Time Management Know It All

You've read the book, you've attended the workshop, you know the theory but you don't quite manage to put it in to practice.

It's not that you don't know what to do, it's just that for various reasons you don't do it.

You know you should plan, prioritise and organise your time in order to be more productive and effective but sometimes you can fall at the first hurdle.

Ironically, too many people are simply too busy to plan their day - they're always in reactive mode.

They think that just by getting on with the tasks in front of them or dealing with whatever's shouting loudest they'll get everything done.

They're too busy to stop for a few minutes and take a step back and think more strategically or even spend time prioritising.

Well, it can work this way but you'll end up stressed out, working late in to the evening and at weekends in order to get everything done or never quite getting to the end of your 'to-do' list.

Perhaps you've always done it in a particular way - either because you don't know any better or because it works, although it might not be the best way to do it.

Now's a good time to get off the treadmill, stick your head up above the parapet and step away from that ever increasing to-do list.  Re-focus and look at things through fresh eyes.

• Is this the best or only way?
• Could this be done differently?

Take the first step to put that knowledge into practice.

Need help?  Complete my Time Audit or book a Strategy Session.

Image via Wikipedia

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• October Newsletter: What's Your Time Management Style? (clareevans.blogspot.com)
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Ineffective Cold Calling

Cold-calling - two words that fill most people with dread - either making those calls or being on the receiving end of them.

Having just been on the receiving end of a yet another cold-call, one of the things that annoys me most is when having established that it is actually you on the line - they launch into their script with hardly a pause for breath and with no concept of whether you actually might be in the middle of something.

I always wait to see how long it takes them to pause and ask me a question.  Sometimes the question comes fairly quickly, at other times they don't wait, they just keep going based on the assumption that I'm going to want what they're selling.

If there's a hint of dis-interest they either change up a gear or switch to their "How To Handle Objections" script.

Now I'm no expert on cold-calling and could certainly learn from the experts but doesn't it make sense to at least ask a couple of pertinent questions before launching into your 'speel'?  Better still don't use a script but a few key bullet points for discussion.

I did compliment someone on their calling technique the other day - they were informal, friendly and

Better to end a call quickly and move on and stop wasting both yours and their time.

[If you register with the Telephone Preference Service you can eliminate most cold callers - doesn't work for overseas, businesses numbers or if you've 'opted-in'.]

Image via Wikipedia

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December Newsletter: Review Your Year, Ensure Your Success + Two Special Offers

"You've worked hard all year, so now's the time to enjoy a well-earned break and take some time to enjoy and celebrate your successes this year.

Whatever's happening for you - the end of one year and the start of the next is a great time to review your successes and challenges for the past year and there have certainly been a few for all of us.

With the recession still biting hard, governments and countries going into meltdown and powers beyond our control having an impact on all our lives, it can be hard to stay positive.

Set aside some time between now and the end of the year for an Annual Review and give yourself a pat on the back....."

Read the full article: 'Review Your Year, Ensure Your Success' in December's newsletter - here.

Register for the free monthly newsletter and get additional tips, information and resources to help grow your business and improve your work life balance direct to your inbox once a month - www.clareevans.co.uk.

12 Days of Productivity tips, resources and Special Offers

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Networking Tip #24 Quality or Quantity

There often seem to be two main debates on networking and your contact lists - the "Quality vs Quantity" debate and this applies to most of the main social media sites.

Some people purely play the numbers game and go for Quantity - regardless of the quality of the contacts and are unlikely to develop a relationship with many of those in their network.

Others are more interested in Quality and will nurture and develop a smaller number of contacts who they know at some level.

I'm more selective and tend to connect with people I know, develop relationships started offline or connect offline with those I know online (where practical).  Because of the introduction opportunity on LinkedIn it makes sense to at least be on speaking or nodding terms with those in your 1st level  so that you can make the most of your 2nd level connections.

It also takes time to manage and build your relationship which is going to take a whole lot longer if you have tens of thousands of people in your network, unless you're only interested in one-way, outward communication.

Which do you prefer and are you a Quantity or Quality networker?

Image via Wikipedia

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Creating An Inspirational Workplace

Image via CrunchBase

Google have refurbished their London offices to improve the working environment for their staff and they're on the right track.

Working environments are important to a productive and effective workplace, especially where creativity is required.  Most of us could benefit from a little fun and frivolity in our workplace, somewhere to chill-out during a busy working day.

Our brains can only concentrate for a certain period of time before our productivity starts to drop off and we all the know the feeling of trying desperately to remember where we left our keys, recall someone's name or solve a tricky problem - the more you concentrate on it, the less likely you are to come up with a solution.  Go and do something completely different and the answer pops in to your mind.

Give your brain and body a chance to switch off, relax, step up or down to a different energy level and your more likely to come up with your best ideas, have those moments of insight and boost your productivity levels.  Think of those 'Eureka' moments you have in the shower or

So, no it's not a waste of money and for a company like Google, it's important to keep their programming staff at their most creative, innovative and productive peak.

You might not be able to introduce exotic cappuccino machines, provide a music and games room and even build an in-door park for your employees but understand the importance of breaks and that we all need quiet times, changes in environment, avoid distractions and different levels of energy to be our most productive best.

How you do you maintain your own productivity in your working environment.

Related articles

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Train Your Team

It's all very well working on your own time management skills but if the rest of your team aren't good at managing their time, what can you do?

Firstly - if you're lucky, some of your good time habits may just rub off on them.  Especially when they see how much more productive you are.  While they're running around reacting to every event, you're remaining calm.  You leave work on time and you don't spend every evening playing catch-up.

Educate them and pass on your skills, so that you can stay in control of your time and don't let them start controlling you.

Each team member needs to respect each other's time and realise the impact their poor time habits has on everyone else around them.  Those urgent, last minute requests ...

Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.

... constant interruptions, distracting people from what they're working on (this can easily be wasting 1-2 hours or your precious time every day).

Boundaries are important - knowing when to say no to your colleagues and even your boss.  If you're being bombarded by constantly changing priorities, decide which really are important and which are your responsibility.  The more you understand this, the more they'll respect your time.

Lack of clarity and not setting expectations.  Remember - what, when, where and how.  If you're clear about what you want and what's needed it saves wasted time and misunderstanding.

Email etiquette is another good habit to get across to your team.  How many times have you played email ping pong with time-wasting and ineffective messages being passed round the department.

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Networking Tips #23 Build Your Confidence

When I first started out networking the thought of standing up and even delivering a brief 60-second intro filled me with dread.

I know others feel the same way and will avoid it at all costs but if you want to promote your business, you have to get out there and shout about it - or at least talk about it and that means having the confidence in what you do and how you say it.

Networking can be a great way to build your confidence.  It helps you to get used to being the centre of attention even for those brief few seconds and the more you do the less self-conscious you feel.  After all, everyone else is in the same boat and they're really not that different from you.

Practice makes perfect - you'll hone your intro, you'll be able to hold conversations with perfect strangers and who knows, you may even be able to stand up in front of a room full of those strangers and share your words of wisdom at some point in the future.

Related articles

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