Time Management Self Improvement

Years ago when I started in this business, it seemed many clients had difficulty identifying their priorities. This isn’t as true today as it was then. Unfortunately, now what I hear clients say is’I can identify my priorities with no problem, but I can’t get to them. At the end of the day I look up and realize I never got to the one thing I needed to do.’ We are all busier today than ever before. A certain amount of chaos in our lives has become acceptable. But it has also cost us focus. Here are a few suggestions on identifying and working on getting to your priorities:

Create SMART goals and visit them regularly.

In order to know your priorities, you first need to know your goalsboth personal and professionalbecause one flows from the other. Make sure your goals are SMART. Zig Ziglar says SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Accountable, Relevant and Timelined. Now make sure you visit them daily. If your goals are SMART and visible, you are paving the road to then identifying your priorities.

Create focus time.

If you have identified your priorities but are not protecting time to work on them, you are setting yourself up for frustration and stress. Everyone deserves some amount of uninterrupted time to work on things they have identified as ‘important’and not necessarily ‘urgent’. The Covey Time Matrix this represents Quadrant II activity and it is where about 75% of our time should be spent. If you think you don’t have time to do this, consider the fact that you don’t have time NOT to do this.

Minimize priority busters.

During my ‘Clear your desk. Clear your mind. Organize it.’ workshop, we identify and talk about how to handle the 3 top priority bustersinterruptions, overcommitment and procrastination. Not only are we interrupted at least 8 times an hour, but it takes about 20 minutes to climb back into the project we were working on prior the interruption. If you are committed to your priorities, over-committing is more difficult. Each time you encourage or allow an interruption or over-commitment, you are letting others pull you into their priority at the expense of your own. The third and most obvious priority buster isprocrastination. Every time you delay a decision to work on something important, you become your own priority buster! Identify your procrastination roadblocks and move forward in overcoming them.

Begin practicing these basic time management principles and remembertime flies but YOU are the navigator.

Copyright 2002. Cynthia Kyriazis. All rights reserved.

Cynthia Kyriazis is an organizing and time management consultant, trainer, speaker, coach and author with over 20 years management experience in multi-unit corporations. Organize it, a division of Productivity Partners, Inc. is an organizational training firm she founded in 1995 and has been serving Fortune 500 clients ever since. Cynthia works with business and their employees to help improve performance and realize productivity gains.

Cynthia has appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Kansas City Star and the Legal Intelligencer. She currently serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), member of the National Speakers Association (NSA), member of the Kansas City of the International Society for Performance Improvement - (ISPI-KC) and consultant to the American Coaching Association.

Share This

Yes, if you are not organized, your time management plan will fall through in most instances, however if you have an organized plan, you are well on your way to success. Organizing plays a large role in managing time. When we are not organized, we are sending messages to other people. In addition, as you can see organizing is part of the plan.

With confident I can write this article, since in my past, I had great problems with staying organized. I tried desperately to manage my time, which often failed, since I did not have the ability, or thought I did not have the ability to organize. On my road to recovery, I learned a few special techniques that I would like to share with the readers, since someone, I am confident, will thank me for writing this article.

Organized:

Many suffer as a direct result of time management negligence. Studies have reported suffering that included frustration, remorse, anxiety, and low self-esteems. When we are not organized, we do not have one of the essential tools to manage our time. So to begin, let’s get organized!

Setting priorities is the start to organizing and setting a time management plan. Organizing brings forth a more productive lifestyle. First, you must start by not leaving your personal and work belongings floating around. If you desk and room are cluttered, and you run around like a chicken with your head cut off trying to figure out where you put that important document, then you are unorganized and your time is not managed properly.

If you have stuff lying around you do not need, it is wise to toss it in the garbage, since it only taking up space, and confusing you as to what is important. You can also start by placing your documents in storage areas appropriately suiting for the documents. Some of us prefer to place our documents in alphabetical order, but other prefers to store the documents by file name.

Next, you want to place your bills and other important papers in a folder with a file name. For example, if you have bills place the phone bill in a folder named telephone .files. Avoid vague file names since it can only confuse you later. As an editor and author, I learned the golden rule, which I feel applies to all situations in life. That golden rule is KISS. (Keep it Simple Stupid). By keeping it simple, you will not feel stupid later.

Create a separate file for your warranties, financial statements, insurance proofs, as well as keeping your birth records, marriage license, passports, or other important documents in a separate file. Again, be sure to label the files specifically so there are no confusions later. When you receive bills or other important papers in the mailbox, be sure to deal with each situation accordingly and in a timely manner. If you receive a lot of junk mail, toss it.

Most junk mail has nothing to offer us, and often are gimmicks to lower us in a scheme. If you can’t hang with the big dogs, stay on the porch with the puppies to avoid getting taking for a ride! This advice also includes emails. If you are, on a job, that requires the use of computers and you have your own mailboxDO NOT give your mail address to any one that isn’t associated with your business. This will help manage your time, and keep you organized.

At least once a week if you toss out the junk, clean up the goods, and organize your important documents, you are well on your way to organizing a time management plan!

© 2005 www.your-offical-guide.com; All Rights Reserved

Steve Hall is the owner of http://www.your-official-guide.com, your one-stop location for getting the information you are looking for on a wide ranging and ever-growing list of subjects.

Need to get more time? Try the Soundview Executive Book Summaries.

Learn to Manage Your Time Effectively ==>Click Here

Share This

Are you great at putting tasks off because there are other more important things to do? Do you feel overwhelmed by projects that you want to begin, but don’t? Maybe you are a “perfectionist“.

Procrastination can stem from different obstacles, one of them being “perfectionism”. Perfectionism has no relation to getting something “right” or “perfect”. It is a refusal to let yourself move ahead, and a cycle that keeps us paralyzed and stuck in the details of the task at hand. Being a perfectionist doesn’t mean we are seeking to be “perfect”, rather it is a pursuit to find the flaws in ourselves. This results in the feeling of whatever we try to accomplish, it will never be good enough.

Perfectionism causes us to be reluctant to start a project because we feel we may not meet our own high standards. Then the excuses start to flow. In order to break through this cycle, we must take risks and let go of some of the control. Do away with the excuses such as, “I can’t because, I’m too old, too tired, too broke . . . etc.” When we seek to be “perfect”, we are using our excuses, which results in putting off our projects or tasks we want to complete. When we say that we “can’t do something”, what we are really saying is that we don’t want to do a task or project unless we are certain that we can do it perfect.

Analyze your Procrastination:
1. List projects you have been putting off
2. List reasons or fears why you are putting them off.
3. List answers to; “If I didn’t have to do it perfect I would do or try . . .”

Let’s take a risk and believe in ourselves that we can accomplish our projects. We are in charge of what we are thinking and believing. If we want our future projects to go differently from the results we have been receiving, we need to alter the patterns that we use. Begin this process by creating a new plan.

New Plan:
1. Create a detailed image in your mind of the project you want to complete.
2. Write a detailed plan. Include goals with specific steps to be taken and dates.
3. Execute the plan. Having an accountability partner may help you stay on track.
4. As you execute your plan, allow yourself to make mistakes and enjoy the journey to your completed project. The only way you can lose is by not starting at all.

Whatever we firmly believe and visualize in our minds, we can achieve!

Angela Agranoff, owner of AKA Designs,is a mother of three, an artist, and professional organizer. She is a proud member of the Colorado Professional Organizers, National Association of Professional Organizers, and Lakewood Arts Coucil. Along with writing and speaking, she focuses on assisting artists, students & families organize their space and time. Creative Organizing for Both Sides of the Brain

Share This