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.

Chunking a Task Down

Elaine — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 11:49:26 +0000

Chunking it Down

Have you ever looked at a project or your weekly schedule or any undertaking and wondered how you were ever going to get through it?

Was it the size of the project or were you unsure of where or how to start?

You are not alone in your stress about starting and getting things done. Most people tackle things with a sense of panic and chip away at things in a very random way hoping…yes hoping that it will get done and eventually meet the quality expected for the outcome. Or perhaps you don’t even get to this point and the thing you want to do never even gets started.

Then the labels happen…procrastinator, poor starter, fearful, disorganized…and the list goes on.

In reality none of these labels are correct, and thankfully you are not stuck with this destiny of delaying. What you have is the inability to break a task down so you can prioritize the components and complete the task at hand. This is probably caused by an overload of information that is swirling around in your head and competing for priority status.

This is fixable and with some tried and tested strategies you will be tackling things that you have put off in the past with ease and yes…less STRESS.

Clearing the way for Success.

This is the step that turns a mountain of a job into a series of smaller manageable pieces.

For instance, when you are cooking you don’t throw all the ingredients in a once. You follow a method, a series of steps that take you from a few random ingredients to a delicious masterpiece. There are many methodologies for clearing the mind to move forward and one of the strategies that set this out quite clearly comes from productivity Guru David Allen. In his book ‘Getting Things Done’ he highlights the basic requirements for managing commitments and Chunking them Down.

They are as follows.

• If it’s on your mind then your mind is not clear. Anything that is considered unfinished in any way has to be captured in a trusted system outside your mind. David calls this the external collection basket that you can come back to regularly and sort through. My suggestion for this collection basket is a readily available spot like the Task function in Outlook. This frees up brain space for more important tasks.

• Next clarify your commitments and what you have to do and how you can make progress towards fulfilling it. This exercise in itself is a way to eliminate things that you though were important, taking up brain space and after writing them down you can weed out the important from the not so important …time to cross those items right off the list.

• Finally once you have decided on all the actions you need to take, you have to keep reminders of them organized in a system that you review regularly. Think about the places that you look at regularly; your e-mail inbox, your Blackberry, perhaps a paper day timer system. Whatever the tool you choose, pick one and use this as your storage place for these bits of information. By incorporating this strategy you will be able to clear your mind and Chunk down the information so you can move forward with action.

If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything. Shunryu Suzuki

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.

Can I ask you Something?

Elaine — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 09:46:55 +0000

I love research and the internet is the best place to get some facts and figures. Small biz owners are the most fascinating people…doing what they love to do every day and enjoying the freedom of being the driver in the bus of their life. This is all lovely but it does come with some challenges.

As this blog moves forward I want to be able to help with real issues and to share what I know that can help YOU do what YOU do a little bit better.

I would love it if you would share.

As a business owner….

What is one task that you put off doing consistently? Could there be more than one?

By not doing this task does it take away from your bottom line?

Why are you putting off this task?

Please share….

The Four D’s of Paper Management

Elaine — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 11:03:37 +0000

Here is my latest article for the column Organize written for the KV Style paper that is distributed to the 20,000 plus households in the Kennebecasis community in New Brunswick, Canada. With Tax season approaching it is timely information.

Paper, paper everywhere… oh what do I do with all the paper?
Is the paper in your home localized to the kitchen counter or has it managed to spread itself throughout the house? Is it perhaps hiding in one of these spots?

Bedroom closet, night stands, dresser drawers and floor.

Family room cupboards, end tables and floor.

Living room coffee table, chairs and under furniture.

Dining room table is a great big flat surface that is most times used for paper storage.

Mudroom cupboards.

Why does it do this? Because paper isn’t just one thing. It’s bills, it’s flyers, it’s magazines, permission slips, information sheets, calendars… and when something has so many possible storage places, unless you’re ruthless in maintaining it, paper ends up homeless and therefore shoved out of the way when company comes.
Tackling this issue is as simple as grabbing a laundry basket and collecting all loose paper; including magazines, newspapers, manuals, warranties, homework, and all other individual pieces of paper. This may take some time but is quite necessary for the new system that you are going to create for the storage and organization of the paper.
As you sort the paper that you have gathered use the 4 Ds of paper management to help with the purge.

Deal
Open all mail as soon as you receive it, or at least batch it and do it once a week
If the piece of paper has an action associated with it, do the action right away if you can
If you can’t do it immediately, schedule when you’ll deal with it and store the piece of paper in a “Waiting Action” file

Decide
Sort all paper (including the mail) as it comes into the home.

To be dealt with

Information only

Pleasure

Or whatever categories you’ve come up with

Deposit
Is it destined for recycling, or something that you need to file for income tax or legal reasons or do you need to do something with it?
As you deal with each item, store it where it belongs
Remember that some active papers (like magazines and school information) will be active but stored in the “Waiting Action” file

Destroy
Recycle junk mail and magazines
Shred anything that contains financial or address information that is not needed.
Whenever possible, use a one-in/one-out rule for your files, reducing the need for larger periodic purges. Things like old phone bills that you will have the last 12 months of.

For more paper wrangling tips, visit http://organizingconnection.com/paper-code

How to Organize Your Finances

Elaine — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:15:05 +0000

I am thrilled again to be participating in Janet Barclay’s Blog Carnival . This months theme is Financial Organizing. Please take a few minutes to visit the carnival and enjoy all the great tips offered by Professional Organizers.

Are you confused about Organizing Your Finances?

Looking for the perfect system?

To be honest there is no perfect cookie cutter system…however there are tips that can help YOU to keep on top of this very important task…Now I need to be clear here…I will be suggesting several tips on how to “Organize Your Finances”…not how to “Do your Finances”.

I am a huge believer in hiring experts…it is good for the economy (and our economy needs it right now) and unless you are an expert in this particular area I would leave it to the experts. The carnage of not doing this particular task correctly can be devastating….Ok I will get off my soap box now

After working with over 100 small business owners these are some of the critical financial issues that have been identified during the process of helping them to Get Organized in their office.

late income tax filing
important financial documents that have been lost or misplaced
late sales tax reports
payroll remittances that are incomplete
unpaid bills that were filed with other papers
uncollected receivables…can you imagine

If you are spending valuable time trying to figure out the tax exemption rate of something or a percentage of something related to an expense you are wasting your valuable time that YOU could spend on growing your business and adding to your bottom line….financially that is.

Here are some very simple and creative ways to “Organize Your Finances”

Have a folder, envelope or ziploc bag for each month of the year for receipts..keeping like items together
Use the Batching principle for getting the receipts in the folder
Keep a separate file with invoices to clients and unpaid expenses, check these regularly to keep cash flowing
Save valuable time by using online banking

I have an awesome Bookkeeper that I meet with quarterly and a very skilled Accountant who I meet with annually. They are both worth every dollar I pay them and I know that they are skilled at helping me to maximize my deductions and increase my income….you can also look for a bookkeeper or accountant who are wiling to barter services. I did that in the first 5 years of my business. It was an awesome way to get a needed service and your accountant could be a great source of referral business.

Moving forward you can create a system that you can manage yourself or you can delegate this necessary task and free up valuable time while keeping the economy moving.

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!

Sorry, that Chicken Distracted me!

Elaine — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:10:48 +0000

If it isn’t a chicken perhaps it is a shiny object. Or maybe its the telephone or the sound of the e-mails as they are arriving or the Crackberry that rings non stop or the mess on the desk that is calling you….oh there are so many distractions.

How do you ever expect to accomplish anything today?

Today I speak from experience and I want to help you.

I am highly distractable and I have a very long list of things I want to accomplish in my lifetime.

Knowing that these two things cannot co-exist I had to do something… and I did.

I put the distractions in their place by eliminating some of them and minimizing others, here are some ideas you can implement today to banish the chicken or at least minimize the damage;

get call display on all your phones and only answer the urgent ones.
turn the e-mail notification noise off.
move all the work clutter you are not currently working on out of sight.
take the crackberry off your hip and turn it off while working on important stuff
for some more examples of potential distractions visit my previous post on Time Hijackers

I know this is not rocket science it is common sense, sometimes you just need someone to point you in the right direction….or call you on your stuff!

A shout out to James at Men with Pens who inspired today’s post, thanks James for sharing and being real.