Time Management Self Improvement

I’m sure we’ve all had the experience of having a certain block of time available, and our to-do list tasks or goals that we want to accomplish in that time frame, only to turn around at the end of that period of time to have the frustrating experience of not getting nearly enough done that we thought we could. What happened? Where did all the time go? This can be in our personal / family lives, our jobs or our businesses.

Many of the frustrations of this are due to our expectations of what we can accomplish in that amount of time too high, and unrealistic. When we can look at it more objectively, it can reduce stress in our lives, and give more of a sense of accomplishment when we do reach our goals.

Say you have 6 hours available to do a certain project. Prioritize the tasks you want to tackle, with number one being the top priority. Now figure in your typical day, what percentage of that time is typically going to “putting out fires” If approximately 1/3 of your time is this type of work / situation, deduct that amount of time and your original 6 hours minus 2 hours of putting out fires, will give you 4 working hours.

Now, consider the average interruption will take about 8 minutes to deal with before mentally you’re back where you were before the interruption. How many interruptions are typical in your day? Let’s say you get 10 interruptions, 80 minutes. Now subtract those 80 minutes from your 4 hours, now you’ve got a little over 2 hours left to try to accomplish what you thought you actually had 6 hours to do. Is it any wonder why we didn’t get as much done as we had hoped? I believe this will reduce frustration just knowing this, and will allow us to plan our day with much more realistic goals. If something is added to our to-do list, then something else must give to make room.

There are some things that can be done to help however. Just looking at this may help you pin point sources of time wasters. Is there anything that can be done to minimize the need to “put out the fires”? Are there any types of preventative actions that can be taken to at least reduce it?

What about interruptions? Can a phone voice mail be used instead of answering the phone? Then when you do need to return calls, do them as a group, one right after another. What about email? Do you have to respond to emails during this time frame? Again, try to lump like tasks together, when you do need to email, handle it all at once instead of the second they hit your inbox.

Then realize, what you thought was your 6 hours, in reality were perhaps a little over 2. Attack your to-do list with your highest priority, then give yourself a pat on the back for working your best with those 2 hours you had, and that in reality, you did fill 6 hours, and perhaps have a better understanding of where it went. Knowing this will help reduce the stress and frustration of trying to accomplish what may not be possible, and give your planning a more realistic approach.

By Valerie Garner-Mother, grandmother and candlemaker / owner of Joyful Designs in Soy. She loves to write on a variety of topics with a warm, and engaging style. http://www.joyfuldesignsinsoy.com

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For people with Adult ADHD, focusing long enough to get even a small task done–if it is boring–can seem almost impossible! Here’s what I do when I have to focus on something that I really don’t like to do, especially sitting at my desk.

Adult ADHD makes it hard to try to sit still and do something–but now and then you just have to. Here’s a couple tricks I’ve learned to get boring tasks done.

First, when I come in and get started, I’ve trained myself to immediately have a certain pattern of activity that happens. My brain automatically associates that pattern of activity with, “Now we’re going to sit down and do something.”
It’s simply a habit. If you have Adult ADHD try this sometime you have to do paperwork or organize something:

What I do is I come in and I have two candles that I light. I have a certain kind of music that I listen to, classical music. I turn that on. I turn on a little water fountain. It is important for people with Adult ADHD to make sure to engage all the senses, it really helps because it keeps the Adult ADHD brain active and able to focus.

Whenever I do that sequence, I can sit down for a short period, not forever, but for a short period, and actually get something done that I don’t like to do.

I can organize a pile, or try to prioritize something, or something that might be hard as well. Another advantage to getting all those senses involved is the brain is at least doing something else and not focusing on being bored.

There’s nothing worse for the Adult ADHD brain than focusing on how bored you are.

There is second method that I use, and that is to set a self-imposed deadline.

Often people with Adult ADHD say they work best “under pressure” when they have a deadline–and some people with Adult ADHD even say they can’t get anything done at all if they don’t have a deadline. What happens to Adult ADHD people in that case is, they perform well at work (where deadlines are imposed) but things fall apart at home.

So here’s the other trick I’ve learned, using an egg timer. See if you can do this. Make it like a game. “Hey, let’s see if I can get through this pile in 15 minutes. I’ll set a timer” This is one of the best tricks for us people with Adult ADHD.

I have two egg timers around my house and I use them all the time. I test myself. “Let’s see if I can file this pile of paper in 10 minutes.” I set the timer and go. Now, we’ve just invoked the real kicker: to focus. It works like a charm.

So, you’re kicking it into high gear, working on mea-speed, and most of the time it works, but what if…you don’t finish it in 10 minutes? Then what?

Well, then I look at that and say, “Do I want to go for another 10, or do I want to do this later?” That’s what I do.
Either way, I got a whole bunch done in 10 minutes that wouldn’t have been done otherwise.

That brings me to one more thing people with Adult ADHD will benefit from doing. We’re so forward thinking that we’re always onto the next thing, and the next thing. Those with Adult ADHD tend not to look at what they do accomplish and feel good about it.

If you take a moment to say, “Look what I just did in 10 minutes,” and actually reflect on, “Hey, I got something done,” versus going through to the next thing immediately, you’ll feel a lot more motivation on a continuing basis.

If you’d like to get more great tips for how to focus with Adult ADHD, using common things you find in your everyday environment, see below!

Tellman Knudson can help you learn to focus, beat distraction and accomplish your goals. Learn more about ADHD Symptoms and pick up your free newsletter of ADHD practical tips and techniques to make your life better today!

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I recently read the book “How to Become Rich“, by Donald Trump. I highly recommend it, if you only read it to understand that The Donald doesn’t have any more time in a day versus any of the rest of us. But his net worth has lately been reported at $3 billion dollars. That’s not too bad for a man who just 10 years ago owed almost 10 billion dollars to over a 100 banks.

The ironic part of life is that we all have different wealth, job, and health conditions; but at the same time, we all have the same amount of hours in a day - that is one thing nobody can change. The interesting thing, I discovered about Donald is he spends around 3 hours a day just reading newspapers, biographies, and books on philosophy. I also noticed he really doesn’t begin work until around 9AM every day. He also doesn’t have to commute, as he is smart, and lives in the same building where he works.

Another thing I recognized that helped me realize why this man is so successful was that when he does begin his workday he rarely takes any breaks. He pretty much works from 9AM - 6PM every day. He also claimed several times throughout the book, that he loves what he does. Have you ever noticed that rarely will you ever meet a successful man/woman who doesn’t truly enjoy what he does? You cannot work consistently and become successful if people don’t sense your passion. Even professional athletes and movie stars have to have passion about what they do, and for the successful ones it shows.

The other key ingredient, especially in business - is how you manage your time. I once had a boss who would ask me to do the impossible, and my comment was always “do you realize that we only have 8 hours in a day”? One thing business owners can never expect is for an employee to work harder than them, it’s not their business. Even though I didn’t always hit my quota, or my daily tasks, I did walk away usually knowing that I did my best most every time.

Knowing full well that you cannot change the amount of time in a day, how does one manage their time? I recently discovered since working out of my home, I currently get more done in 6 hours, compared to what used to take me on average 8 or 9 hours a day in an office. Why is that? Well, when I went to an office every day I always found myself socializing with other workers. In my last position, I was also very distracted, as my office was in the vicinity of about every co-worker who would walk directly past me. So, here I am today accomplishing as much in 6 hours a day, compared to what used to take me 8 or 9, and my commute is now just minutes, versus what used to take me sometimes over an hour a day. Now, I realize that some of you may not be able to change your current situation, but if you have ever heard the term Vector Changes - you will understand what I am talking about.

You see Vector Changes are those minor changes that over time will make huge differences. Imagine if you worked out a deal with your boss to work from home only 2 days a week, you just saved yourself 2 - 3 hours a week, if you have an hour or more commute each day. Maybe you can take 45 minutes for lunch instead of an hour; you just saved yourself over an hour a week.

Lastly, prioritize based on importance. I found that The Donald receives upwards of 100 incoming phone calls per hour. If he were to answer every phone call - he would never get anything done. Most of us don’t have to worry about that, but the question we should always be asking ourselves throughout our day is - “What’s really important and cannot wait”? We need to make sure that we are always moving forward. If you have a lunch date with a friend who you haven’t seen in 30 years, and there is a conflict with a project or sale that could generate millions, you might want to postpone the meeting with your friend until the end of the workday. Importantly, like The Donald its best to only return the phone calls immediately that are important, the others can wait.

The moral of the above is that we don’t have control over the number of hours in a day, but we do have control over what we do throughout the day. If you are working for a paycheck, unfortunately your company controls a lot of your time. But, you still have the ability to make vector changes that will make you more successful in your career and ultimately add more time to your bottom line.

John Lowery is a home based entrepreuneur who lives in Carlsbad, CA with his wife and son. He has been involved in Sales and Marketing for a number of years. He is also a published songwriter, writer, and a member of The Screen Actor’s Guild.

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