Getting control of your calendar will help you gain control of your time. Read more at http://clutterbustingcoach.com/2010/09/25/the-calendar-your-best-friend/
Clutter Busting
Clutter Busting: Financial Records
I would feel remiss if I let April go by and didn’t address financial or tax records.
Since you have already pulled together all the papers you needed to complete your tax filing take a little more time to get you financial records fit.
Taking the time to get your financial records organized now will pay off big especially when next tax season rolls around.
Clutter Busting: Email Management
Do you feel like you are in email jail? Is your inbox too full? Do you spend too much time on email management? Begin managing your email and you will begin to manage your time.
To manage your outgoing emails:
- Be concise and to the point.
- Summarize the message in the first two sentences and expand in greater detail later.
- Follow basic principles of good business writing such as using proper grammar, sentence structure, use paragraphs and spell check (but not too much).
- Write effective subject lines by summarizing the content of the message
- Send the email only to people who need to be informed but are not the primary receipients.
- Use bcc to send to many people without cluttering the message with lots of addresses.
- Read the email before you send it to verify the content and tone.
- Double check recipients.
Here are some more general email tips: [Read more…] about Clutter Busting: Email Management
Clutter Busting: Meeting Management
Do you spend a great portion of your day in meetings? Do you feel that meetings are a waste of time?
If you are feeling that a lot of your time in unproductive meetings here are some tips:
- Schedule fewer meetings.
- Schedule shorter meetings.
- Schedule walking meetings.
- Schedule conference call or online meetings.
In order to make the most out of meetings and make them more productive:
- Set ground rules.
- Come prepared to the meeting.
- Start and end on time. Assign a timekeeper.
- Stay on target.
- Establish roles such as a minute taker.
- Set an agenda and send it prior to the meeting
- Summarize the meeting by actions
- Make sure the right people at the meetings. No one else.
People are willing to attend and actively participate in meetings that are efficient, effective and provide opportunity for meaningful participation. And time is money, so make the most of your meeting time.
Clutter Busting: It’s About Time
Do you feel there are not enough hours in the day? Do you want to gain some control of your time?
Time management will help you:
- Prioritize appropriately.
- Focus on what’s important.
- Conquer interruptions.
- Leverage yourself.
- Create work/life balance.
Not being in charge of your time is a problem because it takes a physical, mental and emotional toll on you. Value your time by implementing some of these solutions:
- Recognize time robbers.
- Build new and more effective habits into your day.
- Focus on effective actions.
- Allow a few exceptions into your plan.
It’s about time that you take control…there are only 24 hours in a day. Make the most of it.