Time Management

5 Ways to Take Charge of Your Schedule Today!

It is not unusual when I meet with a prospective or new client to hear, “I just can’t seem to get anything done”, or “I work nearly 60-70 hours a week, but I just seem to move from one thing to the next and don’t ever feel like I accomplish anything.” Or, “I tend to just wing stuff a lot and go with the flow”.

Many entrepreneurs and business people have the ability to handle a lot of different tasks, assignments and projects at the same time. However, as the old saying goes, “what got you here isn’t going to get you there”. In other words, while one of your strengths may be to “wing it”, that’s probably not going to continue to make you successful in your business or career. Or while you may have been successful at multi-tasking or moving from one thing to the next, at some point, that’s not going to continue to work for you as you move up the ladder in your career or become more successful in your business.

Getting in control of your own schedule is crucial. And with good intentions, discipline and consistent practice, it can be accomplished. Here are five “tried and true” tips that have worked for me and my clients:

1-Keep a Time Log for 2 weeks-Keep a piece of paper near your desk or computer and keep a time log-by hour of how you spend your time. At the top of each page put the day with each hourly increments starting from when you wake to when you go to sleep. Be sure to be as detailed as possible noting what you’re working on (i.e. e-mail, project, meeting etc.) what time you started and when you finished. It’s important to keep this for 2 weeks to be sure you cover a portion of time when things may only happen once, or things that routinely happen. At the end of two weeks, take the time to really analyze where are there time sucks? Where are you spending too much time, perhaps with e-mails, looking for things in your office, or on your desk? Are you moving from one thing to a next without completing the first project? While this task can in itself feel overwhelming, all of my clients who have completed this exercise have found it INVALUABLEto help them get more organized and dramatically improve their productivity.

2-Organize Your Work Area-If your work area is a disaster, or there are piles and piles on your desk, (oh, I know, you know where everything is, or you’re afraid if you file it away, you will forget to do it) there is no way you will ever feel or get in control of your own schedule. Schedule a time this week to spend the time getting your work area organized. Buy some cheap boxes or baskets, label them and put like papers and info into each of them. Throw away what you don’t need and create a “projects for the future” basket which you schedule to look at once a month for new ideas.

3-Don’t Leave Your Office For The Evening Without Planning For The Next Day-I never leave my office without making a list of the things I have to do the next day. That way, I don’t waste any time when I get into my office the next morning, trying to figure out what I need to do that day. I already know from my planning the previous night. I also prioritize my list by the most important. Research shows that most people are most productive in the morning hours and it’s the best time to do the “hardest stuff” first.

4-Finish One Priority Before You Move To The Next-When working your prioritized list (that you made the night before!), go as far as you can with the first priority, until it’s either completed or you can’t go any further, before you move on to the next one, and so on and so forth. This way you start to complete projects, rather than just getting a little done here and there without really completing any of them.

5-Respect Your Time-This means to value your time. If you’ve scheduled some personal time to work out, or take a walk, or take time off-stick to it. Don’t let other people, or other “time sucks” pull you off your schedule. It’s important to schedule free or personal time into your calendar and stick to it-just as you would if it were a client appointment. This will greatly begin to reduce your feeling of overwhelm because you are able to make some space in the day for yourself.

Assignment: Implement these 5 tips today. Stay true to them for two weeks, being as disciplined as you can in following these five things and I will guarantee you will make a big difference in lowering your stress level and helping you feel more in control of your time and schedule!

Mandy works with talented, bright, high energy self employed professionals and very small businesses who struggle to market their business effectively, stretch their capacity and play a bigger game. Mandy’s client’s receive proven, specific information on what they need to do to get more clients and grow their business. As a result, those who coach with Mandy increase their business, get more clients and make more money, faster and easier than they ever would have on their own.

Sign up for her free Cd “7 Productivity Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs” at www.mandyschumaker.com. Or contact her at 207-653-6977

Why Waste Your Time…

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As entrepreneurs, we often have the “next shiny object syndrome”. You know, you see the next good idea, the next whiz bang thing that will make your business run more efficiently, the next technology doo-hickey that your friend in your networking group is using to bring in new customers. And off we go, adding it to our already busy schedules to implement. And the next thing you know-we are overwhelmed with the amount of things we try to keep going, or to keep up with bringing in new customers.

Don’t get me wrong-innovation and implementation is crucial to growing your business and playing a bigger game. But when was the last time you took a really hard look at all the things that are on your to do list through the lens of what things are really making you money in your business, and what things are just activities that you are hoping will bring in money? Many of us have things we’ve been doing in our business for quite some time that has never brought in a dime.

So, what are some of the things you are doing in your business that aren’t bringing in money?

Do you have packages or products that don’t make money for you?
Are you spending time in groups or associations that have never brought you a client?
Are you sending out e-mails or notices to potential clients that have never brought in money?
Do you have clients on your e-mail marketing list that haven’t opened an e-mail from you in over three years?
Have you been “chasing” a client for a while who probably isn’t even your ideal client?

I strongly urge you to take a look at all areas of your business and figure out what activities you should STOP doing that are taking your time and effort but aren’t bringing in clients and money.

Then look at the things that are working for you and figure out how you can do more of those kinds of things. What are the activities in your business that are bringing you the most clients and the most money? Because if you aren’t focused on the things that are bringing you money, and spending your precious time working on things that don’t bring you money-you will never be able to grow your business to the next level.

Here’s an exercise for you…

Take a sheet of paper and draw a line down the middle of it from top to bottom. On one side of the column label it Makes Me Money, on the other side write Does Not Make Me Money. Then take a look at your calendar for the last two weeks (or four if you want extra credit!) and look at what activities you’ve done every day and put them in the appropriate columns.

When you’ve looked over your activity for the past two weeks and sorted it into the two columns, take a look at your Does Not Make Me Money column. What activities in that column can you STOP doing? Which of these have never made you money and probably aren’t going to? Then look at the Makes Me Money column and figure out how you can create more of those things in your daily calendar so you can start bringing in a lot more money immediately!

5 Tips to Get In Control of Your Own Schedule and Stop Feeling Overwhelmed

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It is not unusual when I meet with a prospective or new client to hear, “I just can’t seem to get anything done”, or “I work nearly 60-70 hours a week, but I just seem to move from one thing to the next and don’t ever feel like I accomplish anything.” Or, “I tend to just wing stuff a lot and go with the flow”.

Many entrepreneurs and business people have the ability to handle a lot of different tasks, assignments and projects at the same time. However, as the old saying goes, “what got you here isn’t going to get you there”. In other words, while one of your strengths may be to “wing it”, that’s probably not going to continue to make you successful in your business or career. Or while you have been successful at multi-tasking or moving from one thing to the next, at some point, that’s not going to continue to work for you as you move up the ladder in your career or become more successful in your business.

Getting in control of your own schedule is crucial. And with good intentions, discipline and consistent practice, it can be accomplished. Here are five “tried and true” tips that have worked for me and my clients:

1-Keep a Time Log for 2 weeks-Keep a piece of paper near your desk or computer and keep a time log-by hour of how you spend your time. At the top of each page put the day with each hourly increment starting from when you wake to when you go to sleep. Be sure to be as detailed as possible noting what you’re working on (i.e. e-mail, project, meeting etc) what time you started and when you finished. It’s important to keep this for 2 weeks to be sure you cover a portion of time when things may only happen once, or things that routinely happen. At the end of two weeks, take the time to really analyze where there are time sucks. Where are you spending too much time, perhaps with e-mails, looking for things in your office, or on your desk? Are you moving from one thing to the next without completing the first project? While this task can in itself feel overwhelming, all of my clients who have completed this exercise have found it INVALUABLE to help them get more organized and dramatically improve their productivity.

I strongly encourage you to take these five tips and implement them today. Give it two weeks, being as disciplined as you can in following these five things and see if it doesn’t make a difference in lowering your stress level and helping you feel more in control of your time and schedule!

5 Proven Tips To Increase Your Productivity

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Did you know the average person spends 2.1 hours in distraction every day? 2.1 hours!! And that every 11 minutes, we get distracted at work by e-mail, Facebook, texting etc? And were you aware that it takes 25 minutes for each of us to refocus our minds and get back to the task at hand after we’ve been pulled off?

It’s no wonder many times we feel like we aren’t getting anything done or can’t get traction on a project, report or idea…because we can’t…we’re distracted.

I have found this in my own business, constantly checking e-mail to see what just came in, or checking Twitter or Facebook and losing an hour and a half looking at various blogs and websites. It’s not that Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites aren’t helpful or interesting, they certainly are, and they have their usefulness, but not when they get in the way of staying focused on doing business. In a world full of distraction, it’s so important to stay focused in our businesses and organizations so we can innovate and implement.

I hear from clients all the time, “I really wish I could be more efficient”, or “Gee, I can’t seem to stay focused on anything’, or “I’ve been trying to get to that idea for months”. We now live in a culture where our brains are constantly on the go, there is little if no downtime for us to just be.

There are however, things we can do for ourselves that help us increase our productivity, stay focused and feel more in control of our work lives.

1-Work in 90 minute cycles

New research has shown that working in 90 minute cycles increases productivity. When you schedule your day (preferable the night before), schedule several 90 minute increments when you can focus on one task or project. Turn off your e-mail, Facebook, Twitter etc. set an alarm for 90 minutes and work uninterrupted until the alarm goes off. When the 90 minutes are up, take a quick break, go for a walk, or get a drink of water.

2-Make ONE to do list

This is from David Allen bestseller, Getting Things Done. Make one to-do list putting everything you need to get done for the day on it. This includes things from your work and personal life. Make sure you schedule your most difficult or important tasks during the time of day when you are at your best. If you are a morning person, schedule them in the morning, if you are an evening person, schedule them then.

3-Get enough sleep

It’s a fairly well known fact that Americans do not get enough sleep. When you don’t get enough sleep, it can greatly impact your productivity. If you are someone who doesn’t get enough sleep, try this experiment. For two weeks, schedule yourself for eight hours of sleep a night. At the end of two weeks assess: how you feel, what you’ve accomplished and your overall general well-being. Do you notice a significant difference?

4-Schedule periods of unstimulated time

I have a client who last weekend decided to turn off all electronics for the whole weekend. No I-Phone, I-Pad, TV-nothing. This is a guy who is constantly “plugged in”. He spent the weekend doing things with his family, exercising and reading, and relaxing. He reported by Monday, he felt so much more refreshed, relaxed and really ready to return to work. It’s important to schedule unstimulated time during the day or week. Try it-you may be surprised how it positively impacts your productivity.

5-Move your body

Find some time everyday to move your body. Workouts at a gym, walking at lunch, walking or riding your bike to work, meditating, or just doing some stretches before going to bed. Anything that gets you to move your body everyday will help improve your productivity.

The best news about productivity is, we are in total control of influencing whether we are increasing our decreasing our productivity. I invite you to try these five tips for the next couple of weeks and see if it makes a difference in your business! If you’d like some help and support in your efforts, feel free to contact me at 207-653-6977 or mandy@mandyschumaker.com for a complimentary session.

Seven Powerful Meditation and Focusing Techniques (thesimpledollar.com)
Success, Unplugged (davidrisley.com)
Focus – The Second Key to Success (bloggingtips.com)

Is Procrastination Prohibiting You From Playing A Bigger Game?

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Procrastination. We all suffer from it at various times. Waiting to start that big project. Waiting to do some household chore. Waiting to have a difficult conversation with an employee, colleague or family member. Most of the time we eventually work our way through it and get the things on our list done.

But the procrastination I find most concerning and detrimental is the behavior that gets in the way of a bigger vision. The clients I work with are high performing people. They have talents and gifts to offer the world. They know deep down inside that there is a bigger game to play, a bigger vision for their lives. My job is to support them in that vision and help them get there. Yet one of the common traits among my clients is that they often let procrastination get in the way of moving forward. There is an underlying fear of giving up something they are doing now in order to catch the bigger brass ring. It’s that chasm between what we know and what is possible.

Procrastination technically refers to the avoidance of a specific task or work which needs to be accomplished. But this technical explanation doesn’t begin to capture the emotions triggered by the word. If your are suffering from procrastination issues, its important to analyze those situations where your work or project is not being completed. Perhaps it’s one of the following reasons:

1. Lack of Relevance – If something is neither relevant nor meaningful to you personally, it may be difficult to get motivated to even begin. It’s important to determine if the goal, project, task is meaningful you. Working with either a coach or mentor, it’s important to dig deep to determine whether what you are avoiding is indeed relevant to you and your bigger vision. If the answer is it’s not, then let it go, get it off your list and figure out what is important.

2. Acceptance of Another’s Goals – Has a project been imposed or assigned to you by someone else? Maybe it is not consistent with your own interests, or values. If this is the case, you will probably get it done eventually — you may be “required” to get it done. But it doesn’t have to become part of your goal or vision.

3. Perfectionism-If you feel everything needs to be perfect before you can start a project, you may stay stuck for a very long time. I have clients who feel they need to have their website up and running before they can talk to a potential client, or they have to have a completely free schedule to start their book, or they have to have all of the right managers in place before they start working on team development. Certainly having a plan and timeline in place for each of these scenarios is helpful, but being able to see that “done is better than perfect” can help you start taking some small steps forward.

4. Fear-Many people fear taking steps that move them forward towards their vision or dream, because it means letting go of some of the things they are doing today. If, for example, someone wants to play on a bigger field, it may require giving up certain things they are doing today — things that bring in money or keep them at a certain status. It’s giving up what is familiar now for much greater possibilities down the road. By fully embracing your bigger vision, breaking down the steps and projects into bite-size pieces and continuing to hold that vision for yourself, can help lower the anxiety and actually get started.

5. Ambiguity-Are you unclear what is expected from a task, project or field work that has been assigned to you? This can be another roadblock to procrastinating behavior. By asking the pertinent questions upfront, you can be more clear as to what is expected.

6. Time Management- How are your time management skills? Working with a coach who can put you through an assessment or two around this area can quickly help you determine where you are with time management. By focusing on some of the areas that may play into your procrastination issues and taking some steps to improve them, could greatly improve your productivity.

7. Can’t Say No- Many times people suffer from procrastination because there is too much on their plate. Have you been unable to say “no” to others and then found yourself with so many projects you have become paralyzed? Look at everything on your plate and prioritize it. What can go, what should stay? Which items move you towards your bigger vision and which ones are sucking the life out of you? These are important questions to ask when sorting through all the various projects, tasks and commitments that you are currently facing.

If fear is holding you back from a bigger vision or playing bigger in the world, I would like to speak with you. As Eleanor Roosevelt said, “we must do the thing we fear the most”.

I would like to hear your comments on this post. Or if something resonated with you, please feel free to contact me at 207-653-6977 or mandy@mandyschumaker.com to continue the conversation.

What are You Waiting For? (vanessabrightsite.com)
The Now Habit Summary ” How to get organized, how to be productive, GTD, Swift To-Do List tips and tricks – Dextronet Blog (dextronet.com)
time management productivity (simplify101.com)

Time Management

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