase leverage. Be certain that the delegated responsibilities are meaningful and stimulating, not just the tasks you do not want to do.
12. Take Time to Explain Clearly. A few well-chosen words that clearly direct others avoid duplicate effort and disappointment.
13. Take Time to Review your Work. Check your work when you finish. For more thorough review and correction, let it rest a while and review it again.
14. Take Time to Relax. Just a few moments can replenish you. When you are relaxed and refreshed, you are more efficient.
15. Take Time to Meditate. The journey within is increasingly more important when your life is hectic. Twenty minutes in true meditation each day enhances brain function, breathing, sleep, relaxation, response to stress, and general well-being.
16. Take Time to Do It Now. Procrastination can be a thief of time and confidence. Do the job now unless your inner guidance tells you to wait.
17. Take Time to Enjoy Life. Life happens now. Sometimes it just takes an instant of realization that you want to be happy to bring joy into the moment, regardless of the activity.
1. Take Time to Plan. One minute of planning saves three minutes of work or re-planning.
2. Take Time to Organize. Your work needs a structure that reduces unnecessary, repetitive decisions.
3. Take Time to Set Goals. A goal that is identified and acknowledged can be achieved. When written, goals become more real.
4. Take Time to Schedule. A deadline that is not set might not be met. Set several intermediate deadlines to meet a major deadline.
5. Take Time to Decide Priorities. Knowledge of the relative importance of activities reduces re-inventing a system at the beginning of each task. Focus your attention on the important issues.
6. Take Time to Focus. Focusing on one item at a time is an important key to personal empowerment, efficiency, and effectiveness.
7. Take Time to Analyze the Situation. Although it is not possible to have all the facts all the time, it is important to review the essential ones.
8. Take Time to Reflect. Reflection can take many forms throughout the day for maximum effect. More than reviewing, reflection allows you to sort the essential items from those that are less important.
9. Take Time to Involve Others. Involve in the decision-making process those who will carry out the decision yields dividends in individual commitment. And, these are the persons who have relevant ideas!
10. Take Time to Divide the Job. Many small tasks reach the goal in less time than a few larger tasks. Additionally, it is more satisfying to achieve several objectives en route to your higher goals.
11. Take Time to Delegate. Distribute tasks to enhance others' experience and increase leverage. Be certain that the delegated responsibilities are meaningful and stimulating, not just the tasks you do not want to do.
12. Take Time to Explain Clearly. A few well-chosen words that clearly direct others avoid duplicate effort and disappointment.
13. Take Time to Review your Work. Check your work when you finish. For more thorough review and correction, let it rest a while and review it again.
14. Take Time to Relax. Just a few moments can replenish you. When you are relaxed and refreshed, you are more efficient.
15. Take Time to Meditate. The journey within is increasingly more important when your life is hectic. Twenty minutes in true meditation each day enhances brain function, breathing, sleep, relaxation, response to stress, and general well-being.
16. Take Time to Do It Now. Procrastination can be a thief of time and confidence. Do the job now unless your inner guidance tells you to wait.
17. Take Time to Enjoy Life. Life happens now. Sometimes it just takes an instant of realization that you want to be happy to bring joy into the moment, regardless of the activity.
Time Management Skills and Tips to Help You Save Time Online
Possessing time management skills can be beneficial in all aspects of life. Not only are they essential when doing physical tasks or activities, but time management skills can also be helpful when spending time online.
As an increasing number of people begin to spend much of their time on the internet, the idea of putting that time to more efficient use becomes all the more important. Here are some great tips that can help you make each minute count online.
A good time management skill to develop, even while online, is learning how to be more organized. This might seem an obvious tip, but it is something that most people fail to make a habit of. Not being able to organize things can lead to a considerable amount of time wasted on finding things and remembering tasks. Developing good organizational skills, in itself, can be a great time saver.
Keeping organized online is a practice that can help you provide more time to spend on important tasks. One of the simplest ways to do this is learning to keep important website addresses organized. Surfing the net is faster and easier if you know where you are going. Less time is also spent on wondering what sites you need to visit.
If you already have a number of websites that you frequently go to and wish to return to on a daily basis, it is important that you always have a list of them with you. This list can either be in a document file that you save on your computer or a paper list that you keep in a safe place.
Better yet, you can conveniently organize these websites by using the bookmark feature of your PC browser. This way you can always access your bookmark sites every time you wish to visit them. You no longer have to spend time trying to remember them from memory.
Another good time management skill to develop online is by learning how to check your emails on a scheduled basis. More online time is spent browsing through emails, even those that prove to be useless. Without a schedule to follow, you can easily immerse yourself just checking your emails with complete disregard of time. Keep it a habit of giving a specified amount of time just checking up on your emails. Try to strictly enforce the schedule on yourself so that you don't waste time solely on it while leaving other tasks behind.
As an increasing number of people begin to spend much of their time on the internet, the idea of putting that time to more efficient use becomes all the more important. Here are some great tips that can help you make each minute count online.
A good time management skill to develop, even while online, is learning how to be more organized. This might seem an obvious tip, but it is something that most people fail to make a habit of. Not being able to organize things can lead to a considerable amount of time wasted on finding things and remembering tasks. Developing good organizational skills, in itself, can be a great time saver.
Keeping organized online is a practice that can help you provide more time to spend on important tasks. One of the simplest ways to do this is learning to keep important website addresses organized. Surfing the net is faster and easier if you know where you are going. Less time is also spent on wondering what sites you need to visit.
If you already have a number of websites that you frequently go to and wish to return to on a daily basis, it is important that you always have a list of them with you. This list can either be in a document file that you save on your computer or a paper list that you keep in a safe place.
Better yet, you can conveniently organize these websites by using the bookmark feature of your PC browser. This way you can always access your bookmark sites every time you wish to visit them. You no longer have to spend time trying to remember them from memory.
Another good time management skill to develop online is by learning how to check your emails on a scheduled basis. More online time is spent browsing through emails, even those that prove to be useless. Without a schedule to follow, you can easily immerse yourself just checking your emails with complete disregard of time. Keep it a habit of giving a specified amount of time just checking up on your emails. Try to strictly enforce the schedule on yourself so that you don't waste time solely on it while leaving other tasks behind.
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