Time Management Self Improvement

*The Year 1906*

This will boggle your mind, I know it did mine! The year is 1906 - one hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes!

Here are some of the U.S.A. statistics for the Year 1906:

The average life expectancy in the US was 47 years.

Only 14 percent of the homes in the US had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars.

There were only 8,000 cars in the US, and only 144 miles of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California. With a mere 1.4 million people, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!

The average wage in the US was .22 cents per hour.

The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2,000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 % of all births in the US took place at home.

90% of all US doctors had no college education. Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as “substandard”.

Sugar cost .04 cents a pound.
Eggs were .14 cents a dozen.
Coffee was .15 cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.

Five leading causes of death in the US were:
1.Pneumonia and influenza
2.Tuberculosis
3.Diarrhea
4.Heart disease
5.Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars; Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska hadn’t been admitted to the Union yet.

The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn’t been invented yet.

There was no Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.

Two out of every 10 US adults could not read or write.

Only 6% of all Americans had graduated from high school.

18% of households in the US had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.

There were about 230 reported murders in the entire US.

Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years.

As a young child, John Di Lemme was clinically diagnosed as a stutterer and told that he would never speak fluently. Today, John has achieved great success as an international motivational speaker, accomplished author and multi-million dollar entrepreneur. Just recently John was on CNBC power lunch as a real estate investor. John shocks millions globally by exposing the truth about how to achieve monumental life success despite the labels that society has placed on you. Through his award winning live seminars, power-packed training programs, live tele-classes, and weekly ezine, John Di Lemme has made success a reality for thousands worldwide. Visit http://www.FindYourWhy.com and discover how you can finally create monumental success in your life today and achieve all your goals, dreams and desires. As an Author, speaker, entrepreneur this Million Dollar producer now teaches others the inside secrets on how to truly build a million dollar business.

Tags: Direct Sales, mlm, network marketing, personal growth, Self Improvement HappinessDirect Sales, mlm, network marketing, personal growth, Self Improvement Happiness

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What?

Years ago, I read a story about a woman who lived in La Jolla, Calif. She was an extremely high achiever and, on this particular day, she decided to walk her dog in a beautiful local park along the oceanfront. As she walked along, she thought of all the things on her to-do list. Several project deadlines were rapidly approaching, she had an upcoming event that required her to make the long journey to New York, she had family obligations to tend to, and the list went on and on. Her mind raced from thought to thought, trying to sort out her priorities. Suddenly she thought, “Right now I am walking my dog in a beautiful park and that is what I should be focused on!”

Fast-forward about two weeks. I am in my car headed for work. At this point in my life, I had a chronic car-buying virus. I loved nice automobiles! On this particular day, I decided to drive my nicest car-toy to work. As I headed down the interstate, my mind raced with all the things I had to do that day. I had meetings to attend, presentations to outline and prepare, slide shows to create…the list went on and on. Suddenly I thought, “This is what that woman in La Jolla was doing…and now I’m doing it…I do it all the time!” Then I thought, “Right now I am driving one of the finest automobiles in the world and I am paying no attention to it!” I pulled off at the next exit, let the top down on the car, chilled out and took the back roads to my office. The rest of my commute was delightful.

So What?

I decided to conduct a personal experiment. I knew you could install software programs to get computers to carry out specific assignments. Why not install some software in my brain to get it to do what I wanted it to do? I decided that anytime during the day I felt myself start to mentally wander or drift, I would think of the words right now…followed by whatever I was doing at the moment. For example, I thought, “Right now…I am talking with a customer, or right now…I am working on a speech, or right now…I am eating my lunch.” It worked! Repetition is the key to success. After a few weeks of doing this, it became a habit. It helped me learn to keep my physical and mental worlds in harmony. It was a huge turning point in my journey from being a disorganized person to a focused, organized person.

Now What?

One definition of focus is doing something and thinking about what you are doing at the same time. I know it sounds too simple, but give it a try. For the next few days, think about the two words “right now” as you go through your day and perform your duties. Use it to help concentrate and focus on important projects, pay closer attention to people you encounter, and enjoy life in general.

Right now…think about this idea and how you might us it!

Chris Crouch, president and founder of DME Training and Consulting, is the developer of the GO System. The GO System is a structured training course designed to improve focus, organization and productivity in the workplace and is taught by corporate trainers and professional organizers all over the country. Chris is also author of Getting Organized: Learning How to Focus, Organize and Prioritize and other books that provide practical and easy-to-learn ideas on personal achievement, success and productivity.

Visit http://www.thegosystem.com to learn more about the GO System, to inquire about having Chris speak to your group or organization, to sign up for Chris’ free newsletter providing tips on having a more joyful and productive life, and for additional ideas on improving focus, organization and productive.

To learn about becoming a Certified GO System Trainer, visit http://www.gosystemcertification.com.

Tags: chris crouch, focus, organization, organized, productive, time managementchris crouch, focus, organization, organized, productive, time management

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When is the best time to plan your day? Well, everyone is different. Let’s take a quick look at some of the different possible times:

1) Early morning before you go to work.

2) Lunch time

3) Mid-afternoon

4) End of the work day

5) At night just before you go to bed

I have prepared my daily plans during each of these times. Here has been my experience with each:

Morning

I have found the morning to be one of the least effective times to create my plan. Here’s why:

1) When I get up in the morning, I want to get my day off to a quick start. If I take the time to plan in the morning, it seems to disrupt my momentum. I would rather review the plans I prepared the previous day instead. It’s quick and keeps me focused on what I have chosen to do.

2) If I plan in the morning, I haven’t been able to take full advantage of the sleeping hours when my subconscious mind is working on what I need to do the following day.

3) As part of my plan, I like to review the progress I made in the previous 24 hours. I find this is easier to do in the day the activity took place.

Lunch Time

This is my favorite time to plan. I find when I plan at lunch:

1) I already have a number of important tasks I can list as accomplishments.

2) It keeps me on track through the entire day. If I find that I have strayed from my original plans, I have a significant part of the day still remaining so I can take corrective action.

3) It frees up my evening for other things (e.g., family, friends, exercise, reading, relaxing, etc.)

4) My plan is ready to review before I go to bed so that my subconscious mind can start working on what I want to achieve the following day.

I also find that if I use my lunch time to plan, I’m much more consistent in preparing my plan every day. When I choose one of the other times, I find it’s much easier to find reasons to skip preparing my plan.

Mid-afternoon

This is my second best choice for many of the same reasons listed for the “Lunch Time” block. I don’t like it as much because it can eat into my productive time. But by doing my plan shortly after lunch, at least I still have some time to take corrective action if I need to.

End of the Work Day or Dinner time

By this time, the day is pretty well gone–unless I want to work towards my goals in the evening. I’d rather spend this time with my family and friends or just relax.

Before Bedtime

This is my second least favorite time. For one thing, I put out a lot of energy during the day. By the time I’m ready for bed, I’m ready for bed. I’d rather use this time for quickly reviewing my plan for the next day and just get to sleep so that I will have all the energy I need for the following day.

In order of preference, here are the times again:

1) Lunch time

2) Mid-afternoon

3) End of the work day or dinner time

4) Just before bedtime

5) Early morning before work

Of course, the most important thing is to actually plan out your day regardless of when you choose to do it. Experiment with different times and pick out the one that’s best for you.

If you are interested in learning about the planning system that I have developed for myself (what I call my RAP–Results-focused, Action Plan), you can ready about it at http://www.poweraffirmations.com/RAP.htm. It’s a simple system you can use with any planner of your choice (or even just a notebook). You don’t have to attend a seminar to learn how to use it. There’s no audio program or thick book to study. The information is laid out on the page above. The information is free.

This is the one system I have used that allows me to stay focused on my desired results, measure my progress daily, and is quick. Once you get the hang of it, you should be able to complete your RAP in 15-30 minutes.

Copyright (c) 2005 Bill Marshall - All rights reserved. Feel free to republish this article provided you include the copyright information and the weblinks where possible.

For practical self-improvement tips, visit http://www.poweraffirmations.com. Get my new free e-book, “Power Affirmations: Power Positive Conditioning for Your Subconscious Mind”

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