10 Minutes At A Time

We often say we don't have time and there's always plenty that we don't get round to.  Even when we have a task to do, we often get distracted and end up wasting time.

So how would you like to do something different?  Set an alarm or timer for just 10 minutes.  Stay focused, you know the clock is ticking, so there's no time to waste and you'll be less inclined to waste time.

In just 10 minutes a day you could:

• Create your action list.
• Plan your day.
  
• Tidy a room.
• Do the laundry.
  
• Clear things away.
• Do some filing.
  
• Tidy the garden.
• Start a report.
• Skim read a magazine.
• Enjoy a cup of coffee.
• Do some paperwork.
  
• Go for a brisk walk.
• Meditate.
• Make a phone call.
• ...
  

The first two will make your whole day more productive, so definitely worth spending time on them if you don't already.  See how much you can do in 10 minutes.  You might not finish the task in 10 minutes but you'll be 10 minutes closer.

Set a goal you'd like to achieve and allocate just 10 minutes a day to it.  See what a difference you can make. You could even have more than one goal - two or three sets of 10 minutes throughout the day.

Let me know how you get on.

Right here, right now

We all have long-term goals of where we'd like to be in 3, 5 or 10 years time. Even if they're not written down, we have an aspiration of where we'd like to be or what we'd like to be doing.

But what would make a difference to your life right now ... today?

What can you take from your long-term goals, desires, aspirations and dreams and move a few steps closer to them today?

You might be able to make a few changes to your life and be able to have what you want right now and not in several years time.

• A different job - what can you change about your existing job to make things better?
• A new house - time for a repaint, declutter or a bit of DIY. You might not be able to buy your dream home today but make the most of where you are now.
• More holidays - plan to take regular breaks, more often.

If you want more freedom and flexibility to enjoy the things you like doing - how can you give yourself more time to do them?

Why wait - a few simple changes, a little thought and planning and you can have more of what you want today.

Refresh, Review, Revitalise

One of the things that's come out of the recent Time Audits is how useful it is to take a step back every now and then. The process of just answering the questions has helped identify a few blind spots.

Having the obvious held up in front of you can be enlightening. Even if you think you know it all - take a look in the mirror every now and then - literally or proverbially. Talk to someone else about what you're doing and see if they can shed some light or give you a new perspective or as someone once said to me - "shining a light in to the dark corners".

You may think life is ticking along but why not spend a few minutes taking stock. When you're back refreshed after your summer break is a good time to sit down with a friend or partner. Think about what's good, what's working, what's not. Write it down. What would you like to change?

You may be surprised what you come up with.

You can get your free copy of the Time Audit on my website.

Six Months To Go ...

For some reason today - I've had three calls from journalists writing articles on the topic, not surprisingly of time management.

Now as someone pointed out, it may because we're halfway through the year, summer holidays are coming up. People may be more aware of the passing of time, as they try to fit everything in to the time remaining before they go away or they realise there's less than six months until the end of the year.

So what are my top tips for getting the most out of the remaining year?

• Write down what you want to achieve in the next six months. How much, how many and when?

• Spend time planning each and every day and make sure what you're doing fits your plan.

• Set aside time in your life for the important things - not just work.

• Schedule in blocks of time for the things you need to do - not just meetings and appointments but tasks too.

• Learn to say no by setting boundaries around your time and stick to these.

• Be aware of your distractions and interruptions and try to reduce them.

• Do more with less - you can't do everything, so be selective - focus on what matters.
  

What do you plan to achieve in the next six months?

What's Your Plan B?

You may think you have things under control, that plans are perfectly in place - but what happens if things don't quite work out as planned - do you have a backup or contingency plan? While you don't want to waste time and effort planning for every eventuality, it can save those moments when either life gets in the way or your original plan doesn't quite work out, if you have a Plan B.

"The best laid plans of mice and men ..." or so says Robert Burns and as the motto for the Boy Scouts says - 'be prepared'.

What if the technology goes wrong?

What if that payment from Client X doesn't come through in time?

Now technology is always good for needing a Plan B - you just never know when it's going to blue screen on you or your broadband goes down just at the critical moment, the phone line goes down, you're out of network coverage or the battery goes dead. How would you carry on?

Can you still give your speech or presentation without technology? Do you have prompt cards in case the Powerpoint presentation suffers from technical gremlins or you can't get connected? Have an alternate way of getting connected. Fully charged batteries, spare one's just in case.

Build a little flexibility into your week. Try to avoid planning everything right down to the line or putting all your 'eggs in one basket', so when things don't work out, you're either thrown into chaos, because you have no time left or you feel as if things have fallen apart because Plan A didn't work out.

It's another good reason NOT to leave things until the last minute, when you're likely to find you need more than the 'last minute'.

Learn to go with the flow and try not to get too tied in to the outcome. Even if things fall apart there's usually a solution if you step back and take a fresh look to find your Plan B.

Other People's Deadlines

Respect other people's time in the way you'd expect them to respect yours. Everyone is busy these days and has demands on their time coming from all directions. They are not there sitting waiting for your email to land in their inbox, so that they can instantly respond. They're not waiting for your phone call just so they can respond to your every request.

Plan ahead. If you need something done by a particular time, give yourself a bit of slack. If it involves someone else, this is even more important. Don't dump something on someone and expect them to turn it around to meet your timeframe - especially if you haven't discussed this with them first.

I've seen people dump something on someone at the last minute or only with a few days notice and expect them to given an instant response or meet their deadline. Yes, sometimes we have to work to deadlines and at short notice but make this the exception not the norm.

Don't make your problem (or lack of planning) someone else's deadline.