Ebiz Snap

Not To Phony

Save time and avoid getting distracted by eliminating
as many common distractions as possible.

That means you should shut off the cell phone, turn the ringer off on the landline and turn off the TV. (Music is ok if can focus on your work and not on the music itself.) If you find yourself doing things like staring out the window, close those blinds.

If you’re the type who has a cell phone attached to your hip at all times, the thought of shutting off that cell phone may be… frightening.

If you’re used to answering all calls and replying to all text messages as they come in, you might feel a little anxious about disconnecting from your friends, family and colleagues like that.

Relax. You’ll get used to it. And you may even find it enjoyable and liberating. ☺

Tip: Naturally, there are times when you can’t disconnect completely. If that’s the case, screen your calls. Only answer those that are absolutely necessary, and let the others leave messages. If possible, have someone else field your calls for a few hours so that you can focus.

Tags: Time Management

Set The Timer

You just discovered that setting aside a specific amount of time to do certain tasks is a good idea. Obviously, one way to make sure you actually stick to your time limit is to set a timer.

This works particularly well for open-ended tasks like “reading blogs.” However, your timer can also be used to break up bigger tasks into shorter bursts of focused, productive action.

Think about it:

Have you ever sat down for a two or three hour work session… and soon you found yourself getting distracted? You had to refill your beverage, look out the window to see what the neighbors are doing, check your email… and anything else you could think of to keep you from doing the task at hand. Using a timer can virtually force you to focus on the task at hand and keep going until you’re finished.

Now, you don’t want to set your timer for too long. If you set it for an hour, you’re just going to end up getting distracted again (since it’s hard to maintain laser-like focus for that long). In that case, the timer does nothing for you as far as saving time or boosting productivity.

Instead, you want to set it for a shorter time – perhaps 20 minutes – and then put forth 100% effort until the timer goes off. Then you take a short break (about two to five minutes), reset the timer and do it all over again. Your goal is to keep going through these cycles until you complete your task or until your allotted work time is over.

Tip: Do everything you need to do during those two to five minute breaks. That means refill your beverage, use the restroom, or just walk around or stretch. When you reset your timer for the next 20 minute period, you don’t want to be thinking about anything else except the task in front of you.

Tags: Time Management

Set Time Limits

If you’ve never done a particular task before, you might not have any idea how long it will take to complete. Still, it’s a good idea to create your best guess and then set a time limit (with some flexibility) to help you keep on track.

There are other tasks, however, that you CAN set a definite time limit on – and you should do so whenever possible.

• Answering email can easily turn into a time-draining task if you let it (whether you’re a answering personal or work-related emails). That’s why you should set a daily time limit for yourself to sort through, delete and answer email.

The time limit you set is up to you and it depends on the free time you can devote to this task as well as the actual volume of email you receive. For instance, you may give yourself 15 minutes two (or three) time per day to check and answer email.

• You might like to do something like watch YouTube videos or read your favorite blogs or forums. These too can eat up your time if you let them. As such, set a time limit for yourself. And if the tasks aren’t necessary to your work, then use your free time (not scheduled work time) to do them.

Tags: Time Management

Simple Systems

A system is a way to complete a task in the most efficient and/or cost-effective manner. If you develop routines and then create efficient systems to carry out these daily routines, you’ll see your productivity skyrocket.

Let me explain…
Remember earlier when I gave you an example of how to handle your email? You might consider that an email system, because it’s a proven way to save time answering emails.

That’s just one example. However, you can create an efficient system around virtually every major task you perform. Doing so will save you time and money.

Example: Let’s suppose you’re selling products on eBay. If you have multiple auctions going at any moment, then you know how time-consuming it is to create the auction ads, take pictures, touch base with prospects and customers and pack and ship the merchandise.

In order to save yourself a whole lot of time and hassle, what you’ll need to do is create a series of systems for uploading your auction ads, answering your customer inquiries, closing your auctions and doing the actual packing and shipping.

Example: You may want to develop auction templates for your ads. That way you don’t have to fiddle with the design, and you can use the same terms and disclaimers in all of your ads. It will only take a few minutes to create and post each ad if you use a template.

Second, you may use auction software and tools to create and monitory your auctions.

Third, you may set aside a special email just for your auction questions and set aside two time blocks per day to answer questions.

Finally, you can create a packing and shipping system that makes the process go quicker.

Example: You may set up an “assembly line” system to pack and shift product. You may buy your postage online so you don’t have to spend time waiting in line at the shipping center. And instead of packing and shipping every day, you may just ship products two or three times per week.

See what I mean?

Tip: I mentioned this before: Ask knowledgeable others for advice about the quickest ways to complete your tasks. If we continue the online auction example, you’ll want to ask other auction marketers what sorts of systems they use for the various parts of the online auction process.

Once you’ve discovered the best and fastest way to complete a task, then write down the steps (or create a process map if you’re a visual person).

Once you have it down on paper, you may again ask knowledgeable others to see if they have any additional hints or tips to make your system even more efficient. Then you can implement your system and start using it regularly.

Tags: Time Management

Tried and True To Do

Once you’ve prioritized your tasks in order from high priority to low priority, you can turn these list into your to do list. (Refer back to Tip #1 for advice on prioritizing your goals so that you can create a to do list.)

Chances are, you’ll probably create a pretty long list. This list might include tasks you need to do this month, this week and even today. And it will probably include both personal and professional goals (which you should rank in order of importance so you can attach a high, medium or low priority to each task).

Here are the keys to making a good to do list that will keep you on track and help you avoid getting overwhelmed:

1. Break up your overall list into mini-lists. How many mini lists you create really depends on how many tasks you have on your overall list as well as how long it will take to complete those tasks. At a minimum you should have a daily, weekly and monthly to do list.

2. Break up your big tasks into smaller, manageable tasks. Your monthly to do list might include some pretty big tasks. But when you create your weekly and daily to do lists, you should break these big tasks into smaller “bite size” chunks. (This is especially important when you’re creating your daily to do lists.)

Let me give you a few examples…

Example #1: Let’s suppose you wanted to write a report or a short book. Your monthly to-do list might simply include the entry, “Write a short book about eco-friendly travel.” Your weekly to-do list might include entries like, “Write the first three chapters of the book.” But your daily to do list should be broken up into manageable mini tasks such as: outline chapter 1; write the introduction for chapter 1; research chapter 1… and so on.

Example #2: Now let me give you a personal example. Let’s suppose you want to clean and organize your house from top to bottom. While your weekly to do lists might include big tasks like clean the living room, your daily to do lists should break this big task into smaller steps. For example: shampoo the carpet; wash the curtains; clean the blinds; dust the shelves… and so on.

Tags: Time Management

Find Your Productivity Hot Spot

Most of us have a pretty good idea about what times of the day we’re most productive.

Yet we don’t always schedule our work around those good times of the day. And that can turn into a great big waste of time.

Let’s suppose you’re not a morning person. You’re very aware of this fact. It takes three cups of coffee before your eyes even open. And forget about trying to focus on anything important before noon. Even if your eyes finally open, you’re walking around like the living dead all morning.
And yet you find yourself scheduling tasks that require focus and concentration during the morning hours… even though you know it’s a largely unproductive time for you.

Maybe you do it because that’s a quiet time for you – no one else is around. Or maybe you do it because it’s the only free block of time you have available.

So what can you do?

You need to figure out what factors really harm your productivity and which factors you can work around and still be efficient. Maybe you find that you can’t get anything done in the morning because you’re not a morning person. And even though your home or office is bustling with activity in the afternoon, perhaps you find you can get things done just because you’re more alert.

Point is –

You need to take ALL factors into consideration
and figure out your very best working time.

In some cases, you may need to shuffle your schedule around. If, for example, you’re NOT a morning person – and if you’ve scheduled some sort of writing task in the morning just because it’s your only available time – you need to shuffle your schedule around so that you can do certain tasks when you’re best able to perform them.

Maybe that means moving your gym workout to a morning timeslot (since exercising doesn’t require any concentration). Then you can do your focused tasks in the evening (instead of going to the gym).

Tip: Sometimes you may find that you have to sacrifice certain tasks or activities in order to save time and be more productive on your higher priority tasks. But if you’ve prioritized your tasks – and as you learn to become more efficient using the tips in this report – you’ll find that these sacrifices are temporary… or not really much of a sacrifice at all.

Tags: Time Management

What You Need To Do Next Is

Now that you know your best and most productive times of the day to work, your next step is to actually set aside and schedule blocks of time for you to work on your to do lists.

You see, it’s NOT good enough to merely say, “Here’s my to do list… I’ll do it tomorrow.” (This is especially true for those tasks where you don’t already have a routine in place.)

Instead, what you need to do next is –

Actually set aside and commit to working on these tasks
during a specific time period.

And I DO mean specific: You should schedule your exact start time and minimum end time (e.g., “9:00am until noon”). Then write it on your calendar, take note of it on your smart phone, or enter it into your electronic scheduler.

Treat this scheduled time as you would an important appointment – in other words, DON’T be late! DON’T blow it off. DON’T schedule other tasks over it. If someone else wants to intrude on this time, let them know you already have something else

Tags: Time Management

How About Some Time Management Tips

Recently life has come at us fast monkeys in the trees to catch and alligators below to wrestle. You’ve got a million and one things to do, both professionally and personally.

Many of them feel urgent, even vital. But are they?

Of course NOT. And that’s why you need to prioritize your tasks, put them into a to do list (more on that in a later tip) and work through them in order.

If you don’t, you’ll end up going through your to do list in an inefficient way… perhaps doing work that only feels urgent (but really shouldn’t be that high on the priority list).

Let me give you a few examples…

Example #1: Will the world come to a screeching halt if you don’t make your bed today? Nope. And so you may consider that a lower priority as opposed to some of your professional activities like getting to work on time, answering emails from customers and so on.

Example #2: Your friend asks you to do something. It’s pretty urgent… to him. And somehow you feel like whatever is urgent to him is also urgent to you. But here’s the thing: You have your OWN urgent to do list. If you spend all your time helping others with their to do lists, you’ll never get yours done. And that means in many cases you’ll need to prioritize your work as more important than another’s work.

Note: See the section for “saying no” for tips on how to deal with these situations.

Some tasks will be fairly easy to prioritize.

Example: If you have kids, then getting them off to school and getting them to their activities will tend to be high on your priority list. This is especially true if you tend to put family ahead of other priorities and goals.

But what about other tasks that you can’t immediately determine how to prioritize?

Example: Which of two professional tasks should you tackle first?

It’s easier than you think.

The key is to first sit down and figure out what you want in life. What goals are most important to you?

Go ahead, make a list of everything you want in life and then rank them in order of importance. Once you’ve done that, create plans (blueprints) as to how you’ll achieve those goals.
Now that you’ve done this exercise, you’ve basically created an overall to do list for yourself. Whenever you’re trying to figure out how to prioritize a task, ask yourself this question:

“Does this task put me a step closer to reaching my goals?”

If not, put the task as a low priority.

If it DOES put you a step closer to your goals, then figure out which goal it puts you closer to.

If the task puts you closer to your #1 goal, then that particular task should be a high priority. If the particular task puts you closer to a goal that’s ranked lower on your list, than the priority level should also be lower.

Let me give you a fictional example to show you what I mean…

Goals (in order of importance):
#1: Spend time with your wife .
#2: Spend time with your kids.
#3: Keep up your journal.

Overall To Do List (ranked from high priority to low priority):
Take wife out to lunch. (helps achieve goal #1)
Take a day off go for a drive fall colors. (helps achieve goal #1)
Sing in the church choir with your daughter. (helps achieve goal #2)
Take my boys turkey hunting. (helps achieve goal #2)
Put the journal on the desk. (helps achieve goal #3)
Outline my memoir book (helps achieve goal #3)
Write my book (helps achieve goal #3)

Tags: Time Management

Get More Done In Less Time!

Welcome to Ebiz Sanp and a new series of posts to hep you “Get More Done In Less Time!” I will be tagging all the post in this series Time Management.

The Holidays are approaching and life gets busy I figured we all need some Time Management skills and I will rap this up before Dec. 25th.

I’m really happy that you landed on my blog to read this post. And that’s because –

You’re about to discover over two dozen ways to
save time and boost your productivity just in time for the holidays.

Whether you’re a busy parent juggling work and family life, a student, a business owner or someone who just wants more free time, this series is for you.

You see, your time is your most precious asset. Most people value money more, but you can always make more money. However, you can’t make time.

You simply can’t turn a 24 hour day into a 36 hour day the way you can invest $100 to make $125.

That means every minute of your day is precious.

And that’s why I wrote this series of post. Over the next 6 weeks you’ll discover a variety of productivity and time-saving tips that will help you master:

• Eliminating distractions, time wasters and unnecessary tasks.

• Using system, routines, automation and shortcuts to get more done in less time.

• PLUS you’ll discover one of the best ways to squeeze more work into fewer hours!

So let’s not waste any time.

Tags: Time Management