How many times have you remarked to someone that there are not enough hours in the day? The sad truth is, not matter how much you wish it, it is unlikely that you can get more than 24 hours in each day. So, the trick to time management is really how you get the most out of the hours you have. One way to do that is to become an exceptional planner of your day. It is not very difficult – just takes some basic knowledge and a lot of discipline. As a coach, I can help you with both, but the knowledge is what I’ll cover right now.
Set aside time to plan
This is really the first step. You have to make planning a habit, and do the task religiously. I set aside an hour on Sunday mornings to plan my week. In order for me to make sure that the week goes according to plan, I have to have “a plan” to start with. In the beginning, it may take you longer than an hour, but once you’ve done the planning for a while, you’ll get more efficient at it. You will also feel much more focused when you have identified what you want to accomplish for the week.
Schedule at least one week at a time
Some people only plan one day at a time, but I think that you need to be more forward looking than that. So, I suggest you focus on at least one week at a time, but also review what may be coming up in the next month while you are considering what to prioritize for the next week. The more proactive you are about your life, the less often you will find yourself having to react to unforeseen situations.
Identify your “big rocks” for your week
If you don’t know what I mean, you have to read Stephen Covey. He made a masterful illustration using a bucket, some sand, and several rocks of various sizes. He explained that the sand represents all the busy work that we have to do, like answering the phone, reading email, filing away papers, etc. The rocks represent all the important things that we have to do, such as setting goals for the year, launching a new project, creating a vision for your team, etc. The bucket represents all the time we have for all the demands of our lives.
What happens with most of us is that we fill up our buckets with the sand first, and then we can only put a few rocks on top, and there’s no more room for the rest. What he suggested is that we put all our rocks into the bucket first, and then fill in all the available spaces with the sand. And miraculously, everything fits in our container!
This is the philosophy you need to employ when you schedule your week. Identify all your big rocks, and block out the time to handle these first. Then worry about the sand afterwards. We have to make sure that we handle the important stuff first, and not let the busy work consume our days.
Think 24/7
I am not suggesting that you plan to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. But I am suggesting that you account for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in your schedule. If you neglect to consider Saturdays and Sundays because those are your “days off”, you may find on Sunday night that you have not handled any of the household chores that you needed to get done. Or if you are planning on having a dinner party on Saturday night next week, you had better block off some time Friday or Saturday to straighten out the house, or go to the market.
Plan personal and play time
Don’t think that a schedule is only for work, this is a plan for your life. So, make sure that you block off time for exercise, or “date night” with your spouse, or cheerleader time for your kids’ games in your schedule. Remember that the goal is to have time to handle everything that’s important to us, not just things that are important concerning work. If you want Friday to be a mental health day, block that off. You don’t need to put in any more details than that. But you know that if you don’t plan for it, it won’t happen.
Leave some contingency time in your schedule
You know better than to expect that your days all go exactly as planned. Just when you are about to really focus on that important analysis you needed to do, your boss calls you into a meeting where your expertise is desperately needed, and your schedule is shot. So, don’t cram every hour of your day with activities. Leave some contingency time for you to catch up when the unexpected happens.
Discipline, discipline, discipline
Once you have your days scheduled, you need to exercise discipline and stick to what you planned. Do everything you can to eliminate distractions and really focus on what you have to do. You will be amazed how much more productive you can be. So, close that email program, turn the phone ringer off and let voicemail handle the calls, close your office door for an hour of so. Then when it is time for you to handle email, and phone calls, and drop-in visitors, give all your focus to those activities then.
About the Author:
Leadership coach Inez Ng helps busy professional and entrepreneurs get better results quickly. Learn more about coaching with her at http://www.RealizationsUnltd.com Check out her ebook packed with tips and strategies on saving time on email at http://www.easyemailstrategies.com
Showing posts with label planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label planning. Show all posts
Monday
Success Coaching: Instant Success
By: Jim M. Allen
As a success coach, I have a lot of fun working with energetic, motivated individuals who are eager to turn their dreams into reality. They've made that important step from talking about success to actually creating it.
In helping these "doers" create the necessary strategies to achieve their goals, much of my time is spent talking with them about their expectations of how quickly they can accomplish their goals. In the success coaching process, it's not always the most enjoyable part of what we do together, but it is a very important one. After all, it's important to have big goals to work towards, but it's just as important to have realistic expectations about how and when those dreams can be made real.
Unfortunately, everything today is about speed and getting more done, faster than ever before. Not necessarily a bad goal, but that push for speed spills over into all aspects of our lives. We want fast service and fast results -- no matter what we're doing.
Everywhere we look in our instant-everything environment we see examples of this: fast-food restaurants, one-hour photo stores, 10-minute oil change shops, do-it-yourself express-lane checkout, etc. We continue to move faster and faster� and we grow incredibly impatient, especially when it comes to people enjoying the fruit of our own efforts. Getting all we ever wanted just isn't enough, unless in can happen instantly.... overnight... right away... right now!
Success, however, rarely (if ever) occurs instantaneously. It comes to you on its own schedule as the result of consistent, persistent action. Rather than stressing yourself out, take things easy� take your time� stop expecting instant results. Do what needs doing and let life take its own course. This way, you can focus on working smarter and more efficiently while enjoying the process of what you're doing.
Sure, there will be times when you get immediate results and achieve success quickly. Most of the time you'll need to be patient� Just because you're not getting instant results doesn't mean you won't get any. If you keep working towards your goals, maintaining a sustained, consistent effort, readjusting your plans as necessary along the way, you will create the success you're looking for.
Consider this analogy: You build a large, thousand-mile-long pipeline, from Alaska to California. You drill for oil and start pumping it into the pipeline� Now, do you have oil coming out of the other end immediately? Of course not! You have to be patient and wait a while. Eventually, the oil will start to flow at the other end, but only if you keep on drilling and filling up the pipe.
It's the same way your own efforts. You have to be patient while your work creates the success you desire. By not forcing the timetable and pushing for immediate results, you actually improve your chances of achieving your goals.
How can get a more realistic expectation of your goals? Easy...
First, make a plan before you mark your calendar. That's right, sit down and figure out exactly how you're going to achieve your goal. Figure out all the steps. Determine what resources you already have and which ones you need� Then write it all down, ALONG WITH your estimate of how long it will take to accomplish each individual step! Chances are your time estimates for individual steps will be more accurate than a single estimate for the entire project since you will be looking at smaller action items.
Second, with your firm-but-flexible plan in hand, make a list of potential obstacles, big and small, that could get in your way. Counterintuitive? Too negative? I don't think so� It's really an extension of planning that can actually save you time. Thinking about what may slow you down helps prepare you for overcoming those obstacles, thus speeding you back up. Figure out the average time delay an obstacle presents and factor that into your time estimates.
Third, and finally, look around for examples of people who have accomplished the same (or a similar) goal. Ask them how long it took them to achieve success (versus what they thought it would take)? What obstacles did they face? What surprises did they encounter along the way?
Talking with others who have done what you want to do is a great way to estimate how long it might take you. Plus, you get the added benefit of learning from other people's experience (which, again, could save you a lot of time)!
Three very simple steps, but they can help you focus your mind on the real work necessary to make your dreams a reality.
With a more realistic sense of what can be accomplished, the more you'll enjoy every step in the process of creating success in your life. And when you do reach your goals, you'll see that the success you achieve is more than worth the wait.
As a success coach, I have a lot of fun working with energetic, motivated individuals who are eager to turn their dreams into reality. They've made that important step from talking about success to actually creating it.
In helping these "doers" create the necessary strategies to achieve their goals, much of my time is spent talking with them about their expectations of how quickly they can accomplish their goals. In the success coaching process, it's not always the most enjoyable part of what we do together, but it is a very important one. After all, it's important to have big goals to work towards, but it's just as important to have realistic expectations about how and when those dreams can be made real.
Unfortunately, everything today is about speed and getting more done, faster than ever before. Not necessarily a bad goal, but that push for speed spills over into all aspects of our lives. We want fast service and fast results -- no matter what we're doing.
Everywhere we look in our instant-everything environment we see examples of this: fast-food restaurants, one-hour photo stores, 10-minute oil change shops, do-it-yourself express-lane checkout, etc. We continue to move faster and faster� and we grow incredibly impatient, especially when it comes to people enjoying the fruit of our own efforts. Getting all we ever wanted just isn't enough, unless in can happen instantly.... overnight... right away... right now!
Success, however, rarely (if ever) occurs instantaneously. It comes to you on its own schedule as the result of consistent, persistent action. Rather than stressing yourself out, take things easy� take your time� stop expecting instant results. Do what needs doing and let life take its own course. This way, you can focus on working smarter and more efficiently while enjoying the process of what you're doing.
Sure, there will be times when you get immediate results and achieve success quickly. Most of the time you'll need to be patient� Just because you're not getting instant results doesn't mean you won't get any. If you keep working towards your goals, maintaining a sustained, consistent effort, readjusting your plans as necessary along the way, you will create the success you're looking for.
Consider this analogy: You build a large, thousand-mile-long pipeline, from Alaska to California. You drill for oil and start pumping it into the pipeline� Now, do you have oil coming out of the other end immediately? Of course not! You have to be patient and wait a while. Eventually, the oil will start to flow at the other end, but only if you keep on drilling and filling up the pipe.
It's the same way your own efforts. You have to be patient while your work creates the success you desire. By not forcing the timetable and pushing for immediate results, you actually improve your chances of achieving your goals.
How can get a more realistic expectation of your goals? Easy...
First, make a plan before you mark your calendar. That's right, sit down and figure out exactly how you're going to achieve your goal. Figure out all the steps. Determine what resources you already have and which ones you need� Then write it all down, ALONG WITH your estimate of how long it will take to accomplish each individual step! Chances are your time estimates for individual steps will be more accurate than a single estimate for the entire project since you will be looking at smaller action items.
Second, with your firm-but-flexible plan in hand, make a list of potential obstacles, big and small, that could get in your way. Counterintuitive? Too negative? I don't think so� It's really an extension of planning that can actually save you time. Thinking about what may slow you down helps prepare you for overcoming those obstacles, thus speeding you back up. Figure out the average time delay an obstacle presents and factor that into your time estimates.
Third, and finally, look around for examples of people who have accomplished the same (or a similar) goal. Ask them how long it took them to achieve success (versus what they thought it would take)? What obstacles did they face? What surprises did they encounter along the way?
Talking with others who have done what you want to do is a great way to estimate how long it might take you. Plus, you get the added benefit of learning from other people's experience (which, again, could save you a lot of time)!
Three very simple steps, but they can help you focus your mind on the real work necessary to make your dreams a reality.
With a more realistic sense of what can be accomplished, the more you'll enjoy every step in the process of creating success in your life. And when you do reach your goals, you'll see that the success you achieve is more than worth the wait.
5 Ways To Strengthen Your Personal Foundation
Foundations are important when you want to build anything. You know the construction rule which the taller the building, the deeper the foundation. It really is no different when you are building a life!
Let me ask you, do you take better care of your car than yourself? Are you tired? Approaching burnout? And not much fun to be around? If you said yes to some of theses questions, it is time to shore up your own foundation. The bigger your goals, the more energy and focus you need. A strong personal foundation is your support system to achieve success.
1. Focus on your strengths. Life is too short to perfect your weaknesses. Stop trying to do it all! Do the things you have a passion and brilliance for and delegate or dump the rest. Is it time to hire a Virtual Assistant? I know....I know..... you are a perfectionist and no one can do it like you. Some things are not worth doing perfectly. Other things will be done faster and better by someone who has different skills than you. Let go of the things that you can delegate and focus on the activities that bring you money and that you love to do.
2. Set boundaries. Life is too short to work with jerks! Luckily most clients don't fall into that category, but maybe need a little coaching on how to treat you. If you don’t respect yourself, others won't treat you with respect either. You train people how you want to be treated by what you will accept. Once you’ve communicated and set boundaries with others, they will usually honor them. Most people want it to be a win/win. For those that don't...you've got 2 words for them...bye-bye!
3. Plan your time off and vacations first. Life is too short to postpone the fun! You have a business and you have a life that the business supports. Enjoy the benefits of your hard work. Otherwise, you rob yourself of pleasure and probably do a poorer job for clients when you are feeling overworked or burned out. Time for rejuvenation should be a weekly block of time. The studies show that people who overwork, lose efficiency. So, plan to fill up your personal gas tank EVERY week!
4. Get rid of tolerations. Life is too short to get bogged down in the muck. The energy draining vampires are subtle but powerful. They distract you and impact your effectiveness. Use this exercise to minimize these energy suckers: Make a long list of everything you are tolerating. Start to attack 5 each week. You'll be amazed at the difference this makes in just a few weeks.
5. Enjoy Yourself. Life is too short to live someone else’s expectations. One of my favorite quotes is by my husband, Bub, who says,"If you aren't enjoying yourself you are doing it wrong." I misquoted him once by saying "If you aren't having fun, you are doing it wrong" and he corrected me by explaining it was about enjoying SELF. In other words, liking the person you are and the things you are doing. Being true to your values and expressing your unique flavor is integral to this.
There you go....some personal foundation building blocks. Working on which of these would enhance your joy and your life? Go for it!
To book Joeann for your next event, please call 1-877-211-6472 or visit www.BrokerAgentSpeakers.com.
Copyright
Copyright© 2007, Joann Fossland. All right reserved. Joeann Fossland, Certified e-PRO Trainer, GRI, PMN, is a Master Certified Coach and Founder of the Web Women Giving Circle, national speaker, trainer, who works with highly motivated people that want to excel in business while having a life they love. Joeann created The Real Estate Game ™, a daily motivational accountability call that is played in a game format for 4 weeks. She also writes a monthly newsletter and hosts free teleconference calls. For information contact
contact the FrogPond at 800.704.FROG(3764) or email susie@FrogPond.com
Let me ask you, do you take better care of your car than yourself? Are you tired? Approaching burnout? And not much fun to be around? If you said yes to some of theses questions, it is time to shore up your own foundation. The bigger your goals, the more energy and focus you need. A strong personal foundation is your support system to achieve success.
1. Focus on your strengths. Life is too short to perfect your weaknesses. Stop trying to do it all! Do the things you have a passion and brilliance for and delegate or dump the rest. Is it time to hire a Virtual Assistant? I know....I know..... you are a perfectionist and no one can do it like you. Some things are not worth doing perfectly. Other things will be done faster and better by someone who has different skills than you. Let go of the things that you can delegate and focus on the activities that bring you money and that you love to do.
2. Set boundaries. Life is too short to work with jerks! Luckily most clients don't fall into that category, but maybe need a little coaching on how to treat you. If you don’t respect yourself, others won't treat you with respect either. You train people how you want to be treated by what you will accept. Once you’ve communicated and set boundaries with others, they will usually honor them. Most people want it to be a win/win. For those that don't...you've got 2 words for them...bye-bye!
3. Plan your time off and vacations first. Life is too short to postpone the fun! You have a business and you have a life that the business supports. Enjoy the benefits of your hard work. Otherwise, you rob yourself of pleasure and probably do a poorer job for clients when you are feeling overworked or burned out. Time for rejuvenation should be a weekly block of time. The studies show that people who overwork, lose efficiency. So, plan to fill up your personal gas tank EVERY week!
4. Get rid of tolerations. Life is too short to get bogged down in the muck. The energy draining vampires are subtle but powerful. They distract you and impact your effectiveness. Use this exercise to minimize these energy suckers: Make a long list of everything you are tolerating. Start to attack 5 each week. You'll be amazed at the difference this makes in just a few weeks.
5. Enjoy Yourself. Life is too short to live someone else’s expectations. One of my favorite quotes is by my husband, Bub, who says,"If you aren't enjoying yourself you are doing it wrong." I misquoted him once by saying "If you aren't having fun, you are doing it wrong" and he corrected me by explaining it was about enjoying SELF. In other words, liking the person you are and the things you are doing. Being true to your values and expressing your unique flavor is integral to this.
There you go....some personal foundation building blocks. Working on which of these would enhance your joy and your life? Go for it!
To book Joeann for your next event, please call 1-877-211-6472 or visit www.BrokerAgentSpeakers.com.
Copyright
Copyright© 2007, Joann Fossland. All right reserved. Joeann Fossland, Certified e-PRO Trainer, GRI, PMN, is a Master Certified Coach and Founder of the Web Women Giving Circle, national speaker, trainer, who works with highly motivated people that want to excel in business while having a life they love. Joeann created The Real Estate Game ™, a daily motivational accountability call that is played in a game format for 4 weeks. She also writes a monthly newsletter and hosts free teleconference calls. For information contact
contact the FrogPond at 800.704.FROG(3764) or email susie@FrogPond.com
Wednesday
Time Management Strategy - Stop, Take A Step Back & Reevaluate
If things are getting on top of you and you feel like there simply aren't enough hours in the day, it may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your situation. With the pressures of modern life it is easy to lose focus on the goals that are genuinely important to us. If this sounds like you, it is probably time to stop and take a closer look at how you really want to spend your time.
I invite you to start this right away. Commit now to a time, perhaps away from your usual distractions when you can sit down and be alone with yourself and your thoughts. Then with pen and paper in hand, you can look at how you are spending your time now and how ideally you want to spend your time in the future. You need to discover your own motivation and turn it into a compelling reason to act.
Once you are clear about your own motivations, you will use these as a constant reminder in order to even out the ups and downs. These reasons will help you through the tough times or when you feel it is not worth the effort.
When you have gained a clear idea of your goals for the future and how you wish to spend your time you next need to look at how you are actually spending your time now. First of all you should ask yourself the following questions:
• What does my life both personally and professionally look like and feel like today?
• What am I currently spending my time on?
Write down everything that comes to mind. Think about your work, who you spend your time with, your living environment and your income. Also, try to pinpoint the things that are missing from your life as these will hold the key to your using your time more effectively in the future.
The best way to discover where you spend your time is by using a time log. A time log is a record of how you use your time, day in and day out. It is very important that you keep one so that you can see exactly where your time is spent.
If you do this even for just one week you will get a clear idea of how you really spend your time and will probably see some surprising results. Now, that you have a clear idea of how you want to spend your time and how you really pass the hours, it is time to compare the two.
When you do this you will most likely see huge differences between them. I appreciate this may feel daunting and I encourage you to keep going, you are already moving in the right direction.
You will see that change is required, sometimes big and sometimes small. Now you can begin to take steps to spending your time in a way that will make these changes come about. Start with the small things and set yourself realistic short-term goals. Basically, take it step by step. Continue to take small steps towards your goals and later you can move onto some of the bigger changes you may need to make.
Article by:
Discover how to have the time for your important goals and enjoy life. If you're struggling with managing time, then visit www.AboveAndBeyondTimeManagement.com Wendy Hearn works with business owners to be more effective and successful, achieving a more profitable business in less time.
I invite you to start this right away. Commit now to a time, perhaps away from your usual distractions when you can sit down and be alone with yourself and your thoughts. Then with pen and paper in hand, you can look at how you are spending your time now and how ideally you want to spend your time in the future. You need to discover your own motivation and turn it into a compelling reason to act.
Once you are clear about your own motivations, you will use these as a constant reminder in order to even out the ups and downs. These reasons will help you through the tough times or when you feel it is not worth the effort.
When you have gained a clear idea of your goals for the future and how you wish to spend your time you next need to look at how you are actually spending your time now. First of all you should ask yourself the following questions:
• What does my life both personally and professionally look like and feel like today?
• What am I currently spending my time on?
Write down everything that comes to mind. Think about your work, who you spend your time with, your living environment and your income. Also, try to pinpoint the things that are missing from your life as these will hold the key to your using your time more effectively in the future.
The best way to discover where you spend your time is by using a time log. A time log is a record of how you use your time, day in and day out. It is very important that you keep one so that you can see exactly where your time is spent.
If you do this even for just one week you will get a clear idea of how you really spend your time and will probably see some surprising results. Now, that you have a clear idea of how you want to spend your time and how you really pass the hours, it is time to compare the two.
When you do this you will most likely see huge differences between them. I appreciate this may feel daunting and I encourage you to keep going, you are already moving in the right direction.
You will see that change is required, sometimes big and sometimes small. Now you can begin to take steps to spending your time in a way that will make these changes come about. Start with the small things and set yourself realistic short-term goals. Basically, take it step by step. Continue to take small steps towards your goals and later you can move onto some of the bigger changes you may need to make.
Article by:
Discover how to have the time for your important goals and enjoy life. If you're struggling with managing time, then visit www.AboveAndBeyondTimeManagement.com Wendy Hearn works with business owners to be more effective and successful, achieving a more profitable business in less time.
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