Posts Tagged ‘Time management’

Getting Organized for Back to School!

Posted on: August 7th, 2012 by Cathy Mendler No Comments

Cathy Mendler

It’s that time of year again!  The relaxing days of summer are almost behind us.

GETTING ORGANIZED FOR BACK TO SCHOOL

 

Planning
If you plan ahead, you’ll be ready for the first day of school.

Don’t wait until the night before school starts to try and get your children into their back-to-school routine.  Start a week or two before.  The morning routine is under your control.  Everyone will have a better day if it starts out calmly.

Clothing
Have your children try on all of their clothing to see what fits.  Yes, they really have grown 3 inches during the summer!  Make a list of what needs to be bought.

Let children decide what they are going to wear, and lay out their clothes the night before.

School Supplies
Has the school provided a list of supplies that will be required?  Stock up during the back-to-school sales.  With higher gas prices, saving a couple of dollars by running from store to store may not be worth the extra effort involved.  Remember that your time is valuable.

Backpacks should be the correct size for your children.  Let them choose one with your help; if they like it, they’ll be more likely to use it and less likely to lose it.

Lunches
Keep your cupboards well stocked with lunch items.  While single-serving sizes are convenient, they are more costly.  Be thrifty and get supplies in bulk.  Keep a pen and paper handy in or near your pantry to make a note of items that are running low.

Older children should be responsible for making their own lunches.  Provide healthy choices, and let them choose what they like.  Make lunches at night to save time in the morning.  Put leftovers into lunch containers when cleaning up after dinner.  When you cook, double the recipe and freeze one batch.  You can use the second batch for lunches or dinner on a busy night.  It will save you time and will be healthier than picking up fast food.

Labelling
Don’t forget to label all items your children take to school which need to be brought home each night or week.

Checklist
Post a checklist as close as possible to where your children enter and exit for school.  Make it easy for everyone to read.  Have young children draw an outline of the items they need to take.  Have a designated spot for each child’s coat, mittens, boots, backpack and sports equipment.

Calendar and Scheduling
All activities should be put onto one calendar.  Keeping more than one calendar is difficult; it usually results in missed appointments.  Label each family member’s activities in a different colour; let your children pick their favourite colour.  Limit extra-curricular activities for each child.  To make everyone’s life easier, try not to overschedule.  Your children need some time to be kids!

Rewards
Set up a reward system to motivate your children to reach their goals throughout the year.  With your encouragement and positive reinforcement, they will succeed!

a new leaf-cathy.png



The Yearly Self-Evaluation–from Neworld Coaching!

Posted on: July 30th, 2012 by Cathy Mendler No Comments

While it’s not the beginning of a new year, it is the start of the second half of 2012. Even if you reviewed 2011 in December or early January, it’s always a good idea to review your progress every quarter. If you’ve gotten derailed, take stock and make the necessary adjustments to get back on track.

 

The Yearly Self-Evaluation

From our colleagues at Neworld Coaching…

For years now, I have designated a couple of hours of time during the first two weeks of December to complete a Yearly Self-Assessment document. Although it may sound like a simple undertaking, it really isn’t. Reflection, soul searching and decision making can be arduous tasks to say the least. Although I always look forward to this exercise, I still find it difficult to analyze my failures and make realistic plans for the future.

Taking into account the five areas in the “Wheel of Life” (Business, Financial, Personal Relationships, Health/Fitness and Self Mastery)…

The first thing I do is reflect. I look back at the past year and ask myself a few of the “hard” questions. What were my successes and how did I celebrate or reward myself? What were my failures and how did I deal with them? Did I listen to feedback from my associates, clients & family? I ask myself these questions (and several more) in order to gain perspective and “keep it real”. The important thing to remember is not to be too hard on yourself. If you learn from your mistakes and growth occurs… then nothing was in vain!

“The true measure of a man is not how he behaves in moments of comfort and convenience but how he stands at times of controversy and challenges.” ~Martin Luther King Jr.

The next step is to “dream” of the future. A future where all of my goals are met or within reach. To accomplish this step I must do some sincere soul searching with regard to everything in my life. And because everything always takes three times longer than you expect… I call these my “three year intentions”. Writing quickly, using bullet points and spilling my dreams onto paper is quite liberating. I dream big! Intentions are like magnets, the bigger they are, the more they pull you forward! By redefining everything that I want to be… do… and have… over the next 3 years… I am analyzing my dreams and turning them into tangible goals!

The [last] part of my Self-Assessment is to create a plan for the coming year. I divide the year into four (quarters) and then set goals (usually a few large and a few smaller) to accomplish in each of the five areas. After choosing these goals and specifying when I want to achieve them, I have completed the Self-Assessment and I will be prepared at the beginning of the year to plan my first Quarter. At the beginning of each week I will use a Weekly Planner to set specific goals and I even assign points to myself when I complete a task! The process is a bit more involved than I let on here but suffice it to say that filling in my planner each week is a useful and tangible method for measuring my results and holding myself accountable.

Strategically planning, goal setting and accountability is the foundation of the Neworld Coaching Succe$$ System. Using a series of Planners similar to those mentioned above, along with a specific Weekly Planner and even a ‘Personal Board [Chart]’ we encourage our clients to take the steps necessary to meet their goals. Whatever they may be! As I mentioned, I have been doing this Self-Assessment for many years and I am pleased to share it with you…just click here to view the form. Print it and fill it out! I do… EVERY YEAR. Dawn even does it too and we compare our ideas. It is a great exercise! I hope you find it fruitful for you as well!

~Michael Fletcher

If you liked this article, check out more articles in Neworld’s Shameless Blog.



Technology and Time Management!

Posted on: July 27th, 2012 by Cathy Mendler No Comments

Summer is usually the time of year to take a well-deserved break. Like many of us, you’ve been eagerly awaiting some time off from your busy schedule.
While your business may slow down during the summer months, it shouldn’t grind to a halt.

Did you know “it is a fact that creativity often flows more readily when you are out[side]—especially if you are near water”? In Write It Down, Make It Happen, Henriette Anne Klauser tells us that “Being near water, especially moving water, gets ideas to flow.”

I attended a POC conference session a couple of years ago on “The Impact of Technology on Time Management” and learned a new word – “Thinksomnia.” While Harold Taylor (a Canadian time management expert) did not create this word, he has “adopted it and use(s) it in the context of our extreme busyness and resultant lack of creativity.” The definition for this made-up word is: “An idea that pops into your head just before you fall asleep, which is so big and brilliant, or else so dark and scary, that it keeps you awake all night long”.

For Harold, “it fit perfectly with [his] belief that because we are so busy and preoccupied all day, the only time we get to really think about anything new is at night just before we fall asleep. That’s when the ideas pop into our minds, and we start thinking about them to the point that we can’t get to sleep.” “I recommend to my clients that at least 10 percent of their work day should be left [available] for planning and thinking. Because our success and the success of our companies depend on it. Everything except creativity is being outsourced to other countries…We can’t afford to short-change our creativity – which we’re doing in this age of speed.”

Keep the above points in mind as you think ahead and set personal or business goals for the remainder of 2012. You may come up with your most brilliant ideas yet. Remember to keep a notepad handy to jot ideas down, so that you can put them into action!



The Myth of Time Management–Deborah Plouffe from rewriter.ca!”

Posted on: June 29th, 2012 by Cathy Mendler No Comments

    The Myth of Time Management
by Deborah Plouffe

Here’s the myth: there is no such thing as time management. Time is a constant; it doesn’t change. We can’t manage time any more than we can change the direction of the tide. No, we can’t manage time.

We can only manage ourselves and plan to use our time effectively. When it comes to our professional success, the most important asset that we can allocate is our time. Even if it seems that the more successful we become, the less time we seem to have, the #1 key to efficiency is planning, scheduling and prioritizing our tasks effectively.

Take the time to consider these top three most important Time Tips:

1) Take time to write it down. If your prefer to keep track of your schedule and task lists in your head, give writing it all down a try for a specified amount of time and see for yourself how your efficiency will improve. Try the system that you think will work best for you. Carry a notebook, digital recorder or electronic aid to add to and keep track of your schedule.

2) Take time to plan. Take a least 30 minutes each week to plan out your weekly tasks and appointments. Remember to work toward aligning these tasks with your written goals, and don’t forget to set aside time to improve yourself. Evaluate and review past schedules to identify the time stealers and work to eliminate them. Remember that the best way to squelch a bad habit is to replace it with a good one.

3) Take time to prioritize. Learn to say “no” to low priority requests and don’t over commit yourself. Think before you leap into a new committment that is not in line with your written goals.

The way that you approach planning your time can make a more profound difference in your results than anything else that you do…and don’t forget the old adage that for every moment spent in planning an hour is gained.

Deborah Plouffe is a Canadian business writer and the owner of rewriter.ca