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Top 10 Time Management TechniquesJune 2004I am pleased to send to you this month's issue of Champions, Top 10 Time Management Techniques. Successful people take responsibility for their time by developing and implementing a plan of action that get results. Use these top ten tips to achieve superior time management and success. I hope that you enjoy reading Top 10 Time Management Techniques. 1. Plan your schedule. Figure out how much time you will spend on areas of your business that you want to improve or develop. Assign specific action items to each area. Place short- range items, due within 30-60 days, directly in your calendar in the time slot reserved for its specific area. Place long-range action items, due over 90 days, on your "To Do" list to be transferred to your calendar at the appropriate time. 2. Focus your efforts. Set aside a place in your calendar where you write down three things you want to remember or accomplish during each meeting or networking event you attend. Remember to include items like collecting email addresses for your e-zine, networking with five new individuals, or listening carefully to names. Schedule time on your calendar to process information collected at these events and for follow-up. 3. Leverage your time. Review your schedule at the beginning of each week. Write down the times you will be available in your office for incoming calls. Post this schedule where you can easily see and use it to leave productive detailed messages outlining your availability, minimizing "phone tag." 4. Prepare yourself. Read your daily schedule three times: at the beginning of each day, before your lunch or break, and at the end of each business day. This helps your mind focus on the tasks ahead. Schedule action items that inspire you during the part of your day when your natural body rhythm slows down. 5. Maximize your resources. Set up a system of resource folders with specialty areas such as leadership development or time/stress management. Collect articles, statistics, quotes, and other relevant information in the folder for each specialty area. This will prove invaluable to your speaking, training, and writing projects. Keep a current list of all the resources you have personally created including published articles, workshop material, and speaker presentations. Review this list quarterly for opportunities to develop ideas for passive revenue. 6. Capture your ideas. Carry a journal just to jot down ideas, thoughts, and insights. Purchase a mini tape recorder when speaking is a better option, like when you're driving or exercising. Go through your journal and/or mini recorder once a week and add ideas you want to explore to your calendar. 7. Manage your clients. Create a file folder for each client. Designate areas in your office for bulky client items that do not fit into a file folder. Briefly review folder contents before contacting your client. Create a specific action plan to introduce your other products or services to your client. 8. Handle your projects. Set up a separate folder for each speaking engagement, workshop, course, and teleclass you present. Create one special folder for ongoing assignments like monthly articles you write for a particular publication. Make a separate folder for each organization you are actively involved in. 9. Evaluate your progress. Keep a journal exclusively for the purpose of tracking your progress. At the end of each business day write down what you did that brought you closer to your goals and/or actions that hindered your goals. Review this journal at the beginning of each week and decide whether to continue or change your actions. 10. Motivate and inspire yourself. Create a visual system, such as a corkboard, where you can place your quarterly goals in a layout that will allow you to update the information each time you reach a goal. Review this display at the beginning of each quarter. Reward yourself for each goal you reach. Establish a separate, highly visible location to display items that represent places you want to go and things you want to achieve or acquire. Focus on this display during challenging times, temporary setbacks, or when you need an inspirational boost. About the Submitter: This piece was originally submitted by Donna Johnson, Author of three books, Instructor, SCORE Business Counselor who developed and published over 25 time and stress management techniques, and featured monthly columnist who can be reached at djohnson@djcsfirm.com, or visited on the web. Copyright 2000-2004 CoachVille, LLC. May be distributed if full attribution is given and copyright notice is included. topten.org is a service of CoachVille.com, the leader in coach training. Feedback ReceivedA suggestion was made to start a professional networking group from the readers of Champions. The group would meet via conference call 3-4 times per year and will discuss topics that are developed by the participants. If you would be interested in participating in such a group, please email me at bob@bobarzt.com. Please include your contact information and a list of any topics that you would like to see discussed. Feedback WantedDo you have an idea for improving Champions? If so, please let me know what they are. I look forward to hearing from you. Do you have a success story that you would like to share with others? Have you implemented any of Champions ideas or principles? If so, please drop me an email or give me a call. Your submission will only be used with your permission and can be included on an anonymous basis if you prefer. Announcements - Bob Arzt Interviewed in Advisor Today MagazineI am pleased to announce that I was interviewed for the feature article, Reaching for the Top on the subject of Coaching for the May 2004 issue of Advisor Today Magazine. click here to view the article for the remainder of the month of June. FREE Collaborative InterviewPlease take advantage of my offer of a FREE 25- minute collaborative interview. We'll get to know each other better and I promise it will be valuable for both of us, no matter whether you decide to engage me or not. Contact me to get your Coaching Program started!
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