Description
Book SynopsisIncorporate effective time management and transform your life If you always feel like there''s not enough time in the day to get everything accomplished, Successful Time Management For Dummies is the resource that can help change your workday and your life. Filled with insights into how the most successful people manage distractions, fight procrastination, and optimize their workspace, this guide provides an in-depth look at the specific steps you can use to take back those precious hours and minutes to make more of your workday and your leisure time.
Modern life is packed with commitments that take up time and energy. But by more effectively managing time and cutting out unnecessary and unproductive activities, you really can do more with less. In this complete guide to time management, you''ll find out how to manage email effectively, cut down on meetings and optimize facetime, use technology wisely, maximize your effectiveness during travel, and much more.
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Icons Used in This Book 2
Foolish Assumptions 3
Beyond the Book 3
Where to Go From Here 4
Part I: Beginning the Revolution: Simple Steps to Start With 5
Chapter 1: The Essence of Good Time Management: Organizing Yourself 7
Planning in Advance 8
Achieving peace of mind 8
Activating your subconscious mind 9
The 1,000 percent return 9
Assemble all that is needed 9
Handle everything—just once 10
Grabbing the Three Keys to Personal Organization 11
Stepping back to evaluate 11
Developing neatness habits 11
Refuse to excuse 12
Chapter 2: Setting Yourself Up for Success 13
Getting to Know Yourself 14
Assessing your strengths and weaknesses 14
Naming goals to give you direction 15
Assigning a monetary worth to your time 16
Identifying your rhythm to get in the zone 16
Following a System 18
Scheduling your time and creating a routine 18
Organizing your surroundings 18
Overcoming Time‐Management Obstacles 19
Communicating effectively 20
Circumventing interruptions 20
Getting procrastination under control 21
Making decisions: Just do it 21
Garnering Support While Establishing Your Boundaries 22
Balancing work and time with family and friends 22
Streamlining interactions with co‐workers and customers 23
Keeping Motivation High 23
Chapter 3: Linking Time Management to Life Goals 25
Understanding Why You Need to Put Your Goals on Paper 26
Establishing Your Fabulous 50 .27
What do you want to have? 29
What do you want to see? 29
What do you want to do? 30
What do you want to give? 30
Who do you want to become? 31
Labeling and Balancing Your Fabulous 50 32
Assigning a time frame to each goal 32
Categorizing your goals 34
Targeting 12 Goals to Start With 35
Narrowing down your list 36
Noting why your top‐12 goals are important to you 36
Pinpointing Your Resource Needs 37
Accruing funds: A capital idea 38
Expanding your knowledge 38
Honing your skill set 38
Tapping into human resources 39
Chapter 4: Putting a Value on Your Time 41
Getting a Good Grip on the Time‐Equals‐Money Concept 42
Calculating Your Hourly Income 43
Boosting Your Hourly Value through Your Work Efforts 45
Making Value‐Based Time Decisions in Your Personal Life 46
Deciding whether to buy time: Chores and responsibilities 47
Making time‐spending decisions: Leisure activities 48
Looking at rewards 48
Factoring in monetary and time costs 48
Staying open to experiences and using time wisely 49
Part II: Establishing a Good System 51
Chapter 5: Focusing Your Efforts, Prioritizing Tasks, and Blocking Your Time 53
Focusing Your Energy with the 80/20 Theory of Everything 54
Matching time investment to return 54
The vital 20 percent: Figuring out where to focus your energy at work 57
Personal essentials: Channeling efforts in your personal life 58
Getting Down to Specifics: Daily Prioritization 62
Blocking Off Your Time and Plugging in Your To-Do Items 64
Step 1: Dividing your day 65
Step 2: Scheduling your personal activities 66
Step 3: Factoring in your work activities 67
Step 4: Accounting for weekly self- evaluation and planning time 67
Step 5: Building in flex time 68
Assessing Your Progress and Adjusting Your Plan as Needed 69
Surveying your results 69
Tweaking your system 71
Chapter 6: Efficiently Working from a Home Office 73
Knowing Yourself and Your Environment 73
Is working from home for you? 74
Weighing the pros and cons of a home office 75
Defining your space needs 77
Selecting the Right Equipment 78
More than a desk and chair 78
Desktops, laptops, scanners, and other tools 79
Managing the lighting and noise 80
Getting the Work Done from Home 80
Fighting the home interruptions 81
Working at home with kids 82
Feeling isolated from the business world 82
Chapter 7: Setting Up and Maintaining a Productive Workspace 85
Streamlining Your Workspace 86
Make way! Clearing off your desk 86
Assembling essential organizational tools 87
Setting up a timely filing system 88
Tackling piles systematically 90
Keeping Clutter from Coming Back 91
Handling documents and papers once 92
Filing regularly 94
Taking notes that you can track 94
Limiting the Paper You Receive 95
Accounting for Ergonomics and Aesthetics 97
Setting up a proper workstation 98
Decorating your space 98
Chapter 8: Fine-Tuning Organization Skills with Technology 101
Plugging into Electronic Scheduling 102
The calendar-sharing benefits of electronic scheduling tools 102
The utility of portable planners 103
De-cluttering Your Computer or Tablet (and Keeping It That Way) 104
Naming files and organizing them with an electronic tree 104
Offloading excess by archiving or deleting 107
Saving new files strategically 108
Managing Contact Info with a CRM Program 109
Looking at software and services 110
Unleashing the capabilities of a CRM program 110
Creating effective client profiles 112
Putting a CRM program on a server or in the cloud to maximize accessibility and backup 113
Part III: Using Technology to Leverage Your Time 117
Chapter 9: Leveraging Your Time with Technology 119
Timing Is Everything: Taking Charge of Your Time 120
Making choices about technology 120
Automate rather than replicate 120
Communicating Effectively through Technology 121
Social media options to consider 122
Using FaceTime, Skype, and other video communication systems 123
Engaging through online meeting platforms 123
Organizational Technology Tools 126
Building your system to find what you need fast 126
Protecting your technology from catastrophe 127
Clouding, Dropboxing, and storing your stuff 127
Creating a Digital Brain with Evernote 128
Getting your notes, ideas, and thoughts into Evernote 129
Remembering and finding things you need 130
Chapter 10: Controlling Email Overload 131
Managing Email Effectively 131
Setting up filtering systems 131
Separating Your Work and Private Life 132
Managing multiple email addresses 133
Organizing and storing email 133
Responding to email using less time 134
Employing an email response system 135
Automating your responses 137
Chapter 11: The Facebook Balancing Act 139
The Time Advantages of Facebook 139
The black hole of time in Facebook 140
Which to use personally and professionally 141
Using your personal page to create business 142
Leveraging your Facebook business pages 143
Keeping Contacts with Facebook 144
To friend or not to friend that is the question 145
Posting from public to private 145
Getting people to share your posts 146
Using the list feature to manage interaction 147
Communicating through groups 148
Chapter 12: Twitter: Time Saver or Time Waster 149
Deciding Who to Follow 149
Those from which you can learn 151
Those with which you can have fun 151
Those with whom you can profit 151
Those you can teach 152
Preventing a Twitter Takeover 152
Chapter 13: Creating Effective LinkedIn Strategies 155
Creating a Link‐able Profile 155
Creating a personal profile 156
Sharing your experience 156
Picturing yourself on LinkedIn 157
Defining LinkedIn Goals, Objectives, and Connections 157
Establishing Your LinkedIn Schedule 158
The two‐check system 159
Meeting weekly to check for success 159
Part IV: Confronting Challenges to Time Management 161
Chapter 14: Communicating Strategically to Get Results — Fast 163
Choosing the Right Medium for Your Message 164
Communicating face to face 164
Vocalizing your message over the phone 166
Putting messages in writing: The joys (and perils) of email, text, and instant messages 167
Basic Communication Skills: Being Direct and Succinct 169
Cutting out the clutter in your language 170
Including the essential stuff 170
Fostering Camaraderie When Meeting in Person 171
Corresponding Clearly and Confidently via Telephone 172
Writing Effective Emails 174
Crafting a clear and targeted subject line 174
Keeping an eye on composition 175
Reviewing your writing 177
Preparing for the send-off 178
Asking Targeted Questions to Get Results 178
Determining what sorts of answers you need 179
Starting the flow with open-ended questions 179
Narrowing the focus with closed-ended questions 180
Pinning down maybes and other conditional responses 181
Achieving a positive tone 182
Preparing to listen 182
Chapter 15: Defending Your Day from Interruptions 185
The Fortress: Guarding Your Focus from Invasion 186
Protecting your domain from interior intrusions 186
Scheduling time offline 189
Screening interruptions before letting them through 191
Secondary Defenses: Minimizing Damage When Calls Get Through 193
Delegating the responsibility 193
Shortening or condensing the conversation 194
Rebooking discussions for a better time 194
Handling Recurring Interruptions by Co-Workers 195
The colleague with nothing to do 195
The colleague who just doesn’t want to work 196
The employee who’s wrapped up in his world 196
The person who treats work as her sole social outlet 197
Dealing with Interruption-Oriented Bosses 197
The seagull manager 198
The verbal delegator 198
Working with Intrusive Clients 199
A little attention goes a long way 200
Setting clients’ expectations 201
Chapter 16: Overcoming Procrastination 203
Staring Down the Source: How Procrastination Takes Hold 203
Calling on short‐sighted logic: “I have plenty of time” 204
Avoiding the unpleasant: “I don’t want to think about it now” 204
Triggering your fears: “What if I screw up? And what if I don’t?” 205
Paralyzed by perfection: “I’ll wait till the time is right” 206
Sabotaging at mid‐process: “I’ve earned a break” 206
Looking for thrills: “I work best under pressure” 207
Knowing Whether to Put It Off 208
Poor procrastination: Considering the costs 208
Wise procrastination: Knowing when to hold ‘em 209
Laying the Groundwork: Altering Your Mindset and Instituting Discipline 211
Motivating yourself with the carrot‐or‐stick approach 211
Recognizing excuses and shoving them aside 213
Give me a break: Putting off procrastination 215
Conquering Dreaded Tasks with Sandwich Tactics 215
The eat‐the‐crust‐first approach: Starting with the tough job 216
The Swiss‐cheese approach: Poking little holes in the task 216
The salami approach: Finishing it one slice at a time 217
The discard‐the‐garnish approach: Getting it off your plate 217
Maintaining Your Motivation as You Press Ahead 218
Chapter 17: Coping with a Time-Wasting Boss 221
Fulfilling Your Objectives to Help Your Boss Meet Hers 222
Maintaining Personal Boundaries 223
Preparing to Discuss Your Concerns with Your Boss 224
Identifying concerns and gathering supporting evidence 225
Reflecting on your boss’s behavior style 226
Initiating and Fostering a Win‐Win Discussion 229
Irreconcilable Differences: Knowing When to Move On 231
Chapter 18: Mastering Meetings with Co‐Workers 233
Devising Objectives, Listing Attendees, and Crafting an Agenda 234
Clarifying the purpose of the meeting 234
Creating a guest list 236
Holding informal, preliminary mini‐meetings 237
Putting together the agenda 238
Scheduling the Time and Place 240
Finding a good time slot 240
Considering the location 241
The Day Of: Running the Meeting Well 244
Arriving early for setup 244
Launching the meeting 245
Keeping the meeting moving 246
Assigning action items 247
Summarizing and concluding the meeting 248
Following Up for Maximum Productivity 249
Part V: Maintaining Efficiency When Working with Others 251
Chapter 19: Time Management for Administrative Staff 253
Recognizing Common Pitfalls 254
Keeping Your Eyes on the Goal: Your Boss’s Lead 254
Boosting your admin image: Ask and you shall receive 255
Getting face time with the boss 255
Dealing with a meeting‐phobe 256
Working for a meeting‐phile 257
Asking the right questions 257
Adopting Strategies to Stay On Track 259
Starting with a few simple steps 259
Protecting peak productivity periods 260
Getting your priorities in order 262
Seeking clarification about your objectives 262
Creating and qualifying a comprehensive task list 263
Chapter 20: Time Management for Salespeople 265
Breaking Your Time‐Investment Portfolio into Three Categories 266
The money‐makers: Direct income‐producing activities (DIPA) 267
The prep work: Indirect income‐producing activities (IIPA) 268
Administrative stuff: Production‐supporting activities (PSA) 270
Letting the numbers scare you straight 270
Tracking Your Time to See Where You Stand 271
Recording your activities 272
Evaluating your time‐tracking sheets 273
Looking back at your day 273
Reflecting on your week, month, quarter, and year 274
A DIPA success story 275
Planning Your Day around DIPA 275
Picking time for DIPA and using that slot wisely 275
Getting off to a good start 276
Giving priority to prospecting 276
Leaving time for following up on leads 277
Blocking out time for sales presentations 278
Planning for personal development 278
Continuing education: A lifelong journey 279
Role‐playing: Getting ready for prime time 280
Evaluating your sales presentation performance 281
Scheduling your DIPA time 282
Incorporating IIPA into Your Day 283
Using IIPA time to review sales results 283
Keeping IIPA in check 284
Decreasing Your PSA Time 284
Questioning the way it’s done 286
Chapter 21: Time Management for Business Owners and Executives 287
Stepping Back and Observing Your Time Investment 288
Increasing Time on Growth Activities 290
Responsive Tasks: Decreasing Your “In” Time 291
Solidifying your organizational chart 292
Crafting clear job descriptions 293
Creating room for growth with supplemental task lists 295
Devising a management plan 296
Empowering your staff 297
Organizing Daily Priorities 298
Planning Ahead: Balancing Your “On” Time 298
Setting aside daily and monthly “on” time 300
Performing a quarterly and yearly review of “on” time 301
Chapter 22: Coaching Others to Manage Time Effectively 303
Finding Out Who’d Benefit from Training 304
Using the four probabilities of success as a gauge 304
Tapping into an employee’s motivation 306
Establishing Goals 308
Incorporating Tools and Strategies 309
Fostering Partnership and Encouraging Success 311
Setting up benchmarks and check‐ins to instill accountability 312
Being consistent 313
Fulfilling your role as a mirror 314
Dealing with a Lack of Progress: Can This Employee Be Saved? 315
Accepting them, warts and all 316
Giving it one more try 316
Saying sayonara 317
Part VI: The Part of Tens 319
Chapter 23: Ten Time‐Wasting Behaviors 321
Failing to Stop and Think 321
Multitasking 322
Working without Breaks 323
Demanding Perfection 323
Worrying and Waiting 324
Hooking Up to the Tube 324
Surfing the Web 325
Getting Caught in Junk Mail Undertow 326
Killing Time in Transit 328
Spending Time with Negative People 328
Chapter 24: Ten Time‐Efficient Habits 331
Start Your Day Early 331
Plan for the Next Day 332
Take Care of Your Health 333
Eating for optimal performance 333
Exercising for energy and stamina 333
Sleeping for rejuvenation 334
Set Aside Downtime 334
Plan Meals for the Week 335
Delegate Almost Everything 336
Say No More Often 336
Always Use a Time-Management System 337
Simplify Your Life 337
Begin Every Day at Zero 338
Index 339
