Step 1: Master Your Morning

• Make a To-Do list.
• Focus on time management.
• Complete one task at a time.
• Discipline yourself to follow through on your task to completion and avoid interruptions.

Step 2: Develop Goals for the Week

• Keep a notebook on your desk to jot down upcoming tasks.
• Develop a short-term and long-term goals list.
• Get out of the habit of having sticky notes all over your desk, computer, etc.

Step 3: Stop Procrastinating

• Choose your best time of the day to complete tasks.
• First, take care of those tasks you dread the most. After you are finished you will see it wasn’t that bad after all.
• Set deadlines for yourself and commit to them no matter what.

Step 4: Prioritize Everything

• Use colored folders to locate files quickly.
• Start with your most time sensitive tasks.
• Arrange tasks in order of deadline.
• Don’t forget to enter the deadlines on your calendar.
• If someone gives you an assignment don’t forget to ask for the deadline.
• Learn to say “no”. If you know your schedule does not permit another task on your list then you should make it known. Is there someone else who may be able to assist you?

Step 5: Organize Your Desk

• Begin your day with a clean desk. Take off anything that is not work related.
• Place needed tools on your desk such as stapler, tape dispenser, paper trays, etc.
• Try to keep up with your filing on a daily basis. Discard duplicate documents according to your company policy.
• Clear your desk each day before you leave the office.

Step 6: Limit Office Interruptions

• Remove candy dishes from your desk and out of view. (Discourages co-workers from stopping by to get a snack.)
• Your work area should not face the door where you may be visible and an easy target for interruptions.
• Should you have an important deadline and experience constant interruptions find a vacant office to escape.
• Ask co-workers if you may get back to them once you are finished your deadline.
• Place your phone on do not disturb and listen to your voice mail and e-mail while on a break.

Step 7: Conquer Your E-mail

• Turn off the sound of your e-mail notification.
• Schedule a time to preview e-mail. It is not necessary to constantly check your e-mail messages unless you are expecting one.
• Set your e-mail view to auto preview.
• “Go Green” Don’t print messages unless you have to.
• Read e-mails once, take action and then move the message to the appropriate folder.
• Review outgoing messages for grammar and spelling mistakes.

Step 8: Manage Your Phone Calls

• Place a call log by your phone.
• Keep your voice mail greeting current.
• If you have a receptionist have them screen your calls.
• Schedule a time to return your calls in order of importance.
• Gather documentation you may need prior to returning the call.
• Always be prepared to leave a voice mail. It is better to leave a voice mail instead of having someone take a message. You then have the opportunity to provide details on the voice mail.

Step 9: Delegate Tasks

• Review your task list and decide which tasks can be re-assigned.
• Focus on those tasks that need more of your expertise.
• Make sure you explain the tasks well to the person for which you are delegating. Remember to include the deadline.
• Delegation is a form of motivation for others.
• Document the employee you have given each task including the deadline.
• Once you have given the employee the assignment don’t micro-manage.

Step 10: Plan Productive Meetings

• Review the expenses for the meeting. Would it be more productive to send a PowerPoint in an e-mail?
• Is the meeting necessary? Is it going to provide useful information?
• Gather all the pertinent information for the meeting:
o Topics
o Time frame
o Cost
o Participants
o Location
• Appoint employees to participate in the meeting.
• Send out a reminder to participants prior to the meeting.
• Develop an agenda for the meeting.
• Avoid distracting elements such as phones and intercoms.
• Conclude the meeting on schedule.

Technorati Tags: improving office productivity, Time Management

One of the biggest problems with the modern pace of life is that we don’t seem to have enough hours in the day to get everything done.   One of the most frequent questions that I am asked, when I propose that people slow down, “smell the roses” and give themselves the space and time to be inspired is “are you seriously suggesting that I slow down when I don’t even have the time to do what I’m supposed to be doing at the moment?”  Yes, I am – we all need to give ourselves extra time  to do the important things and let the things that you should not be doing just pass us by.   How much time are you wasting on stuff that should never be given your attention in the first place?   How many emails do you read that you shouldn’t bother reading at all?   How many emails do you receive that don’t require your attention – as you know, particularly in large organizations, the majority of emails you receive are either not worth reading or shouldn’t have been sent in the first place – how many emails in large companies are CCed to everyone in existence in what amounts to compulsive ass-covering!   And how many of us get a kick out of feeling important because of the number of emails that we have to deal with?

Many years ago, in the days before mobile ‘phones or emails, a good friend, the Executive Chairman of a well-known company, went through a difficult divorce which left him, one Friday afternoon following the final court hearing, with sole custody of two children aged 9 and 11 years.  That Sunday evening he decided that his children were his first priority.  He called his fellow Board members and told them that he wouldn’t be in on Monday – for three months!   Three months later, he arrived back to an office piled high with paper (remember, this is pre-email), left the office again, returned with a roll of trash bags and dumped every single thing.   Of all the paper in that room, only one issue came back to bite!   The moral of the story – he spent most of his time on things that did not require his attention.

Not only do we allow others waste our time, we’re experts at wasting our own time.  How much time do you spend on negative gossip – the sort where you revel in others’ bad news or misfortune?  I will readily admit that chit-chat is useful – we often learn important things at the water cooler that we’d otherwise never find out.  But negative gossip is a waste of your time and energy.  How much time do you waste wallowing in the bad news on the inside pages of the newspaper – who murdered, assaulted or raped whom?   Not only is this a waste of your time, it actually confirms to you that your normal “not-too-bad” life is OK!   How much time do you waste surfing the ‘net or joining groups on Facebook like “I’s sick of people cheering every time I go out on my balcony”?!  How much time do you waste channel-hopping at night?  How much time do you waste thinking negative thoughts, worrying, imagining the worst scenarios?  How much time do you waste bitching about work colleagues, maneuvering or jockeying for position in your organization instead of doing what you’re paid to do?

Cut out the crap and you’ll find that you’ve got lots of time to do the important things – with some left over for a little reflection, meditation, self improvement and, most importantly, to do some of the things that really turn you on.   How will you know what’s crap and what isn’t?  Well, a clear and present mind is as sharp as a razor’s edge – it knows the difference between something worth doing and something that you should simply let pass.  Indeed, a clear and present mind is the one sure way of ensuring that, not only do you cut out the crap, but that, while you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing, you’re fully doing it.

In other words, you should fully do one thing at a time.  The female of the species often says to me “but what about multi-tasking” (perhaps, as modern neuro-psychology progresses, we’ll find out that this gendered ability is more myth than fact – but that’s another day’s work)?   Well, when you’re multi-tasking you might be doing three things in one minute.  That means, perhaps, one thing each twenty seconds – that means that, for those twenty seconds, you fully attend to what you’re doing.

Life is made up of moments – each moment a unique opportunity to fully do what you’re doing, to fully focus on that moment and to disregard the things and people that have a habit of diverting us from the opportunity of the moment.  The opportunity?   To live life to the full, be fully present, be more effective, more productive and more turned on, moment to moment.  When you do that, not only will you get all the important things done, you might just find that there are even more important things that the universe can do for you.
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Willie Horton, an Irish ex-accountant and ex-banker, has worked as a success coach to business leaders and sports people since 1996. He moved to the French Alps in 2002, from where his free weekly Self-Help video seminar is sent to thousands of people worldwide. His Online Personal Development Self Help Workshop is used all over the world, clients say it’s life-changing. Info: http://www.gurdy.net

Technorati Tags: Life Coaching, Time Management

Almost all of us are guilty of procrastination at one time or another but when it becomes a habit and interferes with our progress or productivity it can be a harmful habit. When we recognize that it is just that, a habit, we know that these behaviors can be changed with a little coaching and guidance.

Definition of Procrastination: the habit of putting off or delaying or deferring an action to a later time.

For many people, there are underlying reasons for procrastinating. In this series, I will discuss them and help you find the motives behind your behaviors and offer advice on how to overcome them.

Feeling Overwhelmed

Information overload can lead a person to putting off a task. Your mind can only process so much information before it begins to feel overwhelmed and unmotivated to take any action.

If this seems to be your problem, here are some simple solutions to beating that over-worked and overwhelmed feeling when presented with a task.

• Write down the benefits of completing the job and assign yourself a small reward for following through to completion.
• Break the whole thing down into smaller steps or tasks. Performing the task in smaller increments will allow your brain to process the information and workload one step at a time and it will relieve the stress when you can see it as a series of tasks instead of one big job.
• Write it down. Many of the reasons people feel overwhelmed are because they think “I will never remember all of this”. Put it on paper and keep it handy while you work.
• Check it off. Check off each one of the tasks as you complete them. This will boost your motivation and it will give your mind a visual of the progress you are making.
• Enjoy the benefits and rewards you have earned!

Set aside time to really enjoy your accomplishment and the associated rewards. Do not spend that time worrying about the next task you will be presented with. Clear your desk, clear your mind and just celebrate a job well done.
By recognizing just how good it feels when you finish, you will soon begin to associate THAT feeling with any new tasks instead of the apprehension that you have experience in the past when presented with a challenge.

Technorati Tags: organization, overcoming procrastination, Time Management, ways to stop procratination

In fact, keep that word handy throughout your day, and apply it to your day as often as you can. For example, getting away from work at the end of each day is a “reward” in and of itself. You have made it another day. Success! Although you will make more money and further secure your stability in your field with extra work and overtime, there will be plenty of those times – so give yourself a rest when you know you really deserve one!

In fact, studies have shown that women who create quality time with their families end up being more successful singles in the long term. So if you think you are making a sacrifice now for your family by working longer hours, think again. Those who can manage to strike a good balance their life and work are more beneficial to their law practice, and certainly have happier and more contented home lives.

So, what’s the key to balancing your professional and personal life?

1. Every day, make a list of your priorities – including work and home life.
2. After completing the list, then evaluate it what you’ve just written. You may find that you are devoting too much time to activities that are not really that important. For instance, spending too many hours at the gym can really eat up your hours after work. What would you really rather be doing? How can you give “equal time” to everything in your life? Carefully make those adjustments to your schedule.
3. Understand that you’re not heading for perfection here – don’t expect yourself to check off everything on your daily list that you wanted to accomplish, but reward yourself for the things you do get squared away and leave the rest for the next day.
4. If you feel it’s necessary, hire a professional personal assistant and certified coach to assist you in organizing your life goals so that you can better enjoy that life – instead of stressing out over often-tangled wires that will impede your goals.
5. Finally, schedule yourself some personal time. This means even though you may need to work longer hours, make sure that once you leave the office, you leave everything at the office. Resist the temptation to check your emails, answer your cell phone or let other distractions intrude in your personal time or your time with your family unless it is an emergency.

It’s truly more daunting to simply think about how to reorganize and reschedule your time at work and at home than to actually just do it! Again, the rewards of feeling less stressed – and more balanced – will far outweigh the efforts that you expend while making the changes.

Technorati Tags: career coach, Career Coaching, life coach, Life Coaching, reducing stress, Time Management

Career Coaching – Time Management

If you are a career oriented individual setting goals should be a routine you are very familiar with. Reaching those goals is another matter. Time management is a challenge that many people struggle with.

You know the path you want to take. You know what you have to do to reach your ultimate destination in life. You just need to learn how to prioritize and focus on implementing the steps you have set out for yourself. There are not enough hours in the day to work on everything at once. Trying to do it all at one time will cause undue stress and will actually be counter-productive in the long run.

The old saying “The hurrier I go the behinder I get” applies when you have set a pace that is impossible to maintain over a long period of time. Be realistic in what you can comfortably accomplish. Remember that life is a journey and it should be a pleasant trip. I like to think of goals as ladders. If you have 5 ladders that you are trying to climb all at one time you will climb one or two rungs on the first one,hit a bit of resistance,jump off and climb one or two on the next. If you continue on this course of action you will never reach the top of any of those ladders. Instead you need to choose one ladder and climb it to the top before tackling the next one.

Take a good look at your ladders. Decide which ones require immediate action and which ones require ongoing attention. It is possible to tackle more than one at a time but only if they are related or do not conflict. For example, if one of your goals is to continue your education by taking a 10 week night class you could combine that with your goal of becoming more physically fit by walking at least part of the way to class. These two goals do not conflict and are very doable without causing more stress. I would, however, not consider adding a goal to attend a weekly networking event to the mix. This might interfere with the homework you may need to complete and create a feeling of being overworked.

Remember to keep your life in balance. You have to schedule in some downtime for relaxation and recreation. This is just as important to your success as hard work is. Maintaining relationships with friends and family, performing well at work and striving to improve yourself and your situation is a great balancing act that requires careful coordination. Do not allow your focus on one area to upset the balance of your life as a whole. If you are having difficulty managing your time or prioritizing your goals a life or career coach can help you achieve your goals while keeping your life in balance.

Technorati Tags: Career Coaching, coaching for life, fast track career, scheduling your day, Time Management