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Tag: time management (Page 2 of 4)

The Best Schedule Management Tips

19/06/2019 /

Here are 20 Schedule and Calendar Management Tips that can help you meet all those deadlines and never have to ask for more time again!

  1. Review. Then review again
  2. One event-free day a week
  3. Schedule meetings ASAP
  4. Use meeting scheduling tools
  5. Follow up
  6. Use reminders
  7. Add another time zone
  8. Import all your calendars
  9. Only meet for as long as you need to
  10. Say “no” to fact gathering or update meetings
  11. In fact, just say “No”
  12. Start on time and skip the roll call
  13. Meeting conflicts
  14. Cancel it
  15. Batch meetings on your calendar
  16. Color-code your calendar
  17. Schedule time in your calendar for email
  18. When is your productive peak?
  19. Do you REALLY need to meet?
  20. Fin time in your schedule with time-tracking tools

To learn more about each of these tips, read the full article!

20 Brilliant Calendar & Schedule Management Tips

Office, Business, Paperwork, Document, Laptop, Agenda

Image: Pixabay (CC0 Creative Commons)

3 best ways to say NO

20/02/2019 /

Sometimes it feels like there’s just way too much to do and too little time. There are many helpful productivity and time-management tips, but, according to this article, the most powerful one is the art of saying no. But how to say no?

 Here are three simple guidelines that might just make your life easier:

1. Don’t respond immediately.

When you are asked to do something that isn’t a part of your primary focus, simply tell the person that you will get back to them.

2. Consider creative solutions.

When someone comes to you with a request that you would like to fulfill but it would put a crimp in your schedule, think about giving them a partial yes, or offer another solution.

3. Keep it simple: Never overexplain or apologize profusely.

You do not have to apologize for doing what’s right for you and your business. If you are kind in your response and offer a few very simple words of explanation, most people will respect you for it.

Image: Flickr – duncan c  (CC BY-NC 2.0) 

6 High Performance Habits

17/10/2018 /

Many of us wish to reach success. What the definition of that is varies from person to person, but #1 New York Times Best Selling author Brandon Burchard has put together the 6 High Performance Habits that people that are considered successful generally share:

  • Seek clarity
  • Generate energy
  • Raise necessity
  • Increase productivity
  • Develop influence
  • Demonstrate courage

High Performance therefore seems to be the result of simply performing specific actions day in and day out: you have no more excuses! The book also includes a professional assessment to measure one’s own progress in reaching his or her goals.

 

 

Soft skills to succeed in the workplace

05/09/2018 /

How many soft skills you can think of? The Blog Aboutcareers has made a comprehensive list which shows how vast and articulated this domain is.

In this context, Soft skills are defined as the personal attributes you need to succeed in the workplace. Regardless of the job, you need at least some soft skills to be successful.

Here is a list of 10 chosen at random just to give and idea:

  1. Able to Listen
  2. Delegation
  3. Facilitating
  4. Good at Storytelling
  5. Motivating
  6. Problem-solver
  7. Respectful
  8. Sense of Humor
  9. Time Management
  10. Writing Skills

Check the full list

Image source: Flickr – Elle * (CC BY 2.0)

Drop Multitasking and focus on Time management

25/04/2018 /

Multitasking is defined as the ability to perform more than one task, or activity, over a short period of time. In today’s world, multitasking is becoming the norm in most offices and households. We’re always short on time so we figure that doing several things at once will help us get more done at the end of the day.

WRONG!

Our productivity actually goes down by 40% when multitasking, therefore eliminating any benefit we might have gained. This is because when we multitask, we are actually “switch-tasking”, which means quickly shifting our attention between multiple activities, constantly interrupting ourselves and losing our train of thought.

So what are some of the benefits of not multitasking?

  • Becoming more mindful of your surroundings and your experiences
  • Making big progress on challenging projects
  • Actually completing those projects in a shorter time
  • Reducing your stress levels

And here are some tips to avoid multitasking:

  • Switch off all interruptions
  • Shorten your deadlines so you can better focus on your project
  • Establish two kinds of office at hours to focus more:
    • Individual work hours – when all distractions are banned.
    • Open office hours – when people can have the opportunity to reach you and get your input on something.

Want to read more about the downfalls of multitasking? Here is a good book you might want to read!

“The Myth of Multitasking: How “Doing it All” gets nothing done” – Dave Crenshaw
(https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3346363-the-myth-of-multitasking)

 

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Image source: Pixabay (CC0)

Focus is the key

28/02/2018 /

Organization is important, but what you really need is focus. According to the author of this article, being able to sit down and concentrate intensely on your work is the real key of success.

Here are some tips to help concentration:

1) Cut Off the Noise: Answer your e-mails at scheduled times. Request that people don’t interrupt you when working on a big project. If you are required to answer phones and drop-in’s immediately, schedule work when the office is less busy.

2) Structure Your Environment: Try to locate yourself so you are facing potential distractions such as doors, phones or windows. This way you can take a glance to assess sounds that would otherwise break your focus.

3) Clarify Objectives: If you aren’t sure what the end result is, the confusion will make it impossible to focus. Unclear objectives often result in having to redo sections of work.

4) Divide Blobs: Taking a few minutes to plan not only your end result, but the order you will complete any steps, can save hours in wasted thinking.

5) Know the Rules: If the rules aren’t clear from the outset, you will slip out of concentration as you ponder them later.

6) Set a Deadline: A deadline can make it easier to forget the non-essential and speed up your working time. Time limits have also disadvantages when they cause you to worry about the time you have left instead of the task itself.

7) Break Down Roadblocks: Break down roadblocks by brainstorming or planning on a piece of paper. Writing out your thought processes can keep you focused even if you might become frustrated.

8 ) Isolate Yourself: Unless your work is based on other people they will only break your focus. Create a private space and refuse to talk to anyone until your work is finished. Put a sign on your door to steer away drop-ins and don’t answer your phone.

9) Healthy Body, Sharper Mind: Try to cut out one of your unhealthy habits for just thirty days to see if there is a difference in your energy levels.

10) Be Patient: If you need strong concentration, periods of 90-120 minutes of work are recommended. Any less than that and you will waste too much time getting started before the flow can continue.

Image source: Flickr – Nickolai Kashirin (CC BY 2.0)

Maximise your time

29/11/2017 /

Maximising time is about properly prioritising things and doing what is really important. But how to do it? Here are some tips:

1) Work out where your time goes:  once you have identified those points in the day where time is clearly being wasted then this will assist you in setting priorities.

2) Set targets: having a firm idea of your targets will help you know where to put in all your efforts.

3) Compile a list to tick: free your mind by making a list of all the things that you need to do, that way you can look at it and tick stuff off as you go.

4) Get your priorities right: Avoid the temptation to do the easy stuff first, rather than the tasks that actually are the priorities.

5) Nail it first time: Do a job when you are in the mood for it, rather than trying to squeeze it in your day when you are tired or hungry as you’ll only end up doing half a job.

6) Don’t procrastinate: try to distance yourself from all those potential distractions that could put you off the tasks you should be doing.

7) Be organised: declutter your home and working environment and give everything a permanent place where you know you’ll be able to find it.

8) Delegate more: free up some time for yourself by enlisting others to do the tasks for you. Passing over tasks that someone else can do, particularly if they can do them quicker and better than you, makes sense.

9) Multi-task: by combining tasks well you can make the most of your available time.

10) Say ‘no’ more frequently: saying “no” will help you avoid overload and potential burnout and you won’t be dumped with additional tasks to look to delegate.

11) Avoid distractions: avoid those things that could distract you unnecessarily.

12) Take time out: taking time out will fully charge you both mentally and physically and you’ll be able to work more efficiently.

For more information, read the full article.

Time

Image source: Flickr –  Sean MacEntee (CC BY 2.0) 

10 Challenges When You Are In Charge

19/07/2017 /

Jacob Shriar on the Blog business2community highlights the 10 main challenges you will face when you are assigned to a managerial position.

It can be tough to adjust to this new role and potentially new environment, the first piece of advice is to understand that it’s normal to be nervous.

Here are 10 challenges that you will face to motivate the employees under you:

  1. Failure to Set Clear Goals and Expectations.
  2. Poor Time Management.
  3. Unclear or Inconsistent Communication.
  4. Pressure To Perform.
  5. Shifting From Coworker To Boss.
  6. Hiring.
  7. Firing.
  8. Solving Other People’s Problems.
  9. Getting The Team To Be Productive.
  10. Not Asking For Help.

The key is to change your mindset and get into a new way of approaching work.

Read the entire article here

Image source: Pixabay (CC0)

5 secrets to eliminate your online distractions

09/03/2017 /

Today we are simply overwhelmed by digital data, which make it very difficult to make our average workday a productive and focused one. Just consider how much time we spend daily on our email inbox, trying to read and answer to everybody and file every message. According to the digital explorer Alexandra Samuel (Work smarter with social media), having a clean Inbox is not only impossible, it is also a waste of time, and she provides five useful tips to resist the constant assault of online distraction:

  1. Stop trying to keep up. Instead of keeping up, make your goal keeping focused by being extremely clear about your priorities, both short and long term.
  2. Your most important online work happens offline. Be clear about what actually matters to you, before opening your computer.
  3. Match your digital life to your real-life priorities. Set email filters and, most importantly, make sure you’re setting up shortcuts and prioritizing what’s most relevant.
  4. Get your news all in one day. Use a newsreader which aggregate articles and create a news feed that lets you read stories and get information across the Internet all in one place.
  5. Don’t reflexively fill idle time with screen time. if you have less than five minutes of free time, resist the urge to fill it with smartphone time.

Read the full article on Fastcompany

image source: Pixabay (CC0)

 

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