Want To Maximize Your Time? - Think Differently About It

Think Differently About It -- Change Your Mind-set   

Remember - What you think will dictate how you behave.

You know, we toss around the words "time management" a lot these days. And you can certainly find plenty of information on how to do it better. It is one of the most searched keywords on the web. And as I work with people on getting results and being productive it's sometimes treated as just one more thing to deal with in our professional and personal lives.

BUT...it's much more important than "just one more thing." With that said, I want to suggest a couple of new ways to view the subject of time management. Why?  Because our relationship to time will make all the difference in how we use it, our degree of life satisfaction and ultimately how our lives unfold.

And that's the first mindset suggestion -- see yourself as having a relationship to time. Yes, a relationship and in this relationship you will treat it with love, respect, and care. I bet you've heard the phrase, "Respect my time." Many people don't respect their own time let alone others. You will be sensitive to it, aware of it, honor it and treat it wisely.

This leads to mindset #2 -- let's reframed the phrase of time management and call it life management. This is an essential time management tip! Time management IS life management! Personal time management IS personal life management. This just has a whole different ring, feel and level of importance to it -- in fact will create a different relationship to it.

In reality, time is life. One minute is a segment of our lives. You know…that’s a BIG DEAL. Five minutes go by – it can’t be captured again. It’s gone forever. Think about that. If we take that truth to heart I will venture to say we’ll manage our lives much differently.

How?… perhaps say no to the trivial more, not waste time thinking about things or situations we can’t change, assert our choice in how we spend our time at home, and create better boundaries with those who are not time aware.

Embracing this critical truth can impact so many meaningful areas. It's your choice and it all begins with a renewed mindset: I have a relationship to time and time is my life!

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Get more time management help: Check out - Organizational Strategies for the Overwhelmed - how to manage your time, space, & priorities, to work smart, get results & be happy -  Kindle - The Book - Nook - Audio Book -  The Seminar

Related Topics: |  My Life Through The Lens of Time - The Interview - Kindle
Declutter Your Life From The Inside-Out - Kindle  -  Nook

Let Technology Be Your Time Management Coach

Curator comments: Even though this piece talks about tracking productivity, it's really about tracking time usage. Time usage, productivity, and getting needed results are not all equal.  But I wanted to bring attention to the tools of tracking time usage either via a software as suggested or a browser add-on or extension. There are many offerings - check them out on the one you prefer.  

These tools are important because building time awareness is critical to effective time management. Remember, you cannot change what you do not see!

When It Comes To Productivity, Technology Can Hurt And Help

    by Yuki Noguchi

Even when people think they're buckling down, studies show the average office worker wastes over a third of the day. (What do you think about this statement?) There's Facebook, of course, and the email from a friend with a YouTube link. After all that, is it time to go get coffee?

Worker pay is the most expensive line item in the budget for most businesses, which means billions of dollars are going to waste.

But here's the silver lining: It turns out lack of productivity presents a big business opportunity.

Joe Hruska is pretty blunt about how much work anyone does in a typical day.

"You're not getting 8 hours of productivity out of an employee, even though you may have blinders on and that's what you expect," he says. (Curator's comment: Is that humanly possible?)

Hruska is founder and CEO of RescueTime, a software firm that allows users to sign up to see where they're spending their computer time. The data he collects shows — at best — a worker is productive about five of those hours. (Productive meaning active=not the same.)

Productivity In A Shifting Workforce

I installed RescueTime on my own computer, and then awaited the results with trepidation.

I confessed to Hruska that I'm scared what I'm going to find, and wonder if it's an uncommon feeling. He says, "That is, in fact, the most common reaction that people have."

 

NPR's Yuki Noguchi tried RescueTime to measure her productivity. Here are the results.

Courtesy of Yuki Noguchi

With good reason, it turns out. My report said on my bestday, I was only 68 percent productive. Hruska says mere awareness of where time is spent and wasted improves typical users' productivity by 10 percent.

But productivity isn't just about saving wasted time or eliminating distraction. Increasingly, it means adapting to a workforce that's changing demographically.

The advance of tablets and Web-based computing makes it possible for more people to work remotely, but that also makes interoffice coordination a greater challenge.

Tim Bajarin is a technology analyst who says companies — from IBM and HP to smaller startups — are grappling with how to make the workplace more effective.

"The tools to make them successful in their productivity is the No. 1 IT project in any company," Bajarin says.

Read the remainder of the article here: http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/04/30/179072692/when-it-comes-to-productivity-technology-can-hurt-and-help

Here's another tool to check out: Yast


The bigger picture: If you want to be more productive, get better results and make the most of your time, you'll want to get Organizational Strategies for the Overwhelmed - how to manage your time, space, & priorities, to work smart, get results & be happy -  Kindle - The Book - Nook - Audio Book | You can bring The Seminar.  to your organization as well.

1 Easy Tip to Reclaim An Out Of Control Day

Is Your Day Out of Control? - Here's One Easy Way to Get It Back

Have you ever had one of those days? You start off with big plans to be productive. Your calendar is filled with confirmed appointments. Then, nothing seems to go right. Your computer crashes. Your cell phone battery dies and your charger is at home. Someone spills coffee on your shirt just before an important meeting. Your confirmed lunch appointment stands you up. 

Don’t worry. Your day is not a total disaster. In fact, you can save your sanity and salvage the day. You just need to re-focus, jump start your motivation and sense of productivity.  All of those scenarios above cause you to feel as if your day has gone completely out of control.

Jumping starting your motivation and productivity means regaining your sense of control.  A simple way to do that?  Follow this simple piece of time management advice:

TIP: Keep quick tasks close at hand...
When time opens up in your schedule, like your lunch appointment not showing up, you suddenly have time to handle other opportunities if you’re prepared. For example, I carry notecards, envelopes and stamps in my bag. When I find "lost time" in short unexpected moments throughout my busy day, this allows me to write a few thank you notes, birthday cards and other hand-written messages to clients, staff and others in my network. 

Getting something done in place of what fell through keeps me feeling productive and the unexpected gesture makes me stand out from the masses.

Additionally, in any work environment and on every "to do list" are something called quick tasks -- tasks that are easy, effortless and can be executed fast.  If you quickly want to gain a sense of control, jump start your productivity, feel as if you really are getting something done seeing tangible results, start doing your quick tasks. It's amazing how quickly your mood will turn positive and your motivation will manifest into sustained momentum.

Curated and adapted from this article: 5 Steps to Rescue Your Productivity: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226446#ixzz2RZQ7UPoh

Need to jumpstart your results? Then you'll want to get the book Organizational Strategies for the Overwhelmed, how to manage your time, space, & priorities, to work smart, get results & be happy =>Have it your way -  Kindle - The Book - Nook - Audio Book (audio also available on iTunes)

Also on Kindle: Declutter Your Life From The Inside Out