Tip Thursday - Delegation

One of the challenges in delegating to others is the need to get past the 'I'll do it myself' syndrome. Sure, sometimes it feels like it's just faster and easier to take care of it yourself, but it can quickly become a habit, resulting in a lot of your time being wasted engaging in tasks that others could do for you.

Spending the time up front showing someone how to take care of a task for you may cost you more time initially than if you just did it yourself, but it will save you in the long run, allowing you more time to focus on the activities where you cant ruly add value. If you are looking to advance your skills, value and position identifying which tasks you engage in repeatedly that could be delgated or automated is key. Just because you can do it doesn't mean you should!

Tip Thursday - Productivity

Often our biggest challenge in getting things done is finding the time. However, we often engage in
activities over and over using only our familiarity with the task to shorten the time it takes. Instead, think of everything you do as a potential 'process', one that can be documented, repeated and potentially outsourced.

By doing this you put yourself in the position of creating systems for completing your work that eliminate duplicative processes. Thinking of this potential before you engage in a new activity opens you to the streamlining process, allowing you to create the processes as you go. That way you only expense the full time a task takes the first time, freeing up all future expenditures.

Tip Thursday - Time Management

When everything on our To-Do list is important and we are facing too many priorities we often have to regain focus to avoid a feeling of overwhelm.

It is interesting to note that the word 'priority' was first introduced into the English language in the 1400's as a singular. It meant 'the very first thing'.  It remained singular for the next 500 years and only became pluralized in the 1900's, where we determined that we had multiple priorities.

When everything on your desk seems important and you are unable to define clearly what your true priority may be, try implementing a restricted time frame. Ask yourself... 'If I only had 2 hours left in my work day, what would need to get done?' When time is short we often are much better at cutting through to what really matters. If you're not under a time crunch (yet) then arbitrarily create one to help you establish the clarity you need.

Tip Thursday - Productivity

All productivity tips typically focus on optimizing your ability to get things done. However, this is only important if the things on your list are important. Otherwise, you are merely trying to keep busy.

Ensure that you are constantly building in activities that move you toward the fulfillment of a 'big' goal - something that moves you, inspires you, drives you, fulfills you. Without this you will likely always struggle to stay 'productive', simply because you have no interest in working on what you're working on!

Tip Thursday - Time Management

Beware the impact on your time of the Energy Vampires. These are the people that will suck up all of your time with little return. They will often disguise their needs as 'urgent' in a desire for you to drop what you're doing and come to their aid.

Stop reinforcing their behaviour by setting time aside for them. If their request is not an urgent company-critical issue then offer a polite - "I'm under a tight deadline right now and can't help out this week".

Don't allow these people to compromise your schedule and your needs. Their time consumption can be insatiable. Become more conscious of putting your needs first and let the Vampires Beware!

Goldilocks Success Principles

Although Goldilocks may not be the model of 'Success' that would first come to mind, she had one clear insight that we could all benefit from. She was a strong proponent of the value of recognising when things were 'just right'. For those of us striving to achieve a given level of success in our careers and lives, the concept of 'just right' is an important one to integrate into our existing strategies. Often we mistake being successful with requiring who we are and what we do being the 'best', with 'best' being a euphemism for 'perfect'.

However, it is often the bid to be perfect that creates a vision of an unobtainable goal, limiting our success. Focusing instead on being more successful allows for even small achievements to count, each of which, when combined with other small gains, may serve to move us forward exponentially.

Making a conscious effort to be perfect at everything we do can serve to delay, if not deter, us from achieving. The ideal of perfect is a near impossible standard to meet, considering we will almost always believe that we could have given or done more, if allotted more time, money, support, resources, education, etc. Who wouldn't agree that they couldn't have done 1% more?

That 1% is enough to keep you from earning the Perfect title! It's enough to label your accomplishments 'less than perfect', if only to yourself. Many will find that they hesitate to take action if they believe their first efforts will likely fall short of that perfect mark. Thus they have lost before they start. Not trying prevents them from learning and developing new skills, from moving forward through achieving even small wins and successes.

How many times have you seen someone receive accolades for a project that you felt fell short of your standards? Not perfect by your definition but good enough to gain them credit and recognition. It essence it was 'just right'. Take a moment to think about what 'just right' brought them...

• Likely the same recognition, rewards and reputation boost that you received from your last 'perfect' project
• Less time spent on the completion of the assignment that they were then able to spend on completing other projects, or to focus on themselves, their family, their friends
• Less stress, given they were not agonizing over the need to be perfect or to having to hand in something they felt was less than perfect
• They felt good about what they accomplished and were able to celebrate its 'successful' completion rather than stressing over the elements they couldn't get to due to budget or time constraints

In essence, letting go of the need for perfect frees you mentally, physically and emotionally, enabling you to accomplish more, to be and feel more successful. Consider the following tips to help you with your next project.

• Take a look at the goals and milestones you have established and define levels of performance. If you have perfectionist tendencies you likely have already identified the 'ideal' for each milestone.  Now add to it defined performance levels that aren't perfect but that are sufficient to meet the needs and expectations of others.  In essence, create a vision of the 'just rights', the 'good enoughs'.  Establishing this level up front gives you a clear and okay fallback position for when life intervenes and prevents 'perfect' from happening.  Setting those levels upfront gives you the permission to use them. Creating them after the fact will always leave you feeling like you failed.
• Try using someone else's yardstick instead of your own to help you gain perspective on what measures others establish. The insights from others may help you to establish your just right/good enough mark.If you find you are uncomfortable with a 'just right' goal that someone else establishes then use it as a minimum level of achievement and set levels of performance in staged levels of achievement beyond this point.  These additional levels then become your 'just right plus 10%', your 'just right plus 20%'.  You might then discover that you can feel pretty good at letting go of a project at 'just right plus 15%', giving you a lot more flexibility than always having to achieve  50% more than everyone else.  What could you do with the gift of time that extra 35% represents?

This isn't settling, it's called being strategic. If putting an additional 35% of effort into something will not net you at least 35% more in gains you are wasting your effort. Your time and effort are not limitless commodities. Learning to assign your efforts and time appropriately is what effective time management and, ultimately, your success is dependent upon.  

Goldilocks knew more than simple break and enter techniques! She knew that recognising when something was 'just right' was a form of perfectionism all its own!

Tip Thursday - Time Management

One of the biggest complaints of workers today is that they spend far too much time in meetings. In order to recover time that you can better spend on other tasks and activities, consider reducing 1 meeting per week by 25%. 

If your typical meeting lasts 60 minutes, reduce it to 45, which will likely serve to eliminate the 'filler' discussions and not the actual business that needs to take place. 

Reducing 1 meeting per week will save you 13 hours at the end of the year. Although this might not sound like much, that represents 2 full days of time that you could put toward things that would benefit you more. Are you in meetings far more frequently? 

Reducing 1 meeting per day by 25% nets you an extra 5.5 hours per month, or roughly 10 extra days per year to do with as you will. 

Don't have enough time to do everything on your bucket list? Consider cutting one meeting a day short and put that time toward crossing more off your to-do list 

Tip Thursday - Meeting Management

When scheduling your meeting ensure that you consider the end time of the meeting to be a `Hard Stop`. 

Continuing a meeting beyond its scheduled end point, simply because you did not cover all of your agenda items, shows disrespect to the importance of your attendees time. 

Always living to the stated end point forces you and the attendees to become more proficient in planning your agenda and managing the meeting processes to move effectively through the agenda items. 

Tip Thursday - Time Management

When we say that 'We don't have time' to do something, it implies that we are overloaded. Not only does this send a signal to others that we are operating at capacity (and therefore should not be considered for that great new project) but it signals to our brains that we are overwhelmed, increasing our feelings of stress.

Instead, replace it with 'It's not my priority'.  The implication with this phrase is that your time, and how you spend it, is a choice. You are currently engaged in those activities of your choosing, that will propel you, your career and life, forward. If you are not happy with the way that things are going for you, then you have complete control over your priorities, and therefore have the time to implement the changes required.

The Lure of the Urgent

There is much written about how to manage your time effectively, about how to get things done.

However, regardless of how much volume you manage to work your way through each day you may still find yourself struggling at the end of the year to get your key objectives met. Your lament, of course, was that it just wasn't possible, there wasn't enough time.

When you are constantly busy, are actively putting out fires, haven't a minute to call your own... the challenge is not that you aren't moving tasks forward and getting things done, but that you might not be getting enough of the 'right' things done. This is the dance between the Urgent and the Important.

The Urgent are the loud tasks, the pushy tasks. These often seem important at the time but, in retrospect, rarely did anything to move your objectives and goals further. In fact, urgent tasks are typically driven by someone else.  These are activities that they have left to the last minute, failed to plan for, or simply overlooked.  They are now 'urgent' because they weren't dealt with sooner. Rarely are they important tasks, their apparent importance driven only by the lack of time remaining to get them done.

Certainly there is the occasional true crisis, something that couldn't have been planned for or foreseen, but the daily urgent activities you face are rarely these. Most urgent activities have only become so due to someone's lack of planning or preparation. 

In contrast though, Important tasks are those that contribute the most to our objectives and that therefore have the greatest long term impact. They are worth our attention because these are the activities that move us forward, whether personally or professionally.  The challenge though is that the Important tasks seldom need to get done today. As a result, they lose ground to the urgent demands placed upon us each day.  We then get caught up in busy work but not in meaningful work or in working on tasks that add value to the organization, our growth and our future.

Keeping busy dealing with urgent items can feel 'important' at the time, but leave us coming up short at year end. This is the biggest source of frustration for people during annual performance reviews. They feel their 'shortfall' was not due to a lack of input but a lack of time. They felt overloaded and, because they feel that they were constantly 'contributing', that they are deserving of reward - the bonus, the recognition, the promotion and are disheartened when these rewards don't arrive.  

The challenge always rests in recognising the difference between 'getting things done' and 'getting the right things done'.  One keeps you busy while the other moves you ahead.

Take a look at your To-do lists for the past week.  As you review each day highlight the tasks you had planned that directly contributed to your key objectives and goals for the year.  Odds are... you had very few, if any.  You spent the week putting out fires, moving 'work' off your desk - but not engaged in work that contributed significantly to moving ahead.  You dealt with the urgent, not the important.

US President Dwight D. Eisenhower had a simple system to ensure that he was being effective as well as efficient.  He did this by managing his Important and Urgent activities.  For this, take a look at your current To-Do list and Categorize each item listed according to the following...

1. Important and Urgent.  These are your true MUST do items for the day.  However, the fact that they are both important and urgent generally means that you have left these items for the last minute.  Planning ahead a little better, fitting Important items in sooner, avoiding procrastination all could help avoid creating 'urgency' where possible.
2. Important not Urgent.  Doing these items helps to decrease the number of activities you have in the category above.  Ensuring that you are not avoiding the Important for the Urgent means that you are constantly moving those important projects forward.  Every to-do list should contain a number of these items. The more your day is made up of these items the more effective and efficient you're being and likely the more successful.
3. Not Important, but Urgent.  These are the items that will tend to consume your time and prevent you from reaching your goals. The more you get caught up in these activities the 'busier' you will be but the less effective in the long run.  A common source of these types of activities are other people, especially those that haven't managed their time effectively and now have deadlines looming, creating a false sense of urgency.  Don't allow their urgency to become your own.  Do what you can, help where you can, but create a deliverable that works for you.
4. Not Important, not Urgent.  Why are you doing these?  These are activities that are simply distractions.  Minimize, eliminate, ignore or cancel.  The less of these you do the more time you will have for what really matters.

It can be challenging at first to move out of 'firefighting' mode because it can be gratifying - in the short term.  You feel necessary and needed.  It is important not to lose sight of your longer term objectives and goals.  Keeping these items constantly in mind helps you to build plans, schedule activities and take the action steps needed to move them forward.  Start by ensuring that every day contains at least one key action item that contributes substantively to a key objective.  Then make it two, then three.  Soon you will be spending more of your time on getting the right things done, which is the hallmark of successful people.  

We can all be busy.  Successful people are those that make the choices necessary to be busy doing things that count in the long term.

Tip Thursday - Productivity

Follow the under 10 minute rule. If a task arrives at your desk that could be done in under 10 minutes, do it right away. It would take more time to read the task, put it aside, and reread it and do it later than just getting it done right away. Often it is the small tasks that are more likely to get sidelined, taking up the mental head space needed for bigger, more complex tasks.

You Have More Free Time than you Think!

Perhaps one of the biggest complaints I hear from clients is that they 'have no time' and that it is this decided 'lack of time' that is preventing them from exercising, eating right, taking on new projects, moving up, moving out, moving on. The ready excuse for being unable to take on anything else is that they simply don't have the time to get it done.

However, according to Sociologist John Robinson, a professor at the University of Maryland and Director of the Americans' Use of Time Project, most people have around 40 hours of free time per week.  40 hours.  It tends to beg the question - How are you using yours?

It seems that the Centre for Time Use Research, at the University of Oxford in the UK, has collected the largest and most detailed time studies, covering over 50 years, 850,000 people and 30 countries. The data they have mined from this is helping to gain perspective on the widespread perception that life today is far more hectic and busy than it has ever been.  However, the time diaries tell a different story, highlighting that 'actual' hours of work have not changed substantially from the 1980's.

Why then do we all feel so time-pressed?  It seems that there are a couple of consistent reasons, most notably...

• That we are all heavily influenced by the current sociological impact of the perceived need to be seen as 'being busy', that our busy-ness is an indicator of our Success.
• That time studies show that what we think we are doing and what we are actually doing are two very different things and, as a result, most people tend to over-estimate their work hours by 5-10% (in the US).  Therefore we 'feel' like we are working more hours, and thereby have less available free time, than we actually do.
• That watching television is taking up more than 50% of people's free time but we tend to significantly under-estimate viewing time due to its perceived 'unproductive' nature.
• That we are sleeping more than we used to.  It is found that the average American sleeps 8.75 hours per day.  However, people tend to admit to sleeping less than they do because it says that they are 'busy' to others.  

It has been found that there are, in fact, two groups of individuals that are working harder than ever...

• Single working parents
• Well educated professionals with young children

Interestingly, it is this second group, the time-squeezed professionals, that are having the largest impact on the perception that we are all time-starved.  This group contains the academics who study time and the journalists who write about it!  They therefore give greater voice to the issue than it actually merits, simply due to its relevance to their personal challenges.

If you are looking to utilize your free time more strategically, or at least to free up some time to devote to a new activity or hobby, there are some key steps you can take to reclaim some of yours.

1. Undergo your own Time Study.  In order to `find` time you need to understand where your time is currently spent and, in particular, where it is wasted.  Keeping a time diary or activity log will help you to gain some perspective on how much time you are currently investing in various activities and allow you to make deliberate and strategic decisions on where to redirect it.  Knowing that we tend to over-estimate the time spent on work and under-estimate time spent on leisure, it is important to gain some accurate perspective on where your time goes. You can use a free online tool (perhaps Toggl), set up your own Excel spreadsheet or simply create a chart and record what activity you are engaged in every 15 minutes.  Most experts agree that you should complete this for an entire week and then view the results.  
2. Gain clarity about how you would like to spend your leisure.  What are the activities you would like to engage in?  What do you want more free time to do?  Establishing some priorities will help you to make better decisions about what leisure activities to reduce to provide time to direct toward new ones. You will find that it will come down to wanting to do something 'more' than the thing you are currently doing.  Establish those priorities before viewing the time study results so that you can better challenge your existing free time usage.
3. Address your Time Confetti.  We all have these short little blocks of free time over the course of our day and week that don't seem very productive.  On their own they aren't nearly long enough to get anything of substance accomplished and they are therefore wasted.  This is like those small blocks of space on your computer that prevent it from operating optimally.  You need to defrag your PC periodically to free up that space.  In essence you are doing the same thing, identifying those small chunks of time and becoming more deliberate about how they can be used.  I always have a file of reading with me that allows me to get 'caught up' on background research I'm conducting during any of my time-confetti moments.
4. Consolidate/Chunk your activities.  Activities like 'errands' should be chunked together so that they get done all at once.  This takes less time overall and eliminates some of those 'confetti' holes that might exist in your schedule otherwise.
5. Reduce your TV time.  Most people conducting time-studies discover that a significant portion of their leisure time is taken up by watching television.  Reducing your time spent here can free up a significant amount of time that you could devote to other activities, but it needs to become a conscious choice.  Much time watching television is simply 'filler', surfing around or watching something by default.  Know what you want to watch and watch that, without the need to watch the shows occurring before or after.  Consider also that there may be activities you want to include into your schedule that you could do while catching up on your favourite shows, thus applying the same time to two activities rather than just the one. 

Our time is one of our most precious resources.  How you choose to spend yours (and it is always a choice!) will have a significant impact on what you experience within and get out of your life. 

How to Get More Stuff Done

We all have our own systems in place for helping keep us on track, our personal methods for structuring and organizing our days.  This is as it should be.  Different people, different personalities and even different roles require varying degrees and types of structure.  The issue is not 'how' you organize your day but that you do.

Regardless of 'what' we do for a living we are all required to get stuff done over the course of the day. If we also add in all of the chores waiting for us on our personal to-do lists the 'stuff' waiting for our time and attention becomes overwhelmingly huge.  It is likely safe to say that with everything that is pressing upon us for our time and attention we could all benefit from becoming just a little bit better in managing our day.  No one, but the heart surgeon, is likely telling you to slow down and to do less!

The question most of us struggle with though is How?  How do I get more done when I already feel as though I am stretched to the limit?  How do I possibly get more done when I have 'inherited' work from downsized colleagues and am now carrying the workload of one and half (if not more) people?  How do I manage to get 'more' done and feel that I am not just surviving, but thriving?

The challenge in dealing with the issue of Personal Productivity is that there is not a one-size-fits-all solution.  There is no one method that you can pick up and apply that will work equally well for you and your 12 closest colleagues.  Pieces of it will work, but they need to be blended with other aspects of other systems to create a collage of elements that work for you.  However, building the perfect system, one that helps you to work optimally, is not a haphazard affair.  It takes great insight into how you truly like to work, what you are good at (and what you`re not), and when and how you are most effective.

The bottom line is that becoming more efficient in your use of time takes... time.  An investment of your time to assess your current systems, determine what`s working and what isn`t and to source out elements to trial and add to the mix.  The following are top tips to try and perhaps adopt. Each will, in different ways, help you to get more done.  Since the implementation of any new idea will take some time and focus to make familiar and comfortable enough to become habit, I suggest highlighting your favourites and pick one to start.  Once it has become integrated into the way you manage your day, pick another.

Plan to your Focus.  We all have a specific rhythm to our focus.  Some of us are more energized and focused in the morning, some in the afternoon and some don't kick into high gear until later in the evening.  Understanding when we are at our best is important to how we schedule our day.  Plan your most difficult tasks for these moments.  We want to work on our more more mindful (not mindless) tasks during our personal peak times.  If you are at your best first thing in the morning then you start your day by working on some of your most challenging tasks, not in checking your inbox.

Understand your Time Wasters.  We all have the same amount of time available to us each day, however some people just seem to be able to get more out of their day than others.  Generally, if you examine their day, you will find less time being spent on meaningless activities; those activities that create a sense of 'busyness' but that do not move critical projects and goals forward.  However, understanding how much time we are losing each day, and week, to merely being busy is difficult unless we do a time study.  Over the course of one business week, record the activities you are engaged in.  This is easily done by creating a checklist of activities and simply checking off what you were doing every 15 minutes.  Taking a look at this, over the course of a week, will give you key insights into how you are spending your time and, more importantly, where you are losing it.

Powering through Procrastination.  Typically, the biggest hurdle to breaking through the procrastination we experience on many tasks is getting started.  We feel stuck, for some reason, and engage instead in avoidance behaviours, rather than taking action.  To break through this barrier try the following.  Gather up the tasks that you are currently procrastinating on and block off a period of time in which you devote 10 minutes to each task.  If you have 3 tasks you are procrastinating on, set aside 35 minutes.  Set  a time for 10 minutes and work, full out, on the first task for 10 minutes.  You are not looking to finish the task, merely to get a satisfying amount of work accomplished.  When the timer goes off... stop!  Take a break for 2 minutes, then work on the second task for 10 minutes, full out, then break again.  Don`t skip the breaks.  You will find that working for 10 minutes on the task is not as intimidating or overwhelming as when confronted with the thought of having to work on it for hours. Often, this quick 10 minutes is enough to break through the barrier to your ability to focus on the project for longer.

Pace Yourself.  We cannot maintain full-out concentration indefinitely.  At the very least we require a break roughly every 90 to 120 minutes, which coincides with our natural Ultradian rhythms.  The more physically and mentally taxing the activity the sooner we require a break, whereas less taxing activities will allow us to go longer before needing one.  Regardless of the timing do need recovery breaks at some point, breaks that help to renew our energy, not deplete it further.  Therefore, simply shifting to a different task is not going to work.  This break period needs to be customized to you and is based on activities that help you to restore and build your energy.  For some it could be a physical break, for others a quick musical interlude.  Building in breaks to your day may sound like you are going to be devoting less time to your tasks and may appear to be in conflict with your goals.  However, the goal is to get more stuff done, not to spend more time doing it.  Taking breaks that renew energy allows you to bring more energy and focus to the tasks you engage in, allowing you to complete them in less time. Strategic breaks therefore increase productivity, moreso than trying to power through task after task with little focus or mind power.

Create a Habit List.  Putting a habit you are trying to build onto your to-do list is not particularly effective because it doesn`t give you feedback on how you are doing at developing that skill.  It`s the consistency of the action that builds the habit.  Consider the habit you are looking to build (walk 10,000 steps a day, no caffeine, quit smoking, break for lunch).  Rather than merely creating a reminder onto our daily to-do list, we need to highlight the habit differently.  For this tip we are `borrowing`an idea from the comedian Jerry Seinfeld who felt that the best way to becoming a better comic was to write better jokes.  To do that it meant having to write jokes - EVERY day.  This is his biggest tip for new comedians and one he utilized throughout his career.  He starts with a large, wall-mounted full year calendar. Every day that he writes he marks off with a big red X. The idea is to keep the chain of X`s going. Your only job then becomes - Don`t break the chain. Do the same for the new habit you are looking to develop.  You need to be able to `see` at a glance how you are doing... not breaking the chain is a great way to get that quick and visible feedback!

Manage your Zeigarnik Effect.  You may not know what it is, or that it had a name, but you definitely fall prey to the effect.  The Zeigarnik Effect is the mental reminder system that is built-into your brains that nags you about all of your unfinished tasks.  It is the little voice that keeps interrupting your focus on one task to remind you about 3 other things not to forget.  Often we then start jotting all of these attention-seeking thoughts onto our to-do lists - despite the fact that we have no intention of actually getting to them that day.  At the end of the day they remain on the list and are interpreted by our brains as `not done`.  We have difficulty feeling good about what we have accomplished that day if we have too many 'undone' activities.  Instead, keep your to-list only for those tasks that you need and intend to do that day.  Maintain a reminder list for all of the other 'stuff' that is occupying head-space. Creating a physical dumping ground for it relaxes the brain and frees it up to devote more focus and attention to the task at hand.

If you have read to the end of this blog (thank you!) then you have invested some of your time in learning something new.  To get the most value for that time you need to take action.  Which of the ideas above would have the greatest positive impact on your life and work - right now?  How might you implement it?  What's the first step?  Taking action on one of these ideas is an investment in time that is likely to not only increase your productivity, but free up some of your time, allowing you the opportunity to re-invest it elsewhere.

Making Time go Further

The biggest lament from clients is usually that they lack the time needed to implement new ideas, projects and activities.  They know what they 'should' be doing to get ahead, but they lack the time to do it.  In this overloaded world we live in, time is often the most critical resource.  Consider the importance then, of a tip that helps you to reframe your time in such a way that it makes your time go further.  You still have the same 24 hours as everyone else, but rethinking your approach to time can actually allow you to get more done in those 24 hours, if not have a little left over.

The idea I'm speaking about is typically referred to as a 'Multiplier', which is a term applied to the engagement in a single activity that satisfies multiple goals.  Unlike Multi-tasking, which has you engaged in multiple activities in an effort to satisfy multiple goals, a Multiplier is a single activity that allows you to work on multiple goals simultaneously.  The beauty of this, of course, is that the same action moves you forward on multiple dimensions, taking you further, faster.

It requires us to become a little more strategic and thoughtful about the way in which we use our time, looking at our to-do lists to combine various activities, to roll them into one.  For instance, perhaps you have on your list that you need to finally hit that yoga class and you need to catch up with a friend.  Instead of scheduling these two tasks separately, consider calling your friend and getting them to go attend the yoga class with you.  One activity that crosses 2 items from your list and that reduces your time expenditure.

In business, this idea should be used strategically in determining what new projects to volunteer for.  Let's assume that you are looking at two different projects, both of which would heighten your visibility within the organization.  However, you have also been wanting to strengthen your community involvement, perhaps in volunteering for a charity.  One aspect of project number 2 involves a charity fundraiser to heighten the profile of the project within the community.  This project then satisfies two of your goals and should therefore be the one you say 'yes' to.

Think now of the multiplying advantage of a multiplier activity that satisfies not just two of your goals, but perhaps three, or four!  More done in less time, brilliant!  This is what working smarter, not harder, is all about and is a defining characteristic of most highly successful people.  There is a reason they somehow manage to get more done in less time.  It's not because they get more time than the rest of us but, rather, that they consciously use the time they have - differently.

Become time affluent by spending the time you have wisely.  Look for those Multiplier activities that allow you to satisfy more of your goals through one activity, blowing past those multi-taskers.  Grouping your goals into activities that satisfy them all allows you to stretch your time and have it working harder for you.

And that, in the words of Martha Stewart, is a Good Thing!

8 Time Management Tips that Boost Productivity

I'm not going to talk about the basics of Time Management here.  We're not talking about creating to-do
lists, or filing, or prioritizing.  You should know that stuff by now or have access to numerous resources to help you understand the fundamentals.  What I do want to share with you are eight great insights into Time and your use of it, all aimed specifically at helping you be more productive.

We all have too much on our plates, and we all struggle with finding ways to get more done in our day. Although that tends to be a given, how we approach all of those tasks and how we manage them is not. Over my years of coaching and working with Managers and Executives from a variety of industries and in a variety of roles, I have had the opportunity to observe and learn from many of the best.  The list that follows are my distillation of their lesser known but absolutely key successful 'Time Management' habits.  I hope they help you to think of and look at time and productivity a little differently.

1. There is no such thing as Time Management. This term is a misnomer preventing you from understanding that, in order to use your time effectively, you actually need to develop your skills in managing people, managing systems, managing technology, and managing you.  The better you are at managing these elements, the better use you will make of your time.
2. All of your media has an off switch.  Use it.  Even shutting off from everything for one hour of completely uninterrupted time per day can give you a huge boost to your productivity.  
3. Schedule time for interruptions.  Think of this as the equivalent of a professor's Office Hours.  The more you are able to create a set routine as to 'when' these times are, the more you, in essence, train others around you to respect them.  Conversely, use a Do Not Disturb sign for those times in which you absolutely will not welcome interruptions.  Fair warning to others around you!
4. Know your energy cycles and schedule to them.  Plan to face your most difficult or challenging tasks during your Peaks, not when your energy and focus are crashing.  We all have our own unique rhythms.  Know when you are at your productive peak each day and use that time strategically.
5. Timebox your activities.  This means that you assign a time limit to your activities.  Rather than going into a task with the thought that you will stick with it until it's done, assign an end time to it.  Typically you will find that it is easier to remain focused and you are able to get more done than if all tasks are left open-ended.  Urgency helps to drive focus.  
6. Turn key tasks into habits. The more that you create automatic systems for your mind to latch onto, the faster you are able to get it in gear and slip into work mode.  I typically write better in the mornings.  When I have office days then, I have a set routine I follow when I first hit my desk that, essentially, tells my brain that it's writing time.  This allows me to slip into the mental space I need in order to write what needs to be written.  Without it, I flounder.  Create the habits you need to get your key tasks flowing faster and more effortlessly.
7. Chunk and Batch.  Take large tasks and chunk them into smaller activities.  This creates manageable chunks of tasks that are easier to schedule and move through.  Batch similar chunks of activities together to take advantage of your brain grooves.  Different tasks require different types of thinking. Batching similar items together allows you to move through them more quickly because your brain is already in that mental groove.  Switching from one groove to another has a start-up time that you eliminate if you allow your brain to stay in a particular groove.   
8. Take breaks.  I am a firm believer in the need to take regular, short breaks in order to refresh, recharge and refocus.  No muscle can operate at maximum capacity, without recovery periods, without crashing.  Your brain is no different.  Push it full out, then allow it a little recovery time, then push it again.  Adding in the breaks will make you more productive during the moments of focus, allowing you to get further with breaks than you ever did without.  

Try a couple of these ideas out for size.  In the end, it is really not about managing your time so much as it is about managing your productivity.  Try a couple of the ideas above out and let us know how they worked for you and feel free to also share a couple of your best productivity and time management ideas.

Time Famine: the New Workplace Reality

We've all felt the starvation pangs of too little time, and it seems to be getting worse.  We are adding more
and more each day to our to-do lists but we are not gifted with any more time within which to accomplish them.  The Boston Globe called Time Famine the New American Epidemic.  We are all starved for more of this precious resource we call time.

In order to combat this, many of us focus our efforts on becoming more productive.  The thought being that if we learn to do more in less time we will have time 'left over' to devote to other things.  The thinking is sound but the problem is that there is always 'more' on the list to do.  We may get more done within our day, than do others, but we still feel starved for more time within which to get yet 'more' done.

Clearly there is an adjustment that needs to be made to the way that we are approaching the concept of time itself.  We all get 24 hours a day.  This is a finite figure and one which we are unable to impact.  What then needs to happen for us to become more Time Affluent?  We can't hoard our time away, earning interest on the unused portions, so we need to become more discretionary in its use.

If we truly begin to view our time as the precious resource it is, then we begin to become a little more conscious of the need to dole it out more cautiously.  The following are some of my key tips for beginning to manage your use of time differently and, hopefully, better...

1. Assess the people in your life.  This may not be a typical topic in 'time management' texts but people tend to be the biggest drain of and on our time.  If we view our time as the limited resource that it is, then you need to become more conscious of where you want to spend yours.  Take a look at the people in your life and rate them either a plus, minus or zero, according to the positive value that they bring and add to your life.  This gives you an idea of where your time is netting you a return. Reallocate your time accordingly.  
2. Do 'IT' each day.  We all have seemingly endless to-do lists.  We start each day knowing there is no possibility of completing everything.  However, it is never truly about crossing the most off of our list, but rather about crossing the right things off the list.  Don't mistake completing quantity as synonymous with quality.  Start your day by highlighting the one thing on your list that adds you the most value, that moves you ahead, that makes a difference to you... and do 'IT".  Do 'IT' first.  Don't compromise on this element for it's the one that does the most for you.  There will be no shortage of people clamouring for your time and attention over the course of the day, but doing 'IT' each day (whatever it happens to be!) will ensure that you spend time every day devoted to moving you forward, to making a difference to your life. 
3. Stop Waiting.  We are conditioned to stand in lines, waiting patiently for other people's time.  We do it in grocery stores, in banks, at the doctor's office, on the phone waiting for the 'next' customer service rep to become available. This represents down time for you.  Your time is as valuable as theirs so ensure that you plan for these delays.  Save tasks on your to-do lists for these moments.  Anticipate and plan the wait into your day so you aren't frustrated by it but grateful for it.
4. Their Crisis vs. Yours.  Don't allow a crisis on someone else's part to become a crisis on yours.  Know your schedule, know your needs and know where the person fits on your list from Point One above.  Just because someone is mis-managing their time/day/life doesn't mean that they automatically have the right to manage yours.  I understand that they want your help, they may even be at a point where they truly need it, but it isn't an automatic 'thing'.  Be judicious with your 'yeses'.  They are not a given nor are they an absolute.  Your day, your time, your schedule.  If tomorrow is better for you... say so and, if never is better, say that too.  Other people's mismanagement does not need to become your problem or issue... unless you let it.   
5. Book 45 minute meetings.  Everyone seems to schedule their meetings in 60 minute intervals.  Even if they begin and end on time it will become impossible to remain on schedule.  Additionally, it does not leave you time to mentally shift gears in between, to 'travel' from one meeting room to the next, to handle that 'one' issue that's pressing.  There is nothing you accomplish in 60 minutes that can't be done in 45.  
6. Take a Break.  You're not going to get everything done if you don't take a break, but you will likely get more done if you do!  Taking a break (go for a walk, go work out) helps to recharge your batteries, giving you more energy to apply to your tasks when you return.  Also, let's face it, inspiration rarely strikes anyone at their desk!  Getting out and moving will help to light that spark of creativity needed for the problem you left behind.  Plus... you need to build in time for you, keeping you happy and healthy.  Sitting at your desk all day, every day robs you of your health, focus and energy.  Build in 'you' time each day, during the day to replenish, restore and revitalize your body, mind and spirit.  

5 Top Productivity Tips from Start Ups

Those involved in Start Ups know that they have to make every minute count. Learning to be as productivewhen they get to market but even if they get there. Here are 5 top productivity tips that don't just work for start ups... they will help you increase your productivity as well!
as possible with the time available to them can make a significant difference in not just

1. Outsource the mundane.  For start ups this becomes a necessity.  As they are wearing multiple hats to get things going, it is critical they put their focus on what is important for them to be doing and find others to take care of the daily 'chores' that need to be done but that don't require them to do it.  Certainly this is a key concept highlighted in Timothy Ferriss' The 4-Hour Work Week, but one you need to begin to take to heart.  Regardless of your level within a corporation, you likely could benefit from a part-time Virtual Assistant of some kind, if only to handle some basic clerical work for you.  Don't limit it to work-only activities though.  Consider grocery services, full laundry services, house-cleaning...  All of the activities that need to get done but don't need you - specifically - to do them.  Do the math.  Often these services cost less for you to hire someone to do them for you than they would cost you to do them personally.
2. Book yourself into meetings - with yourself.  In these days of open calendars, you can get booked into meetings with others until your day has run away from you.  Ensure that you book blocks of time into your calendar that are for you.  Treat them as sacred.  Don't treat them lightly or trade them away too readily.  These are scheduled blocks of uninterrupted time that allow you to fully immerse yourself into a project, allowing your focus to be unbroken and you to surge ahead.  This time doesn't happen unless you make it happen.  Schedule it weeks and months ahead so that it's there waiting for you. 
3. Don't create MORE mundane work for yourself.  In meetings we have a tendency to promise to send information, make a connection for someone, set up another meeting.  Don't add it to your to-do list...  do it then.  If it is something you are doing for the person you are with they will not resent your sending an email right then and there.  Now it's not an empty promise, it's a done deal... and it never made it onto a to-do list!
4. Trim your meetings.  We have a habit of booking meetings in 1 hour blocks or, at minimum, in 30 minute increments.  Shave time off your meetings, adding them to your day, by booking what you need.  If you only need 12 minutes - book that!  Trim the excess up front so others know it will be a targeted meeting.  Teach others to be respectful of your time while you are being respectful of theirs.  
5. Always take the networking meeting.  We all live busy lives with more to do than the time to get it done.  Therefore, we tend to put off networking meetings thinking we will get to when we have more time - which we never have.  Those in start ups know that networking with others is critical to their success.  In today's business environment it is critical to everyone's success.  Nothing is stable.  Building your network, keeping it apprised of what you're doing, helping others within it, are activities that WILL serve you well and is always time that you are investing in your future.  Don't go crazy but don't overlook its value.  Successful entrepreneurs and start ups don't, you shouldn't either!

Preventative Action

Why does it always take something negative to happen before we take the action we knew we should have taken days, months or even years before?  Case in point.  My life, and perhaps more specifically my two businesses, is on my computer.  For my training business this means over a decade and a half of programs, files, slides and research.  I have had hard drives fail in the past, without adequate back up, and so I have an external hard drive to back things up. 

Now, I must admit that I haven't been backing things up as often as I should... I've gotten complacent.  I've tended to use the external drive primarily as a means of transporting and transferring data from my PC to my laptop for when I need to work remotely.  This past weekend though, I was hit by a trojan virus that appeared to have wiped my PC clean of both programs and files.  Not to worry though... I have my backup files on the external hard drive.  As luck, in particularly mine when it comes to technology, would have it though, I had decided to finally back up my files and my external hard drive was attached at the time of the virus invasion.  You guessed it... those files got wiped out too!

That's it... years of work... gone.  It took seconds.  Much of it I couldn't re-create without significant time and effort and it would certainly have a major impact on the product launches scheduled for January.  With some luck (positive this time!) and the help of a computer genius (previously known as a computer geek but upgraded forever to genius status!) my files were recovered.  However, the lesson was learned.  Not only was a second external hard drive purchased to ensure that a backup would always exist that was not directly attached to the PC, but a second computer as well. 

My original computer was 'older' (okay, maybe hitting the four year mark but in the world of computers it could almost be classified as ancient!!).  My lesson:  the information on my computer is too valuable for me to risk its loss.  I am now doing what I knew I should have all along, but it took the threat of its loss to make me take action.  To take THE action: the action I should have taken from the beginning but kept putting off.

Your lesson?  Certainly, make sure you are backing up your computer regularly but... there is a bigger life lesson here.  What action are you not taking today, that you are putting off, that you know you 'should'...  that you must be taking to ensure that you maintain control over your information, your relationships, your career, your life?

The following list is not exhaustive, but it's a good place to start:

• Have you got an updated resume?
• Do those people that matter in your life know how you feel?  When was the last time you said "I love you" to those that you do?
• Have you been to the doctor for a check up lately?  The dentist?  The optometrist?
• What about that weight you've been meaning to lose?
• How's your car running?  Need a check up to ensure you don't get stranded somewhere? Need a roadside assistance membership?

You get the idea.  Often we put off the 'maintenance' aspects of our lives with the belief that we 'don't have time', that 'we'll get to it later'.  The truth is though, we will be forced at some point in time to have to 'make' time'.  When systems break down, when we lose our jobs, we become sick or our car breaks down, we no longer have the option of putting things off.  Typically, these moments will occur when we least expect them, when we have even less time to focus on or devote ourselves to them but... we will no longer have the choice of timing. 

Learn to manage the timing of these critical moments by taking the preventative action you know you need to, you know you should... NOW.  It just might make those moments, if not a thing of the past, much easier to get through.

Now...  I think I better go call my doctor for a check up.  Hmmm...  maybe my mechanic too...

Success Strategy - Applying Pareto's Principle

You have likely heard of Pareto's Principle, also referred to as the 80/20 rule...  which states that roughly 80% of the effects are derived from 20% of the causes.  The principle is named after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto who, in 1906, determined that roughly 80% of the land was owned by 20% of the population, that 80% of the peas in his garden were produced by 20% of his plants.  In business, most widely accept that 80% of their sales come from 20% of their customers.  However, how does this relate to us and our potential success?

Consider the following... 

Many of us would love to be able to speak a second language, if not a third or fourth.  However, it may often seem like a huge challenge, requiring years of effort to achieve.  However, to be conversationally fluent in Spanish you would need to have a vocabulary of 2,500 of the high-frequency words.  With these 2,500 words you would be able to understand 95% of all conversations.  In order to get 98% comprehension, you would need roughly 5 years of study and tens of thousands of new words added to those core 2,500.    To obtain 95% comprehension though, you would only need approximately 5 months of study. 

• 5 months of study for 95% comprehension
• 5 years of study for 98% comprehension

If you want to pick up the basics of a foreign language, which method would you want to invest in?  2,500 words represents only 2.5% of all Spanish words.  Therefore knowing only 2.5% of the total subject matter produces 95% of your desired results.  This is the Pareto Principle.

Now consider this in light of the previous post in which we talked about the concept of  'good enough' as it relates to your potential success.  How much effort and input is truly required for me to reap the benefits and rewards that I want and need?  This is the key question we rarely take the time to ask ourselves and, as a result, end up either expending too much time and effort relative to the results achieved, or we fail to take action at all, believing ourselves unable (or unwilling) to invest the effort we believe is required.

Certainly there is a significant difference in the perceived effort required to learn Spanish between 5 months and 5 years.  One's interest and commitment level certainly would need to be high to invest 5 years of study.  The biggest barrier most clients erect to their taking action on a desired goal is the 'lack of time'.  We only have so much time available to us each day, week and month with multiple demands for its use.  All too often we look only toward increasing our time management skills through the use of more efficient 'systems' for organizing our activities.  Instead, I invite you to be more strategic in the application of your time in the first place. 

The Work:

1. If 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts - you had better be very clear about what that 20% represents and ensure that your better-than-average efforts go here.  For other areas apply the 'good-enough' principle!  Less effort in these areas will not diminish your net results, in which case extra effort is a useless expenditure.
2. In any task consider which efforts contribute toward the final desired results.  These are your core energy expenditures.  Any other activities should be minimized, if not eliminated.
3. Consider also what your true end-goal is.  We have the number 100% imprinted in our heads...  we feel that we must do everything to 100%.  However, it is not only not always a realistic goal, it is often not practical.  If our goal is to be functionally bi-lingual in Spanish, then it does not require 100% comprehension.  5 months of study, netting us 95% comprehension is enough to have us up and running.  Additional time and effort is required to take us to 100% but in no way is it needed for us to be successful.  This extra time up front can save you significant time in the long run and have you enjoying your successes much sooner.
4. Adopt a selfish attitude when it comes to your time.  Your time is finite.  All too often we act and behave in ways that would indicate that our time is infinite and unimportant.  However, it is a central component to our own success and needs to be treated as such.  Therefore, ensure that you are not spending 80% of your time working to enhance someone else's success instead of your own.  You need a clear vision of what you want to achieve and what actions are necessary to get there.  80% of your time (minimum) needs to be spent fulfilling these objectives.

As to methods, there may be a million and then some, but principles are few.  The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods.    Ralph Waldo Emerson

Turning Energy Into Time

If you are anything like me, then you likely find yourself overloaded with more things to do in a day than can possibly be accomplished.  We use technology more to stay on top of things, and to keep in touch with everyone, than to free up our time.  We try to cram as much as possible into our workday, to be as productive as possible, in the vain hope that perhaps we won't have to work late or take work home to catch up.

Is it little wonder then that we are always on the search for the latest tool or tip that helps us manage our time more efficiently?  After all, that's the real issue, isn't it?  Not having enough of that precious commodity - time.  Or... is it?

Maybe, instead of continuing to work at managing our time and tasks more effectively, we need to reframe our thinking.  The issue with time is that it's finite.  No matter how you do the math, there are only 24 hours in a day.  Instead of learning to manage your time more efficiently you have to learn manage the Energy you bring to your tasks.

Much of the early research on energy management comes to us from the world of sports, but it is just as applicable to our day-to-day work lives.  Heck... to our lives in general!

As a professional athlete, it is essential to understand exactly what it takes to achieve consistent, peak performance.  Research has shown that though it is important to hone the technical skills each athlete brings to their respective sport, it is essential that they maximize the Energy output in order to increase performance.

We may not be operating our daily lives at the same physical level as professional athletes, but the machines we're using to accomplish our work (our bodies) are the same.  The challenge for us though, is that we are typically asked to 'perform' for 8 hours a day, a minimum of 5 days a week, without the benefit of the knowledge or training that athletes receive.

A key training method of elite athletes is known as Periodization, first introduced by the early Greeks.  Periodization is the concept of improving performance through balancing periods of activity with periods of rest.  Consider your typical work day though.  You likely...

• Wake up to an alarm clock blaring at you
• Race through your morning routine to get out the door as quickly as possible to beat the traffic
• Move from one task to another, one meeting to another, with no pause
• Take lunch at your desk so you can continue to work... you wouldn't want to 'waste' time!
• Race home, work tucked under your arm
• Fix dinner
• Spend time with the kids (that all-important 'quality' time!)
• Squeeze in a little more work
• Collapse in front of the television to 'vegetate'
• Drag yourself to bed so you can get up tomorrow to do it all again!

Where was the rest, the renewal, in your day?  Oh... right... it's called vacation and it doesn't come daily, it comes annually!  We live in a world where 'busyness' is worn like a badge of honour and where renewal and recovery get ignored.  However, our ability to be fully engaged at work, to be optimally productive, depends upon our ability to periodically 'disengage' successfully.

Building moments of recovery into your work day will enable you to engage in your tasks more fully and passionately.  Research has clearly shown that productivity increases when people build in periods of renewal into their work day.  Even though they are 'breaking' more, they get more done than those choosing to work 'flat out'.  Some of the most creative thinkers (such as daVinci and Einstein) were strong advocates of breaks, to allow their subconscious minds to work out the problem at hand.

I have clients that will not schedule any meeting exceeding 90 minutes in length, without scheduling a break, recognizing the link of our energy levels to our body's natural Ultradian Rhythms.  And... really... most meetings run needlessly long anyway!

Consider breaking your day into 90-120 minute blocks of time.  Rather than fighting these natural body rhythms, defer to them instead.  A break needn't be long in duration for it to provide you with enough of a rest for your energy and focus to improve.  Potential ideas for workday renewal breaks?

• take a walk
• read a chapter of a book, or listen to one
• listen to music
• do some light stretches
• prepare and eat a light, healthy snack
• work on a puzzle, crossword, sudoku

You get the idea!  Whatever activity would work best for you and relieve you of some of the physical and mental stress you've experienced so far.  Allow your mind to switch gears, take a break from the task at hand, so that it can be more focused when you return.  Odds are that the solution to the problem you were stuck on before the break, is waiting for you upon your return!



(if you are interested in learning more about the idea of Managing your Energy to increase your time effectiveness, send us a blank email with Energy Ebook in the subject line.  We'd be more than happy to forward you a pdf of our ebook... enjoy!)