Posts Tagged ‘time management’
Time To Fulfill Your Goals
There is never enough time to do everything you have to do, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing. ~ Brian Tracy
Back to school … back to work. Summer is officially over and it’s time to get serious about making the most of this last bit of an interesting 2013.
Is there a project or goal you still want to get done? Here are a few tips to help ensure you accomplish it.
Define it
Really get clear on what specific thing(s) you want to accomplish. Write it down—and post some place prominent to serve as a reminder that this is an important priority.
Be clear on the benefit
Seriously, you need to understand what the benefit of the outcome will be. Imagine it. Get a clear picture in your head. Now you have the motivation…
Identify your obstacles
We all have them. They can be external, such as a full plate—you may have to defer some things. An internal obstacle can be your inner dialogue. You know … that critic telling you things like, But I want it to be perfect! or I’ll never find the time, so what’s the point? or… fill in the blank. Get these out in the open and challenge their validity because ignoring them will hold you back.
Break it down.
If it’s a big thing, put pen to paper and break down the task into smaller bite-sized pieces. Then chip away at it a little at a time.
Create the time
Anything that does not have a “When?” attached to it will most likely not get done. Start blocking off space in your busy calendar for what is really important. Yes, that’s right. Make appointments with yourself. Even 30 minutes at a time is 30 minutes closer to finishing. (That’s why sometimes you need to break it down into small pieces…)
Respect your time
Its way too easy to give time you’ve put aside for yourself up to something lower on your priority list; especially when someone tries to make their lack of planning your crisis. Have as much respect for the appointment you made with yourself as you would for a client appointment or a meeting with your boss.
Support.
What kind of support might you require in order to accomplish your goal(s)? Do you need an accountability buddy? Could you benefit from hiring a productivity coach to help keep you on course? There’s no rule saying you need to do this alone. Reach out. Accept help.
Celebrate!
You deserve it. Every time you complete a milestone goal, reward yourself. Do something fun! And be sure to schedule in the fun so you won’t forget how important it is.
Successfully Managing Your Time
Successfully Managing Your Time
Many of us agree that you can’t really manage time, you can only use it wisely to accomplish the most important things you need to do and want to do. Keeping in mind that most busy professionals have over 200 hours of uncompleted work at any one time, you can’t do it all! So, how do you decide what to do and when?
Here are some techniques I have learned and shared with my clients:
1) Complete your #1 priority item first thing in the morning, every morning. Don’t check e-mail or pick up the phone because you are bound to be distracted and led into conversations / e-mails before getting your #1 task done.
2) Stop work 15 to 30 minutes before your day ends to organize yourself for the next day. Return all paper and other items to their designated homes, plan your priorities, confirm appointments for the next day and list your tasks to be done in order of priority.
3) Every Friday, spend one or two hours developing your plan for the next week. There are several key steps to this process:
- Review your calendar from the past week for any undone action items you need to add to your To-Do list. Schedule appointments with yourself to complete them.
- Look at your calendar for next week. Do you need to prepare anything for upcoming meetings? If so, how long will it take and when will you do it? Schedule time to work on these items.
- Review your To-Do list for any urgent and/or important items and decide when you will work on them. Schedule in these tasks.
- Review any major projects, break them down into small action steps and book time with yourself to ensure you are moving them forward to completion.
- After doing all of this, consider whether your schedule is realistic. In general, you need to keep 20% to 50% of your week open for unexpected interruptions, requests and projects. Make adjustments, if necessary.
As you can see, each one of these steps involves scheduling commitments with yourself by blocking off time in your calendar as you would for any other meeting.
September is back to school and back to work – what a perfect time to plan for success. Remember, the effort put into planning Is far less painful than the consequences of not planning at all!
Jana Hartwell, CPO
Sensible Organizing Solutions