time management

How To Find The Time Stealers And Stop Them Cold

What do your fondest dreams look like? Are they filled with success? If you are not seeing those dreams come true, try as you may, you might have a thief in the midst.

A thief? Yes. That is what a time stealer is – a thief! Time stealers rob your days of productivity. Days of lost time can lead to weeks and, before you know it, even months. Find the time stealers today and stop them cold. Put productivity back into you life and get back on track to reach those fabulous goals.

Tip: What you are looking for is not the unexpected interruptions – such as your child being sick and needing your attention. What you are looking for are those avoidable time-stealers – like browsing Pinterest for an hour – that should be put off till a better time or eliminated all together.

To discover just where your time is going, keep a time log. Time logs help us to step back to see the big picture. Are you losing time on the same activities every day? Are those activities of value or should they be eliminated? And, if they are of value, is there a way to control them so that they don’t eat up the time you should work? First identify, then decide. The time log won’t make choices for you but it will give you a view of what is going on.

If productivity is low and you are not achieving your goals fast enough, you may have time stealers in the way. Find them and get back on the road to #success! #tips Share on X

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How To Make A Time Log The Old Fashioned Way

1. Gather your tools: paper and a pen or pencil. Do not make your time log electronically. All too often we get on our smart phones or tablets and that is where our time stealers lurk! Put the devices aside and write it down.

2. Write the day and date at the top of the sheet.

3. Keep track of what you do all day long, by times.

For example:

9:00 am poured cup of coffee
9:05 am checked email and answered some
9:30 am answered phone call
9:40 am checked Twitter etc.
9:45 am let the dog out
9:50 am ordered dog food from Amazon
10:00 am wrote checks to pay bills
11:00 am ordered more checks online

4. Evaluate. At the end of the morning, and again at the end of the day, take a look. Did something swallow up your time and take you off course? What was it that you should have completed and did not get done? If you stay with logging your time long enough, you will start to find some patterns that, when changed, will improve your productivity.

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How To Keep A Weekly Time Log

Another method is to keep daily or weekly overview logs. Rather than chart every minute of the day, write down your daily accomplishments.

When you are keeping this kind of log, first make a to-do list. This list records what needs to be done daily or weekly. As you complete a task, check it off on your list then write it on the weekly time log with the day it was accomplished. At the end of the week, look at your to do list and compare it with your “done list.” In theory, they should look the same. When you get good at it, you will start getting more done than you had expected. Add those bonus achievements to your log.

So, what time stealers are in your life? Have you found a good way to handle them?

Enjoy!

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Five Keys To Effective Time Management For Busy Moms

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” Time Management ” = saving time; maximizing efforts; doing two things at once; doing more with less effort.

Time management is a skill that is developed with practice. Don’t you just love the days that move along like a fine-tuned machine? “Yes!” And don’t you hate the uncontrollable days where circumstances seem to be running the show? “Double-yes!” When that happens, be prepared to shift. You may be getting a signal to lay tasks aside and do something else.

A perfect example is when your child is too sick to go to school. Mom (or Dad), face facts that you will not be getting a zillion things done that day. Your attention must be invested in your little one. He will need lots of tender loving care. Your number one priority is to help him get well.

When things are going somewhat normal, that is the time to plan and implement.

Here are five ways to help you utilize your valuable time best:

Multi-task. Throw in a load of laundry that can be washing while you do something else. In fact, get the dishes loaded up in the dishwasher, too. Now you’ll be getting three things done at the same time!
Do things ahead. Rethink your habits. Do you do something, such as grocery shopping, every week that can be done less often? You can gain 2 or more hours a week by consolidating your efforts and doing it fewer times.
Make a list and check it twice! Being prepared can save time. Grocery lists are a great example. Check expiration dates on regularly used items before you go. I learned this one the hard way. Certain that my shopping trip would cover two weeks of meals, I wrote my list. We had a nearly full gallon of milk in the frig. What I didn’t know is that it was one day away from expiration. So, I was back at the store only a day later! Having learned the hard way, I now check the longevity of our food before I go to the store.
Reschedule your life.* Have things changed? What worked well before may not work at all today.
Do it now. Certain tasks will be harder to complete if you put them off. Like what? How about opening the mail. If I don’t open, sort and toss the moment it comes into the house, it piles up and even gets lost. Another example is the laundry, which also can pile up quickly. Make a decision to take the clean clothes from the dryer and put it all away immediately.

How I rescheduled my life for a time. Things had changed. My elderly dad was suddenly in need of round the clock care. My job as a school administrator was demanding but I had to find a way. Wanting to be with him, and to be of help, I decided to come see him every Saturday for 5 hours. There went my primary shopping day!

Here is the shift – I did the grocery shopping on Thursday nights after work. It was WONDERFUL – much less crowded and everything I needed was out on the shelves. My husband had dinner ready for us when I got home from the store. After we ate, the groceries got put away. It wasn’t a permanent change but for over a year it worked very well.

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What do you do to get the most out of your time?

The Things That Get In the Way of Doing by Leo Babauta

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Leo Babauta of ZenHabits is by far one of the most successful bloggers I have encountered. His practical, minimalist approach to life is refreshing, as is his “uncopyright” policy. It is a delight to be able to share some of his work with my own readers from time to time. Thanks, Leo! Sinea

After working on my procrastination, mindfulness and productivity habits for the last 9 years, I have gotten much better at doing and accomplishing.

Today I sent out the digital editions of my book to Kickstarter backers, for example, while working on a 13-person coaching program, a habits membership program that has several thousand readers, writing a guide on mindfulness, preparing for several webinars, and of course writing this post. One task at a time, but lots getting done.

And yet … I still have things that get in the way of my doing. Some of them I’m OK with, but nonetheless I thought I’d share what I’ve learned about the things that get in our way.

Doing Obstacles, & Some Solutions

This list isn’t complete, but just some ideas to get you thinking:

Online distractions. This is a big one for me. I can go to my favorite online sites (just a quick check) and get lost for an hour or two. Or more if I hit on something that really fascinates me. What has worked for me: To overcome this, I try to remember to pause … and often get up and walk around, and realize that I’ve gotten lost again. Then I’ll clear my screen and just have one thing in front of me, and try to stick with that until I’m done. I don’t always succeed, but when I remember to do this it works very well.
Being overwhelmed. If you have a crap ton of things to do … it can make you feel helpless. How can you possibly get it all done? So you don’t even start. You can’t get it all done … at least, not right now. What has worked for me: Right now, you can do one thing. So when I’m overwhelmed, again, I’ll clear everything, and make a list of 1-3 things I need to do most right now. Yes, sometimes the list is just one thing, because that helps me focus and not feel overwhelmed.
Email is piled up. When my email inbox has a lot of messages piled up, it can feel overwhelming. What has worked for me: I use Google Inbox or Mailbox, and just snooze a bunch of things I don’t need to worry about right now. Then I’ll deal with as many of the others as possible, and leave some to deal with later. Instead, I close email and get to work on a more important task.
Feeling indecisive. What if you have so many things you can’t figure out what to do? Often, that leads to doing nothing. I remind myself that not deciding leads to stagnation, and while I don’t believe you need to move at a million miles an hour, I don’t like myself held stagnant by fear. What I’ve learned is that this is a fear of not knowing the perfect decision, because we don’t know what the future will hold. Is it better to take that new job or keep this one? Is it better to work on this project or that one? It’s impossible to know, because the future is uncertain. What has worked for me: I try to just pick one based on whatever information I have (usually a gut decision) and take some action. It’s better to work on something than to stop moving because of fear of uncertainty.
No energy. This is a huge one, bigger than most people realize. When you have a lack of sleep, you are low on energy and you just don’t feel like working on anything hard. You can’t focus and you have a hard time pushing through. What has worked for me: Either I give myself a break but really focus on getting to bed earlier and getting some good sleep … or I push through and do the hard stuff. Just because we don’t feel like doing something hard doesn’t mean we should skip it.
Lack of discipline. This is usually the result of low energy, or being in fast mode and not wanting to stop to focus on something. You tell yourself you’re going to do something, but then you don’t. What has worked for me: I forgive myself for messing up, and instead I try to be mindful about what’s going on. Am I tired? In fast mode? Not inspired by this project? Instead of the general “I lack discipline” diagnosis, I try to find a more specific problem, and then address it. And then get to work.
Task switching. Again, being in fast mode means that you’re doing lots of little tasks, constantly switching between apps and tabs in your browser. You can’t stick to one because you’re constantly switching. What has worked for me: Again, I will take a break and then clear everything, and refocus myself. I try to stick to the one window mode (close everything else) and just focus on one thing for as long as I can. I’m not always successful.
Getting little things done. We feel productive when we’re taking care of lots of little tasks (emails, calls, errands, small admin tasks, paperwork), but while those do need to get done, they aren’t the important things. We’re avoiding the important things but we feel productive because we’re busy. What has worked for me: I fall into this trap a lot, so when I catch myself doing it, I stop and ask myself what my big task is for the day. Sometimes I can’t choose between 2-3 big tasks, but it doesn’t matter … I just need to pick 1-3. Then I ask myself: “Am I working on it?” If the answer is no, I’m not really being productive — I just feel like it.
Task seems too big. We all fall into this one, and we all know the answer. It’s too big, so we put it off. The answer, of course, is to break it into smaller tasks, but we rarely follow this advice. What has worked for me: I focus all of my energy into starting. All I have to do is write the first few words. Once I do that, I focus on the next few paragraph. One bite at a time.
We’re afraid we’ll fail. We also all have this problem — we don’t feel competent at this task, it’s confusing, it feels like we’ll embarrass ourselves. And this is understandable when we’re doing something that’s not in our wheelhouse. What has worked for me: I remind myself that letting myself be controlled by fear is not the way I want to live. I remind myself that failure is actually not the worst outcome — not even trying is a much worse outcome. Why? Because if you try something and fail, you learned something, you got some practice, and next time you’ll be better. You’re further along than before. But if you don’t even try, out of fear, you don’t learn anything, and you’ll probably keep doing this because you’re creating a pattern of running from fear. Instead, push through and do it anyway, because the value of doing is so much greater than the value of being safe and doing nothing.

What obstacles get in your way?

How can you get better at dealing with them?

How can you get to doing?

Top 3 Time Management Techniques Essential to Success

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One of the key things you need to succeed at anything is the ability to manage time effectively. Time management is a principle that is useful in all facets of life, be it business, social or personal life. It is not just about how time is spent. Rather, it is more about where your time is spent and what it is used for. Time is the real currency. This is why you must learn how to manage and maximize it.

Unfortunately, when you have a ton of things demanding your attention at the same time, it can be difficult to manage your time. However, you have to prioritize regardless of whatever chaos you have to deal with.

Truth is, great achievements in business, career, relationship, family and personal lives are often a function of increased effectiveness, efficiency and productivity, all of which are attainable through the proper management of time. The following are some of the best time management techniques used by successful people all over the world.

Prime Priority Practice (PPP)
Sometimes, whether in the workplace or in your personal life, you will be required to complete some tasks and duties within a short period. The Prime Priority Practice comes in handy in such situations.

Just in case you do not know what that is, it is just another fancy term for the daily prioritizing of the most important tasks. For instance, first thing in the morning, you could write your list of goals or milestones to be achieved during the day on a pad, a piece of paper, on your phone or tablet… whatever you are most comfortable with.

Research has shown that most people are at their most productive during the first few hours of the day. So, waking up to do this helps put your mind on the right track and conditions you to get those things done. On your list, make it clear what the tasks for the day are, followed by their arrangement in order of priority with the most important and urgent tasks at the top.

Gravitational Goal Setting
Not all goals require immediate action. So, it is important to set goals that will not only be achievable, but will deeply connect with your utmost passion. This will make you gravitate towards those goals unconsciously. When you set gravitational goals, you do not have to choose the work; the work chooses you, and that is why this method is fun.

To do this, simply break down these goals into a project, an action plan or a list that you’ll check off after their accomplishment – think of them as micro-goals. Next, for each of the goals, specify a daily, weekly, monthly or even yearly calendar of activities.

That way, you are sure of getting measurable results. One brilliant way to make this happen is to employ task management platforms like Scoro. Task and goal management tools like this arm you with even more clarity required to achieve immense productivity.

ABC Analysis Technique
This is a timeless time management skill used in business and corporate organizations. It places premium on the importance and urgency of activities. It is based on of the Pareto Principle. So, A category will represent tasks that you perceive as both urgent and important; B, action plans that present themselves as important, but NOT urgent; and C, tasks which are NEITHER important nor urgent.

This way, 80 percent of your productivity is achieved by just doing 20 percent of the tasks. It has been proven that about 95 percent of highly successful people who practice this technique experience a deep sense of satisfaction in their work and personal life.

Success is largely about organization and streamlining your tasks and duties while optimizing the use of your time. Use these time management methods to further increase your productivity and results.

The writer, Oscar King, like many other people has more tasks to do than there are hours in the day, and uses the above techniques to make sure that everything that needs to get done gets done. If you wish to learn more about Oscar you can visit on Google+.

Great advice?

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Time Management for Busy Moms

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By Sinea Pies

Time management is something we’d all like to do better. 24 hours in a day go way too quickly. How do we fit more in, do better with what we’ve got, and enjoy our lives along the way?

Here are some tips on how to get the most out of every day:

Use a calendar. Whether electronic or paper, calendars are essential for scheduling and keeping appointments, remembering important events and not double-booking yourself.

Make a list. To do lists, grocery lists, task lists…lists can keep you on track and focus your efforts.

Get ready to wait. What do I mean by that? Be prepared with something to do while you’re waiting. Remember what I said about Marie’s Mom Backpack plan in the post Tote Bags for Busy Moms? She has enough stuff packed in her car to camp out overnight, if she has to. No wasted time for this smart lady.

What can you be doing, while you are waiting? In the kitchen, while you wait for the microwave to sound or a pot on the stove to boil, put a few things away or do a few leg lifts while you stand at the counter.

Waiting at the tire shop or doctor’s office? Time to catch up on some valuable emails or answer some that have been longing for attention.

How about the wait for your child to get out of ball practice? Clip some coupons, write a grocery list or catch up with your other children who are with you in the car. Do they carry messages from school in their book-bags? Explore the contents while you’re sitting there. Plan ahead and use that “waiting time” well.

There are so many ways to save time and manage it wisely. What do you do to maximize your time and schedule? We’d love to know.

Prepare for time changes! Who thought of Daylight Savings Time and what do you think of it? Personally, I love it and hate it all at the same time. It took me years to manage the “fall back” day, which has been moved from October to November.

It always seemed so LONG, until I realized that I needed to SLEEP that extra hour. What a luxury to get that extra hour of sleep and then the daytime hours didn’t seem so long.

*Benjamin Franklin first suggested the concept. In World War I, Germany adopted it. The U.S. passed a law in 1918 standardizing when clocks would be turned forward and back but it was purely voluntary, by state. At least they’d be changing on the same day, if they chose to change. Can you imagine the nightmare with travel if it wasn’t the same day?

During World War II it became mandatory for all states to participate in Daylight Savings Time, as an energy saving effort. After the war ended, it became optional once more. For more: Daylight Savings Time 2012.

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Photo credit:
Time by Salvatore Vuono on Freedigital Photos
Benjamin Franklin on Flickr Creative Commons uploaded by elycefeliz

Use a Timer

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A Kitchen Timer is Your Best Friend!

Using a timer may seem trivial but, let me tell you, it’s powerful!

People who struggle with organization are actually perfectionists at heart. Have you ever taken on a task that should take just 5 minutes, only to find that an hour later you got caught up in a whole different thing and that 5-minute task never got done? Using a timer will keep you on track.

Get a food timer, set it for the amount of time that you want to spend on a project and, when it rings, STOP! Your timer keeps you accountable, makes you more productive and gives you permission to stop in the midst, if need be. Ding! Time’s up!

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