Goal setting is a waste of time if you don’t include a critical step.  When you follow this step you’ll know which are the right goals for you. In this article we share with you what that is, along with 3 other key steps for success in achieving your goals.

Whatever your Time Management Style, if you want to live this year on purpose and with less stress, starting with clear goals is paramount.

When you know your Time Style, sticking to those goals can be so much easier – and you’ll save time. Part of your plan for 2012 should incorporate how you use your Time Style strengths to keep you on track:

• Diana, make sure you keep up with goals in all areas of your life not just the one you are most passionate about!
• Julie and Lucy, discipline your use of your calendar so you use those wonderful talents of yours.
• Helen, don’t forget to put your needs in first when you draw up your plan.
• Fiona, don’t get caught up honing one aspect so much that you run out of time for other things!

When goal setting, here are the basic steps to follow:

1. On a blank page (either electronic or paper) write the goals you’d like to achieve in all areas of your life (health, career, financial, relationships, community) at the top of page. Don’t qualify them at this stage. Simply write them down as quickly as possible without editing.

When you’ve completed your list, read them to make sure you haven’t missed anything. If you have, add those extra goals.

2. It’s all about the words you use when it comes to writing goals. Make sure the goal results are what you want to have, not things you want to get rid of. Otherwise your sub-conscious will be focused on the negatives, such as the debt or weight, regardless of whether you want to get rid of it or not.

3. What is the key ingredient to your success with reaching your goals??

Run a Heart-set review. Look at your goals not just from a rational point of view, but also from your heart. Are they really what you want to achieve, or what you think you ought to achieve?

Also think about the pain for you of not achieving each of the goals. What will it mean for you, your family or business? You need to have an emotional investment in wanting to reach them.

Those goals you don’t have an emotional attachment to will demand a lot more time and motivation to keep you focused when you hit some obstacles.

Make sure the goals you’ve listed are those that you feel in your gut or heart are what you want for yourself and you’re committed to taking action on. If you’ve discarded some look at them to see if they can be reworked. Otherwise save yourself time and energy and cross them out.

To help you with this Heart-set review we recommend getting clear about what your vision is for your life. When you know this with absolute clarity, it will be that much easier to see which goals are the right ones for you. We have an exercise for this that we’ll share with you in our next ezine.

4. Review your goals to ensure they are SMART goals:

a)    Identify a Specific outcome, e.g. to improve fitness and go down a clothing size in two months by exercising three times a week for at least 30minutes at a challenging pace each time. Your goal needs to include why, what, how and when.  A goal of losing weight, getting fit or going to the gym is not enough.

b)    Your goal needs to be Measureable, because otherwise you have no way of knowing when you reach it.  To determine if your goal is measurable, ask questions such as: How much? How many? How will I know when it is accomplished?

c)    Goals need to be Attainable or Achievable. It is important to aim high and stretch yourself so you’re motivated to put the effort in. But it is a waste of time to write a goal that you have no way of reaching because you’ll struggle to have any real commitment to trying.  Using the example above, your fitness and clothing size goal may be attainable in two months, whereas a shorter time frame of two weeks is likely to be unattainable.

d)    Your goal also needs to be Realistic. If you’re currently doing little or no exercise, three times a week will take effort but is realistic, whereas exercising six days a week may be too difficult.

e)    Set a Time for when you want to achieve your goal – whether it is next week, two months or next year. When you have an end point you have a clear target to work towards and create a sense of urgency to keep you motivated.

*****************

When you write your goals down you increase the potential to achieve them many times over.  When you share them with others, you further increase your likelihood of reaching your goals.

So we encourage you to share some of your goals with us… put them in the comments below or email us directly.

Here are a couple of our goals for 2012:

To present internationally on Pink Shoe Power internationally in 2012

To return to the US in 2012 and spend time with family and friends there  (Val)

To take my Mum on a cruise of Alaska in 2012 and a side-trip to Disneyland with my daughter on the way home (Jayne)

To release our second book on Time Management Styles in April 2012

With Christmas just around the corner, it can be a very busy time. Here’s our final tip for the year—one to suit each of the Pink Shoe Power Time Management Styles —designed to help your holiday be the best yet!

We wanted to share these with you because it’s so easy to get caught up in the extra activity and fall into habits that can sabotage your time and enjoyment of the holiday season.

And it is so important to use this time now to recharge. We’ve held off
giving you tips for starting 2012 because right now the best gift you can give yourself is a topped up energy tank so you can hit the ground running in 2012.

To do that, you need to take time out for you, switch off from business
or work, breathe a little more, be in the moment and relax.
So put the tip for your Style where you can read it often, as a little reminder for yourself.

Focused Fiona

Yes, we know you’re prepared: the lists are done and the presents bought. But you have to enjoy yourself too. The secret is not to overdo things so you are exhausted on the day. People do love to help—so let them. You know it’ll all work out because you’re prepared, so remind yourself that other people don’t see the minutiae the way you do. It’s not about being perfect today. It’s about gathering and celebrating together.

Juggling Julie

So why did you take on those extra projects when you were already busy getting ready for Christmas? Can’t help yourself? Examine what can happen now—and what can’t.  Draw up a list of the steps to achieve these and detail specific times to do them. Block out time chunks so you get the last minute shopping, food preparation, etc. done without letting any of the activities take up too much time. That’s a sure way you’ll start wasting time! Make sure you breathe as it makes the juggling easier.

Helpful Helen

Christmas is for you, too. It’s great to have everything in place so everyone else enjoys themselves but if you don’t make it fun for you as well, you’ll resent the fact that you’re always stuck doing the work. You don’t need to let that happen. You’re excellent at getting things done—so make sure that means doing things for you, too! You’ve done lots for others all year so why not ask for a little help now?

Last Minute Lucy

So you’re a-l-m-o-s-t ready for Christmas? It’s time to really examine those lists and cut out what isn’t going to happen. Then make the rest happen. Who can you enlist to help? Make sure you give them as much time as possible to help as they’re busy people too. You’re a wonderful party person so make the most of this celebratory time without making it hard on others—or on you! Don’t disappoint the important people in your life—or yourself—by not focusing now.

Driven Diana

Phew. What a year! It’s good that you’ve achieved what you have but now it’s time to enjoy the family and friends who haven’t had enough time with you this year. Try to fit in with other people’s wishes at this time and relinquish some control so you can relax. The downtime is particularly good for you so make sure you focus on enjoying it.

(Don’t know what your Time Management Style is? Here’s the link to find out.)

Here’s to the happiest of Christmases and a most successful New Year, from Valerie and Jayne.

It takes courage to make the claim that this is the ONE must-do thing to do in December that will help you be where you want to be in 2012. But we know it works.

What’s more, it’s EASY to do and based on scientific research. And we proved it on our holidays.

So does that give you a clue?

Let’s go back a step first.

A year ago we read about a bunch of neuroscientists who spent a week in an e-less (no access to email or mobile phones) region of Utah hiking and kayaking. More to the point, they were there to examine what happened when always-connected people stepped away from their devices and rested their brains. They believed that looking at how attention, memory and learning were affected when we ‘escaped’ the gadgets was important science.

We decided that if it was good enough for the scientists, we might as well have some of that, too. So during our holidays this year it was important for us to look at the effects of our break on our thinking and attention when we returned to work. We admit that we both struggled and did do some work. But we had at least a week without work, resting our brains by enjoying the activities of our chosen holiday spots, whether kayaking and snorkelling in Thailand or exploring the food and wine of Tuscan hill towns.

So this is what we found.

When we really turned off (all our e-stuff, that is!) and relaxed, we returned with better ideas, plans—and our usual big thing—focus. It was more than a refreshing break!

The scientists talked about the ‘three-day effect’. Check out their story in the New York Times here.

Better still, write your own story this December. Most people have time off sometime this month so make sure you do. Give yourself three clear days without having to answer work emails or phone calls or do anything work-related. It works for any Time Management Styles.

For real impact, before you start those three days, write down the main thing you want to achieve in each of the areas of your life in 2012. Then forget it—for at least your holidays. Next, listen to the ideas that start bubbling up to answer how you’ll achieve those goals. For some people, they get great ideas in the shower or when they wake up. With this more focused practice, it’s like a holiday bonus!

*** We’d love to hear your stories and we’re offering a 45-minute coaching session as a prize for the best ‘bubble up’ story–think of it as a relaxation response. Please send them to us at contactus@timemattersnow.com by January 13, 2012.

All the best for some great ideas for 2012!

3 Critical Steps to Giving Yourself Time Out – Guilt Free

We all have days when getting things done is harder than usual. But so often the pressure of deadlines means we have little choice but to keep going. The reality is though that you’ll probably achieve far less than if you’d walked  away for a while.

Taking time out is not something we women find easy to do though.  Countless women at workshops we’ve run have told us they feel guilty taking time for themselves, and that’s irrespective of whether they feel great or not.

So how can you feel comfortable about giving yourself an hour or even a day off? The secret lies in the way you manage time. Or put another way, in how you schedule your time.

Here are 3 critical steps to follow:

1. Get clear about your goals, both in work and personally and then refer back to these daily when setting your priorities. (See 7 tips to help you with prioritizing below). Doing this will ensure you’re spending time on what is moving you towards your goals.

2. Schedule your appointments in your diary, including your personal commitments. Schedule in blocks of time for tasks that require focused effort.  Now this is the particularly important bit: Allow yourself wriggle room in your schedule so you can rework things if you find you’re struggling. If you end up powering through things then this extra time is an added bonus. You can get ahead by starting on your next priorities, or enjoy some unexpected time out.

3. When you are struggling to feel motivated, allow yourself time out, guilt free. It is over to you to work out how much time you’re able to take. But remember, make yourself a priority. It’s not how much time you put into your tasks, but what you do with that time.  When you are feeling energetic and freshly inspired, you’ll achieve so much more.

We’ve learnt how important it is to give ourselves time out when we need it. So much so that we make it a priority and schedule it into our diaries. Val for example does Qi Chong at the beach twice a week.   She was hesitant to do it originally because it ate into her work day but now finds she gets a lot more done than if she started 2 hours earlier.

She’s only been able to do this and keep on top of things though with good prioritising, scheduling and understanding of her Time Management Style. As a combination Juggling Julie and Last Minute Lucy she knows that if she isn’t clear of her priorities and scheduling in appointments, she will struggle to be productive each day, never mind make space for time out. She often watches whales breaching as they journey to or from their breeding grounds. What an amazing way to start the day.

Here are 7 tips to help with prioritising your time. There are a range of different ones and we’ll share these with you at other times because we know some will resonate with you more than others, depending on your Time Management Style.

1. Look at your daily list of things you want to get done and ask yourself: “If I could only do one thing on this list what would it be?”  Then give this a number 1 priority.

2. Take remaining items on your list and ask the question again. Assign a number 2 priority.

3. Work your way through until all items are prioritized.

4. Have another look at your priorities to check they sit right for you.  This is important because ultimately your priorities point you at what you really want to get out of life. At the same time they allow you to be ruthless about where you spend your time.

5. Remember: when you prioritise, don’t put the easy or less-important ones first because you’ll ‘get them out of the way’. Look at what you want to achieve.

6. Determine who else around you has a stake in your time (colleagues, family, friends) and get their buy-in to what you have to do

7. Recognise your priorities change over time, but they should always be moving you towards your goals.

We’ll talk another time about recording where your time goes and what that means for your priorities.
An eye opening exercise!

If you want to know more about Pink Shoe Power, go to the website or send us an email; contactus@pinkshoepower.com.  We would love to hear from you.

When you learn to say no you have a way of discriminating between what should get done and what shouldn’t, and you can focus

Here are 8 time management tips to help you say no. Make sure you read the article  What your Time Management Style says about your ability to say No as well to get the best results.your time and energy on the things that fit your priorities rather than those that take you away from them.

1. Routinely question what is required when you are asked to do a task and the timing involved so you and they are clear what is involved and whether their request is realistic given your existing priorities
2. Challenge people’s demands on your time. Why are they asking you? Is there someone better able to handle this? Are they prepared to accept your priorities being changed?
3. Think in terms of saying no. Practice this skill and get comfortable with it so then you will only say yes to things that really matter
4. Create a FAQ to prevent people asking questions that can be easily answered in a standard format
5. Get comfortable with saying no by practicing. Say no to everything for a day or 20 times in succession –whichever is the longer period. Don’t take on any new things whatsoever. Make a joke of it with people if this is easier for you. At least they will get the message that you want to push back on things and they may be reluctant to ask you another time.
6. Make yourself unavailable for certain periods of time when you don’t be disturbed or take any interruptions. Tell colleagues, family you are not available, put your phone on silent and turn of your email alert. You can get creative about it in your diary and colour your undisturbed periods red and your available time green.
7. Build some new phrases into your vocabulary: “Is there anybody else who can do it?”, “I can’t do it but I can find you somebody else who can”, “I can’t do it now but I could do it later”, “I won’t be able to do this if I do that”, “I’ll get to it in x hours/weeks from now”, “I’m currently full-time on such and such… what’s the priority of this in comparison?”
8. Get clear about the value of your time (we’ll tell you how in another article – or email us for details now), because then you know what it will cost you to say Yes.

If you want to know more about Pink Shoe Power, go to the website or send us an email; contactus@pinkshoepower.com.  Love to hear from you.

No.  A small word. But your most powerful time management tool.  When you can say no to requests that take you away from what’s important to you then YOU have control of your time, not other people.

If you struggle with saying no, and many of us do, depending on the person asking and the situation, there are some great strategies around to help you. But from our experience we’ve found being aware of the strategies won’t stop you from falling back into your old habits.

To shift those habits and feel comfortable about saying no it is critical to get clear about how much of an issue it is for you and the benefits for you in making changes.   We need to know either one or both of these to feel motivated enough to take  action – the pain and pleasure.  An easy way to do that is through your Pink Shoe Power Time Management Style, for three reasons:

1. Your TMS gives you valuable insight into how you handle requests and interruptions

2. Your TMS allows you to understand the real impact saying yes has on you (the pain)

3. Your TMS  gives you a reason for taking action that makes sense to you – you can see the benefits (the pleasure) so you’re motivated to move forward.

Here’s an example for each Pink Shoe Power Time Management Style so you can see what we mean.

If you’re a Helpful Helen saying no can be a real challenge for you because you enjoy doing things for others. But you’ll find there will come a point where you’re neglecting yourself and what makes you happy and energized. We suggest you work on building your muscle around saying no without guilt to get time back for you and your priorities.

Juggling Julies love having lots of projects on the go, so they tend to say yes to new opportunities and tasks because of the challenge and variety they provide.  But constant switching between tasks and juggling multiple projects takes time away from what is really important for you and can leave you feeling pulled in too many different directions.  An important time management strategy for you is to get clear about your priorities in business and personally and make decisions based on those when faced with a new requests. These priorities will give you the motivation to stay focused so saying no is easier.

Last Minute Lucy is happy to take on new tasks and projects when not up against a deadline. They can provide a welcome distraction when you don’t feel like tackling a task. The reality is you can waste a lot of time on, and hold yourself back from achieving your goals faster.  As a Lucy it is important to take some time to understand why you look for distractions and interruptions (we will talk more about that in another article). When you are clear about why, the strategies for saying no will work for you.

If you’re a Focused Fiona or Driven Diana you tend to feel comfortable pushing back on requests that don’t fit your current priorities. The value for you lies in understanding the Time Management Style of colleagues, family or friends who struggle to say no. When you understand why they are saying yes, you can help them change their patterns.

With your Time Management Style(s) in mind, take a look at the 8 tips we’ve gathered together, choose one or two that resonate with you, and decide today what action you will take.

If you want to know more about Pink Shoe Power, go to the website or send us an email; contactus@pinkshoepower.com.  Love to hear from you.

Have to admit this week has been a struggle for me.. I’ve felt so tired and everything has taken far longer than it should have. My body was saying – “Take the day off” but my mind was saying “Keep going, you’ll at least get something done.”

Do you have days or weeks like that?

Well I have to share this great Dear Aunty B letter on Smart Company…  I hope it makes you smile.
Plus the tips might just give you the fresh perspective you need to power on to Christmas

Dear Aunty B,

I am an exhausted wreck. I have fought so hard for my business this year and I feel like I don’t have anything more to give.

Yet we are going into our busiest time of year, and on top of that I have Christmas and parties where I have to give speeches and pep everyone up when I just want to take off my stilettos, pour myself a gin and tonic, crawl on top of the bed and nana nap.

How do I keep myself motivated and “up” when all I can think about is down and out?

Buggered and over it,
Perth

Dear Buggered and over it,

Don’t ask me. I am as buggered as you and might well join you on the bed… no ice, thanks.

Look, the first thing to do is plan a holiday. If you feel you can’t have a holiday, think again. If you burn out you won’t have a business. And besides, on day three of your holiday, you will be rested enough to start thinking, planning and strategising for the new year and by day four you will be bored and on the computer. So plan that holiday!!

Here is what you are going to do every morning until your holiday. You are going to drag yourself out of bed, look in the mirror and say: “Today we are going to have a win.”

And you are going to do this because you must keep your staff motivated and staff can sense when you are worried, distracted and unmotivated.

Second, you are going to stop and helicopter up to the big blue sky and hover up there for a good look around. Remind yourself of the early days, the journey you have taken, why you did it in the first place and the smart things you have done. Look down with that confidence and see the path to Christmas.

Third, you are going to change your routine. Get in later or earlier. Leave at different times. Schedule in some nice time with friends. Have lunch with some admirers and let their faith and belief in you fill you for a change.

Lastly, up your exercise. Take a walk in the middle of the day. Go to the gym, play tennis – do whatever it takes to exhaust you so you sleep well at night and wake up refreshed.

Be smart,
Your Aunty B

Source: www.smartcompany.com.au, Thursday 19 October

A simple way to help you save yourself some precious time is with the time management strategy of; become a ‘walking question mark’.  Question what you do with your time because there are always better ways to do things or you might find you don’t need to do them at all!

Here are 7 key questions to ask yourself, with hints for the five Time Management Styles:

1. How can I do this task more efficiently? Yes, we know it sounds simple and even obvious but most out us operate out of habit for much of what we do each day. Look for a shortcut, a way to trim time off the task. One way to do this is to learn more about the software that you use most to ensure you’re using shortcuts. If you use MS Office suite, for instance, there are dozens of online tips. A little time invested now can save you hours each week.

If you’re a Focused Fiona, questioning what you do can be a challenge because you’re likely to have good systems in place already. But you run the risk of doing more than is really necessary. So be rigorous on yourself and look for opportunities to create short cuts.

2. Do I do this same task regularly? If you do, make sure you create yourself a template or numbered job description to follow. On these, write out the steps you need to take so you don’t have to remember or worse, start from scratch each time. And even better, when you employ someone else to do these jobs, there’s already a well-thought-out operations manual for them.

3. Did I put my paperwork away when I finished with it? Remember, the job’s not done until you’ve put away the paper work! Limit the steps you take when managing paperwork and file it as soon as you’re finished. It gives a great sense of progress as well to have it off your mind or desk.

If you’re a Last Minute Lucy or Juggling Julie this is a good discipline to get yourself into. The best way to make this a habit though, because you might find it a struggle, is to focus on the reward of getting a task done.  Giving yourself rewards for completing tasks is very important because they will help you overcome procrastination.

4. What did I forget today?  At the end of the day note down how many times you realized you forgot to do or get something. If you’re a bit forgetful or find you’ve just got so much on, little things slip, and this will help you gain a sense of how much this is an issue for you or not. If you find there are more than a couple of things, write yourself a master list each week of what you want to achieve or need to get done (personal and work) and refer to it each day when you create your daily action list. This is a useful way of keeping tabs on those little things.

5.What is my highest priority right now? Is what I am doing important or necessary?  This is a great focusing question. When you ask this question you will find it easier to stay on task with activities that really make a difference. You’re also less likely to get to the end of the day and find you haven’t dealt with your highest priorities. To help you answer this question, be clear about your goals because they will determine your priorities and on what to spend your time.  Identify how much time you are spending on those less important or less necessary tasks. Are you prepared to live with this? If not, decide what you will stop doing or hand to someone else.

Juggling Julie, this is a great question to ask yourself because too readily you can find yourself agreeing to projects or tasks because they made sense (or sound more fun) to you at the time, but aren’t helping you achieve your goals. Ask yourself this each time you move to a new task.

6. A related question is, why am I doing this? If you are doing a task that isn’t necessary or important in your work role, are you doing it to please someone else? Or is it something that makes you feel good to do?  This question is particularly good for Helpful Helens who may not take the time to question themselves in this way. There is no right or wrong answers. You just need to get clear about the reasons behind what you spend your time on.

7. What impact is what I am doing having on the important people in my life? This is a big picture question to ask when reflecting on your goals, making major decisions in your life or struggling to feel motivated.  It will give you the resolve you need or the chance to review.

For a Driven Diana, this question helps you to reflect on the real impact, of your actions, not just at a business level, but personally. This can also be a reminder question about timing. When you ask this question on a daily basis, it can relate to the time of day you carry out actions, too so you have time for the important people.

Not all these questions will be right for you… pick the one(s) that work best for you and give them a go for a week.

You know the saying, ‘seek and you will find’?  It is true for so many things – including ways to save time.   You’ll find they are all around you – all you need is to know what to look for.

Let us know how you go… what came up for you?

Take time to save time—sounds weird, doesn’t it?

But if you master this, you will be in the driving seat of your time – and giving yourself the greatest chance of getting done what you need to each week.  How good would that be?

This is part of our Get Back Your Time series of practical and time saving strategies to help you make the most of your 1440 minutes in your day.

So what do we mean by Take Time to Save Time?

Step 1

Set aside time each day—maybe only 5-10minutes to get clear about what you want to achieve and how you will go about it. Get into a habit of doing this at the same time.For us, we prefer to make this list up at the end of the day for the following day—then we know what we have planned for the next day. The best part about this approach is you clear your mind to enjoy the evening and then the next morning get straight into things when you feel fresh.

Step 2

Write down your Action List and categorise these tasks into A, B and C in importance. Choose say 3-5 important tasksfor the day.  We don’t suggest any more than this because then you’ll just start to feel overwhelmed simply by looking at your list!

Step 3

This is the vital action here…schedule these in your diary! And a key tool to help you with this is your phone, diary or appointment device or book.  Get one where you can see a week-at-a-glance and use it daily. We recommend this type because you can quickly see what you have coming up in your calendar.  Write everything that you need to accomplish in this device or book, plus your appointments.   Don’t make your brain your e-planner or diary—it’s not a productive use of space for starters!It also allows you to clear your mind.

(Check the Pink Shoe Power book or your Profiler results for more on using a calendar to suit your Time Management Style.)

If you aren’t able to get one of these tasks done,schedule it for the next day.  Don’t beat yourself up about it, because there is every chance it wasn’t your fault.

Step 4

Review your achievements and acknowledge what you have completed.  Don’t beat yourself up over what didn’t get done—it’s too late then. Instead, look at what part of your Time Management Style hinders you from completing the important things and make a small step to ensure it gets done first the next day.

So in summary, the core time management steps you need to take are:  1) set aside time each day to get clear about what you want to achieve (we prefer the end of the working day to do this, but it’s your time so decide what works best for you), 2) write down your tasks –3-5 things you need to get done, 3) schedule these in a phone or diary or scheduler that allows you to see your week at a glance. 4) And very importantly,acknowledge what you achieve!

***** Making the most of your time is about making new habits that work for you. To get new habits ingrained, be very regular about them daily until they are just part of what you do!

*** Oh, and don’t forget to tell us about your successes—or challenges!

What work task do you start the day with? Is it email?
Many of us think ‘I’ll just get this out of the way and then I’ll be clear for the big jobs.’
And then what happens? Have you noticed that email seems to take on a life of its own?

I had another excellent reminder of this the other day. Even though I teach people to
start on the important tasks first, I too sometimes get seduced by the lure of ‘first I’ll clear the email.’ The week in question was the first for ages that I’d been in the office for three consecutive days.  Let me describe the first two days…

As you’d imagine I was keen to catch up on a backlog of tasks. ‘Surely the email won’t take long,’
I convinced myself. (The little voice on my shoulder whispered ‘Don’t go there’ but I pushed it impatiently aside.)

Sure enough, by the time the first batch of mail was out of the way, answers needing reply had
started bouncing back; phones were ringing; people wanted my attention. I was on a roll, and I just wanted to get that damned Inbox down to a respectable level. Every time I went back to check something, new mail had popped in.
It was a bit like trying to beat Solitaire! You persuade yourself that ‘this time I’ll win’. Yeah, right!

At the end of each of these two days I noticed a dull sense of dissatisfaction. It felt as though I’d been dragged with barely a whimper into a never-ending whirlpool of digital interactions. It didn’t feel that I’d wasted time.
Everything was appropriate. BUT – the two most important tasks for the week still languished.

The third morning, lying in bed reflecting on the day ahead, I gave myself a stern talking-to.
It went a bit like ‘Robyn, you know better than this!’ (Maybe I have to stumble from time to time to keep
empathy with my similarly-struggling clients.)

First coffee for the day in hand, I approached the seemingly innocuous lump of metal on my desk
with steely resolve. I applied my own good advice – and didn’t turn on the email program first thing.
As I well knew, starting with the most important task was the answer. Outlook didn’t get an ‘In-look’ -
I knew from past experience that ‘email first’ for me at least, was an insidious bad habit that I had to snap out of. Clearly, after two days of having its own way, this particular unproductive practice was doing its
sneaky best to creep back in.

The first item on the list was a short but important preliminary outline requested by a client.
We’d both agreed that it wasn’t urgent and he was quite happy to wait, but the ‘wait’ was becoming  embarrassing to me, even if he was still cool. With optimistic intention I’d even carted meeting notes to Germany and back a few weeks earlier!  Enough was enough!

All my client wanted was an emailed outline but I knew it would take me about half an hour of thinking and concentration. So, even though the logical place to create this was in Outlook, instead I compiled it in Word and only at the conclusion, resolutely NOT looking at any new incoming mail, transferred the
content into email format for transmission.

You might be much better disciplined than me, and of course your work may require you to check the mailbox before you can sort your priorities for the day. One thing I’ve learnt in this business of being a trainer and speaker is that there is no ‘one right way’ in anything. So take out of this example
what’s useful and leave the rest. But if you can identify with my little tussle, hopefully either the process I went through or one of the next three strategies might be of help.

Three other focusing strategies to save time:

1. If today’s time-critical tasks have paper-work attached to them, physically prioritise
them – but don’t leave them sitting right under your nose. Place them nearby, but ideally
slightly out of eye-range. Our potential interruption zone is what our peripheral vision can
see as we work on something else. For instance, if most of your work is computer-based,
notice what you can see while you type. Try to keep that space clear of anything that will
distract you. Waiting tasks send out a subliminal message saying ‘Pick me, pick me!’

2.  Use your paper diary (or Task List in your digital calendar) to list the tasks for the day.
Even if you’ve got 20 items on the list, number just the Top 5 with 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (wherever they are on the list)
and stay focused on those tasks for all except the most critical interruptions.

If you’re using an electronic system, simply place the relevant number at the beginning of the
line of type, click on the bar above and it will instantly sort into numerical order.
The items with no numbers will fall neatly into line below the numbered tasks.

3. Just in case your good intentions slip away overnight, before you leave work for the day,
place the most important task (or a reminder note) in splendid prominence at your workstation.
(This is especially effective if your space is uncluttered. If hundreds of other ‘distractions’ also
share that primary piece of real estate called your desk, the effectiveness of this idea will be
seriously diluted.)

And now, enjoy the sense of accomplishment as you keep focused on the Main Things.

Robyn Pearce CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) is the Time Queen. She mastered her
own time challenges and now helps people around the world overcome theirs. She can show
you how to transform your time challenges into high productivity and the life balance you desire.

Want to know more? Then take a look at the range of practical resources she has available.
You’ll find some of these in our recent article on dealing with clutter in your workspace.
Here is the link.

© All Rights Reserved to Robyn Pearce, GettingAGrip.com, PO Box 29 586, Fendalton, Christchurch 8540, New Zealand Ph.+ 64 3 351 2140