I came across this article on the net and thought this might be useful to a lot of people: <TABLE height=2000 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" align=center border=0><TR vAlign=top><TD colSpan=3 height=56>Tips for effective time management ...<TR vAlign=top><TD colSpan=3 height=1842><TABLE height=1779 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="92%" align=center border=0><TR vAlign=top><TD height=1831>1. PERSIST FOR 21 DAYS: When building a habit, don't allow yourself to slip that first time. Slip once and it's easier to slip again. 2. MOTIVATION TO ACHIEVE GOALS: Tell others about your goals. The fear of embarrassment if you back out should strengthen your commitment. 3. PROCESS OF DELEGATION: Delegation is a process whereby a higher authority exchanges a given weight of authority and responsibility or an equal weight of obligation and accountability. First, determine the responsibility, then the amount of authority needed to carry it out. 4. WE CAN'T DO IT ALL: Reserve your yeses for the priorities and say no to the others. 5. MEAL TIME: Arranging all tools and ingredients on the counter before cooking a meal can save between 10 to 27 minutes 5. THe family that eats together stays together 7. THE KEY TO EFFECTIVENESS: The quality of your effort will determine the quantity of your results. 8. YOUR WORKPLACE IS IMPORTANT: Workers using good quality adjustable furniture did 10% better at data entry than members in a control group. 9. PACKING TIP: Zip lock bags are handy items to take along on a trip to house cosmetics, medications, foreign change, wet bathing suit etc. 10. VALUE OF PLANNING: Spending 10 to 15 minutes every morning mapping out your day can save up to 6 hours a week. 11. DEFINITION: Procrastination: The art of keeping up with yesterday. 12. HASTE MAKES WASTE: Most women spend half an hour a day duplicating tasks due to haste. 13. DON'T SKIP BREAKFAST: Skipping breakfast deprives your brain of the energy it needs to function at its best. 14. SLOWING THE PACE OF TIME: If you're really enjoying yourself, getting lost in the activity of the moment, time does not progress in equal units. 15. OVERTIME CAN DECREASE PRODUCTIVITY: Overtime was not cost effective since after ten straight hours of work, fatigue sets in and procrastination plummets. 16. WORD PROCESSING SHORTCUT: To change caps to lower case, hold down the Shift key and press F3 with the cursor on the word you want changed. Keep pushing to go from lower case to upper and lower case. 17. LAW OF COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE: You should assign, delegate or outsource any job that can be done at a wage or cost less than you earn. 18. TALK IT OUT: Discussing problems with others eases stress. Perhaps that's why married people live longer than single people. 19. LIMIT YOUR GOALS: Too many goals leads to frustration & stress. Five major goals each year worked well. Limit your goals and maintain focus. 20. EAT LIGHT LUNCHES FOR PEAK PERFORMANCE: People who ate large lunches performed worse than those who had eaten only a sandwich. Alertness and efficiency are at low ebb about two hours after one begins eating lunch. 21. PREVENTING UPWARD DELEGATION: You distribute a policy that staff may interrupt you if a. They have a decision to make that exceeds their authority, b. They require information that can only be obtained from you.c. They are really truly stumped. 22. ON THE ROAD: The average person spends 73 minutes a day behind the wheel. The temptation is to use the time productively with such things as cell phone calls and educational audiotapes. But don't do anything that will decrease your awareness of the road conditions, traffic and surroundings. Safety is a good investment of time. 23. KEEPING IN TOUCH: So you won't forget to send cards to some of your friends and to save writing time, prepare a set or two of pre-addressed, self-adhesive labels before leaving on your trip. 24. A MANAGER'S TIME: If you're too busy to manage, you're too busy to be a manager. Managers must take the time to plan, organize, staff, direct, control and innovate. 25. IT TAKES 21 DAYS TO FORM A HABIT: When putting time management ideas into practice, give them time. Nothing kills motivation like impatience. 26. REDUCE TELEPHONE TIME: When someone starts to read figures, information or instructions over the phone, ask them to fax or e-mail the information to you instead. 27. RELAX THROUGH READING: Reading takes us away from our problems, giving us a mini-Vacation. 28. THE TIP OF YOUR NO'S: A tip for saying no is to be polite, firm and helpful such as, I'm sorry but I couldn't possibly take on another activity at this time. Have you considered contacting the college about their work experience program? 29. FAMILY DAYS: If you are a working parent and hard pressed to get quality time with your child, consider a family day together periodically, such as on the child's birthday, when you can take a day off school and work and spend the day at the park, zoo or some entertainment center. 30. MULTITASKING ON THE ROAD: It is reported that 71.4% of the drivers in a study were either eating or drinking while driving. 45.7% were grooming, 40% were reading or writing, and 34% were talking on the cell phone. Driver inattention is the number one cause of traffic crashes. So it's a costly way of saving time. 31. FORGET WHERE YOU PUT THINGS?: People with a diastolic blood pressure above 90 often have difficulty remembering and learning new tasks. 32. BIG WORDS WASTE TIME: Keep your writing simple. If your message is not understood, communication has not taken place. 33. MOTIVATION TO GET ORGANIZED: The closer the reward is to the expenditure of effort, the greater the motivation. When getting organized, start by applying ideas that will produce immediate results. 34. PROCEDURES SAVE TIME: A procedure is a step-by-step description of how to accomplish a specific task. If you don't have procedures, make it the responsibility of all staff members to draw them up for the repetitive tasks they perform. You will avoid crises and time loss during absences and facilitate new employee training. 35. DON'T DELAY DECISIONS: If a decision needs to be made, we should make it. They claim that having an acceptable decision in time is better than having a perfect decision too late. 36. EASE INTO THE WEEK: Going at full speed Monday morning after two days of relaxation could stress your heart. You have a one-third greater chance of suffering a heart attack on Monday morning than at any other time of the week. 37. ACTIVITY ANALYSIS: People have a tendency to take on additional tasks during slow periods. This causes problems when it gets busy. Continually evaluate your activities and eliminate those that are unimportant and bring little personal satisfaction. 38. OVERCOMING THE SLOW START: Sometimes the most difficult thing in the morning is getting started. Never go to work without a plan of action for the day. 39. YOU CAN'T DO EVERYTHING YOURSELF: The fact that you can do a job better and faster is not a legitimate reason to do it yourself. Always seek ways to free up time for more important tasks through delegation and outsourcing. 40. HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY: When interrupted by someone asking if you are busy or whether they got you at a bad time, tell the truth. Don't feel obligated to change your schedule unless it's an emergency. Best regards Hema
