Tag Archive for ‘time block’ at The Change Catalyst

Tag Archive for 'time block'

Top 10 Time Tamers: Simple strategies that put you in control.

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on August 11, 2010

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The pursuit of excellence is gratifying and healthy; the pursuit of perfection is frustrating, neurotic, and a terrible waste of time. - Anonymous

How can you become more productive? Here are the most popular and powerful time tips, all in one spot.

Write down your long-term goals. Use the SMART formula; make them Specific, Measurable, Appropriate, Realistic and Time-bound.
Every day, divide your tasks into A, B and C priorities. Always start with a high priority “A” task, even if you can only accomplish a small part of it.
Block off time for activities that are important. Make an appointment with yourself, and don’t let anyone schedule anything for the time you’ve put aside.
Stop spending time on trivia. Don’t spend hours preparing a high tech presentation when a good conversation will suffice. And stop fussing over routine administrative tasks. Delegate or automate them.
Have the courage to say no. Don’t try to please others all the time. Create personal policies that make it easy to say no and stick to your plan.
Always start meetings on time. Don’t punish those who show up on time and reward those who are late. Do something however minor, but get started.
Slow down. Productivity isn’t about going fast. It’s about doing the right things. Stop rushing around, driving too fast and getting upset at things you can’t control. A couple of minutes gained aren’t worth the added stress.
Avoid procrastination by completing unpleasant tasks first. The tough stuff usually turns out to be not so bad. Break complex tasks into easy pieces and give yourself a reward for getting something done.
Don’t be a slave to technology. Communication devices are simply adding more and more ways to be out of touch with each other. Simplify your life and leave your phone off now and then. Plan for people to reach you some of the time, not all of the time.
Create time for balance in your life. Set aside time for family, fitness, social, educational and spiritual needs. Plan for balance the way you plan for work.

Source: http://getmoredone.com/2010/01/top-10-time-tamers/

Consistency is the key to good preparation - Understand what it takes to succeed

Published

Warwick

on August 27, 2009

in Skills

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Consistency every time Consistency is the single most important ingredient for success. It doesn’t matter how much you know, how good your strategy or tactics are or how big your resources are - if you cannot move forward consistently, you will always be playing catch up.

In triathlon training, “junk” miles refer to the training you put in on the bike and on the road in building up your base fitness. They don’t contribute directly to your success, but without them you are never going to reach the heights of your potential.

Any workout today will be better for you than doubling up on your workout tomorrow. Spending ten minutes reading your children a bedtime story every day will be more valuable to them than saving it up for one hour at the weekend. One sales call a day is better than cramming in twenty on the last week of the month.

A common mistake in planning is that we overestimate what we can accomplish in the short term, and underestimate what we can achieve in the long term. We cram too much into the first and second week of our plan (or change plan) and only have a very vague idea of what’s coming up in the third and fourth week. Set yourself up for success but time blocking your important goals into your calendar. When I was beginning my exercise program, just ten minutes walk a day was my target. I knew I could achieve this on a long term basis, and this helped me build up a core base of fitness.

When you are looking to make a life change, don’t start with a radical change. Pick activities that you can achieve in the long term. Don’t say you will go to the gym six times a week if you can’t block out the time on your calendar on a consistent basis. Start with a small, simple activity. I am trying to reduce my caffeine intake at the moment. But I love my coffee - especially home brewed. Just love the smell. So rather than cut it out or limit it to the weekend (which I did with chocolate!), I decided to have a coffee every other day. This has turned out to be fairly easy. So I have cut down on my caffeine and I enjoy my coffee every more now.

Pick an area you want to improve in and pick a super small, super easy activity that you could start today and continue over a long period of time. The main benefit of this is it reduces some people’s natural tendency to procrastinate. You can start immediately. How could I tell myself that I could not go for a ten minute walk every day? It’s impossible. And if you really can’t commit to such a small step, perhaps you have the wrong goal.

Start small and consistent. Then as you improve you will be able to decide on how to step up your activity to reach your targets.

One simple time management tip

Published

Warwick

on April 11, 2009

in Skills

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The first quarter of the year has gone. 25%. Still on track with your goals? Worrying too much about the economy and the bad news that everyone loves to tell you about. Well, aside from turning off your TV and getting more positive friends, what else can you do to stay even more focused on your goals this year?

Today I will share one simple time management tip. You may already know it. Or like me - did it in the past - but stopped doing it. I recently went to Hong Kong and attended a lunchtime talk organised by the British Chamber of Commerce. Kristin Lowe gave me a good reminder of a some simple time management tips. A refresh is as good as a change.

The tip is simple. I recommend that you use a notebook or an electronic version if that works better for you. Everyday, write down your Top 3 results that you want to acheive that would make a difference in reaching your goals. The key words here are “reaching your goals”. It’s easy to fill up time with intensive repetitive tasks but how much closer are you to reaching your important targets? How much time are you spending on Facebook and checking emails? Could you reduce that to - say - ten minutes a day? And allocate the saved time to your Top3.

In your notebook, write down “Top 3 Results” and make a list of the three most important actions that you could complete in one day that will make a significant impact on moving forward on your road to success this year.

Work through the first one until you complete it. Don’t move on or get distracted by interruptions or aimless checking of emails. Stay on top of it until you have taken it as far as possible.

A final check you can use to ensure you have the right goals is to ask yourself, “What actions do I need to complete today to make it a fantastically productive day?”

Stay focused today and everyday with your “Top 3 Results” list.

Set some health targets

Published

Warwick

on February 13, 2009

in Health

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Ever feel annoyed, depressed, down with the world, lazy, or just lacking in energy? Chances are - in my non-medical opinion - you could do with a little more exercise. I find that whenever I let the world to get down on me, I realize that it’s been a couple of weeks since I had a good swim or cycle.

So set some health targets. Easy to set, hard to carry-out! It’s easy to say I will exercise three times a week, but why do we get so easily distracted? Very few people regularly exercise three times a week for a minimum amount of 20 minutes of aerobic exercise. But this is often cited as a minimum of exercise to keep healthy. I tried this way and it didn’t work for me. So I use a different approach - it’s more fun and has a higher chance of keeping me on track and motivated.

Set output targets (not activity targets)

The big flaw with most “x-times per week” exercise programs is that they are activity-focused and this - while being a good way to exercise - is not particularly motivating. Perhaps this explains why the vast majority of people who take out gym memberships (often in January) never go after month three. Repetitive tasks in a gym is just too boring. There are a few ways around this. One of my friends hired a physical coach to motivate her with new challenges and this can work for the duration of the coaching. I prefer an output based approach to exercise. My health goals are based around triathlon races. This year I have a target to complete four Olympic distance races from May to September. Having these races in my calendar, gives me clear targets for my exercise schedule. I know that 12 weeks out I need to be doing regular exercise and this provides me with the motivation to time block exercise into my calendar.

Set a range of performance targets

Even though I am an age-grouper (amateur) triathlete I still set a range of targets for myself. When I started out two years ago there were:

1. To finish healthy

2. To finish ahead of my training partner

3. To finish in a “good time”

4. To finish in a personal best.

It’s always my primary goal to finish healthy. I cannot afford to be in hospital on a drip for a couple of days after the race - mainly because I hate hospitals and wasting time!

If I feel good about my performance during the race, I may look out for my training partners and want to finish ahead of them. If things are really good and I feel good on the run section then I may push the run and finish in style and seek out a personal best. But simply finishing healthy is a victory. Set yourself a range of health goals that allow you to be successful across the full range. When I finished a half Ironman distance race in Hainan in 2008, it was in a much slower time than I had expected due to the blistering heat. But just to finish that race, in which many professional athletes had dropped out, was an achievement in itself.

Have fun with a group

The final tip is to join a group of people who also share the same love. Whether it’s a dancing group, the swimming or cycling club, you will draw a lot of motivation from the fact that you are surrounded by people with similar interests. Use the best performing people in these groups to spur you on. Have fun, but certainly, have some health goals this year.

Are you reacting to change or driving your own change?

Published

Warwick

on February 9, 2009

in Health, Skills and Wealth

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I spent a wonderful couple of weeks in Bali relaxing after an intense year. It was great to escape the computer and all the doom-and-gloom news. All this talk of bailouts of companies and industries led me to think how effective they would be. In my experience, internal change is much more effective than externally-driven change.

Think back to when you were a child. Was there ever a time when your parents tried to “force” change upon you before you were ready for it? I remember sitting for hours as I refused to finish my gammon and potatoes, and no amount of threats or guilt about the starving children in Africa made me eat any faster. I just didn’t want to eat them. The fact that I am a vegetarian now may explain why.

Visit a supermarket at the weekend and you will see and hear the clashes of externally-driven change among the shopping aisles. Children screaming and kicking and shouting at their parents, who are often shouting back. It’s a sorry scene (I hope your local supermarket is not as bad as mine!) but there is a deeper lesson here for us all. How can we make positive change effective?

Reacting to change

This is the form of change we have grown up with. Your parents telling you to clean your room, do your homework and you reluctantly and begrudgingly obliging. It’s slow and painful for all. And, the minute the stimulus disappears so does the action. The change is only successful as long as someone is standing over us and threatening us. This could explain why many people never reach their goals and dreams. Once you leave full time education with no more exams, there are no more goals imposed upon you to achieve beyond finding and turning up for a job on time and achieving a minimum level of performance so that you don’t get fired. This is not a great way to live but many people find themselves in this trap. So how can you become a driver of your own life?

Find your motivators

What gets you going? What gives you energy? What do you need to do so that you look at the world with rose-tinted glasses and can only see optimism in your future. For many, exercise at the gym or playing football with friends gives them that connection. For others reading a good book in a comfortable coffee shop will do it. Or perhaps a drive into the countryside or trip to the beach will arouse good feelings.

If you had a totally free 48 hours that you could fill with all the enjoyable activities and fun things, what would those 48 hours look like? Have a balance of physical, mental, solo and group activities. Make a perfect weekend for yourself. Look at your calendar and make a commitment that three months from today you will enjoy a weekend as close to your perfect weekend as you can. Put it in your calendar. Block out the time. Make it happen. By taking a time three months from now it is highly likely that you have free time.

Mini-refreshers

Find pockets of time in your weekly schedule to refresh yourself. Book a couple of sessions at the gym during lunch. Take Sunday morning to get back in touch with your family life. Take only an hour or two and be fully present to enjoy them.

If you are stuck in a rut and would like to get out and live a life of passion through better health, more wealth and greater contribution, we can help. Contact The Change Catalyst for an initial complimentary coaching session.

Dos and Don’ts of Time Planning

Published

Warwick

on December 31, 2008

in Health, Skills and Wealth

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Time block with a clock

At a recent meeting with a group of public speakers, I found out that the people most regarded by others as the most organised people (in terms of what they achieve) actually think of themselves as messy and undisciplined. Maybe those people have very high internal standards, but given the demands on our time and attention, we could all improve our time planning.

Indeed when people plan goals a calendar is not far away. As you are setting your new year goals and plans, how are you planning your time? As Benjamin Franklin once said - and I paraphrase - if you love life, don’t waste time because that is what life is made of.

So how do we find a balance and not “over-program” the first few weeks of the year with good intentions and forget about our goals by February. Especially as surveys have found most goals are forgotten by then. Here are a few suggestions:

Dos:

1. Focus on results (not activities)

Rather than saying you will go to gym three times a week, focus your efforts on setting a target for this activity. For example, “I will run a six minute kilometer by the end of the year”. You now have a way to track your progress. What result can you focus your activity on?

2. Have a priority list (for today)

What are you doing today to take yourself forward towards your goals. Many small actions will take you quicker towards your target, rather than one large step. Kick procrastination out through small actions.

3. Timeblock

The most common excuse you hear from people who don’t reach their goals is “I don’t have enough time”. Which is not true. We all have 168 hours a week and we decide how to invest this time. What can you cut out or down on to create more time? Stop watching TV and DVDs during weekdays. Can you use your travel time to create time to learn? Print out a one month calendar and take a few different colored highlighters and block out time at least a week in advance. When I authored my book this summer, I had to block out “creative time” in my calendar to solely focus on writing, researching and creating ideas. Other time blocks can include family time, health, client work, learning. You can choose other categories that make sense for you. Timeblock at least one hour per activitiy.

Don’ts

1. Overplan

Unless you are a CEO, time blocking down to every 15minutes may not be necessary. Just because technology makes this easy to do, doesn’t make it a good idea. Also, add in some buffer time which are unplanned. This will help you keep on track if you run late on a particular activity.

2. Overuse technology

While we are talking about technology, find a balance. Today smartphones and PDAs have allowed us to create and track every single task. But don’t forget that a piece of paper can be more effective. I post up a calendar on my wall and the three dimensional ability to turn around and see my year at a glance is powerful. Technology can be good to create time awareness. Check out a time tracking tool like My Hours.

One of the hardest habits to break is time’s control over us. Any successful person will tell you that the first step to health and wealth mastery is time mastery. Get time to march to your beat.

Every life change requires a change in how your time is being used. With my coaching clients, I show how to take that step to master your time and to invest it rather than spend it. If you are looking to make a change in your health, wealth and contribution, The Change Catalyst can help you accelerate through the obstacles that lie both within you and around you. Contact The Change Catalyst today for a free initial consultation.

The Change Catalyst