7 Time Management Tips That Actually Work

Do you want to be more productive or organized? Do you stay busy all day long but fail to accomplish anything? If so, you have landed on the right page. The time management tips given below can help you increase your productivity and keep you satisfied at the same time. Read on.

 

 

1) It is a myth

As far as time management is concerned, this is the first thing you need to keep in mind. No matter how busy you may be, your day will always be 24 hours long. You can't change time. What you can change is yourself. In other words, you can train yourself to use your time effectively.

2) Find out what kills most of your time

Most of us waste a lot of time. The time we waste can be invested for higher productivity. So, it's a good to find out where you kill most of your time. Do you kill most of your time surfing the web, posting on Facebook or making personal calls?

Many of us are prey to time-wasters that steal time we could be using much more productively. What are your time bandits? Do you spend too much time 'net surfing, reading email, Facebook posting, texting, or making personal calls? This is the first step if you want to start your journey of time management.

3) Set Time management goals

You can get started by eliminating the biggest time wasters in your personal life. For instance, for one week, you can set a goal that you won't log into your Facebook account while you are doing your important tasks.

 

More from PIVOTAL on Time Management

 

4) Put Together a time management plan

The purpose of putting together a time management plan is to readjust your behavior so you can achieve a goal that you set, such as decreasing your stress or increasing your productivity. Therefore, we suggest that you set your goals and then monitor them so you can see your progress.

5) Use Some tools

You can use many tools for managing your time. This tool can be an app or a Day-Timer. This will help you find out where you are heading and how you are going to invest your time down the road. For instance, with Outlook, you can schedule your events without any problem.

6) Prioritize ruthlessly

Ideally, you may want to begin your day by prioritizing the tasks for the next 24 hours. Aside from this, you may want to set a performance benchmark as well. For instance, if you have to do 10 tasks in 24 hours, make sure you know the tasks that you have to complete no matter what.

7) Learn to outsource

Irrespective of the size of your business, you don't need to handle all the work yourself. You may want to share some workload with someone else as well. It could be an on-site or off-site assistant. So, it's a good idea to consider outsourcing.

So, if you are finding it hard to manage time, we suggest that you give a go to these tips.

Using special apps for time management is a good idea. If you are looking for a good app for this purpose, we suggest that you try out Tomato Timer or Pomodoro Timer.

Author:  Shalini Madhav 

Parents, children and the search for identity

ISBN: 9780743236720
Format Paperback
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Published: November 2012

Winner:The National Book Critics Circle Award 2012 General Nonfiction

Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, a Books for a Better Life Award, and one of The New York Times Book Review’s Ten Best Books of 2012, this masterpiece by the National Book Award-winning author of The Noonday Demon features stories of parents who not only learn to deal with their exceptional children, but also find profound meaning in doing so—“a brave, beautiful
book that will expand your humanity” (People).

Andrew Solomon’s startling proposition is that being exceptional in some way is at the core of the human condition—that difference is what unites us. He writes about families coping with deafness, dwarfism, Down syndrome, autism, schizophrenia, or multiple severe disabilities; with children who are prodigies, who are conceived in rape, who become criminals, who are transgender.

While each of these characteristics is potentially isolating, the experience of difference within families is universal, and Solomon documents triumphs of love over prejudice in every chapter.

All parenting turns on a crucial question: to what extent should parents accept their children for who they are, and to what extent they should help them become their best selves? Drawing on ten years of research and interviews with three hundred families, Solomon mines the eloquence of ordinary people facing extreme challenges.

Elegantly reported by a spectacularly original and compassionate thinker Far from the Tree explores how people who love each other must struggle to accept each other—a theme in every family’s life.<
The New York timescalls it a “wise and beautiful” volume, “that shoots arrow after arrow into your heart,” and says that it “will shake up your preconceptions and leave you in a better place.”

Andrew Solomon (born 30 October 1963) is a writer on politics, culture and psychology who lives in New York and London. He has written for The New York Times, The New Yorker, Artforum, Travel and Leisure, and other publications on a range of subjects, including depression, Soviet artists, the cultural rebirth of Afghanistan, Libyan politics, and deaf politics. His book The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression won the 2001 National Book Award, was a finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize, and was included in The Times list of one hundred best books of the decade.

The reading group guide for Far from the Tree includes an introduction, discussion questions, ideas for enhancing your book club, and ideas for teachers. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.

 

Available From: Book Depository or  Amazon

Yes those are affiliate links, and if you buy through them
I will earn a few cents.  I thank you!

David Logan on Tribal Leadership

At TEDxUSC, business professor David Logan talks about the five kinds of tribes that humans naturally form --

in schools, workplaces, even the driver's license bureau.

By understanding our shared tribal tendencies, we can help lead each other to become better individuals.

 

 



 

David Logan studies how people communicate within a company -- and how to harness our natural gifts to make change within organizations.

 

He looks at emerging patterns of corporate leadership, organizational transformation, generational differences in the workplace, and team building for high-potential managers and executives.

Thought for the Day from Sarah Van Breathnach

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How To Be a Scientist In Your Business and Why It Helps

 

True confession: I was a scientist.

I say that because that's what I did two degrees in, and my early career was spent in that realm. I wouldn't describe myself that way anymore, but there is one thing about science that suited me perfectly.

I'm very curious. And my curiosity is both eclectic and broad. My innate curiosity has served me very well in business. It can serve you too.

The basis of all science is curiosity. "I wonder what would happen if... " is behind every discovery and exploration.

Business is like the experiments scientists do: you don't know what's going to happen next. You may have evidence from previous experience, or see what someone else has done. But until you try it, you won't know if it will work in your business.

That level of uncertainty can be so uncomfortable!

So let's lighten things up by taking a different approach. An approach that is based in science.

No need to turn in your comfy togs or your business attire in favor of a lab coat. This kind of experimentation can be done without all the scientist trappings.

It's also not at all as grim as the serious scientist in the photo. In fact, experimenting can be fun!




REFRAME FOR A BETTER OUTCOME

Begin by reframing your choices. Ask, "I wonder what would happen if... ", instead of, "Will this succeed or fail?".

Feels lighter already, doesn't it?

You don't have the weight of failure on you. Rather, you're simply asking a question. The answer, either way, will tell you something important.

All you're doing is conducting an experiment!

DEFINE YOUR QUESTION

Now, ask your question: What would happen if [fill in the blank]?

What would happen if:

I reach out to this new potential customer group?

We add a pop-up on our website?

We create a process for how to handle customer complaints so that they are all addressed in the same way?

Visit the PIVOTAL resources on Creativity

Once you define your question, specify what you're going to observe and how long you'll observe.

Observations are the data that you collect that help you answer your question. These observations can be quantitative, monitoring numbers, like the response to your social media ads, or qualitative, like watching people's reactions when you talk about your core message.

You can have more than one way of collecting data. For example, you may want to track how many people lit up when you talked about a possible new offering, and how many remained neutral, as well as how many signed up.

Whatever you choose, be consistent about how you collect each kind of data.

Now start your experiment, and observe the outcomes.

ANALYZE YOUR DATA

Once you've conducted your experiment, it's time to analyze your observations, your data.

What are the data showing you? Look for trends. What do they mean? If you're not sure, that is the basis for your next experiment.

Don't be too quick to ignore outliers, those data that aren't what you expected and aren't aligned with the majority.

If you shared an offering idea with 10 of your customers and prospects, and 9 of them remained neutral but one responded with great enthusiasm, you may have identified a subgroup of people who would love that offering.

Your next experiments can involve learning more about this subgroup and whether they constitute a big enough group to make the investment of creating this new offering worthwhile.

Use the data you've gained to inform your decision-making or pose another question.




STICK TO THE METHOD

Here's one more thing about science that will help you in your business:

It's tempting, especially when things aren't working, to change 10 things at once. It's the scattershot approach, with the hope that something will work. Therefore, it's hard to know which one (or more) of the 10 things you changed made the difference.

One of the reasons marketing can be so frustrating is that it's often hard to project whether a marketing effort will work. That's because most marketing has many variables, things that are changeable in a way you can't control.

Instead, minimize the variables. Become more methodical. According to the scientific method, when you're conducting experiments, you only change one thing at a time. That way, when you get a different outcome, it's likely due to that one thing you changed. How clarifying that is!

It's the accumulation of data from multiple experiments that will start to fill in the story. For example, if you see a gradual increase in response over multiple social media ads as you show more videos of you talking, it suggests that people respond to seeing you and your energy.

SCIENCE STILL LETS YOU BE CREATIVE

Doing these experiments doesn't mean you can't be inspired and creative. Science is actually quite creative! Your creative ideas can be tested in one experiment at a time, to see if they have the effect you thought they would. Your creative ideas actually can achieve greater traction, because you know what's behind your success.

Keep experimenting and implementing to find out what works. As you conduct each new experiment, you move closer to clarity, which gives you an opportunity to increase your success.

Business is dynamic, ever changing. So, your experimentation will be ongoing. Using scientific principles can take some of the uncomfortable heat off of you as you experiment and explore.

Your curiosity will take you to some amazing places in your business, and you'll have more impact!

Ursula Jorch, MSc, MEd, mentors entrepreneurs starting their businesses and seasoned entrepreneurs in transition to create the business of their dreams. Her coaching programs provide knowledge, support, clarity, inspiration, and a community of like-minded entrepreneurs to empower you to reach your goals. Start with a free guide and other valuable info at http://www.WorkAlchemy.com  Photo by Lucas Vasques on Unsplash

Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life…And Maybe the World

RRP:  $25.00 . Member prices:  $21.25  |  $15.00

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,

Ever Been Lost?

 

As you begin another new year let me ask you - have you ever felt lost in any area of life? Feel lost at some point last year? Don't want to live the coming year lost? I could go on, but I know your time and attention span is short so on to my purpose of this short article.

Years ago - without your GPS lady if you got lost you had to stop at a local gas station or some business to ask for directions or you just could have stayed wandering in hopes of eventually finding your way to your destination.

I recall a few years trying to find the rental car location at the Denver airport and driving in circles cause my phone had died. Missed the flight and spent a lot of extra time at the airport. Ever had a similar experience - and not necessarily at an airport?

What exactly does it mean to be lost? For help I turned to the dictionary - misplaced, vanished, missing, mislaid, no longer possessed or retained, lost friends, no longer to be found - finally - having gone astray or missed the way, bewildered as to place, direction etc.

So, let me ask you where in life can we be lost? Here are a few - wrong career - lost? Bad or poor relationship - lost? Bad or poor personal habits - lost? Financial mistakes, too much debt or bad spending habits - lost? Confusion about what really matters in life - lost? Yes, there are many others but let me ask you - ever felt lost in any of these areas? I know I have and I'm not ashamed to admit it - cause - till I did I was unable to find my way out of lostness (yes, I know that's not a word).

Being lost in any area of life can waste time, energy, resources and life in general. Ever stayed in the wrong job to long? Guilty! The wrong relationship too long? Guilty! So, Tim where are you going with this? OK, there are five things we need to consider when it comes to being lost; where are we lost, why are we lost, are we lost because of ourselves or others, have we been lost in this same area in the past and how do we get un-lost?

Where are we lost - Lost is more an emotional than physical issue. Generally speaking your GPS lady is not going to help you get out of a bad relationship or job.

The best way to determine if you are lost is to consider the following; if you are feeling a lot of - stress, confusion, anxiety, frustration, a lot of negative or invalidating self-talk, resentment, disappointment, unmet expectations, you are most likely lost - maybe not super lost but lost nonetheless. Doesn't matter whether it's a relationship, business, career or any other area - it's most likely a time for - a change, letting go, surrender, new growth, acceptance, an ending, a new beginning or at the least some quiet introspection time.

Why are we lost - well, a few taken from the above pretty much sums this one up.

We are lost because; we feel stuck, feel obligated, are afraid we can't handle change, don't like uncertainty, are in blame mode, feel abandoned or just lonely - any or all of these and many others can contribute to lost feelings or actually being lost.

Are we lost because of ourselves or others - there is little in life we can control, in fact the only thing we can control is ourselves - our decisions, choices, attitudes, mindsets, feelings etc. You would be amazed, maybe not, how many people believe they can control - the weather, the traffic, other people, consequences and just about everything. Got news for you - no can do - no matter how hard you try or how much you feel you should be able to control everything. So, if you are a control freak I'm guessing you are lost a lot and why? Because you are placing your destiny, legacy, happiness, health etc. in the hands of others or circumstances that you will never be able to control. So being lost is ultimately a decision we make due to any number of uncontrollable factors.

Have we been lost in this same area in the past - This one is simple - if you have ever been lost a second or third time in the same life area - guess what? Right, you didn't learn what life wanted you to learn during the previous lostness so it's giving you another chance. And guess what? If you don't learn it this time it will keep giving you more opportunities to learn it until you finally do. Boy, I am so guilty of this one that I hate to admit it in public.

How do we get un-lost - well there's a book here but I'll keep it short. In no particular order of importance;

-Spend more time in honest self-examination and introspection.
-Create an honest support group (3-10) of people who you can bring real issues to and they will be honest with you no matter what. Never rely on just one person because no matter how smart they are you will only get their opinion and trust me - one is never enough.
-Have a couple of coaches - never just one and make sure they have experience in the areas where you want or need guidance.
-Learn to accept the truth and not your version of it.
-Change your mindsets about change, uncertainty or new beginnings. See them as positive, necessary and valuable.
-Get outside of your own ego-driven attitudes, paradigms and comfort levels.
-Admit failure, mistakes, poor choices and/or decisions.
-Don't get stuck in other's realities - stay focused on what is really happening or going on and not what others want you to see or believe.

As an author, I could go on for pages with this stuff, but let's wrap it up with one key point. Sooner or later in the adventure we call life - all of us are going to feel lost, get lost or be lost in some area of life. If you live life to the fullest you can't avoid mistakes, bad decisions or choices, failure etc. "lostness" but what you can do is learn from it or them, so you don't keep getting lost again and again in the same life area. There yet???

 

Author:  Tim Connor  Global speaker and trainer (23 countries and 4000 presentations) on a variety of sales, leadership, motivation, management and business and personal relationships and best selling author of over 80 books. To subscribe to my weekly free motivational booster articles send me an email - tim@timconnor.com. 704-875-1230.