Adopting Positive Time Management Habits

In the final posting of the Time Management blog series, I would like to suggest a few of the higher impact time management tactics that have worked for quite a few of my clients.  

Now, the techniques below may appear to be obvious.  However, it is committing to making them a habitual part of your life that is the truly rewarding challenge.  Are you up for the task?

1. In your projects, involve people that have ideas and perspectives different from your own.
2. Write down your plans, goals, and ideas.  Without clear direction, reaching your destination is difficult.
3. People who keep a journal are one-third more likely to feel a sense of progress in their lives.
4. Apply what you learn immediately to create positive habits and create long-lasting impact.
5. Take greater time when you speak.  People who speak slowly are considered more knowledgeable.

I welcome the opportunity to learn how you have used the information posted in our Time Management blog series in your life and can be contacted at 248-740-3231 or through my website - Michigan Business and Personal Coach.

Optimize Your Time Management

As a continuation of our Time Management Blog Series, Barry Demp offers some key suggestions on how to "Optimize" the use of your time.  The feedback that we have received from these blog posts has been tremendous and we encourage you to continue to provide your thoughts and results after using these suggestions by contacting us.  Here are some more great suggestions on the optimization of your time management:

1. Use a contact/time management system like Outlook, Act, Franklin Planner, or Goldmine CRM to organize your activities and keep your mind free to think creatively.  What are some ways you currently use these systems to save time?  Let us know. 
2. Hire a business, personal, or technology coach to help you put the necessary support structures in place to create new sustainable habits.  See what successful time managers say about this suggestion.
3. Limit interruptions and distractions by communicating new guidelines for gaining your attention.  Appropriately using a closed door and/or a "do not disturb" function on your phone system or simply scheduling your open-door times can help you to be more efficient.  
4. Stephen Covey uses the phrase, "Sharpen the Saw" as a way of investing in the preparatory activities necessary to be  most effective.  Training, Planning, and Organizing are examples of ways to sharpen the saw.  What are some others?  Let us know.
5. Striving for progress versus "perfection" is a way to free up tremendous time and energy.  What does this statement mean to you?

Barry Demp is a highly-skilled Michigan Business and Personal coach focused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team-building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance.  For more information or assistance, please contact Barry Demp at 248-740-3231 or visit www.dempcoaching.com.

Time Management Detox

Time Management strategies commonly include properly organizing your schedule, as well as, confirming appointments to ensure proper use of your time.  However, one key area to really focus on to optimize your Time Management strategy is to remove toxic behavior patterns.  Here are some thoughts, examples, and tips:   

1. Get rid of toxic people in your life.  They drain you of positive energy and waste your time.  Who are the toxic people in your life?  How could you limit their impact on your time?
2. Get plenty of sleep and exercise, and eat quality foods.  Develop a project action plan with a scoreboard to track your results.  Check out 10 ways to Un-Yuck Yourself.
3. Use the power of momentum.  Objects in motion tend to stay in motion.  Starting and stopping often breaks up your momentum.  Grouping "like activities" back to back takes advantage of momentum.
4. Consider a news and media fast.  Stop reading the newspaper and watching the news for at least a week and see what happens.  Important news still will find its way to you.  What else can you eliminate from your daily life that would not be missed?
5. Improve your communication skills so you reduce the need to repeat yourself.

Barry Demp is a highly-skilled Michigan Business and Personal coach focused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team-building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance.  For more information or assistance, please contact Barry Demp at 248-740-3231 or visit www.dempcoaching.com.

Strategies For Better Time Management

We all can benefit from better time management habits in our lives.  However, its consistently using these tools and tactics to keep ourselves on schedule and accountable to the achieving the results that we desire.  Here are some key tips to consider as you evaluate your time management strategies:

1. Structure your telephone time.  Set up times to accept, initiate, and return phone calls.  The best time to accept incoming calls is just prior to lunch or at the end of the workday.  Initiate or return calls early in the morning, just before lunch, or at the end of the day to contact difficult-to-reach individuals.  Consider a phone call a mini-meeting, so be prepared with an agenda and all you will need to be successful.
2. Brian Tracy wrote a book called "Eat That Frong".  It recommends doing the most unpleasant task as the first thing on your list.
3. Scheduling down time in your day helps to recover your mental and physical energy.  The book "The Power of Full Engagement" by Jim Loehr will help you expand on this important concept.
4. Scheduling meetings with yourself is a good way to accomplish key objections.  How can this one idea help you to be more effective with your use of time?
5. Work with your body's natural biological rhythm.  Are you a night owl or morning person?  If you wear out in the mid afternoon consider taking a quick nap to recharge your energy. 

Barry Demp is a highly-skilled Michigan Business and Personal coach focused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team-building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance.  For more information or assistance, please contact Barry Demp at 248-740-3231 or visit www.dempcoaching.com.

Masterful Time Management Tips

Time is such a valuable asset to us all.  Consider what your time is worth to your business or family and then imagine the how you feel when that time is wasted on activities that do not give you a fair exchange of value.

Here are some tips to help you master your time management:

1. Where is your time going?  Do a time log on a daily, weekly, and perhaps monthly basis.  Write your tasks down exactly so you can find the real time-wasters.  Awareness of your actual situation is critical to improving how you use your time.
2. Create a new daily routine - 90% of all human behavior is habitual.  "If you keep doing what you are doing, you will keep getting what you are getting."  "When patterns are broken new worlds will emerge."
3. Prioritize and stay focused.  What one or two items on your to-do list must absolutely be finished?  What are your priorities today, this week, and this month at home and at work?  Share these priorities with others.
4. Reduce interruptions by creating stronger boundaries.  What are your ideas regarding the establishment of boundaries?  As a reference and helper I like the book - "The Power of The Positive No" by William Ury.

Barry Demp is a highly-skilled Michigan Business and Personal coach focused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team-building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance.  For more information or assistance, please contact Barry Demp at 248-740-3231 or visit www.dempcoaching.com.

Time Management Strategies That Work

Mastering how to best utilize the 24 hours that we are given each day is one of the top areas that most people want to impact in their relationship with their coach. 

Why is it that some people seem to have a calm demeanor and create breakthrough results and yet the majority of us run around each day with too much of our to-do list still undone at the end of the day?

Over the next five weeks we will be offering to our followers and blog readers over forty time management techniques and tips that work.  Our challenge to you is that each week you select the one or two you tips that you believe will most help you.  Selecting only a few changes and making these adjustments over an extended period of time will result in a sustainable difference in your professional and personal life.  Please let me know how things are going by sending a message to Barry Demp.

• The 80/20 rule always applies – List two of your activities that produce the greatest results and eight that produce minimal results.  Consider doing more of the first two activities and less of the eight.
• Plan the next day’s activities in advance before leaving your office for the day.  Use tools such as online calendar, offline calendars, white boards, personal data assistance, smart phones, and more.
• Think geographically and avoid excessive travel time between appointments.  Use drive time to learn or use a “Bluetooth” device to talk with key people while traveling between appointments.  How else can you think geographically?  Let us know.
• Confirm all appointments ahead of schedule to avoid dead time.
• Work on your relationship skills.  Great relationship skills produce great results.

Barry Demp is a highly-skilled Michigan business and personal coach focused on the areas of leadership, management, coaching, team-building, networking, business development, communication skills, relationship building, motivation, time management, life balance, and goal achievement. He specializes in working with business owners, executives, coaches, consultants, and high-potential professionals by helping them significantly increase their productivity, profitability, and life balance.  For more information or assistance, please contact Barry Demp at 248-740-3231 or visit www.dempcoaching.com.