Book Review: About Time; 120 tips for those with no time
Author: Robyn Pearce
If you’re wondering where the year went (and who isn’t?) – then this could be the book for you.
Take a copy of ‘About Time’ with you to the beach over the holidays and come back next year more organised and focused. You’ll learn how to manage your email, paper-handling, and even meetings, more efficiently. There are tips and strategies for overcoming procrastination, prioritising and planning, and managing travel time. (There aren’t any twitter or facebook management tips included yet though). Robyn is a time management guru and her tips are practical and proven.
This is an easy book to dip in and out of between swimming and sunbathing and the pay off could well be gleaning an extra few hours next year for even more relaxing…
We have two copies to give away – to go in the draw, simply tell us (by commenting below) your own best time management tip.
Or to buy your own copy – or for a gift! (RRP $34.95 incl GST) go here.
15 comments
My best ever time-saving practice is to prepare a daily task list. I save even more time now by power-using the Tasks function of MS Outlook.
My best time-saving practice is to do the difficult things first then I spend less time procrastinating and more time doing.
My best time saving practice is to make a list of the things that are most important and need to be completed. Then from that list prioritize and start by drawing a line through each completed task. Once everything has been completed start a new list for the next day. This way I can complete the necessary tasks instead of wasting time doing things that are not important.
The best time saving practice I use is at the end of each day list the tasks I need to accomplish the next day in order of proirity.
This gives me a clar plan everyday which I can get underway on the moment I arrive at the office.
Being the mother of 2 yr old twins & an 8 yr old, and running a full-time business from home, I rely HEAVILY on lists.
I create my list the night before with the most important tasks listed first. Throughout the day there will no doubt be additional tasks that need to be added to the list as well.
After each task is complete I put a BIG red check mark beside it.
That evening, I review the current list, make note of any items that did not get completed and then create the next days list.
God forbid I lose my list!!!
Learning to delegate effectively (using tips I got from a fellow BNIer http://www.esemel.co.nz – perhaps email linda@esemel.co.nz and ask her for a copy of her Delegation Tip Sheet) is creating much more time in my day to work on the business instead of just in the business.
Learning to say no more often
“Touch things only once”.
This means when you open a letter/email etc deal with it then and there, don’t keep coming back to it and re-reading it over and over again only to decide to ‘do it later’.
If you can’t deal with it right then? – Schedule a time to take care of it (ie an appointment) in your diary and deal with it at that time (but don’t read/re-read it till then!)
I use the voice recorder in my mobile phone while I am travelling, or just away from my desk to capture those to-do notes, ideas, reminders, that spring in to my mind. It means I don’t have to remember thoughts that occur when I am away from my desk.
I also listen to podcasts on my mobile phone that allow me to listen to business, documentary or entertainment programs when I want to listen to them, rather than trying to catch them when they are broadcast on the radio. Good for dog walking!
My best time management tip would be to learn to delegate!
My best tip would be to plan what I am going to do for the first hour on the following day before leaving the office. This means I get on with something and am not tempted to check emails / visit facebook until I have got some work done.
My time management tip is to operate a nil inbox, every email is either turned into a task, deleted, filed or forwarded for action.
Keeps my mind better organised too…
My second best time management tip is to stay off Twitter… but I don’t manage that so well, eh Miles?
My best time managment tip is to pick only a couple of social networking sites to promote your business on. If you’re on too many you’ll find it difficult to keep up with them all, which means you’ll end up doing a half-hearted job on all of them.
Once you’ve worked out which one’s work best for you, allocate yourself no more than an hour every other day to ‘chat’ online. It’s easy to get sidetracked, so get an egg-timer and stop when it goes ‘bing’!!
10 phone calls before 10am everyday
Thanks to everybody for some fabulous time management tips!
And congratulations to Melissa and Trevor for winning a copy of ‘About Time’.
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