Are things falling through the cracks?

A bucket is used for collecting and carrying things.  Personal time management tools are actually buckets where you collect, carry, and track information. Whether you use a paper tool or an electronic tool, make sure you have six buckets.

• Bucket One: The monthly calendar. Use it for carrying future events that are scheduled. Do you use a calendar if not choose one and begin to use it regularly.
• Bucket Two: The catch-all bucket. Use it to collect and carry activities (things to do) that are not yet scheduled. The catch-all is a master task list, things that you need to do in the future but not today, or tomorrow or maybe even this week. Do you have a master task list? If not choose one and begin to use it regularly.
• Bucket Three: The daily bucket. Use it to plan and track today’s activities such as today’s schedule and action list. Most people use a Day-Timer, PDA, iPhone, Blackberry or Outlook. Do you have a daily bucket? If not choose one and begin to use it regularly.
• Bucket Four: The memory bucket. This is the place to record information that needs to be saved for future reference. How do you track the information that comes to you during the day?
• Bucket Five: The fingertip data bucket. The place to carry necessary data, including goals, projects, and vital information (addresses and phone numbers) so it can be quickly accessed. Do you use a data bucket? If not choose one and begin to use it regularly.
• Bucket Six: The communication bucket. This is your voicemail and email bucket where you receive and hold incoming messages. Do you use a communication bucket? If not choose one and begin to use it regularly.

Very little will fall through the cracks if you check each bucket daily, and move events and activities from one bucket to another when appropriate. Make it a goal to choose and begin to use all six buckets.

Do you want to avoid time crunches?

We can’t make time speed up and we can’t make time slow down. We can, however, go faster than time. Go faster than time by deciding what events you want to occur on future dates. You can do that by describing them as written objectives—long-range goals. Then, plan/arrange and execute the actions—intermediate goals—that will make your planned future events materialize. In this way you can get out in front of time.

People who are in control of their lives maximize this advantage. People who are out of control don’t. They always find themselves in a time crunch. They let time overtake them by starting the above process too late. It’s called procrastination.

Here is a 7 minute crash course on goal setting: Watch video here >>

This is productivity tip #3 from our book Attack Your Day! Before It Attacks You.

Planning your day made easy

If you want time management to be easy, you need to “take-it-easy” for 30 minutes by yourself every day.  Be a “lone arranger” and let your mind, your subconscious, and your heart guide you. Let’s discuss the process of arranging the day. It’s not only an enjoyable experience, but it can increase your effectiveness exponentially. You’ll also discover it can help you reduce stress. The resources you’ll need to arrange your day are:

• A place to be alone
• Thirty minutes
• A best time
• Your time management tools

Let’s begin with resource number one, a place where you can be alone to plan. This place needs to be away from any noise or distractions that apply to you. It also needs to be a place where you can sit, think, and write. These criteria eliminate your shower because, while a shower is a great place to think, it is a lousy place to write. The criteria also eliminate your car while you are driving, or riding with somebody else.

A final word about your special alone place is that you’ll find it works best if you use it consistently as the place where you plan/arrange. Think of this as your space-place. It’s great to have some space in a place you can be alone for a while.

Resource number two is 30 minutes each day reserved for arranging time. Why 30 minutes? A planning/arranging advantage seldom talked about is this important concept—when planning is not rushed, your subconscious mind and your heart have a chance to engage and assist you with the planning process. Your subconscious mind will feed to you considerations you might otherwise overlook. It will give you a chance to evaluate with your heart the plans you’ve made for the day.

Five Times the Outcome

Depending on the nature of your tasks, some will require more than 30 minutes to plan. Maybe that makes you even more nervous about setting aside sufficient time to plan. Consider this old axiom, “For every minute you plan/arrange, you get three times the execution.” In our opinion, that’s very conservative. We believe that for every minute we plan, we can actually get five times the execution. You can too.

There is nothing more crucial in activity management than taking 30 minutes each day for arranging the order for accomplishing activities. It pays huge dividends.

Sadly, for many, it never happens because of the big lie some people tell themselves. The one that goes like this: “I don’t have time to plan/arrange today!” Isn’t that the very reason they need to plan? Everybody has time to plan. If they don’t plan/arrange, then “lack of planning” or “lack of arranging” becomes their plan. This is a negative, hazardous habit. It is hazardous to your health because, without a plan, stress is increased. It is hazardous to your work-life balance because, without careful planning and purposeful arranging, personal life and family life suffer. It is hazardous to your career because without planning/arranging you operate less efficiently than you could. All of these hazards make time management tough instead of ridiculously easy.

Don’t cheat yourself. This is the fastest way to get attacked.  Set aside sufficient time daily for you and attack your day. Yes, YOU. It is time for you to slow the pace; time for you to be isolated from chaos; time for you to activate a friend and partner called your subconscious and to engage your heart.

Resource number three is a best time for you to arrange your day. What do we mean by a best time? Some of us are morning people and others of us are night people. If you are a morning person, then set aside time in the morning to plan/arrange. If evening would be a better time for you to plan the upcoming day, then that’s when you should do it.

Just remember, the best time to plan is connected to when your best place is available. As we’ve already mentioned, this place is a place of solitude, totally free of interruptions and distractions. At first, some people think such a place does not exist. With some creativity and a desire to find such a place, almost everyone can.

Resource number four is your time management tool(s) of choice. The specifics of those tools were discussed in Chapter two, where you were advised to use the tool or combinations of tools that serve you best. As a reminder, the resources you’ll need to arrange your day are:

• A place to plan in solitude
• Thirty minutes reserved for planning/arranging time
• A best time of day for you to plan
• Your time management tools

You are now ready to arrange your day and it’s as easy as one, two, three!

Spinning Your Wheels At Work?

The process to use to avoid spinning your wheels is quite simple. First, you need to pre-determine outcomes; next, anticipate the activities required to produce the outcomes. The most important step is to then decide which activities need to be done today and do them.

Humans are wired to follow this exact process. Think about it. Either consciously or sub-consciously, we say to ourselves all day long, “What will I do next?” We then choose a desired outcome followed by the execution of activities that will make it occur. Much has been written about this simple process. It’s called goal setting.

Goal setting actually intimidates some people, but it shouldn’t. We are, by nature, designed to:

• Create a mental picture of what we want.
• Make a plan of the activities required to get those results. (This is what we refer to as building an activity path.)
• Do the activities we’ve planned.

What we are saying is that it is impossible to be a good time managers without first glancing into the future and visualizing the results you want.

Once you put this process in motion, you will not be like people who spin their wheels at work. People who do spin their wheels at work are on the slippery slope of indecisiveness, and indecisiveness is the enemy of getting started. Similar to a car in neutral, one which can’t go anywhere until it’s in gear, indecisiveness puts you in neutral time.

What’s the best way to stop wheel spinning and get in gear? First, take time to create clarity of purpose or a clear understanding of your desired results. Define very specifically the results you want. Clarity is the mother of decisiveness, and is the reason for the activities you choose and execute.

The skill of making effectual choices starts with this process. Here is a simple, real-life example:

The mental picture of the desired result is:

• Playing tennis with my friend Todd at 10:00 a.m. Saturday morning at the Fairmont Park Courts.

The activities required to make this happen include:

• Pick up the phone and make the date with Todd.
• Call and reserve court time.
• Buy tennis balls.
• Leave for the courts at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday morning.

Isn’t that easy? You are wired to think and act this way by nature. You couldn’t get anything done without this process. It’s ridiculously easy.

Inter-Personal Conflict Is A Productivity Time Bomb!

Ever notice how a two- or three-minute conflict with another person can drain more energy from your system than a full day’s work? If you carry that emotional upset with you and then take it home day after day, you make it grow. Down goes your own productivity, and down goes the productivity of those to whom you complain.

Persistent, unresolved conflict is a time-waster of the worst kind. Have the courage to fix it fast. If necessary, seek help from another person. You will conserve both time and energy.

What’s more, Americans have cut back a little on time they previously spent relaxing and watching TV, according to the 2010 American Time Use Survey, released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

They also spent more weekend time doing household activities such as cooking and cleaning, as well as socializing. The survey is drawn from interviews with 13,200 people over the age of 15.

The survey shows that work-life changes since 2009 affected women more than men. Women worked more hours overall than they did two years ago, especially on weekends

• MORE: Who is working longer?
• INTERACTIVE: Where the jobs are

Employed women, who historically have worked fewer hours than men, are catching up as the hours men work are decreasing.

While employed men still work about 40 minutes more a day than women, the average employed woman spends seven hours and 26 minutes a day doing work or work-related activities — more than 10 minutes more than last year.

Read the rest of the article in USATODAY >

Saying NO is an instant time saver

Saying no is everyone’s prerogative. Here are four simple tips from author Jo Coudert that help you do it in a way that’s not harsh or unkind.

1. “I’m glad you asked, but my schedule won’t permit me to accept your offer.”
2. “Let me think about it.” (You seldom have to accept on the spot.)
3. Use humor. “I suppose you think I say no just because I’m mean! Well, it’s true!”
4. “Sorry, but that’s not something I do.” (That’s inarguable.)

Be ready. Say no when you mean it. In the long run, it’s much easier than saying yes.  This is productivity tip #30 in our book Attack Your Day! Before It Attacks You.

Interruptions, A Productivity Killer

On a typical day, you can expect to get caught in the crossfire of interruptions, the unexpected will bubble up, and demands will fall out of the sky at inconvenient times.  Flexicuting will be required.

Yes, we invented the word flexicuting because we can’t think of a better way to describe this skill.  Events are so fluid in today’s work environment that we have to change, adapt, and shift our focus all day long.

Flexicuting involves the ability to:

• Be as willing to leave your activity list when priorities shift as you are willing to stick with it.
• Be able to turn on a dime in the middle of the day when an opportunity presents itself.
• Develop the habit of reserving some time every day to deal with the expected/unexpected.
• Be wired 24/7 without letting it be a source of distractions and frustration.

Would you like to become better at flexicuting?  Here’s how! Recognize it’s a survival skill by changing your mindset and practice the forgoing flexicuting skills daily. It can be quite fun.

Flexicuting involves the skill of both multi-tasking activities and alternate-tasking activities. It also requires the wisdom to know when to use and when to avoid either of these approaches.

We’ll talk about multi-tasking first. In our society, the term multi-tasking is overused. Even worse, the skill has been elevated to the pinnacle of desirable abilities and we often find ourselves abused—and sometimes abusing—in the execution of multi-tasking because there are some guidelines to multi-tasking that most people aren’t aware of.

The best advice we can give people is to BEWARE OF MULTI-TASKING! Here’s why. When you are executing multiple activities at the same time, none of these activities has your complete focus. If you must multi-task, it should be done only when you combine simple, mindless tasks such as opening your mail and watching the news.

TIP: Never, never, never multi-task while carrying on a conversation with another person.

Multi-tasking, when abused, leads to time contamination. An example of time contamination would be taking your child out for pizza so you can have some quality one-on-one time together, and then taking a cell phone call for fifteen minutes while your child stares into space. Time contamination is also working on your laptop while supposedly watching your child’s soccer game.

Alternate-tasking is the natural result of being wired 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year (24/7/365). Living under these conditions, it makes sense to alternate our work and personal life activities in a way that we can fully experience both. While multi-tasking can contaminate time, alternate-tasking does not.

Alternate-tasking is being 100% where you are. Be 100% in the pizza shop with your child and then place the call after the pizza outing. Alternate-tasking permits us to fully engage all activities without dilution or contamination of the experience.

Alternate-tasking can help you get more done in less time than multi-tasking because, when you are fully engaged, you are more efficient and productive.

TIP: Alternate-tasking requires FOCUS. Begin with tasks that you can get done in 15 minutes or less until and free yourself from interruptions by shutting your door, closing out email, and don’t take calls etc.

Playing tag as a child was fun. Telephone tag is not!

For sure, playing telephone tag is a time-waster. So why play? Make a change by setting telephone appointments and honoring them. If you can’t take the time to talk with somebody who just called you, say so and set an appointment to call him or her back, rather than just say, “I’ll call you back.”

When responding in voicemail, don’t just leave a message—leave some best times to reach you. And above all, avoid irritating others by saying your number so fast it’s hard to understand, forcing them to waste time by replaying your message over and over to get your number.

These simple tips not only save time, they are good manners.

Time Sponges are Costly

A sponge soaks up water.  A time sponge soaks up time that could otherwise be applied more effectively. There are three kinds of time sponges.

1. Others that soak up our time
2. Habits that soak up our time
3. Problems that soak up out time

The first kind, others, is controlled with discipline. The second kind, habits, is controlled with awareness and discipline. The third kind, problems, is controlled with anticipation and preparation.

Discipline, awareness, anticipation and preparation are essential skills for today’s environment. Spot the sponges that are soaking up your time. Deal with that other person, that time-wasting habit, and anticipate problems in advance. You’ll probably discover you’ll have far more time than you think for the important things.