Time Management Basics

"At my back I always hear time's winged chariot hurrying near."

Time management begins with the realization that without some thought and planning, we are likely to waste a great deal of time in the future and have already wasted a huge amount of our life span in the past.

Wasting time is folly since time really does have wings and our lives pass very quickly. By using proven methods we can make the most of whatever time we have.

Billy Connolly, the great Scottish comedian, describes the speed of time in his own vivid way:

"A year in my life goes like this:

'Should auld acquaintance be forgot'

'Happy birthday'

'Jingle bells! Jingle bells!'

He also tells a time related story. I've cleaned the language up a bit:

Two men were standing having a chat. The first man asked the second man:

"What would you do if you knew the world would end in 3 minutes time?"

"I'd have sex with everything that moved," replied the second man and then he added a question: "What would you do?"

"I'd stand perfectly still," said the first man.

This story has a lesson. With 3 minutes to live we will tend to do what we really want to do whether it is having sex (or avoiding it!) or eating chocolate or telling our family and friends that we love them. Yet too many of us spend our lives not doing what we really want to do.

If we imagined the world was about to end soon we might finally be able to discover what we really want to do in life. Of course we still need to have the courage to do it.

The time management basic of all this is that life is too short, even when we have 30 more years and not just 3 mins to live, to waste on doing things we do not really want to do.

The number one essential of time management is to discover what we really want to achieve in life and then get on with it.

A second basic is that we don't even have enough time to do all that we really want to do. We have to choose. I found out the hard way that you cannot learn several different musical instruments well unless you are a bit of a genius.

In my twenties, I decided I wanted to learn the bagpipes, the drums, the banjo, the guitar, the blues harp and the tin whistle.

I never got round to the tin whistle and only learned to play the other instruments at a pretty basic level. It is wiser to focus on one key goal at a time in each key area of our lives.

Set goals that are achievable, unlike mine, and then take massive action to attain them. Set SMART Goals - specific, measurable, attainable, results oriented, time based e.g. Do twenty pushups a day for a month. Count the pushups. Do an easy version of them if necessary (i.e. keep your knees on the ground). You feel and look stronger. You do the pushups for one month.

If one of your goals is to learn a skill like copywriting, decide to spend an hour a day for 6 months improving your copy writing. Use a spreadsheet to measure out 180 squares and cross them through after each one hour session. If you wish to learn 3 skills in 6 months, you will obviously need 540 squares.

A third basic of time management is to follow the famous advice which Charles Schwab paid $25,000 for i.e. make a list of about 6 things you want to achieve tomorrow.

Sleep on it overnight and your subconscious will provide you with the drive and the wisdom to make a good stab at achieving those 6 things in the next 24 hours.

In the morning start on the most important of those 6 things and get as far as you can. If you have anything left to do. Put it on your list for tomorrow.

I won't take up any more of your time with this article as you are doubtless keen to make your list of 6 key things to do tomorrow.

About the author

John Watson is an award winning teacher and martial arts instructor. He has recently written two books about achieving your goals and dreams.

They can both be found on his website <a target="_new" href="http://www.motivationtoday.com">http://www.motivationtoday.com</a> along with a daily motivational message.

The title of the first book is "36 Laws To Ignite Your Inner Power And Realize Your Dreams Now! - Acronyms, Stories, And Pictures...Easy To Remember And Use Everyday To Grab Your Life And Soar With The Eagles"

The book can be found at this URL

<a target="_new" href="http://www.motivationtoday.com/36_laws.php">http://www.motivationtoday.com/36_laws.php</a>

The book uses acronyms, stories and pictures to help readers remember 36 laws that can gradually transform your life if you apply them.

You are welcome to publish the article above in your ezine or on your website so long as you do not alter it and keep in the words about the author and the 36 Laws.

Hows YOUR Productivity?

Microsoft wanted to know how individuals around the world were faring with their productivity. Microsoft seems the logical group to be asking this question since productivity generally follows technology. So from September, 2004 through January, 2005 they ran a survey called the 'Personal Productivity Challenge' or PPC.

The response was phenomenal. 38,000 people in over 200 countries rated their individual productivity by responding to 18 statements about work-related practices. Here are some of the results:

- Of the people who work an average of 45 hours a week, they consider 17 of those hours to be unproductive.
- The average number of emails received daily: 49.
- Workers spend 5.6 hours per week in meetings. 69% feel the meetings aren't productive.
- Most common productivity pitfalls: ineffective meetings (46%), lack of team communication (36%) and procrastination (37%).

Dr. Larry Baker of Atlanta developed the survey and his statement is right on the mark. "In my three decades of studying what makes workers productive, I've found that most crucial skills are the ability to efficiently communicate across all kinds of boundaries, share important documents and manage the increasing volumes of information."

Now remember that 95% of information is still found on paper.

Searching for information still comes down to the productivity level of the individual and his/her:

1) Skills: Have they assessed their level of need?

2) Training: "42% of executives worldwide feel improving workers skills and knowledge increases productivity." (Watson Wyatt)

3) Application: Do they receive support and feedback on their progress?

4) Tools: Using them instead of relying on them: There is no magic bullet.

5) Managing outcomes: Which tends to manage everything else.

If you want to increase productivity in your organization, start at the individual level NOW because when it comes to productivity, procrastination is not your friend.

(c) Cynthia Kyriazis

Cynthia Kyriazis is a Professional Organizer, trainer, consultant, speaker, coach and author with over 20 years management experience in multi-unit corporations. She is President of Organize it, Inc., an organizational consulting firm serving Fortune 500 clients since 1995. Cynthia has worked with over 150 companies and hundreds of professionals to help improve performance in the areas of time, information, space and electronic file management.

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 International Society for Performance Improvement ? Kansas City chapter (ISPI-KC) and consultant to the American Coaching Association.

Keeping Time

What keeping time really means is...being on time!

You know, there was once a upon a time when my friends or my husband's friends invite us for dinner or a gathering, they would expect us to be late by half-an-hour. They would be totally prepared if we were late and come in with unironed clothes, grouchy kids and soup stains all over our jeans and shirts. But whenever we appeared earlier or ON TIME, they would all start writing down numbers to buy lottery the next day!!

I never really realized how important timing is until a client woke me up. I didn't really piss him off but he subtly reminded me that being on time would bring me more customers and also more referrals. Coincidentally, that was also the time that I was looking through a book about being organized and becoming a more successful home-preneur.

My husband is a fanatic about time - so, my disregard towards timing makes him ill - really, really ill. Sometimes so ill that he would promise to throw the whole idea of going out together out the window.

Then it occurred to me - if it was so important to my husband, imagine what it would be like for my clients. Imagine what it would be like for them to have to wait for me all the time when THEY ARE PAYING ME TO DO WHATEVER THEY HAVE ASSIGNED FOR ME!

Thinking about it and mentally reversing the situation made me really sit up and think. And today, I am no longer as late as I used to be. I can be an occassional much-too-laidback or lackadaisical or procrastinator...whatever you call it.....person but, all in all, timing is now more important to me.

It's very important for us, home business owners, to be timely than for others. If, for example, a sales person from Braun is late for an appointment, you'd just sit back and wait cause they're BRAUN, you know what I mean. They must have about 100 appointments a day. But when a home business owner is late about handing up a project, the client would automatically think one thing - this person is not serious about his/her business. And it's bad to work with someone who's not serious about his/her work. And you know, you'll just lose the business this way - much too easily.

So, take my advice. If there was one thing you have to change. it's your timing.

Everything else, you can change tomorrow.....no pun intended here. :-)

Marsha Maung is a freelance work at home graphic designer and writer who resides in Selangor, Malaysia with her husband, Peter and 2 kids, Joshua and Jared. She is the author or "Raising Little Magicians" and other work at home books. For more information, please visit <a target="_new" href="http://www.marshamaung.com">http://www.marshamaung.com</a>

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?

Balance is defined as stability of mind and body; a state of being in balance; and harmony in the parts of a whole. The Chinese art of Feng Shui describes balance as being comprised of Yin and Yang energy. Yin is the calming and peace-giving energy and Yang is the action-oriented dynamic force. Yin energy engages receptivity and allows rest, rejuvenation, healing, dreaming, and acceptance. The fire energy, Yang, makes achievement of dreams a reality and creates success. Feng Shui believes every 'whole' person requires balance in his or her life force energy.

The key to creating 'wholeness' is learning that we must take care of ourselves in order to be able to give what we want to give in our roles as parent, spouse, employee, etc. When we do not take care of ourselves, we end up either sick and/or feeling burned out, as our bodies and mind will make us take the time if we will not do it for ourselves. Emotional and physical health requires taking responsibility for our own well-being.

Most of us have the fantasy that somebody will come along and tell us 'it is now our turn,' and so we put off the biological need for rest and relaxation until we are ill. After learning that there is not going to be anyone to rescue us, we realise that the only one who is going to take care of us is, in fact, our self. Once this is recognised, the emotional and physical healing of self can now begin. (I don't know about you but I am a slower learner. It took me a long time to learn this. In fact, I still get a wake-up call every once in awhile when I choose to get sick rather than rest and take a break.)

We need to allow time each day in order to take care of ourselves. When we do take time, leave the guilt and thoughts of 'I should be doing...' outside the door. Instead, recognise that we deserve a few minutes of time for self and that we will be able to function better afterwards. Enjoy that time.

Time Management and Creating Balance

Time is defined as a period during which an action, process, or condition exists or continues; and management is defined as the act or art of managing. Time management is nothing more than the art of managing an action. In other words, the management of time is management of self and setting priorities for self. It is the conscious selection of where we will place our attention.

Reasons for Managing Time

? Time is not a renewable resource. When it is gone, it is gone forever.

? Everyone has the same amount of time.

? The creative thought that emerges from balanced lives and from the joy of our leisure time is what makes the difference in our level of creativity and productivity.

? Take time for silence. Silence and solitude are opportunities for thinking and for simply being.

? The best thing you can do to enhance your value at work is to take care of yourself.

? Time management provides structure to one's life and in turn, provides peace of mind.

? Time management is something one does for one's own psyche to make one's days easier.

Time Management and Creating Balance at Home

1. Determine what's important to you and in what order. Prioritise to get the important things done by putting 'first things first.'

2. Set goals and strive towards a sense of purpose and fulfilment.

3. Get organised and manage your time with a daily or weekly schedule.

4. Recognise your limits and have realistic expectations for yourself. You do not have to be 'super person.'

5. Reward yourself.

6. Keep things in perspective. Say to yourself, 'This too shall pass.'

7. Exercise and eat nutritional foods.

8. Think happy, as life seems to be easier when you smile. Use humour and find a way to laugh at the situation.

9. Be honest with yourself and others.

10. Say 'No' to the 'shoulds' and 'Yes' to the 'wants' in your life.

Time Management and Creating Balance at Work

1. Make sure your work life is a meaningful expression of your life purpose.

2. Decide to do it. Set up a TO DO list, prioritise A's, B's, and C's. Do A's first.

3. Planning - take 5 minutes at the end of the day to clean up your space and get organised for the next day's work.

4. If you have a problem, just before you go to sleep turn it over to your subconscious - your mind will work on it as you sleep and you will have an answer the next day.

5. DO IT NOW. Procrastination is a result of saying "I'll do it later."

6. Do not schedule early morning appointments that will disrupt your morning routine.

7. Say 'NO' to every new request for your time for the next month (saying NO to every request will minimise your guilt).

8. Think about it before you say 'yes' - say 'I'll get back to you.' Some of us are compulsive 'yes sayers' when we are asked to do something; taking a few minutes to think about whether we have the time, energy, or desire to perform this request requires that we have a moment to check in with ourselves.

9. Give yourself a break. People are more productive when they take a few minutes away every couple of hours.

10. Don't let other people's 'hurry sickness' dictate your life.

Remember: There is no such thing as a lack of time. There is nothing more important in your life than your time. Mahatma Gandhi wrote, &quot;There is more to life than merely increasing its speed.&quot; In other words, the fundamental question is: 'How much of my life-force energy does this cost?'

Gwen Nyhus Stewart, B.S.W., M.G., H.T., is an educator, freelance writer, garden consultant, and author of the book The Healing Garden: A Place Of Peace ? Gardening For The Soil, Gardening For The Soul and booklet Non-toxic Alternatives For Everyday Cleaning And Gardening Chores. She owns the website Gwen's Healing Garden where you will find lots of free information about gardening for the soil and gardening for the soul. To find out more about the books and subscribe to her free Newsletter visit <a target="_new" href="http://www.gwenshealinggarden.ca">http://www.gwenshealinggarden.ca</a>

Gwen Nyhus Stewart ? 2004 ? 2005. All rights reserved.

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."

He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. The instructor then poured gravel in the jar, shook it and asked, "Is this jar full? " By this time the class was on to him. They replied: "Probably not,"

Next, he reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar until all the space between the rocks was filled. Once more, he asked the question. "Is this jar full?" "No" the class shouted.

Finally, he grabbed a pitcher of water and poured until the jar was filled to the brim. The speaker looked at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?" The speaker listened to a number of very good responses and said: "The truth this illustration teaches us is this: If you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all."

What are the big rocks in your life? Are they your spouse, children and grandchildren? Are they your work, television or gambling? Are you wasting time with things that are unimportant? What is important in your life?

About The Author

Don Schmitz is a well-known writer and speaker on parenting and grandparenting. He is the author of "The New face of Grandprenting...Why Parents Need Their Own Parents" and founder of Grandkidsandme, which includes: Grandparent Camps and Grandkid Days. Don holds graduate degrees in Education, Administration, Human Development and is father to three sons and grandfather to four granddaughters. Contact Don Schmitz at <a href="mailto:Don@grandkidsandme.com">Don@grandkidsandme.com</a> <a href="http://www.grandkidsandme.com" target="_new">http://www.grandkidsandme.com</a>

New Adventures - in Four Hours a Day

"Can you find four extra hours in your day?" a voice came over the speaker on my office phone, first telemarketer call of the day. I chuckled and answered, "Not this week."

"But Mom, you aren't VERY busy." My daughter adlibs as I turn back to the project at hand. A business plan due the next day, and I'm just at that moment formating the design and working on the font choices for the final print out. I click on the last button and look at the final layout, her comment is favorable, and I accept the selections. "I'm making dinner." She turns away from the computer and walks to the kitchen, pulling pasta and sauce from the shelf, and chicken planks from the fridge. The salad I made earlier will serve well as a vegetable, and desert is the yogurt pops we bought at the grocery. Life is working well, for the moment. I finish up my project, and go help finish dinner.

"Mom, what would you do with four extra hours a day?" She asks as we sit down to dinner.

"I think I'd spend some of it just sitting on the porch with you and the boys. It would be a nice change to just sit and watch the world go by." I answered considering the options. "What would you do with four extra hours in your day?" I asked her, as she sprinkled cheese on the pasta.

"I think I'd learn something new." She answered, thoughtfully. "Just spend the time doing something new, like putting some new project together."

"What kind of project?" I asked watching her sort through the meal she was eating on her plate.

"I think I'd learn to crochet or something like that." She answered.

I thought about it for a bit, and decided it was time to teach her that new something. We finished dinner and I asked if she wanted to go to the store. We picked out rich blues and purples and some pale aqua greens and a pattern with variations of stars on a mellow striped background. It was going to be an afghan to remember. I picked pastels in the same color tones, and selected needles to work with. There were some nice large baskets in the aisle, and I chose two of them, one for her project and one for mine.

We grabbed some bottles of soda for drinking later, a few boxes of flavored teas, some cream, and a selection of delicate cookies for eating when we took a break later and left the store to start our craft projects. An adventure that was bound to make memories was about to start, and we were both excited about starting it.

Once at home, we turned on a movie and settled on opposite ends of the couch start our projects. She already knew the basics, so I wouldn't need to teach her much for the first several rows. We chattered about the movie, listened to the songs playing in the bacground, discussed each stitch as we came to it, and hummed along our own pleasant tunes during any lulls in the noise level. I watched the world go by, while I enjoyed the company of my daughter. Several hours later, long after we should have been in bed, we stopped stitching and prepared our tea with cream and delicate cookies. The night was more than pleasant, and we had an adventure I hope to have again.

Copyright (c) 2005 - Jan Verhoeff - Printed in the USA

Jan Verhoeff's perpetual desire to learn originally focused her writing in the Business Industries, where she writes motivational and marketing articles for a variety of publications. Her first book publication, self-published in 1991, sold more than a thousand copies in a local business market. Later publications include: &quot;Stories for the Trail&quot; (with other Authors), &quot;Words To Ponder ? One Woman's Thoughts&quot;, &quot;Prickly Points of Life&quot;, &quot;Recipes from Jan's Kitchen&quot;, &quot;Focus on Function&quot;, and &quot;Put Your Thoughts In Print&quot;.

You may contact Jan at <a href="mailto:janverhoeff@yahoo.com">janverhoeff@yahoo.com</a>

Or you may visit her website at <a target="_new" href="http://wordstoponder.tripod.com">http://wordstoponder.tripod.com</a>

Sharpen The Saw

Sometime ago, my lovely wife woke me up in the middle of the night and said, 'Dayo, you know what? I feel neglected.' I was speechless. She then went on to say that for sometime now I have been spending more time on my work to the detriment of the family. She further explained that I put all my energies into a high drive for achievement and career success. To be honest she was right.

One of the problems of modern day top professionals and peak performers is how to balance personal and professional life effectively. The demand of a highflying job with parenthood, spiritual, physical and intellectual growth is almost impossible these days. The truth is that true success requires a balance of personal and professional life.

This is a problem I have been battling with since I became an IT trainer, a motivational speaker and the publisher of a music and movie magazine (M & M magazine).

Sometime ago, I cultivated a bad habit. I retire to bed with my wife and as soon as she falls asleep, I crawl out of bed and return to the computer to continue my work. On one occasion I had a long telephone meeting with Kunle Adejumo, one of the Directors of M & M magazine from 1.00am to 4.00am and then went back to bed at 5.00am. I woke up at 7.00am and called him back again at 8.30am. Whilst I was on the telephone, my wife overheard our conversation and discovered that I was on the phone with him till 4.00am. She was stunned.

At that stage it dawned on me that I needed to seek for help on how to balance my professional and personal life. I turned to one of my mentors, Professor Pat Utomi, one of Africa's top-flight strategy scholars, for help. He is a genius in this area. Professor Pat Utomi is a political economist and management consultant. He sits on the board of 36 blue chip companies (16 of them as Chairman). He was a Special Adviser to the President of Nigeria before he was 30. He is also a well-sought public speaker.

On the other hand, I am on the board of 6 companies (2 of them as Chairman) and still struggling with how to balance my personal and professional life. Pat Utomi has had a strong positive impact on my life since 1991. My meeting with him turned my life around and helped me put my life in proper perspective. I explained my predicament and how I needed counsel on how to balance my family and professional life. His response to me was, "Dayo what you need to do is to Sharpen You Personal Saw." That made the difference and turned my life around.

Sharpen the Saw was coined by Dr Stephen R. Covey in 1989 in his groundbreaking book: 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.' Its message is that true success requires a balance of personal and professional effectiveness. To that end, it offers 7 strategies or '7 Habits' for performing better in both areas through a life of self-knowledge, control and responsibility. And the seventh habit is to 'Sharpen the Saw.'

The seventh habit that makes the other six last is sharpening the saw. This powerful idea can only be described by Covey's word-picture: "Suppose you were to come upon someone in the woods working feverishly to saw down a tree. 'What are you doing?' You ask. 'Can't you see?' Comes the impatient reply. 'I'm sawing down this tree.' 'You look exhausted!' You exclaimed. 'How long have you been at it?' 'Over five hours,' he returns, 'and I'm beat! This is hard work.' 'Well why don't you take a break for few minutes and sharpen that saw?' you inquire. 'I'm sure it would go a lot faster.' 'I don't have time to sharpen the saw,' the man says emphatically. 'I'm too busy sawing!'"

Sharpening the saw is about renewing yourself physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally. It gives you time to recreate yourself and boost your confidence and be able to spend more time with your family.

Sharpening the saw means continually keeping yourself physically, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually fit. It means finding time out of your busy schedule to recreate yourself by spending more time with your family, continually learning new things, relaxing, going on vacation, praying, and meditating.

Practising this habit has a tremendous influence on me as a person. Looking good and being in shape affects my performance when I deal with people. It gives me confidence and makes me believe in myself.

Some people don't even pay attention to going on vacation and/or relaxing, they think it's a waste of time; but the truth is completely different. Relaxing would give me a great chance to put things in order and re-prioritise my plans. So, adopting the habit of 'Sharpening the saw' had great impact on my behaviour. Now I have been able to strike a balance and I have been able to create more time for my wife and children. I cannot forget the smile on the faces of my children when we went to Marriot Renaissance Hotel in Central London for the New Year break. They were on top on the world throughout the night and having family breakfast on New Year's Day gave me so much fulfilment.

Children have a great need to communicate with their parents; but they will only do this if they feel their parents are open to them and interested in hearing what they have to say. For this reason, I am now spending more time with my children. According to Steven R. Covey in his new book: 'The 8th Habit: From Effectives to Greatness', he stated clearly that: "Parenthood is the most important leadership responsibility in life and will provide the greatest level of happiness and joy."

I have developed the habit of making time for my family everyday. I now spend less time on my computer and my mobile phone. The greatest regret people have at the end of their lives is that they did not spend quality time with their children when they were young or with their spouses. At the end of the day your family is the reason why you live.

What will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, but loses his family? That is the reason I sharpen my personal saw. Thank you Professor Utomi for this priceless advice.

Dayo Olomu is a UK-based Motivational Speaker, Writer, Business/Life Coach, Trainer, Media Entrepreneur and Competent Toastmaster. His core belief is that we are all endowed with seeds of greatness, and his mission is to help individuals and organisations achieve their full potentials. He is the author of best selling "4 Indispensable Strategies for Success" and the President of Croydon Communicators Toastmasters. Get his FREE monthly Rise to the Top ezine by sending a blank email to <a href="mailto:subscribe@dayoolomu.com">subscribe@dayoolomu.com</a> or visit his website at: <a target="_new" href="http://www.dayoolomu.com"> www.dayoolomu.com</a>

Time is Money - Dont Waste It

"If you control your time, you control your life" - Alan Lakein (1973)

Time is Money. Time is a precious commodity and everyone gets an equal share, but we use it differently. Even different societies have different attitudes towards times.

One thing about time is that it is elusive; it cannot be changed, and once it is gone, it is gone forever. According to a saying, 'Time and tide wait for no one'. Our situation and needs influence our time orientation, but our time orientation (and needs) can be changed and that should lead to a more successful life.

Vilfredo Pareto, an early twentieth century Italian Economist, formulated what most of us call the '80-20 Rule', technically known as the 'law of maldistribution'. This rule states that "80 percent of our effort is spent on unnecessary activity and only 20 percent of our time is spent on something productive.' The question now is: how can we spend 80 percent of our time on something productive and spend 20 percent on something unproductive?

For more effective use of our time, the following tips are suggested. They are not sequential, you can decide the order.

The first is that you must set goals. A goal gives your life and the way you spend your time meaning and direction. You must decide what you want from life and organise your time around your goals. Look at your life in such areas as: finance, career, spiritual, social, health and community or cultural, and develop smarter objectives for each. Your goals must be specific, measurable, achievable, and realistic and it must be time bound. You must also evaluate and review your goals regularly to check whether you are heading in the right direction or not.

Secondly, you must plan and organise. Using time to think and plan is time well spent. Nobody plan to fail but many people fail to plan. Organise and plan in a way that makes sense to you, otherwise you will find yourself dealing with problems as they arise instead of creating opportunities for problems to be avoided and for progress to be made.

Thirdly, you must put first things first. In his book 'The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,' Stephen R. Covey deduced that: "the one denominator that all successful people shared was not hard work, good luck or good human relation but 'putting first things first'". By putting first things first you eliminate the urgent and concentrate on the important things. Urgent tasks have short-term consequences while important tasks are those with long-term, goal-related implications. Work towards reducing the urgent things that arise and you will have more time for your important priorities. If things are important, they contribute to your mission and help you in achieving your goals.

Also, to make effective use of your time you must do the right things right. Noted management expert, Peter Drucker, in his book 'The Effective Executive' (Harper & Row, 1966) said: "doing the right thing is more important than doing things right. Doing the right thing is effectiveness; doing things right is efficiency. Focus first on effectiveness (identifying what is the right thing to do), then concentrate on efficiency (doing it right)."

Moreover, you must aim for excellence and not perfection. Excellence is attainable; perfection is elusive if not unattainable. I believe that the pursuit of perfection is a waste of time. Yes, some things need to be closer to perfection than others; but perfectionism - paying unnecessary attention to details can be another form of procrastination.

Furthermore, you must conquer procrastination. To be a peak performer and be able to make good use of your time, it is necessary to conquer procrastination. Do not postpone till tomorrow what you can do today. Alan Lakein explained in his book: 'How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life' that "Many of us procrastinate when faced with long and difficult or unpleasant tasks, even though they are quite important to us. One technique to try in order to conquer procrastination is the 'Swiss cheese method'. When you are avoiding something, break it into smaller tasks, and work on the big task for just 15 minutes. By doing a little at a time, eventually you'll reach a point where you'll want to finish."

Be ready to say 'No'. This is such a small word, yet so hard to say. Focusing on your goals may help. Making time for important, but often not schedule, priorities such as family and friends can also help. But first you must be convinced that you and your priorities are important - that seems to be the hardest part in learning to say 'no'. Once convinced of their importance, saying 'no' to the unimportant things in life gets easier.

In addition, you must consider what time of the day suits you best. For instance, I like reading at night and writing in the morning because by late afternoon I am exhausted. Kathy Prochaska-Cue, an extension family economics specialist averred that: "Knowing when your best time is and planning to use that time of the day for your priorities (if possible) is effective time management."

Besides, to make effective use of your time you must have a 'To Do List'. I have a daily 'To Do list' which I do either the last thing the previous day or first thing in the morning. I also have a weekly, monthly and yearly 'To Do List'. You can either use a diary or calendar and you could combine the two. The coming of Personal Digital Assistant and Pocket Personal Computer has made life easier. Try any method that suits you. Having a 'To Do List' is essential for wise time management.

Another tip is that you need to be flexible. Allow time for interruptions and distractions. Time management experts often suggest planning for 50 percent or less of one's time. With only 50 percent of your time planned you will have the flexibility to handle interruptions of unplanned emergencies. Save (or make) larger blocks of time for your priorities.

Finally, reward yourself. Even for smaller successes, celebrate achievement of goals. Anytime I am able to finish the entire task on my 'things-to-do-today-list,' I smile and say 'thank you Lord'. Promise yourself a reward for completing each task or finishing an entire task. Keep your promise to yourself and indulge in your reward. It may be as simple as special snacks after getting certain things done. Doing so will help you maintain the necessary balance in life between work and play. As Ann McGee-Cooper said in her book: 'Time Management for Unmanageable People' (Ann Mc-Cooper & Associates, 1983); "If we learn to balance excellence in work with excellence in play, fun and relaxation, our lives become happier, healthier, and a great deal more creative."

Dayo Olomu is a UK-based Motivational Speaker, Writer, Business/Life Coach, Trainer, Media Entrepreneur and Competent Toastmaster. His core belief is that we are all endowed with seeds of greatness, and his mission is to help individuals and organisations achieve their full potentials. He is the author of best selling "4 Indispensable Strategies for Success" and the President of Croydon Communicators Toastmasters. Get his FREE monthly Rise to the Top ezine by sending a blank email to <a href="mailto:subscribe@dayoolomu.com">subscribe@dayoolomu.com</a> or visit his website at: <a target="_new" href="http://www.dayoolomu.com"> www.dayoolomu.com</a>

Top Ten Motivators

Setting goals is the easy part -- but sticking with them over the long run can be a major challenge! Some people think that motivation requires will-power and dedication. Actually, staying motivated is all about setting up an environment that is conducive to you accomplishing your goals. Here are ten &quot;tricks&quot; for giving your goals staying power past January 31st:

BREAK YOUR GOALS DOWN

Do you know why 90% of us don't keep our New Year's resolutions? Because our goals are too big and too vague. Instead of telling yourself that you want to &quot;get organized,&quot; try breaking that goal down into something smaller and more concrete. &quot;Clean out all clothes that haven't been worn in a year&quot; or &quot;move all of the sports equipment to the garage&quot; gives you a solid place to start -- then you can move on to another small goal that will take you one step closer to &quot;getting organized.&quot;

PUT IN 15 MINUTES A DAY

Some people think that you have to commit hours of uninterrupted effort if you want to accomplish a goal. But the greatest advances are often the sum total of a series of SMALL EFFORTS -- a drawer here, a cabinet there, maybe a closet. Once you have set your goals for the year, commit to spending 15 minutes each day doing something that will move you closer to accomplishing that goal. You will be amazed at how quickly you progress!

PAINT YOURSELF IN A CORNER

The worst deadline you can set for accomplishing a goal is &quot;over the next year&quot; -- too vague, to broad, and too much room for slacking. Sometimes it's best to paint yourself into a corner if you want to get a project done. If your goal is to clean out the guest bedroom closet, invite company over! Make a COMMITMENT to someone else -- just knowing that other people are counting on you is often just the little &quot;push&quot; you need to get moving.

WORK WITH A &quot;BUDDY&quot;

This rule doesn't just apply at the gym! Do you have a friend who can help out with some of your organizing projects? Two people will get more done in shorter period of time -- and you will be less inclined to keep a bunch of junk you don't need! Just remember that you will be expected to reciprocate when your friend gets ready to clean out! And if you can't recruit any free help, consider bringing in a Professional Organizer -- someone who can be objective about your clutter.

TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY ABOUT YOUR PLANS

The best way to make yourself accountable for accomplishing your goals is to tell other people about your plans. The minute you spread the word that you are working on a project, people become interested in your progress. &quot;Hey, how are you doing getting that garage in order?&quot; Every time you hear those words, one of two things will happen. Either you will feel inspired to dig back in and get to work -- or you will feel lousy because you haven't made any progress. Option A gets you moving, while Option B tells you that something is out of alignment and you need to RE-EVALUATE your goals. Either one is a step in the right direction.

PUT IT DOWN ON PAPER

You've heard it a million times -- if you write a goal down, it is more likely to come to fruition. There is something about the act of putting your thoughts (any thoughts) on paper that makes you more committed to the outcome. You have invested time and energy writing your goals down -- what a waste if you didn't actually go through with them! And it is wonderfully therapeutic to cross an item off of your list once you complete it!

REVIEW YOUR GOALS REGULARLY

The best thing about writing your goals down is that you have something physical to hold in your hand and refer back to when you need a boost. But reviewing your goals doesn't just mean skimming the page and counting up how many things you haven't done yet. You must also ask yourself some questions about each goal -- why haven't I made more progress on this goal? What's getting in my way? Is this goal still important to me? If your priorities have changed, drop it from your list. You have enough important things to do -- you don't need to sweat over not accomplishing an unimportant task.

DEVELOP A &quot;MANTRA&quot;

Repetition is the mother of success, so you need to remind yourself of your goals everyday. Pick your most important goal this year, and turn it into a one-sentence &quot;mantra.&quot; Your mantra should be in the form of an affirmation -- a statement phrased as though you have already accomplished your goal (&quot;I am the master of my time&quot; or &quot;I live in a clutter-free environment.&quot;) Repeat this mantra first thing when you get up, last thing before you go to bed, when you are driving in the car, as you take a shower. Post sticky notes with your mantra on it around your home and office. Pretty soon, this will become your natural way of thinking -- keeping you going when you run into a roadblock.

ENJOY YOUR SUCCESSES

When was the last time you really acknowledged the fact that you accomplished an important goal? Too often, we simply charge into the next task on our list without really appreciating our achievements. Next time, spend a few minutes reflecting on what you have accomplished -- remembering the time and effort you invested and savoring the feeling of completion. This will refresh and renew your enthusiasm to continue on with your next goal. Without that moment of pause, you will eventually burn yourself out and lose all sense of motivation.

PAT YOURSELF ON THE BACK

Do you reward yourself for a job well done? Lets go one step further -- do you plan ahead of time what reward you will give yourself when you complete a task on your list? There is a lot of wisdom in the old idea of a &quot;carrot and stick.&quot; As you plan out your goals for the next year, attach a REWARD to each. It could be as simple as a walk around the block, or as grand as a two-week vacation -- just make sure that your reward is commensurate with the amount of work you will have to do to reach that goal. And be consistent about rewarding yourself for every accomplishment, no matter how small. You deserve it!

Ramona Creel is a Professional Organizer and the founder of OnlineOrganizing.com -- offering "a world of organizing solutions!" Visit <a target="_new" href="http://www.onlineorganizing.com">http://www.onlineorganizing.com</a> for organizing products, free tips, a speakers bureau -- and even get a referral for a Professional Organizer near you. And if you are interested in becoming a Professional Organizer, we have all the tools you need to succeed. If you would like to reprint this article, please send in an e-mail request to <a href="mailto:ramona@onlineorganizing.com">ramona@onlineorganizing.com</a>

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.

This is where an overview of the basic systems is useful. There are few books that give such an overview, but one that does is Get everything done and still have time to play by Mark Forster. After outlining the basic methods, he goes on to describe one system that may be useful to some - but is rather complicated and which would not suit everyone.

Basic Time Management Systems

1. To-Do Lists - write a list of things that need to be done and then do them in that order. They can be distinguished from Checklists that are wonderful for breaking a project down into smaller tasks that can be ticked off regularly (which boosts motivation).

Pros: can be used for many different types of tasks

Cons: not useful if you have a schedule to keep to; can proliferate rapidly causing overwhelm

2. Prioritisation. This is pretty simple - you write down the list of things you have to do and then put them in order of priority. Then you do them in that order.

Pros: very good for office tasks, home chores, emergencies

Cons: can become cluttered and disorganised unless you make separate lists for different projects

3. "Do it now". A favourite with people who handle a lot of paper - this is basically a preventative measure for procrastination. If you need to do action something, you do it now.

Pros: Very good for procrastinators, and also for spring cleaning (of both the office in tray or your home), routines and tasks which are vital for function (e.g. filling the car with petrol)

Cons: Not useful for a multi-faceted life where there are a lot of different aspects which need equal attention, as here you can end up spending all your time on one area as you have to "do it now"!

4. "Do the thing you fear most first". A form of prioritisation, this is also good for procrastinators as it has a great kernel of truth in it, in terms of the fact that once the most-feared thing is done, the rest will be easier in comparison.

Pros: Good for personal growth and conquering fears

Cons: can mean that NOTHING gets done if the fear of the first thing is very strong.

5. Scheduling. Again, pretty simple - you put things in your list with times attached and then you action them according to the time.

Pros: actions where other people are involved such as meetings, or picking up the children.

Cons: Can be difficult to estimate the exact length of time something will take, and doesn't take interruptions, delays and other unexpected issues into account.

While all of these are very useful in particular situations, and for particular people, they often work best in conjunction with each other. Individual tools just don't work on a consistent basis. If they did, time management books would not be commissioned any more.

The Human Variable - Attention

So why are these tools not working? There is something which underlies the whole issue of time management which makes any solution you apply the equivalent of a plaster on an otherwise untreated wound. Time is not the variable here - there is the same 24 hours in every single day. Human attention is the vital variable - focussed attention gets things done, while distractions and poor organisation fragment attention so that tasks do not get done. Remember days where a lot gets done, and remember days when you just couldn't concentrate on any single thing long enough to get it completed? This is down to your attention span. It changes from person to person, but research shows that the average person can concentrate fully for about 20 minutes at a time, before the attention starts wandering.

Improve Your Attention Span

While your brain and its functions can be improved by improving your diet (fish and vitamins, along with a steady sugar level are the absolute basics for feeding your brain), often the case is that you are allowing yourself to be interrupted which is causing the distraction (even if it appears to be in the job description that you must down tools when the boss calls). You can still put systems into place to ensure that you don't get distracted - and get a block of time available to focus your attention in. Even a response to the person at the door of "just a second, let me just finish this bit off" can mean that you don't waste the first five minutes after a distraction trying to remember where you were.

Choose the right system for you

Look at the list above and decide what your main tasks are which match what each system is best suited for. Then implement a combination of them. Often all you need to do is integrate your priority list with a scheduled list (by using a diary with a loose piece of paper as your priority list of unscheduled items - just remember to allow time in your schedule to complete the unscheduled items).

Many people swear by the Stephen Covey time management system that is similar in layout to a diary layout but adds space for unscheduled items as well as things that aren't too specific (such as spend time with your children/work on the novel etc). You can find it in his book First Things First. You can even buy fillers for your filofax based on that layout, so that you have it all to hand whenever you need it.

Give it some time

Learning and implementing a new time management system is like learning a new habit - and just as difficult as it is something extra to remember. It can take up to 12 weeks to be sure that the new habit is learned, at which point it will be second nature to use your system. If it doesn't work for you, just modify it a bit and try again - it can be something as simple as buying a larger diary so that you can use just one item to record your tasks, meetings etc.

Distraction Management

Locate your regular distractions and set up a plan to minimise them (I deliberately didn't say remove them - that would be rather difficult, unless you moved to the North Pole). This can be through implementing a system where you are not available to be distracted at work for a set amount of time, on the premise that you will get back to them with an actual answer to their problem the moment you are able to. While this may not be too popular with some of your co-workers (because you are not available at the drop of a hat), the fact that if you are able to be more productive during normal working hours, you will actually be able to leave work on time a bit more often. Make sure though that when you do get back to people after a no-distraction period, that you answer their question/query fully and swiftly.

Time management is not difficult; it is the various things that are fundamental to them being able to work that are the complicated parts. So long as you are able (both physically and mentally) to focus your attention you should find that time can be managed better. Remember though that there is no one-size fits all in the world of time management systems - you will need to try out one or two before you find the perfect one that works for you. Just make sure you choose the ones that are suitable for the tasks that are part of your daily life.

Charlotte Burton is a Licensed Career Coach & Psychometric Assessor. For more information and to sign up for the ezine, view the website at <a target="_new" href="http://www.lifeisvital.com">http://www.lifeisvital.com</a> or email <a href="mailto:charlotte@lifeisvital.com">charlotte@lifeisvital.com</a> to request your complimentary consultation.

10 Time-Saving Calendar & Scheduling Tips

Nowhere is the line drawn more clearly between 'Industrial brains' and 'Electronic brains' than when it comes to the way people prefer to keep and use their calendars. These scheduling tips will really make your calendar talk to you, whether you use a packaged set, print out a computer calendar because you like the paper 'view' for better planning, or you synchronize your Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) with your laptop and office computer and it never hits paper.

Time Guidelines

Although everyone's situation is different we can learn a lot from the CEOs who are running multi-national corporations. Forbes magazine ran a one-page article based on interviews with CEOs and CFOs about their time guideline practices.

Not one scheduled more than 75% of their time, and the majority scheduled no more than 65% of their time. So you're looking at no more than 2/3 to 3/4 of their daily time being scheduled. Here are the earth-shattering reasons that these world class MBAs came up with for these Time Guidelines.

First, everything takes longer than you think it will. Second, things come up that you've got to deal with right away. (No matter how important what you're working on is.)

And the Third, he told as an anecdote, "You never walk into a meeting when there are millions of dollars at stake having worked right up until the last minute before the meeting. Because no-one else in the room has." Take a break before important meetings: you'll be more creative.

Now, I've never been in a million dollar meeting, but I share these with you because the more I apply these Time Guidelines the better my workday goes.

The Buffer Zone (not to be confused with the Twilight Zone) Allow one hour in-between any meeting's scheduled finish and your next appointment. If you work with someone who schedules meetings in your absence, explain that you want them to hold this line for everyone except your boss and their boss (or perhaps your spouse).

Leaving/Returning from a Trip

If you are returning to work at beginning of the business day, schedule no appointments before noon. Give yourself some time to unpack and thoroughly review your voice mail and e-mail. If you return to work mid-day schedule nothing until the next morning so you have re-entry time to process action items from your trip or meetings.

The reverse is true if you are leaving on a trip: allow at least a half day to prepare for the trip itself, as well as a final review of your in-box and e-mail to make sure there are no 'time bombs' hidden among the rest that can wait.

Auto-Response e-mail

For every day you will be out of the office (or in meetings all darned day again) set up an auto-response e-mail that includes an alternate contact, if appropriate. Even if you're only going to be out for one day, informing every one when you will actually be available, creates more realistic expectations.

Voice-mail Outgoing Message

When you are "Out of the Office" it's best to change your outgoing message on your voice mail as well. Let them know when you will be 'open for business' and who to contact in your absence. Start by saying "WAIT! Listen to this message carefully." Many people skip outgoing messages automatically. Other people simply don't listen to what is actually being said because they've heard it many times before.

Be as specific as possible when referring callers to another source. Give the person's name, phone, e-mail, and/or web address. The more specific you are the more likely it is someone will make the effort to get their questions answered by your alternate. The goal is to keep delivering services, even in your absence. This also whittles down the backlog awaiting your return.

Electronic Calendaring Programs

Most computer calendaring programs are connected to a contact database wherein all the pertinent contact information is accessible. Contact Management Programs are the best generation of their simpler contact/calendar antecedents, and are designed to center all your information about contacts by automating and documenting your communication (e-mail, phone, documents, e-fax, notes, etc.). It is truly a relationship-based way of thinking.

In addition, you can use any contact/calendaring or Contact Management program to quickly set up an easy project management tool that will appear seamlessly on your calendar display window or on printouts.

Enter a new contact into your contact record, using the project name (or code name) for the contact name field. You can now schedule tasks, to-dos, calls, and especially meetings on your calendar associated with your work on the project itself, not with the client or another team member. This allows you to plan for your milestones on various projects, and dedicate time to specific projects on your calendar.

In companies which network their calendars this is an especially important technique, because when someone is looking for an open time to schedule a meeting and your calendar shows project meetings, they are more likely to move on to another date.

Color-Coding Your Calendar (paper or electronic)

Color-coding is highly effective way to keep yourself straight with modern life's many and varied activities. Color-coding will reduce misfiles by as much as 90%, even if you don't change anything else about your filing system.

For those who use a paper calendar/planner, using pencil or erasable pen can be helpful especially if you rewrite your calendar often. I recommend that clients carry two erasable pens in their organizer; black for business appointments and blue for personal ones.

I recommend you use the four-color ballpoint pens for scheduling appointments with categories like black-business, blue-personal, red-travel, green-project action items. Buy plenty of whatever kind of pens/pencils you use to color code your calendar!

Your color-coding doesn't have to be this complicated and if you use one of the many excellent computer calendars around you can automatically color code your entries as they appear on screen and in printout.

I use a Contact Management program called ACT. It includes the option to assign a range of priority colors to any activity. However, since I don't schedule anything that isn't high priority I use the colors for my categories of black-business, blue-personal, red-projects.

Also, I highly recommend the color display PDA's over the black/gray/white displays. The display area of the PDA is limited so having the color provides you with improved visual function. Be careful when using the calendar function to check the day before and the day after the one you are looking at scheduling for any complications in coordinating your activities.

Applying any of these guidelines will help you out some. Applying all the tips that you possibly can, will change the way you work for the better. Just do it!

Time-Saving Calendars and Scheduling Tips By Eve Abbott, Excerpted from her new book, "How to Do Space Age Work with a Stone Age Brain TM"

Copyright, Eve Abbott All Rights Reserved.

Eve Abbott's newest book is available online at <a target="_new" href="http://www.organize.com">http://www.organize.com</a> Remember to sign up for more of the Organizer Extraordinaire's time-saving tips. Enjoy free brain quizzes to help you work at your personal best!

"How to Do Space Age Work with a Stone Age Brain TM" is an entertaining, interactive guide offering easy, online assessments to help make your own personal organizing solutions match your individual work style.

More Precious Than Gold

In this world there is something more precious than gold. Diamonds? No. Platinum? No. Some other precious metal? No.

Of course, it would depend who you might ask. Many would mention the alternatives I've already given. If you asked a drowning man he would undoubtedly say a life-buoy. If you asked a thirsty person stranded in the desert they would say water. And if you asked a person grieving over a lost loved one they would answer in that manner. All would be correct according to their own particular circumstance.

The value of something is in its scarcity. It's a matter of simple economics really. Things that exist in abundance are relatively cheap. Things that are rare are more expensive. Unique items are very valuable indeed. That is how value is measured.

However, going back to my opening statement, what would be more precious than any of the above? I would suggest something that, once spent, can never be regained. It's something that we all have but it runs out second by second. Time.

Time is the most precious commodity we have. Like everything else, it is its scarcity that increases its value.

Think about a child who is five years old. That child has a very shallow concept of time. If we double the age to ten time is again relatively abundant. Doubling the age to twenty a person begins to understand its concept.

If we double that person's age to forty time begins to become more and more valuable. At the age of eighty, if one lives that long, time is at a premium. It becomes very precious indeed.

If an eighty year old person had all the money they could ever spend what do you think they would buy, if they could? Time!

We only have one life. We cannot buy time. Shouldn't time be the one thing that we value more than anything else? And yet, so many people elect to waste time.

Don't let the wastage of time rob you of the things that you really want to do. The biggest robber of time are the words: "I'll do it later" or I'll get it done next week" or "there's plenty of time."

There is never a better time to do something than right now!

Procrastination and laziness will always ensure that you waste opportunities for achievement.

Use your time wisely. You will never get it back. There is no such thing as eternal youth. One day your time will run out. It would be such a pity for that to happen with a mind still full of wasted opportunity.

I heard somebody say once that "it is better to wear out than rust out." Going to the grave with the "music still in you" would be such a tragedy.

Time will always be your enemy - unless you make it your friend. Keep learning, keep working and keep achieving. Do it now!

About the author: Gary Simpson is the author of eight books covering a diverse range of subjects such as self esteem, affirmations, self defense, finance and much more. His articles appear all over the web. Gary's email address is <a href="mailto:budo@iinet.net.au">budo@iinet.net.au</a>. Click here to go to his <a target="_new" href="http://www.motivationselfesteem.com/zenspiration.html">Motivation & Self Esteem for Success</a> website where you can receive his "Zenspirational Thoughts" plus an immediate FREE copy of his highly acclaimed, life-changing e-book "The Power of Choice."

Time Management: Set Yourself Up For Success

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.

1) Manipulate your environment to your advantage by making your actual work-space fit your ideal as much as you can.
2) Use your best working time to concentrate on the jobs that give you the most difficulty. Set aside a specific period of time for a task and stick to your commitment.
3) Keep track of your time and how you spend it. If it slips by unnoticed, it will usually slip by under-used.

If you can identify your work patterns you will see how procrastination weaves itself into your work-day. Few of us say, &quot;OK, now I am going to procrastinate for forty minutes.&quot; Instead, we let procrastination slip in under some other guise. To focus your thoughts on your habits, ask yourself these questions: What are my daily work patterns? (Keep a written record for 3 days, noting activities in fifteen-minute intervals) -- 1) When do I try to tackle tasks that I dislike? 2) When do I socialize or concentrate on &quot;easy-work&quot; instead of undertaking more important tasks? 3) How do I usually handle large, annual projects?

If you can identify your work patterns you will see how procrastination weaves itself into your work-day. Few of us say, &quot;OK, now I am going to procrastinate for forty minutes.&quot; Instead, we let procrastination slip in under some other guise. To focus your thoughts on your habits, ask yourself these questions: -- 1) How do I usually handle daily, record-keeping, or follow-up tasks? 2) How do I usually handle the responsibility of communicating sensitive material or bad news? 3) Which of my job's regular requirements do I like least and how do I usually handle them? 4) Which skills that my job requires do I feel I do not have or could improve upon? If I am called upon to use those skills, what do I do?

Once you have a work habit record, take the time to analyze it: When you do so, be thoughtful and honest as you answer the following questions. Remember, you are striving to improve productivity, not to reinforce procrastination.
1) Do I avoid making and refining decisions and thus deny myself the opportunity to apply myself to the goal at hand?
2) Do I take the least active option?
3) Do I allow negative ideas about a task to balloon?
4) Do I fabricate reasons for postponing action?
5) Do I need imposed pressures to finish a task?

Copyright <a target="_new" href="http://www.aeschwartz.com">AE Schwartz & Associates</a> All rights reserved. For additional presentation materials and resources: <a target="_new" href="http://www.ReadySetPresent.com">ReadySetPresent</a> and for a Free listing as a Trainer, Consultant, Speaker, Vendor/Organization: <a target="_new" href="http://www.TrainingConsortium.com/">TrainingConsortium</a>

CEO, A.E. Schwartz & Associates, Boston, MA., a comprehensive organization which offers over 40 skills based management training programs. Mr. Schwartz conducts over 150 programs annually for clients in industry, research, technology, government, Fortune 100/500 companies, and nonprofit organizations worldwide. He is often found at conferences as a key note presenter and/or facilitator. His style is fast-paced, participatory, practical, and humorous. He has authored over 65 books and products, and taught/lectured at over a dozen colleges and universities throughout the United States.

Fitting An Education Into A Busy Lifestyle

Fitting an education into a busy lifestyle

Many people have aspirations to get an education for many reasons. Better jobs, more money and social recognition are some of the more predominant explanations. Regardless of how badly many of these people would love to achieve some sort of eduation beyond high school, attending a college or university is usually not an option because of existing responsibilities. Having bills, children, a job and other responsibilities are typically peoples first priority. The fact that many people are unable to attend a class every week is a HUGE factor preventing people from ever getting the education that they dream of.

In this day and age, with the coming of the Internet, this is no longer a valid excuse. There are many online schools where you can obtain your education from the comfort of your own computer. There are many benefits to online education. You can spend countless hours with your children, and get your education while relaxing after putting them to bed. You can still work a full time job and then spend a few hours a week learning for the future. I could continue listing the benefits for pages and pages, but then I would be slowing you down from actually potentially taking the first step and pursuing your online education.

For free information packages on many different online schools, visit <a href="http://www.education-resource.org" target="_new">http://www.education-resource.org</a> You can request information packages directly from many different schools all from one site.

What are you waiting for? Pursue your dreams and discover that an education is waiting for you at your finger tips.

About The Author

Ryan McKenzie

<a href="Http://www.education-resource.org" target="_new">Http://www.education-resource.org</a>

File It: Boost Your Productivity in Only 15 Minutes Per Week

Despite the best of intentions, most of us don't use good information management practices ? simple filing systems which enable us to keep track of our projects and resources. The mountain of paperwork piles up on top of us like an avalanche, and beyond that, there are PC files, emails and SMS to manage. Not many organisations have standard practices for information management and organising, sorting and systemising information is not something most of us have ever been taught how to do ? so it's hardly surprising that we struggle to find order among the chaos. Far from being a nuisance administrative task, effective information management is essential to your efficiency and productivity. Introducing simple systems and investing just 15 minutes per week can put you in control of your information and help you to become more efficient and productive.

Managing paperwork

Keeping it together . Create a central storage point for everything that requires filing ? a box or a folder labeled 'filing' ? and throw everything into it during the week.

Make time . Allocate 15 minutes each week for filing. Depending on the state you are in at the beginning, you may need to allocate more time than this to get on top of the task ? but from then on, 15 minutes per week should be a small enough time slot to find, but long enough to keep you on top of your paperwork.

Set up systems . When using filing cabinets, decide how you will allocate your space to make it easiest to locate your files: for example, rather than mixing all your files together you might decide to keep current customer files in one drawer and potential customer files and marketing information in a separate drawer, or you might choose to store current projects in one drawer and research and reference information in another, or you might decide to file everything in alphabetical order ? you get the idea ? look at the type of files you have and decide how to logically divide them into categories. Then, label the front of each drawer with the type of files it contains.

Colour it . Use colour coding to further systemise your files and to enable you to identify different types of files at a glance. Choose a range of coloured manila folders and allocate a different colour to use for different file types: for example, blue for customer files, purple for staff files, pink for project files and so on. Make a reference list of what each colour represents until you are familiar with your system.

What colour is today? Now set up a different coloured folder for each day of the week. Use these to file tasks that require action on certain days. Check the contents of your day-file as part of your 10-minute preparation at the end of each day and prioritise the tasks. Make sure you keep your day-files up to date by immediately filing papers relating to your daily tasks in the appropriate day-file, rather than in your 'filing' folder where you may not see it again until your allocated filing time.

Managing email

Virtual files . Set up folders in your email to file important information you have read or actioned and want to keep for future reference. These folders might mirror your hard-copy files to make it easy for you to cross-reference printed and online information relating to a particular subject.

Online colour . Learn how to colour code your incoming email so you can identify at a glance which emails require your immediate attention. Again, your colour coding might mirror your hard copy filing system while adding new colour categories for emails from friends and family.

Email rules . Establish rules for incoming email to help you sort the legitimate messages from the Spam, jokes and junk. Your email software can help you, for example, to send Spam messages directly to your trash, or to send e-zines or newsletters you subscribe to directly to a reading folder.

Read and delete . Many people have a tendency to want to keep emails ? set yourself some guidelines for what you want to keep and delete the rest once you have read or actioned them. And, don't keep emails in your inbox ? they'll only make you feel like you have more work than you really do and increase the chances you'll overlook something that needs your attention. Be disciplined: read, action then file or delete.

Spring clean . Schedule time to clean out your email regularly, once a month should be enough to keep you on top of it. Empty your deleted items and any unnecessary sent items, and go through any completed project or task folders and ensure that anything you are keeping is essential to your records. Cleaning out your email will ensure you are managing your email files and disk space effectively.

Neen is a Global Productivity Expert : by looking at how they spend their time and energy ? and where they focus their attention ? Neen helps people to rocket-charge their productivity and performance. A dynamic speaker, author and corporate trainer, Neen demonstrates how boosting your productivity can help you achieve amazing things. With her unique voice, sense of fun and uncommon common-sense, Neen delivers a powerful lesson in productivity. Find out more at <a target="_new" href="http://neenjames.com/">http://neenjames.com/</a>

Time Management -- Urgent vs. Important

&quot;It's just been one of those days?I can't seem to get anything done! I've got way too many things on my &quot;To-Do List&quot;. Oh the list started out innocently enough as a single handwritten column on one sheet of lined paper; but now it's grown to a three-column table in a spreadsheet software program! I get no satisfaction from checking off each item as I finish it. For each task I complete, at least two more are added. I began my work day at 6:30 AM with grandiose plans of completing a special project before Noon. Now it's 16 hours later (10:30 PM) and I still have not finished the project. My anxiety and frustration are mounting. Tomorrow's list has already been written and it does not include the things left undone from today's list! I don't know if I'm going to make it through the week with all of the demands upon my time and energy. I need help?quickly!

A Juggling Act

I wrote the above entry in my journal several days ago. What a day that was! How about you?been there lately?

Life can be such a juggling act. Like professional jugglers, we try to keep 5 or 6 balls moving through the air at the same time. But unlike professional jugglers, we rarely succeed.

Everyone is so busy these days. Work is performed at a frantic pace and people are in such a hurry. There is an air of impatience and intolerance-a lot of frenetic darting to and fro that is almost out of control. It's very difficult to keep your priorities in line when life is so fast paced. But the negative consequences of so much activity-stress, damaged or broken relationships, poor health---can wreak more havoc than what we think we will gain.

The Urgent

I tried for years to use a paper-based time management system with columns similar to this: &quot;Must Do?Need to Do...Like to Do&quot;. I'm sure you've used something like this (maybe even now). The problem I encountered was that I never seemed to get around to doing much in the &quot;Like to Do&quot; column, which was very discouraging. The &quot;Must Do and Need to Do&quot; items consumed all of my time.

So I switched to a simpler paper-based system with the following columns, &quot;Urgent&quot; and &quot;Important&quot;. Now, I was sure to spend my time wisely. Unfortunately, I found out that the urgent things monopolized my time and pushed the important things to the back-burner.

Here are three examples of &quot;The Urgent&quot;:

<ul> <li>Pressing or burning imperatives that must be completed immediately.</li>

<li>Critical or vital tasks that someone else insists be performed without delay.</li>

<li>Unrelenting and persistent routine demands on your time.</li> </ul>

The Important

&quot;The Urgent&quot; often masquerades as &quot;The Important&quot;. However, not everything we do is important. To identify what's important to you requires that you answer three questions:

<li>Will the activity I am about to participate in make a significant and lasting positive impact on others?</li>

<li>Is what I am about to do an unselfish act that will bring happiness or joy to others?</li>

<li>Do my actions and activities promote balance in my life or are they all-consuming?</li>

The Bottom Line

Identifying &quot;The Important&quot; requires focus-a concentration of energy, effort, and thought. &quot;The Important&quot; is where you should spend most of your time. Now, before you send me screaming emails, I don't mean that you shouldn't address &quot;The Urgent&quot;. Instead, consider the following:

Focus on &quot;The Important&quot;!

Priority is the key to managing &quot;The Urgent&quot; and focusing on &quot;The Important&quot;. Before you leap to complete a task, take a few moments to think about its true priority. Does it need to be done right at this moment, or is there something else on your list that should come first?

While others may demand that everything on your To-Do List must be done immediately, you and only you can really determine what should be done first, second, third, etc. (It's not possible to do everything at once; priority must be given to each item).

Today, I've taken a dose of my own medicine and committed to focusing on &quot;The Important&quot;. So far, I've accomplished at least one thing that will have a significant and positive impact on others-finishing this article.

Althea DeBrule, entrepreneur and seasoned human resources executive, has focused for more than 30 years on helping people achieve their career goals. Creator of The Extreme-Career-Makeover? and a founding partner of RADSGroup Organizational Consultants, she is recognized for her bottom line and practical application of career development and management strategies in a way that penetrates hearts and compels action. She speaks and teaches with inspired talent, humor and contagious zeal at management conferences and leadership retreats nationwide, and has been featured in CFO Magazine, Strategy@Work, Human Resource Executive Magazine. Althea is the author of Bosses & Orchards, a compelling and candid book about how to make your work relationship with your boss succeed.

To discover how you can take your career to a new level, visit <a target="_new" href="http://www.extreme-career-makeover.com/">http://www.extreme-career-makeover.com/</a>

Doing Things We Dread

As I sit here in front of the computer I am breaking through on something that I have been tolerating for weeks now? actually sitting down to write this newsletter. I wasn't blocked for ideas ? I had a list of them. I simply couldn't (yea right? wouldn't) sit down and put my thoughts on paper. The irony, of course is that I coach people through these very same issues and my clients have great success. Ohhhh coach heal thyself! Well the breakthrough came the other night when I was using a wonderful miracle of modern technology? The George Forman Grill! Let me explain.



I love to cook. It is an amazing creative experience for me? and let me give you some advice? remember presentation is everything. A meal can go from fair to fantastic simply by arranging the food on the plate? you sort of fool people into thinking it is actually better than it is? the French have known this for years. But I digress?



So I was in the mood to make a nice meal but didn't want to go to a lot of trouble. Enter the GF Grill. Its very fast and the food turns out great. BUT I HATE TO CLEAN IT. Trust me, it is NOT hard to clean, but it is one of those things that I dread. After previous uses I have let it sit there unclean for a full day simply because I &quot;didn't wanna!&quot; This time it was different, however. After the meal, I simply got up, did the dishes quickly and then took the 4 ? minutes it actually takes to clean the grill so it can be put away. As I was doing this I realized that I wasn't dreading it. What was that about? I usually piss and moan about it and work myself up into a frenzy. Then I realized what was different. I didn't think about it I just did it. I knew I didn't want to wake up to a filthy kitchen, I knew it would take all of 5 minutes to do? and I did it. I was actually grateful that I had used such a simple machine and was so happy when it was all done. Perspective. I had wasted so much energy with the dread of the action that the cost of not doing it was 10 times more expensive than the 5 minutes of the unpleasantness ? which, by the way was nowhere near as unpleasant as I was making it in my head.



From this lesson I today now sit down and write my newsletter. I was dreading the time it would take; would it be good; all the what if's; all the mind games; the I CAN'Ts; all that crap. Instead? it is simple? I will or I won't. My choice. (By the way? this newsletter took about 25 minutes to write? hmmm? much less than I imagined!)



A Call to Action and a How to.



1) Realize how much energy avoiding things we &quot;don't wanna&quot; do is costing us energetically.



2) Realize that these things almost always seem bigger in our headsw than they actually are.



3) Switch from victim mode: go from &quot;I Can't&quot; to &quot;I Choose Not to.&quot; As Yoda from Star Wars says? &quot;Do or do not. There is no try!&quot;



4) Eat That Frog. There is a book on over coming procrastination called &quot;Eat That Frog.&quot; A premise of this book comes from the old saying, if the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that it is the worst thing you'll probably do all day. Identify the important tasks that you are dreading and just do them? right off? first thing in the morning and look forward to the freedom you will experience the rest of the day.



5) Make your 'To Do' list specific. Vague goals engender anxiety and feel big and overwhelming. Make them specific and measurable. For example &quot;Organize my life&quot; vs. &quot;Spend 20 minutes every morning sorting and filing the papers on my desk.&quot; See the difference.



6) Categorize your to-do's by the resistence factor. Separate them into one of 4 categories; a) have to do / Want to do; b) Have to do / Don't want to do; c) Don't have to do / Want to do; and d) Don't have to do / Don't want to do. Do your tasks in this order: b,a,c.



7) To change your attitude, change your perception. Make a game of it. Create a chart and put up gold stars for every item you complete. Feel good. Play. Is it all REALLY THAT important?



8) Get support. A friend, a coach, a group. Don't face things you dread alone.



9) Be kind to yourself. One step and one thing at a time. It doesn't all have to get done at once.



10) Celebrate. For each accomplishment ? no matter how small ? celebrate. Plan it beforehand and make it great!!



So what things have you been dreading that you will now choose to take care of? Go ahead. Eat that frog. I dare you to do one thing? just one. Right now. It will feel great.



Go get 'em, Tiger!

? 2004 by Roger DeWitt & Life Artistry Coaching. Roger, the Get Stuff Done Now Coach, is a certified life and business coach working with people to change their thinking so that they can change their life Sign up for Roger's monthly "5 Minute Success Tips" at <A target="_new" href="http://www.lifeartistrycoaching.com/">http://www.lifeartistrycoaching.com/</a>

Keeping Time

What keeping time really means is...being on time!

You know, there was once a upon a time when my friends or my husband's friends invite us for dinner or a gathering, they would expect us to be late by half-an-hour. They would be totally prepared if we were late and come in with unironed clothes, grouchy kids and soup stains all over our jeans and shirts. But whenever we appeared earlier or ON TIME, they would all start writing down numbers to buy lottery the next day!!

I never really realized how important timing is until a client woke me up. I didn't really piss him off but he subtly reminded me that being on time would bring me more customers and also more referrals. Coincidentally, that was also the time that I was looking through a book about being organized and becoming a more successful home-preneur.

My husband is a fanatic about time - so, my disregard towards timing makes him ill - really, really ill. Sometimes so ill that he would promise to throw the whole idea of going out together out the window.

Then it occurred to me - if it was so important to my husband, imagine what it would be like for my clients. Imagine what it would be like for them to have to wait for me all the time when THEY ARE PAYING ME TO DO WHATEVER THEY HAVE ASSIGNED FOR ME!

Thinking about it and mentally reversing the situation made me really sit up and think. And today, I am no longer as late as I used to be. I can be an occassional much-too-laidback or lackadaisical or procrastinator...whatever you call it.....person but, all in all, timing is now more important to me.

It's very important for us, home business owners, to be timely than for others. If, for example, a sales person from Braun is late for an appointment, you'd just sit back and wait cause they're BRAUN, you know what I mean. They must have about 100 appointments a day. But when a home business owner is late about handing up a project, the client would automatically think one thing - this person is not serious about his/her business. And it's bad to work with someone who's not serious about his/her work. And you know, you'll just lose the business this way - much too easily.

So, take my advice. If there was one thing you have to change. it's your timing.

Everything else, you can change tomorrow.....no pun intended here. :-)

Marsha Maung is a freelance work at home graphic designer and writer who resides in Selangor, Malaysia with her husband, Peter and 2 kids, Joshua and Jared. She is the author or "Raising Little Magicians" and other work at home books. For more information, please visit <a target="_new" href="http://www.marshamaung.com">http://www.marshamaung.com</a>

Low Tech Time Management

A simple kitchen gadget is transforming my life. I don't know why I never thought of it before. It wasn't my idea. It was a side comment made by nationally recognized life coach Alicia Smith, at the beginning of the Coachville teleseminar Understanding the Dynamics of Adrenaline Addiction. She said she &quot;lives by timers.&quot;

It was at that moment I realized: I have no inherent sense of time. I'm geographically impaired too, but that's another article. I don't think I would have re-connected with just how non-time oriented I am without having had a sabbatical from a nine-to-five job.

Having a job, any job, implies a certain amount of structure. Maybe you have to be somewhere at nine a.m. You go home at five p.m. You have lunch at noon. You have a meeting at ten, an appointment at two. Productivity flows in and around your commitments. Remove the structure? Creativity ? and productivity ? pour out everywhere and become un-measurable and un-acknowledgeable. It's not necessarily that you're not doing anything. There's just nothing to gauge it by anymore.

As a kid, I'd spend hours in my room writing, painting or playing guitar. I'd forget to eat. I'd stay up until the middle of the night working on a project. When you don't have to work you aren't quite as constricted by the sixty-minute-per-hour agreement.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced chick-sent-me-high-ee), author of the book Flow and renowned architect of the notion of flow in creativity; asserts people enter a flow state when they are fully absorbed in activity during which they lose their sense of time and have feelings of great satisfaction. Csikszentmihalyi describes flow as &quot;being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. Time flies.&quot;

It sure does. But what about the sixty-minute-per-hour standard most live by ? the one used to calculate our paychecks and measure our productivity?

In an attempt to bridge the gap, I bought a timer. In fact, it is ticking as I type this. And it's not interrupting my flow experience of writing one iota.

This isn't the first time I've used a timer to accomplish a task. Jerry Mundis, author of over forty books of fiction and non-fiction, and creator of the knockout tape series, Break Writer's Block Forever, coached me through the writing of my first novel (two hundred and sixty pages) allowing me to write for only thirty-minutes per day.

When the buzzer went off, my instructions were to click File, Save and Close and forget about the book until the next day. This kind of structure didn't hurt my creativity one whit. In fact, combining this discipline with writing at approximately the same time each day caused my subconscious to cue up the next few scenes overnight. Every night I sat down, set the timer and turned the faucet on. The words poured out. When the time buzzed, I shut off the faucet. And that's how my first novel got written.

Another thing I love about the timer? It's a guilt-killer. If I only have an hour and a half to practice an instrument or write an article, when the buzzer goes off, I'm done. I don't have to think about it anymore.

Time is much too precious a commodity to mindlessly let slip away. So grab your PDA, phone or Blackberry and find the alarm on it. Or go to the kitchen and grab a simple plastic timer, give the dial a turn and when it buzzes, File, Save and Close and celebrate your sixty-minutes of creativity and accomplishments.

Helena Bouchez is a writer, musician, artist, teacher and former advertising agency associate technology director.

She has a B.A. in Art from Wayne State University and a Certificate in Business Administration from University of Illinois Chicago Center for Entrepreneurship, is nearly finished with her first novel tentatively titled, "Till you Make It", and enjoys playing bass guitar in all three of her bands. <a target="_new" href="http://www.helenabouchez.com">http://www.helenabouchez.com</a>

Time Managements

There are the golden rules that apply to time. If followed, your life will be successful. If you ignore these, however, you will always be scratching to catch up. Do not be one of the people you always here say "I don't know where the time went, it just flew by!".

1) Time is fleeting. Think about it...the moment you started reading this is gone, never to be regained. It seems we get so caught up in petty circumstances that we forget what we set out to do, and before you know it, the day is gone!

2) Time is valuable. You always have time to make money; but you can never have enough money to make time!

3) Time is unforgiving. The amazing thing about your time; even through no fault of your own, even "wasted" time will never stand still.

4) Time is money. You must be constantly asking yourself,"Am I doing the most productive thing I can be doing right now?". Watch out for those "wasted" moments we were talking about earlier.

5) Time is changing. We all must constantly renew our minds, and let the past be just that...the past! It can't help you now, aside from the learning experience, don't dwell on it.

6) Time is the ultimate judge. We have all heard "time will tell!". Well, there is some truth to that, as the future has a way of finding any flaw in the plan. Pre-planning will save massive amounts of your precious commodity called time.

7) Time is in your control. We can all be more in control of our day and how we spend it. Today should have been planned out yesterday, and tomorrow should be thought about today.

You can design your future, much like an architect designs a building. Start small, and work your way to the big things. Prioritize events and meetings in advance and stick to it. Things will always come up, so be vigilant, you will catch yourself doing un-productive things. The more you are "tuned in" to these events , the more you can do about it!

About The Author

Michael Niles is a Seattle based trainer and speaker. For more info call 206-229-3119 or <a href="http://www.focussalestraining.com" target="_new">www.focussalestraining.com</a>.

<a href="mailto:michael6941@hotmail.com">michael6941@hotmail.com</a>

Because Its Been Years Since Youve Seen a Blank Calendar

If you have ever missed an appointment, forgotten to pick the kids up from soccer practice, or lost a sticky note with an important phone number on it, this is your year to get organized. There is no better time than now to recommit ourselves to bringing some order to the chaos that is our modern lives.

Admitting that your memory is not as good as you think it is is the first step down the road that will eventually lead to a more organized, more productive you. Below is a discussion of a few of the Do and Do Nots of personal organization - they are tried and tested, so do yourself a favor and trust me on the Do Nots. Try all of the Dos until you find the best system that works for you, then stick with it.

Do NOT write things on your hands. This system may have worked well in high school when you had a relatively blank calendar of events to remember. However, in the adult world you will lose a lot of respect if you have phone numbers tattooed all over the back of your hand.

Do write it down. The best way to remember something is to write it down precisely so that you will not have to remember it. You can write that meeting time and place down on a blank calendar, record a phone number straight into your phone or rolodex, or keep a notebook where you record all of your assignments and tasks. The most important thing to remember when trying to get your life organized is to write it down!

Do NOT rely too heavily on sticky notes. Despite the modern technological innovations that gave us mobile phones, hand-held computers, and high-speed internet, science has still failed to provide us with sticky notes that actually stick. Besides, they are too easily lost and tend to clutter up workspace. They are great for taking temporary notes from phone calls or quick conversations, but any important information should be transferred to your blank calendar or planner.

Do find a system that works for you. There are plenty of options out there for people looking for an organizational system to help them get control of their lives. Because I spend the majority of my time in my office, I find that simply printing a blank calendar that I can keep close by works well. Others use traditional day planners or PDAs to keep track of appointments and to-do lists. Software is available that enables you to keep track of everything on your computer - something that is especially handy for students or professionals who have a lot to keep track of and who have to spend their time constantly on the go. If you try one system and it does not seem to work for you, try another option until you find one that does.

Do NOT expect others to keep track of your schedule for you. At the end of the day, you are responsible for what you did and did not get done. Take responsibility for the time you have and get the most out of it. Watch others who seem to be good at staying organized and try to do what they do. Take the initiative to follow the guidelines in this article and get organized.

Do make getting organized a priority. It is not easy, but it is definitely worth it. Most people are already so busy that they barely have time to eat during the day. Ironically, spending more time organizing and thinking about your day will save time in the end. And natural laws of entropy dictate that you are going to have to put in a little energy to bring order to your days. With so many other things demanding your attention, making your calendar a priority will mean it actually gets done, rather than just another unchecked item on your daily to-do list.

Do NOT give up. Getting organized is a habit, and like any other good habit it is going to take time to become a permanent part of your life. You may do great one week and completely lose it the next. Just regroup and recommit yourself each Monday morning to take your calendar by the reins and make the most of each day. We all have 24 hours each day to do all that is required of us - getting organized will determine in large part how much we are able to get done each day.

Nick Smith is a client account specialist with <a target="_new" href="http://www.10xmarketing.com">10x Marketing</a> - More Visitors. More Buyers. More Revenue. For organizational software that includes a <a target="_new" href="http://www.gobinder.com/blank-calendar.aspx">blank calendar</a>, check out <a target="_new" href="http://www.gobinder.com">GoBinder.com</a>.