Robbed of Time Time to Manage

Robbed of Time, Time to Manage
By Michael Bens

If you are robbed of time, it simply means that it is time to learn management skills to get ahead. Most likely your plans are off balance, your goals are not centered, and your organizing skills are outdated. If you are pressing for time, it is time to set yourself some goals that work, and work to enforce the goals, by staying organized and up-to-date.

The basic guidelines for planning is to take a look at your long term and short term goals and decided which strategies can help you to achieve these goals. Your next step is working to accomplish your goals by applying action and putting it in full force.

Looking at the broad outlook on the goals can help make a difference in your time management scheme. What is it you want to accomplish? If you want to start your own business in the next couple of years, then you know you have to set back cash to obtain this goal as well as maintaining a stable credit rating.

You also will need to evaluate the marketplace to determine which businesses are more profitable and can benefit your future. You will need to decide if you need additional skills, education, or brush ups to start the type of business you start up. Once you get all your priorities in order, the next step is putting the plan into action. In addition, if you plan to start a business, then you will also need to practice organization skills and learn more about managing your time, since starting a business is never easy.

Organizing

To start organizing, you should evaluate again your situation, and learn your own habits. When you go to work, do you complete a task before you move onto another task? Or do you simply put one task off and then work your way through a series of tasks? If your habit is to put off tasks, then you can start your organizing strategy by handling the primary tasks first and then move onto the smaller tasks. Is your desk chaotic? Do you come to work searching your desk looking for that important document you should have turned in yesterday? If this is true of you, you are robbing your self of time, and time management is out in left field.

You can start by cleaning up your desk, sorting through the papers, tossing the outdates, and storing the important papers in a filing cabinet. Once you are finished you motivation will increase, your self-esteem will improve, and the excuses you make everyday will move on to the next person that is robbed of time. When you are at work, do you fail to communicate with your co-workers, or boss? IF so, then you need to cultivate a communication skill that works effectively and efficiently, and eliminating confusion, which takes up a lot of time. Finally, what do you do when you are not working? Are you lying around on the couch watching television?

For more great free resources on how to manage your time visit Gabae Time Management.

Also for more informative articles on time management visit Gabae Time Management Articles.

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The 15 Minute Wonder Your Timer and You Getting Things Done

The 15 Minute Wonder, Your Timer and You - Getting Things Done
By O Quinn

A few weekends ago my husband and I had a whole house full of family over for dinner. Once they were gone we were dismayed at all there was to clean up even though the majority of the dinner dishes had been done. There was several items of reading material, baby toys and couch pillows all over the livingroom. The dining table was covered with leftover glasses, crumbs a dirty table cloth and odds and ends of cutlery (I know some call it tableware). And the kitchen still had a number of pots to be cleaned and messy counters all around.

At first I flipped my hand at the whole mess and said Ill do it in the morning. But then I remembered my lovely timer and the things I had been able to accomplish in a few minutes. See my timer keeps me from burning cookies, dinner. It keeps me from being sidetracked and it tells me when I need to move on to a new task. Ive had this timer for over 10 years and I have used it all of those 10 years. My husband actually uses it for his alarm clock but it hasnt been until the last year that weve used it to remind how little time it takes to right the wrong. Or the messy.

So I said to my husband. Lets at least set the timer for 15 minutes and do what we can in that amount of time. Really that late at night the tasks looked insurmountable. He was not ready to give in but I pressured and he caved.

For 15 minutes we wiped, and straightened. We moved and ordered. And then we were done, but the timer wasnt! My husband was flabbergasted but I was pleased. We had cleaned up what I would have sluggishly tried to in the early morning. We sleep well knowing that the 15 minute wonder, the timer and our work had done well.

O Quinn. Is a stay at home mom who is always looking for ways to automate her life. She loves cats, kids, and perfume but not necessarily in that order.Visit her at http://www.homemakingorganized.com

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Time Management Time is Money

Time Management - Time is Money
By Bill McRea

Working 14 hour days trying to figure out how to develop and launch a new product or service is not uncommon for most internet marketing professionals. But do you really understand the value of your time? I did not!

Ask any part-time employee and they will tell you their time is worth $12.00/hour or whatever. Hourly workers know the value of their time. Most successful commission sales personnel know the value of their time, and successful salaried workers know the value of their time.

But what about you? It's a different story for the online business owner! You probably work more than eight hours, day and night, and then think about your business even when you are not sitting at your computer working on it. If it's a passion of yours then it is even more challenging to figure out the value of your time.

Maybe you don't know the value of your time. Many people don't, so you are not alone. But knowing the value of your time will help you manage your scheduled and make more profit.

To figure this out take your income and divide in to your total hours worked. It's not a perfect calculation because it doesn't account for the hours that you spend thinking and it doesn't account for your expenses, but you are busy enough that a rule-of-thumb calculation is provide you with enough information.

It's probably a good idea to make this calculation based on a week or maybe even a month time frame. This will smooth out the fluctuations that occur in your schedule and in your customer's buying patterns. This calculation will require you to monitor your work time for a week, which a good exercise to do regardless.

For most new entrepreneurs the value of their time will be just a few dollars an hour, or even less. Don't feel bad if that is the case with you, it will rise quickly once you learn what works and does not work.

Now you have a baseline from which you can measure your progress. Improvement in time value will be more objective and less subjective. Time Management is the key for improving your bottom line, and spending more time with people you love.

Bill McRea is the publisher of Knowninfo a premium website dedicated to providing Information, Marketing Strategies and Quality eBooks. Visit our site daily for updated information, and unique products.

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Time Management Mastery

Time Management Mastery
By Chris Widener

From Potential to Performance

One of the great things about life is that we can realistically be or do anything we choose to. This includes being a good time manager! We must believe that we can be a good time manager - that we have the potential. Unfortunately, many people say, Well, I am just a poor time manager, as if it was ingrained in their DNA. The truth is that anyone can be a great time manager, if they choose to go from potential to performance.

So, how do we do this? Here is a simple 7 part process:

1. Believe that you can become a good time manager

2. Inventory where your time is currently being spent

3. Determine what your life values are - what do you view as important, what do you want to accomplish?

4. Set time priorities that will move you toward living out your values

5. Develop a system of scheduling that works best for you, not a time management conglomerate

6. Learn to say o to things that are not part of your priorities moving you toward your values - exercise your power to choose

7. Do what is in your new schedule

These simple steps, if you apply them, will take you from having the potential to be a good time manager to true time management mastery and performance!

About The Author:

Chris Widener is a popular speaker and writer as well as the President of Made for Success, a company helping individuals and organizations turn their potential into performance, succeed in every area of their lives and achieve their dreams.

To see Chris live at the upcoming Jim Rohn Weekend Event as he speaks on the subject of Secrets of Influence go to http://Chris-Widener.InspiresYOU.com/ or call 800-929-0434.

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Out of Place Out of Time

Out of Place, Out of Time
By Aditya Naidu

One may think of it as dubious, but it was an ethereal experience waiting for the post office to open. I never expected it to open at 9AM but had woken up early with nothing much to do, so armed with If tomorrow comes which was thrust upon me by a good friend and with the guilt that I was still not done with it I reached the post office to be enlightened that they generally open at 10AM.

With not many people around I felt out of place. The weather was perfect. A cool winter morning but without the crowd and hence the morning blues of a Going fast nowhere Mumbaikar. I sat on a platform very near to the main door, so that I get an advantage in getting to the counter first typical of a Mumbaikar. Reading the novel and holding the important letter, I could see the burgeoning traffic of Mumbai and hear the associated drone from a short distance.

The place outside the post office compound had changed radically over the years the road changed from tar to concrete, the traffic signals that were not used due to sparse automobiles were put to work, illegal shops had come and gone thanks to the rare upright people who amazingly reach the top. But inside the compound things were static just as they are at Wimbledon, still better maybe. As if change was frowned upon. Cement pealing off from walls, the rickety wooden furniture from grandpas generation, wires dangling from the ceiling with cobwebs.

The facade of the post office was not all that welcoming, yet I was intrigued attracted would be the right word, just like a wary tourist when he sights an old monument. And not just because of it being out of place but also due to it being plausibly out of date. It - and at a larger level the whole of India Post - has weathered the test of time. The local company after which the post office was named had changed its name. But true to its ethos a post office never changes its name. The post office is a bigger land mark than the other mortal artifacts around. There is no plastic coated paper, no sales persons wearing a tie too eager to help, no air conditioning, no management gurus working there, no jazzy advertisements. But still the post office stood strong. The first thing that came to my mind was an SBI advertisement that read Our 8999 branches didnt make sense to the tired, wary Indian solider in Ladhak, so we opened a branch there. But India Post is one up on SBI. It is for the masses, the ubiquitous common man of India who exists today, who cant be served by courier services that charge a bomb and lets you track your letter on the internet.

It had been an enlightening wait. As long as the common man exists India Post will remain in all the out of place and out of time surroundings. Whether my important mail reaches its destination which in all probabilities will - is a different matter.

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Too Much to Do? Too Little Time?

Too Much to Do? Too Little Time?
By Aurelia Williams

Hey - Did someone press the FFW button?

Have you ever felt like someone just pressed the Fast-forward button on your day and before you know it the day is over and you are sitting there wondering what you've accomplished?

I love to organize and with working Part Time outside of the home and FULL-TIME at home with my business, 4 children and Husband I really rely on a schedule and many time management tips to keep my sanity (ok, so some of you think I am already insane, I won't argue with that) but at least I am organized ;)

Here are a few of my favorite Time management Tips:

1. Meal Planning: Try planning 1 - 2 weeks worth of meals at a time and write them down on a calendar. Do your shopping accordingly and prep tomorrows dinner today. You will be AMAZED at what a time saver this is.

2. To-Do Lists: I know most people HATE them but they actually do work. Just take a few moments out of your day (either in the morning or in the evening) to make a list for that day or the following day. Be sure to only put down the items that you MUST finish on this list.

3. Delegate: Do you have friends, a husband, children that can pitch in and do a few things for you? If so, be sure to use all of your resources.

4. Morning Rush: Scooting the children out of the door can be a huge time eater! Be sure to prepare lunches, lay out clothes and plan your breakfast the night before. This will make your mornings run a tad smoother.

5. Just say NO!: Such a small word that carries a might punch! If you truly can't fit something into your schedule and it is not urgent, just say No!. Keep a list of non-urgent things that you can do on hand for when you do have some down time.

Well, those are just a few of my time management tips. I personally set aside about 15 minutes a night and sit down with my Palm Pilot and make a short TO-DO list for the following day and it is amazing at the time this save.

Also be mindful of your own body. Are you a morning, afternoon or night person? Try to schedule your most time consuming tasks when you have the most energy.

Take Care!

Aurelia Williams is the mom of 4 busy children, a Personal Life Coach and the owner of Real Life Solutions, which is an informational site that also offers products, low cost advertising and a great newsletter. You can visit her site here: http://www.reallifesolutions.net

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Time Management Secret Gold Time

Time Management Secret - Gold Time
By Lynnelle Bianco

As you probably know, the success of your business isnt just about the plan; it is about getting the results expected from executing the plan. But knowing and doing are two different things. Effective time management is a large part of making this happen and success in managing your time effectively works much the same way - Focus on the results ...not on being busy.

Were used to the frenzy of the work day and if were not literally in motion we feel were not being productive. The funny thing is that so much of what makes your business (and life for that matter) successful has little to do with motion or being busy and everything to do with results. The Pareto Principle (also known as the 80-20 rule) applies here; 80% of unfocused efforts account for only 20% of the results achieved.

So, how do you solve the Pareto problem? Focus on the Gold Time; the time you spend on important but not urgent activities. Gold Time activities focus your attention of the results that will bring about the biggest improvement or that are most important to you and/or your business.

For example, lets consider doing your taxes (ugh) and having to get your business receipts together, organize and summarize your mileage and auto expenses, make sure you have all your bank statements in order, etc. As I write this it is late February. Would you consider this to be urgent now? Probably not. However, can you see how these activities could become urgent, quickly? You turn around and its April 12 (March depending on your deadline). If you hadnt started doing this record keeping chore, how do you feel, what is your stress level and what does this do to your schedule for April 12 and possibly 13, 14 and possibly 15?

Exercise and eating healthy can also be important but non-urgent activities. From my own experience, you can easily put off exercising because Ill start back as soon as . You fill in the blank. I have a zillion reasons and Im sure you have one or two as well. After so long (too long) I turned around and its 10 pounds, 2 inches and a wardrobe later. Urgent? You betcha. At least I didnt wait until my heart told me it was urgent. I listened that old pair of jeans to get the message.

Yes, unexpected issues come up during the day that need addressing; there are changes in schedules, phone calls that throw you off. The challenge is having the discipline to do the important, non-urgent activities before you focus on the crisis activities. Those important and urgent activities HAVE to get done. They WILL get done and generally 1 hour wont make any difference.

BEFORE you check your email, before you return the irate customer call, before you go for that second cup of coffee and before you tell everyone how great that Marcia Ball concert was, spend just one hour focusing on an important long-term results or an important but not urgent task.

Making this change usually involves changing your behavior which isnt easy and takes persistence and patience. Over time however, practicing Gold Time Management you will:
Be more in control of what you do;
Be more productive and effective;
Have less stress;
Enjoy your work more; and
Have more quality time to relax and enjoy life outside work.

As Goethe said, Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least. Focus on results, not tasks; and focus on the most important result first.

Bold Vision Consulting, Inc. helps helps independent professionals, business owners and organizational groups achieve breakthrough results by providing the learning experience combined with the system needed to bring about the real changes needed for sustainable and breakthrough performance, year after year.

Lynnelle Bianco, president of Bold Vision Consulting has over 25 years experience as a leader in sales, marketing, client service and in the effective planning and execution of strategic plans and projects.

Originally from Dallas, Texas, Lynnelle moved to Portland Maine from New York City in 2003 after a successful 15 year career as Vice President in JPMorgans Worldwide Securities Services division.

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