Tag: Time Management

Simplify your schedule. Lessons From My Little Cabin In the Woods

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cabinDriving three sons to three different activities by 9 am this morning made me long for the unstructured time from this past weekend.  I know that vacations are not real life, though many days I wish they were.

We traveled downstate last Thursday to the Southernmost tip of Illinois, the 70 mile stretch between the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.  It is truly God’s country, green and lush, with hills the size of mountains (at least to our northern Illinois flatlanders’ eyes).   We stayed in a beautiful cabin, slept late, explored and hiked, ate good food and enjoyed each other’s company.  We reveled in the simpler life and slower pace, and here are some things I learned:

Go off the grid.  Wayyyy off the grid. 

If you can unplug once in a while, do so.  It does wonders for your frame of mind.  We were pretty isolated at our lovely cabin.  No wi-fi, news, email or phone calls, and only a random smattering of texts.  It was great.  I admit, I don’t know how long I could maintain the media silence, but knowing it would only last a few days made it easy to take.  I had tech, of course, my iPad with kindle books and movies on it, a large reading pile, a dvd player.  There was a TV with a few channels, but we didn’t turn it on and we really didn’t miss it.

Don’t shop.

Going on vacation is usually an expensive venture for us.  But there was no shopping to speak of at our destinations this weekend.  We were more than half an hour from a major grocery, and the national parks did not have gift shops where my sons typically blow their allowances.  We planned our menu, bought groceries at the last town before entering the National Forest area, and we didn’t buy more.  We ate a couple of meals at restaurants (with my teenagers taking full advantage of the all-you-can-eat buffet at Cave In Rock), and we had gas and lodging expenses, but we came home with much less stuff and a little more $$ than we usually do.

Don’t overpack.

I pack too much, and my sons don’t pack enough.  We should all plan for an outfit a day, with a couple extra shirts and socks, and a set of pjs for every 2 nights, and extra swimming stuff since it doesn’t always have a chance to dry before the next day.  I’m a mom, and have to plan for contingencies, like packing rainwear for everyone that we never used.  But I personally had a handful of items that never left the suitcase.

Our little cabin had bedding, towels and a tiny but well stocked kitchen.  There was one drawer each of silverware and serving utensils, a few towels and wash clothes, 3 pots and pans with lids.  The open shelves for dishes above the sink made access and clean up very easy.  Simple, pared down, just what we needed and not much more.

Pare down your expectations. 

We wanted to get away, explore nature in some new parts of Illinois we hadn’t seen before, and spend some time together as a family.  However, one teenager mentioned very early on that he doesn’t “do” nature.   Grrrr….  So, I asked in my rational Mom voice what his expectations were and what we could do every day that would make him happy, too.  And God bless him, he asked to swim every day, and find some ice cream.  Those were things we could work with, and we made them happen.  Simple, reasonable and specific.  Nice.

Do yourself a favor, and De-clutter your schedule for a few days.

Mondays are always hectic, and this week I had two clients and a class in addition to the regular Monday tasks.  Before we left on our trip, I moved all the non-essential tasks from Monday’s to-do list to later in the week.  It made the busy Monday-after-vacation just a little easier!

So, spend a little time paring down and simplifying, and enjoy that vacation feeling every day!

Boost Summer Productivity with Tech and Routines

my portable office

my portable office

My sons are home with me this week since school has ended for the summer and activities are just starting up.  And while I really like my family, they are quite fabulous, the schedule changes and having them home with me in my office threaten my professional and personal productivity.

The lure is strong, to ditch my computer and take everyone out to lunch, or go on an adventure, or curl up on the couch and watch movies with them.  Also, the interruptions increase, which is a small price to pay for being with my family, but again, those interruptions damage my focus and make simple tasks take way too long, or not get done at all.

So….. what is a working parent to do? A dear client last week suggested that I get a desk that folds out of my van, so I can work anywhere.  I like the image of folding out a desk, but I already can work from anywhere, thanks to cool technological tools.  Here are some of my ideas, maybe they will work for you, too!

  1. Know what is in your in-box.  I have been making a conscious decision to check my work email on my smart phone while I am leaving a client appointment or meeting, instead of waiting to get home.  This may seem like another distraction, but I actually find it beneficial to my focus, deleting unneeded messages right away and spending some of my commute time mentally preparing for the work waiting for me when I get home.
  2. Make your office portable.  I take my IPad everywhere.  I can write up client notes and send them right away, instead of having to wait to get home to compose, edit and send the notes. I also added duplicate apps to my IPhone and IPad, like WordPress for managing my blog, Paypal for invoicing clients, and Evernote for sharing documents among all my devices.  We traveled this past weekend and I took just the IPad instead of my laptop.  I had everything I needed for work and for fun (downloaded movies and my Kindle App) right at my fingertips.
  3. Make it easy to manage and receive your money.  I have been using Paypal a lot lately for my client billing, which shortens the wait between completing client hours and payment – awesome!
  4. Go Paperless.  I cancelled my PO box in May, which may seem trivial to you, but for me it is huge!  I’ve had that PO box since I started my business!  However, steadily over the last 12 months, I have moved my correspondence to strictly on-line so that I could let go of the PO box, with its added expense and maintenance.  In addition, I receive some monthly publications on my IPad now, instead of in print.  My office is not yet Paperless, a goal for 2013, but I am one step closer.
  5. Share the calendar.  I am slowly warming up to the idea of sharing our family calendar online, through google calendars or a similar platform.  I figure summer is the time to decide, before the school schedules start up again in August.

Routines:

  1. Get up early.  I am still getting up before 6 am.  I heard a quote recently, something about how you never hear about the hero of the story sleeping in and taking it easy!  So, I get up and enjoy a very productive 60-90 minutes before my boys get up.
  2. Shave your head (or not!!).  I shaved my head back in March for a fundraiser, and it has taught me a lot (a blog for another day).  It seems extreme, I know, and I am NOT recommending that anyone should shave their head just to save time in the morning, but it is remarkable how much time this change has opened up!  Are there parts of your daily routines that you can streamline for summer?
  3. Maintain your focus.  I am so grateful for my accountability partner, especially right now.  Most summers, I struggle to get even the basics done some day.  With the focus that comes from accountability, I feel I am still moving forward on professional goals despite the summer urge to slack!.

So, what will you try this week to streamline your work and increase your productivity this summer?  Give one of these ideas a try, or share one of your own, I would love to hear it!

Organize Now: Summer Is Closer Than You Think!

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The title, “Summer is closer than you think”, will mean different things to different people.  Some will dream of lazy days and long vacations.  If you’re a working parent like me, though, the idea may make you anxious, wondering what to do with your kids this summer.

I realize it’s only mid-Spring.  Summer seems far away.  But I also realize that a fun and relaxing (for me, too) summer requires planning.  Parents talk, and a hot conversation topic recently has been “how and what to plan for our selves, our families and our kids for the summer months”.  So whether you only have yourself and your schedule to factor, or you have multiple schedules to consider, there are ways to make the process go smoothly.

Carve out an hour, grab your calendar, a cup of coffee and any information you have collected so far regarding travel, summer programs, camps, etc.  Get input from those involved: for example, my sons and I discuss which activities they would choose.  My husband was in on the planning session this year, which was new and great.  Not that he hasn’t cared about our summer plans before, but until recently, Summer was his VERY BUSY WORK season, and I was the main decision maker when it came to choosing summer activities.

We pulled out actual calendar pages (instead of our smart phones or MS Outlook on my laptop), and wrote out activities and ideas on the paper.  This helped us all to visualize our schedule and make decisions.

Some tips to make it work:

Plan early.  Book your events and activities now.  This helps you take advantage of early bird registration rates, ensures openings so that you or your children can attend the activities you wish, and gives you and other adults a chance to request vacation time.

Ask around.  As I mentioned earlier, parents talk.  We share recommendations for great programs, and also war stories from activities that did not go so well.  We set up car-pools now, and share babysitters and travel advice. 

Set your budget.  Activity and vacation costs can add up quickly if you’re not paying attention.  Set a limit, and stick with it.  We are writing checks this week, towards deposits to complete our registration for a number of activities.  Then we pay the balance when it comes due, which helps to spread out the costs and make them more manageable.

Schedule big, important and unmovable events first.  Work, academic events, graduations, annual family vacations, etc. can often not be moved or missed.  Make these necessary items your first priority.  For example, my oldest son has to take a summer gym / health class to make room for certain honors classes in his Fall schedule, so we had to make room for that class before anything else.  We also schedule events for the extended family now, so folks can “save the date”.

Once we documented our big, important and unmovable items, we chose a couple of weekends to investigate for potential trips.  Which leads to….

Fill in the smaller stuff. Fill in the optional but important items like weekend trips or optional camps.  Finally, make a list of optional, flexible activities.  Call them anticipated spontaneity, if you like.  Day trips, zoo or museum or beach days, evening ice cream runs, sleepovers, movie nights, bike rides, etc.  And leave free space on the calendar.  When I was a kid, my favorite parts of summer was biking around the neighborhood with my friends or lying around reading a book.  Come to think of it, that is still the case!

So, spend a rainy Tuesday planning now, so that you can relax later on a beautiful summer day.  It really is closer than you think!

6 Tips to Tweak Your Weekends!

Recently, my brother and my niece conversed on Facebook about their “Thursday Feeling”.  Apparently, many people experience a lift, a “Whew, I’ve almost made it!” feeling on Thursday as they look ahead to the weekend.  I’m not on board yet with their “Thursday Feeling”.  Improving our weekends is a work-in-progress, so I asked my readers to share thoughts on weekends.

Based on your responses, we would ideally spend our weekends sleeping in, not cleaning the house, accomplishing home projects, playing outside, doing homework (either ours or helping our kids with theirs), shopping, watching movies, relaxing and eating good food and ice cream. Ideally.

Last weekend was just right.  Dinner out on Friday night with family, then an event at church.   Saturday morning, all 5 of us participated in a 5K around our neighborhood, raising money for a local cancer organization.  Then we spent time with my young niece, knocked out an organizing project, took naps and watched movies.  Sunday started with family traditions, then Mass, brunch, and more relaxing.  It was lovely.

In reality, weekends can be hectic and choppy.  Personally, I start out with Cub Scouts on Friday.  We have such a great time, but I am typically in charge of some planning and running our meetings, so when most people are winding down on a Friday, I’m revving up.  Occasionally, I take Saturday clients because that is the only time some of them are available.  Then we, like many of my readers, have multiple sporting or creative events, shuttling the kids here and there, fitting in house cleaning and home projects.  Sundays always start with family and Mass, but may end up filled with work or projects or more commitments.

So how can we tweak our weekends?  Where can we find that Thursday feeling?

  1. Align expectations. Trouble occurs  when I anticipate a lazy weekend, and my husband plans a family day of  yard work.  My teenagers want to sleep until noon, I want bedrooms cleaned by 10 am.  If you share your life with others, make sure to align your expectations with theirs.
  2. Communicate.  A friend shared her family’s weekend strategy with me.  She and her husband have a “meeting” on Saturday morning over coffee to discuss their weekend plans and expectations.  They write down the scheduled events, the need-to-dos and also the hope-to-dos.  She says “It feels good to have a list that we work on TOGETHER”, everybody gets at least a few things accomplished and her family feels better about their weekends.
  3. Don’t schedule too much.  Try to leave some “white space”, as my friend Jan would call it, and choose to relax how you would like.  Be selective when signing up for activities and accepting invitations.
  4. Shop during the week or on-line.  I avoid the mall like the plague every day, but especially on the weekends. Shop during the week when the stores are less crowded.  You can also automate your shopping. I shop on-line with Melaleuca.  I love the household products, but mostly I love that they ship to my house monthly.  I use Reliv as my nutritional supplement. I place my order quarterly and it arrives on my doorstep.  I use Amazon.com for gifts and harder-to-find items.  Less time at actual stores means more time for me and my family, and that is worth any money spent on shipping.
  5. Stick with routines. Schedule at least a few things.  A mother of 4 young sons admitted that she prefers the structure of weekdays.  Everyone seems happier during the week.  Unstructured time is when the kids get rowdy, and sometimes into trouble. Stick with bedtimes and meal times, and I mean all of us, not just the kids!
  6. Find your weekend somewhere else.  Because my weekends tend to be busy and not terribly relaxing, I have worked to find “weekend” time (relaxing and rejuvenating time) during the week.  Every other month or so, I might schedule a massage, or catch a chick flick at the theatre on a weekday (none of the fellows in my house would want to go with me anyway!).

So, what will you try this week to make your weekend better?  How will you promote that “Thursday Feeling”?  Slow down and enjoy!

What’s In Your Pocket? Your Essential Daily Carry

I recently discovered the concept of Essential Daily Carry and a great Reddit board with visuals of what different people carry in their pockets on a daily basis (just google the term for all sorts of visual examples).

Per Wikipedia, Essential Daily Carry or “Everyday carry (EDC) refers to a small collection of tools, equipment and supplies carried on a daily basis to assist in tackling situations ranging from the mundane to the disastrous.[1] (wikipedia)”

“The term EDC also refers to the philosophy or spirit of ‘preparedness’ that goes along with the selection and carrying of these items. Implicit in the term is the sense that an EDC is an individual’s personal selection of equipment, arrived at after deliberation, rather than a standardized kit. EDC items normally fit in pockets or small pack, and/or are attached to clothing such as a belt. Emphasis is placed on the usefulness, accessibility and reliability of these items. The core elements of a typical EDC might include a folding pocket knife, a flashlight, a mobile phone, and a multi-tool.” (wikipedia)

From a time management and preparedness standpoint, an EDC is a great idea. Key components for implementing your EDC:

  1. On a personal level, identify the difference between “need” and “want”;
  2. Find high-quality multifunctional tools to fill a range of needs;
  3. Establish one location at home, near your exit, for keeping your EDC; and
  4. Establish the habit of carrying your EDC with you.

What is essential to you? Where is it, and do you make it convenient and routine to carry it with you every day? In college, I started carrying a small wallet (with money, cards, a pen and bandaids) with my house keys attached. I can still leave the house with just those few things in my pocket with my cell phone, at least for quick, local trips. My smart phone is central to my EDC, with apps for a flash light, wrist watch, note taking, camera, calendar and a digital key ring for store cards. That one tool has lightened my load.

When deciding on your EDC, consider where you go and what you do. For example, there are essential items I don’t carry because every where I go, I have duplicates there. I always keep my work tool box in my car, so I don’t carry extra tools. I have disposable gloves and a clean shirt in there, too, and a well stocked first aid kit as well, so I carry only a very small one in my bag. My EDC can be small because I keep other items like tissues, pens, hand lotion and a nail file in my car all the time.

So what’s in your wallet? Or pocket, as the case may be? Here is a list of common items (from Wikipedia):

  • A folding knife, multitool and/or Swiss Army knife
  • A wrist watch
  • A flashlight (either a key-chain light, a headlamp, or a “tactical” flashlight which has a brighter output used to temporarily blind and stun assailants)
  • A whistle or airhorn (noise makers)
  • A cell phone or other electronic device like a digital camera to record evidence (sometimes satellite phones if in remote areas)
  • Sustainment items such as bottled water and high energy foods
  • Pen, pencil, or a tactical pen similar in concept to a Kubotan for striking and stabbing
  • Pocket notebook (smart phones and electronic note-taking devices are increasingly being used instead of notebooks)
  • Medicine for common ailments and maladies such as allergies and gastrointestinal problems
  • Prescription medicine that has to be taken daily
  • A compact first aid kit
  • Rope or paracord
  • Handkerchiefs or other utility cloth
  • Keys containing key chain and accessories like a flashlight, nail clipper, pill bottle, folding scissors, carabiner, or Kubotan
  • Gloves, which can be latex, nitrile, leather, or synthetic
  • Pepper spray/OC spray or stun gun/tazer
  • Pistol and holster
  • Lighter or matches

So, this week give your essential Daily Carry some thought. Determine what challenges you may face from day-to-day, what is essential, and what should be in your pocket all the time!

8 Tips: Because Life Doesn’t Always Go As Planned

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I’m a planner.  I love the combination of small details and the big picture.  I’m good at it, and even get paid to plan and to teach others how to plan.  So, trust me when I tell you, regardless of good intentions, some days just don’t go as planned.  Case in point…. Last Wednesday.

I belong to a great group full of nice people, and really useful information and activities.  My challenge is that the monthly meetings are at 8 am on a school day, 40 minutes away.  The meetings are worthwhile, so I plan and deal with the distance and timing.   Toward that end, I worked a little harder last week and set up before-school care for my youngest at his elementary, so I wouldn’t have to hassle my friends anymore just to cover these monthly meetings.  Lunches were packed, clothes were laid out, everyone was up and cooperating.  We were all good to go.

And then…. A car-pool oversleep, a snowstorm and an accident blocking traffic (not that I blame those hapless souls – their day really didn’t go as planned!).   The one morning I needed everything to go exactly as planned, it didn’t.  Sometimes, life gets in the way.

We can learn a lot from our lives when things don’t go as planned:

  1. Leave yourself a cushion.  Make just a little room between appointments on your calendar.  The tighter the schedule, the greater the chance for trouble.
  2. Have a Plan B, and maybe even a Plan C.  For everything, at all times.  Dinner, daycare, clothes, alternate travel route or public transportation options.  Flexibility is key at all times
  3. Variables are just that – Vary-able.  The more appointments you make in your      day, or variables you work into your schedule, the greater the risk of having something go awry.  Don’t pack your schedule too tightly.
  4. Laugh at yourself.  Appreciate the absurd in your day, and remember that situational control is an illusion.  It’s ridiculous to think we are “in control” of a situation.  We can only control ourselves and our own behavior and choices.
  5. Don’t wait to start on a task, trip or project.  Never plan on having the last-minute to complete a task, trip or project.  If you’re given a deadline, aim for a few days before.  You just never know what might happen.  We get burned by procrastinating if we delay our work until the last-minute and then end up with a technology failure, a loved one in a personal or medical crisis, or a storm and/or power outage.  Or perhaps I am unable to say “Yes” to some great but unexpected event because I have work to do.
  6. Dawdle when you get there.  Last week, I had 60 minutes to make a half-hour drive from one client to the next.  I drove almost all the way to the second client, and then took a break.  This eliminated any trouble I might have had in transit slowing me down and making me late.
  7. Keep your calendar / phone / planner up to date, so that answers and contact information are with you at all times.
  8. Keep your to-do list with you at all times.  This allows you to get things done wherever you are. And take advantage of found moments through your day.

So, embrace and expect that life won’t always go as planned and learn a few tips to help you along the way!

Productivity Series: Use Accountability to Get Things Done

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(Originally published in 2013)

I work with an accountability partner and want to share how awesome the process has been.  But what is accountability?  An accountability partner?  And how can you benefit from the process?

Accountability means a “responsibility to someone or for some activity” (google).

We’re all interconnected, responsible TO many people.  I’m responsible to my kids and husband, my family, friends and community, and my clients and professional partners.  I am also responsible FOR lots of people and activities for this cast of characters.  They’re important and I take good care of these responsibilities.

I am the person to whom others are accountable.  Personally, for example, my kids are accountable to me to do their chores and their homework, and I’ll certainly tell them if something is left undone.  Professionally, my clients agree to work between appointments towards their organizing goals, and they report to me about how things are going, to ask questions and determine next steps.

As accountable as I am to others, I often ignore my own personal or business deadlines.  I’m the boss, so no one checks on my productivity.  The business is well run, the BIG stuff gets done, my clients are well served and my presentations are completed.  But long-range strategic tasks, important but not urgent, get pushed aside by immediate and urgent issues that come up.  I have lots of ideas, but lack the time or focus to make the ideas a reality.  Those strategic tasks get pushed further down the to-do list.  I needed to create accountability to get these things done.

Think about it – if you know a friend is waiting for you at the gym, you are more likely to exercise.  Or making an appointment for the plumber to fix your sink motivates you to clean the cabinet underneath before he arrives, right?

Enter…. Jan, my accountability partner.  She has experience with accountability partnerships and graciously offered to work with me.  Here is how we work:

  1. Once a week, Jan and I email, skype or meet in person.
  2. We talk for an hour or so, and we each determine 3 goals to work on for the next few weeks.  The goals are complete-able in the 2-week time frame.
  3. During the weekly conversations, we report how we are progressing towards our goals, brainstorm ways to get past blocks that occur, and determine goals for the next two weeks.

The very first step for me was to clean up my very long Business master to-do list.  I deleted duplicate and completed ideas.  Then I sorted the list into short-term ideas, mid-term ideas (1-3 months out), and long-term ideas (3 months – years).  Now I can choose 2 or 3 ideas to complete every two weeks.  This first step was awesome in itself, to help me clear mental clutter and focus on my short- and long-term business goals.

The weekly conversations have been great for keeping me on task and working towards my goals.  I like and respect Jan, and since I have to admit to her my movement or procrastination towards a goal, I make sure to have good things to report!  I keep my weekly goals at the bottom of every day’s to-do list, as a reminder.  We may not make progress daily, but we both admit to looking at and acting on our accountability list the day before our weekly call, to ensure we have progress to report!

An unanticipated benefit of the process is my very clear list of accomplishments from the last 6 weeks.  Just looking at that list motivates me.  In summary, so far I have: tweaked my technology set-up, coordinating my IPad, laptop and IPhone with Evernote and Skype; cleared my DVR cache and created more time to read professional work; cleaned up my banking by updating my checking account and on-line banking for my LLC, and installing a credit card reader on my IPhone.

Don’t let me add to your to-do list!  But, if you find there are important but neglected goals in your life that you REALLY want and need to get to, think about accountability and finding a partner to make things happen!

Productivity Where Ever You Work

Over the weekend, I found myself out of the house and half an hour early for an event.  Luckily, there was a nearby coffee house with wi-fi, nice music and a quiet place for writing, so I got some work done.  Which proves:

a. you should always check the time on your invitations; but more importantly for today,

b. we can work from anywhere these days.  Let’s call any hours worked outside of a traditional office setting “working virtually”.

Having the capacity to work from anywhere presents challenges.  How to focus on work amid the distractions of home, family, the people at Starbuck’s or in someone else’s home?   What should the workday look like in an un-traditional setting?  Working from everywhere, all the time?  Productivity is the same, no matter where we work.  We want to be able to get down to business, accomplish today’s necessary tasks, do them well and confidently, then move on to something else.

Regardless of where we work, we can reap benefits from structure and routines, just like a traditional work environment.  Keep these ideas in mind:

  • Regardless of where you work, clearly begin your day.  Shower and get dressed, check in with your co-workers or community, grab a cup a coffee, turn on the music that helps you work, check your email.  Set a timer for 15 minutes of transition time, then get to work.
  • Take a lunch and take breaks (but not too many!).  I read a suggestion recently of “Work For 50 minutes, break for 10”.  This works well for me, and helps me take advantage of working from home to take care of home tasks like laundry.
  • Give yourself many opportunities during the day for a Re-Set.  I read an article from the blog the Daily Om that suggested an “Inner Sunrise”.  The idea was that any time during your day is a good time to re-focus energy to what we are supposed to be doing.  This keeps us from working hard all day, but having nothing to show for it at the end!  I try to do this every few hours.
  • No one  needs to know that you are working virtually, or that your conference call requires a hard stop by 3 so you can pick up your kids.  In all likelihood, the others on the call are working virtually, too.

We are on the move, right?  So create a work environment that travels, too.

  • Bring along the laptop or IPad, and Communications and Information (IPhone, in      my case).
  • This could also be a phone and Your reliable planner with your schedule and      contacts, as a decision making tool
  • Also, use the same naming conventions for your paper management system and your computer hard drive.  For example, “Client – last name, first initial and date of appointment” is the same title I would use to name a file on my laptop, in my paper files and in Evernote.
  • Make your work, planner and information portable and consistent.  I do this by synchronizing all my devices all the time, at least a couple of times a day.

Increase focus by cutting mental clutter. This also heads off the tendency to procrastinate!

  • Choose your three top tasks for the day, and keep them in mind throughout your work sessions.
  • When  you start your work, you can either prime the motivation pump with a few easy and quick tasks, or tackle that big icky one first.
  • Know your self and your prime work hours.  I respond to email at 5:30 am, and get a lot of my writing done before 7 am.  I was a night owl until I had kids, now I love to work in the quiet early morning.
  • Avoid interruptions.  Turn off the phone, or be selective about what you answer. Not everyone understands the idea of “working from home”.  Set boundaries.  I don’t respond to work emails on weekends, unless pre-arranged.

Where do you do your work?  And how can we make it work better?  To quote a productivity article I recently read, “More than ever, work isn’t where you go, it’s what you do.” (Rob Keenan, head of UK portfolio management and deployment readiness management at Siemens Enterprise Communications)  So, Go Do It!

Productivity Series: “To-Do” List to Done!

I’ve worked with a number of clients this last month on productivity and to-do lists.  We all want to get tasks done, do them well and efficiently, and do them quickly and confidently so we can get on to something else.  Sound familiar?

I’ve gained a lot of insight into productivity lately, but let’s start with just 4 tips to increase your productivity by improving your to-do list:

Write down everything, but be specific.

If I don’t write something down, like an idea or appointment or task or phone number, I absolutely WILL NOT remember it later.  I have lots of thoughts in my head, and things get lost up there if I don’t write them down.

When I am working on a project I don’t like to break my focus to act on ideas or tasks that come to my mind, so I make sure to jot those down to be reviewed later.  This helps me stay focused while keeping those good ideas!

In addition, an article I’m reading suggests that if we get stuck on our To-Do list, we may need to break our tasks down even further and be very specific.  This works in project, production and operations management, so we can make it work for time management, too.  Here is the deal:

If there are items on your list that continue to not get done, it’s possible you have not broken it down into small enough pieces.  If you have

“1. buy paper towels,

2. call Mom,

3. get a job and

4. run a marathon”

on your list, and you wonder why #3 and 4 aren’t happening, it is because the task descriptions are too vague.  Try “update my resume and send it to my friend in HR for review”, or “buy new sneakers and sign up for weekend training club” as task items instead, and your tasks are more likely to get completed.

 A To-Do list requires us To Do Something.

A To-Do list is not called a “wouldn’t it be nice” list, or a “gee I hope someone does these things” list.  No, it’s a To-Do list.  The tasks on the To-Do list require action and effort.

Writing tasks down only helps IF you actually act on them, too.  Collect those random scraps of paper, notebooks and post-it notes from all over, and consolidate the ideas and tasks into one main to-do list, or perhaps one for each area of your life (like a Home Improvement list, a Professional Development list, a Some Day / Bucket list), etc.

Write them all down, Yes, and then grab your calendar and make appointments to get things done.  Create a deadline around “update my resume and send it to my HR friend” by contacting the friend and promising to email it by Thursday.  Make an appointment on your calendar to buy your sneakers and sign up for the running club on the way home from work tomorrow.  You have to process your great ideas and tasks, add them to those lists and commit to getting them done.

Make your To-Do list mobile, and take it with you.

Keep your list mobile, either in a small notebook, on your phone or even In the Cloud with apps on your smart phone.  Make it mobile and take it with you so that

  1. You are always ready to act on your To-Do list tasks as planned or if your schedule changes;
  2. You can add to it as ideas and tasks occur to you; and
  3. You can use it is a decision making tool for how to manage your time and get things done.

 Know Your Three.

Every day, review your To-Do List and choose the three things that absolutely need to get done today.   There may be more, but choose your Three.  Choose what has to get done, or what is easy to do, or what is most likely to get done.  Just choose and commit to three.  And if they are quick and easy and done in 10 minutes, Yes – you have to pick three more.  Come on, Do those To-Dos!

Give one of these a try this week, and get some of your To-Dos Done!

How Would Ben Franklin Spend Today?

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Can I tell you a secret? Even as a professional organizer, I am conflicted, struggling with Time. Ironic, eh? I help others with time management while puzzling it over myself. Is time arbitrary or fixed? Is time finite or infinite? Is my time mine to spend, or not mine at all? In each case, it is both.

Time is both arbitrary and fixed.

I recently read an article that proposed the merits of waking with the sun instead of an alarm clock. The writer presented sound arguments, and it sounds like a lovely idea, but the concept is so ludicrous to me and my life that I laughed out loud. Before the time change, here in Chicago it was dark until 7:15 am. If we all waited to wake to natural light, my husband would be fired and 2 of my sons would be habitually late for school.

With the time change, it is light again at 7 am but will be dark at 4:30. If I wake with natural light, does that mean I get to go to bed with natural dark? 4:30, good night? Right. I think the idea of letting the moon and sun and stars dictate when I get up or not is what rankles me, truly. The inconsistent nature of getting up when there is light in my window or not offends my sense of purpose.

The other night at dinner, my 12-year-old announced that “time is an illusion, thought up by the minds of men”. Yes, son, it is, an illusion to describe and give structure to the immense scope of the infinite. It is an arbitrary, completely human construct. But your bedtime is still 9:30, and you’re not allowed to be late for school. Time is arbitrary, but the passage of it is fixed, and can still be measured and managed. So go do your homework.

Time is both infinite and finite.

On any given day, I can admire the concept of infinity and still struggle to find time to get things done. Go figure. If I run late, driving fast is really not going to help me. Short of breaking the sound barrier in my minivan, there is no way to recapture the 5 or 10 minutes past. In the vast backdrop of the infinite, it seems ridiculous to worry about a minute or two, anyway. And, realistically, getting stopped for speeding to make up a moment wastes more time. On the other hand, as a musician, I respect the importance of even a moment’s hesitation.

I am working towards appreciating the gift of infinite time, instead of focusing on the finite restrictions of seconds and minutes.

 Our time is both ours alone to spend, and not ours at all.

In my holiday planning class, I mention that our time is the only gift that is truly ours to give. Everything else is just stuff. And yet, I also feel my time is on loan from everyone else, that I can’t really claim any of it for my own. Did I mention that I was conflicted? Yeah, I know. So what is my point to all this?

Our perception of time is determined by our choices of how we spend our time. What is the best way to spend the next hour? Exercise? Read to improve my mind, or relax? Help my son with his homework? Prepare for ministry, or a Cub Scouts meeting? Veg out in front of the TV? All are worthy and wonderful and necessary. But because our to-do list is so long, most days we still have to choose between one worthy way of spending an hour and another.

Over the weekend, we participated in a discussion of The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Mr. Franklin listed 13 virtues he was perpetually working on, in addition to all the other amazing things he created and accomplished in his life.

Benjamin Franklin’s Thirteen Virtues.

1.TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.
2.SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.
3.ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.
4.RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.
5.FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.
6.INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employ’d in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.
7.SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.
8.JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.
9.MODERATION. – Avoid extreams; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve. 10.CLEANLINESS. – Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation.
11.TRANQUILLITY – Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.
12.CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dulness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.
13.HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

An impressive list, though I might swap out a few, adding my own, but I like the idea of Mr. Franklin choosing to continually improve himself in addition to getting married, having kids, running a business and oh, right, building our country.

So, how will you choose to spend the next few minutes, hours, days or weeks? It’s your choice, make it a good one!