Handy tip: get more done with a timer

Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) says that there are two types of motivations that make humans do everything that we do. Moving-toward motivation and moving-away-from motivation. Anthony Robbins puts it another way. Humans do things to gain something positive or we do them to avoid something negative. It’s simple but not simplistic. Unfortunately, more people are motivated by the avoidance of the unpleasant rather than working toward a reward.

If you don’t believe this, simply look at what happens the day before vacation. Instead of gradually getting into the flow of the day, we hit the ground running. No one can get us out of our mission to tie up all loose ends to make sure we’re ready to go the next day. We begin to put those who interrupt us on notice that we have things to get done and we do not have the time to chit-chat. The deadline of the end of the business day approaches ominously and we do all we can to get everything done. It’s not the pleasant aspects of the vacation that spurs us on, it is the dread of not getting things done so we can go. It is the most productive day of the year. In the quest to improve our productivity, we can use this to our advantage.

With the introduction of a $10 countdown timer that one can purchase in any housewares department, we can create our own artificial deadlines that create that sense of urgency for us. By setting the timer for 15 minutes to allow us to complete a task, it seems easy to focus and weed out the unimportant.

Bert Webb continues: When I use this technique, I get much more work done and I hear myself telling others, “Call me back in 30 minutes. I’m in the middle of something!” Productivity soars.

At first, it is difficult to estimate the amount of time needed. I found myself overestimating the time needed and I finished well within the required time. As an added bonus, I’ve been able to use the timer on repetitive tasks and can document my improvement as I accomplish the task faster each time I do it. It’s even turned into a game I play to see if I can break my previous time record for accomplishing repetitive tasks, creating a new personal best. Now, since I know how much time certain tasks take, I can also forecast completion times for projects more accurately.

Quickly bookmark "Handy tip: get more done with a timer" via:

Bookmark Handy tip: get more done with a timer at del.icio.us

Digg Handy tip: get more done with a timer at Digg.com

Bookmark Handy tip: get more done with a timer at Spurl.net

Bookmark Handy tip: get more done with a timer with wists

Bookmark Handy tip: get more done with a timer at Simpy.com

Bookmark Handy tip: get more done with a timer at NewsVine

Blink this Handy tip: get more done with a timer at blinklist.com

Bookmark Handy tip: get more done with a timer at Furl.net

Bookmark Handy tip: get more done with a timer at reddit.com

Fark Handy tip: get more done with a timer at Fark.com

Bookmark Handy tip: get more done with a timer at blogmarks

Bookmark Handy tip: get more done with a timer at YahooMyWeb

April 24th, 2006 by Collin
Posted in Personal Development | No Comments »

Solving myths to get more done in your day

After yesterdays 7 ways to get more done in your daily life. Today we’ll have a look at 7 time management myths, and indirectly more tips how to get it right. Here we go:

“To do” lists help get things done: “To do” lists do nothing to further a project or task. They simply remind us that they are not done yet. Scheduling time in your planner, as appointments with yourself, to work on the tasks helps get them done. “To do” lists are intentions; scheduled blocks of time are commitments.

People need a “Personal Organizer” or other time management system to get organized: People are not organized because they use a time management system, they use a time management system because they are organized. Personal organization involves breaking old habits and forming new, effective ones. It is a state of mind as opposed to a state of the office. Some people are more organized using a 65-cent steno pad than others are using a 65-dollar organizer.

A “Quiet Hour” is a great time management tool: A “quiet hour” is a figment of time management writers’ imaginations. There is no such thing as a “quiet hour”. We can reduce interruptions, but never eliminate them. To be effective we must learn to work in spite of the interruptions. Frequently, interruptions are not time wasters, but opportunities arriving at inopportune times.

Keeping a time log to determine where your time is going, is the place to start: A time log should be done last, not first. All we need is more paperwork and interruptions when we’re already inundated with them! We should get organized first, adopt effective habits, schedule time properly, put into practice time-reducing techniques and procedures, and once we have the time, keep a time log to effect further refinements.

The biggest time wasters are interruptions: These include telephone interruptions, visitors, meetings and rush jobs, yet hese are not time wasters, they are time obligations — they come with the job. The biggest time wasters are self-imposed, such as procrastination, making mental notes, interrupting ourselves, searching for things, perfectionism, and spending time on trivial tasks. We are our own worst enemies. Being effective involves managing ourselves, not placing the blame on others.

It’s more efficient to stick to one task until it’s completed: It may be more efficient, but it’s not more effective, for seldom will you have time to finish it. It’s more effective to break large projects into small one or two-hour chunks and work at them for a brief period each day. Working on priorities involves frequent brief sprints, not occasional marathons.

We should have one planner for the office, and a separate planner for the home: Lastly Harold Taylor mentions we should have one planner, period. We are only one person, sharing our lives with people and activities at work, at home, at school, etc. Since we only have one life, we should only have one planner. Both business and personal activities should be scheduled in the same planner so business activities don’t take precedence over personal and family activities.

Quickly bookmark "Solving myths to get more done in your day" via:

Bookmark Solving myths to get more done in your day at del.icio.us

Digg Solving myths to get more done in your day at Digg.com

Bookmark Solving myths to get more done in your day at Spurl.net

Bookmark Solving myths to get more done in your day with wists

Bookmark Solving myths to get more done in your day at Simpy.com

Bookmark Solving myths to get more done in your day at NewsVine

Blink this Solving myths to get more done in your day at blinklist.com

Bookmark Solving myths to get more done in your day at Furl.net

Bookmark Solving myths to get more done in your day at reddit.com

Fark Solving myths to get more done in your day at Fark.com

Bookmark Solving myths to get more done in your day at blogmarks

April 21st, 2006 by Collin
Posted in Personal Development | No Comments »

Get more done in your day

It’s easy to say your day gets better when you wake up early, prioritize, focus, pauze, have no doubts nor expectations, and to delegate the rest of your day. But here’s how you get a feel for it.

Go to Bed early and Wake Up Early: To finish this upcoming book and to write my last book Energy Addict, I woke up every morning at 5:30am-6:00am to write. I realized that an hour a day over two or three months produces a lot of pages. It’s all about doing the little things and you’ll be amazed at how much you can accomplish early in the morning. It also feels great when you start your day with an accomplishment.

Know Your Priorities and Write them Down: My priority is not watching television at night. It is writing in the morning. Knowing this, I go to sleep early so I can wake up early. You have to know your priorities, write them down so you can see them and then take action that is in alignment with your priorities.

Focus: My wife tells me that I have intense focus. When I focus, my energy is like a laser. I know what I want. I know what I need to do and I do it. So just remember these 3 simple things. Know what you want. Know what you need to do. And do it. To help you “do it,” write down a to-do list and check items off as you complete them. Also identify your distractions and eliminate them. If phone calls bother you while you are completing task at home or work, shut the phone off until you are done.

Create Mini-retreats: Not many people have time for month long retreats, instead we must plan mini-retreats into our day. You must carve out time for solitude and creating in the midst of chaos. You must schedule your priorities into your day. If you don’t plan it, it is less likely to happen. If you are completing a project at work, working on a book, or school assignment, schedule time each day to work on this project.

Let Go of Negativity and Self Doubt: Unfortunately so many of us hold ourselves back from achieving or creating what we want. I know this well because I was the same way. Each morning I now take a walk and let go of the things that use to hold me back. You let go through your thoughts, your breath and your body.

While walking focus on your breathing… let go mentally and verbally of the things that hold you back. Say, “I let go of my stress, my fear and self doubt. I let go of my need for approval. I let go of my need perfection.” By letting go you let go of the thoughts and emotions that hold you back and you are freer and more energized to take action.

Let Go of Attachments and Expectations: When you have an attachment to the result or expectation you create pressure and tense energy that prevents you from getting things done. You start to think about what it will be like instead of doing it. Remember, you don’t have to be perfect. Just pour your energy into creating and let the outcome be the result of your positive and flowing energy. Have fun. When you have fun things get done.

Delegate: We can’t do everything ourselves. The key is to delegate and enlist the support of others. For instance, my wife now pays the bills for the restaurants where I did it in the past. Determine what can be delegated. Train someone to do it right, then oversee them and make sure they are doing it right.

Obviously David Allen’s book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity is the holy grail for getting more out of your day. But for more details on the above summed up list, look at 7 ways to get more done
by Jon Gordon.

Quickly bookmark "Get more done in your day" via:

Bookmark Get more done in your day at del.icio.us

Digg Get more done in your day at Digg.com

Bookmark Get more done in your day at Spurl.net

Bookmark Get more done in your day with wists

Bookmark Get more done in your day at Simpy.com

Bookmark Get more done in your day at NewsVine

Blink this Get more done in your day at blinklist.com

Bookmark Get more done in your day at Furl.net

Bookmark Get more done in your day at reddit.com

Fark Get more done in your day at Fark.com

Bookmark Get more done in your day at blogmarks

Bookmark Get more done in your day at YahooMyWeb

April 20th, 2006 by Collin
Posted in Personal Development | No Comments »

Prioritize instead of multi-tasking

The people of Earth sent and received 400,000 terabytes of information by e-mail in 2002, according to research by the University of California at Berkeley’s School of Information Management and Systems. That’s equivalent to the print collections of 40,000 Libraries of Congress. (And that was measured way back in 2002; the quantity has only grown since.) As for phone calls (which accounted for some 17 million terabytes of information in 2002) now they can follow us everywhere. How much of that infotraffic is bad e-mail jokes or stockbrokers making cold calls? No one knows–and as far as a harried cube dweller is concerned, by the time you find out it’s too late. For the always-on generation, subject headers and caller ID are woefully insufficient gatekeepers.

Being human isn’t helping either. “To a large degree we sandbag ourselves,” says Clay Shirky, who teaches graduate courses in interactive telecommunications at New York University. “We don’t like to telegraph to co-workers and bosses that we are not going to be available, because availability is a desirable indicator.” Someone who is responsive looks effective. Constant e-mails and phone calls bring a sense of urgency and importance that’s tough to resist, not to mention the thrill of instant accomplishment. It feels like working. But unless it’s your job to be interrupted (like a beat cop or sales rep) the work is working you.

The problem is balancing the need to be responsive and the need to complete those critical-thinking assignments that define knowledge work. The supposed strategy of the 1990s white-collar worker (and even more so the 1990s power mom) was “multi-tasking”, increasing output by doing several things at once. It is a phrase borrowed, incorrectly as it happens, from what people think a computer does: processing multiple tasks simultaneously. In fact, most computers do tasks serially, one thing at a time. Just like people. Only a lot faster. And without whining.

When tasks are familiar and simple, switching from one to another wastes little effort, it is possible to talk on the phone and jam laundry into a machine and get both done. But a much-quoted study published in 2001 by psychologists at the University of Michigan and the Federal Aviation Administration found that substantial time and comprehension are lost in switching as tasks become more complex and unfamiliar. That’s why talking on a cellphone while driving is so dangerous: You’re actually paying only partial attention to both and one of them, if mishandled, can be deadly.

Fortune Magazine’s article is mainly interesting for describing the need for prioritizing. Today’s technology can take us by storm, but the given practical tips here don’t just count on the job, they go well with most aspects of your life that need focus, try it out. Here’s a list to get your priorities in order:

1. Keep your meetings rare.
Surveys show that most people find meetings a major time waster. Use them sparingly, keep to an agenda, start and end on time. And unless someone is expecting a baby, or using technology is a key part of the meeting, turn off all cellphones and BlackBerries. No passing digital notes.

2. Show your technology who’s boss.
Most of today’s devices and software actually can be set to be less intrusive. You just need to learn how: Switch off the ping that heralds the arrival of an e-mail, create folders into which incoming messages are automatically shunted. When busy, let outgoing messages alert others to when they might reasonably expect to hear back from you.

3. Give yourself a time-out.
Devote an hour to uninterrupted thinking and planning every day. First thing in the morning is safest, but anytime is good. No calls, no e-mail, no chitchat. “If there’s an emergency, someone will come get you,” says organization expert Julie Morgenstern. “Use this time to think strategically about your work.”

4. Say no.
“Sorry” isn’t the hardest word, “no” is. But not saying it to desperate colleagues or harried bosses is the quickest way to overload your schedule and muck up more important goals. Focus first on meeting your stated objectives. Also, consider family and personal time when filling your calendar: Work-centric employees are more likely to report feeling overloaded than those who plan for their personal lives.

5. Delete.
Surveys show we waste 20% of our day on nonproductive activities. Cut out or dele- gate anything on your to-do list that doesn’t have long-term consequences for your work. Be ruthless. And while you’re at it, don’t let a stuffed e-mail in-box sap your will to live. When reviewing each e-mail, make an on-the-spot call to delete, file, or reply to each one–even if the response is, “I’ll get back to you on this later.”

Quickly bookmark "Prioritize instead of multi-tasking" via:

Bookmark Prioritize instead of multi-tasking at del.icio.us

Digg Prioritize instead of multi-tasking at Digg.com

Bookmark Prioritize instead of multi-tasking at Spurl.net

Bookmark Prioritize instead of multi-tasking with wists

Bookmark Prioritize instead of multi-tasking at Simpy.com

Bookmark Prioritize instead of multi-tasking at NewsVine

Blink this Prioritize instead of multi-tasking at blinklist.com

Bookmark Prioritize instead of multi-tasking at Furl.net

Bookmark Prioritize instead of multi-tasking at reddit.com

Fark Prioritize instead of multi-tasking at Fark.com

Bookmark Prioritize instead of multi-tasking at blogmarks

Bookmark Prioritize instead of multi-tasking at YahooMyWeb

March 31st, 2006 by Collin
Posted in Personal Development | No Comments »

Get smarter in a week guide

It’s not an intelligence-boosting formula likely to impress a genius: watching Countdown, playing Sudoku, remembering telephone numbers and taking a shower with your eyes closed. Yet doing ‘brain exercises’ such as these can make us all up to 40 per cent cleverer within seven days, according to research by a BBC programme this week.

The tests conducted for Get Smarter in a Week appear to bear out the growing belief among scientists that making simple changes to our lifestyle can lead to significant improvements in how well our brains function. The programme found that a combination of techniques based on healthy eating, physical activity, sound sleep and stimulating your mind through solving puzzles and remembering lists makes people sharper, more confident and better at making decisions.

The results will be unveiled when the programme airs. But early indications are that the volunteers had benefited from taking part. ‘”Some of them were ringing up and saying that this had totally transformed their lives or that they had had their first good night’s sleep in five years,” said Morrow.

“A lot of people feel they are under-performing in their life, that they are letting themselves down, in terms of their ability to handle events or thinking that people at work are cleverer than them. This programme shows everyone can get smarter, and feel better, if they do these things.” Promotional material from the BBC or not, I’ve been doing most of the guide tips for a few months and they do work to train your brain in not accepting lazyness.

The get smarter guide:
Saturday: Brush your teeth with your ‘wrong’ hand and take a shower with your eyes closed.
Sunday: Do the crossword or Sudoku puzzle in your Sunday paper and take a brisk walk.
Monday: Have oily fish for dinner, and either cycle, walk or take the bus into work.
Tuesday: Select unfamiliar words from the dictionary and work them into conversations.
Wednesday: Go to yoga, Pilates or a meditation class, and talk to someone you don’t know.
Thursday: Take a different route to work; watch Countdown or Brainteaser.
Friday: Avoid caffeine or alcohol; memorise your shopping list; visit a-new-man.

Get Smarter in a Week airs Saturdays, on BBC1, at 6.35PM and 9PM.

Quickly bookmark "Get smarter in a week guide" via:

Bookmark Get smarter in a week guide at del.icio.us

Digg Get smarter in a week guide at Digg.com

Bookmark Get smarter in a week guide at Spurl.net

Bookmark Get smarter in a week guide with wists

Bookmark Get smarter in a week guide at Simpy.com

Bookmark Get smarter in a week guide at NewsVine

Blink this Get smarter in a week guide at blinklist.com

Bookmark Get smarter in a week guide at Furl.net

Bookmark Get smarter in a week guide at reddit.com

Fark Get smarter in a week guide at Fark.com

Bookmark Get smarter in a week guide at blogmarks

Bookmark Get smarter in a week guide at YahooMyWeb

March 16th, 2006 by Collin
Posted in Personal Development | No Comments »

Dreaming in power naps

I just did my administration, searched for bear constellations in the night sky, won a snowball fight, went to a funny faces portraits show, and all that in the past 15 minutes.

That’s right, I took a nap. I started doing this about two weeks ago, a while after I wrote an article about a prophylactic nap. I’d set an alarm (the one in the Nintendo DS) and sit down, eyes closed, in a chair wherever I was. Or if I was at home darken my room and lie down on my bed, usually eight hours after I woke up, in the afternoon.

The first week I’d just be thinking to myself awake, trying to get to sleep. The second week I managed to imagine it was already night time in the afternoon by concentrating on pretending my day had already ended (being a bit tired from exercises helps as well). That’s when I first reached Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep and had two short dreams.

Let me give you a little back-story here. Until 2006 I’d only remember my dreams two to four times a year, and even then I’d forget them if I didn’t write them down straight away. What changed? Instead of the constantly changing sleep patterns I had my entire life, which lead to either sleep deprivation or oversleeping. Starting January I conditioned myself to get seven to eight hours of sleep every mid-week night from 10PM to 6AM.

At first I slept much less than that, so I was tired the first few weeks, but I kept self-disciplining myself by waking up 6AM every day, even if it meant setting multiple alarm clocks to get me out of my warm cozy bed. If I was tired at first, I’d tell myself to go to sleep earlier to make up for lost sleep. The real reason I managed to get used to it was because I set goals for tasks I wanted to do in the early mornings, giving me a fun or productive reason to get up.

Looking back I wish I had picked up this napping habit sooner. Mainly because I’ve always needed eight hours of sleep to feel good, but now I can sleep seven hours and not feel my eyes closing on me all day, because I know I’ll get a nap in the afternoon to recharge. That’s exactly what it does, after napping I feel like I’ve organized my thoughts and brought them to silence and obviously feel rested to do more that day.

How to get a good nap.

Dr. Sara Mednick, who will publish a book on napping soon, titled “How to Nap”, has some helpful hints:
1. The first consideration is psychological: Recognize that you’re not being lazy; napping will make you more productive and more alert after you wake up.
2. Try to nap in the morning or just after lunch; human circadian rhythms make late afternoons a more likely time to fall into deep (slow-wave) sleep, which will leave you groggy.
3. Avoid consuming large quantities of caffeine as well as foods that are heavy in fat and sugar, which meddle with a person’s ability to fall asleep.
4. Instead, in the hour or two before your nap time, eat foods high in calcium and protein, which promote sleep.
5. Find a clean, quiet place where passersby and phones won’t disturb you.
6. Try to darken your nap zone, or wear an eyeshade. Darkness stimulates melatonin, the sleep- inducing hormone.
7. Remember that body temperature drops when you fall asleep. Raise the room temperature or use a blanket.
8. Once you are relaxed and in position to fall asleep, set your alarm for the desired duration (see below).

How long is a good nap?

The Nano-Nap: Lasts 10

yahoo games poker social lounge 2 backdoor

the palace casinos

abc bingo cards contestant

free party poker bonus money

ladbrokes free casino slots games

internet casino gambling guide

bingo gala stafford times

free bingo to play online

horses odds kentucky derby 2006

mega millions illinois lottery number

real bingo online

bonus video slots online

poker palace casino las vegas

my yahoo games bingo

3 card poker games online

slingo download free games

date results ny lotto 2000

free sign on bonus online gambling

imperial palace hotel casino in biloxi mississippi

betsey johnson shoes on sale

free bingo online no deposit money

free 5 card slingo downloads

live las vegas sports odds

card free game poker video

play triple video poker free

free craps online bodog

nfl las vegas odds super bowl

traver city michigan casinos

casinos in california

cheap las vegas hotels motels

william hill free bets

past california lottery winning numbers

palace station casino las vegas official site

where can i play free online poker 3f

poker online freeroll tournaments

free yahoo spider solitaire card games

the best online poker players

samsung blackjack 2 review

mega super california lotto

california lottery mega millions drawing

football gambling sports betting

ncaa football odds fadjust sms 1 duplicate 11.9

how to make a living playing online poker

mountaineer gambling casino pa

free party poker play money bonus codes

atlantic city nj casinos and hotels

pinnacle sports betting odds american idol

free horse racing games to play on the internet

motorola new gsm phones

malay ringtones polyphonics

sony ericsson w300i phone manual

totally free ringtones for nextel i730

free downloadable ringtones for cell phones

ringtone mosquito download

ashiq banaya free ringtone composer nokia

download free cingular lg c1300 ringtones

oakwood mobile homes homepage

sony ericsson cell phones mobile phone

my t mobile us

yahoo mobile messenger download java

blue man group at the verizon wireless arena

alcatel usb speedtouch adsl modem

ringtones polyphonic nokia 2650

t mobile my faves plan

v3x themes downloads mobile phone

virgin mobile free ringtones for slider v5

new verizon phones cell

download free mobile themes for nokia

used champion mobile homes for sale

nokia n70 softwares and games

alcatel ot s853 firmware upgrade

light pink motorola razr on ebay

free nokia 5300 themes nth

verizon fios tampa florida

cell phones tip2008

find cell phone numbers by name free

free cell phone mobile sync software

downloadable ringtones for cellular south phones

sanyo sprint pcs free ringtones

samsung mobile tones download

A New Man
Seduction, Dating, Romance, Fashion, Grooming, Personal Development