Great Time Management Tips for Success

Time management is one of the most important skills any person, especially businesspeople, can learn. Learning to manage your time means you will be able to meet deadlines better, have more control over your schedule, enjoy more free time, and have less stress. The thing is, most time management and productivity courses teach you difficult techniques that feel like they will take more time to put into place than they will save you.

Here are a few tips for better time management that you can easily put into place right away and start experiencing results!

Quit multitasking!

Many people think multitasking is saving time because you are completing more than one task at the same time. This actually isn't true! Multitasking can actually slow you down and also lead to lower quality work. Since you are spreading your attention between two or more tasks, you are more likely to miss mistakes. It can also interrupt your flow of ideas, slowing you down further.

Instead, set aside time for each task and you will start noticing that because you are concentrating better on that task, it gets done faster. This also makes it easier to schedule your tasks because you only need to plan one for each section of time.

List your tasks, prioritize them, and schedule them.

The best time to do this is at the end of the day. Sit down and make a list of everything that needs to be done the next day. You should do it at the end of the day because otherwise you end up starting your day with this task leaving you more likely to miss things. It could keep you from starting your day focused on the most important tasks for the day.

You want a list of all the things that need to get done, big or small. Once you have a list, you start putting them in categories such as "must be done today," "should get done today," and "needs to get done at some point." These don't need to be the name of your categories, but this helps you figure out what really needs to get done. For instance, getting that assignment done for your client is going to be more important than organizing your desk. Sure, both need to get done, but that assignment MUST get done in time, while organization can wait until you have finished your more important tasks.

Now, start to schedule your tasks. Thank about how long each should take and set aside that much time for it. Be sure to add a little bit of extra time in case something slows you down, and try and keep your schedule flexible enough you can change it if something important comes up.

Just these two things alone can have a huge impact in your day and allow you much more time. By prioritizing your tasks and focusing on one thing at a time you will find yourself completing tasks faster, meeting deadlines easier, and having more time to get to those things that you always struggle to get done, like organizing your desk.

Where Did the Day Go? Secret Time Suckers!

You sit down with your to-do list, ready to crack down and get some work done. You know what needs to get done and you are ready to do it. Well, now that you are all set up for your task, might as well check your email beforehand... answer any important emails before you start working. Look! Better answer that new email from your sister. Next thing you know you have been sitting at your computer for an hour and a half and you haven't even started working! It is easy for these secret time suckers to leave you wondering where your day went.

Let's look at a few different "secret time suckers" that you may not even realize are taking up a huge part of your day. Now, you may know about these and realize they are taking up a lot of time, but as you read this article, really think on how much time you spend on these distractions. Next time you sit down to work, set a timer and see how long you are actually allowing yourself to spend on these things.

First, let us take a look at email. Obviously, email is an important part of business and you don't want to ignore your potential clients, partners, co-workers, or family, but that doesn't mean you should be checking your email constantly. More often than not it disrupts your work if you check it too often and leads to spending much more time spent on it than expected. It is far to easy to lose an hour reading and responding to emails, clicking links within emails, and ending up surfing the web instead.

Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites can be even worse than email, easily getting you lost within them for hours at a time. Unless your work specifically requires you to be checking these sites, I highly suggest only checking them once or twice a day. If they are your personal accounts rather than for work, try and stay away until break time or after work. Especially with this one I suggest you try timing how much time you spend on it. You will be surprised!

Something many people don't think of as a time sucker but definitely is: phone calls. When you sit down to work, screen your calls and only take very important ones. Everyone else can wait an hour or two for you to finish your task on hand so you can call them back. Phone calls interrupt work flow. Many times it is easy to find yourself off on a tangent during a phone call, doubling or tripling the time the phone call takes as well.

What is the key to all of this? Once you start a task, you should try and work through it with limited interruptions. When you sit down to work, focus only on that task. Try not to let anything distract you. One distraction leads to more distractions and loss of focus. Next time you think about checking your email before you get started, set that timer and see how long it is actually taking. See exactly how much time you are losing and find out exactly where your day is going!

Using Time As An Asset When Working Online

When working online you need to regard your time as an asset because it is a non-renewable resource and one you can't do without! Another thing you must consider is how the internet environment threatens this asset with all the distractions it offers. Therefore how you use your time will be a significant factor in how much success you achieve as an internet marketer!

Here are 3 ways to best use your time as an internet marketer in a way that will produce for you the greatest results!

Have a Plan

As an internet marketer it is sometimes best to regard your computer as your nemesis since within it lurks many temptations that will kill your productivity! On the other hand the internet environment can only serve as a distraction if you go online without a plan! Determine what you need to do or accomplish and how you're going to do so BEFORE you go online. By doing so you are more focused and less tempted to begin surfing aimless, checking email or simply shifting and shuffling files and folders! Without a well thought out plan you have little direction but with one it is much easier to use your time more wisely and efficiently!

Be At Your Best

Another strategy you can employ to use your time as productively as possible when you go on the web is to be physically and mentally prepared! Being well rested, especially when tackling the challenges a typical internet marketer may encounter is the best way to achieve favorable results. Your mental focus is usually at its best thereby minimizing mistakes and the extra time it may take to correct them! Another consideration is that the more errors you do make the more frustrated you may tend to become which simply invites more of the same and this is a cycle you want to avoid!

Recognize Productivity Lapses

Let's face it we're all human, well most of us anyway, and we may not always be at our best even with the great plan and intentions! There will be those occasions where you're not being productive due to any number of reasons and it's important to recognize these times when they occur! Unplug and push away from the computer and go find something else that needs to be done but may not be quite as challenging. In this way you can use your time productively in another area since at some point whatever you have chosen to do needed to be done anyway! Now you got one less thing hanging over your head and the lack of preoccupation concerning it will serve to help you focus better later on!

It is wise to regard your time as an asset when working online since is it something you can't do without and is also under constant threat from the internet environment! Needless distractions which can be found all over online, are the biggest threat to your productivity in terms of how you use your time! Since it is a very valuable but non-renewable resource, as an internet marketer you MUST learn how to use your time productively if you intend to be successful! The 3 simple yet effective strategies offered above focus primarily on how you plan your work BEFORE you place yourself in the 'cross-hairs' of a very distracting internet environment! By proper planning along with a focused implementation of your plans you greatly increase your chances of becoming successful as an internet marketer!

TJ Philpott is an author and Internet entrepreneur based out of North Carolina. To learn more about using time as an asset when working online and to also receive a free instructional manual that teaches valuable niche research techniques for your marketing needs simply visit: http://blogbrawn.com/

6 Steps To Help Working Mothers Find Work/Life Balance

The brass ring of being one of America's millions of working mothers is finding that elusive work/life balance. Historically, women have been the ones responsible for keeping up the housework, making dinner, and raising the children. Today, despite changing gender expectations and more helpful spouses, it can still be quite overwhelming to achieve everything, every day. It is indeed possible for working mothers to be successful business women at the same time. All it takes is some planning, communication, and boundaries.

Step One: Organize And Prioritize Your Tasks

Do the dishes and the laundry. Get that spreadsheet finished. Take the kids to baseball practice and piano lessons. Send out that email before you forget. The number of tasks flying through working mothers' heads is incredible! It's no wonder you feel frazzled. Take an hour each week to plan and schedule the activities and expectations for the coming days. With a good day planner, you can set time specifically for work, family, and you time. Don't forget to schedule break time in there, to recharge your mind and help refocus on the next thing on your list.

Step Two: Give Yourself A Break

You're Supermom, and are doing your best at being a successful business woman. But when there is more than one goal to focus on, occasionally some things might not get done. And that's okay! Explain the importance of your job to your family, and the importance of your family to your boss. While you might be holding yourself up to the level of perfection on every single task, there will come times when you need to accept that something is good enough and to move on. Communicate with your spouse, your children, and your boss when you're feeling overwhelmed. Include them in your planning and time management, so that everyone is on the same page with expectations. And when you're falling behind? Ask for help. No one will think less of you for it.

Step Three: Moms in Business Need To Set Boundaries

For successful business women, communication is key. When you're also juggling a family, it's even more important. Setting boundaries between work and home will help stop the two from bleeding into each other. The first boundary to set is between work people and your family. Make sure that work people can only contact you during certain hours, and outside of that, it has to wait until tomorrow. The same goes with your family: during scheduled work time, unless it's an emergency, it can wait. The next boundary is to segregate your time. Hours spent at work are focused career time, whereas time at home is dedicated family time. The last boundary for working mothers is separating your work space. If you work in the home, designate a room for your office, and while you're in there, it's as if you're not even home.

Step Four: Connect With Other Working Mothers

Sometimes, it feels like no one gets it. Do a bit of searching to find a network of like-minded working mothers, either online or in your neighborhood. Even if you can't fit in attendance to an event, having the chance to connect with other working mothers, who are also trying to juggle being successful business women, will be a great help to your sanity. When we're at our most frustrated, it's comforting to realize that we're not the only ones going through it. Groups and online communities such as these offer friendship, advice, play dates, and even business networking.

Step Five: Take Care Of YOU

When planning your week, plan at least an hour, twice per week, that is yours alone. This might be to get a pedicure, take a long bath, or have a glass of wine while reading a novel. A critical part of balancing being a mother and a successful business woman is time to unwind. There may be other things that you could be doing, and it may seem counter-productive. However, working mothers need time where they are not a mother, not a business woman, but just themselves.

Step Six: Family Still (And Always) Comes First

Make your family time non-negotiable. When there is a struggle between choosing family or work, you can always make your family your number one priority. If you have a boss, express the importance of your family, and that you will need to be available for emergencies. If you work for yourself, or from your home, it can be incredibly difficult to know when to shut down and stop working. With proper planning and time management, as well as a supportive family and boss, you should be able to feel fulfilled as part of both groups: working mothers and successful business women.

Frustrated after trying to get her novel published, Tressa "Azarel" Smallwood took matters into her own hands and began her own publishing company, Life Changing Books. With 60 titles and 30 authors published, she now helps turn working mothers into authors and successful business women.

Is Your Life Suffering Because of Poor Time Management?

Can Your Kids Find Socks in the Morning?

Do you stumble through the grocery store at dinner time looking for something to feed your family? Do you rush, rush, rush only to still wind up being late everywhere you go?

Is your life suffering because of poor time management? Haven't decided...then read on.

Has Your House Been Cleaned This Month?

Do you get to soccer game day and realize that you haven't washed your child's uniform from last week's game?

If you realize that your life is suffering because of poor time management then this article is for you.

I find that, for the majority of my clients, working on a single thing at a time is much more doable, while being much less threatening, than trying to conquer several problem areas, or even just a few, at once.

If you realize you have a problem then hooray for you. I assume you've admitted it or else you wouldn't be reading this. So, a second hooray is in order. Now let's get down to the nitty-gritty.

Figure Out Where You Want to Start

This can be anywhere but needs to be decided by you because there will be some work involved and You-not me and not your best friend-will be the one to do it. But, the good news is that the work will be less aggravating than trying to help your child find clean socks every day or...worse...realizing that she has none.

When You Have a Starter Area Identified

Admit where you are, visualize where you want to be, and then create a map showing how to get there. Just one bite of that elephant at a time and it's doable.

For instance, if you decide that you spend way too much time on figuring out dinner, going through drive-thrus, or walking zombie-like through the grocery stores, then a good starting place would be to create some menus that are specific to your family's tastes.

Keep Working on That One Area

Until it's either under control or has become a habit. Beware! If you try to change too much at one time you're very likely to get overwhelmed and discouraged and, as a result, give up. Don't!

Then Move to the Next Problematic Area

And begin diligently working on that. Slow easy steps. You didn't get in this shape overnight and you won't get out of it overnight.

Too often I've seen clients so sick of their lives and so intent on change that they don't want to go slow and end up burning out when they could have instead garnered a lot of long-term satisfaction, self-esteem and motivation from taking the baby steps.

Even the Baby Steps Will Eventually Get You Where You Want to Go.

A good time management plan will stress slow, steady progress...not a mad dash to an imaginary finish line.

Are you ready to begin managing your time better? Download my free ebook about Time Management for some wonderful ideas. Also visit me at There Must Be A Better Way

Time Management Tips for Email and Social Media

It's easy to lose time to email and social media. One of the reasons is that it's an easy activity. Another reason is that it's an unbounded activity. There is always more to do, and it's not always obvious when you are "done." So the big challenges become, setting limits and respecting your boundaries, while accomplishing your goals.

Here are five ways to improve your time management with email and social media:
Set goals. If you don't have any goals, it will be hard to know what good looks like, or when you are done. If you set goals, you have a way to set limits.
Don't "paper shuffle." This is especial true for email. Follow the rule of "touch it once." Act on it versus shuffling around and revisiting. One way to do this is to treat your email as an incoming stream of action. Take the action items out of your emails and put them in a separate place. Just by tracking your action items outside of your email will dramatically increase your ability to process your mail.
Set a specific time each day. Set a specific time each day for email, returning phone calls, and social media. Just by having a specific time, you can start to set boundaries and limits. It's also easier to stay focused on the current task, if you know you have a time and a place for things.
Set a time limit. Set a time limit for reviewing email. Set a time limit for social media. Parkinson's Law teaches us that time expands to fill its container. Things till take as long as we give them. If we want them to take less time, then we need to give them less time. Be sure to periodically revisit your time limits. If you aren't meeting your goals, then you may need to adjust your time limits. You may also find that you can find more effective techniques, and potentially reduce the time you spend. There are always opportunities if you look for them.
Triage your incoming items. Triage simply means determining the priority of something based on the severity. Triage your incoming action items to either "do it," "queue it" for later, "schedule it," by blocking time out for it on your calendar, or "delegate it," to get it off your plate.

If you can keep the big idea in mind of setting time limits, you are off to a good start. It gets easier to set time limits if you have a consistent time for each activity, because then it becomes a habit. To stay grounded, having your goals in place will help you know whether you are trending in the right direction.

About the Author

J.D. Meier blogs on time management at Sources of Insight. J.D. created the time management system, Getting Results the Agile Way, a simple system for meaningful results. You can take Getting Results the Agile Way for a test-drive by checking out the free time management training system, 30 Day Boot Camp for Getting Results.

Tips for Getting Rid of Distractions When Trying to Be Productive

I don't know about you but I'm one of those people who has a hard time...I'm talking about an extremely hard time...ignoring distractions when I'm trying to work and that can really wreak havoc on my time management plan.

My solution...the only solution that has ever worked for me...is to take complete control over those distractions. If you really think about it, you too have much more control over your own distractions than you may think.

In this article I'm going to share my tips for getting rid of distractions when trying to be productive.

Temperature

This is really a pretty simple thing to control. You can put on more clothes, take off some, or control the room temperature.

In my house I'm the one who's always cold. If it's below 80 degrees I'm in a sweat shirt (and I'm a native Floridian...go figure). So when I get cold I put on more clothes.

Mostly in the summer I'll just work on the screened-in porch unless it's really humid. In that case I have a couple of rooms in the house where I can shut myself in and turn on an oil-filled radiant heater. Yep, I'll run that sucker even in July.

I don't care what it looks like, when the AC's on full blast it's cold to me and that's very distracting.

Noise

Noise is another thing you can control. For a long time before I purchased my laptop I had to work in the dining room which is off of the living room...you know that room where everyone watches that big idiot box (I'm the only one in my family who doesn't care for TV). For that reason, I became very familiar with the various types of earplugs.

Once I got the laptop controlling noise has been much easier...I just remove myself from the noise.

Lighting

Lighting is another thing that's always been very distracting to me so I created my own perfect lighting. On my porch...where I'm writing this very article...I have an adjustable torchiere floor lamp with a smaller one attached about a quarter of the way down from the top that I can point any which way I want for softer or stronger lighting...whichever suits my mood at the moment.

It costs all of $15 at Wal-Mart and has been worth so much more than that. The lighting is much more flexible than the ceiling fan.

Hunger/Thirst

These two are just too easy to control. Get some peanuts, popcorn, or whatever healthy snack you prefer. Eat just a light meal before you attempt to focus on whatever it is you're working on.

Keep a bottle of water close by. I keep 2-32 oz Rubbermaid containers in the door of my fridge with Brita water in them. I keep one with me at all times.

Physical Discomfort

If you sit...like I do...for long periods of time you know you get sort of cramped feeling. To solve that problem I try to walk around often. I'll get up just to stretch.

I know this isn't feasible for most people but I'll try to work a couple of hours and take a one hour walk then I'll work a couple of more hours and walk another hour. Even if you can't do that you could still take a break every so often and walk around and stretch. Your productivity will probably positively reflect it.

I hope my tips for getting rid of distractions when trying to be productive have been helpful to you.

By the way, do you want to learn more about time management? If so, then download my brand new free ebook about Time Management. Or, visit me at There Must Be A Better Way