Time Management and Productivity Blog: time tips

Showing posts with label time tips. Show all posts

BLAB: Talking Time with Steven Healey

My recent Blab Interview with Steven Healey - talking time.

The Importance of Taking Breaks

When you're too busy to stop, you often end up working right through the day without taking a proper break.

While I spend most of my time enabling people to get more done in their busy day, I also emphasise the importance of taking regular breaks.

You might think you're too busy to take a break, after all there's so much to be done, if you can squeeze another task in to that 5, 10, 30 minutes - it's another thing ticked off the list.

Actually taking a break can increase your productivity. Your efficiency drops the longer you work on a task. You lose focus and are more easily distracted. Especially if it's not something that absolutely grabs your undivided attention.

Take a break at least once an hour for a few minutes and then a longer break every 2-3 hours or so. Ideally a break every 20-25 minutes is better.

Make sure you take that lunch break. Skipping lunch or eating at your desk does you no good - physically or mentally.

With more frequent breaks - not only will you be more productive when you get back to work but it's good to switch off mentally every now and then.

It's when you take a break or go and do something different that your sub-conscious often pops up with a solution to a problem or a great new idea ... you know those Eureka moments.

The longer you work, the more tired you become and the less productive you are, so it's wasted effort. Better to stop before you get over-tired, take a decent break and come back refreshed.

So go on, take a break - you need it and you deserve it.

If you find it hard to take breaks - get in touch. It's easier than you think.

work caffeine (Photo credit: #9)

You don't have to answer it

How often do you call someone on the phone whether on their landline or more often their mobile and having answered it, they then say they can't talk ... they're busy ... with someone ... in the middle of something?

I hear it quite often.

If that's the case, you don't have to answer the phone - especially if you're in a meeting or with someone.

Good meeting etiquette and showing respect to the person/people you're with is that you prioritise them over anything else - especially interruptions from a phone call.

Is the interruption more important that the person you're with or the task you're working on? If it is - fine, go ahead and answer it but let them know. If not, let it go through to voicemail and call them back when it's more convenient and you're free to talk.

If you're expecting an urgent call - say so. Otherwise, remember to switch your phone off or put it on silent when you're with someone.

(Photo credit: plenty.r.)

Snowed under?

Do you find yourself snowed under by all you have to do?

Whether it's the amount of email that arrives in your Inbox every day or the paperwork you have to deal with or the shear amount of work that you have to get through that leaves you working late in the office.

Write it all down. This is the scary part - working out just how much you have to do. Once you've got it down on paper you can start making sense of it all. Grab an A4 sheet and write it all down as you think of it - or create a mindmap of it all.

What's important? Not everything has equal importance and it's highly likely that you spend most of your day avoiding the important but managing to find time for the small, menial, unimportant tasks. Take a look at your list and highlight the important versus the relatively unimportant. How does each of your tasks relate to your business plan or objectives? Can you group similar tasks together and do them at the same time?

Get organised. When you've got a lot going on it helps to be organised, so you know what's where, what needs to be done and you can find things when you need them. Having written down your list, create a system, process and routine that will help you get things done.

What do you need to enable you to be more organised?
- daily planning
- have a routine
- create a structure
- organise your filing system
- put things away
- get up earlier
- go to bed earlier
- plan ahead
- delegate better

Step back. Sometimes when you're so caught up with everything you've got to do - you actually need to take a break from it all and get some perspective. Perhaps things won't look quite as bad when you put some space between you and them. It helps to do something completely different - switch off for a while and then go back to it.

Get help. You don't have to do everything all on your own - if you've got too much to do, what can you hand over to someone else to do for you? The chances are that much of your work isn't essential and you're not the only person that can do it.
- clearing email
- booking meetings
- making travel arrangements
- updating your accounts
- taking phone calls
- sending out invoices and reminders

It's important to know where you're starting from, so you can get back in control sooner rather than later. Take the Time Audit today and see where you need to focus first - just enter your details on the Time Audit form. Return your completed audit for free email feedback, tips and ideas.

Yield Sign (Photo credit: Rennett Stowe)

How to get back on track after a break

You've been away for a few days, either on holiday or travelling and it's your first day back in the office.

It can take a while to settle back into your normal working routine, especially if it's been a shortened working week - it's easy to lose track of what day it is.

Here are a few tips to get you back on track:

Don't overload your first day back at work. Give yourself time to get back up to speed.

Avoid booking meetings on your first day so you have clear time for planning and catch-up.

Resist the temptation to just get on with the first thing that comes up. If you've been away travelling there will be added demands on your time and people wanting to catch-up.

Book short review meetings with direct reports to get you and your team back up to speed.

Take time to plan your day and the rest of the week. List out what you need to do - what's important for today. Prioritise the tasks and add them to your schedule.

Review your daily schedule - what meetings do you have booked in for this week. Set reminders ahead of time - you're less likely to miss appointments if you get a reminder in plenty of time or you review your schedule regularly.

Work in short bursts to clear an email or paper backlog. Don't get drawn into the detail - just quickly go through your Inbox or pile of paperwork and sort and prioritise it first before you deal with it.

Use a timer or app like FocusBooster to keep you on track.

overload (Photo credit: rent-a-moose)

What are you putting off?

If you have a tendency to put things off or leave things to the last minute, don't worry - you're not alone.

We all do it and for various reasons. Understand what those reasons are and you're more likely to be able to come up with a solution. Dig down to understand what you're resisting or what's causing you to put off a particular task and it can become much easier to tackle.

Sometimes it's a result of getting in our own way and surprisingly it can even be our sense of perfectionism that stops us moving forward. Wanting to get it right first time or not wanting to make a mistake.

If you have clear goals and your focused on what you need to do you're less likely to procrastinate!

Here are a few ideas to keep you on track:

Each month's newsletter gives you tips, information and resources to help grow your business and improve your work life balance - direct to your inbox.

You can get the latest issue and your Free Report - "7 Essential Time Tips" by entering your details in the box on the right.

How to keep a meeting to time.

How often have you experienced this situation? You've arranged a meeting for an hour and then the meeting somehow manages to run on for another half hour or sometimes longer.

You don't want to be rude or call a halt at a critical point, so what's the best way to handle it?

Set the duration up front. Make it clear that the meeting will only last a set amount of time.
Have an agenda and stick to it. Get it back on track if you start to get diverted.
If the person turns up late - the end time doesn't have to change to accommodate their lateness!
If you have another commitment that follows on from your meeting, mention this at the start of the meeting or when you schedule it.
If it's clear the meeting is going to run over - agree to either cover the important points so that you can still finish on time or set another meeting if it's justified.
Ten minutes before the meeting is due to end, begin to summarise and clarify any agreed actions. (Set an audible reminder or an alarm if it helps).
Allow the right amount of time to start with. If you set an hour but always run over - make it 90 minutes or two hours next time.

Get into the habit of scheduling your meetings with a little extra time either side. If a meeting does overrun then you won't be rushing to the next one.

Make your meetings a more productive use of your time rather than a source of frustration and wasted time.

Short Meeting (Photo credit: Accretion Disc)

How to manage those last minute deadlines

Do you sometimes feel that your time management would be great – if only it wasn’t for everyone else?

You’re working on improving your own productivity, you’ve changed some of your own bad habits but other people around you are still making demands on your time and it’s not helping.

They still come up with the last minute demands, they’re still piling on the pressure and the workload.

So how can you manage other people’s lack of planning and organisation when you’re now managing your time better?

Be clear about your boundaries – don't allow people to call you when you're not working or expect you to instantly respond to emails. How often do you get called late at night or at weekends when either there's not a lot you can do or you feel compelled to fix the problem or respond to their needs?

Know when to say no - if you keep saying 'yes', they'll keep doing what they're doing. However, if you say 'no' and explain your reasons you may be able to stop some of those last minute demands. Yes, you want to be responsive and offer great service to your clients but you need to draw the line somewhere.

Manage their expectations - get clear from the beginning about what your working hours are, when you're available, lead times, the consequences of last minute deadlines. Charge a premium for out of hours work or last minute rushes - especially if they're persistent offenders.

An emergency on their part doesn't necessarily constitute an emergency on your part!

Helping your clients and colleagues to work better will help you too. You could always suggest they get in touch with me.

For more ideas on tackling productivity issues in your business - drop me an email.

Photo credit: Clock by deux-chi, on Flickr

Get to your meetings on time

Are you one of those people who always arrives late or only just in time for your meetings?

Here are some tips to give you a better chance of getting there on time and arriving more composed.

Start with the end in mind - aim to arrive early then work backwards from when you need to be there. The longer or more complex the journey, the more time you should allow. 5-10 minutes of travel time for every hour is a good rule of thumb.

Know where you're going - sounds obvious but all too often people rely on their SatNavs without actually looking at where they're going and then end up in the wrong place. Google Streetview can give you a kerbside view of where you're going. Very useful for a visual check of buildings, street layout and landscape.

Leave 5-10 minutes before you need to - not only does it always take a few minutes to get your things together before you actually set off but there's always one more thing you decide to squeeze in to those few minutes before you leave.

Allow for traffic - journeys can take longer than expected in peak rush hour time. Also, allow for getting to and from your final destination - the walk from the car park, bus stop, tube or train station.

Better to arrive early - calm and collected with the chance to catch up on a few things than to arrive late.

Apply the same principles even if you don't have far to go or the meeting is on the same floor - inevitably it's usually the people who live or work closest who arrive late.

Late for the train (Photo credit: t3mujin)

Back to school - time saving skills

We spend so much time at our keyboards, reading and capturing information that if you can find a way to reduce that time, not only will you work more efficiently but you'll be able to get more done and spend that time on other things.

Computer skills - Most of us know how to use word-processing and spreadsheet applications but how much do you take for granted. ...

Touch typing ...

Speed reading ...

Mindmaps ...

Read the full article: 'Back to school - time saving skills' in this September's newsletter - here.

Each month's newsletter gives you tips, information and resources to help grow your business and improve your work life balance - direct to your inbox.

You can get the latest issue and a Free Report - "7 Essential Time Tips" by entering your details in the box on the right.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Your diary and scheduler - paper or electronic?

Ballpoint pen writing. Streaks of ink are visi...

It's really a case of finding what works for you and there's nothing old school about using a paper based planner. Using pen and paper can be the best tool, as I find it engages the brain more effectively than just using a screen and keyboard.

Having a bit of techie background - I'm all for having an electronic planner that you can effortlessly sync your phone, laptop, tablet etc. In theory great but when it doesn't work - not so great.

However, I use both. My phone syncs with my computer but I also use a paper diary - I resorted to this when I had problems with my phone not syncing to my computer. I prefer to write things down and the more tactile nature of a pen on paper. Not only is it a lot quicker writing down an appointment than scrolling through the options on a phone but I also use my paper diary for my action list and notes.

Yes you need to keep them both up to date but it only takes a few minutes each week and you can make it part of your daily planning time.

What's your preference?

Procrastination: epic time-wasting

Came across this article recently:

Procrastination: Readers' tales of epic time-wasting

I'm sure we can all come up with instances of 'epic-time wasting' and those embarrassing moments we'd rather forget due to our own mis-management of time.

It's certainly a challenge that many of us have faced at one point or another and it's a challenge that many people are struggling with. The topic of procrastination has certainly formed the basis for many newsletter articles.

You're not alone - once you understand the reasons you procrastinate, the impact it has and what you can do about it, you can start making better sense of your priorities and make better choices with your time.

How big a problem is procrastination in your life? Find out with a Time Audit.

(Photo credit: Reynante Martinez)

Book Review: Getting Things Done

If you've got a logical analytical mind then this is the book for you. David Allen offers a system to help you get back in control and improve your productivity.

Many people swear by the system introduced in the book it's spawned a whole series of apps and add-ons for devoted GTD'ers to implement in to their lives. There are some good basic principles in here that will certainly make your life easier and give you a structure to work with.

Some people just can't get to grips with it and find themselves falling by the wayside as they follow it's very step-by-step method. It's not ideal for those who struggle with checklists and

As with any system - it's about finding and implementing what works for you.

Get your copy today - Getting Things Done

Previous Book Reviews or checkout other book recommendations.

Join the 30 Day Time Challenge

The 30 Day Time Challenge gives you the key strategies that are absolutely essential to managing your time effectively.

Providing you with bite-sized chunks of tips and information that will kick start your productivity and enable you to do more in less time.

Your time habits have taken years to get you to where you are today, so don’t expect to be able to change them overnight.

All change needs a period of adjustment before you get into new ways of working or being.

The simple ideas and tactics in this jam packed e-book will not only remind you of what you ‘should’ be doing but will take you step by step through the process to transform your habits and create long-term changes that work

This challenge will help you:

Get your priorities right
Write effective to do lists
Develop your productivity skills
Avoid procrastination
Set clear boundaries
Find time saving tools and gadgets
... and much more!

By the end of the challenge you’ll be far more productive, get more done in less time and have transformed your time habits.

Follow the challenge, put it in to practice, see how much time you save and what a real difference it makes.

Sign-up for the 30 Day Time Challenge or

Buy the 30 Day Time Challenge on Kindle

Share your objectives for the 30 days, ask questions, post your results on Twitter - use the hashtag #30DayTime or join the conversation on Facebook.

Find Time To Study

When I was working full time and studying for my Open University degree course, I needed to find the time to study in between working during the day.

Whether you're working full or part time and you studying for either work related or personal reasons - here are a few ideas to help you find time to study.

Commit to your study time - you have a goal, this is a short-term commitment which will result in achieving the qualifications you need to take you further. Understand your motivation and reasons for doing this - to improve your career, to get a job, to change jobs ...

Set out a timetable when you can slot periods of study into your normal day.
30 minutes at the beginning of the day
30 minutes in a lunch break
1-2 hours in the evening
1/2 a day or a few hours at the weekends

The evening is usually when I was able to do most of my study. After all - most of us collapse in front of the TV in the evening and although you may have had a busy day at work you can manage a couple of hours.

You may also choose to take a half day every week or even a full day once or twice a month when you can dedicate your time to studying.

Plan your study time across the weeks and months before any exam - avoid cramming it in to the last minute just because you've been too busy. Little and often.

Study in short bursts of activity along the following lines.

Plan what you're going to study
Preview the work for this session
Work/Study for 20-30 minutes
Take a 5 minute stretch/refresh break
Repeat the work/break sequence for 1-2 hours
Review what you've been studying in the last hour

Get into the right mindset for studying. You won't be able to concentrate if your mind is on other things. Get these out of the way first or worry about them later, so you can focus on your studying.

Use mind-maps to take notes during your study. This way you have a colourful image of the study material - on one or two sheets for each module that are easier to read and review than pages of notes.

Use key cards - write down the key points on postcards. You can use these to test yourself in those quiet moments during the day, on your daily commute, waiting for a meeting.

Review what you've learnt regularly. The more you review, the more you retain as it moves into long term memory. At the end of each day review all you've worked on during the day. At the end of the week review all you've worked on during the week.

Find somewhere that's conducive to study - your office, the kitchen table, a cafe, library - wherever gives you undisturbed time with minimal distractions.

Avoid being a stressed out study bunny. Make time for rest and relaxation - a social life, exercise and fun also needs to part of the plan!

Detail of a desk after studying. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Time Tip: Five Minutes Fast

One time trick I use is to set one or two of my clocks five minutes fast.

Now despite being a time management coach, I don't wear a watch and haven't done for years but there are enough time pieces around me that make it unnecessary. The only time I have a watch with me is when I travel.

The clock in my kitchen is set five minutes fast. It's the nearest one to my most frequently used exit door, so I know that if I leave when it says it's time to leave that I've still got five minutes in hand.

The clock in my car is also set five minutes fast (actually I think it's now about six minutes fast). It means that when I'm worrying about whether I'm going to arrive on time - I've got those extra few minutes in hand.

It's a simple ploy. You're not trying to trick yourself into thinking the time is later than it is (after all you set it fast in the first place), it's just another useful tool and it works, as long as you work to the 'displayed time', not the actual time.

Crimond clock, with 61 minutes (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Book Review: Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey

More than just a time management book, this book is just as much about behaviours as it is about habits.

It is, however, a classic and looks at a holistic and integrated approach to improving not only your habits but your life by living in a more principle centred and value focused way.

Habit 1: Be Proactive - take responsibility for your own actions and situation. Make conscious choices based on your values.

Habit 2: Begin with the end in mind - know where you're going, so you can understand where you are now and the steps you need to take to get you there.

Habit 3: Put First Things First - practice effective self-management by focusing on what's important.

Habit 4: Think Win Win - seek mutual benefit in all human interactions.

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand - how to improve your interpersonal communication skills.

Habit 6: Synergise - the whole is greater than the sum of it's part - value the differences between people.

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw - balanced self-renewal at a physical, mental, spiritual and emotional level.

It can be quite dense and heavy going, so best tackled in small chunks and put into practice as you go along, so that you don't lose interest.

The weekly planner is a a great tool and one that I've adapted and use with my own clients over the years.

It also contains the much used four quadrant for organising and understanding the impact of Important vs Urgent.

Get Your Own Copy Today ==> "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen R Covey

Time Management Know It All

some old books i found in the guest room. =]

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

Pages

BLAB: Talking Time with Steven Healey

The Importance of Taking Breaks

You don't have to answer it

Snowed under?

How to get back on track after a break

Top Ten Blog Posts for 2012

What are you putting off?

How to keep a meeting to time.

How to manage those last minute deadlines

Get to your meetings on time

Back to school - time saving skills

Your diary and scheduler - paper or electronic?

Procrastination: epic time-wasting

Book Review: Getting Things Done

Join the 30 Day Time Challenge

Find Time To Study

Time Tip: Five Minutes Fast

Book Review: Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey

Top 7 Blog Posts of 2011

Time Management Know It All

Free Time Quiz

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