It's About Time

Increasing Personal and Professional Productivity

 1 hour keynote - full day workshop

One cannot manage time.  Time is finite and nonrenewable. Time actually manages you.  Then why bother with these techniques? Because, while you have no control over time itself, you do have control over what you do with it.  Therefore, traditional time management techniques are more accurately the management of your activities, behavior, people and environment.

There is a definite payoff of being proactive. When you organize your activities to maximize the use of time, an increase in personal and professional productivity and individual satisfaction will be the result.

First, you need to work both effectively and efficiently. Working effectively means getting results.  Working efficiently means getting those results with the least amount of expended resources possible.  This includes time. Here are some suggestions:

DEVELOPE A TIME CONSCIOUSNESS: One cannot buy another minute of time, but one can find it by using it wisely.  Develop an awareness of the passage of time.  Don't "kill" it or "waste" it.  It is not a cliché that once a minute is gone it is gone forever.

SET SPECIFIC, WORKABLE GOALS: Getting confused and lost is extremely time consuming.  Know your next step before you take it.

ANALYSE WORK FLOW AND PROCESSES: Study the work flow and the process of tasks to eliminate any wasted effort.

TAKE TIME TO PLAN: You need significant blocks of for thinking, reflecting, planning and preparing. Schedule it. 

SET PRIORITIES Decide what is the most important task at each decision making juncture…this may be daily, weekly, even hourly.  This will assist you in routinely and spontaneously setting priorities when making activity management decisions.

COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY: Over 80 percent of all business communication needs to be repeated.  This is a waste of time and effort.  Make sure your communication is understood by making sure it is specific, complete, clear, concise and expressed in the receiver's "language."

ARE YOU LISTENING? Most people spend a great deal of their day listening. A listening organization is better informed, has more satisfied customers and employees, reduces costly turnover, increases productivity, reduces misunderstandings and errors and generally is more coordinated. 

GET ORGANIZED: Take control, use lists and calendars, write things down, arrange your environment, put things back where they belong and be punctual.

BE DECISIVE: Do not suffer from "paralysis of analysis." Indecision is time consuming.  Gather data, evaluate your alternatives, then make a decision. 

CONCENTRATE: Stay in the present. Consciousness, discipline and energy must be focused on the here and now.  When you mind wanders, time is wasted.  Communication breaks down, errors are made, and information is missed.

REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF INTERRUPTIONS: Interruptions are not only time consuming, the impact on work flow can have a cumulative effect.  Reduce the number of interruptions in your day.  Analyze them. Are there patterns? Respect other people's space and privacy and expect this behavior from others.

GUARD AGAINST PROCRASTINATION: Newton's Law states that a body at rest tends to stay at rest, and a body in motion tends to stay in motion.  To prevent procrastination, determine the first step, and just get started!