Save Time Enjoy More Of Your Weekend - Shop Online

I don't usually venture into the supermarket on a Sunday but weather disrupted plans for today so while I was out I popped in to pick up a few things.  More than a few things as it turned out but I was surprised at how full it was for a Sunday morning.

Perhaps like me people were planning something else until the weather changed their plans or more likely the weekend is the only time they get to go shopping, although I can think of other things I'd rather be doing on my day off.

If you'd really rather be doing something else with your weekend, save the two hours you spend shopping - allowing for time spend wandering up and down the aisles, travelling there and back and unpacking and storing said shopping.  Shop online - do your shopping from the comfort of your home, takes minutes, delivered to your door.  Great for the basics and your regular shopping items, not so good if you like to select your fruit and veg but does save the temptation of those 'special offers'.

February Newsletter: Are You Making The Most Of Your Social Media Time?

Social Media is a great marketing tool but you do need to be clear about your reasons are for using it. Otherwise it becomes just another source of distraction and a way to while away the hours.

Make sure that you're not spending/wasting all your online time, by following a few basic principles: ...

Read the rest of the article in this month's free newsletter, just register on my website. Free tips, advice, information and news on how to improve your time management for your business and personal life.

How Attached Are You To Your Mobile Phone?

I was talking to a group of business advisors this week about the importance of boundaries for time management. One of the topics that often gets discussed is the use of phones - they all had their phones out in front of them in the meeting room.

While technology is great for making our lives easier, the concept that we can now be contacted any time, any place and pretty much anywhere - adds to the number of things that can now distract us in our daily lives.

The level of attachment to their phones and the need to work on their boundaries, was shown when we went for a short walk in the countryside and as soon as they phones came into signal range they started ringing. Even worse they all answered them and then had lengthy conversations.

There's a time and a place for mobile phones and I don't think being out on a walk in the beautiful English countryside is one of them.  Handy in an emergency or if you use it for photos, so by all means carry one with you but at least have it on silent!

I know this might be radical but ...

• You CAN switch your phone off - let voice mail take a message or if you're worried about losing potential business, use a call answering service.

• Especially in meetings - respect the people in front of you and switch your phone to silent or switch it off altogether.  Give them your undivided attention.

• If you're expecting an urgent or really important phone call, which is more important that the person you're with - let them know, so when it rings they won't feel you're being rude when you answer it.

• You don't HAVE to answer the phone when it rings.  If you're in the middle of something - finish the task first and then phone the person back.  Most phones, especially mobiles will let you know who the missed call was from if they haven't left a message.

• You CAN leave the phone behind - is it absolutely essential to take it with you on a short walk or when popping out to the shops?

• Switch if off or ignore business calls outside of business hours - otherwise customers and clients really will think they can contact you any time of the night or day.

Take control of your time and decide when YOU are going to use your phone. Don't let it control you.

Telegraph: Business - "Time to be smarter in business"

"A busy schedule can leave you rushed off your feet at work ..."

Read the rest of the article at the Telegraph Online.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/technology/smartthinking/6408167/Time-to-be-smarter-in-business.html

Tips For Busy Working Mums

Before she even gets to work, the average working mum has already spent two hours sorting out herself, her children, her home and her other half before leaving for the workplace - according to a recent survey by Stylist magazine.

The research found that eight in 10 working mothers feel they have “already done a day’s work before they even arrive at the office” and more than half of those without children think the same.

Streamline your early morning routine to make life easier on yourself and those around you.

• Have a planner pinned up so you know who's meant to be where when ... and of course check it every day.
  
• Put things away at the end of the day so you know where to find them the next morning.
• Keep gym kit, dancing kit etc all together, so you're not searching around for it when the children are off to school.

 General time-saving tips:

• Order your shopping online - saves hours traipsing round the supermarket aisles.
• Plan your meals - a weekend roast can be made into stew > risotto > pasta meal > soup. You'll also know what you're eating when.
• Batch cook - make enough for more than one meal at a time - freeze the rest for later when you don't have time to cook.
• Get the rest of the family to help out - Mum doesn't have to do everything.  Keeping rooms tidy, putting things away, getting dressed - even helping out with household chores.

More time tips, articles and resources on my website.

Saturday Times Article: "It's never too late to learn how to be punctual"

A few of my time tips appeared alongside Emma Cook's article on being late and being a busy Mum.

Read the full article on Times Online.

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/body_and_soul/article6867652.ece

Prima Magazine: "Squeeze An Extra Hour ..."

The November issue of Prima magazine features one of my time tips in the article "Squeeze An Extra Hour Out Of Every Day".

I only found out about it when @businessmum Tweeted that her tips were in Prima and it reminded me to check if mine had made it ... and they had, although I think my original article was for Prima Baby!

Starting A Business In Your Spare Time - Working 5 to 9

Amanda Vlahakis from Truly Ace pointed out this useful document from Enterprise Nation in her blog on the Home Worker Parents network.

Starting your own 5 to 9 business is a great way of achieving a level of independence away from a regular, full-time job but there are things to watch.

You need to be pretty motivated and a self-starter to not only have a full-time job but also run your own part-time business.

Here are a few additional tips:

• Chose something you're passionate about but be wary of turning a hobby into a business, it can take some of the enjoyment out of it.

• Be aware of what you're able to achieve in the time available. Have a clear plan of what you want your business to look like and who your clients and customers are. Is this something that fits within the 5 to 9 timeframe?

• List out all the tasks you need to do and allocate them into the available time. Only pick the things that are going to make a real difference to the business.

• While you'll take longer to get where you want to be than if you were working full-time on your business, you can still make great progress if you work steadily and consistently towards your goal. Little and often.

• Get others involved in your business to spread the load. Depending on the nature of your business you might be able to delegate some of the workload so that your 5 to 9 business is still being worked on while you're working on your 9 - 5 job.

• Don't end up burning the candle at both ends - you'll just end up stressed and exhausted. Planning is key.

• Have a good support network around you - family and friends may not always be the most supportive but get them on your side. You don't necessarily need their approval, just their support.

• Network with like-minded people to create your own support network with business knowledge and skills.

Take a look at Mums In Biz and get help slotting a business into the time you have available - particularly for Mums who want to run a business and work round their family.

Start with a simple One Page Plan - email me for a free copy.

Delegating All Those Pesky Tasks

Isn't it about time you had a virtual assistant to handle all those pesky tasks that take up your precious time and energy? Surely you should be spending your time and energy doing the things that are going to be more valuable. Don't delay hire a virtual assistant today!

The 12 Step TM4D Programme

For all of you who don't have time to read the book!

Step 1 - Click here to order the book - and make an added contribution to Cancer Research by using my link.

Step 2 - When Amazon confirm the order, make a note of the delivery date

Step 3 - Book 10 minutes out in your diary on said delivery date (lunch break or when you finish work).

Step 4 - Book arrives - take the opportunity for a break. Spend 10 minutes (that you've already booked time for) reading the Table of Contents and the Intro - this will take about two to three minutes. Spend the remaining time making a note of which Chapters are most relevant to your immediate needs.

Step 5 - Decide how many Chapters you need/want to read to make the biggest impact. There are 18 chapters in all, two of those are in the Parts of Tens - so shorter and not all may be relevant.

Step 6 - Now set aside 30 minutes in your diary each day (or every other day) for the Chapters you need/want to read. Either at the very beginning of the day, before you get going or at the end of the working day - you might think of relevant points you want to address. Prioritise the most important chapters first.

Step 7 - Read first 'most relevant chapter' - decide on one key action you're going to take or a tip that you can apply from what you've read.

Step 8 - Take action. Apply the tip or take the necessary action as soon as possible.

Step 9 - Next 30 minute slot - read the remainder of the existing chapter or the second 'most relevant chapter' (Rinse and repeat steps 5-7, as necessary). Some chapters are a little longer and may have actions and checklists that you need to complete. Set yourself a target for when you plan to complete the book. (Ch1)

Step 10 - Take the book with you everywhere, so you can put the tip in Ch17 into action and keep reading when you've got a few minutes spare.

Step 11 - Give yourself a pat on the back (Ch10).

Step 12 - If you're having trouble with any of the Steps 1-11 - give me a call.

Don't Have Time To Exercise?

... run down to the post office about half a mile down the road to post off a few copies of the book and then run back. Total time taken about 20 minutes and most of that was the running as there wasn't a queue in the post office, although what they made of this puffing and panting person at the counter I'm not sure.

This morning ... drop the car off to be serviced, run back on a lovely bright and shiny, sunny morning. Probably a similar distance and another 20 minutes in total from leaving home to getting back.

Four tasks achieved instead of two.

Time Management For Dummies

Today, the day it's actually published and I finally get a copy in my hand. Well, I have to say - I'm pretty chuffed and had to go and show it off at a local network meeting, despite still having a head full of cold, so not totally able to celebrate.

It's available to order on both Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com - get your copy now while stocks last!

www.clareevans.co.uk/timemanagementfordummies.htm

How Much Is Your Time Worth? - August Newsletter

My latest newsletter is just out. This month's main article is about looking at how much your time is worth and why this is important. Also news on my book publication.

Whether you work for someone else or work for yourself the amount of time you spend working is worth something. Either your employer pays you for the hours you work or charges your time out at a particular rate or you charge your clients for the work you do. Would you be inclined to fritter it away on things that add no value if you knew what it was costing you? ...

If you want to find out about the importance of your hourly rate, then read the rest of the newsletter, just sign up on my website and you'll receive the latest issue and free Power Time Tips.

Good Time Management

Like most people I hate sitting in traffic jams at the best of times and the coast road, between where I live and Brighton, is notorious for doubling the time of your journey at peak time, so knowing that the network meeting I was attending was due to finish just as the after work rush hour started, I took my laptop with me and instead of getting frustrated sitting in traffic, went down to the Marina, plugged in, powered up and sat working for a couple of hours.

Not only a quieter, less distracting space but I cleared a batch of updating that I'd been putting off for a while as a lower priority task and then only took twenty minutes to get back home once the traffic had cleared.

Think about better ways to use your time with a little forward planning.

An Expert Interview - Time Management

Yesterday I did another audio interview with one of my coaching colleagues as an expert on the subject of time management.

You can listen to this interview (and any of the others that he's giving away), by signing up for the free giveaway on his website - http://goalsandachievementsgiveaway.co.uk/

You'll get to hear not only my top tips for managing your time more effectively but my dulcet tones, slightly fuzzy on the sound but the content is what matters and you can get more of the same with my free monthly newsletter.

www.clareevans.co.uk

Late or Early?

The topic of my latest newsletter was about arriving on time for meetings.

I'm sure most people endeavour to arrive on time - after all we're business professionals and it wouldn't do to turn up late and keep clients or prospective customers waiting but there's so much that can go wrong and things being what they are, it will. I've been ultra-conscious having just written about not being late - it wouldn't do for me to turn up late now would it! So much so that I've been arriving ridiculously early - I'd feel so bad if I did arrive late.

How often have you arrived just in the nick of time? You make it but just by the skin of your teeth, stressed and flustered having negotiated yet another traffic jam on the M25 or every traffic light being against you, slow traffic (especially caravans and tractors) on single lane roads, roadworks and detours.

Plan to arrive early - not just in the nick of time. Planning is good and essential to using your time effectively but when you plan things too closely you don't leave any slack time for when something unexpected comes up. Knowing a route well, gives you a better chance of estimating travel time but also makes it easier to leave things to the last minute, then when you discover they're digging up the road again and the traffic is backed up all along the coast road and you're going to be late. Fortunately, I can walk fast or know a short-cut or am lucky to find a parking space quickly but my 20 minute journey can easily become 40 minutes or longer with road works and traffic thrown into the mix.

- Aim to arrive at least 10 minutes early or 30 minutes if it's a longer journey.
- Get things ready before you leave - don't rush out of the door, grabbing things as you go.
- Leave extra time to allow for delays.
- Catch an earlier bus or train.
- Allow time for parking.
- Phone ahead if you know you're going to be delayed or late.

Better to arrive early rather than late and if you are early - it's not wasted time. Take a book, newspaper or your laptop with you so you can do some work while you wait. I managed to read a whole book on my recent journey up to London. I left plenty of time to get to the station - as I said, I've been so conscious about arriving early that I was there about 30 minutes before the train was due to leave. I had an hour to read on the train and while I sat waiting for my meeting and although it was a packed late train back home - I'd all but finished the book by the time I got back to Brighton.

If you expect other people to turn up on time for you - make sure you turn up on time for them. Have as much respect for someone else's time as you would expect them to have for yours.

Arriving On Time

My latest newsletter is just out. This month's main article is about how to arrive on time for your meetings.

One thing we should always strive to do is arrive on time for meetings. In fact aim to arrive early, as you can guarantee that something will delay you on the way – however organised you try to be. It shows respect to both the organiser and the other attendees if you turn up on time and I’m sure you prefer it when people arrive on time for your meetings. For business meetings it’s particularly important as it creates a good impression if you’re punctual. For personal meetings it might be slightly more informal, so turning up a few minutes late isn’t as much of an issue but being very late when people are expecting you at a particular time is just discourteous.

- if you'd like to read more of the May issue, just sign up on my website and you'll also receive free Time-saving Tips.

Are you often late for meetings or in general do you get there on time?

Hurrah! Finished at last.

Well, that was certainly a greater challenge than I thought it was going to be. I've just spent most of the Bank Holiday weekend and today finishing off the final few chapters of my book. Despite the sunshine outside and the temptation to do something else - I had a deadline to meet. I did manage brief bursts of other activities but the book was my main focus.

My perfectionist tendencies came to the fore as I tried to get everything just right, added another paragraph here and there, thought of something else to say, went back and tweaked a previous chapter, until finally I was happy and sent it off - one chapter at a time over the past five months.

There'll be more to come in a few weeks - it's just off to be edited, so I have no idea what to expect and whether it will have the equivalent of red marker pen all over it.

All very exciting.

Are You Easily Distracted?

My latest newsletter is just out. This month's main article is about dealing with distractions.

I doubt you could get through a day without being distracted in one way or another by something. Either externally – by the phone, email and other people or internally – by your thoughts or a change in focus, particularly if you’re working on something that is either difficult or doesn’t really hold your interest. We’re only human and we’re easily bored and it’s too easy to let these distractions interrupt the flow.

- if you'd like to read more of the April issue, just sign up on my website and you'll also receive free Time-saving Tips.

Get More From Your Meetings

My latest newsletter is just out. This month's main article is about getting more out of your meetings.

Meetings can be a great excuse to waste time and yet another frustration in an already busy day. While meetings can be a good way of communicating and discussing new opportunities, they can also be an unproductive use of several people’s time.

Before you arrange or attend a meeting, decide whether it’s the most effective use of everybody’s time? Could the information be better communicated by email or with a phone call or report? The purpose and outcome of the meeting should balance the input of time and effort by all those involved.

- if you'd like to read more of the March issue, just sign up on my website and you'll also receive free Time Tips.

Is Email Ruining Your Life?

Are you deluged with email?

It's becoming a big problem these days. So much so that there's a Money Programme special tonight on BBC2 at 7.00pm - Email Is Ruining My Life.

Apparently:

two million emails are sent every second; 62 per cent of us check work emails when we're at home or on holiday; and in the UK, a third of office workers suffer from "email stress". It's pretty obvious that the technology is hugely beneficial to the workforce, but paperless communication needs to be controlled (rather than having it control us).

Is email a problem for you? Do you waste time on your emails rather than actually getting on with more important work? Are you checking your email constantly throughout the day?

• My first bit of advice is to switch off the email alert so that it's not pinging or flashing at you every time an email comes into your inbox.

• Set the mailbox options to only check for new messages periodically. That way, there's less distraction wondering what's come in during the last five minutes.

• Only check your emails two or three times a day. Unless you need to respond instantly to customers as soon as an email hits your inbox (unlikely), you really only need to check your inbox a couple of times a day, morning and afternoon. Do it AFTER you've achieved your first important task of the day. That way you're less likely to get distracted early on in the day.

• Create folders and filters to organise your incoming mail - automatically sort mail into the appropriate folder by subject or sender as it comes in, so you can easily see what's important and what's not.

• When you do check emails - set aside a specific time to do this - 15-20 minutes at a time. Don't jump straight in and start responding to the first one. Take a few minutes to sort them into urgent/action, non-urgent and reading. If you can't deal with an email straight away, schedule time to deal with it later.

Plan your time for emails in the same way you plan the rest of your time and it doesn't have to ruin your life!

If you miss the programme you can always read more tips on managing your email on my website.

February Newsletter - Where Does The Time Go?

My latest newsletter is just out. This month's main article is about where your time goes each day.

Do you wonder where your time goes? It’s easy to get to the end of the day and wonder what you actually achieved and where the time went even though you feel as though you’ve been busy all day.

If you don’t know where you’re spending your time then you’ll find it harder to organise and prioritise what you need to get done each day, particularly the important things that are going to make a difference.

- if you'd like to read more of the February issue, let me know and I'll be happy to send it to you or you can just sign up on my website and you'll also receive my free Time Tips.

How long is your working week?

MPs reckon they work on average 85 hours a week when Parliament is sitting. How much of that time is spent snoozing in the Chamber or out on boozy lunches I'm not sure (it did include travel/commuting time). Of course my ears pricked up on hearing this

They're voting on how much of a pay rise they're going to reward themselves and obviously feel that they deserve a big pay rise because they work such long hours.

Apart from rushing up to the House of Commons and offering them all time management courses ... can you really have a life when you're working an average 80 hours a week? That's 16 hours a day, so not a lot of time for eating, sleeping and socialising.

We're renowned for working longer hours in the UK than our counterparts in Europe. As many people here run their own business - do you work longer hours than you would if you were working for someone else because it's your own business or are you happy with the hours you're working. You chose your hours, you have the lifestyle you want and have plenty of time for family, friends and to enjoy the rest of your life? Many people who run their own businesses feel that in order to make a success of the business they have to put in long hours in order to make it work.

Even in the corporate world there's an unwritten expectation that if you're only working 9-5, you're not working hard enough. Eyebrows are raised or tutting occurs if you attempt to leave 'on-time'. The threat of job cuts and redundancy means that if you can give the impression that you're working really hard (because obviously if you have to come in at 7.30am and leave at 7.30 every day - you must be) then you'll be so indispensable your name won't be on the list should the worst happen. Say yes to everything the boss throws at you - of course you can handle it - you'll just stay a couple of hours longer. It doesn't have to be this way - unless of course you enjoy working 60-80 hours a week (does that include weekends?).

Learning to say No - whether to the boss or to yourself (the boss) is one way to start cutting back.

Plan your time - appropriately and effectively.

Obvious - but how many of us actually do it or are you just reacting to things as they come in - dealing with them on a first come first saved basis or whoever or whatever shouts the loudest?

Get control of your time and you can reduce your hours.

Easing Back Into Work

If you're easing yourself back into work after a long break over Christmas you might be finding it hard to get focused.

You've only got three days this week, so spend a few minutes thinking about what you need to get done in this time. Don't overload yourself, after all, it's a short week.

Write a list, sort it in order of priority with the important things to be done first and then plan when you're going to get these things done. Actually plan the time out in your day. What are your main goals for this year - what do you need to get done this month to Kick Start the year? People you usually deal with may still be on holiday this week, so it's a good time to clear the decks, plan for the year and set yourself up for the coming year.

Get the email backlog cleared but don't spend all day on it. Spend the first few minutes doing a quick scan of your Inbox. Quickly delete all the spam and things you don't need to read. Pick out and flag the emails you need to respond to and if they're Important - set aside time to respond or do them first. Read my article on clearing your mail backlog.

Unless you've started with great enthusiasm, fully refreshed after your time off - you're unlikely to be hitting the ground running and be able to launch yourself straight into a full day's work. Tackle your action list in chunks. Set mini-targets and spend just thirty minutes on the first task. If you finish it in that time, move on to the next one. Every couple of hours take a break or go and do something different.

Make sure you do one thing that will 'grow' your business each day.
Make sure you do one thing each day for yourself.

If you've had a busy Christmas with the usual activity of friends and family, don't end up at the end of the next three days worn out and exhausted. Ease yourself back in gently. If you're still in holiday mode - decide just to work for half a day or a couple of hours.

If you've planned out what needs to be done, you can be more effective by doing two or three things well rather than trying to do several things half-heartedly.

Finishing On Time

If you work from home do you find that you’re getting tempted to work extended hours just because your office is in the room next-door or that you end up working sporadically throughout the day or late into the evening?

Just because you work from home doesn't mean that you can't create structure in your day. While you might not want to work 9-5, think about hours that work for you. How many hours a day do you need/want to work? Would you like to have some time off during the day/week? Make sure that you spend time planning what needs to be done each day and that it fits with your business plan and goals. What would be a good start time ... 7.30am, 9.30am? What is a good/reasonable time to finish ... 3.30pm, 6.30pm? If you’re in the habit of working most evenings, aim to finish work a little earlier on at least a couple of evenings a week. Take a half-day off during the week and work a little later one evening if you need to.

Make sure that you plan in breaks too. All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy (or Jill). You won't work as effectively or be as productive if you're working constantly and not taking breaks. Even if you work from home, so the 'office' is never far way, set yourself a cut-off time each evening and make sure you get breaks during the day. Take at least one day off at the weekend. If you're doing what needs to be done then you're working more efficiently, you won't get so tired out or feel guilty when you're not working. After all, why should you?

Think about what you need to get done, plan it in accordingly and don't work for the sake of it. If you want to cut down your hours - look at prioritising what's currently on your list of roles and responsibilities and see what you can change about the way you're currently working.

November Newsletter - Plan Your Time

My latest newsletter is just out. This month's main article is how to plan your time.

One of the most important things you can do to improve your productivity is to plan your time.

If you don’t currently plan your time then the chances are that you start the day and just deal with things as they come in, some things get done, some things get forgotten, some things get missed and other priorities take over. By getting into the habit of planning regularly, you will ensure that you’re focusing on the right things.


- if you'd like a free copy of the November issue, let me know and I'll be happy to send it to you or just sign up on my website.

To-Do Lists vs Action Lists

I encourage people to work with Action Lists rather the never ending To-Do List. Each morning create an Action List of the things you need to get done that day. These should relate to your overall goals. Do the important things before they become urgent, don't waste your time on unimportant things that really won't make a difference to your business or your personal life.

Plan the time into your day when you're going to do these actions. Make sure you prioritise them and do the No.1/High priority tasks first before anything else. Once you've done all the important things you can then work your way onto the next set of important actions. You'll find that things that you have as low priority, trivial tasks tend to disappear off the list. Easy or low priority tasks can also be scheduled into the day as a break between harder, high priority tasks. Group similar tasks together - like making phone calls or writing emails. It increases your productivity.

Don't over stretch yourself. If you only have time for three things, don't create a list with 20 things on it. Keep your action list short, realistic and focused. If you get them all done, take the next thing and do that. Achieving everything on your list in one day can give you a great sense of achievement

Keep a master list so that you don't forget things but prune and prioritise this regularly. Write a list each month of what you want to do and refer to this when you're planning your weekly and daily actions.

Zest Magazine article

I finally made it into Zest magazine.

Having been interviewed several months ago, I've been reporting the pending publication in my newsletter for a couple of months but as with most publication dates, things were moved around and delayed. It didn't appear in either the September or October editions.

I was in W H Smiths this morning and grabbed a copy of the November issue just on the off-chance - and there it was on page 22. How satisfying to see something I've contributed to in print.

Step Away From The Office

If you usually work from home - get away from the office for a day.

Escape from the phone and the internet and go and find an office away from the office. Mine is the Seattle Hotel down at the Brighton Marina. It's usually relatively quiet, plenty of space, comfy chairs, tables to sit at if you want, places to plug in a laptop and decent (if somewhat over priced) coffee. The staff are relaxed, casually dressed, leave you in peace but attentive in a quiet, unassuming way. There's a pleasant informality about the Seattle - stuffy business suits seem out of place.

It's a great place to have some quiet time, away from distractions, to get on with your work. I'd arranged a 1:1 meeting there at lunchtime and had the local Brighton Chamber meeting in the evening, so it was an ideal opportunity to spend a few hours putting together some ideas I'd been thinking about for a while.

These days there are plenty of places where you can get a coffee, tea (or your drink of choice), sit with your laptop, a book, notes or writing materials and have a couple of really productive hours.

Improve Your Reading Speed

My latest newsletter is just out. This month's main article is how to improve your reading speed. Here's a snippet.

If you spend a lot of your time reading – emails, research, internet, business books, magazines, newspapers, novels etc. then you can certainly improve your reading efficiency by learning a few tips and techniques to speed things up. The average reading speed is around 200 words per minute (wpm) but speeds of nearer 1000 wpm are possible with a little practice.

- if you'd like a free copy of the September issue, let me know and I'll be happy to send it to you.

TES: The Easy Way

I was interviewed a couple of weeks ago by Steven Hastings for my tips to ease teachers back into work after the school break. It didn't take long - we only spoke for a few minutes

His article appeared today and you can read it on the TES website.

The Easy Way

September Newsletter - Procrastination - The Art Of Putting It Off

My latest newsletter is just out - if you'd like a free copy of the August issue and you're not on the list - let me know and I'll be happy to send it to you.

Featured in this month's issue:

• Article: Procrastination – The Art of Putting Things Off
• What On, What's New - Teleclasses & Workshops
• Recommended Reading
• Website of the Month
• This Month’s Quote

Passwords, passwords ...

If you're anything like me you will have dozens of passwords and userids for different directories, sites, accounts etc. How do you keep track of them all?

One simple way is to create a Word document or Notepad file and list all the sites, userids, passwords and associated email address.

Of course you DON'T list the full password! List it in coded form, so that only you actually know what the full password is.

Password protect the file itself for reading, editing and saving.

It's always good to use a variety of passwords for different types of sites, never use one password for everything. A mix of letters and numbers are best.

Don't use your year of birth, house number or other obvious dates/numbers. Also don't use easy to guess passwords - like names of children, pets, partner etc.

Make sure that you have a copy of your password document/file somewhere safe. When my hard drive crashed - my own password document was invaluable in getting back online to all the sites I use as all the cookies to sites I regularly use were also gone.

If You Had One More Hour In The Day ...

... how would you spend it?


If you're on Linked In - you can connect and answer by click the link here:-
http://www.linkedin.com/answers/startups-small-businesses/small-business/STR_SMB/49894-1082216


Or just add a comment.

Get Up An Hour Earlier

I'm not suggesting this if you already get up before the birds or before the sun has risen over the horizon or you're naturally an early riser or prefer to be a night owl but if you're wondering how you can get more time in your day (especially if you want some 'me' time or time to exercise), get up an hour earlier.

What time do you usually wake up, do you roll-over and doze for a while or lie in bed reading until you feel ready to get up? If you work for yourself perhaps you feel you can start your working day when you want.

Most of the time I'm not an early bird and prefer to get up at a leisurely pace - usually checking emails while I have breakfast. However, on those occasions when I do get up early, I find I get a whole lot more done. When I was going to breakfast networking meetings, starting off at 7.00am, I'd get home around 9.00am having already felt like I'd done a day's work and I'd still have the whole morning ahead of me.

Now I've started getting up an hour earlier, which gives me the time to either clear the morning's emails, so that I can get on with work at my usual time or I get out for a run, have breakfast and a shower in that extra hour. Making it easier to fit exercise into my day.

You could use this extra time to have some quiet time on your own - shift your working day, so you spend the extra time with the children, organising your admin, filing, housework, getting out into the garden.

How could you use this extra time?

At Last!

... back in the land of the living, or at least back online. I've been without an Internet connection since Tuesday morning when I was switched over to my new ISP, no warning and no indication of the new connection info I'd need as and when it did get connected.

I resorted to the local library on Tuesday afternoon just to check email (useful free service) and managed to check emails yesterday at the Money Marketing Live Event up in London. Finally this morning, after a lengthy call with my new ISPs Support Line (why do they always charge extortionate amounts for this), I was able to establish some sort of connection through a modem. Still can't get my wireless router working.

So, I'm back. I've missed whiling away the hours browsing through blogs but it has at least meant that I've been less distracted by email and the internet and been able to get on with other things! Unfortunately, all those website and blog updates I was going to do this week will now need to be done over the weekend.

Fortunately, my business isn't too email critical although I do like to respond to emails the same day and I've not been able to do that. I certainly haven't missed all the spam though.

So, if you want to get more done - get rid of your internet connection (at least temporarily).

What Are Your Top Time Wasters?

Often things that end up wasting our time are because we're being reactive rather than proactive with our time.

We have a tendency to react to every phone call, email or interruption that comes along as it arrives, which results in a fragmented day.

Better to be proactive and decide how you want to spend your time rather than have others decide for you.

It's also about setting boundaries and expectations - both with yourself and with your clients. Are your clients really expecting an instantaneous response to an email or is that the expectation you've set for yourself. Emails are rarely that important and given the unreliablility of email systems or over-zealousness of spam filters it can take a few hours for an email to get through to it's destination. Yes, 90% of them arrive almost instantaneously but there's always those that don't. Set yourself a realistic timeframe in which to respond - whether to phone calls or emails.

Set a boundary around your time. If you're busy or need some uninterrupted time - allow calls to go through to voicemail and respond as soon as you can. If you frequently get interrupted by colleagues - learn to say 'no'. That classic question "Have you got a minute" - which a) has already distracted you and b) never really is a minute.

If you work in an office - close the door and tell staff and colleagues that if the door's closed you're not to be disturbed. You can even stick a "please do not disturb" sign on the door just to get the message across. If you work in an open plan office you can still try something similar - I used to put a sign up at my desk - the equivalent of the do not disturb sign.

Book a meeting room if you need some quiet time or work from home - you can get a lot more done. If you work from your own home office and still get bothered by interruptions - go elsewhere. Take a pile of paperwork, research material or your laptop to somewhere where you can't be tracked down or interrupted - hotels often have an area where you sit undisturbed for a few hours with a coffee.

Organise you day so that you can deal with emails, phone calls and meetings in chunks of time. Plan your own time into your diary in the same way you plan meetings.

If email or the internet is a big time waster for you - take a look at my articles on these two particular topics or send me an email and I can send them to you.

March Newsletter

Out now.

In this week's main topic - find out how to communicate more effectively by email. You might think you know what you’ve said, but have you?

Plus:

• What Is Coaching?
• Recommended Reading
• Fun Website Clip
• This Month’s Quote

Get free weekly Time Tips - just register HERE.