Everyday Strategy: Reduce Mental Clutter

Write it down! Make lists. Get it off your mind and into one place.Whether you are a linear list maker or prefer mind mapping (search the web for a variety of creative tools), get it off your mind and out of your brain. You will then be free to begin tackling all of those tasks and to-dos and find yourself free for creativity!

Everyday Strategy: Stop Using Post-Its!

Don't get me wrong; I LOVE Post-Its (especially bright-colored ones) and they have their purposes, but for keeping track of your Master List of tasks, they are not the right tool. If you like to write them down, use a spiral bound notebook you can carry with you everywhere. Personally, I am a huge fan of using Outlook Tasks. There are countless ways you can stay on top of your tasks, calendar items, and contacts.

Tools for Time Management

When our kiddos were in middle school, the house we lived in only had 2 bathrooms. Grooming had become a VERY important part of the morning routine for our daughter and son, then in middle school. Many a morning dispute arose over who had been in the bathroom too long. I quickly found a simple solution!  

 A few weeks later, my sister was visiting. I was in the kitchen when I heard her laughing and calling to me from the hallway. "

Sis, please tell me what an egg timer is doing in your bathroom!

" I explained that when that timer "dinged," each child knew their time was up: no arguing with one another; no arguing with me; the timer helped by giving an AUDIBLE BOUNDARY. More than ever today, people get lost in the amount of time they spend on projects. Clients and colleagues as well, admit they intended only to check their email, ended up logging onto FaceBook, which then led to someone's (then) interesting blog, and suddenly, they find they wasted almost their entire morning. At National Conference this spring in Ohio, one of my product favs was the Time Timer. Their tag line is "Make Every Moment Count."

The abstract concept of elapsed time is easy to see and understand with their graphic depiction

. This tool allows users to manage time more effectively in meetings, classrooms, therapy sessions, testing venues, at home and any other activities which require limits be set. There are different types of tools to fit any type of user: Some the size of a small alarm clock, large visuals for education, wrist watches, software apps for your computer and iphone -- endless possibilities. 

 Whether you choose a simple egg or kitchen timer or one of the many options that Time Timer has to offer, I challenge you to use a timer for just 1 week.

SEE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY SOAR!

Own Your Time

One of my favorite books on time management and productivity isn't the newest one on the market. It was re-written in 2005 after its original writing in 1996 for the Hertz Corporation and its then struggling employees.  In "Organizing for Success, author Ken Ziegler includes a fantastic quote that I often share with my audiences: "From time waste there can be no salvage. It is the easiest of all waste and the hardest to correct because it does not litter the floor."   -- Henry Ford.With that, I usually hear some dreadful groans and then the room grows dimly silent -- as the truth of that statement is sobering, given the frenetic way in which we live our lives today. "However," I go on to encourage my audience, "Time CAN BE the great equalizer.” It is simply a series of CHOICES. Your time IS truly your own.Whether you are seeking to gain control of your time for purposes of time management, efficiency, achieving goals or  improving your quality of life, make good and wise choices each day, my friends. Then reap the rewards of owning your time.