elaine shannon » Time Management

Time Management is Bogus

Elaine — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:00:57 +0000

Time Management is Bogus…Energy Management is Critical

Yes I am back on the Time Bandwagon again.

After spending the weekend with the folks out in the country; hanging out, playing cards, napping, watching the birds in the feeder and generally doing nothing I realized that in our overachieving world we do not value R&R.

Learning how to do nothing is challenging.

Like most people I sometimes have to force myself to slow down. When I do, I feel completely rested and re-energized.

Slowing Down and enjoying the moment is good for mental as well as physical health.

If you don’t believe that this epidemic of overachieving, energy draining and time depriving behavior is not affecting our health then you need to watch this and take heed…this could be you my friend.

Funny but true… I totally heard myself in the last part “2 minutes…can you make it 10″.

Save yourself now!

Eat well, eat local and eat for life!
Move your body at least 1/2 hour per day
Have fun, giggle and connect with people.

This is what Charlene SanJenko said about her valuable time, ”Bottom line – life is all about the experience. So go ahead – without putting too much thought into it, what are the first three words that best describe the experience you are most looking to create? ” Read the rest of the article here.

Time it really Can’t be Managed

Elaine — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:09:17 +0000

Time cannot be managed, only how you use it

A friend and I were chatting and she wondered why she had such difficulty getting to places on time and managing her time in general. She wondered if there was a trick to the whole time thing.

Here is a true story of my evolving relationship with TIME and the tricks I have used successfully along the way.

I was not always so great with “TIME”.

There were five clocks as wedding gifts for the skipper and I. Obviously other people also recognized that our relationship with time was out of sync. Ok it was extremely out of sync…so much so that people called us the Tardy Twins; we were perpetually late for everything.

People were telling us something, without coming right out and telling us. I am sure the message was this…”we were late too often, it was rude and could we please respect them enough to not waste their time”.

It was an eye opener and it got my attention.

I started analyzing why I was late and here are some of the reason that stuck out for me that may also resonate with you.

• Misjudging the amount of time it took to get somewhere, causing me to be late.
• Underestimating the time frame to complete something and therefore things I had committed to were late. Mostly work obligations.
• Stopping to finish that one last thing before I would leave the house, ultimately causing tardiness.

In my research on time I found two Greek words used for “time.”

One word is chronos; the other is kairos.

Chronos has to do with calendars, seasons, dates, clocks, chronometers. It is chronological or sequential time.

Kairos has to do with the fullness of time, when circumstances are right for something to take place.

Chronos being the external relationship with time and Kairos being the internal time clock.

On my TIME journey, one of the strategies I used to help me was an exercise to figure out how long it took to accomplish tasks and to get to specific places.

I realized that it took 20 minutes to get to town and get parked so instead of leaving 10 minutes before I needed to be there I started leaving 20 minutes before.

Another situation where I have used this time trick is for housework. I know it takes 30 minutes to clean each level of my home. I now have 30 minutes time slots in my weekly schedule that easily accommodate the cleaning chore.

There are no magic tricks…time is time. It really is about awareness…your awareness of how you relate to your time.

I have come to rely on my internal time clock and have not worn a watch for over 5 years. I arrive at appointments on time…most of the time and feel like I have a better relationship with time and how I can use my 168 hours every week to the fullest.

Today while driving the kids to school I saw the funniest license plate…it said, “IAMLATE” those 7 letters said it all.

All the time manipulating and scheduling aside …sometimes people are just going to be late.

Organizing Tip – Time to do the Spring Fling

Elaine — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 09:52:16 +0000

This is my first anniversary as a Columnist for KV Style Magazine. I am pleased to share my latest article. You cen read it here or online.

Time to do the Spring Fling…

Bringing energy into your space at this time of year feels natural and to help you do this I am going to share the Six Step Organizing System that all professional organizers use when they tackle any project.

This Six Step Organizing System will help you break down the large and often overwhelming task of taking on a new organizing project and approach it in smaller manageable steps.

The Six Steps that you will go through when ORGANIZING are:

1. The Dream – How do you envision your new dream space or system?

This is where you jot down the things that are not working in your home, office, schedule, routine, etc. After that you write what you DO want it to look like, feel like…bring all your senses in to this visualization.

2. The Plan – What steps will you take to make the dream come true?

I call this breaking the elephant into bite sized pieces. Think of five actions you can take to reach this Dream or Vision. An action won’t happen if it doesn’t have a deadline or if no one is responsible for getting it done. Even if you’re working on this alone create a realistic action plan with dates for completion.

3. The Sort – Sort through everything, putting like with like, into categories.

For things, some people think in terms of size, some by function, and even some by color. The most common sorting scheme, and the one most used is by function. Activities can also be sorted. For example, a typical day might include: getting the family ready for school/work, home maintenance, extracurricular activities, meals, and fun-time.

4. The Purge – Deciding what to keep and what to let go of.

This is the hardest part for most people. To make the decision easier ask yourself when you are stuck on an item. “Is this part of my current life and is it useful or beautiful?” Thinking of others who are less fortunate will help you to let go.

Wow, look what you have accomplishment so far!

• You’ve created a dream or vision of what you want.
• You have a plan on how to make the dream a reality.
• You have broken it down into categories with the sort.
• And in the purge you let go of the unwanted/unloved items.

5. The Re-Organization – Put what you are keeping back, making sure everything has a home.

How you re-organize everything is incredibly personal. No matter how individualized you make the reorganization, however, if you keep these questions in mind while working, you shouldn’t have any problems. How do I want this space to function? Does it make sense to have this item here?

Can I or anyone that I live with find this item in 5 seconds or less if I put it here.

6. Maintenance – Organizing is a journey not a destination. Organizing isn’t a one time project. It’s an evolving journey, one destination leading to the next. Yes, this means that staying organized involves maintenance. It takes at least 21 repetitions of an action or a way of living to make it a habit. As we use most spaces every day, this means it takes 21 days to determine if your organizing project and the systems you have put in place have created new lasting habits.

Well, what are you waiting for?

Time to do the Spring Fling. If you do need further inspiration or assistance in your efforts you can connect with me on facebook at

Admin Day- Dealing with the Dirty Dozen

Elaine — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 11:34:44 +0000

Here is my latest column for the St Croix Courier…enjoy!

Admin Day- Dealing with the Dirty Dozen

In to each life a little rain must fall…and in the case of an Entrepreneur that would be the dreaded administration work. When you got into business you had a dream….a dream that included energy filled days where the business rolled along nicely and you were having fun doing what you love to do.

Then reality struck; when you sat in your office there was the carnage of unfinished paperwork, unanswered calls and a long list of things of to-dos. This was not what you got into business for. However, this is a part of the business that cannot be ignored because if you do, you will have angry customers or worse the CRA knocking on your door.

Here is a recap of the most common Administrative tasks and how to handle them efficiently.

The Admin Day- Dirty Dozen

Check all of your phones, copy down the number and message and return them…all of them. To save time on this task get the voicemail to e-mail service that most carries provide.
Make all phone calls that you have been putting off. Perhaps it is a call to the phone company regarding a question on your last bill.
Attack your paper with the FAT principal. File it, Act in it or Toss it. Keep a recycling and garbage bin near your desk so this becomes an ongoing habit
Review all outstanding bills and pay them. To make this easier keep them all in one file.
Collect all outstanding receivables, this is your cash flow. If you have a hard time with this hire or delegate this to someone who doesn’t.
Deal with all those magazines and articles on your desk that are waiting to be read. Have a file specifically for these and give yourself a deadline to do the reading, if it doesn’t happen in the time frame then let them go.
Website updates are a critical part of your online presence. It is not enough to have a website, you have to have fresh content for the Google spiders. No new relevant content…no indexing.
Follow up on all outstanding proposals. This shows that you are interested and yes…ORGANIZED.
Filling out forms can be a long tedious painful experience. Do these activities first on Admin Day and reward yourself with a fresh coffee or some other reward when you are finished.
Review the schedule for the coming week and pull files for the clients so you are ready to Rock and Roll come Monday morning.
If you are in business then you need to SELL…yes that four letter word. Make a list of prospects that you want to contact in the next week. By taking the time to do this one single activity you are committing to growing your business.
And last but not least…do ONE thing that will help you to grow your business.

There is hope and it comes in two parts.

You need to carve out a time to work on your business, yes that means turning off the phone and committing to the time. Initially it may take up to a full day to handle the administrative backlog, however as time goes on you will see a reduction in the amount of work week over week.

The second part requires you to grab a pile on the desk and yes….get-er-done, have fun and Happy Admin Day!

To see more videos to inspire you in the office visit my youtube channel here.

Is your to-do list killing you?

Elaine — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 10:54:51 +0000

There is medical evidence that your to-do list could be contributing to your ill health.

I love Dr Oz and Dr Roizen and their no nonsense approach to health care. Watching Dr Oz on Oprah and on his own show has opened my eyes to health issues that don’t normally hit main stream conversation.

One conversation in particular that I perked up to was their medical opinion on to-do lists.

They said that death rates from heart disease are higher in cultures where people tend to walk fast, talk fast, work fast and live by the clock compared to death rates in more laid back locales.

Simply put you need to slow down, work smarter not harder and lighten up that to-do list.

For some tips on how to get that list to a manageable number check out this post from February 2010 on creating a TOP 5 list. Read it here!

Is your Relationship with TIME dysfunctional?

Elaine — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 11:57:48 +0000

Time…no one seems to have enough of it!

People are obsessed with time…and not in a good way.

In 2003 there were 5086 book listing on Amazon.com on the subject of TIME…today there are 10’s of thousands of books listed. People feel time deprived and want more of something that cannot be created or expanded.

It is fascinating when you think about how often people complain about not having enough time, when in reality everyone has the same 168 hours. Yes you heard right. This notion of 24/7 really does not convey the real picture. When you look at your week in blocks of hours, 168 to be exact, it is a real eye opener to how much time you really do have.

Time really can’t be managed.

There is nothing to manage. You cannot file it, store it, save it, reduce it or manipulate it in any way. You cannot hold it in your hand.

What you can do is manage yourself and INVEST in the activities that you give your time to. By being more strategic about how you use your time you will feel like you have more of it and will experience less time related STRESS.

I was introduced to Laura Vanderkam’s book ‘168 Hours’ and I love her perspective on time and have shared this extensively over the past few months. Mainly because our relationship with time is dysfunctional and needs an intervention.

This 168 hour perspective is the intervention and very timely…no pun intended.

Want a true picture of how you are spending your time? Get a copy of the 168 hour spreadsheet here. Get it now.

My suggestion is to make a copy, set aside 30 minutes and have a good look at how you are using your valuable time. Taking time to fill in the schedule with the big stuff first. Pencil in the time when you sleep, commute, are at work, meal times, exercise, family time, volunteer time, activities, etc. This is an exercise that will give you a visual on how you are using YOUR valuable time and to see where you can RECLAIM some of your 168 hours. You just might be shocked at how much time you do really have to do the things you want to do.

Once you know how you are spending your time, you can make changes to spend your time better.

From the changethis.com manifesto of the book 168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam. ‘Think about it. If you work 50 hours a week—and sleep 8 hours a night (56 hours per week) this leaves 62 hours for other things. That’s plenty of time to hang out with your children and your spouse, to exercise the 2.5 hours per week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends, to volunteer or take up a hobby, or to just read or relax. And that’s all while getting enough sleep! Even if you work 60 hours, that still leaves 52 hours to fill as you choose.’

Now that you are more aware of the 168 hours you have every week, how do you WANT to spend your VALUABLE time?

Do you need a Time Alignment?

Elaine — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 11:08:06 +0000

How can you recognize that you are not in alignment with time?

You can arrive on time for some events but not all?
You are constantly checking your watch?
You feel anxious because you have a constant nagging feeling that you are forgetting something?

The definition of insanity is,”trying the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result”.

Are you tired of trying to figure how to manipulate time? Isn’t it time you tried something different.

The simple fact is that time cannot be manipulated!

It comes and goes with precision and never wavers. The seconds, minutes, hours and days all have a natural rhythm that just happen and no matter what you do, you cannot change it.

What you can change is how you view time and experience it. Time can be a friend or a foe. You can try to be better at the time thing, but trying is an interesting thing. Right now try to pick up the book beside you….either you can or you can’t!

As part of the research for this article I went to face book and asked my community this question. “How do you feel about people who are tardy…especially in a business situation?”

Here is a summary of the results:

It is rude and inconsiderate, an unforgiveable sin!
It indicates that you are not important.
It shows a lack of respect for you and your time.
It is an insult.
A few minutes late is acceptable
Tardiness in a face to face meeting is less tolerated than phone meetings.
It is better if you let people know if you are going to be late.
Arriving too early and expecting to be seen is also disrespectful
Waiting for Doctors was mentioned and someone who worked for 20 years in a Doctors office shared this insight…” I have to say that it is not always bad management and time scheduling for the receptionist. The receptionist does not know how long a person is going to take with the Doctor. They usually will tell you on the phone they only need 5 minutes, however they get in there and never seem to want to come out. This is not the receptionist fault this is the patients fault….” I might also add the Doctors, or whoever you are waiting to see, have a responsibility to keep the meeting on task, focused and on time.
One business in particular has a trick for the habitually tardy and adjusts the appointment times to when they guess the client will show up…Brilliant.

In this fast paced world people are becoming less tolerant of the tardiness of others. It has a domino effect…when one person is late it can set the whole day on a course of tardiness. By making the effort to respect others time you are sending a clear message that you are reliable and can be counted on.

Here are some strategies that you can adopt today to make time work for YOU:

Overestimate how long it will take to get ready and bring a good book along to read as you arrive early…Yahoo!
Have a window of time between appointments as a cushion to mentally and physically prepare for the next appointment.
Delegate to employees, family members or friends when you can. This can be hard for most but you will appreciate how others can actually do some things better than you.
Pay experts to be experts and stop wasting your time doing things you are not meant to do.
Prioritize
Eliminate timewasters

It is not a matter of manipulating time, it is about USING the time you have and the resources available to you so you can maximize what you can accomplish with your time.

Office Organizing Tip Batching Quick Tasks

Elaine — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 12:12:20 +0000

I love it when multiple organizing tips come together.

Here is an enhancement to the 5 Minute File that I mentioned last month…I hope you are all using this one and a recent post on Batching Tasks.

This video gives you a visual on both concepts…..Enjoy!

Batching Tasks a Recipe to Manage What you do with Your Time

Elaine — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:24:54 +0000

I have been asked this month to be a part of Janey Barclay’s Professional Organizer Blog Carnival . This carnival is a collection of Blog Posts written by professional organizers. This is a huge honor to be in such esteemed company and for you this is an awesome collection of resources to help you get and stay organized.

This months theme in “Time Management”.

The Dictionary says that management is…the act or manner of managing; handling, direction, or control.

Let me start by saying that I do not believe that you can control or manage time!

….yes I have said it out loud. Let the controversy begin….What I do believe is that we can manage, direct, handle or control how we use our “Valuable Time” and how we manage, direct, handle or control how to fill the “Valuable Minutes” in our day.

With this all in perspective now I would like to introduce you to “Batching”.

I am not talking about cookie baking here I am talking “Tasks”….you know the stuff that fills our day and uses up our Valuable Time.

“Batching Tasks “ is quite simple….you take similar tasks that require the same thinking process or have similar activities attached to the tasks and you do them at the same time.

Here are some real life examples of how you can use “Batching Tasks” to increase productivity and save Valuable Time for other activities.

Checking and replying to e-mail at certain times during the day….not every second of the day.
Returning phone call from the day at a specified time at the end of the day.
Combining tasks that take 5 minutes or less to do using your “5 Minute File“.
Bookkeeping and finances, yes it has to be done, pick a time batch it up and Just Do It…

I am sure that there are many more examples but these are the most common, you will certainly find ways to Batch your own tasks as you maneuver through your activity filled days.

Managing your tasks and not your time!

The 5 Minute File..AKA…the Crappy Paperwork that never gets done

Elaine — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:26:25 +0000

I challenge you right now to take 15 minutes to gather up all the bits of paper currently cluttering your desk, floor, chair…etc, and put it aside…together…in a folder…to work on at a time that is more convenient. By convenient I mean when you can take some uninterrupted time to Git-R-Done!

This gathering of the papers does not include client files or projects…they are THE most important things that you are working on right now…the things that you determined in your annual planning add to the bottom line.

I mean the notes, bills, receipts, invoices, and non-urgent mail…now, are you getting my drift! Take it all right now and stuff it in a folder. Go do it…what are you waiting for.

Welcome back…feels good to have that control!

By doing this one simple task you will save yourself some VALUABLE TIME in the long run, you would be less DISTRACTED by all the unimportant things that are messing up your workspace…the crappy stuff that you really don’t like to do, that really doesn’t get done often enough.

If you did it today it would make you more effective and productive in your Home Office. You would feel in control of all that paper that is laying around. Gosh darn it you would be using basic Time Management and Productivity principles.

If you did take the time to do this today you would have just created the “5 Minute File”.

I always like to try these new ideas out first before sharing, so at the start of the month I created my own “5 Minute File”. A very plain white folder with a label that reads “5 Minute File”. I gathered all the loose papers that did not relate to important client stuff and filed it away….and totally forget about it…that is not the intention of this file. My first mistake was to file it away in my side desk drawer.

So the tweaking began…I am an out of sight out of mind kinda gal….Yes I am “Visual” I need to see what I have on the go. So the file has now moved from the desk drawer to the table behind my desk with all my current files.

Gathering and creating the folder was just the first part. Getting to the task at hand is another issue. I have scheduled a time slot in my week to tackle the “5 Minute File”, it will be on a day that I am focusing on non client related stuff and I am giving myself a reward for completing this CRAPPY task…because to be honest I would rather do anything else than do this paperwork stuff…so believe me you are not alone. What I do know is that not doing it is not an option. So by batching all these quick 5 Minute Tasks into one session I am using my VALUABLE time more effectively and I am Gittin-R- Done.

I hope this “5 Minute File” works for you as well as it has been working for me.