Your Time Is Priceless: Do You Treat it That Way?
Time is one of the few things you can’t buy.
Of course, you can purchase “time-saving” gadgets and gismos. You can pay a maid to clean your house, or a personal assistant to answer your emails. But you’ll never have more than twenty-four hours in a day.
Time is priceless. It’s also constant: you don’t have to do anything to make an hour go by. You’ll have experienced time flying past (at a great party) or crawling (at 4pm on Friday) – but you know that, regardless of how it feels, the minutes tick by at the same objective speed.
Once a day has gone past, you’ll never get it back. Read the Rest of This Article »
How to Say “No” to New Commitments
Have you ever taken something on because you felt like you should – only to regret it?
Most of us have way too many commitments, and you’re probably no exception. Whether it’s chairing a weekly meeting, making cakes for the kids’ bake sale at school, helping a friend clear their garage, designing a website (gratis) for your sister … it all adds up.
If you find it really tough to say “no” when you’re asked to take on something new, then I totally sympathize. I find it hard too – but I’ve learnt a few ways to make saying “no” a bit easier (even when someone persistent it asking!) Read the Rest of This Article »
How To Measure and Greatly Improve Your Productivity
Why are so many of us struggling with productivity?
We set out positively when we start our working day and we’re determined that we’ll do a lot of things that will bring us a step closer to our goals, but when at the end of the day we look back at what we have actually accomplished, we realize that not much has been done, despite having enough time.
We’re not productive because we are not AWARE of our moments of being unproductive. Our minds get distracted by a cool video on YouTube, or an interesting article we read on Yahoo News, or a phone call or one of a myriad of other things. Read the Rest of This Article »
Time Management Basics: Get On Top of Life Today
Do you wish you had an extra hour in the day?
Perhaps you struggle to get everything done – or you find that you only manage to get projects completed in a huge rush before a deadline.
Maybe someone’s told you that you have “poor time management skills”. Maybe you believe that’s simply who you are. You envy people who seem to be on top of everything – but you don’t think you could do the same.
The truth is, time management is a skill, and one which you can learn. There are a huge number of books, blogs, audio programs and seminars on the subject – and you probably feel a bit overwhelmed by all the information out there.
Here, I’m going to stick to the basics. These are all simple – but hugely effective – ways to improve your time management, starting today. Read the Rest of This Article »
3 Ways to Become Better at Time Management
Why do we have to work so hard to learn Time Management, to master it?
Shouldn’t we be born with the ability to work efficiently?
The problem is that we have the tendency to want to take the easy way, the short way, and as many have said before me, “A shortcut can often lead to long delays”.
Even though multitasking, relaxing and other shortcuts might feel as though they save time, working focused on one task at a time and obeying the rules of Time Management, is the real time saver. Read the Rest of This Article »
How to Find More Time For Yourself
I won’t remind you that airlines tell you to fit your oxygen mask before helping others. You already know that, and you know how the analogy goes.
I won’t waste your time patiently explaining why it’s important to have time for yourself, as though it’s something that only really matters because it lets you help others.
You have the right to private time to play, relax, goof off, or do whatever the heck you want. I don’t need to explain that to you, and no-one needs to give you permission.
The problem that you face isn’t knowing why time to yourself is important. It’s finding ways to get that time on a regular basis. Read the Rest of This Article »
5 Ways Timers Can Help You Be More Productive
Do you feel as though your work, studying or chores always end up taking too long? Do you feel as though you could be more effective if only you could stay on task?
Maybe you’re convinced it’s a question of will power, or organization, or motivation. The solution, though, might be very simple.
One of the easiest ways to get dramatic improvements in your productivity is to use a timer. You can grab the one from your kitchen, use the alarm on your phone, or try one of the popular free online timers like e.ggtimer.com or Tick Tock Timer.
When you’ve got a timing ticking away, you’ll suddenly discover a new sense of focus which you never knew you had. Here are five specific ways in which your timer will help: Read the Rest of This Article »
How to Stick to Your Study Plan: 6 Best Practices
“Which Direction I (You Are Here)” Courtesy of Vido Drago
Whether you’re studying on a college program, for a career qualification, or just for personal interest, you’ll want to make a success of it. But few of us have the luxury of being able to just study – life has to go on as well.
You’ve probably already figured out that having a plan helps you to study consistently (rather than giving up, or cramming in hours of work just before exams). But how can you make sure you actually stick to the plans which you’ve made?
Be Realistic
Firstly, be realistic. Many of us are prone to over-estimating how much we can get done – and studying is a high-energy, intense activity which requires a lot of concentration. You simply can’t focus at that level for hours at a time.
Sometimes, being realistic about your studying plans might mean looking at the other commitments in your life. Do you need to ditch something else in order to have time to study effectively? Can you cut down on social activities to give yourself a couple of weeknights free for studying? Read the Rest of This Article »
5 Rules for Watching Reality TV Efficiently
Image courtesy of vhm-alex @ deviantART
What’s your guilty reality TV pleasure? The Bachelor? Survivor? America’s Got Talent? Of course, the granddaddy of them all — American Idol — just started a new season. Some 30 or 40 million fans have been waiting six months for American Idol to kick off. If this season is anything like last season, expect at least 50 hours of American Idol on your TV. No, that’s not a typo.
Last year I gave you a few ideas on what you could have done with those 50 hours instead of watch American Idol. For example, you could earn an extra $1,000, read several books, start writing your own book, burn 43,000 calories jogging, learn the waltz, and others. But, who am I kidding? If you like the show, you’re not going to listen to me. Heck, I’m not even going to listen to me because I’m going to watch this season! Read the Rest of This Article »
2 Easy Ways to Get More Free Time
Is it possible that you are (at least partially) responsible for your hectic, over-scheduled, and downright crazy schedule? Some of your time pressure is legitimate. You have HOA meetings to attend, kids that need a ride to soccer practice, household chores that need to be finished, and a host of other responsibilities. But studies show that we have more leisure time now than we have in the past.
While you may have more “leisure” time now than before, it won’t feel like it if you fill your free time with activities that aren’t enriching. Still, the challenge is freeing up more time in an environment where it feels like there are more and more demands on your time.
If you look closely at how you spend your time and discover that you may be your own worst enemy, try the following two strategies: Read the Rest of This Article »
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