Monday Motivation - 27 August

“The potential of the average person is like a huge ocean unsailed, a new continent unexplored, a world of possibilities waiting to be released and channeled toward some great good.” ~ Brian Tracy

Time Management Tips - Part 2

Here are five more tips for managing your time and work, through managing interruptions.

1. When a meeting is scheduled with a colleague, go to their office. It is much easier to leave their room then to get them to leave yours once they are settled.

2. Only have one or two spare chairs in your office, to help discourage people from long visits.

3. When asked if you have a minute to spare, answer that you literally only have one minute, give a brief reason why (people respond well to ‘because’) then ask if that one minute is enough or should you both agree another time to talk. If you agree another time, let them see you note this in your appointment diary.

4. Have a large clock on the wall behind you so that visitors can see that time is moving on.

5. Use verbal clues and body language to encourage someone to leave your office. So if someone barges in and starts talking at you, stand to greet them and remain standing, looking at the clock behind you before you speak to them (not while they are speaking) to indicate you have to keep an eye on the time. Tell them you only have x minutes to talk because you have a deadline to meet.

There will be more tips posted later this week.

Monday Motivation - 20 August

“Always remember that striving and struggle precede success, even in the dictionary.” ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach

Time Management Tips - Part 1

Managing time effectively is an issue for many people. There are various aspects involved in dealing with this - planning, prioritising, delegating, saying no, creating systems and managing interruptions.

It has been estimated that some managers get interrupted every six minutes! So if that’s the case for you, try some of the techniques set out below and then review the impact on your working day.

1. Have a ‘do not disturb’ sign that you can put up, or agree with colleagues another way of showing you are not available at certain times unless it is an emergency (and agree in advance with others what this actually includes). Be aware of the need to balance keeping informed with managing interruptions. And once you have agreed a ‘do not disturb’ signal, do not abuse it by always being unavailable or it will increasingly be ignored.

2. If you are interrupted when dealing with a task, take a few moments to write yourself a note about what stage you were at – this will make it easier to recall your thought processes and carry on with the task later.

3. Estimate the time for a task and then increase it to allow for interruptions. Finishing earlier will feel like a bonus! And when planning your week, leave space in your schedule generally so you have time to deal with the unexpected and react effectively and calmly.

4. Rather than always answering your telephone, use your answering machine or voice mail to take a message, or have your secretary/assistant/colleague take messages during certain periods and only bring them to you at agreed upon intervals. Then deal with phone calls in a limited number of sessions.

5. Turn off the ‘you have mail’ alert on your PC and only look at your email at certain times during the day – and limit this to a few times unless absolutely necessary.

I will be giving more tips for managing your time, in part 2.

Have a great week!

Monday Motivation - 13 August

“Never fear shadows. They simply mean there's a light shining somewhere nearby.” ~ Ruth E. Renkel

On with the dance!

Mark Twain said: “On with the dance, let joy be unconfined is my motto, whether there’s any dance to dance or any joy to unconfine."

I often use music, and a dance around my lounge, to raise my energy and cheer myself up. And it's a technique I share when coaching my clients; several now do likewise, as music and dance really can lift our mood. One client sings along to Abba in the car so she no longer minds about the traffic jams, another has a quick 10 minute bop to her favourite music in between meetings to help her de-stress and relax.

Yesterday I found some links to YouTube videos with great music, plus they made me smile, so I am sharing them with you today to spread a little joy! Check these out:

There's the evolution of dance at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMH0bHeiRNg

A wedding party dancing to Thriller http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPmYbP0F4Zw

And finally Fatboy Slim's Weapon of Choice at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WW8flwpH-Q

On with the dance!

Monday Motivation - 6 August

“When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you until it seems that you cannot hold on for a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.” ~ Harriet Beecher Stowe