Archive for July, 2007

by Deidre King
Are you like me - need to or even want to do something but can’t get started? Would you like a foolproof method for getting things done? Try this, it works for me!

Write yourself a list for the day. Don’t be put off by this idea, thinking that lists are too restricting, that you don’t want to be so disciplined. Lists are meant to be an aid, a guidance to allow you to get the most out of your time — to do the things you want to as well as those you must.

Back to the list: start by writing down all the things that you must, need or want to do. Mark the items that really must be done with an ‘A’, the items that need to be done bu t could be put off with a ‘B’ and the rest — things that you want to do but aren’t all that necessary — with a ‘C’.

The secret is to do a mix of things so that you end the day with a feeling of satisfaction, of achievement and pleasure.

The next stage is to plan your day. Plan to carry out ‘A’ items at your optimum working time and reward yourself by following with a small treat — a ‘C’ item, a coffee break or a piece of chocolate, etc. Intersperse ‘A’ items with ‘B’ items as much as time allows, at the same time ensuring that all your ‘A’ items can be completed.

A lot of time is wasted in dread — dread of actually getting down to the ‘A’ item that you might not want to do, haven’t the correct tools for or just think is too difficult. If this is the case, set a short time span for it, say 30 minutes, and just start. After 30mins stop. Don’t feel guilty if you then do something else. You will find that the fear has gone and that you can continue with the item at the next planned time. You might also find that the job was easier than you thought and a little more time will finish it. Go ahead!

If you get bored easily, this method of only allowing yourself a short time for any task and then returning to it later is very useful. However, you will get more satisfaction if items are completed and you can start the next without looking back.

Deidre King is author of “Organize Yourself for Success” and has based the book on her own experience and research. She would like everyone to plan and reach their own personal goals and achieve success in whatever they choose to do. For further information, see www.timeforaction.net

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by Cheryl A. Clausen
A reality check is a good time management technique. When you procrastinate because of exaggeration you exaggerate the extent and involvement of a project. Part of you is hoping that will make others just give up and go away, but that doesn’t work all that often. Break the project down into it’s components to understand the full scope of the project, and then just work on one component at a time until it’s done.

Another good time management technique is to get the overall scope down on paper before starting anything. Write out a quick rough draft identifying the big pieces needed for the project. Check and review to make sure you haven’t forgotten anything, and that you haven’t added more than is necessary.

Look at each big piece and write out the major steps or activities required to accomplish each one. This time management technique either re-enforces that the project is as big as you thought, or it demonstrates that maybe it’s not as bad as you were making it out to be. When the project really is big, look for outside help to get things done rather than just putting it to the side because it seems overwhelming.

Delegation is always a good time management technique so ask yourself, “what can I delegate”? Now if you believe the only way to get things done right is to do them yourself this will be really hard for you. If you think this way I challenge you to recognize that you’re also creating your own time management prison where you have to be at the center of everything or nothing happens.

The next time management technique is to break the big steps or activities into all the little supporting steps or activities. This serves two purposes. First, it prevents you from overlooking things and having to scramble to recover. Second, as you go through this thought process you’re getting everything that needs to go on your to do list so you can efficiently work down your list checking things off as you go.

Exaggeration procrastination doesn’t have to foil your time management techniques. Exaggeration is just part of who you are, and there isn’t anything wrong with that. Now you can choose how you respond to your need for exaggeration by stepping up and taking control and getting things done no matter how big or small.

Would you like to learn more about your time behaviors? Try this Time Management Analysis and find out where your opportunities for improvement are. When you absolutely must have measurable results to consistently and predictably get where you want to go for Superior Success…visit CoachingMegaAgents to start on your journey for superior success.

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by Cheryl A. Clausen
It’s very hard to benefit from time management techniques when you procrastinate. There are a number of reasons you procrastinate, and fretting may be the source behind your tendency to procrastinate. When you fret you think about all sorts of imagined problems that may or may not ever happen. You fret about what might happen if you succeed. You fret about what might happen if you fail. You fret about what others will think. You fret that you don’t really know how to tackle the problem. With all this fretting your expending way more energy thinking about it than it would ever take to just do it.

Procrastinators who fret are thinkers, so let’s get you thinking about the right things. What happens if you do succeed if you complete this project or activity? What’s the absolute worst thing that could happen and the absolute best thing that could happen when you finish the project? Get out a piece of paper. Divide it in half heading one side best and the other worst. Keep brain storming and writing until you can’t come up with anything else. Is there anything on the paper that you absolutely couldn’t live with? If not, go to the next step.

The next step in this time management technique is to identify what happens if you fail. Flip you paper over and now list the absolute worst thing that could happen if you fail, and the best thing that could happen if you fail? Your first reaction may be there isn’t a best thing that could happen if you fail, but there is. Every time you fail at something you’re one step closer to succeeding, so you really want to fail fast and often so you can succeed that much faster.

When you procrastinate because you fret about everything isn’t a big part of your concern about what others will think? This time management technique may be hard for you, but mastering this technique will liberate you. Recognize that you can’t control how other people will think or react now or ever. You can only control how you respond to how others react. So, on a second piece of paper list how you think others might react on one side and on the other side list how you choose to react in response to that reaction. Let’s say you’re fretting that if you complete this project or activity that someone may get very angry and confront you. You can choose to remain calm, acknowledge the other persons feelings, ask them to tell you more about whatever they are telling you, and then communicate that you want to work together to resolve their concern. Because you’re prepared for the possible reactions and responses of others you’re prepared to handle your own responses.

Often the reason behind your fretting is that you’re concerned that you don’t know how to do what you need to do. All time management techniques are really about taking control and moving forward. In this case, flip your second piece of paper over and list what you don’t know how to do. Review your list and on the other half of the sheet identify how you could know how to do it, and when you will take action to know how. Evaluate which things that you don’t know how to do that you could have someone who does know how do for you.

Ultimately fretting usually comes down to fear. The best time management technique for overcoming fears is to face them. As you thought things out through the previous steps you were really identifying your worst fears and coming up with solutions for working around them. The best way to conquer your enemy is to know your enemy. As you work through this thought process your confidence builds, and you restore your ability to move ahead armed with the knowledge of what you need to do and how to do it.

Would you like to learn more about your time behaviors? Try this Time Management Analysis and find out where your opportunities for improvement are. When you absolutely must have measurable results to consistently and predictably get where you want to go for Superior Success…visit CoachingMegaAgents to start on your journey for superior success.

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by Cheryl A. Clausen
As a time management foiler you procrastinate for your own reasons. You procrastinate because you’re just plain stubborn, and you’re determined to show others that they aren’t going to push you into doing anything. You’re your own person, and you’ll do what needs to be done when and if you decide to do so, and not before. It seems logical on the one hand, but it has also caused you some pretty bad unnecessary grief. If what you are asked to do shouldn’t be done stick to your guns and don’t budge, but if deep down you know that it’s going to have to be done at some point you may be better off choosing when and communicating that to others.

To get to the bottom of why you procrastinate you need to identify what triggers you to want to foil the project through your time management behaviors. Are you more task oriented or people oriented? When you’re pushed to do people oriented activities and you prefer task oriented activities you’re naturally going to balk and avoid doing it. The other triggers could involve work pace, problems, and procedures. If the project at hand requires you to behave in a manner that is contrary to how you like to respond to situations involving work pace, problems, people, and procedures you will choose to avoid the situation by doing nothing.

You also need to think about how procrastination is serving you. When you procrastinate does that get you off the hook from some projects you really didn’t want any part of from the beginning? If it does that’s positive re-enforcement to continue the behavior.

Then you need to evaluate how procrastination is causing you problems. When you procrastinate does that end up causing you a lot of stress with severe consequences if you don’t meet a deadline? Obviously, that’s negative re-enforcement. As long as the positive re-enforcement exceeds the negative re-enforcement you’ll just continue the behavior unless you discover the underlying motivation to stop procrastinating.

To really become effective in your time management you want to understand what motivates you to take action. When you clearly understand what motivates you to take action in conjunction with your dominant time behaviors, then you can evaluate how you can best fulfill your needs. Everything in life doesn’t have to be on a tight time schedule. You just want to make sure that how you use time isn’t causing you more trouble than it is those around you.

Procrastination is a tough challenge. As you begin to understand why you’re procrastinating, and how your procrastinating it gives your the power to regain control of how you manage your time so your time behaviors serve you well.

Would you like to learn more about your time behaviors? Try this Time Management Analysis and find out where your opportunities for improvement are. When you absolutely must have measurable results to consistently and predictably get where you want to go for Superior Success…visit CoachingMegaAgents to start on your journey for superior success.

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by Cheryl A. Clausen
Have you come to realize the true value of time from past time management programs you’ve tried? Simply speaking time is more valuable than money because it’s a non-replenishable resource. The great thing is that time is available to everyone, and anyone can have more free time.

To get started with some good time management habits schedule at least one thing each week that is really important and rewarding to you. Emphasize important and rewarding to you. Don’t think about or worry about the things you must do or should do here. If you wanted to purchase a new home and you had zero dollars for a down payment you understand the concept in the financial arena that you have to pay yourself first, or set aside even a small amount of money each week until you reach your target. The same concept works here. If you want to be time rich you have to start by giving yourself a little bit of just plain old free time to do what you want now, or you never will and you’ll never be time rich.

The next step is a common time management practice. Fill in all the must do’s for the week in your calendar. But only fill in things that are absolute requirements, not things that you just think are absolute requirements. For example, you have to go to work or you’ll be cash poor, but you only think you have to do some of the chores you have on your calendar for the week. If there aren’t immediate negative consequences for not doing something it isn’t really a must to.

Don’t forget the hidden time sappers, this is an often overlooked item in your time management training. It takes time to drive to and from work. It takes time to get ready for work. Don’t forget to allocate time in your scheduling to allow for all these little time sappers that seem to slip through the cracks of accountability, and cause all sorts of problems with your scheduling.

Now evaluate everything that didn’t fit in . When you start planning based on how you will spend your time rather how you are spending your time, you quickly realize that you can’t possibly fit everything in. That means if you want to implement an effective time management program that some things are going to have to: get dumped, get delegated, or get moved to a later time. Just evaluate each remaining thing with the objective of first seeing if you can dump it and never do it, be ruthless here. Then identify what someone else can do and get them doing it. Finally, only focus on the things that must be done this week and move other things to a later more appropriate time.

Time management is a battle you can win. As you start to reward yourself by allocating free time for yourself first your incentive to guard your time against the things that are time sappers strengthens. It gets easier to say no to those things because you just don’t have time for them. As you get more ruthless in your dumping and delegating, and more committed to paying yourself in time first you develop the skills and habits you need to be time rich.

Would you like to learn more about your time behaviors? Try this Time Management Analysis and find out where your opportunities for improvement are. When you absolutely must have measurable results to consistently and predictably get where you want to go for Superior Success…visit CoachingMegaAgents to start on your journey for superior success.

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by Cheryl A. Clausen
Even though To Do Lists are mentioned in many time management training programs it seems they are either overlooked or made more complicated, and time consuming than they need to be. To get the most value from your to do list you want to identify and segregate the different types of tasks, you want to have a way to easily track results, and you only want to spend about 10 minutes once a week on your to do list. You can spend 5 minutes to develop an electronic version of your to do list that you can either print, or use in its electronic state that will serve you for years.

You have recurring weekly activities/tasks that you have to do no matter what. A really easy way to develop and organize your to do list is to make two tables in a Word document formatted for landscape and two columns on the page. In the left column have a “To Do” table with two columns in the table. In one column of your “To Do” table enter the activities/tasks that you have to do each week.

Good time management demands that you handle your immediately actionable activities. Record all the specific activities or steps or actions that you need to take this week in the other column of your “To Do” table. This keeps you from forgetting important steps and allows to you check off each activity as it’s done.

You also have what I call place holder activities and ideas. These are activities that don’t have to be done this week, but that you want to do some time, so you need a place to write them down so you can do them when the time is right. This is also true for ideas. It may even be a running list of books you want to buy. A could place to put these items in on your second table with two columns labeled “Phone Calls” and “Results”. These place holder items fit nicely on the bottom half of this table in either column.

Tracking and measuring is critical if you are in sales, or you’re a business owner. This second table has had a tremendous impact for me personally and my clients. Under the phone calls column you enter the names and phone numbers or even email addresses of people that you need to call or email this week. As you make those calls you record the results of each call or email in the results column. In the results column you have the things that are important to track and measure on a weekly basis like: number of appointments made, number of appointments held, number of sales advances, number of sales, amount of revenue generated from sales, and the results of your marketing activities. This organizes all your important numbers in one place where you can see at a glance exactly how your week is progressing.

The lowly To Do list is a powerful time management training tool. Because you are only spending no more than 10 minutes once a week to develop it, and you re-prioritize it at the end of each day based on the things that you’ve accomplished that day, it’s a working document that allows you to know exactly where you stand with each type of activity. It keeps you from forgetting or overlooking important tasks, and it frees your mind from trying to hold all that information in your head.

Would you like to learn more about your time behaviors? Try this Time Management Analysis and find out where your opportunities for improvement are. When you absolutely must have measurable results to consistently and predictably get where you want to go for Superior Success…visit CoachingMegaAgents to start on your journey for superior success.

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by Cheryl A. Clausen
You may not have come across this highly effective technique in your previous time management training. Even though “project mapping” sounds scary it’s so easy a child can do it, and it really simplifies things that on the surface may seem complicated. You can use this technique to get things done whether those things are projects, goals, events or any activity or task.

The key to this time management training idea is to quickly get everything that’s important for the project down on paper. Begin by writing a project name in the center of your horizontally placed paper. Please recognize that this isn’t an exercise that requires neatness or beauty. Rather it’s an exercise that gets all your important thoughts down in one place for quick reference and easy organization.

Now that the project is in the center of the page you want to start filling in around the project. You may want to put the project name in a circle or box to make it stand out on the page. Next make another box labeled “the big benefit”. Draw arrows from this box and write out the big benefit that results from the completion of this project. You will find that occasionally when you evaluate the potential benefits of a project before you even start, that you find the project isn’t even worth doing, and then you save yourself a whole lot of wasted time, effort, and resources.

It’s always a good time management training practice to evaluate the bad consequences of not doing something. Make another box labeled “bad consequences” some where on the page. Now draw arrows from the box and write out the things that would happen if this project doesn’t get completed or completed on time. The funny thing is that most of the time you are more motivated to avoid the really bad things than you are to enjoy the really good things.

Next label a box “obstacles”. This is where time management training really misses the mark most of the time because you don’t actively identify the things that could get in your way, so when they happen your stuck. Draw an arrow from your obstacles box and write out the obstacles that could get in your way, and then draw an arrow from each obstacle and list the potential solutions to overcoming that obstacle. This way you have a ready tool kit to head off trouble as soon as it comes up, and you can choose the solution that you’ve identified that’ll work best.

Label another box “desired sequence”. Here’s where the rubber meets the road. From this box draw arrows to list each action step that you or some one that you delegate a step to will need to take. Number the action steps into the most logical sequence recognizing that you could have a 1a, 1b, 1c etc. for steps that require several people to act at the same time.

Get each action step from your project mapping onto your lowly to do list. The lowly, simple yet highly effective “to do” list is often overlooked in time management training, but that doesn’t make it any less powerful. Have one and only one “to do” list for the week, and put all the actions steps that must be taken on your list. Then looking at all the “to do” items for the whole week prioritize them each day, and check off each item as it’s completed.

Using this project mapping technique as part of your time management improvements can result in a lot less stress. The project mapping process only takes about 10 minutes, a blank piece of paper, a pencil and presto you have the whole project laid out. The project gets done with few if any hitches, and you have more time for other things.

Would you like to learn more about your time behaviors? Try this Time Management Analysis and find out where your opportunities for improvement are. When you absolutely must have measurable results to consistently and predictably get where you want to go for Superior Success…visit CoachingMegaAgents to start on your journey for superior success.

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by Cheryl A. Clausen
Procrastination is a major time management antagonist. You know it’s getting in your way and slowing you down and keeping you from getting things done, yet you don’t know what to do to stop it. Identifying why you are procrastinating is a first step in stopping the undesired behaviors.

Time management foilers. You procrastinate because you’re just plain stubborn, and you’re determined to show others that they aren’t going to push you into doing anything. You’re your own person, and you’ll do what needs to be done when and if you decide to do so and not before. It’s seems logical on the one hand, but it has also caused you some pretty bad unnecessary grief. If what you are asked to do shouldn’t be done stick to your guns and don’t budge, but if deep down you know that it’s going to have to be done at some point you may be better off choosing when and communicating that to others.

Time management exaggerators. You exaggerate the extent and involvement of the project. Part of you is hoping that will make others just give up and go away, but that doesn’t work all that often. Break the project down into it’s components to understand the full scope of the project, and then just work on one component at a time until it’s done.

Time management fretters. You create all sorts of imagined problems that may or may not ever happen. You fret about what might happen if you succeed. You fret about what might happen if you fail. You fret about what others will think. You fret that you don’t really know how to tackle the problem. With all this fretting you’re like the kids who cheat in school rather than study. It would take a whole lot less time and energy to just do it and let the chips fall where they may than it does to do all that fretting.

Time management stargazers. You’d rather think about doing something way more than just doing it. The problem is that nothing ever happens until you take action, so the longer you stargaze about what could be the more you prolong not getting the possible.

Time management perfectionists. You just can’t let go of a project and call it done because there is always just one more thing you could do to make it perfect. The problem is almost no one else wants, expects, or appreciates that level of perfection that you demand. You’re expending all your energy on the apex of perfection when everyone else around you just wants ok.

Time management procrastinators are frequently creatures of habit. You’ve been procrastinating so long that you automatically put everything off even when it’s something you really want. Something that would end a major discomfort or bring you great pleasure keeps getting put off. The only way to break a habit is to make a commitment and then follow through with action until you develop a new habit. The key is understanding: what you have to gain from the new habit, and replacing the bad habit of putting things off so you never have enough time with getting things done, so you have time to do something you really want to do.

Procrastination is a real time management foe. Identify which type of procrastinator you are. Evaluate the rewards that behavior is giving you, and identify the rewards you could get if you let go of that behavior. Doing so will enable you to refocus your energies so you can do the right things, in the right way, for the right reason, at the right time.

Would you like to learn more about your time behaviors? Try this Time Management Analysis and find out where your opportunities for improvement are. When you absolutely must have measurable results to consistently and predictably get where you want to go for Superior Success…visit CoachingMegaAgents to start on your journey for superior success.

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by Cheryl A. Clausen
Being a perfectionist is a blessing and a curse. When quality and accuracy are at a premium you can be counted on to deliver, it’s just a matter of when you will deliver. You can never live up to your own extremely high standards and you drive others nuts with your meticulous concern over every little detail. A happy medium between your own standards for perfection and the level of perfection required for the task at hand will help you to enjoy better time management.

A great way to get better time management for a project is to map out the entire project before starting. Start with a blank piece of paper putting the project in the center and then identify all the tasks, obstacles, and outputs needed. You’ll love this part because you get to think of every detail from the onset.

Set standards for the final results. As part of your mapping process identify the ultimate result the project needs. Don’t allow yourself to set standards that you aren’t 100% confident that you can achieve right now with the time, talents, and resources you have at your disposal. When you set standards that are above your capabilities you are just setting yourself up for a time management fiasco.

Verify the standards you’ve set aren’t higher than the value. Setting standards higher than the value was a huge mistake that many manufacturers made. Yes, a manufacturer can make a part with a very high tolerance, but if the customer isn’t willing to pay extra for this level of tolerance it’s poor time management and a costly mistake. You want to make sure that the standards you’ve set don’t exceed the value the customer is willing to pay for it in terms of their time, talents, and treasure.

Set a time frame for completion of the project. Make the time frame realistic so that you don’t have to have everything go perfectly in order to hit your deadline. A good time management tip is to always allow a little slack time with any project or appointment. You also want to make sure that you hold yourself accountable to your deadline.

Finish the project, get feedback, and make adaptations for the next version. Making yourself finish the project and getting feedback is really important for effective time management. With good feedback you will be able to make improvements that are really valuable to your customer, whether they be coworkers or family and friends; that you may not have thought about without their feedback. Then make adaptations and improvements to the project for the next time.

What if there isn’t a next time? Well there may not be a next time, but there won’t be a first time either if you allow your need for perfection to keep the project from completion. Expecting perfection places a lot of unnecessary stress on you, and for what? Consider this, which is, worse stressing out trying to get everything perfect or doing your best and going with that and having it fall short of your standards? The choice is yours.

Would you like to learn more about your time behaviors? Try this Time Management Analysis and find out where your opportunities for improvement are. When you absolutely must have measurable results to consistently and predictably get where you want to go for Superior Success…visit CoachingMegaAgents to start on your journey for superior success.

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by Lillian Keefe

Are you wasting time commuting to and from work? Listening to music can be an escape but nowadays time is at a premium, so many people are choosing to use that valuable time for listening to audio books. Long commutes are definitely an ideal time to listen to downloadable audio books particularly for busy people that don’t have the time to read books. Here is a list of some the other great times to listen to audio books:

• Commuting
• Biking
• Jogging
• Working Out at the Gym
• Traveling for Business or Pleasure
• Gardening
• Knitting
• Cooking
• Doing Housework

You can easily add to this list based on all the dead time you find in your day to day routines.

Why Listen to an Audio Book versus Music?

Audio books and books in general expand your universe. Many times we don’t have the time to get additional training at work or find the latest and greatest advice and tips on aging or parenting but you generally can find the time to listen. By listening you can grow, learn, and discover passions that you never dreamed of. With downloadable audio books you can learn a language, hear the latest biographies or the latest best selling thrillers. As a music lover I can tell you that there is room for both but learning to me has always been more important since I know we are in an increasingly competitive world where knowledge is not a luxury but a must.

Aren’t Audio Books Expensive?

If you have not been exposed to audio books you may think that audio books are expensive. In some cases that may be true but they are available in a variety of different ways. Believe it or not some still come on cassette tape. Typically the ones you see sold in the stores are on CD. But the new trend is toward MP3 audio books. These are downloadable from the internet. Our audio book store specializes in downloadable audio books. Downloadable audio books tend to be less expensive than CDs since you decide whether you want to burn it on CD or whether you want to transfer it from your computer to your portable media player. Downloadable audio books are usually available in MP3 and WMA formats.

Searching audio books online can be confusing at first but once your find the store you like and are comfortable with the formats they offer you just then need to make sure they have the titles you want. Many sites have users sign up for a monthly fee similar to Netflix where they rent audio books. This works for some people if they are renting enough titles to make it worth the fees. Some stores like ours offer great deals and a wide selection without the commitment of paying a monthly fee.

Audio books are available across all interests. They are just not business or training types of books. Fiction typically is the most popular with the like of Dean Koontz and Stephen King. Many women like to listen to romances as they do their house work. A luxury that they can feel less guilty about since an audio book allows you to multitask.

In conclusion the convenience of listening an audio book can’t be beat. Whether you prefer to have your audio books on a compact disc, on your computer, your pda or other portable media player, you are sure to find something to suit your needs online. You no longer need to trek down to your local library or bookstore you can buy an audio book and download it right your computer. The internet has truly transformed our lives. By allowing us to download an audio book that you can listen to instantly it opens the floodgates to a new path of productivity and multitasking.

Lillian Keefe owns CreateTimeAudio.com where you can get a wide selection of quality downloadable audio books in MP3 and WMA format. Free audio books available as well.

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