Frog eating made easy

Time starvation erodes your productivity.
Ever felt completely drained of energy?
John Zenoni called it “stripped clean as a sapling”.
Most of your “to do” list not been touched?
Here are three tips to help you manage the muddle.
1. Just close your door.
Put a sign on it: “I’m busy. Come back later.”
Lock the door to keep the Time Bandits out.
Don’t let these jerks steal your day.
Work at home? Tell the kids you’ll be busy.
“Draw me a picture, honey, or write me a story.
“Give me an hour, then we’ll go shopping.”
2. Put everything in your in-box.
Nothing gets lost that way. Quit hunting.
Just sort the in-box and you’ll find it.
In fact, prioritize the in-box.
Put the really important stuff on top.
That way, you get to it at the start of the day.
3. Tackle the big frogs first.
Mark Twain advised swallowing a frog each morning.
If you’ve got two, swallow the bigger one first.
Mark meant tackle the big payoff projects first.
That's when you’re fresh and ready to work.
Don’t let the little stuff bog you down.
To share a time saver, click on “comment”.
For more time savers, email me.
My address is JerryBellune@yahoo.com

9 steps to effective achievement

Highly motivated people keep lists of written goals.
An unwritten goal is still little more than a dream.
Here are the nine I use to set and achieve my goals.
They work every time, time after time, without fail.
1. Think what you want to achieve. Only you can do it.
2. Write in the first person, present tense.
"I feel great about meeting five sales prospects today.
"Their names and contact information . . ."
3. Make them brief. See 14-word goal above.
4. Make them specific. "Five sales prospects."
5. Use feeling words. "I feel great . . ."
6. Stay focused. Block out distractions and time bandits.
You know who the time bandits are. More on that later.
7. Set realistic deadlines on every project.
8. Hold yourself accountable to make those deadlines.
9. Reward yourself for achieving each goal.
Yes, reward yourself. It increases your motivation.
We’ll talk about time and productivity Thursday.
To leave a comment, please click on ‘comment’ below.
For more on self motivation, please click here.

Close the door, please

Yesterday we talked about getting rid of "stuff".
Today we’ll talk about controlling our time.
Time really is a democratic resource.
It’s the one thing all of us have in equal measure.
But the Time Bandits want to take it from us.
They come in, plunk down and want to talk.
We’re busy but they ignore that.
What do they want to talk about?
Problems with their spouse or children.
Gossip about our friends and colleagues.
Who’s sleeping with whom. That kind of stuff.
Maybe even what they watched on TV last night.
Do we have time for this? Of course not.
Is there a door to your office? Just close it.
That’s right. Close the door. They’ll get the hint.
If not, stand when they come in.
Tell them: "I’m busy. Could we talk later?"
Later as in maybe next year.
Don’t let the Time Bandits hold you up.
For a business success strategy, click here.
Tomorrow we’ll talk about smoking the Chinese way.
It's non-addictive. See you then.

Heading Time Bandits off at the pass

Three of the worst words in our language are “Got a minute?”
The Time Bandits use those words to waste hours of your life.
Some simply want to gossip or chat.
Many have no purpose other than to hog your time.
They have nothing better to do with themselves.
What can you do about them?
Strategy #1. If you have an office door, close it.
Some of the less astute may ignore this subtle signal.
If they do . . .
Strategy #2. Stand up when they enter.
Do not offer them a chair.
Most will get the message and leave.
For those who don’t . . .
Strategy #3. Ask what you can do for them.
If there’s nothing they need, thank them for stopping by.
Suggest you get together after you’ve finished your big project.
Let them know that may be some time next week.
For more Time Bandit strategies, go to
http://www.jerrybellune.com/success-strategies.htm
Scroll down to #19, "Dealing with Time Bandits".
For questions, write me at Jerry@JerryBellune.com.