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Heidi DeCoux
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Posts by Heidi DeCoux
Reduce stress, maximize time and improve your quality of life with these 13 easy productivity tips
Oct 21st
It’s common knowledge that effective time management allows us to accomplish more. But did you know that getting organized can also help your health? Using time more wisely can reduce stress, boost productivity, and increase your quality of life.
Take a minute to think about your typical workday. How do you feel? Overwhelmed? Distracted? Always running behind? Frustrated by a lack of organization? These negative emotions can affect your health as well as your job performance.
You might be thinking, “But I’m not a naturally organized person. I don’t even know where to begin!” Don’t worry—you’re not alone. The key is to start small. Try a few of these productivity tips below, just one at a time. You might be surprised by the big difference a small step can make.
• Use the 10-minute rule. If you’re feeling stuck, try devoting just ten minutes a day to a dreaded task. Momentum is a powerful thing. You’ll probably find that it’s not as bad as you thought.
• Make a plan. Put the most important items of your to-do list at the top. Give yourself enough time and avoid double-booking by keeping track of daily activities in your calendar. Taking a few minutes to plan each day can increase your sense of control and accomplishment.
• Prioritize your tasks. Minimize wasted time. Figure our which things are important and urgent; put them at the top of your list so you know you are spending your time on what really matters.
• Get it right the first time. Although it’s tempting to hurry through tasks, rushing often means making avoidable mistakes, which take more time to correct. Take a few extra minutes to complete a task well and double-check your work. It could literally save you hours down the road.
• Say no to nonessential tasks. When co-workers want you to take on new things, ask yourself: Does this fit with both my daily schedule and my goals? If the answer is no, take a pass. It’s okay to set boundaries.
• Think bite-sized pieces. Break down large, time-consuming projects into smaller chunks.
• Delegate. It’s okay to ask for help when you need it!
• Try honest evaluation. Keep a diary of everything you do for three days. How are you really spending your time? What could you do with the time you’re not using well? Exercise? Reading? Time with family and friends?
• Take a time management course. If your employer offers a class, take it. If not, request they get one. (Check out Power & Accomplishment. It’s available as a home study course and as a corporate workshop)
• Limit distractions. Shut the door, close your email, or turn off your phone or pager if you truly need to concentrate on an important project.
• Take a deep breath. Forcing yourself to keep going when you are drained or frazzled impedes progress and makes mistakes more likely. A quick walk, some stretches, or even an occasional day off can help you replenish your reserves and bring fresh energy to your work.
• Get good sleep, good food, and good exercise. A healthy diet, sufficient rest and regular activity naturally boost your body’s energy levels and your ability to get more done in less time.
• Recognize the time for professional help. If your life feels truly unmanageable and out of control, it might be time to consult a professional. You can contact your employee assistance program (EAP) for help, talk to your doctor, or hire a productivity coach.
Heidi is a professional organizer, creator of The Fast-Filing Method home filing system & publisher of Life Made Simple e-Magazine. Heidi energizes her readers’ lives by teaching simple & effective organizational systems & time mastery skills to help you accomplish more in less time, make more money & GAIN peace of mind! Visit ClearSimpleLiving.com to get a FREE Home Organization Kit.
Article Source: U Publish Articles
The Top Eight Strategies for Boosting Productivity
Oct 19th
How we spend our time determines the quality of our life. Over the course of each workweek, over 80% of us waste 10-15 hours on unnecessary interruptions, procrastination, and clutter. Consider how much more money you could make if you were productive during those 10-15 hours. Or consider how much more fun you could have if you had an extra 10-15 hours off each week. If you are ready to maximize your workweek, start with these simple ten strategies.
1. Create a time management system that suits your lifestyle, preferences, and values.
Find an effective time management system that works for you. We all have preferences about how, when, and where to complete certain tasks and activities. By honoring those preferences, it will be much easier to accomplish more in less time.
2. Establish visiting hours.
By establishing and announcing visiting hours, you can reduce unnecessary interruptions while offering people the opportunity to communicate with you in a relaxed setting. I recommend keeping your office door open during visiting hours and closed at all other times.
3. Create a brain dump.
Creative people need space and a place for recording sudden inspirations, ideas, and thoughts that are often distracting during task mode. Keep a notebook, tape recorder, or file on hand to record both complex and simple ideas. Many smart phones, such as the iPhone, offer a voice recorder application, which makes it easy to record a thought or idea and then get back to the task at hand.
4. Assign a dollar value to the total time wasted in one day.
How much time does you spend per day: Locating papers? Looking for misplaced items? Duplicating efforts? Being annoyed because you can’t find things? Dealing with interruptions that are unnecessary? Total this time. Next, determine what your time is worth. If you earn $50,000 per year and work an average of 40 hours per week, your time is worth $24 per hour. If you’re wasting 10 hours every week, that is worth $240 to you. Type up a sign to post above your desk that says: ”Is what I am doing right now worth $24?” You could also word it like this: “Would I be willing to pay someone $24 to do what I am doing right now?” Just looking at that sign throughout the day will shift what you spend your time doing. You will automatically start spending your more time on productive revenue generating tasks and less time on minutia.
5. Adopt a worst in, first out policy. Or delegate undesirable tasks.
Procrastination is one of the biggest enemies of a well-managed day. Often, we procrastinate because we do not like the task, do not have the right equipment, or we do not have enough information to make a decision. Handle the worst problems first, get them done, and then move on to the fun stuff. If you continue to procrastinate, delegate the task or hire someone to complete the task for you.
6. Batch your work.
Set up specific time slots each day to return voice mails and emails, work on projects, and so on. By simply batching your work, you will get more done in less time. Start by making a list of all of the tasks that need to get done and separate them by daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annually. Schedule them on your calendar in batches. For example, schedule two appointments each day to check and return emails and voice mails. Schedule an appointment each week to send out client invoices, and so on.
7. Reduce distractions.
When working on important projects, close the door, turn off the phone, and place a sign on your door that reads: “Man or woman at work. Please return at .” Use this uninterrupted time to complete important projects. On your calendar, mark out an appointment with yourself every day to work on your important projects. Treat the appointment like it is an important appointment with your doctor. If something gets in the way of your appointment, reschedule the appointment with yourself, just like you would reschedule your doctor’s appointment.
8. Practice saying “No” ten times each day.
More often than not, the act of saving time involves saying “no” to other people. If it is hard for you to say “no,” practice a variety of responses ten times of day. Examples of appropriate responses include: “I would love to attend, but unfortunately, I cannot make it,” or “I am flattered that you asked me, and I am unfortunately too busy to do justice to the project at this time,” or “No, thank-you,” or “No.” By saying “no” you are honoring your own life and goals.
Heidi is a professional organizer & productivity coach specializing in creating productivity plans, marketing & time mastery. She created The Fast-Filing Method home office filing system & publishes Life Made Simple e-Magazine. Heidi energizes her readers’ lives by teaching simple & effective organizational systems & time mastery skills to help you accomplish more in less time, make more money & GAIN peace of mind!Visit www.ClearSimpleLiving.com to get a complimentary subscription & Home Organization Kit.
Article Source: http://www.upublish.info
3 Simple Steps to Getting More Done in Less Time
Oct 5th
Are you ready to find out how to get more done in less time? Here are 3 simple steps to get you started.
First and foremost you need to be organized. Most of the people who earn six or seven figures and only work 20 hours per week or less are highly organized individuals.
In addition to being organized you need to prioritize. For most of us, 80% of what we spend our time doing, only makes 20% of the difference. People who only work part-time and make six and seven figures know exactly what matters and that’s what they spend their time doing. They skip or delegate everything else.
Step 1 — Get organized and prioritize. Make a list of everything there is to do and handle in your life, your home and your business or job. Just sit down and start listing things you either want or need to get done in no particular order, as they pop into your head. This list of “to do’s” is finite and in reality will probably only take you a couple of hours to create.
Step 2 – Take a good look at the items on your list and decide what items will make the most impact on your income and quality of life. Sit in silence for 20 minutes and meditate over your list. The most impactful items on your list will start jumping off the page. Highlight those items.
Step 3 – Move all of the highlighted items from your list into your calendar. Schedule each item. Be realistic when determining how much time to allow for each item. For example, you might schedule one item for Tuesday from 4pm-5pm, another item on Wednesday from 8pm-10pm, and so on.
If you are unable to get all of the items into your calendar within the next two weeks, then you need to refine your highlighted list again before entering them into your schedule.
This process helps you get organized, focus on the 20% that matters most and will help prevent you from taking on more tasks than you can handle effectively. If you are unable to complete a task during the scheduled time, re-schedule the task for another time.
Once you fully switch from keeping a running “to do” list to scheduling every task, you will feel more relaxed, be more efficient, have more time and you will get more done. “To Do” lists tend to be weights on our shoulders. They make us feel like we will never be caught up, never get it all done and often they cause us to focus on the least important tasks.
When you have a running “to do” list you are more likely to stress over what you need to get done and when and how it’s going to get done. By simply scheduling what needs to get done, it will get done when it’s time to do it. No more stressing or agonizing over it.
Be sure to leave open space in your calendar for interruptions and putting out fires. Also, schedule family time, exercise time, alone time, mealtime and organization time (go through your mail, file, etc). This will help keep you organized and in balance.
Heidi is a professional organizer and creator of The Fast-Filing Method home filing system, and publisher of Life Made Simple e-Magazine. Heidi energizes her readers’ lives by teaching effective systems to help you accomplish more in less time! Visit ClearSimpleLiving.com to get your free report: A Simple Guide to Which Papers to Keep & Which to Shred and free tips on organizing paperwork .
Article Source: U Publish Articles