What is The Weight of Your Stress?

A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, "How heavy is this glass of water?" Answers called out ranged from 8oz. To 20oz. The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it.

"If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance." "In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes." He continued, "And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on."

"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden." "So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work/life down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow." "Whatever burdens you are carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can. Relax; pick them up later after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy! "

- Anonymous author

Take It Easy

If you want time management to be easy you need to “take-it-easy” for 20-30 minutes by yourself every day. Trapper suggests that you be a “lone-arranger” and let your mind, your subconscious, and your heart guide you. It’s not only an enjoyable experience but it can increase your effectiveness exponentially.

You will also discover that it can help reduce stress. Four resources you need to arrange your day are: A place to be alone free of interruptions, 20-30 minutes, a time that works best for you and your time management tool.

Use The Direct Approach

For years, time management experts have suggested non-verbal communication techniques to end overlong phone calls and office visits. With some people they work, with some they don’t.

The direct approach always works. When somebody engages you, call their attention to your schedule, and set a front time limit. When the agreed-upon time has expired, it’s easier to end the visit. How simple is this? But very infrequently done!

Concentration of Power

There has been a lot said about concentration of power over the years, in fact Charles R. Hobbs said it best. His definition of concentration of power is “the ability to focus upon and accomplish your most vital priorities.” If you can learn to harness your concentration of power and have laser focus on what you are doing you will accomplish more, and get things done that matter most. This can be applied to any part of your life not just in business.

I hire a tennis coach to help me do just that on the court. I’ve played tennis on and off for over 25 years, it’s a great game. However, because I never play on a consistent basis there are parts of my game that suffer, so I got some help from an expert. After a couple coaching sessions my game improved but I sill was hitting it into the net about 30% of the time. That’s when he gave me a tip that paid off! He said to “concentrate” on hitting the ball over the net landing it past the service line, (this is mid court) so I did. Immediately I noticed a difference and hit the ball 46 times in a row over the net!

Concentration of power demands laser focus. Even though I was concentrating on hitting the ball over the net it was “focusing” on hitting the ball passed the service line that made the difference! Try it.

How Are People Spending Their Spare Time?

In a study conducted by Netpop and Media-Screen, Internet broadband users spend an hour and 40 minutes (48% of their spare time) online in a typical weekday, and more than half of that is spent accessing activities related to entertainment and communication.

Search engines and social networking sites are gaining in popularity, says the report, influencing an equal number of people as magazines and newspapers. 48% of younger users say they learn about new entertainment through community, review and video sharing sites and blogs. Only 25% say they learn about new entertainment through television.

Two online media activities - sending email and visiting Web sites for personal reasons - are more popular than watching television, says the report:
Regular Media Related Activities (% of Respondents)

Online Media Includes
Send Emails 90%
Visit Web sites for personal reasons 81%
Play online casual games 52%
Instant messaging 35%
Listen to MP3s 28%
Sent text messages 26%
Listen to Internet/online radio 25%

Offline Media Includes
Watch Television63%
Read magazines/newspapers 52%
Watch videos/DVDs 52%
Listen to AM/FM radio 48%
Play video games 34%
Watch pre-recorded TV 23%
Watch video/movies on portable device 14%
Source: Media-Screen and Netpop Play 2006 and Center for Media Research

How do you spend your time? imagine if you tracked your time for one week.

How To Be Underwhelmed

People who find themselves constantly buried under a mountain of work are the same ones who experience a tremendous amount of daily stress. See if you or someone you know agrees to one or more of the following statements:

• I try to accomplish too much.
• I do not delegate.
• I procrastinate.
• I allow too many interruptions.

Being constantly overwhelmed is not only counter-productive; it's unhealthy. It is also a good indication that you are ready for a shift in your mind-set. You can easily make this shift by reassessing your current responsibilities and actually reassigning the ones that you can. And start using your Planning Guidelines, see page (put page number here) for more information about how to plan. Check out our comprehensive book for more time and stress management techniques if you want to set up a system to bring back the time and joy in your life. Before you start goal setting tomorrow, remember, to enjoy the rest of today.

Time Management Tips for Effective Email and Voicemail

You'll learn how to effectively manage your time by managing your email and voicemail in this article. Try these eight time management tips to keep your electronic email and voicemail tools under control. You'll find yourself spending less time reacting to messages and more time focused on more important activities.

Manage your E-mail

1. Check e-mail only three times per day, and actually schedule those times in your planner.
2. Reply to messages you receive only when necessary.
3. Send a brief response to confirm when you receive an e-mail message.
4. Have your name removed from "information only" distribution lists.
5. When writing e-mail be sure to answer who, what, when and where in the first paragraph.
6. Keep all e-mail messages short and limit them to only one screen.
7. Create and use e-mail subject folders to hold your incoming and sent messages. This makes it easier to retrieve information based on specific topics.
8. Try to keep your business e-mail strictly business-focused and use your personal account for personal correspondence.

Voice mail is the easiest way to reach some people. You can leave messages at work, at home, on cell phones and just about anywhere you can imagine. But it's important to keep your voice mail usage to a minimum or you'll be talking and listening instead of focusing on what needs to be accomplished.

Manage your Voice-Mail

Leave brief messages. Remember to state the purpose of your call so the recipient can call back prepared.

1. Encourage people to leave voice mail messages that are no longer than one minute.
2. Schedule time each day to return calls.
3. Use voice mail to answer your phone when you need to concentrate on the task at hand.
4. Check your voice mail at least three times a day, and try to return messages within 24 hours.
5. Use your voice mail greeting to inform callers of your schedule and availability.

Always perform three actions regarding your name and phone number: Leave it, say it slowly, and repeat it.

Leverage Your Mind! Use It for Thinking Not Remembering

Problem! There is not only more to do these days but more to remember. When your mind is cluttered with things you are trying to remember it’s not as free to focus on vital work activities.

Solution! Pick a time management tool that works best for you (either paper or electronic). Then be meticulous about entering all appointments, dates, deadlines, and important information. Always carry it with you and let the tool do your remembering for you. Freeing your mind this way should help you increase your focus and reduce stress.

This is one of 52 tips found the book Forget The 7 Habits and Break All The Rules.