What Gets YOU Through The Day?

I’m in a risk taking mood tonight. So, I’m going to go out on a limb with this blog post. “What’s the risk,” you ask. The risk is that I write this blog post and I don’t get any comments. Oh how embarrassing that would be. I suppose after a certain period of time I’d just have to take the post down. Oh well, here goes.

Food For Thought

Here’s a very short video containing a great time management tip, a word about procrastination and some motivation all rolled up into 1:28. I’m sure you can find a little over a minute to spend watching this video. You won’t regret it.

Let me know what you think!

Time Management Enhances The Quality Of Your Life

I think you’d agree time is a much-needed resource you need to get your work done, achieve your goals and enjoy your life. I believe time management is about finding the best ways to use your time to get the most from it and enhance the quality of your life.

6 Tips To Make You More Efficient

Here’s six things to think about incorporating into your work day to make you more efficient.

1. Close your office door and concentrate on the biggest toughest project on your desk. Procrastination is a waste of valuable time.

2. Establish “quiet hours” for uninterrupted concentration and make sure people around you know what rules apply. Have all the materials you need so you can make maximum use of the allotted time.

Color Coded E-mail Tip May Save Your Job

Is your In Box so full you sometimes miss the important e-mail from your boss, or your wife? Try color-coding your e-mail. In Microsoft Outlook, go to the Tools menu and click Organize. In the Ways to Organize pane, click Using Colors.

Time Management Drive Time – Plus

When scheduling an appointment for a meeting outside the office be sure to schedule drive time before and after the meeting, plus a little extra time to pack up what you need for the meeting. I have found this tip to be very helpful. It gets me off the phone or out of a meeting in time to prepare myself for the next meeting and get there without feeling pressure to be on time.

Tips For Outcome-First Meeting Plans

I hate meetings! I am busy and don’t have time to attend meetings. Most meetings are a waste of time because they are just an opportunity for the attendees to hear themselves talk. Many meetings have no agenda or the meeting leader lets the meeting get away from them and the agenda isn’t accomplished. If you are meeting to hear reports – DON’T. People can read reports.

Use Your Time Wisely

I was thinking about how best to use my time off today and thought that while I’m thinking I would make some notes. I’ve had something sitting on my desk for about two weeks now that needs to get done. I know that once I focus my attention on it I will spend about an hour on it and then it will be done. Why have I been wasting my time on other things when I could easily get this one task completed and off my “To-Do List?” I often find myself working on something because it’s “convenient,” or seems more “fun” or “interesting.” It seems that my time would be better spent if before beginning a task I gave some thought to the importance of what it is I’m starting to do. Will this task generate revenue? Is this task necessary because of a deadline, like paying bills on time? Is there something more important I could be doing? Asking these and other questions every time I begin a task could actually make me more productive.

Random Thoughts

Make a list

Got some things you need to get done? Make a list. It’s not hard. It is hard to remember everything you have to do without a list. Write it down. This works for the young and the old, in spite of what your kids tell you. Once you have a list it’s a good idea to prioritize the things you want to do. This will help you avoid wasting time. I also like to put things in what I call “My driving order.” With the cost of gasoline rising again, it makes sense to order your tasks in a way that makes driving sense. Don’t run an errand in the south part of town, go to the north and then back to the south. Put all your “south” tasks together. Once you have you list, use it! Don’t forget to look at it. Often.

E-Mail People Will Respond To

Times have changed and so has my advice about e-mail etiquette. And that’s because people are now checking e-mail on their cell phones, smart phones, pda, and any number of other ways.

A few years ago I suggested that your “Subject Line” should really describe what your e-mail is going to say. I wasn’t suggesting including two or three sentences in the “Subject Line” but, instead, a pretty good summary of what was to come. Today, my advice is to be descriptive but brief. Remember, I’m reading your e-mail on my Blackberry 8800. Others are using an iPhone or other Smartphone. If your subject line is too long it won’t fit on my screen and I probably won’t rush to open it up