Transitions – the ability to stop one task and start another task
If you think transitions are a challenge for you, then it’s time to put on the detective hat and ask some deep and specific questions to achieve resolution.
Are you having trouble stopping the task you are currently working?
Are you having trouble putting away the items in an organized fashion?
Can you find the items you were recently working with when called to do so?
Is your desk cleared and organized enough to work effectively?
Do you notice the time that has elapsed while working on a project? Can you break away if needed?
Have you decided when to stop the project (before beginning each work session)?
Is it that you have trouble starting the next task? Is this unique or always a challenge to start the next task?
Are you overwhelmed with starting the next task, after clearing your desk from the original task?
Do you have trouble transitioning from one project to another of the same type, or is it to projects of a different type?
Planning will help to execute your projects and maintain transitions. You may notice that you don’t decide before starting a project the duration of time you will commit to working on the project. One solution may be a timer to help to queue the brain that the time allotment for this phase of the project is coming to an end. You can set the timer for 15 minutes prior to ending the project for the day; this will allow the brain to start winding down. You can begin to clear your head, make notes on where you are in the project and put it away for another day. Next you can allow yourself 15 – 20 minutes to move, walk around, go get the mail, grab something to eat and get ready for the next task at hand. Often the brain requires some time between one task to another. This time can also be spent with some quick movement of the body…pushups, sit-ups, jumping, skipping… Sometimes music helps or some breath exercises or just a few examples.
Here is a story that illustrates some points: This weekend, one of my “Life Make – Over Clients go together. We cleaned her garage. This was a large task that she and I undertook in the summer heat. We decided before going out to the garage that we would spend one hour on the project before transitioning into a break. We decided our total time today would be two hours of work and then we were done. We set the alarm on her cell phone for 60 minutes and started in one corner. When the alarm went off, we transitioned into break and lunch. After cooling down for two hours, we were able to transition back into work mode and spend another hour cleaning and organizing. At the end of this time, the project was completed and we worked within our time constraints. We were able to start the project with specific time set, we took breaks to clear our minds and nourish our bodies, we cleaned up the tools we used and completed the projected within the specified time frame. If we hadn’t completed the project after our time limit of two hours, we would have put away the tools and set another date to complete the project. The key here wasn’t to complete the project, it was to get started, transition to a break, stop at the allotted time and know that progress was made.
Your first line of detective work is to notice where the problem begins, realizing it could be at more than one point in a project. When thinking about transitions it’s finding out about your work habits and where the bottlenecks in the processes lie. Once you find the bottleneck, you will be on your way to discovering strategies and solutions.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Getting Started
Getting Started on Projects
Getting started on a project might mean many different things to different people. Pick a simple project and pay attention to the different parts of a project so we can tell what part might be tripping us up or comes easily.
For example, the project has become I’m going to read an hour a day 5 days a week Monday through Friday and I’m going to keep that up until I finish this 6 book series. Already the simple project is decided –a certain amount of time and books until the project is completed. Now to decide when we are going to do that reading; based on my other responsibilities and schedule, I’m going to read from 6:30 – 7:30 pm Monday through Friday, immediately after dinner.
What stopped me from this project before is that I would eat then either to engage in TV or became too tired. It was a wish but never became a goal, never with a plan. When I decided this is really important to me, I also put together a back-up plan. My back-up plan is that I will read from 10:30 – 11:30 before my midnight, so that if anything interferes with the first time frame. On Saturday mornings I will check my daily planner weekly and review. If it’s more than 3 times missed then I will change my reading time to 7:30 – 8:30 am so that I will incur the least amount of interruptions.
It becomes easier to get started on the project with the end result in mind. Also with the back-up and secondary plans already set, if the original project plan becomes cumbersome moving to the alternative plan will be simple. We are also holding ourselves accountable with our Saturday check in. You may find it easier to check in with a trusted friend to ensure completion of the project.
I will know when the project is done when the series is over and I am willing to keep going until it’s finished. Since the project is so well defined I can evaluate weekly and not base it upon pages read. This will keep me on task.
Part of the process is:
1) Define the project, what and time allowed?
2) Obtain the tools necessary for project completion – check out of library or purchase, reading glasses, timer
3) Space to do tasks ~ lights, chairs, background music/noise
4) On calendar so I commit to doing task
5) Assuming I have a day planning system that I use.
6) Do you need to let anyone know that you are busy at this time?
7) Do you need someone to ask you about your goal weekly to stay on task? Is there someone that you would like to meet with and read at the same time? Important to eliminate distractions while you are setting apart time for this task.
Getting started on a project might mean many different things to different people. Pick a simple project and pay attention to the different parts of a project so we can tell what part might be tripping us up or comes easily.
For example, the project has become I’m going to read an hour a day 5 days a week Monday through Friday and I’m going to keep that up until I finish this 6 book series. Already the simple project is decided –a certain amount of time and books until the project is completed. Now to decide when we are going to do that reading; based on my other responsibilities and schedule, I’m going to read from 6:30 – 7:30 pm Monday through Friday, immediately after dinner.
What stopped me from this project before is that I would eat then either to engage in TV or became too tired. It was a wish but never became a goal, never with a plan. When I decided this is really important to me, I also put together a back-up plan. My back-up plan is that I will read from 10:30 – 11:30 before my midnight, so that if anything interferes with the first time frame. On Saturday mornings I will check my daily planner weekly and review. If it’s more than 3 times missed then I will change my reading time to 7:30 – 8:30 am so that I will incur the least amount of interruptions.
It becomes easier to get started on the project with the end result in mind. Also with the back-up and secondary plans already set, if the original project plan becomes cumbersome moving to the alternative plan will be simple. We are also holding ourselves accountable with our Saturday check in. You may find it easier to check in with a trusted friend to ensure completion of the project.
I will know when the project is done when the series is over and I am willing to keep going until it’s finished. Since the project is so well defined I can evaluate weekly and not base it upon pages read. This will keep me on task.
Part of the process is:
1) Define the project, what and time allowed?
2) Obtain the tools necessary for project completion – check out of library or purchase, reading glasses, timer
3) Space to do tasks ~ lights, chairs, background music/noise
4) On calendar so I commit to doing task
5) Assuming I have a day planning system that I use.
6) Do you need to let anyone know that you are busy at this time?
7) Do you need someone to ask you about your goal weekly to stay on task? Is there someone that you would like to meet with and read at the same time? Important to eliminate distractions while you are setting apart time for this task.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Perfectionism ADD ADHD
Perfectionism
Perfect is an idea. In the day to day real world, perfection really doesn’t exist. Perfectionism is an unrealistic standard, even with reasonable time and resources available, that is impossible to achieve. We will work today to change our thought processes. What is good enough? What are important tasks for your values? What do you see as the new perfect?
We defined perfection in an early blog entry as working to get things to the impossible level of perfect rather than getting things done or getting things done well enough. We must define well enough. Well enough is the standard when time, energy and money are brought into the focus. Only you will be able to tell the importance or relevance of a task in concordance with your values. Your coach can help you along the path but ultimately you must change your thinking to decide what is done and done well enough.
Let’s look at two examples of perfectionism at work and see if at the end of this posting we can achieve a change in our thought processes when looking at daunting tasks.
Example 1: Garage Scenario
A gorgeous fall weekend is coming up and you decide to tackle your garage. Your garage has been in disarray for over a year now. You can’t park your cars in the garage, let alone find anything in the chaos reigning in your garage. You have decided that you are going to take this Saturday to complete the project and have the perfect garage. As Saturday approaches, you are finding all kinds of reasons to procrastinate doing this project. Not because you are unable or unwilling, but because you have this idea of perfection and it’s daunting when you look at a year’s worth of items in the garage. As you complain to your coach, he asks you, what happens if it’s not perfect? Nothing. What happens if you only make a dent in the project this weekend? Nothing. So what if we change your goals. What if you work for 15 minutes a day for the next two weeks tackling one portion of the garage at a time? You start in the left corner and set a timer for 15 minutes. When your time is up, you are done for the day. I bet in one week you will see a difference.
Example 2: Resume Scenario
You are looking for a new job. The thought of composing your resume makes you shake and break out in a sweat. You feel you need to be perfect on paper so you can get the job. You continually put off compiling your resume facts because you are so distraught about being perfect. As you talk with your coach about this, he says let’s just brainstorm and write down the facts. Dates and companies you worked for in the past five years. In 20 minutes you have the beginning of your resume. Now a resume needs to be as close to perfect as you can get so you will need to spend some time on this project. All grammatical and spelling must be perfect to ensure you aren’t passed over because of a minor error. Your coach suggests you spend about two hours per day on this project and get some outside perspectives to ensure you are driving down the correct path. This will be a few week process.
Looking at both these scenarios, we see both extremes. Good enough for the garage may be incremental improvements however good enough for a resume is the error free target of perfectionism. Resume perfectionism is expected and needed in the world of business but in the garage example it is your level of perfectionism that counts. For most people getting the job they desire or need is more important than a clean garage, therefore rates higher in the energy and resources needed to complete.
So in essence, you are in charge of changing your thought processes. When you are in the midst of feeling perfectionism coming on, you can do an experiment. Notice the task you at hand and think of the resources you will need to achieve perfection at this task. Now think about your values and rank where this task falls in your values scale. Are you balancing your resources (time, energy and money) on the right tasks in line with your values? Remember in this juggling act there isn’t a “norm” or “perfect” balance for everyone. It all depends upon your values and resource allotment.
Perfect is an idea. In the day to day real world, perfection really doesn’t exist. Perfectionism is an unrealistic standard, even with reasonable time and resources available, that is impossible to achieve. We will work today to change our thought processes. What is good enough? What are important tasks for your values? What do you see as the new perfect?
We defined perfection in an early blog entry as working to get things to the impossible level of perfect rather than getting things done or getting things done well enough. We must define well enough. Well enough is the standard when time, energy and money are brought into the focus. Only you will be able to tell the importance or relevance of a task in concordance with your values. Your coach can help you along the path but ultimately you must change your thinking to decide what is done and done well enough.
Let’s look at two examples of perfectionism at work and see if at the end of this posting we can achieve a change in our thought processes when looking at daunting tasks.
Example 1: Garage Scenario
A gorgeous fall weekend is coming up and you decide to tackle your garage. Your garage has been in disarray for over a year now. You can’t park your cars in the garage, let alone find anything in the chaos reigning in your garage. You have decided that you are going to take this Saturday to complete the project and have the perfect garage. As Saturday approaches, you are finding all kinds of reasons to procrastinate doing this project. Not because you are unable or unwilling, but because you have this idea of perfection and it’s daunting when you look at a year’s worth of items in the garage. As you complain to your coach, he asks you, what happens if it’s not perfect? Nothing. What happens if you only make a dent in the project this weekend? Nothing. So what if we change your goals. What if you work for 15 minutes a day for the next two weeks tackling one portion of the garage at a time? You start in the left corner and set a timer for 15 minutes. When your time is up, you are done for the day. I bet in one week you will see a difference.
Example 2: Resume Scenario
You are looking for a new job. The thought of composing your resume makes you shake and break out in a sweat. You feel you need to be perfect on paper so you can get the job. You continually put off compiling your resume facts because you are so distraught about being perfect. As you talk with your coach about this, he says let’s just brainstorm and write down the facts. Dates and companies you worked for in the past five years. In 20 minutes you have the beginning of your resume. Now a resume needs to be as close to perfect as you can get so you will need to spend some time on this project. All grammatical and spelling must be perfect to ensure you aren’t passed over because of a minor error. Your coach suggests you spend about two hours per day on this project and get some outside perspectives to ensure you are driving down the correct path. This will be a few week process.
Looking at both these scenarios, we see both extremes. Good enough for the garage may be incremental improvements however good enough for a resume is the error free target of perfectionism. Resume perfectionism is expected and needed in the world of business but in the garage example it is your level of perfectionism that counts. For most people getting the job they desire or need is more important than a clean garage, therefore rates higher in the energy and resources needed to complete.
So in essence, you are in charge of changing your thought processes. When you are in the midst of feeling perfectionism coming on, you can do an experiment. Notice the task you at hand and think of the resources you will need to achieve perfection at this task. Now think about your values and rank where this task falls in your values scale. Are you balancing your resources (time, energy and money) on the right tasks in line with your values? Remember in this juggling act there isn’t a “norm” or “perfect” balance for everyone. It all depends upon your values and resource allotment.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
We live in a world where information is vast and often may seem infinite. The challenge is how to find it when you need it and how to organize it so you can retrieve it quickly and easily when you need it. You can download, upload, share or create anything. The question is do you know how to retrieve this information quickly and when you need it?
There are two basic forms of information, hard copy and soft copy. Hard copy is the information that is physically in hand; magazine articles, print outs, presentations etc. Soft copy is the information that is digital; shared files, internet etc. We must work to find a filing system that will help you to sort information in both forms. It can make things a lot simpler and easier if you use the same large categories, systems and strategies for both your hard copy filing systems and your hard copy filing systems.
We have found the easiest way is start with major categories and then introduce minor categories. For instance the broad categories could be Administration, Operations, Marketing and Finance/Accounting. Now depending on where you are in life, your minor categories could vary.
· Administration- organizational aspects
· Operations-scheduling and deadline aspects
· Marketing –promoting yourself or your business
· Finance/Accounting – tracking of money
There are two key elements to your filing system; using the same categories and visual stimulation system throughout both your hard copy and digital filing systems. We recommend color coding for each of the categories; administration in blue, operations in yellow, marketing in red and finance in green. Every subcategory is put in a folder of that same color. You can even color code your file folders online by changing the font color to match. This way you are always working with the same colors and categories. The set up may be time extensive so you may want to employ a friend or coach to help you get started with this process.
Once you get started with the filing system that works for you, you will be encouraged by the time and energy you save when locating information.
There are two basic forms of information, hard copy and soft copy. Hard copy is the information that is physically in hand; magazine articles, print outs, presentations etc. Soft copy is the information that is digital; shared files, internet etc. We must work to find a filing system that will help you to sort information in both forms. It can make things a lot simpler and easier if you use the same large categories, systems and strategies for both your hard copy filing systems and your hard copy filing systems.
We have found the easiest way is start with major categories and then introduce minor categories. For instance the broad categories could be Administration, Operations, Marketing and Finance/Accounting. Now depending on where you are in life, your minor categories could vary.
| Life Situation | Administration | Operations | Marketing | Finance/Accounting |
| Home | Home insurance, warranties, household goods | Maintenance schedules for home and car, family member schedules, shopping lists | Resumes, Employment information, Life Purpose/Mission | Taxes, Licenses, Bills |
| Business | Office Equipment, Office Management | Forms and Policies, Structures and Procedures, Deadlines | Advertising, Web 2.0 | Budgets, P&L, Bills |
| School | Clubs, Sports, Sororities, Hobbies, Contact Lists | Class schedules, Exam dates, d/w/m schedules | Transcripts, Portfolio, Job Applications, Resumes, Career Coaches, Networking | Parking Permits, Student Loans, Grants, Banking information, Bill |
· Administration- organizational aspects
· Operations-scheduling and deadline aspects
· Marketing –promoting yourself or your business
· Finance/Accounting – tracking of money
There are two key elements to your filing system; using the same categories and visual stimulation system throughout both your hard copy and digital filing systems. We recommend color coding for each of the categories; administration in blue, operations in yellow, marketing in red and finance in green. Every subcategory is put in a folder of that same color. You can even color code your file folders online by changing the font color to match. This way you are always working with the same colors and categories. The set up may be time extensive so you may want to employ a friend or coach to help you get started with this process.
Once you get started with the filing system that works for you, you will be encouraged by the time and energy you save when locating information.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Managing Stuff Challenges of ADD and ADHD
The accumulation of stuff happens like breathing. As we live, stuff seems to accumulate in our offices, homes, dorm rooms and we have the daunting task of figuring out what to do with all this stuff. We have papers, pens, folders, magazines, books, tests, notes, quizzes, contacts; and the list goes on and on.
It is common to have a filing system in place for about 80% of all this stuff where we are likely to remember where it is and have an easy time of retrieving this information. It is the last 20% that often bog us down and distract us from the tasks at hand. Often it is nice to have a trusted person or coach, who will help with this part of the process. This unbiased outside opinion can help with deciphering your needs and thought processes.
We have found many methods that work in filing systems from index filing and labeling to color coding. In my experience I have found that I utilize a few techniques to maintain my filing systems. First I have a color coding system where red is for clients, yellow is for office stuff, blue is for household stuff and so forth. I have typed a list for the outside of the filing cabinets that is also color coded and lists the file names. This way we can quickly scan the lists to see what file drawer we need to go into for the information needed. Also with the color coding on the lists, it is a subtle reminder for our filing system and the colors used.
This system has worked well however I am constantly tweakin g the system and moving items to where they are more efficiently found. For example, all electronics come with a disc and an owner’s manual. There are three files that these would fall under; electronics, office and household goods. Originally we put these items in the household goods file folder. As we needed the information, we found that we were looking in the electronics folder first so we moved the information. Now we find our information in the first folder making our search much more efficient.
The final responsibility of the trusted person/coach is to ensure that we aren’t keeping items that are unnecessary and bogging down our lives. This person needs to understand your threshold for change and discarding items prior to making recommendations. Some coaches would be able to assist with this process.
To set up this system make take some initial investment of time and money however in the long run you will save time and money through efficiency of finding needed information. The accumulation of stuff happens like breathing. As we live, stuff seems to accumulate in our offices, homes, dorm rooms and we have the daunting task of figuring out what to do with all this stuff. We have papers, pens, folders, magazines, books, tests, notes, quizzes, contacts; and the list goes on and on.
It is common to have a filing system in place for about 80% of all this stuff where we are likely to remember where it is and have an easy time of retrieving this information. It is the last 20% that often bog us down and distract us from the tasks at hand. Often it is nice to have a trusted person or coach, who will help with this part of the process. This unbiased outside opinion can help with deciphering your needs and thought processes.
We have found many methods that work in filing systems from index filing and labeling to color coding. In my experience I have found that I utilize a few techniques to maintain my filing systems. First I have a color coding system where red is for clients, yellow is for office stuff, blue is for household stuff and so forth. I have typed a list for the outside of the filing cabinets that is also color coded and lists the file names. This way we can quickly scan the lists to see what file drawer we need to go into for the information needed. Also with the color coding on the lists, it is a subtle reminder for our filing system and the colors used.
This system has worked well however I am constantly tweakin g the system and moving items to where they are more efficiently found. For example, all electronics come with a disc and an owner’s manual. There are three files that these would fall under; electronics, office and household goods. Originally we put these items in the household goods file folder. As we needed the information, we found that we were looking in the electronics folder first so we moved the information. Now we find our information in the first folder making our search much more efficient.
The final responsibility of the trusted person/coach is to ensure that we aren’t keeping items that are unnecessary and bogging down our lives. This person needs to understand your threshold for change and discarding items prior to making recommendations. Some coaches would be able to assist with this process.
To set up this system make take some initial investment of time and money however in the long run you will save time and money through efficiency of finding needed information. The accumulation of stuff happens like breathing. As we live, stuff seems to accumulate in our offices, homes, dorm rooms and we have the daunting task of figuring out what to do with all this stuff. We have papers, pens, folders, magazines, books, tests, notes, quizzes, contacts; and the list goes on and on.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Common Challenge # 5 - Project Completion
Common Challenge #5 – Project Completion
Let’s go on an interactive journey together. You will need to have a few pieces of paper, a couple of writing instruments preferably in different colors and time to think about projects. Let’s talk completing a project.
We have all completed projects. Projects come in all shapes and sizes; from cleaning your room to presenting your idea in a board meeting. Now bring to mind your most recent completed project, using a different color writing instrument answer each of these sections of questions regarding this project.
As you recreate your processes, notice what type of encouragement you received along the way. Did your friends and family keep you going through process? Was it co-workers or mentors that encouraged you? Did you encourage yourself?
Now let’s notice the work space where you completed your project. Was it clean and tidy? Was it small or large? Did you have all the tools to complete your project within a place that made sense to you?
Lastly let’s notice the time constraints it took to complete your project. Did you set aside 15 minute intervals? Did you spend one full weekend completing the task? Did you set up meetings with others to work on certain aspects of the project? Did you record the project in your day planner?
Once you have looked at your answers, you can start to determine your work habits. Every single person is different in how they will succeed in completing a project. Take a moment and re-read how you successfully have worked in the past. One of the keys to success is to create the atmosphere where you will succeed.
Let’s look at our Big Goal study from April 24th entry on Challenge #3. The goal was “I want to read for an hour a day for five (5) days per week starting tomorrow and continuing for three months.” We didn’t look at our previous habits. Now, we should define the work space and how to stay encouraged along the way. Where will the reading be done? Is it the library at a desk or in a comfy chair with hot tea? Can you read sitting upright or do you need to be more relaxed to absorb what you are reading? Let’s suppose from the exercise above you determined that you need a quiet place with no distractions so you set up a nice chair in a corner of your home to read for your one hour.
Also from the above exercise, you may have determined that you need to have a weekly check up on your progress but this person needs to be impartial to you. To complete your big goal, you decide you need to hire a coach for a weekly check up and assessment of the goal. Your coach will encourage you through the process and help you reassess your progress on the project. This will help to keep you accountable to completing the project on time. Now, you have the analysis to create an atmosphere that will encourage success on your projects in the future. You have evaluated what makes for a successful completion of a project and know how to attain the correct tricks and tools to aide you along the path.
Let’s go on an interactive journey together. You will need to have a few pieces of paper, a couple of writing instruments preferably in different colors and time to think about projects. Let’s talk completing a project.
We have all completed projects. Projects come in all shapes and sizes; from cleaning your room to presenting your idea in a board meeting. Now bring to mind your most recent completed project, using a different color writing instrument answer each of these sections of questions regarding this project.
As you recreate your processes, notice what type of encouragement you received along the way. Did your friends and family keep you going through process? Was it co-workers or mentors that encouraged you? Did you encourage yourself?
Now let’s notice the work space where you completed your project. Was it clean and tidy? Was it small or large? Did you have all the tools to complete your project within a place that made sense to you?
Lastly let’s notice the time constraints it took to complete your project. Did you set aside 15 minute intervals? Did you spend one full weekend completing the task? Did you set up meetings with others to work on certain aspects of the project? Did you record the project in your day planner?
Once you have looked at your answers, you can start to determine your work habits. Every single person is different in how they will succeed in completing a project. Take a moment and re-read how you successfully have worked in the past. One of the keys to success is to create the atmosphere where you will succeed.
Let’s look at our Big Goal study from April 24th entry on Challenge #3. The goal was “I want to read for an hour a day for five (5) days per week starting tomorrow and continuing for three months.” We didn’t look at our previous habits. Now, we should define the work space and how to stay encouraged along the way. Where will the reading be done? Is it the library at a desk or in a comfy chair with hot tea? Can you read sitting upright or do you need to be more relaxed to absorb what you are reading? Let’s suppose from the exercise above you determined that you need a quiet place with no distractions so you set up a nice chair in a corner of your home to read for your one hour.
Also from the above exercise, you may have determined that you need to have a weekly check up on your progress but this person needs to be impartial to you. To complete your big goal, you decide you need to hire a coach for a weekly check up and assessment of the goal. Your coach will encourage you through the process and help you reassess your progress on the project. This will help to keep you accountable to completing the project on time. Now, you have the analysis to create an atmosphere that will encourage success on your projects in the future. You have evaluated what makes for a successful completion of a project and know how to attain the correct tricks and tools to aide you along the path.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Time Planning and Management
Time is elusive and if you have ADD tendencies, you may find many miscommunications relating back to time management. Everything from over committing to remembering is a challenge for those with ADD/ADHD. Sometimes deadlines are missed, co workers or friends are disappointed and we tend to get down on ourselves if we can’t find a fix for time management.
Through my coaching career, I have found that taking the time to find the correct time management plan is worth the effort. There is a myriad of planners to choose from and it all comes down to what will work for you. As you are shopping, look at color, style, pattern, size. You may ask; do I plan daily, weekly or monthly? You may ask, are the appointment spaces large enough to write in? Do I want to type and use a virtual calendar? Does anyone else need to have access to my calendar? Essentially what you are doing is trying to strike a balance between ease and effectiveness of your day planner.
Once you have determined what will work best for you. The work begins; the allotment of time or time management. Every day has a finite amount of time and every person has, what seems like, an infinite amount of tasks to complete. Do you ever feel like your “to do” list never ends?
Your day planner will help you organize your tasks so that all the balls you are throwing in the air are completed. Think of your day planner as your safety net for life, it will catch the balls you are throwing so that none land on the ground. As tasks begin to come in, you and your coach will analyze the deadline, the time needed to complete the task and the time you have available to do this. Sometimes you may find that you need to allot more time on either side of a project for unexpected interruptions in your day. You will record your time in your day planner. As you get more comfortable with your planner, you will be able to do this analysis yourself and continually, throughout the day, place tasks in specific appointment times. This technique will help you to meet your deadlines and keep yourself from over committing. It will force you to make choices about what is most important on a daily basis. Because of the finite number of hours available, one must choose what is most important for us to spend our time on. Finally the action of recording tasks on the calendar will help you to remember your projects.
At the end of each week, you and your coach will be able to track what is important to you and what is continually moving. You will have the tools necessary to figure out what needs delegation and what you have passion to complete.
Ultimately, you will be completing projects by their deadlines and have time to allocate to what truly inspires you. A key to time management is assigning a day and time to do everything instead of having the never ending to do list.
Through my coaching career, I have found that taking the time to find the correct time management plan is worth the effort. There is a myriad of planners to choose from and it all comes down to what will work for you. As you are shopping, look at color, style, pattern, size. You may ask; do I plan daily, weekly or monthly? You may ask, are the appointment spaces large enough to write in? Do I want to type and use a virtual calendar? Does anyone else need to have access to my calendar? Essentially what you are doing is trying to strike a balance between ease and effectiveness of your day planner.
Once you have determined what will work best for you. The work begins; the allotment of time or time management. Every day has a finite amount of time and every person has, what seems like, an infinite amount of tasks to complete. Do you ever feel like your “to do” list never ends?
Your day planner will help you organize your tasks so that all the balls you are throwing in the air are completed. Think of your day planner as your safety net for life, it will catch the balls you are throwing so that none land on the ground. As tasks begin to come in, you and your coach will analyze the deadline, the time needed to complete the task and the time you have available to do this. Sometimes you may find that you need to allot more time on either side of a project for unexpected interruptions in your day. You will record your time in your day planner. As you get more comfortable with your planner, you will be able to do this analysis yourself and continually, throughout the day, place tasks in specific appointment times. This technique will help you to meet your deadlines and keep yourself from over committing. It will force you to make choices about what is most important on a daily basis. Because of the finite number of hours available, one must choose what is most important for us to spend our time on. Finally the action of recording tasks on the calendar will help you to remember your projects.
At the end of each week, you and your coach will be able to track what is important to you and what is continually moving. You will have the tools necessary to figure out what needs delegation and what you have passion to complete.
Ultimately, you will be completing projects by their deadlines and have time to allocate to what truly inspires you. A key to time management is assigning a day and time to do everything instead of having the never ending to do list.
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