Try Counter-Point Time Management

Do you get stressed waiting in lines? Or, maybe traffic congestion is driving you crazy. Try counter-point time management. It's simple! Plan to shop, run errands, go to lunch, or commute at times different than the masses. It will save you time. I have found that leaving just fifteen minutes earlier for work saves me some times as much as thirty minutes in my commute.

Planning Your Day Made Easy

Some people have a real knack for planning their time. Many do not. If you are among those who struggle, you may need to take a step toward learning the simple skill of identifying and prioritizing the most important things in your day. I would like to introduce you to one of our most effective time management tips, the three coaches.

The three coaches will guide you in arranging your daily activities and prioritizing your personal goals so you can get things done. They are: necessity, practicality and efficiency.

Necessity: These activities are locked in and are not changeable. Examples include: child-care, customer appointments, meetings, maternity leave, emergencies, etc.

Practicality: Practicality involves arranging activities to be accomplished at the best time of day for the type of activity. Examples include: medical appointments, school activities, volunteerism, convenience-on-the-job, time off, vacations, personal energy cycles, etc.

Efficiency: The most effective utilization of resources is efficiency. Efficiency involves: mentoring and delegating, continuous improvement and quality, teamwork, etc. The following questions will help you effectively assess necessity, practicality, and efficiency in arranging your activities for the day.

1. Which activities are related to my goals?
2. Which activities are locked into a time that cannot be changed?
3. Am I allowing for personal centering/recovery time?
4. How much buffer time should I allow between activities?
5. Have I allocated time to respond to the unexpected?
6. Does my schedule align my most difficult tasks with those times when my energy level is highest?
7. What is the best time of day to do this type of activity?
8. Have I set appointments with myself to ensure that the most vital activities are accomplished?
9. Have I arranged my activities based upon the availability of others, if required?
10. Is my plan efficient and practical?
11. Can any of my planned activities be delegated?
12. If my activities involve other people will they be available?
13. Of my planned activities, which are absolutely necessary.

Maintaining touch with reality by determining the necessity, practicality, and efficiency of your activities allows you to arrange and forecast sufficient time to accomplish your planned activities and increase your productivity. Of course these guidelines can be applied effectively only through a personal commitment to plan a daily strategy each and every day.

Written by Trapper Woods

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.