Plan Your Day and Stick to Your Plan

How many times have you remarked to someone that there are not enough hours in the day? The sad truth is, not matter how much you wish it, it is unlikely that you can get more than 24 hours in each day. So, the trick to time management is really how you get the most out of the hours you have. One way to do that is to become an exceptional planner of your day. It is not very difficult ? just takes some basic knowledge and a lot of discipline. As a coach, I can help you with both, but the knowledge is what I'll cover right now.

Set aside time to plan

This is really the first step. You have to make planning a habit, and do the task religiously. I set aside an hour on Sunday mornings to plan my week. In order for me to make sure that the week goes according to plan, I have to have "a plan" to start with. In the beginning, it may take you longer than an hour, but once you've done the planning for a while, you'll get more efficient at it. You will also feel much more focused when you have identified what you want to accomplish for the week.

Schedule at least one week at a time

Some people only plan one day at a time, but I think that you need to be more forward looking than that. So, I suggest you focus on at least one week at a time, but also review what may be coming up in the next month while you are considering what to prioritize for the next week. The more proactive you are about your life, the less often you will find yourself having to react to unforeseen situations.

Identify your "big rocks" for your week

If you don't know what I mean, you have to read Stephen Covey. He made a masterful illustration using a bucket, some sand, and several rocks of various sizes. He explained that the sand represents all the busy work that we have to do, like answering the phone, reading email, filing away papers, etc. The rocks represent all the important things that we have to do, such as setting goals for the year, launching a new project, creating a vision for your team, etc. The bucket represents all the time we have for all the demands of our lives.

What happens with most of us is that we fill up our buckets with the sand first, and then we can only put a few rocks on top, and there's no more room for the rest. What he suggested is that we put all our rocks into the bucket first, and then fill in all the available spaces with the sand. And miraculously, everything fits in our container!

This is the philosophy you need to employ when you schedule your week. Identify all your big rocks, and block out the time to handle these first. Then worry about the sand afterwards. We have to make sure that we handle the important stuff first, and not let the busy work consume our days.

Think 24/7

I am not suggesting that you plan to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. But I am suggesting that you account for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in your schedule. If you neglect to consider Saturdays and Sundays because those are your "days off", you may find on Sunday night that you have not handled any of the household chores that you needed to get done. Or if you are planning on having a dinner party on Saturday night next week, you had better block off some time Friday or Saturday to straighten out the house, or go to the market.

Plan personal and play time

Don't think that a schedule is only for work, this is a plan for your life. So, make sure that you block off time for exercise, or "date night" with your spouse, or cheerleader time for your kids' games in your schedule. Remember that the goal is to have time to handle everything that's important to us, not just things that are important concerning work. If you want Friday to be a mental health day, block that off. You don't need to put in any more details than that. But you know that if you don't plan for it, it won't happen.

Leave some contingency time in your schedule

You know better than to expect that your days all go exactly as planned. Just when you are about to really focus on that important analysis you needed to do, your boss calls you into a meeting where your expertise is desperately needed, and your schedule is shot. So, don't cram every hour of your day with activities. Leave some contingency time for you to catch up when the unexpected happens.

Discipline, discipline, discipline

Once you have your days scheduled, you need to exercise discipline and stick to what you planned. Do everything you can to eliminate distractions and really focus on what you have to do. You will be amazed how much more productive you can be. So, close that email program, turn the phone ringer off and let voicemail handle the calls, close your office door for an hour of so. Then when it is time for you to handle email, and phone calls, and drop-in visitors, give all your focus to those activities then.

? 2004 Inez O. Ng

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Do you need some structure and accountability to propel you forward? Personal Coach Inez Ng has worked with professionals and entrepreneurs to transform their aspirations into reality. While focusing on specific areas, her coaching positively impacts all areas of her clients' lives. Learn more about coaching with Inez at <a target="_new" href="http://www.RealizationsUnltd.com">http://www.RealizationsUnltd.com</a>

Giving Up the Cape

&quot;I find it interesting that the very cape I tried to use to fly, became so heavy it kept me grounded.&quot; --Brook Noel

One day I was racing around town, errand to errand, mission to mission. When I stopped at my house to grab a few papers, the phone rang. It was a dear friend, so I carved out ten minutes to tell him about the hectic pace I had been leading for the past twenty-four hours.

The night before there had been a full-Wisconsin blizzard and I had gone out to shake the snow off my old rosebush so the branches wouldn't crack under the weight. While doing this, I heard a crackling sound. Looking up, I saw several sparks shooting out from a neighbor's tree. A wire, weighted down with snow, was blowing against a fork in the old oak. Realizing this was probably a fire hazard I called the fire department. The fire department asked me to call the electric company. I did. The woman on the other end said there were emergencies left and right due to the storm.

&quot;But what about my flaming tree?&quot; I asked.

&quot;Well, we can't get to it until we fix the power outages. Would you mind just keeping an eye on it?&quot;

&quot;I guess not,&quot; I replied before hanging up the phone.

So I made a makeshift bed near the window using a few sofa pillows and set up my &quot;tree stakeout.&quot; While I'm watching this thirty-foot tree crackle and spark, I realize if the tree were to crash down, it would go through our roof. Realizing this could be a disaster, I rushed upstairs to rescue my husband and daughter who were both sleeping soundly.

I shoved him, pushed him, and finally awoke him from his slumber to tell him the tale of the sparking-tree. My husband stared at me through his one half-opened eye. It's obvious he doesn't want to move downstairs and is more concerned with his sleep than his safety. Fortunately, after a little prodding, I persuaded him to join me in my tree-stakeout. I then rescued Samantha from her crib; she was about eight-months old at the time.

We took our perch and Andy made a longer makeshift bed for him to sleep on. Determined not to lose sight of the tree, I tried to stay awake. Despite my best citizen-watch attempt, I fell asleep. Samantha did too, tucked securely between my husband and me.

I awoke around two that morning. I glanced out the window. The tree was still there. Andy was still there. Samantha, however, was not. I shook Andy's shoulder. &quot;Where's Sammy?&quot;

&quot;I'm not sure,&quot; he replied, shaking himself awake.

So we began our search. Samantha had just begun the rolling phase and had rolled through three rooms and was on her way, full speed, to the kitchen. Nestling her in my arms, I resumed my place in our living-room-camp.

Samantha woke up two very short hours later with a scream like that of an elephant seal. Knowing this was probably one of her chronic ear infections, I bounced into action with my cooing and cuddling routine. I began to count the hours until the clinic would open. There were four hours between the clinic, and an antibiotic, and me.

After a sleepless, scream-filled, four hours had passed, and a quick shoveling of the snow to get the car out, I ran Samantha to the clinic. There, my suspicion of an ear infection was confirmed. Then it was off to the pharmacy. Then it was back to the house. That morning a call had come from the forestry service. They would be coming out to take a look at the tree and wanted to make sure I was home.

Then it was off to my computer desk where I balanced Samantha on one leg while finishing an advertising campaign with my one free hand. Of course, the campaign was due at the photographer's that day. To deliver the campaign, I would have to drive 45 miles in a blizzard with a sick child, around the schedule of the forestry service.

In my rush to meet deadline, I forgot the ad as I hurried out of the house. So I had to-double back. As I pulled it off my desk, the phone rang. It was a dear friend asking how my day had gone. I informed him of my adventures with the tree, the forestry service, the clinic, and the campaign.

&quot;It's always something,&quot; he said in a soft voice. Though I couldn't see him, I knew he was smiling.

&quot;What do you mean?&quot; I had asked.

&quot;Last week when I called it was training your cat, starting a new book, and accepting a new campaign. The week before that it was making homemade edible clay with Sammy, giving painting lessons, and starting a novel while re-wallpapering the kitchen. Why are you doing so much?&quot;

&quot;Well,&quot; I paused. &quot;I?um?&quot;

&quot;Yes?&quot;

&quot;I don't do that much,&quot; I said meekly.

&quot;You're going to go with that?&quot; he questioned again. I remained silent. Then my dear friend said four words that were a gift: &quot;Give up the cape.&quot;

Shortly after that day, I began to-do just that. Instead of trying to accomplish everything and please everyone, I began to focus on what was important to me and my family. I began to accept that there will never be enough time to-do everything so we must do what is important. We must decide and take action on what matters.

Since I've discarded that cape, I've been much less restricted. I find it interesting that the very cape I tried to use to fly, became so heavy it kept me grounded. Instead of living up to the &quot;shoulds&quot; and &quot;woulds&quot; that bound my life, I live by the desire to create harmony within my family. It's a great cape to outgrow.

Participating in soccer, cleaning, cooking, sewing, working, party-organizing, PTA, and church choir doesn't make a person better than one who might only do three activities. Society has taught us that the more you have and the more you do, the more successful and fulfilled you will become. The odds are, in fact, that the person engaged in frequent activities is more likely to become haggard, frustrated, or burnt-out.

I think this is definitely an area where turning back to basics would do us good. Today, when making any decision, contemplate the thought that &quot;less is more.&quot;

Your Assignment

In what ways have you been trying to-do more than is realistically possible while still staying sane? Begin shedding the super-parent cape by stripping back unrealistic expectations. Try listing out all your responsibilities and expectations. Then imagine this list was not your own, but that of a dear friend. What advice would you give her for leading a more balanced life?

Brook Noel is the author of The Change Your Life Challenge: A 70 Day Life Makeover Program for Women. Her unique program has helped thousands of women "makeover" all aspects of their lives. Learn more at <a target="_new" href="http://www.changeyourlifechallenge.com">http://www.changeyourlifechallenge.com</a>

Emergency Living

There are times, when I am driving in my car being passed by so many other cars speeding along, that I could swear there is an emergency somewhere and I wasn't invited. It seems everyone is in a hurry to get somewhere. The other day I was sitting at a red light, the light turned green and the car in front of me sped away. At the next traffic light the same car was sitting in front of me and, when the light turned green, off the car sped. This went on for three lights. I must say that I was rather amused that this speed demon only seemed to be speeding to a red light, and wasn't getting any further along than I was. In life, this same phenomenon can happen. Going faster doesn't mean we will get where we are going any sooner. We just burn more energy, or gas if we are in the car, than we would if we went at a much safer speed.

I am reminded of Stephen Covey's quadrants. Tasks are classified as important, but not urgent or important and urgent. Most things don't fall into the important and urgent quadrant. In fact, few things do, but many of us operate out of that quadrant. We treat everything like it is an emergency, and we rush around putting out fires that don't exist. The problem with treating everything like an emergency is, when we really have one, we might not recognize it or we will be so burned out that we won't be able to deal with it properly.

If you are not sure whether you are emergency living here is a list of signs:

- You are consistently five to ten minutes late

- Clutter has become a way of life

- You are either in "hurry up" or "catch up" mode

- You consistently forget things and misplace things

- You ran out of patience a long time ago

- You take pride in how much you can do

- You consider multi-tasking an art form

- You promise yourself that, when life slows down, you will take time to do the things you always wanted to do

- You make promises you don't keep

There is a great line from a song, "I'm in a hurry to get things done. I rush and rush until life's no fun." Emergency living causes us to rush right through life. We don't notice what is happening around us and, when we get to where we are rushing to, we simply hurry through so we can get to the next emergency. Slow down! You will get to where you are going soon enough. Like the person in the car rushing to each red light, they got nowhere fast.

If you speed through life treating it as an emergency, stop. Let's face it. The end will get here soon enough. Do you really want to get there any sooner than you have to? Slow down and smell the coffee, smell the roses; just smell. Rushing is no guarantee that you will get to your destination any sooner, but it is a guarantee that you will miss the most important part, the journey.

Coach Rachelle Disbennett-Lee, PhD, is a Certified Master Coach specializing in working with business owners and professionals in being more profitable and productive while staying sane and balanced. Coach Lee is the publisher of the award winning e-zine, 365 Days of Coaching. Her first book, 365 Days of Coaching ? Because Life Happens Every Day (Universal Publisher, 2004) was named a finalist for Best Book 2004 by Publish.com and has a five star rating on Amazon.com. Visit Coach Lee at her websites <a target="_new" href="http://www.coachlee.com">http://www.coachlee.com</a> and <a target="_new" href="http://www.365daysofcoaching.com">http://www.365daysofcoaching.com.</a> True Direction, Inc. Copyright > > > This article along with byline attached may be freely republished < <

Todays Overload: Tommorrow

Whatever providence has in store for us tomorrow is not meant for us until tomorrow. It is foolish to burden ourselves today with cares and concerns that belong to another day. Today's challenges are sufficient for today and it behooves us to refrain from creating problems for tomorrow and then adding our creations to those of today.

Understand, I am not recommending that we should not use practical foresight or thoughtful future planning. Reckless prescience has its own inherent difficulties. But what I am suggesting is that we could alleviate much of the stress and strain and illness we bring upon ourselves by not worrying or fretting about tomorrow. Doing so, not only debilitates, but it steals the wealth of delight reserved for you in your today. You overload your today with anticipatory thoughts of things to happen tomorrow that is not intended for your attention today.

We do not know what tomorrow's issues will be, but whatever they are, tomorrow is the time to deal with them. Today has its own built-in support. God promises us daily strength for daily responsibilities. He provides daily grace for daily needs. Do not cross the street before you get to the curb. God knew what He was doing when He created the day and night division for our lives. Our responsibility is only for today.

You did not wake up this morning in your tomorrow; you woke up in the actuality of your today. We cannot live tomorrow today because tomorrow does not yet exist unless we create it in our minds. And, if we choose to create troubles we expect tomorrow in our minds, we threaten our well-being and virtually assassinate today's blessings. Why pay on tomorrow's account before it's due? When tomorrow comes, we may discover that whatever was owed has already been paid.

Would it not be prudent to just put your trust in the One who holds tomorrow?

I Need Not Trouble For the Morrow

I need not trouble for the morrow,
For I am in my Father's care;
He will go with me as I journey,
For all my need He will prepare.

I need not either thirst or hunger;
His grace will never be denied;
He leads me to the living waters;
His daily manna is supplied.

I need not an abiding city,
For &quot;I can tarry but a night&quot;;
My heart, my treasure, are in Heaven,
My raiment is a robe of white.

O may my faith increase before Him,
My service here His blessing gain;
Let me seek first my Father's kingdom,
For all beside must be in vain!

I know that He provides the lilies,
His eye each falling sparrow sees;
And so my soul will fear no evil,
For I am more to Him than these.
- Ina Mae Duley Ogdon

Rev. Saundra L. Washington, D.D., is an ordained clergywoman, social worker, and Founder of AMEN Ministries. <a target="_new" href="http://www.clergyservices4u.org">http://www.clergyservices4u.org</a>. She is also the author of two coffee table books: Room Beneath the Snow: Poems that Preach and Negative Disturbances: Homilies that Teach. Her new book, Out of Deep Waters: A Grief Healing Workbook, will be available soon.

Work at Home Moms: Time Management Tips

"How do you DO it?!" If I had a dime for every time I heard that, I would be able to quit my home business.

Just kidding.

Seriously, time management is a serious issue for work from home Moms. You want your home business to be a success, but you don't want the rest of your responsibilities to fall by the wayside...especially your children, who are the reason you chose to work from home in the first place.

While you're probably already doing some of the obvious things like taking advantage of naptimes and bedtime, I hope you find some additional ideas from the following time management tips to make things easier for you while working from home and caring for young children.

Time Management for your Home Business

Have a clear purpose when you go online

Whenever you go to your computer, have a definite purpose in mind. It helps to keep a notebook by your computer always with your goals and to-do lists in it, all in once place. This helps prevent you from aimlessly checking email or surfing the net and getting lost. Know what you need to accomplish, write it down, do it, and move on to the next activity.

Outsource as many tasks as you can afford Consider hiring a virtual assistant if you have a lot of administrative tasks. Or pay your kids to do things for you that are age appropriate. This can even be a tax deductible expense. Check with your accountant.

Analyze your activities

Think about the steps you engage yourself in with your business and see if those tasks are really paying off for you. A lot of work at home Moms do things like join safelists, traffic exchanges and other activities that most internet marketing experts agree are not the best use of your time. Ask people who are where you want to be in your business how they manage their time. Just because something is free doesn't mean you should be spending time doing it.

The best $20 you can spend on your business

That may be the money you spend hiring a Mommy's helper to come over and play with your children for several hours. It's amazing what you can get done during that time. Plus, your kids usually get worn out from all the fun and take longer naps. Everybody wins!

Think Assembly Line

In other words, group similar activities together. Don't check your email all day, check it two or 3 times a day (at most) and answer all the emails at the same time. When you want to make changes to your website, list them all and wait until you need to make several changes at once. When one child asks for a story gather them all around. Same thing for snacks. Run all your errands at once.

Utilize Technology

Get wireless internet and a laptop if at all possible. This can make a drastic improvement in your ability to work online around your children. You can sit on the front porch and work on your website while your kids play in the yard. Or you can drop them off at a friend's house and head to Starbucks and get online!

Use autoresponders, mailing lists and other resources to automate your business. If you find yourself typing out answers to the same questions over and over again, add pages to your website or create an ecourse or downloadable report that addresses those topics and refer your customers or downline or whomever to those.

Household time management

Simplify meal preparation and shopping

That doesn't mean you spend a lot of extra money on convenience foods that aren't good for you. But do make simple meals that even your children can help you prepare. Use your crock pot. Collect recipes that require few ingredients and no elaborate preparation.

Have a good routine for making menus and shopping. In the long run, extra trips to the store for that missing ingredient is costing you time and money. Most families eat the same 10 or so favorite dishes over and over. Enlist the help of your family to figure out what those favorites are, print up the ingredients into a shopping list, and take that to the store. Have the list posted on the fridge to mark things off as they're used up.

Get your kids to help out around the house more. Here are more work from home Mom house cleaning tips

General Mom time management tips

Identify time wasters in your day

It's a different thing for everyone. Maybe it's the TV, maybe it's friends calling to chat in the middle of the day. Maybe it's activities that seem necessary but that really aren't productive, like posting a lot in message forums. Whatever it is, identify it and eliminate it if possible, or at least manage it. Use your voicemail, and call people back when it's a better time for you. Figure out if watching Oprah or the Apprentice is really adding value to your life or just wasting your time.

Make a timer your best friend

A timer has so many uses. You can set it to tell your child when you'll be available for them. Young children have difficulty comprehending time, and the timer will set them at ease so they won't bug for you that entire period.

It also keeps you on track and helps you finish up tasks more quickly. Use it when you're reading email, cleaning house, whenever you want to accomplish something fast.

Have a Routine

Having a routine for your household chores and business activities can really help Moms with time management. When you have a good routine, you can do things without thinking, and they always take up less time that way. Keep your routines written down until they're memorized. Use an organizing calender or digital system...whatever works best for you. Make sure everyone else in your household knows the basics of your routine so that things flow more smoothly.

Set limits

No one person can do everything. Your time and energy is valuable and you need to be firm in setting limits on how you spend it. Don't commit to things that you can't reasonably accomplish. Get enough rest. Learn to say No. Avoid negative people who like to whine.

As Moms we're constantly working on time management, but with creativity and good routines, we can have a thriving business and a balanced life.

Carrie Lauth publishes a free "no fluff" newsletter for work from home Moms. Get your free copy plus subscriber goodies at <a target="_new" href="http://www.business-moms-expo.com/newsletter.html">http://www.business-moms-expo.com/newsletter.html</a>

21 Questions To Assess Your Readiness For Time Management

How many of us are guilty of &quot;Putting the cart before the horse?&quot;

Much is written on HOW to manage your time (the load in the cart) while little mentions the first step (the horse that pulls the load) of time management, asking WHY before we do the HOW.

Millions of people have read Napoleon Hill's, &quot;Think and Grow Rich.&quot; Why have most of these readers failed to grow rich? Could the answer be the same for those who study how to manage time yet, remain poor managers of time? These WHY-questions help you check your readiness to pull the cart. Who better to ask? You know the answers better than anyone!

Attitude and determination are the horses that pull the load of time management tips toward success.

Look in the mirror as you ask yourself these questions.

Desire

1. Why do I feel I am not using my time properly?

2. Do I really need to improve my time management?

3. Why do the many tips about time management never seem to improve my time managing skills?

Support system

4. Do I fear being disliked if I restrict my time with others?

5. Who are my best supporters?

6. Have I asked the opinion of others about any change in my time management style?

7. Am I blaming others (boss, employees, spouse, children) for my lack of change?

Readiness

8. Am I afraid of changing my character and personality?

9. Am I afraid of missing wasteful activities I enjoy doing?

10. Am I ready for changing my slothful habits?

11. Am I content in not caring too much about time?

12. What do I know about behavior modification methods?

13. Have all my attempts at behavior modification failed?

To Thine Own Self Be True - Shakespeare

14. Am I afraid of the truth about my existing time usage?

15. Am I willing to accept the truth of time log analysis?

16. Am I looking for an easy quick fix?

17. Can I face the disappointment of setbacks or will I quit when I can't be perfect after only a few attempts?

Commitment

18. Have I had any change successes to build upon?

19. Can I visualize the benefits of being a better manager of time?

20. Can I taste the need for change so strongly that I will dedicate myself for changing?

21. Today is the first day of the rest of my life ? what time today will I start?

If your answers to WHY indicate you are not ready to change your time managing style, you can save time by not reading the HOW stuff.

About The Author

Gerry McRae has taught time management techniques in his university courses and at several police colleges. If you're ready for the HOW stuff visit his website at <a href="http://www.UncleMaxSays.com" target="_new">www.UncleMaxSays.com</a>.

Creative Leadership; Inspirational Power ( Part 2 )

Time management is absolute crucial nowadays where business decisions have to be taken often at the speed of light, leaders have to find spare time to prioritize their actions.

Time is the scarcest of all resources. Leadership should be about developing the ability to inspire people to reach high levels of performance and success. Being able to dream a vision and having the passion to communicate that vision by concentrating the attention at key strategies.

Listening, coaching, and mentoring being an inspiration for others while managing the change culture of your organization. These are the skills and competencies that leaders clearly need to focus on. To achieve this you have to free up time, which, actually seems to be a paradigm in current days. So how can we best cope with this situation?

Managers rarely have time to spot opportunities. Their daily work routine prevents them from taking the first necessary step towards being a Strategic Leader. Developing the capacity to craft an idea and transforming it into reality. First of all you have to believe that you are not unbearable. So why don't you try and delegate more.

Most cases of, what seems to be, excessive workload are originated, because most managers are not able to influence the flow of their daily demands. It is a question of reacting instead of acting. Managers that take demands for granted and simply respond to them, rarely challenge themselves about the meaning these demands actually have, and if they really make sense or whether one could or should transform them. By being always "under fire," people never find time to ask themselves the vital Leadership question: "Am I busy performing the right actions?" We really need to frequently challenge ourselves about the usefulness for the business of some tasks we are performing. And how can we best monitor the level of importance for the organization that a specific request has? Well, here are 6 Questions that helped me to prioritize projects throughout my working carer. The answering of these questions helped me evaluating the degree of priority for a specific demand or project.

- "What economic benefit will this action bring for the company? - "Is this action aligned with the company's Vision and mission statement?" - &quot;does it fit in the global strategy the company or department is perusing?&quot; - "How will it satisfy stakeholders?" How important is it to your boss, your team, and other interested parties? - "What is my level of passion, skills, and energy for it - "Do we have the resources?" Are there sufficient time, money, and any other necessary resources to accomplish this goal? If you can't bring all six to the table, than probably, you're not going to achieve a high return on your efforts.

That should be one of the criteria that identify a leader, the ability to question routines. The simple fact is that being busy is easier than not. A higher level of adrenaline gives us the perception that we are fully occupied and busy as time is passing by. It is basically a question of being entertained, and most people, we have to admit it, feel more comfortable not having to think about the usefulness of some tasks. Answering to each new demand, providing an answer to the latest request, and complaining about excessive workload is easier than setting priorities, or reflecting about their relevance for the organization. It makes us occupied and people like that status, being the centre of attention, where people constantly ask them for assistance, information, or advice. If the pack is moving in one direction Strategic Leaders need to stop and ask themselves: Why are they (we) doing this?

Strategic leaders deal in different manners with requests and demands than their busy manager colleagues do. They need time to think and reflect. They look cool and relaxed giving the impression of being fully in control of the situation. Rather than simply responding to any issue that gets thrown at them, they handle their demands by:

-Designing a road map of how and when they want to achieve what in their jobs:

1.). For example, rather than keeping general goals in mind such as "sales increase " or "excellent after sales service," , that are no better than wishful thinking , they try to paint a general picture of how this objectives can be achieved, a vivid mental representation of your objectives that includes ways to achieve them. While reacting to demands can be distracting, the kind of personal road map that one needs to create should produce an up- side down effect: It allows us to align short term actions with the long term strategy, so that we can immediately point out our short term priorities and relate them with OUR vision and longer term planning. Such an approach is much more motivational and should produce better results as simply responding and reacting to demands and requests. 2.) Strategic Leadership means that you take a closer look at what you choose to do or not do. That way, you create space for actions that are vital for the organization rather than executing tasks you like or find most familiar or easy. It is important that you leave your comfort zone and try to get used to more unfamiliar tasks. It is therefore important that you as a Strategic leader develop your change management skills and competencies. Set priorities among your tasks, aligning your activities with your Personal Road Map.

3.) Practicing Time management also means monitoring the daily time we spent interacting with others. Reacting blindly and instantly to any demands that pops in is extremely time consuming and even exhausting as this means long lasting face to face discussions, telephone calls , etc. This is one of the main reasons why people complain about the multiple interruptions they face during a regular working day. Management is mostly about Team work, which means that a Strategic Leader must learn when, how and for how long one is available to spent time with his direct reports. We often spend more time then really needed with our direct reports, often because we want others to consider us a caring good boss by being always available. It is important that you provide them the feeling that you are there TO HELP THEM, ADVISE THEM, TO HEAR THEIR NEEDS AND SHARE THEIR CONCERNS, but this should not be at any time, any place and any time. Try to explain them that they have certain hours where Your door should be open for them , or if this is physically not possible due to space constraints ( Open space offices ), then try to get some reserved , restricted time for You to reflect and analyze.

4.) There are managers out there that constantly worry whether they are meeting others' expectations. They want to come under a good light at the group picture.

By trying to please everybody, these managers tend to get absorbed in speculations about what others expect, about the best way to meet those expectations, and the impact of not meeting them. The end result is that these managers fail, because in the quest of trying to please everybody they usually end up pleasing no one and ultimately do not find free time for following their one agenda. Strategic Leaders are aware that they can not meet every-ones expectations; instead they focus on their key stakeholders because these managers have the sensibility to know the influence these stakeholders have. Giving a strong and honest commitment to these key people implies having to say no to most of the less relevant ones. The biggest advantage of this strategy is that by focusing on these strategic stakeholders you can actively shape your actions according to the demands of these persons, and ideally will be to combine this strategy with being proactive. The attack is the best defence, action is better than reaction; Strategic Leaders present their own visions, projects and objectives before their Key Stakeholders come across and present their demands. This is a form of tailoring to your personal goals others expectations. Rather than arbitrarily building a relationship network with many individuals, Strategic Leaders, opposed to what most managers do, deliberately focus their time and effort on building strong and close ties with people who can influence the achievement of their objectives. This is a long term strategy that is based on the build up of solid long term relationships, and Strategic Leaders spend a lot of time developing their personal networks, not without a huge portion of true warmth, respect, and, even some friendship.

Henrique Pl?ger Abreu has a Master Degree in Business Administration. He has more than 20 Years of working Experience in Sales and Marketing as a B2B Consultant and Public Speaker. He is the President of the L.T.C. a non profit Organization.