Archive for July, 2008

by Paul J. Meyer
Master craftsmen each have their tools - tools that are an integral part of the craft. In the same way, masters of time-management have three tools that they cannot do without: goals, visuals, and delegation.

Goals are so important in time-management because they keep your activity on target to success. Of course obstacles may arise, but when they do, simply revise your goals to fit the changing conditions. Be creative and action oriented! When you organize time and efforts according to your goals, you feel a sense of elation and enthusiasm at the end of each day because you know that tomorrow is planned for your benefit.

· At the close of the workday, make a list of tomorrow’s high priority items. When morning comes, you will be ready to start.
· Work through items on your “Do List” in the order of priorities you determine. Accomplish your goals for the day.
· Set deadlines for reaching long-range goals. Plan your activities to complete intermediate steps on schedule. Then your long-range goals will be achieved automatically.
· Set overall organizational goals and organize your time to achieve them.
· Help co-workers organize their time by priorities. When everyone understands what needs to be done first, time is used with purpose.
· Set time goals for jobs at home and allow yourself a reward for success.
· When family members work together on a task, agree on the amount of time to use and the payoff for success. Then everyone is motivated to complete the work on time.

Visual reminders are an enormous aid in time-management because they give you a picture of your time. Making notes frees your memory for immediate concerns and provides assurance that you will not miss an appointment or overlook an important action. Planning in this way conserves more time than it uses and gives you a sense of satisfaction and well-being.

· Use a traditional or electronic “Do List” to keep track of activities that will lead to accomplishing your goals and enjoying whatever is important to you.
· Note in your cell phone, calendar, computer, etc. appointments, commitments, and plans for action steps to reach goals.
· Keep a “Conference Planner” - a sheet of paper or a folder - for each person you consult with frequently. Note items to be discussed.
· When several items have accumulated, take care of them all at one time, thus eliminating the waste of several conferences or phone calls.
· In your personal calendar, list events for enrichment or entertainment that will benefit you and your family. Schedule your business to include these activities.

Delegation is the ultimate timesaving tool. When you ask someone else to do a task and delegate the authority and responsibility to accomplish it, you free your time for more important activities. This will greatly increase your personal productivity.

· Carefully assess the worth of each activity that fills your day. Identify items of work that return low payoff. Then eliminate unnecessary items, simplify overly complicated tasks, and delegate the remaining items to someone else who can perform them at an acceptable level.
· When you delegate, judge results rather than methods. Allow people to accomplish work according to their own personal preferences or procedures.
· Provide information, support, and encouragement as people accept delegation. Give credit for work well done, and be generous with praise.
· Provide target dates for work to be done, and be sure the task is clearly understood.

With goal-setting, visual reminders, and delegation as your tools, you can be a Master Time-Manager!

New York Times best-selling author Paul J. Meyer has helped people effectively control, manage, and invest their time for the achievement of goals. Visit http://www.pauljmeyer.com for more resources!

Article Source: The Top Three Tools of Master Time Mangagers

by Marilyn Bohn
In our home I was responsible for the family laundry until my daughters were about 12 years old. I remember when my first daughter (of five) told me she was going to start doing her own laundry. I was surprised and I thought that wouldn’t last long, but it did. The reason I had been taken off laundry duty was because I ruined things. Okay so I did shrink a shirt or a sweater here and there and once I even got bleach on a shirt that was not meant to be bleached. I did feel bad and I didn’t do it on purpose. But let’s face it I was happy I had less laundry to do. In my defense I only did it a couple of times and it was always by accident.

We can spend a lot of time in the laundry room and often the room is tucked away in a corner of the kitchen, bathroom, hallway or basement, not offering much room. Organizing for small spaces can be a challenge, but with a little ingenuity and thought there are things that can be done to maximize space and help save you time. As a busy woman I am big on time management. There are other things I can de doing rather than laundry.

Here are four organizing ideas to use in the laundry room to help save time.

•Keep everything within easy reach that we use in the laundry room. Place the soap in a place where you don’t have to reach and stretch for it. And don’t have it too low where you are always bending to get to it.

•Store the products used like fabric softener, bleach, all fabric bleach, stain sticks and other stain removers according to how often you use them. Place the ones used most often up front.

•For the small items, store them in a basket, plastic bin or even in a shoe box. I don’t personally care for using a shoe box because it is not as convenient to see what is in it. By using a basket everything stays contained and it can be pulled out to get the item needed.

•Have a rack, a knob, or a clothes line that clothes can be hung on when they shouldn’t go in the dryer. I have a small pipe that runs along the ceiling that works just fine in my laundry room. As a professional organizer I love the challenge of figuring out what we can use to same time and how to organize small spaces using what is already in the home. Convenience in the laundry room doesn’t have to cost a lot of money.

Shelving units and cabinets can be built into even the smallest spaces on walls or between appliances. Adjustable, plastic-coated wire shelving can be used three ways: to store cleaning products, laundry baskets or irons, to hold hangers or hooks and to dry delicates.

Make the laundry room a happy place to be. If it is in a basement with no windows paint it a happy color or your favorite color, hang pictures or posters in the room. Make it an inviting room to be in. If there isn’t a table or counter to fold cloths, use the washer and dryer as the table. This also encourages putting the clothes away where they belong and not leaving them in the room.

Place baskets in the room, one for each family member and put their laundry in their basket so they can easily take it to their room. This saves both time and frustration. As the children get older put their clothes in their basket for them to fold and put away.

Convenience is the key to save time and frustration in the laundry room. Everyone in the family can help with this task; start the two year old child helping with the laundry by finding matching socks. Laundry doesn’t have to be a chore for one person in the household; it can be a shared responsibility in the family.Kitchen.

Marilyn is a creative organizer who helps women, seniors and their families create space and end clutter in their homes and offices by setting up custom made systems. Marilyn invites you to visit her website where you can find solutions to your organizing needs. She offers free tips in her blogs, articles and videos for your home and office organizing solutions.

Marilyn is a creative organizer who helps women, seniors & their families to create space and end clutter in homes and offices by setting up custom made systems. Visit her website http://www.marilynbohn.com for free organizing tips.

Article Source: 4 Tips To Save Time and Maximize Space In The Laundry Room

by true2you
Do you ever feel like you are going in a hundred different directions but not really going anywhere? Maybe you run upstairs to do something, only to forget what you were going to do. You start doing something else, and then abandon that project when you think of something else that needs to be done. Perhaps you’re busy all day but have nothing to show for your busyness. This is what I call “The Scatter Brain Syndrome”, or in layman’s terms, lack of focus.

The Scatter Brain Syndrome happens to all of us, but fortunately there are some quick fixes to this challenge.

Have a Specific Plan for Each Day
Before you begin your day, know exactly what you want to accomplish and what’s on your agenda. Pretend your day is over and ask yourself what you need to feel like you had a productive and focused day. What is most important to you for this particular day only?

Pick 3 or 4 Tasks/Activities from your “To Do” List
Many of us have a huge ongoing “to do” list we work from. We add tasks to it at a much faster rate than we delete them. Looking at a large list can be distracting and overwhelming; this will interfere with your ability to focus. Pick 3 or 4 tasks you would like to focus on for the day and write them on a separate piece of paper, on a white board, an index card, in your planner or some other place that is separate from your big list. Focus ONLY on those tasks for the day.

Minimize Distractions
Everything and everyone is fighting for our attention. If you are trying to finish something, and the phone rings, don’t answer it, unless it is an important phone call. If you can’t screen your phone calls, learn to tell people you are in the middle of something and you’ll call them back. Save television and internet surfing as rewards for completing the tasks you want to do. Use a timer to let small children know when you will be available to play, talk to them while you’re finishing a task, or get them involved.

Stop Multi-tasking
You might be proud of the fact that you can multi-task; I know I was, but multi-tasking keeps your brain going in too many directions. Start and finish a task before you move on to the next one.

Take Breaks
I know; you probably think you don’t have time to take breaks, but what if it made you more focused and productive? During your five to ten minute breaks, spend some time meditating and clearing your mind. Don’t sit and think about all the things you need to do. Relax and let your mind rest.

Minimize Stress
Stress can create a scattered brain so you need to find ways to minimize it. The two best natural antidotes to stress are sleep and exercise. When you are tired, your coping mechanisms get weak. My doctor has always told me that exercise is the best natural antidepressant on the market.

Add Fish Oil to Your Diet
Adding Omega 3’s to your diet has significant health benefits. Fish oil has long been considered by doctors around the world to be one of the most effective remedies for many health related issues, including depression, improving memory and concentration, as well as ADHD. You can read more about the benefits of fish oil on Dr. Barry Sears’s website.

Keep an Accomplishment Journal
Sometimes it feels like we have The Scatter Brain Syndrome, when in reality, we’ve accomplished more than we think. At the end of your day, keep a journal of everything you did that day.
 Did a load of laundry
 Paid the bills
 Went to work
 Played a game with the kids
 Called a friend
 Changed the baby’s diaper 5 times
 And so on
An accomplishment journal helps you focus on what you did do, instead of what you didn’t. Put your energy in the right place and give yourself the credit you deserve.

A scatter brain does not mean you are doomed to a life of forgetfulness, lack of productivity or concentration. It probably means you’re pretty normal, but you may need to try some new antidotes to The Scatter Brain Syndrome.

Lori Radun, CEC is a certified life coach and professional speaker specializing in helping moms be effective leaders of their home and work lives. For more FREE personal development tips and the FREE special report “5 Tips for Maximizing your Time”, visit her website at http://www.true2youlifecoaching.com

Article Source: Taming the Scatter Brain

by wendy hearn
Not having enough time is a common problem that many people suffer from. You may feel stressed and frustrated because you’re constantly chasing the clock trying to get everything done. Don’t you sometimes wish that you could have a bit more time? Although there are only 24 hours in a day, instead of wishing for more time, how about identifying where you can save some time. Here are two strategies so that you can free up some of your time, leaving you able to accomplish more towards your goals and perhaps enjoy some leisure time.

1. Eliminate the time wasters in your day. Although you may have lots to get done each day, its surprisingly easy to get caught up in activities that actually waste your time. Some tasks can appear to be important and unless they are completely in alignment with the goals you want to achieve, I suggest that you question their necessity. There’s also the time wasters such as drawn out telephone calls, interruptions as people just drop by for some help. Many people also find it difficult to stay focused on their tasks or they lack direction so waste quite a bit of time jumping from one thing to another. As there are many different time wasters and different ones affect different people, I invite you to identify specifically what wastes your time and eliminate it. Even if you just pick one time waster for now, you can work in eliminating others later.

2. Set a time limit for each task. Tasks often take longer to complete than they need to and setting a realistic but slightly tight time limit can really help you to work more productively. I’m sure you can think of times when a task has taken ages and yet if you’d set yourself a time limit on it, I bet you know that you could have got it done and done well in that time. Tasks that are allowed an indefinite amount of time often take far too long, robbing you of your precious time. Time that could be spent more productively or enjoyably. Give each task a realistic time limit, set an alarm and then put 100% of yourself into completing the task in that time.

So, now you have two time management strategies here that could easily save you lots of time each and every day. I encourage you to put at least one of these into action today. Just imagine how good you will feel with a bit more time to enjoy.

Imagine having enough time for your goals and dreams, for your loved ones and leisure interests.

With the right time management strategies this is easily possible. Discover how to get more done in less time with “5 Quick Tips For Dramatically Improving Your Time Management” by Wendy Hearn. Sign up right now by clicking here => time management

Article Source: Time Management Strategies For Saving Loads Of Time

by Golf Online
Two-time major winner Sandy Lyle is planning to focus his energy on the European Seniors Tour.

The Scottish star, who won both the Open and the Masters, intends to spend less time on the regular tour as he has found it less enjoyable in recent years.

Lyle said: “You’ve got to get out there and make the cut and it gets harder and harder. This isn’t the case on the Seniors.”

The European Seniors Tour has three rounds per event and does not have a midway cut, which is particularly attractive to the 50-year-old.

He added: “You might have a bad first round but it doesn’t really matter,” he said. “You’ve got two more rounds under your belt.”

Earlier this year, Lyle took part in the PGA Championship senior tournament at Oak Hill.

Other events that could appeal to the Scot include next month’s Senior Open Championship, which has a top prize of $2,000,000, and the US Senior Open, which offers the winner $2,600,000.

Golf Online are an online shop for golf equipment, golf news and online golf games. Published by http://www.golfonline.co.uk

Article Source: Lyle looking forward to seniors’ tour

by Paul J. Meyer
What are your attitudes toward time? Feel like you’re always running out of it? Never finding enough of it? Those would be most people’s answers - but they don’t have to be yours! The first step to getting the most out of your time is to analyze your attitudes toward it.

People who view frustrating circumstances as personal attacks usually react with anger or despair. If you examine your attitudes and behaviors regarding time and realize that you’ve been reacting negatively to frustration, then try this instead: Next time, try to react to frustration with acceptance and action. You will create new opportunities, promote a positive atmosphere, and eliminate the feeling of time frustration!

Whatever your attitudes about time have been, here’s the truth: Time is the only resource equally available to every person, regardless of race, sex, age, education, past accomplishments, or the quality of intentions. We all have the same 24 hours, every day! It’s how we manage our time that makes the difference.

Effective time organization provides no additional time, but it makes each existing hour more productive. So, the best possible investment you can make is to use your time wisely. Invest your time in activities, work, hobbies, and relationships that have maximum meaning for you. The growth in your life is directly linked to how you control and use your time.

Modifying time behavior requires self-knowledge, short- and long-range planning, and understanding the benefits of time-control. These are some of the incredible benefits:

1. Increased productivity
2. Increased income as a result of higher productivity
3. A greater enthusiasm for work and life in general
4. Eagerness to begin each day
5. Ability to tackle a long list of work items without depression
6. Ability to face problems without frustrations
7. Ability to handle crises
8. Improved decision-making ability
9. Adequate time for planning
10. Control of interruptions
11. More time for family
12. More time for personal recreation

It’s your time - it doesn’t own you; you own it! Have an attitude of action, and make your time count!

New York Times best-selling author Paul J. Meyer has helped people effectively control, manage, and invest their time for the achievement of goals. Visit http://www.pauljmeyer.com for more resources on time management.

Article Source: It’s About Time…To Have an Attitude of Action!

by Lauren S. Johnson
Waking up early does not come easy to a lot of people. Majority of the population is so used to staying up late that an early morning becomes more of a chore than a way of life. So what can we do in order to improve our sleep habits and feel rejuvenated even early in the morning?

First of all it is important not to make any drastic changes. For example, set your alarm 15 to 30 minutes earlier than usual. This way you don’t shock your body and you can reach your ideal goal gradually. Secondly, try to go to sleep early. This may be very difficult for some people. Majority of the population goes to bed late because they are either watching television or surfing the net. If you find that you have difficulty falling asleep, try to read a book in bed to relax your mind and encourage sleep. Another way to become an early riser is to place your alarm away from your bed. How many of us hit the snooze button at least once? I know it’s a hard habit to break. By placing your alarm clock far away you are forcing yourself to get out of bed completely. Furthermore, encourage yourself to leave the bedroom right after you turn of the alarm. This way you are not tempted to jump back into bed.

Also, try to look at waking up in the morning as a good thing, not as a chore. When you have to force yourself to wake up each and every morning, you will not succeed. So set yourself some goals. For instance, if you enjoy reading, tell yourself that waking up in the morning will give you the opportunity to enjoy a cup of tea along with a book and an amazing sunrise. Personalize your reasons for waking up in the morning. If there is something you always wanted to do in the morning, make that your goal or your reward. Try incorporating some of these early riser tips and take advantage of a longer day.

Lauren S. Johnson writes health articles about fitness and nutrition. Some of her favorite passions include studying the medicinal benefits of herbal remedies, colon cleansing andweight loss products.

Article Source: How can you become an Early Riser?

by wendy hearn
If you could increase your personal productivity by say 20%, what difference would that make to the work you get completed and the success you achieve? With the right strategies and actions it will probably make a huge difference. There are many ways to increase your productivity and the right time management strategies are essential to this process. Being more productive can also leave you feeling more fulfilled rather than feeling dissatisfied when you haven’t completed anywhere near enough each day.

I encourage you to take improving your productivity just one step at a time and continually building on it. Here’s two strategies that can help you with your own productivity.

Prioritizing. One of the best ways to being more productive is the use of prioritizing. This allows you to see clearly what needs to be focused on rather than just stabbing around in the dark with many different actions that anyway may not lead to the results you desire. Before you carry out any tasks, just take a small amount of time to determine your priorities. These priorities are the tasks that are in alignment with your goals. At a high level you need to prioritize which projects to work on, within these projects prioritize the individual tasks. Then prioritize our daily task list so that the important stuff gets done.

Become more efficient. Efficiency it about getting tasks done well as quickly as possible. There is often a more efficient way of doing something if we only stop for a very short while to think about and see what that could be. I therefore encourage you to look at your tasks and ask yourself, “what would enable me to get this done quicker?”. It may be that you need to invest in some new tools or equipment, or speak with a colleague and find out how they are able to complete the same tasks quicker than you.

Increasing your personal productivity and making the most of time management strategies helps you to achieve your goals and feel great about yourself.

Now imagine what it would be like if your personal productivity was at a high level so that you are achieving your goals and dreams, and spending time with your loved ones.

With the right time management strategies this is easily possible. Discover how to get more done in less time with “5 Quick Tips For Dramatically Improving Your Time Management” by Wendy Hearn. Sign up right now by clicking here => time management

Article Source: Time Management Strategies For Increasing Personal Productivity

by Susan Hawkins
Another baby shower, another dumb “Diaper the Baby” game. Another corner of a room piled high with gifts for baby. Another table full of finger sandwiches, pasta salad and soft drinks. Come on, now! We’re creative women living in the 21st century. Let’s bring baby showers up to date. According to some wedding planners (wedding planners?), it’s already happening, and we’re all the better for it! Recently, thenestbaby.com revealed that wedding planners are beginning to get more and more calls from women looking for baby shower planners, so exciting baby shower trends are emerging. Here are some ideas for your next baby shower:

- Mom gets gifts, too. Remember the corner of the room that’s piled high with baby gifts? Well, now there’s another corner filled with gifts that celebrate baby’s mom. Goodie baskets, gift certificates to spas, mommy makeovers and chef services are a few possibilities.

- All Dads Allowed. It may be like pulling teeth to get them to go, but men can have a great time at a baby shower if you make sure to have male-oriented options - food (think nachos, pizza, burgers,) beer, video games, poker tables. The guys don’t even have to be in the room while the breast pumps and booties are being unwrapped. Just propose the party as one last get-together with friends before baby arrives. A barbecue or pool party would be fun for everyone.

- Belly Up to the Bar. Well, everyone but the babe with the big belly. Just because the expectant mom can’t shouldn’t mean the rest of the guests can’t enjoy a cocktail or two—especially if you want to get the guys to the festivities. Again, those barbecues and pool parties are great get-togethers for friends celebrating a new arrival. The mom-to-be is already used to skipping the “sauce,” and it will only be a few months before she can consume a cosmo again.

- Sprinkles. These are smaller showers given to second- and third-time moms-to-be who already have the basics. A new baby is still a reason to celebrate, and this time around the gifts should be diapers, wipes, books and again, nice things for mom—like a spa or massage gift certificate.

- Favor Us With Fabulous Colors. Ban the blue and pink! Brighten up your shower with hot yellow, blue/brown, cream/lavender or chocolate/light blue. And have you seen how far baby shower favors have come? Look for favors in adorable packaging, like an “About to Hatch” Egg Timer or “A Star is Born” Bottle Stopper. Not only are these creative favors, they’re great theme ideas, too. Check online! Everything about baby showers is new and cool!

Corner Stork Baby Gifts at http://www.cornerstorkbabygifts.com which offers hundreds of baby gifts, baby shower favors, baby clothes, baby blankets, toys and much more. Visit their website and browse through hundreds of unique baby gift ideas.

Article Source: What’s New in New-Mom Celebrations? Baby Showers Have Grown Up!

by Marilyn Bohn
When my girls were little they would always want to go with me when I ran errands. They were all talkers. Sometimes my ears would actually hurt from hearing them chat nonstop. Since there were five of them the constant chatter and questions could get on my nerves. Once in awhile I would tell them they could go with me in the car if they just wouldn’t talk. They agreed not to talk but of course that never lasted very long. Life is just too interesting and there are too many questions to ask to be silent.

I would much rather hear the chatter of children than all the noise going on all the time everywhere I go these days. I personally feel as a professional organizer that is one of the reasons people are disorganized and can’t seem to focus. I organize for women and I organize for seniors. Within the 60 year difference in age noise is still a problem. The older generation seem to filter out more of the noise and not just because they are hard of hearing.

Let’s take a typical day, if we are lucky we wake to the sound of birds chirping which is a peaceful sound. The T.V. can be turned on and there is tons of noise there. The advertisers are trying to convince us to buy products and if we don’t buy them then our lives aren’t complete. The more they convince us we need to purchase their products and sometimes whether we need it or not if we fall for their sales pitch and buy it and when we don’t use what we buy it becomes clutter as well as a waste of money. The mute button is my favorite button so I can turn off all those sales pitches.

The radio can be turned on; Mp3 players can be stuck in our ears to listen to music, news or sports. Perhaps there is street noise, family members talking or frantically shouting to others to find their keys, lunch, briefcase, homework or other things so they can get off to school and work.

If we go to a store there is music blaring from the sound system. I have had to leave stores before as the music is too loud or it is the kind I can’t stand. Just driving down the street we are bombarded by bill boards shouting at us to buy this, buy that. (In some states you are lucky because you don’t have bill boards).

In restaurants there is the loud chatter of people on their cell phones, or talking to each other, the sound of dishes, scraping of chairs and a myriad of other sounds. Even our cars can talk to us, in the grocery store at the checkout counters they have T.V.’s blaring at us. I avoid shopping at these stores. A few years ago there were talking cash register machines; again I avoided the same grocery store that now has the televisions.

In the evening the television and all its noise is turned on. They even ruin the movie or show as they have to play music as the actors talk and in some movies the sound is so loud the dialog gets trampled in the noise.

The point is with all our waking hours being constantly bombarded by noise of some kind we need to turn it off and think what we want for our lives. Do we want an uncluttered home, office, or work space? If so how are we going to achieve this goal? One of the most important tips to becoming organized is to choose a room and then choose an area to focus on, I recommend organizing from the inside out. Start in the closet by starting on the floor. Zoom in on one specific area and work for 15 minutes (set a timer)—noise can be a good thing too.

By knowing you have a time limit and by knowing it won’t take you forever gives you energy to continue the project. Take time to admire the progress you have already made and give yourself a pat on the back. Organizing can be fun and easy, we need to cut out the noise and listen to ourselves and address our own needs, not needs someone else thinks we have.

Marilyn is a creative organizer who helps women, seniors and their families create space and end clutter in their homes and offices by setting up custom made systems. Marilyn invites you to visit her website where you can find solutions to your organizing needs. She offers free tips in her blogs, articles and videos for your home and office organizing solutions.

Marilyn is a creative organizer who helps women, seniors & their families to create space and end clutter in homes and offices by setting up custom made systems. Visit her website http://www.marilynbohn.com for free organizing tips.

Article Source: Noise Be Gone for an Organized Life