What if you could get a grasp on this slippery nebulous topic of time management? How would your days, weeks and life look and function differently? If only…if only you had a trick or magic wand. If only… Instead of a trick or magic wand, how about a tool to help you identify the areas of time management that are holding you back? Yes, there is a tool that can help you do just that. …
Something has come back onto my radar screen that I haven’t addressed in some time. Perhaps it is because I put it out there. Perhaps it is a shift in our environment that has brought it back to the forefront. The issue is time management. In a recent presentation, I shared that this is often one of the first issues brought up when I work with a business owner or leader or an individual contributor. …
In dressage we use a phrase “on the aids” to describe when we have the horse’s full attention and he is listening to us. You might think that’s a constant with a rider on the back. Have you ever ridden on one of those vacation trail rides? The kind where the horses follow nose to tail? That horse is not on the aids and is paying zero attention to you. In fact, he likely believes …
“What time is it?” “Do you have the time?” “May I take just a moment of your time?” These are some of the many phrases we hear associated with the ticking of the clock. Most cause us some level of anxiety and a reACTION of “Oh, my goodness, look at the time!” or “I don’t have time for that (or anything else!).” What is it about time that causes so much angst? Time is simply a …
Last week I attended a breakfast meeting of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). How I came to be at that meeting is an interesting story of connection but you’ll have to wait to hear that one. What stood out for me at that meeting is hearing, yet again, a theme that has been playing in my consciousness in recent months. The topic of the meeting was a panel discussion on “Moderating Board Performance …
A client and I were talking recently and this analogy came to mind as we brainstormed on moving the business forward. Remember when you were a kid and you went outside after it rained? There were puddles everywhere! As you explored, you discovered streams and creeks clogged with debris washed down by the rain. Leaves, branches and occasionally trash hampered the run-off preventing the water from moving on. Ever the curious kid, you pulled out …
Recommendations from colleagues allowed the book Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown to make it to the top of my reading and listening list. I am on my second listen and first read and have continued to uncover new ideas that allow for the unfurling of the jumbled knot that is partially visible on the cover of the book. Why is this book important to you? Unless you are one of the …
Last week I shared an article on LinkedIn about closing the lid on your laptop for the weekend. Little did I know when I selected the article that it would soon be just the advice I needed. You see, I do truly practice the habits and insights I share with my clients and readers. I just don’t always practice them perfectly. Time can slip away from me during the work week, just as it does …
Completing the trifecta of recommended reading on productivity, also known as time management, is David Allen’s detailed book on just how to get things done. I recommend three books when it comes to prioritizing and taking action in your life. Stephen Covey’s “First Things First” which begins with the end in mind (read my book review here). That is, his book helps you determine the truly important things to you, your life and where you …
I selected this book as my latest read as I was searching for a resource for understanding our personal values. A little research on Amazon led me to this book which was a more wonderful choice than I could have ever imagined. Not only does it help us identify what is important to us, it addresses why we feel so time-crunched and frustrated in our lives. This book was a “two-fer” for me. Most every …
Have you heard this one? That text tone that makes the sound of a whistle? The first time I heard it, I turned around. I was in a public space and truly thought someone needed my attention. A friend, a security guard; I didn’t know who — only that it sounded important. Now, I am almost accustomed to the sound. My brain recognizes it as someone else’s cue for, “hey you, pay attention.” How distracted …
In the recent webinar, “Top-Down and Bottom-Up: How to Get Your Life and Business Under Control” (download recording here), one of the first steps was to reduce clutter. This is important for several reasons: To have clear space in which to work and think To focus on the project, task or client that is present To be present with the project, task or client – or family member! Clutter is the remainder and reminder of …
Ring. Buzz. “Do you have 5 minutes?” The common sounds of our days – interruptions, distractions, emergencies and urgencies. It is a wonder we get anything accomplished at all! Yet we make it through the day, collapsing into bed just as we finished off the one thing we had to get done. Ring. Buzz. It starts all-over again. Ever wonder why you feel frustrated? Not at the constant interruptions. No, the frustration you …
So many of us look forward to the day when we finally get caught up and can focus on the future, near and longer-term. Once we get that to-do list done, we will be able to do just that! Stop kidding yourself! We know that it will never happen that way. Yet it is easier to tease ourselves with this possibility than to do something about it. Doing something about it is hard. It requires …
Thanksgiving week provided the opportunity to review the year (not quite complete but almost!) and begin laying plans for the next. The first draft of the review was completed on Monday and planning for the year ahead was begun on Tuesday. Late Tuesday, I added the necessary files to my cloud service so I could easily access all that I needed while we celebrated the holiday and duck-hunted along the Texas Gulf Coast. While I …
Fourth Article in the Series: Pulling It All Together If you look back at last week’s post on Designing Your Day, you will notice that I did nothing administrative that day. Everything was client or marketing/prospect-oriented and played to my strengths. I run a small business, just like many of you reading this. There are bills to pay, emails to answer and manage, continuing education, technology challenges, blogs to write, websites to update and so …
Third Article in the Series: Pulling It All Together Early in the year, we focused on understanding your Strengths and what you do best. When we design our days so that 75% of our time is spent working in our Strengths, we accomplish much more and are energized, not depleted, at the end of our day. Would you like to know how? Begin by reviewing your Strengths. If you haven’t done this work, see the …
Ninth Article in the Series: Efficiency and Productivity For this last message in the series on “Efficiency and Productivity,” I want to talk about time management. Why? Because the only mention of it came in the first article of this series, Making the Most of It. You might have thought we would be delving into topics on managing your calendar, time blocking, e-mail, etc. Yet throughout this series, there has not been a single message …
Sixth Article in the Series: Efficiency and Productivity In conjunction with culling your client list, you will also be developing and refining your plan for serving your Ideal Clients. This is a big step in the efficiency and productivity you seek to achieve. A service plan for your Ideal Clients begins with your initial meeting to discuss working together and generally includes the following steps: Pre-screening initial call to determine if meeting is appropriate Initial …
Clutter was the subject of Life In First Person a couple weeks ago. I shared this observation: “Others of us are oblivious to the amount of clutter we have.” Oblivious? Yes, we can all get used to that mess of a desk or the disorganized closet, yet deep down inside we know it exists. There is also a form of clutter that we have a harder time seeing — the kind of clutter we call …