Take Back Your Time

"You will never find time for anything. You must make it." -Charles Buxton

According to the organizers of Take Back Your Time Day, which was held on October 15, if Americans quit working on that date and didn't work for the rest of the year, we would be working the same number of hours as the average European. Even with high unemployment, America has experienced near-record mandatory overtime.

The October 11, 2004 issue of Time magazine reports that on a typical day office workers are interrupted about seven times an hour -- 56 interruptions a day -- 80% of which are considered trivial. "We pride ourselves on being multi-taskers, but the truth is, we're functioning at a state of partial attention," says John White, international program director with Priority Management, a training company based in Vancouver, Canada. "Because of constant interruptions, our memory, follow-up ability, flexibility and quality of work start to erode."

So how do we learn to slow down and enjoy our lives?

Managing our time is about clarifying priorities and being masterful at taking action on our intentions, rather than becoming a slave to the constant flow of events and demands on our time. When we operate in auto-pilot, we take action without thinking, which almost never yields the results we want.

Time management is not just a tool like a calendar or a Palm Pilot. It is a foundational skill upon which everything else in life depends.

Seven tips to help you manage your time:

1. Prioritize your week. Organizing your time without first clarifying your priorities is like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Ask yourself this question: If nothing else happens this week, what are the most important activities or relationships I choose to pay attention to? Without making plans to focus on these priorities, you will most likely not get to them?especially if they are not urgent. Planning goes far beyond just making lists. A plan is when you have carved out specific time in your calendar (an appointment with yourself) to do something. Need help getting started with weekly planning? Visit our planning tip sheet at: http://www.orgcoach.net/sixsteps.html or participate in one of our teleclasses: http://www.orgcoach.net/teleclasses.html

2. Learn when to say NO. As Stephen Covey says, "It's easy to say 'No!' when there's a deeper 'Yes!' burning inside." When we operate from a big-picture view of our priorities, it becomes much easier to decide what to say YES to and what to say NO to. Remember this truth: Every time you say yes to someone or something, you are saying no to someone or something else.

A good way to learn what to say NO to is to check your self-talk. Are you saying "I should?" "I gotta?" "I have to?" or are you saying "I choose to?"? Be at choice! Then write your not to do list and stick to it!

3. Limit your time for activities that consume you. For example, if you find that you are overwhelmed by e-mail, limit how many times a day you check it and how much time you'll spend to read and respond. When I came back from vacation to more than 1000 emails, I was amazed at how unimportant some messages became! Limiting your time can help you to prioritize.

4. De-clutter your life. My definition of clutter: Anything you own, possess, or do that does not enhance your life on a regular basis. By this definition, clutter can be things in your physical environment. Clutter can also be activities, thoughts, and even relationships that don't enhance your life. Once you clean up the non-physical clutter in your life, you'll be able to make better decisions about what to keep and what to remove from your space.

As you de-clutter your environment, you can save a lot of money on your tax returns by donating items to charity. ItsDeductible is a tool that I have used for years to help me value what I donate. Although it guarantees that you will save at least $300 on your taxes, it has actually saved me thousands of dollars on my taxes each year. Visit http://www.orgcoach.net/products/taxtools.html for more information.

Take our free Professional/Business Organizational Assessment or our Personal Organizational Assessment to help you sort out what areas need the most attention.

5. Schedule protected time. In your calendar, block out time to work on projects that require concentration without interruptions. Then identify what boundaries you need to have in place so you can keep this time sacred. Here are some ideas:

* Put a "do not disturb" sign on your door or cubicle. At Quarasan (an educational-product developer in Chicago), workers take "focus blocks" of up to three hours when they absolutely cannot be interrupted. In any given week, about 25% of the staff use this technique. Signs hang on cubicles, chairs or doors, that say something like this: I AM FEELING TOTALLY FOCUSED RIGHT NOW. PLEASE RESPECT THIS PROCESS.

* Have a conversation with co-workers about needing uninterrupted time to work on your project. At Pitt Ohio Express (a trucking company based in Pittsburgh, PA), claims auditors take turns wearing a special black baseball cap to signal that they are absorbed in a project. Employees at Basex (an information-technology research firm in New York City), use instant messaging. A simple switch to DO NOT DISTURB status signals that coworkers should not call, email or stop by to chat.

* Turn off the ringer on your phone and let voice mail pick up your calls for a while.

* Avoid checking e-mail until you're done with your project time for the day.

* Have a pen and pad of paper handy to write down the things that pop into your head that you "gotta do" so you don't forget and can get back to them later. Schedule a little time after your protected time for following up with your "gotta do" list.

6. Reduce stress. Incorporate these into your daily habit: exercise, play, meditation, relaxation or quiet time to still the mind, healthy diet, enough sleep.

7. Separate work from your personal life. If you are regularly taking work home or working overtime, develop skills to negotiate with your boss (even if that's you!) about when, where, and how results are produced. Manage by results, not by how many hours you are working. Take our free Work/Life Balance Assessment at http://www.orgcoach.net/_assessment/worklifebalance.html to determine how you are doing with this.

Visit our resource page (http://www.orgcoach.net/onlineshopping.html#prod) for more ideas about increasing productivity.

Copyright 2005 Kathy Paauw

Wouldn't you love to stumble upon a secret library of ideas to help you de-clutter your life so you can focus on what's most important? Kathy Paauw offers simple, yet powerful ideas, on how to manage your time, space, and thoughts for a more productive and fulfilling life. Visit http://www.orgcoach.net

---

Could you use a ?Stop Doing? list?

One of the tried and true organization and time-management tools... Read More

Avoid 7 Time and Life-Robbing Mistakes and See Your Productivity Soar

41 practical and quick ways to get on top of... Read More

Plan Your Day and Stick to Your Plan

How many times have you remarked to someone that there... Read More

5 Time Savers You (Probably) Havent Tried Yet

1. Do tasks less frequentlyClean house every 10 days rather... Read More

Let Someone Else Do It

When you decide to become self-employed, you automatically become the... Read More

First Things Last

Years ago clients would tell me they could not identify... Read More

Overcoming Procrastination

Procrastination, the habit of putting tasks off to the last... Read More

Managing Worry: Productivity Tips for High Achievers Who Worry

Are you a worrier? Do you frequently spend time and... Read More

Decrease Your Sleep, Increase Your Energy! And Have More Time In Your Day!

Many of the world's most driven and successful people sleep... Read More

Is the Goal to Reach the Goal?

In this fast and crazy world, we want to multi-task... Read More

When Is Time Management Not Enough?

A working manager needs more than time management.That old saying,... Read More

Hey, Free Agent, Did You Eat Your Breakfast Today?

And when you finally sat down to eat breakfast, was... Read More

The 3 Biggest Priority Busters

As a professional organizer, consultant and trainer, I have come... Read More

7 Tips for Being Your Best Time Master

It is not enough if you are busy. The question... Read More

Benefits of Speed Reading

In this digital age, the importance of being able to... Read More

3 Ways To Do More With Less Time

We live in a world where more is expected of... Read More

The Keepers of Time

I give presentations on organizational skill building as it relates... Read More

31 Ways to Get An Extra Hour Out of Each Day

How can you get an extra hour out of each... Read More

Managing Time to Accomplish More

Time is inelastic. Despite what some of us persist in... Read More

Organization Tips That Add More Hours To Your Day

One of the most common complaints that small business owners... Read More

Sprint Through Your Workday, Even if Youre a Marathoner

Whenever you have projects that can't be done in one... Read More

Work Smarter Not Harder

To work smarter all you need is the consciousness of... Read More

Desktop Management Boosts Productivity

Many of us spend long hours at our desk. To... Read More

Looking At Time With A Capital T

I keep a fossil on my desk at all times.... Read More

Time Management Tips for Busy Moms

If you are like most moms I know you think... Read More

Your Most Important Appointment

An appointment is simply a mutual agreement to meet with... Read More

More Time Wanted? Deal with Your Time-wasters Now!

Ever feel that you spend too much time shoring up... Read More

Time Management: How To Get More Done

If you can regularly ask yourself "Am I regularly and... Read More

Making the Most of Your Time

"The bad news is time flies. The good news is... Read More

Schedule Time for Interruption

One of the most challenging situations people face when planning... Read More

Effective Email and Verses Voicemail

Time management consultant Stephen Young claims that the average time... Read More

Time Management And How It Affects Your Kids

Last week I attended a presentation from Parenting Expert and... Read More

Are You Running Out of Time?

Here's some time management tips to try:1) Set strict office... Read More