Time can be a trap
Todd Duncan has a NY Times best selling book on the market called Time Traps. Time management is something that we all need, and this book has some great tips to regain control of your productivity. I wrote one, and then a follow-up Tech Beat article on the topic of time management that may be helpful to those looking for ways to reign-in your time traps. Meanwhile, here the better of Duncan's tips:
* 75% of our time is not spent well. The goal should be to spend 100% of your time on your top 2 priorities.
* Don't focus on "time" management, look more toward "task" management.
* The traps that steal your time are pretty well known:
-- YES ... use the word sparingly. Saying NO more often is your best task management friend.
-- TECH ... many technologies and gadgets waste your time, not save it. Use the RIGHT tech, not simply the latest tech. Sometimes a paper calendar is better than a PDA.
-- CONTROL ... use a three part process to decide what to do. 1 = ACCUMULATE the data, 2 = ASSESS what to do (or what not to do), and 3 = ACT.
-- PHONE ... don't answer it unless it is an expected call. Uninterrupted time spent on high value tasks is more valuable that wasting time on low value calls.
-- LEASH ... don't give your work email or phone number to personal contacts, and vice versa. When you are on your time, don't bleed it into business, and when you're working, don't get distracted by personal tasks.
I, like many others, feel as if I am sometimes drowning in unproductive tasks without enough time to get everything done. The trick, of course, is to figure out the right things to do and stop doing stuff that is low payoff. And it's not always about money ... I carve out time for meditation and exercise because I know it will have a high return on my investment of time.
Sure, a lot of the content of Time Traps is stuff we already know. It's just that sometimes we need a booster shot.
Chris Crawford
www.justiceserved.com