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Some Time Savers
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Some Time Savers
by Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Description: Some easy time-saving tips that will help to increase your daily productivity.
In my Time Management seminars which I have conducted for more than
100,000
people from around the globe, I show people how to get more done in
less
time, with less stress; to help them have more time for the things they
want
to do in their work and business lives.
If you can recapture a wasted hour here and there and redirect it to a
more
productive use, you can make great increases in your daily
productivity.
Here are five of the techniques I share in our Time Management
seminars,
each one of which will help you to get at least one more hour out of
your
day of additional productive time.
1. Maintain Balance. Your life consists of Seven Vital Areas: Health,
Family, Financial, Intellectual, Social, Professional, and Spiritual.
You
will not spend equal amounts of time in each area or time every day in
each
area. But, if in the long run, you are spending a sufficient quantity
and
quality of time in each area, then your life will be balanced. But
ignore
any one of your areas, (never mind two or three!) and you will get out
of
balance and potentially sabotage your success. Fail to take time now
for
your health and you will have to take time for illness later on. Ignore
your
family and they may leave you and cost you a lot of time to
re-establish
relationships.
2. Get the Power of the Pen. A faint pen has more power than the
keenest
mind. Get into the habit of writing things to do down using one tool (a
Day-Timer, pad of paper, Palm Pilot, etc.) Your mind is best used for
the
big picture rather than all the details. The details are important, but
manage them with the pen. If you want to manage it you have to measure
it
first. Writing things down helps you to more easily remember all that
you
need to accomplish.
3. Do Daily Planning. It is said that people do not plan to fail but a
lot
of people fail to plan. Take the time each night to take control of the
most
precious resource at your command, the next twenty-four hours. Plan
your
work and then work your plan each day. Write up a To Do list with all
you
have to's and all of your want to's for your next day. Without a
plan for
the day, you can easily get distracted, spending your time serving the
loudest voice rather than attending to the most important things for
your
day that will enhance your productivity.
4. Prioritize It. Your To Do list will have crucial and not crucial
items on
it. Despite the fact most people want to be productive, when given the
choice between crucial and not crucial items, we will most often end up
doing the not crucial items. They are generally easier and quicker than
crucial items. Prioritize your To Do list each night. Put the #1 next
to the
most important item on your list. Place the #2 next to the second most
important item on your list, etc. Then tackle the items on your list in
order of their importance. You may not get everything done on your
list, but
you will get the most important things done. This is working smarter,
not
harder, and getting more done in less time.
5. Control Procrastination. The most effective planning in the world
does
not substitute for doing what needs to be done. We procrastinate and
put off
important things because we don't sense enough pain for not doing it
or
enough pleasure to do it. To get going on something you have been
putting
off, create in your mind enough pain for not doing it or enough
pleasure to
do it. I prefer the pleasure approach. Take a procrastinated project
and
turn it into to a game. Work with one thing in front of you at a time
so
other things won't distract you. ("Out of sight, out of mind.")
Break it
down to little bite-sized, manageable pieces. Get it started, take the
first
step and you will likely continue it to completion.
Dr. Donald E. Wetmore, a full-time Professional Speaker, is one of the
foremost experts on Time Management and the author of "Beat the
Clock,"
"Organizing Your Life" and "The Productivity Handbook." If you
would like to
receive your copy of his humorous article, "Poor John," who wastes
hours in
his days, email your request now for "John" to: ctsem@msn.com.
Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
ctsem@msn.com
http://www.balancetime.com
