Archive for Time Management

Build downtime into your schedule.

By Lee Drozak on January 22, 2012 4 Comments

The time is nowI am a schedule geek. During the week I have my schedule planned out so that I balance my most productive times. When I plan my week I am sure to add lunches, family and friend activities. These times are as important to me as client projects, scheduled calls and workshops to attend. I have my schedule and I do my best to stick to it.

Adding your office hours to your schedule will also help you see where you are crossing the boundaries or why you are in the office when you should not be. So when doing your weekly or monthly schedule be sure to shade your out of office hours so that when scheduling you can see how much work time is inching into your life time.

Make it a point to prioritize your tasks too. This way you will complete the important or imperative tasks before moving on to the less significant ones. With the priorities off your plate you will then have some play room for less significant ones that can be moved around if some personal time pops up during your day.

When you have these “dates with yourself” on your calendar it will give you the necessary time to recharge and reinvigorate. Besides the fact that these events are on your schedule it gives you something to look forward to other than client work, professional develop or necessary tasks.

Do you schedule time for yourself into your day?

Signing off short and sweet,
Lee

About Lee Drozak

I help entrepreneurs organize their processes, implement their strategies and run their back office through planning and action. Building your online home using WordPress, social media, email marketing and eCommerce strategies. Contact me today to schedule your complimentary strategy session.

Mail | Web | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Google+ | More Posts
Categories : Work-Life Balance
Tags : , ,

Time Lost = 8 Minutes

By Lee Drozak on October 1, 2010 1 Comments
Stopwatch
Image by wwarby via Flickr

Recently I spoke at an event and had the pleasure of being preceded by Susan Lieber of Leave it to Lieber.  Susan is a guru organization specialist and all around interesting entrepreneur.  During her presentation Susan discussed organization for your business and that multi-tasking does not work in regards to productivity.  She also touched on how many minutes you spend refocusing after a distraction.

Did you know that for every interruption you lose 8 minutes of focus time?  The brain is designed to focus on just one problem at a time and needs time to process each event.  So each time you get interrupted by that instant message, email or phone call you are losing precious task time.

I was the queen of multi-tasking but noticed that often times I was not on point and even frazzled by the end of the day.  I started scheduling my day, so much time for each client, a little for My Office Assistant and yes, lunch and stretch breaks.  Low and behold, I was getting more done, making less mistakes and even less stressed at the end of the day.  Here are some other things that I do:


Turn off email notifications. Yes that little pop-up at the bottom of your screen will wreak havoc on you throughout the day.  Instant messages and social media are lumped in here too.

Close your email program during the time you are working on other tasks. How many of you check your email every 5 minutes?  If you check every hour and apply the do it, delete it or delegate it rule then you will not be so overwhelmed by those messages.

Designate time for phone calls.  Block out time that you are available for calls and consultations.  Let your clients know that you would love to talk to them but have designated times for project work and designated time for phone calls.

Make some me time. Everyone needs to stop and decompress during the day.  Get up for 15 minutes to clear your mind.  Take a walk outside and get some fresh air.  Surf the net or visit your social media sites.  Whatever works for you, then make sure you include it in your day.  By designating the time you feel less guilty actually taking it and it will help you refocus your energies.

If you do get interrupted, refocus before resuming. There are times that urgent matters arise.  However, take a minute to refocus before jumping right back in.  Actually you have 8 minutes to refocus yourself, so review where you left off, get a drink of water and do a breathing exercise.  Allow a few minutes, 8 to be exact, to get you back on track.

All the best,

Lee

About Lee Drozak

I help entrepreneurs organize their processes, implement their strategies and run their back office through planning and action. Building your online home using WordPress, social media, email marketing and eCommerce strategies. Contact me today to schedule your complimentary strategy session.

Mail | Web | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Google+ | More Posts
Categories : Business Practices
Tags : , , ,

January is National Get Organized Month

By Lee Drozak on January 28, 2010 No Comments
Windows Live Calendar

Image via Wikipedia

How appropriate that the first month of the year focuses on getting yourself organized?  And why am I writing about it at the end of the month?  I am writing about it now, because at the beginning of January we are all worried about setting goals, resolutions and regrouping after the holidays.  Now that each of us has had a chance to gather our thoughts and get it together here are a few things that can help you get organized and stay organized.

Email – First, if you are checking your email more than 3 to 4 times a day, you are really wasting valuable production time.  Now for the real tip.  One message should not be read more than two times.  The first should be to categorize it (and if you have rules in place then this step will be done for you).  Second it should be to take an action: Do it, Delegate It, Delete It or File it.  This will keep you inbox manageable and allow you to stop wasting time reading a message over and over again.

Schedule – Having a schedule will allow you to say no to those time sapping tasks and people.  Being accountable for your day will allow for less distractions and activities that just seem to pop up.  It also allows you an excuse for those friends and acquaintances who need a small favor from you.  When you are working from appointments you are more apt to stick to your schedule and boost your overall productivity.

Work on your personal life – If you are disorganized personally then you will be disorganized professionally.  Take some time to tackle the clutter in your home, get an exercise program in place, set a standing date for a friends night out.  If you feel you cannot do it alone, get professional help.  Hire an organizer, personal trainer or find someone to make your reservation and confirm the appointment on your schedule.

Do for you – I have some great systems of organization in place and love to share them with everyone, however they are not for everyone.  When you do something that is out of your norm and not comfortable, you are not going to stick with it.  Do what you like and works for you not what everyone else is doing.

I could go on and on with tips and tricks of what works for me, but these are my top suggestions.  What is it that works, or does not work, for you during the last days of Get Organized month?

All the best,

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

About Lee Drozak

I help entrepreneurs organize their processes, implement their strategies and run their back office through planning and action. Building your online home using WordPress, social media, email marketing and eCommerce strategies. Contact me today to schedule your complimentary strategy session.

Mail | Web | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Google+ | More Posts
Categories : This and That
Tags : , ,

Surviving the holiday with 3 things we tend to forget.

By Lee Drozak on November 23, 2009 No Comments
stress elf

I am writing this article, the week of Thanksgiving.  There is enough to do with the short work week and now I am doing what I tell my clients not to do – procrastinate.  I try to write regularly but as of late I have no ideas – blank, nada, nothing.  Hence the procrastination of posting blog articles.  This got me to thinking about how I will survive the holidays.  Now I am sure you are being inundated with tips for time management and getting through the next month, so I will take a different approach.

Three things about the holidays that we tend to forget.

  1. The holidays are a time to celebrate with family and friends. Now I know as a business owner you have a business to run, profits to make and customer to service.  Nevertheless how effective will you be if you cannot take a little time to enjoy your support system.  Take the day for yourself, turn off the computer (yikes, yes I said, turn off the computer) and cell phone too.  I am not sure how important you really are but you can afford one day, possibly two.
  2. Don’t feel guilty. Yes it is hard to step away for 24 hours or even 48 but it can be done.  And since you are taking that all important step to forget business for that period, enjoy it.  Feeling guilty or constant worry about what you are missing will defeat the whole purpose.  Laugh at uncle Harry’s corny joke, watch an uninterrupted football game and linger at the table after the meal, anything but business will do.
  3. Reflect on the year that will soon be behind you. And not just the good stuff.  I am one to believe that everything happens for a reason and you cannot grow without learning from your mistakes.  Begin there, with your missteps.  Concentrate on what you can do better and how you will get that accomplished.

Now those are the three things that I feel we tend to forget as we try to get through the holidays.  If you take a step back and enjoy the view then the holidays are not so bad.  What will you do to get through the holiday season?

All the best,

Related articles by Zemanta

About Lee Drozak

I help entrepreneurs organize their processes, implement their strategies and run their back office through planning and action. Building your online home using WordPress, social media, email marketing and eCommerce strategies. Contact me today to schedule your complimentary strategy session.

Mail | Web | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Google+ | More Posts
Categories : Business Practices
Tags : , , , ,

Should you multi-task?

By Lee Drozak on September 25, 2009 No Comments

This topic was brought up by one of my FaceBook friends.  How do you know when to multi task versus when to concentrate on one client?  Here are my processes for client work and multi-tasking.

I am a stickler for organization so each client and their tasks get a chunk of scheduled time throughout the day.  I devote this time to their work only since I am billing them by the hour, and I don’t want to get sidetracked from their task at hand.  However, if it is a task such as printing out large documents or running a download, I will work on other items that they need completed.

I am not a fan of multi-tasking because I think it is distractive and disruptive to your train of thought.  You actually waste more time but trying to do three things at once, as opposed to three tasks one at a time.  When you multi-task you are more prone to stress, more likely to make errors and you make your environment chaotic.

So here are some simple tips that I employ to schedule my day and tasks on the to-do list:

  • Set up to-do lists for clients, home, errands, etc.
  • Have a physical inbox so that incoming stuff can be gathered in one place.  This could be mail, notes that will need addressed later and other paperwork.
  • Schedule your time in blocks leaving openings for emergency issues.  You could try 30 minute block for a task and 10 minute block for downtime or emergencies.

First thing in the morning, work on your top most important tasks and don’t do any others until they are off your list.  If you can get your top three items done in the morning, the rest of your day will be easy.

About Lee Drozak

I help entrepreneurs organize their processes, implement their strategies and run their back office through planning and action. Building your online home using WordPress, social media, email marketing and eCommerce strategies. Contact me today to schedule your complimentary strategy session.

Mail | Web | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Google+ | More Posts
Categories : This and That
Tags : , , ,

Tailored For Your Needs

Our services are tailored to meet all your business needs:

  • Pay-as-you-go for those with small tasks
  • Retainer packages for blocks of time
  • Package rates for those one time projects
  • Custom packages for needs not addressed

You pay for only the time you need!

Cost Effective Pricing

In addition to superior service, we offer the following:

  • No agency or employment fees
  • No employment taxes or insurance
  • No staff training required
  • No need to provide office space or equipment
  • No downtime for breaks or meals
  • No sick or vacation pay

Free up time to spend on your clients to increase your bottom line!