Defining Time & Space News

We have discussed our calendar and our contacts; the third area is our tasks.  This can be the hardest of all of these to gain real control of.   Much of this has to do with how record this information and how we prioritize what we do.  The task list never ends so we can find ourselves frustrated with what we accomplish or shall I say what we don’t accomplish. 

What we can do to remedy this is to focus on what are goals are and which of these tasks get us to that end.  Now that is easy to say, but how do we do it.  This is where we have to try to match a system to how we think and act or our willing to try to change or behavior to.  This can be a simple as a system you create, a Franklin Covey Planner (which has a great built in system), or a Planner Pad.

Choose a system that allows for:

1.    A list of tasks

2.    A way to review them to be able to choose the highest priorities each week

3.    The ability to schedule those prioritized tasks into our calendar

Then we must be disciplined to review the bigger picture list on a weekly basis and the daily tasks schedule for the week on a daily basis.  Getting into a routine of doing this can make a fantastic difference in what we accomplish each day!

Best wishes,

Rosanne

770.995.8556

www.dtsorganizing.com

Tags: Office, Time management by organizing atlanta
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Like our calendar we can keep a paper or electronic system for our contacts but we must choose one that works best for our needs.  We must define our needs not just for our present use but how we would like this system to accommodate our needs in the future.

In trying to decide what is best there are a few things to consider:

1.     How often does it need to be updated? 

2.    How often it is accessed?

3.    Does it need to be mobile?

4.    How many contacts do we expect to keep?

5.    What information do we need to keep for our contacts?

To decide on the best system these questions need to be considered.  Smaller lists of contacts can be managed with a simpler system, may not need to be with us all the time and can be a simple address book or addresses in an email system.  Larger data bases of contacts may need to be accessed often, probably need to have the ability to sync with a mobile device and are added to and updated often.  Here a system like Outlook and syncing with a Blackberry or Palm type device may be a better solution.

Finally when thinking about managing contacts, especially larger numbers of them.  Consider whether the system allows for sorting, the fields available to capture the data needed and also the search capability to find information.  Again Outlook 2007 provides a very good way to capture this information, sort and use it to provide a great productivity tool.

Keeping in contact,

Rosanne

770.995.8556

www.dtsorganizing.com

Tags: E-mail, Time management by organizing atlanta
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This first week we will focus on our calendar.  Whether we use a simple calendar, a planner or a Blackberry/Palm type electronic system, we need to be sure to “keep one set of books”.  When we keep multiple calendars it leaves us open to missing events and not knowing when our time is and is not available.  It is very important that we keep our calendar system current so that we have all the facts included.  Finally it is critical that we look at it routinely.  Looking at our calendar may sound like a “no brainer” but, many of us often start the morning without even knowing what we have planned for the day.

Things to think about in choosing between a paper and electronic system: 

1.     Is the system portable to have with you all the time?

2.     Is the system easy to update?

3.     Is the system easy to share with those who need to know what is on your schedule?

4.     Do you need to be a able to sync it to your computer?

5.    Do you want to be able to back up the information?

Keeping a good calendar will make a big difference in keeping a smooth office running.

Make the best of your time,

Rosanne

770.995.8556

www.dtsorganizing.com

Tags: Office, Time management by organizing atlanta
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Even after prioritizing and scheduling tasks, we can help ourselves a little more by taking the time to decide whether all the actions or steps of our tasks need to be done to begin with and the best time and way to do them.  Sometimes we do things because this is the way we have always done them or because we haven’t spent time to really analyze the tasks to be accomplished.

The simple act of looking carefully at the specifics of tasks can streamline the process and allow us to accomplish them easier.  Are we planning the detailed steps in the best order?  Are we allowing sufficient time to execute the tasks?  Do we have the tools needed?  Are we planning difficult tasks when we are able to work at our peak performance?  These steps can help us eliminate effort while actually accomplishing more.

Tags: Time management by organizing atlanta
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Even after prioritizing and scheduling tasks, we can help ourselves a little more by taking the time to decide whether all the actions or steps of our tasks need to be done to begin with and the best time and way to do them.  Sometimes we do things because this is the way we have always done them or because we haven’t spent time to really analyze the tasks to be accomplished.

The simple act of looking carefully at the specifics of tasks can streamline the process and allow us to accomplish them easier.  Are we planning out the detailed steps?  Are these steps in the best order?  Are we allowing sufficient time to execute the tasks?  Do we have the tools needed?  Are we planning difficult tasks when we are able to work at our peak performance?  Using these steps can help us eliminate effort while actually accomplishing more.

Best wishes,

Rosanne

770.995.8556

www.dtsorganizing.com

Tags: Time management by organizing atlanta
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We have talked about the benefits of prioritizing our tasks and knowing which tasks are the most important, but sometimes that isn’t enough to get them done.  We put tasks, we have defined as important, on our task list but often days, weeks or even months go by and they just don’t seem to get done. 

What is the reason for this?  The number one reason and the solution are one and the same.  We need to schedule them.  It is amazing how we schedule all the things other people ask us to do or that we do for others but forget to put the things we need to really get accomplished for ourselves either personally or professionally.  The solution is to take time to decide when these tasks need to be accomplished and put them on our calendar.  Remember to schedule an appropriate amount of time to get the task completed and/or break the task down into smaller increments to ensure success.

To your scheduling success,

Rosanne

770.995.8556

www.dtsorganizing.com

Tags: Time management by organizing atlanta
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Many of us work very hard but just don’t feel that sense of accomplishment at the end of the day.   Why is that? Why do we make long lists, check them off, but still feel unsatisfied.  The reason for this is that we need to connect the tasks on our list to our goals.  When we routinely make our list of things to do and check them off, we are treading water.  But when we review our list and prioritize it to do the tasks that will allow us to meet our goals, we start swimming toward the finish line. 

The answer is to take time to review our goals and the list of tasks we need to accomplish.  If we prioritize tasks to work on the ones that will help us achieve our goals we will put in the same effort as before but we will meet more of our goals and feel much better about it.  Think about it, we will work just as hard if not harder treading water than setting our sights on the goal, swimming to the finish line and attaining our reward.

Good luck with your swim, 

Rosanne

770.995.8556

www.dtsorganizing.com

Tags: Time management by organizing atlanta
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We cannot add any more time in our life; we all have the same 24 hours of it.  We cannot buy more, borrow more, make more or even steal more.  Time is the one possession in our life where we are truly equal; no matter whom we are.  It doesn’t matter if we are rich or poor, what kinds of job we have, what house we live in, or what our education is.  Shouldn’t time be the one thing that we covet the most and spend our life cherishing?

Well, we cannot put any more time in our life but we can add more life in our time.   Read that again if you didn’t get it. It is a very important concept.  So what we do with our time is the key!  Part of making this happen, is for us to really know as an individual, as a family and in our careers what is most important to us.  When we stray from that focus, we find ourselves in trouble and need to regain our focus in order to meet our goals. 

If you haven’t done this exercise or haven’t done it in a while, stop and write down what in your life is most important and connect it to the roles you play in your life.  For example, your role as a spouse, a parent, a child, a sibling, an employee, an employer, a friend, and cannot forget grandparent.  In these roles we can identify what specifically defines our personal or professional success in order to achieve our overall mission.  Really taking the time to understand these allows us to better identify and prioritize how we spend our time in these hectic days. It is the key, take it and open an new door.

Wishing you more life!

Rosanne

770.995.8556

www.dtsorganizing.com

Tags: Time management by organizing atlanta
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Have you ever spent a lot more time than you wanted trying to find a file or email message on your computer?  One solution is to use Google Desktop.  Google Desktop allows anyone to create a search engine, like the search engines we use on line, for our very own desk top of data.

After downloading the “free” software from Google, we can search our computer files for an email, filed document, web history and other areas by just typing in the key word we are looking for and pressing the “search button”.  All the places the key word is stored will appear and we can then search a much smaller data base of information.  Questions, contact me.

Happy Searching

Rosanne

770.995.8556

www.dtsorganizing.com

Tags: Filing, Office, Time management by organizing atlanta
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I am sure that most everyone has made a New Years resolution this year even if we haven’t formally written them down or even uttered them verbally to another human being.  Our success at achieving these goals is small without serious planning.  Just as common as New Years resolutions themselves, is fact that a few months or even weeks into the New Year, those resolutions are completely forgotten.  What can we do to increase our chances of making these important goals happen?

First, is to be sure they are written down.  There is something a bit more definite about writing things down.  We need to be as specific as possible.  If we want to lose weight, we need a plan to determine how much and by when?

Second, like any goals, we need to decide how we will make this happen.  Need to lose a few pounds, what is going to change?  Remember Albert Einstein’s, famous quote, “Insanity is doing the same thing but expecting a different result.”  Our plan should include change we can and will actually do.  In this example, we need to decide if we are going to add exercise and/or cut calories but it has to be one or the other or some combination.

Third, success can be greatly increased with an accountability partner.  Letting someone else know about our goals and plans can only make success easier to achieve.  We need to define though, the guidelines of our accountability.  We need to keep this experience positive, so make decisions up front about how often to get a status, and how much involvement is helpful but not too much.  We want to keep any support and feedback encouraging and not discouraging.

Fourth pictures are worth a thousand words.  This old saying can be helpful to us here.  In our example of losing weight, we can focus on a picture we would like to aspire to.  If we want to organize a room, we can focus on what we want it to look like, etc. 

Fifth and finally we cannot give up if we have a bad day or week.  We need to just reset our goal, make sure are plan is clear and continue on.  Remember New Years resolutions are made because we have decided to schedule something we already know is very important to us.  The fact that it is important is unlikely to change, so we must stay focused on our goal and why it is important.

Happy New Year,

Rosanne

770.995.8556

www.dtsorganizing.com

Tags: Time management by organizing atlanta
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