AVOIDING THE MYTHS |  |
by Susan Ward
The key to time management is knowing ourselves, as we can't actually "manage" time; all we can manage is our own behavior.
For many of us this is more than enough of a challenge. While we claim that effective time management is a top priority and that we just have to get more organized, our actions don't match our stated desires. I've invented these time management personality "types" to describe patterns of behavior that sabotage many people's attempts at time management.
Which of the following time management "types" are you? While intended as fun, this time management exercise may provide you with some clues for more effective time management.
The Fireman - For you, every event is a crisis. You're so busy putting out fires that you have no time to deal with anything else - especially the boring, mundane things such as time management. Tasks pile up around you while you rush from fire to fire all day.
Typically seen - Running to car.
The Over-Committer - Your problem is you can't say 'No'. All anyone has to do is ask, and you'll chair another committee, take on another project, or organize yet another community event. You're so busy you don't even have time to write down all the things you do!
Typically seen - Hiding in rest room.
The Aquarian - There is such as thing as being too "laid-back" - especially when it starts interfering with your ability to finish tasks or bother to return phone calls. Getting to things when you get to them isn't time management; it's simple task avoidance.
Typically seen - Hanging out with feet on desk.
The Chatty Kathy - Born to socialize, you have astounding oral communication skills and can't resist exercising them at every opportunity. Every interaction becomes a long drawn out conversation - especially if there's an unpleasant task dawning that you'd like to put off.
Typically seen - Talking on cell phone.
The Perfectionist - You have a compulsion to cross all the "t's" and dot all the "i's", preferably with elaborate whorls and curlicues. Exactitude is your watchword, and you feel that no rushed job can be a good job. Finishing tasks to your satisfaction is such a problem you need more time zones, not just more time.
Typically seen - Hunched over latest project.
Hopefully none of these time management personality profiles is a photograph of you! But perhaps these descriptions will provoke some thought about the different ways we manage or mismanage time, and some clues about how we might change our behaviors to make our time management efforts more successful.
by Kara Ohngren
With 2011 quickly drawing to a close, that dreaded time for New Year’s resolutions is upon us. We know, we know. You already promised you’d join a gym or try to be “greener” next year, but those aren’t the kind of resolutions we’re talking about. We’re talking resolutions for the overworked entrepreneur.
We teamed with Santa Fe, N.M.-based work-life expert Stephanie Marston to assemble a list of life changes to help you balance your business and personal worlds. Marston is the creator of 30 Days To Sanity, an online stress-management course, and she just might help to make 2012 your most relaxed year yet.by Susanna Palomares
Why is setting goals important? Because goals can help you to be, do, and experience everything you want in life. Instead of just letting life happen to you, goals allow you to make your life happen.
Successful and happy women have a vision of how their lives should be, and they set lots of goals (both short-term and long-range) to help them achieve their vision. By setting goals, you take control of your life. It’s like having a map to show you where you want to go. Think of it this way: Two drivers, each sitting at the wheel of her car. One has a destination in mind (her goal) which is laid out for her on a map. She can drive straight there without any wasted time or wrong turns. The other driver has no goal, destination or map. She starts off at the same time from the same place as the first driver, but drives aimlessly around, never getting anywhere, just using up gas and oil. Which driver do you want to be?
Winners in life set goals and follow through in pursuit of them. Winners decide what they want in life and get it by developing detailed plans. Unsuccessful people just let life happen by accident. Goals aren’t difficult to set, and they aren’t difficult to reach. It’s up to you to find out what your values, vision and goals really are. You are the one who must decide what to pursue and in what direction to aim you life.
Research tells us that when we write down a goal we are more likely to achieve it. Written goals can be reviewed regularly, hence they have more long-range power. Like a contract with yourself, they are harder to neglect or forget. Also, by writing goals in the following fashion, you can stimulate your subconscious to be continuously alert to situations that will further those goals. Goals should be:
Place written goals where you will see them at least twice a day. If possible, read them aloud and visualize each one.
Visualize success. Picturing a positive outcome can greatly affect your progress in achieving goals. If you can see yourself attaining a goal, you very likely will. If, on the other hand, you can muster no image of success, or create an image of failure, you very likely will fail.
Visualizing is something we all do, every day. When you daydream—thinking about someone you know or remembering a place you visited—you are visualizing. You can make the technique of visualization work for you. You can use it to help achieve your goals by seeing yourself achieving them. And by enjoying the feeling of success.
