Self Improvement

Author : Adrian KennellyThis plan is unique It’s effective, too Perhaps every man who reads it can’t use it, but one thing is sure:
You can’t tell how much it may help you out until you do read it And it’s in the users own words

This is a filing plan that suits me down to the ground It will suit you, too, if you do the same general kind of work I do, or have about the same problems when it comes to finding “that document” in a hurry

What is my work?

It is of a non-routine nature It is always different No steady stream of reports and correspondence flows across my desk, the same day after day, to be handled by “referring” it to “the proper party” or answering by dictated letter It runs, instead, eternally along new paths First, there is some condition in the business, not yet covered by routine or ruling, that needs to be pruned or watered We discuss the matter We reach a certain unanimity as to the right kind of pruning or watering Then these remedial measures must be translated into detailed procedure and concrete words and acts

I expressly abstain from stating the name of my job The minute I do that every man whose job has a different name concludes this article is not for him In reality, this article is for anyone whose work, in essence, is pro- motional and involves masses of hodgepodge memoranda, letters, blueprints, schedules, reports, notes of conferences, and the like It is for the man who frequently “wants what he wants” out of this mass instantaneously to clinch his point in the eager talks so characteristic of uncharted work It may be a complaint from a consumer; it may be a clipping from the morning’s news; it may be a rough drawing by one’s favorite artist; but one wants it quick!

Here’s the plan: the moment I can get any paper or document off my desk and into a drawer I do so I use only one drawer Everything is put into it, one thing on top of another This is no sorting, no classification Into the drawer it goes, the latest always on top, to be covered in its turn by the next paper, and so on When I want to get any recent paper, I simply look in this one drawer for it Evidently, the more recent it is, the oftener I shall want it and the more recent it is, again, the nearer the top it is, and the easier to find

That is the first half of the system The basis is not alphabetical, nor subject, nor nature of document ” Recency” is the sole basis By simply laying one thing in one drawer, hour by hour, day after day, you automatically insure that the oftenest wanted paper is the one nearest the top and therefore easiest to find You “file” as you go along Whatever you want you will find in the drawer You always get it You get it inside of 30 seconds; often instantaneously There is no pressing the button for the “filing clerk”; no wait for her to return, dismayed and fearful of rebuke, to report that the paper cannot be found but “the boys are looking for it; they think Mr Drew had it, but he is sick today ” That is all eliminated

“But what,” you ask, “happens when this magic drawer becomes full to overflowing?” When that happens, and it happens regularly, of course, I take out the entire mass and lay it on my desk upside down The oldest pieces are now on top I turn each piece over in its turn and one glance tells me whether it should remain in the drawer or whether, by the lapse of time, it has become “dead” and it is wonderful how many papers, in constant use one week, snatched out and exhibited time and time again, become later mere antiquities because the work they represent is done and disposed of

The trashiest of the “dead” pieces go in the waste basket The rest those that may possibly come to life some day or be wanted in connection with another task are filed this time in the ordinary and accepted sense of the word “file ” They go either into the general office files, if they belong there, or they go into my own private subject file if they are such that no other department could or would want them

So I go on, working from the bottom up until the newness and recency of the pieces I encounter warns me they are likely to be wanted any moment because they concern work still unfinished There I stop, and restore the now much reduced pile to its drawer, to be the foundation of today’s and tomorrow’s and next week’s accumulations

I got this system from an advertising expert who is one of the shrewdest and cleverest judges of office methods I ever met He has used the method for years and it works perfectly I never knew him to be flurried or hurried in laying his hand on any paper The precise document he needed seemed to appear in his hand as though it had materialized from thin air He would simply reach to the one drawer and draw out what he required while he was talking about it

A good many business men retailers and other heads of businesses unconsciously carry out the first part of this system They let papers accumulate in piles from day to day Very much so! But this is planlessness rather than plan These men allow papers to pile up unsorted, not because they have any method in so doing, but merely because that is a lazy man’s way “When they want anything from the heap, there is a hurried, scrambling search, with subdued “cussing” perhaps, but the desired document seldom is found

I sometimes think my method has a kind of philosophical basis If we look upon a file as a kind of mechanical memory (and sometimes it is called so) then the ideal basis for filing would be that of the human memorY and we all know that facts are filed in our brains mostly by “recency ” “We remember today’s events best, yesterday’s less well, and so on ”

I have used this system for 10 years, with infinite saving of nerve wear and tear There are a total of 114 Plans to Save a Busy Man Time This is merely one of them. Purchase the ebook for $37 to read all 114

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Author : Laura StackWe’ve all been there There’s mail piled up on the corner of your desk You have 37 unread e-mails The phone is ringing (not that phone - the other phone) And you’ll be lucky if you can get through three of the fifteen items on your to-do list

Oh - and you have four hours of meetings ahead of you

It didn’t used to be this way The world has changed in the last decade or so Has your approach to time management changed with it?

If you find yourself stressed out and frustrated every time you try to hunker down and take control of your time, there’s a good chance that’s because you need a new way to think about time management Don’t fall into the trap of trying to force yourself to work within a system that just isn’t compatible with the pace of your day or the nature of your work Just like electronic organizers are perfect for some and others swear by paper planners, even the best time management system will fail if it doesn’t jive with the way you get through each day

If you’re looking for a productivity system that is compatible with real life, consider 4-A Time Management By focusing on four key elements of productivity you can create a flexible, customized productivity strategy that is compatible with the fast paced demands of today

Activity When there are 117 things that could be done next, how are we supposed to prioritize? In this new era of productivity, it is pretty much impossible to successfully schedule your day in advance You might set out a clear list of objectives and a bulletproof timetable, but we all know that one unexpected phone call can cause the whole plan to collapse in on itself - priorities change, a crisis pops up, a deadline is moved up a week; these things happen

Since you can’t plan for everything, it is important that you have a crystal clear understanding of what your priorities are If something happens that is beyond your control and these priorities need to be adjusted - fine - but until then, you should have a game plan

Evaluate your to-do list to see which tasks will yield the greatest benefit The old A-B-C method probably won’t work if the flow of your day changes often You need a new method of deciding where to spend your valuable time

Think about the average amount of time that you can work uninterrupted Which of your tasks will benefit most from that undivided attention? Which require a lot more or much less? Make a plan to work on the bigger, more time-intensive projects when you know you’re least likely to be disturbed Save the little ones for those windows between meetings and phone calls when you won’t get much else done

If one of your important projects is just too intimidating for you to ever make any headway, break it down into smaller, manageable steps I guarantee that nine times out of ten, once you get started you’ll forget why you put it off for so long to begin with

Availability The best laid plans won’t stand a chance if you don’t find a way to control your availability Your time is your most valuable asset Don’t just give it away to anyone who asks! You’ll never have complete control over your availability, but it’s important to know how to carve out blocks of distraction-free time that is conducive to productivity

Meetings are notorious for eating up massive blocks of time Learn to say “no” It’s pretty likely that you don’t need to be at all of the meetings that you’re attending Can you send someone in your place? Ask for the minutes to be forwarded? Address the situation with a quick phone call? Evaluate whether the meetings you attend are really necessary

When you’re not in those meetings, schedule time to work In some jobs this is easier to do than others It might just be a matter of shutting your office door and setting your phone to voicemail Or working from home or heading to Starbucks with your laptop You might need a clear signal for your co-workers, like using a do-not-disturb sign or putting on head phones when you need to work uninterrupted

Whatever your solution - don’t abuse it If you try to make yourself constantly unavailable, you will quickly find that others lose respect for your “I’m busy” signal

Then you’re right back where you started, whether you’re up against an important deadline or not

Accessibility You’ve already decided that you aren’t going to give everyone around constant access to your time The next step is to make sure that you have easy access to the information, tools, and resources you need to be productive

Invest the time necessary to make sure the things you need on a regular basis are at your fingertips Things you access frequently should be filed on your desktop in an organizer or in a drawer that’s at arm’s reach Put the files you only use occasionally where they are accessible at your desk, but give the easiest access to those things that you reference regularly Archive files you rarely need in the bottom drawers or in files away from your desk

Perhaps the most important and overlooked thing you can do to get organized is to structure your electronic files In an age where most files are electronic, it’s easy to lose them to the vacuum of cyber storage File electronic documents similar to the way you would paper ones Don’t just plop everything in “My Documents” or on your desktop and leave it for lost Set up folders and sub folders that have intuitive titles that you’ll easily navigate Use dates and enough detail in file names that you won’t have to open multiple documents when you’re looking for something specific In short, do the initial work of saving the files in an organized manner to make referencing them an easy task

Stopping to hunt for what you need not only wastes time, but it destroys your rhythm and forces you to break your concentration It’s well worth it to organize as you go

Attention The most effective time management system in the world won’t do a thing to improve your productivity if you don’t focus on the task at hand For many of us, the problem isn’t a lack of willpower; it’s having the restraint to refuse distractions

This means closing Outlook when you’re not working on e-mail and trying to check it only a few times a day Resist the urge to open messages as they come in This also means letting the voicemail light stay on until you’ve finished what you’re doing Treat your project time like an appointment with a coworker Ignore the phone, the e-mail, and the urge to go get a cup of coffee

Of course, avoiding email and the phone might be much easier than avoiding the distractions that come from coworkers If you’ve already put your “do not disturb” signal in place, be it headphones or a closed office door, and you’re still being interrupted, it’s time to tactfully redirect the person distracting you

Acknowledge the issue and let them know you’re in the thick of an important project Ask if you may give them a call in an hour when they may have your undivided attention

Just remember - it’s better to be like a postage stamp and stick with something all the way to the end than it is to be a butterfly that flits from task to task!

So forget managing your time - it can’t be managed Manage yourself with these 4-A’s and you’ll increase the likelihood you’ll have a productive day Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, author, and professional speaker who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier(R) with Maximum Results in Minimum Time(TM). To have Laura speak at your next event, call 303-471-7401. Visit http://www.TheProductivityPro.com to sign up for her free monthly productivity newsletter.

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Author : Laura StackPretty much anybody you ask will tell you they’re pressed for time There just aren’t enough hours to get it all done, yadda yadda yadda So we prioritize, streamline, and simplify You can improve your efficiency until you’re blue in the face, not to mention very tightly wound, but you still aren’t addressing one of the biggest time and energy wasters in your day: incoming information As my 12-year-old daughter, Meagan, would text on her phone: “TMI” (translation: Too Much Information)

If the 21st century has brought us anything, it is WAY too much information You can watch several channels full of cable news 24 hours a day You can surf the internet on any topic until you can’t see straight Most people could heat their home with the amount of junk mail they receive on a continuous basis Imagine the time and productivity lost just sorting though it all!

So why not join me in 2008 and put yourself on a low-information diet? Make this the year that you say “NO MORE!” to the endless onslaught of time-wasting, productivity-eating, stress-inducing STUFF coming at you

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Skip the news I haven’t regularly watched the news or read a newspaper in fifteen years Some people are shocked when they hear me say that But I’m shocked when people confess how much time they waste each day reading their latest blog postings Think about what you really gain by being a news junkie To be honest, most of the news out there just isn’t the kind of thing that really impacts my family, my business, or me And quite frankly, a big chunk of what gets reported will do little more than make me feel angry or even depressed So if your job or your natural sense of curiosity don’t prohibit it, consider a very low-news diet Believe me: my selective ignorance has never caused me a single problem and allows me to focus my energy and attention

Never meet in person to give information What’s the number one complaint most people have when it comes to office productivity? Meetings! Why do we do it to ourselves? Do we really leave with the decisions that made spending the time worthwhile? Or are we just regurgitating information that’s already been provided elsewhere? Does the speaker stand there and read the PowerPoint slides he just emailed to you? Hello? If you already have the slides - you could have just read them yourself

Phone conferences are even worse: they take much longer than an in-person meeting, because participants are checking email and fiddling with their computers Create a pact with your team members or department mates to never again have an in-person meeting or phone conference where you are simply conveying information Put it on the intranet or compile it into a single email that goes out once a week Keep the high cost of the in-person meeting at ebay when the purpose is a simple transfer of low-value information

Use the phone strategically What about meetings with people outside of your office-vendors and clients, for example? How many times have you spent weeks trying to set up an appointment, only to have it rescheduled at the last minute? Once the meeting actually happens, it costs you a huge piece of your day

If you have a thirty minute meeting that requires an hour’s worth of driving, decide if the time would be better spent with a phone call Are you really getting better information in person? Nine times out of ten these meetings could be handled in a tiny fraction of the time, if only they were replaced with a quick phone call Skip the commute, keep the gas money, and save yourself a ton of time You may even find that your clients view your respect for THEIR time as refreshing and will appreciate it to no end

The mailman knocks one hundred times The U S Postal Service does not come running to your home, ring your bell, and hand you one piece of mail at a time, multiple times a day It’s batched and delivered once If only we could follow the same principle with electronic mail I’m not recommending you only check your in-box once a day - I believe that’s unrealistic - but you should still try to cut down You can’t focus on a task requiring concentration with your in-box open

I process my e-mail just a handful of times each day It’s easy to be in the habit of checking the instant you hear that little ding, but think about what you’re doing to yourself What percentage of incoming email is important? 10 percent? 25 percent? Two percent? If the majority of incoming email is unimportant and represents information you don’t need (there are donuts in the cafeteria), why would you stop working on the most important task of the day to see if one makes the cut? You’re letting everyone else dictate your day to you by immediately stopping your productive work and redirecting your attention to an e-mail that is probably not that important anyway Then you need to refocus your attention and try to get back on track with whatever you were doing

After the 50-200 emails you receive each day, just think how many times per hour your productive activities must come to a grinding halt Maybe - just maybe - you’re doing it, on purpose, as an excuse to NOT to have to do the hard work you should be doing

Make the decision NOW Many decisions are put off because people are waiting for more information How much do you need? Sometimes enough is good enough You will never be able to analyze all the in’s and out’s of every decision, and there will always be more information out there you didn’t consider Gather enough information and make the best decision you can with the information you have Things can always change

My father always told me to take initiative and ask forgiveness, not permission In the early days of my career, I just handled things for my managers without asking If they were gone, I answered for them Sometimes it was the wrong answer to be sure, but I’ve always been praised for trying to save my boss some time and force some movement, rather than being berated for the wrong action I wish more people would just get some brass and DECIDE Stop getting approvals from a million people to cover your backside You’re making everyone around you crazy Sometimes it is much more efficient to go with the information you have, make the WRONG decision, and make adjustments if necessary, than to waste time being indecisive

Empower your people Eric Hoffer, the late American social philosopher, once said, “Far more crucial than what we know or do not know is what we do not want to know ” My husband and COO, John, has asked me several times if I’d like to learn to use the postage machine in our office I’ve always staunchly declined I have absolutely no desire to learn how to use it I enjoy being purposefully ignorant about that machine, since I have no business running it

When my assistant, Katie (who sits near me by design), casually asks me a question on the postal machine, I can honestly say, “I have no idea You’ll have to get with someone else ” My staff needs to learn to be problem solving people and handle challenges they experience in the areas they’ve been charged to run, just as I do They can’t handle my areas of responsibility, and I refuse to handle theirs - and I unabashedly hold them accountable for their own results I’m happy to get them training or pay for assistance, but you should never do those things personally that can be done by someone else at a lower pay level You’ll kill yourself Give your people the authority they need to make decisions and get things done If you don’t, you’ll find they consistently create more work for you, not less

Cut, cut, cut Don’t lose your focus as the year goes on Cut, streamline, and reduce Cancel magazine subscriptions Get rid of the junk you haven’t used in a year Let all calls you don’t recognize go to voicemail Unsubscribe from all newsletters you haven’t specifically requested Go out and find things you determine you need to buy, rather than having salespeople feed you information about more things you’ll buy but won’t use If your clients keep asking you for the same information over and over again, put it on your website and let new clients know in advance where to find it These are just a few examples about how you can deal with less information Hope you lose lots of weight on your low-information diet and make 2009 - GREAT!Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, author, and professional speaker who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier(R) with Maximum Results in Minimum Time(TM). To have Laura speak at your next event, call 303-471-7401. Visit http://www.TheProductivityPro.com to sign up for her free monthly productivity newsletter.

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Author : Lance ThoringtonOrganize your week, your month, the quarter, the whole year Organize your entire life with Dry Erase Calendar You can just erase and made changes, add more appointments or just squeeze in a meeting As many as you can take, they are completely re-usable and thats what makes them unique

Be it office, work, business or home, you can use them even to combine your office and personal commitments and deadlines More and more people are buying it as they just love it compared to the traditional ways of planning

Unlike your normal diaries, you can erase cancelled appointments or postponed lunches They still look neat and easy to read without clutter When you look at the calendar, you feel you have things under control and everything is planned neatly You can be proud of yourself for being proactive

They are great Goodbye gifts for people leaving work and could also be presented to a busy mum and wife When you have kids and two working people at home, you absolutely need one of these It can simplify your lives to a great extent

How many of us have missed that really important meeting or errand? That will ever happen again with this calendar Save yourself of unnecessary hassles such as double bookings and clashing of events You will be the star of your team

Light and easy to carry around, if you are a very mobile person Some people who have bought it feel they have more free time than every Thats because in one glance you know what you are doing that week or day

Organizing your staff, events, holidays will never be so easy It is big enough and can also serve as a notice board, so others can work around it and know where they stand Put it up on the bulletin board on the home refrigerator Even at the reception desk for your customers information

There are many calendars available, while some are small to write more than two events, others are time consuming to use But not with dry erase calendar There is plenty of place to write With the days printed, you can use it the way you want

Its dries as your write and erase So its not messy and hygienic too You can always bold or highlight the important dates They are absolutely versatile, so use it to your benefit So next time there is a stationery request coming around, put in yours as dry erase calendar

In today’s life when we are flooded with information, its easy to over look or miss out But with one of these calendars, you will feel like top of everything Finish your projects before the deadlines and pay your bills on the due date

There are many versions of erase boards available and this is just one of them You may have come across them in schools and hospitals

It can take whatever your life has to hold- birthdays, medical appointments, special occasions, anniversaries, due dates and much more So next time you want to remember an upcoming moment, reach out for your calendar Professional writer and online publisher Lance Thorington has
published hundreds of articles. If you are looking for a dry erase calendar or other useful things that help you in your business then
visit http://dry-erase-calendar.net

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Author : Paula EderTime management tips are the ultimate energy tools To select the right tools for your energy type, take the quiz below If you discover you are an introvert, prepare to magnify your effectiveness by using time strategies designed to capitalize on your unique attributes

According to Marti Olsen Lani, author of The Introvert Advantage, introvert strengths include independence, capacity to work well in one-to-one situations, ability to concentrate closely on tasks, creativity, and capacity to analyze systems

If you are introverted, your experience of time may differ dramatically from that of your extroverted colleagues So apply your creativity and originality to making the most of time in ways that celebrate your uniqueness

Quiz: Do You Possess an Introvert Time and Energy Temperament?

T/F: I think through what I need to say before speaking
T/F: When working with others, I can run out of energy with no warning
T/F: My creativity is fueled through solitude

If you answer these questions with “True”, then the 5 tips in this article apply directly to you Briefly stated, your introvert strength multiplies when you remove distractions and look inward At the same time, you need to protect your energy in situations that extroverts find regenerative

5 Ways Introverts Can Supercharge Their Productivity

Time Tip#1: Estimate your “battery life” for group interchanges and plan accordingly

How long can you engage at top capacity in a large group situation? Plan how you can obtain ‘time outs’ to recharge your internal batteries before walking into challenging situations (Introverts can find it difficult to monitor and safeguard their reserves while absorbed in demanding interchanges ) Your exit strategies may include volunteering for tasks that temporarily remove you from the fray, or that allow you to record rather than directly engage in interactions

Time Tip#2: Schedule private time between group activities whenever possible

Restorative sips of time are an excellent investment in your effectiveness If a relaxed, solitary interlude is not possible, consider taking small breaks of five to ten minutes between meetings, if only to make photocopies or fetch supplies While on your own, conduct a quick body scan and progressively relax tense muscles, while taking a few deep breaths

Time Tip#3: Structure collaborations as one-on-one interchanges whenever possible

Identify which individuals you work with most easily, and ask if they would be willing to serve as point persons to report findings to groups Volunteer to cover responsibilities you find less taxing, in return When you must discuss issues within a group, explore the possibilities of teleconferencing This reduces the intensity of stimulus you are exposed to

Time Tip#4: Know your “solitary strengths” and capitalize on them

Invest your time in your areas of personal strength Consider your appetite for research, experimentation and innovation Are there areas of exploration in which your persistence serves as a valuable asset? The more detailed your understanding of how you can best contribute to group endeavors, the more capably you can engage in ways that don’t drain you

Time Tip#5: Commit to checking in as regularly as needed through email and notes

You can send memos with your comments and suggestions after meetings Alert your coworkers in advance as to how and when they can expect to hear from you Remember, your extroverted colleagues may feel stranded if you withdraw without providing a context

Comprehension fuels creativity, so always be on the lookout for new possibilities as you explore your unique relationship with time

So now, ask yourself: How can you customize your time use today to jump-start your personal productivity?Coach Paula Eder, Ph.D., The Time Finder Expert, has 35 years of success helping individuals and small businesses align time with values.

For free Time Templates + Time Tips, visit
Finding Time

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Author : Gerard O’Essentially it is about helping you to reach self-actualisation - a point at which you not only truly know yourself but within this knowledge possess a feeling of comfort with and understanding of the person you discover

Your coach engages in a collaborative alliance with you to establish and clarify purpose and goals and to develop a plan of action to achieve those goals They will establish an understanding of what is really important to you in life and subsequently enable you to take charge of your life; to construct and act upon action plans that will help you to realise these priorities Put simply, coaching is about helping you to create and work towards the grandest version of the greatest personal vision you have; to achieve success - success being the continuous realisation of a worthy goal or ideal

You will be guided through a detailed process beginning with the need to re-evaluate your present position, who you really are, where your priorities lie and the need to make a definite and conscious decision about the future you would like to create With the help of a personal life coach you really can re-shape your life, overcome all the obstacles and live the life that you love

Coaching is essentially a conversation - that is, a dialogue between you and your coach Within a productive, results-oriented context, coaching involves coaching you to access what you already know The reality is that you have the answers to all your questions - asked and unasked Your coach provides the essential assistance, support and encouragement to seek and find these answers; to guide you towards asking the right questions, and deal with the answers

Coaching also incorporates learning and yet a coach is not a teacher and will not necessarily know how to do things better than you but this does not matter Your coach will observe patterns - set the stage for new actions and then work with you to put these new, more successful actions into place This involves learning through various coaching techniques such as listening, reflecting, asking questions and providing information Finally, and most importantly, your coach will help you learn how to become self-correcting and self-generating That is, you will learn how to correct your own behaviour, generate your own questions and find your own answers
Gerard O Donovan is the founder of Noble Manhattan coaching Ltd, one of Europes longest established coach training companies. He is also CEO of the European Coaching Institute, one of the world wide governing bodies from the profession of coaching. Gerard is one of the most highly sought-after executive coaches in Europe.

You can reach Gerard at gerard@noble-manhattan.com. To know more about Gerard coaching expertise, visit http://www.noble-manhattan.com
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