|
|
| www.1001TopWords.com |
|
|
The Keepers of Time
I give presentations on organizational skill building as it relates to paper, time, and computer file management. It seems that we all have too much paper, not enough time, and more than enough information stored in our computers if we could just find it! Part of my job is to help identify the challenges an employee or organization is facing and suggest solutions. Over the course of time I have found that most individuals are simply unaware of the basics of paper and time management. It's not necessary to know all existing time management theories, but it is important to know the basics. Appointment books and calendars are two tools that help guide you through your activities and commitments. Here are three basic steps you can take to use these tools more effectively. Select a user-friendly appointment book The selection of a type of appointment book and calendar is usually a matter of personal preference. Appointment books or planners come in several different formats and vary in size vary from ones that fit in a pocket to ones that fit in a briefcase. If you use electronics to manage your time that's great. If it's not your style, refrain from buying expensive handheld devices. You'll save time and money by being honest with yourself. Maintain one and only one appointment book I frequently find clients trying to maintain multiple appointment books or using scraps of paper as their time management tool. The result is double and triple bookings or completely missed appointments. Using one appointment book will cut down on conflicts and create a less-anxious environment. You can store calendars in several places, but maintain only one appointment book. Take your appointment book with you?always Most of us rarely leave the house without our keys and wallet. But I find many people who leave their appointment book behind. When this happens, appointments and commitments are made on whatever is available including napkins and a variety of other things that become misplaced or lost. This not only results in a precious loss of time but is unproductive and stressful as well. Be prepared and less stressed by sticking to these basic tools and steps when building your time management skills. Copyright 2005 Cynthia Kyriazis. All rights reserved. Cynthia Kyriazis is an organizing and time management consultant, trainer, speaker, coach and author with over 20 years management experience in multi-unit corporations. Organize it, a division of Productivity Partners, Inc. is an organizational training firm she founded in 1995 and has been serving Fortune 500 clients ever since. Cynthia works with business and their employees to help improve performance and realize productivity gains. Cynthia has appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Kansas City Star and the Legal Intelligencer. She currently serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), member of the National Speakers Association (NSA), member of the Kansas City of the International Society for Performance Improvement ? (ISPI-KC) and consultant to the American Coaching Association.
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Creative Leadership; Inspirational Power ( Part 2 ) Time management is absolute crucial nowadays where business decisions have to be taken often at the speed of light, leaders have to find spare time to prioritize their actions. Time Management: Which Advice to Follow? There are so many books on Time Management published every month that it is difficult to find the time to read and digest them all. What happens to most people is that they buy a book on time management, read it, decide that some parts of it may suit them, but then fail to adequately integrate the system into their lives. This is partly due to inadequacies in the system itself, and partly due to the inherently difficult nature of learning a new system - the equivalent to learning a new habit. What the books don't tell you is that each different time management system is not necessarily suitable to all people or for all uses for which people need them. Finding the right combination of the basic methods is entirely individual depending on both the nature of the tasks that are required to be done and the nature of the individual who is implementing the strategy. Time Is Everything Time is wealth; The Rule of Three It's amazing how many sayings there are in our culture about the number three. Think about it: "Good things (or bad) come in threes;" "Third time's the charm." A rule of thumb in speaking is, no more than three major points in a speech. (That was three examples, wasn't it?) And then there are all of the mystical references to powerful threesomes. My purpose today is to look purely at the practical application of this "rule of three," and see how we can use it to become more effective managers of our lives and priorities. Having Time on Your Side Clarity brings accomplishment The Key to High Productivity is Energy Management One of the issues most often raised by my clients is better time management. People have tried prioritizing tasks, blocking out parts of their day for certain tasks, implementing new systems and getting better at delegation. While all of those things can make a difference, there is something else that will have an even greater impact on your productivity. The key to high productivity is energy management more so than time management. Living Life In A Time Starved World Recently I saw an advertisement for a time management booklet: "Shorter deadlines, competing priorities, endless meetings, interruptions and even higher quality expectations are just some of today's time challenges. And yet the number of hours in the day remains the same." Tips to Manage Incoming E-mail Friends, colleagues, and clients are all telling me that one of their biggest challenges is trying to manage e-mail overload. They say everyone wants something from them and consequently, they're buried in e-mail. Is this a struggle for you? If so, here are a few tips that will save you some time in reading and receiving e-mail. Time Management is Cause Control Recently I've experienced a barrage of time wasters. Everything you can imagine, most of them unexpected, many of them self inflicted. It's amazing how fast you can go through minutes. Schedule Time for Interruption One of the most challenging situations people face when planning their day is how to stick to their schedule when they are constantly being interrupted. Just when your activities are organized, someone else's emergency seems to get in the way. A client has a crisis, co-workers are in a jam, your boss is breathing down your neck, a friend calls, or any of the dozens of other interruptions you face on any given day. How A Simple Four-Letter List Can Make or Break Your Business One of the biggest problems most people have when it comes to moving their business ahead is simply staying focused and taking the actions that will truly make a difference. How To Better Handle Your Mail Letters, magazines, bills, flyers, what to do with them all. There should be only two responses to every piece of mail or e-mail, do something with it, or toss it! Overcoming Procrastination Procrastination, the habit of putting tasks off to the last possible minute, can be a major problem in both your career and your personal life. Missed opportunities, frenzied work hours, stress, overwhelm, resentment, and guilt are just some of the symptoms. This article will explore the root causes of procrastination and give you several practical tools to overcome it. A Time-Saving Programming Tactic that Doesn?t Work Let's say that you have a software project that's under severe time pressure. Let's say that this deadline is so tight that you already know it will involve many late nights of black coffee and frenetic programming. What can you do to make this process go faster? Time Management: A Non-Renewable Resource Benjamin Franklin wrote: "If you want to enjoy one of the greatest luxuries in life, the luxury of having enough time, time to rest, time to think things through, time to get things done and know you have done them to the best of your ability, remember, there is only one way. Take enough time to think and plan things in the order of their importance. Your life will take on a new zest, you will add years to your life, and more life to your years. Let all your things have their place." When you read Franklin's words, what do they mean to you? Do you have enough time to balance your personal needs with your commitment to the outside world? Is stress causing havoc in your life? What exactly does it mean to have your life in balance and how do you achieve it? Time Management: How to Stay Motivated and Get More Done If you can motivate yourself at will to get any task done, you'll have taken a huge step towards managing your time better. There are several practical ways to increase your motivation. Where Do Your Priorities Fit? An expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students when he decided to do an experiment. He pulled out a large mason jar, a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one by one, into the jar. When no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?" Everyone in the class said, "Yes." Winning The Fight Between You And The Clock "Slaves to the clock" was the cover story in the March issue of CEO magazine. Increasing Your ROI All requests are not equal; all customers or clients are not equal; all to-do-list tasks are not equal; all work responsibilities are not equal. You can do fifty things today and get little, if any, return on your investment for having done them. Or you can do one or two things which have a large return. Make Time Work For You Any habit of mind or body that interferes with taking decisive action contributes to your tendency to procrastinate. Think about your good habits and the environment that leads you to be most productive. Consider your preferred working hours, your optimum concentration periods, and the ways you have been successful in the past. You can begin to build on your good points first by recognizing them and giving yourself credit for them. Then, enhance the skills and techniques you already have with those presented here and beat the specter of procrastination once and for all.
|
| © Athifea Distribution LLC - 2013 |
