Tips to Make Your Mornings Easier and More Productive

Are mornings the the most difficult part of your day? Some of us find it tough to get going in the mornings no matter how much sleep we have had.

If you are a Mum and you need to get children dressed, fed and out the door with backpacks and school books, mornings can be very grueling. Now even if you aren’t a morning person, there are some strategies that you can engage that will help you feel motivated and looking forward to the day, as opposed to dreading it.

Try the following tips to help you cope with those challenging early mornings:

1. Get to bed on time the night before to ensure you are getting enough sleep. Of course, sometimes even if you have had your required sleep, you will still feel weary in the morning when you wake, but that may be due to the actual quality of sleep you are getting. This could be the very reasson why you can’t get up with a smile on your face in the mornings. So get to bed on time for a week and monitor yourself in the mornings to determine if you feel any different.

2. Try waking up earlier, I know its the last thing you want to do but this might give you a little more time in the mornings to get organised. If you’re trying to squeeze every possible moment of sleep into your schedule, when you do get up you have to madly rush around, which is too stressful first thing in the morning. Much better to wake up and allow yourself a very quiet, calm moments before your feet hit the floor! Enjoy the sunrise while you have a leisurely cup of coffee, before the rush begins.

3. Preparation. Get organised for the morning the night before. Do whatever you can the night before to make your mornings easily and less stressful.Make sure your keys are in the usual spot, make the lunches and organise the backpacks, and have everyone’s clothes laid out. That way when you wake in the morning there is much less to be stressed about!

4. Turn some music on. My music teacher always taught me to make sure I had music in the house with my children. Nice relaxing music in the morning can be a beautiful way to start your day. It can ease you gently into the day whilst keeping you calm, even if you are busy! Enjoying these first few moments that you’re awake can make a massive difference to your entire day.

5. Meditate. Meditation is great for calming your life down or slowing your life down. It allows you to center yourself and go back to a state of peacefulness which in turn can carry you throughout your day. I would recommend though that you mediate in an upright position so you’re not tempted to fall back asleep.

6. Try to develop a positive mindset. If you have a tendency to be grumpy in the morning, make a conscious decision to start your day in a positive way. Try to imagine the wonderful things that may come your way today. If you have something not so pleasant that you have to face then try to focus on all other aspects of your day which are positive.

7. Be thankful. Start your day by giving thanks for everything you have in your life. Being grateful sets the tone for the day.

If mornings just arent your thing, try to make them easier on yourself and others by remembering to use these strategies and I think you will be surprised at the difference they will make!.

By

MaryAnn Roche.

What is Burnout and How to Avoid It.

Burnout is one of those things that tends to creep up on you, often without you realizing it.  When it does it can significantly affect your mind and body, causing complete exhaustion, anxiety and often causes depression. If you dont stop burnout before it takes hold, it can lead to more serious issues such as heart attacks or strokes.  As I said, often we do not even see it coming. A few things to be conscious of:

Take a serious look at your Workload. Be realistic about the hours you are putting in at work. Also take into account how many hours you are working without taking a break as this will contribute to burnout.  Remember when it is break time, you must take it, take time away from your job to relax your mind and body, even if it is only a short ten minute break. Breaks are necessary to refresh and rejuvenate your mind. Go for a walk, read a book, or just remove yourself from your source of tension for a few minutes.

Next, be critical of your time management techniques.  I know from my own experience, I would tend to be working on one task and then move to an email when it came in, then back to the task etc. You must learn to work efficiently, complete tasks before moving on, avoid interruption in order to do so and you will find you achive more in less time.

Be in tune with your body and know when you are reaching overload or exhaustion. Look for the warning signs and think through what you can do to avoid things getting worse.  It may be that you need to take a day off, or a weekend away or simply spend time at home relaxing both your mind and body, away from the telephone and the computer.  Work out what it is you need to do in order to take time out to recharge! If you find that you take a short vacation or a day off only to find the old feelings welling up again, then perhaps its time for a re-evaluation of where you are in life, and perhaps a life change is necessary to avoid burnout altogether.

I think the single most important thing you must do if you are to avoid burnout is to learn the art of saying NO. It is great to be accomodating and helpful however not if it is at the expense of your own health.  Quite simply nothing is that important if it comprimises your health to that degree.

For quite sometime I worked overseas with a lot of international travel thrown in. I was expectected to put in the long hours, jump on a plane and head off overseas for a week, then back again and into the 60 hour working week.  Unfortunately I didnt see the warning signs until it was too late.  It took a complete re-evaluation of my life and where I was at and to make some serious life changes before my health suffered more than it already had.  Once you reach burnout believe me, its difficult to work your way back from it.

Michael Licenblat, an Australian who devoted a large part of his life to people as a Shiatsu Massage Therapist with a Bachelor of Science (Psychology), has put together an excellent ebook on recognizing and relieving stresses and pressures whilst increasing your productivity.  Well worth the read and I only wish I had read it sooner!  Get your copy here. Click Here!

By MaryAnn Roche.

How To Work Smarter, Not Harder

Click on the little video to watch it here or read the full article below!

I’m sure you have heard the term – Work smarter, not harder? What does that mean? To me it means refining your daily work processess to achieve better results from a time management point of view.

How do you “work smarter, not harder?” Look at what you do on a daily basis and develop ways to get the same amount done with less effort and struggle – Yeap! that’ll work!

These days, even with all the automation available to help us with our tasks, we are busier than ever!

This sometimes causes us to feel overburdened with our heavier workloads, especially when it comes to tasks you have to do repeatedly. Finding better ways to accomplish your to-do list is good time management and will save you money, and a whole lot of frustration.

Here are some ways you can implement great time management strategies and work smarter, not harder:

1. Eliminate the useless.

There are unproductive things you do on a daily basis. In fact, you probably already know exactly what these distractions are! Once you identify your time wasters, remove them from your routine and focus on those tasks that are truly productive.

2. Learn to say “No.”

Many people take on too much work because they’ve never learned to tell others “no.” Before taking on extra duties for someone else, make sure you schedule time for your own needs first.

3. Know your limits.

Avoid taking on more than you can handle in order to please someone above you. If you do this on a regular basis, you’ll ultimately be working twice as hard because you’re not performing at your very best.

4. Simplify repeated tasks.

Forms and templates can save time on a lot of tasks. For example, if you have to send out a lot of the same email, create a template email so you can just fill in the specific parts for each person individually or better still, learn how to use mail merge!

5. Automate.

If you’re in a position that requires the same thing done every day, at the same time, then try to find a way to get the process automated so it happens without you there. An example would be to back up your computer every night, automatically.

6. Delegate.

Delegate some of your responsibilities to other people. If you have too much housework, give the kids some chores and set up a schedule. Four people doing four things will get them done faster than one person doing all four things alone.

7. Focus.

Stay focused on your responsibilities, not the responsibilities of others. If everyone focuses on their primary responsibilities first, the large portion of the job gets finished and then minor details can be taken care of later.

Planning is good time management and saves money too! It allows you to delegate and assign tasks to those most qualified to complete them. Using systems and automation to execute tasks eliminates repetition and assures quality control. Wisely considering limits prevents burnout and late work.

Learn how much you can handle while still being productive. We all have limits, and respecting our own limits leads to greater productivity.

To work smarter, not harder is all about planning, executing and knowing your limits.

All in all, working smarter, not harder does just what it says. Not only does it save you valuable time, but your production levels will soar and the extra added benefit is, how good you will feel by accomplishing so much more with a lot less effort!

How To Organize Home and Organize My Life?
Today I give you a bit more on time management!

We would all like to be less rattled and have everything in place, so how can you organize home and stop asking yourself “how do I organize my life?”

Well you can’t organize your life without organizing your home!
But you can do both quite easily when you follow these time management tips!

Do you cringe at the mess in your home or office? Maybe you’re not even dealing with a mess; you might have things fairly tidy, but maybe you can’t find a single thing when you need it.

Sounds familiar? you need to think about what a good organization strategy can do for your productivity and time management. Being more organized will make your life easier as well as save you time at the end of the day. If you’re interested in organizing your life, little by little, think about these organization strategies:

1. Everything Has Its Place

When you’re organizing your workspace or your living area, everything needs to have a place where it “lives.” For instance, scissors need to live in a specific box or drawer, as do other small things. If something doesn’t have a specific home, it will wander, get lost and generally add to the clutter that pervades your area.

* Take some time to really consider your options when it comes to making sure that everything has a place on a permanent basis.

2. Throw It Away

When you’re looking to de-clutter your workspace, make sure you throw away things that you no longer need. Everyday do a quick purge and get rid of things that pile up on your desk or kitchen counters. This will get you more space and give you a better idea of what is going on in general.

* Daily mail and papers are the biggest clutter culprits. Be sure to throw away any junk right away and file away any important papers. The longer these things stay in a pile, the more likely they will get lost or forgotten.

3. Tidy a Little Bit Every Day

Many of us shudder when it comes to cleaning. If you think that you have to break out the brooms and mops and spend the whole day cleaning, then you’re in for a surprise. The truth is, by spending just ten or twenty minutes a day organizing your space, you’ll be making a huge difference.

* Start with cleaning one area each day. This can be a deep cleaning or just a superficial cleaning but at least you’ll feel productive. Once this becomes a habit, you’ll finish your cleaning faster and have more free time everyday.

4. Set Routines and Learn to Delegate Chores

Keeping a home organized and running smoothly can be difficult, especially if you have a large family. Establish set routines so certain tasks are completed everyday and assign large chores, like laundry, to a specific day of the week. This way you know exactly what chore has to be accomplished everyday.

* Delegate chores to your spouse or children that are age appropriate. Dividing the work among many family members teaches everyone how to work together as a team.

5. Reminders

Get yourself a professional journal or a daily planner and use it. Sometimes just the action of writing something down in a book can really help you remember where you need to be and when.

* Other ways of reminding yourself of important events is to use post-it notes or an organizer on your cell phone. Experiment and use whatever method works best for you and your lifestyle.

No one expects you to go from clutter-bug to super-organized overnight. But by simply implementing a few of these tips into your life, you will re-discover what it’s like to be prepared and organized both in the workplace and at home.

So, by now you should see that its not that hard to organize home!
Home is where the heart is Use these time management strategies and the question…”how can I organize my life?” will never come up again!

How do you utilize your time?
Do you apply time management or time wasting techniques to your daily efforts?

Watch the video or read the article below!

In order to apply effective Time Management, you really need to stop wasting your valuable time – after all, we all only have 24 hours in a day!

Do you fall into the trap of wasting time? Time is a valuable commodity! When you waste your precious time, you’re actually preventing yourself from achieving the things you desire.

Here is a list of the top ten time wasting techniques that people utilize. If you find yourself spending too much time on these activities, try changing some of your habits so your time can be more productive and rewarding.

1. Internet time.
Are you constantly browsing the Internet, Facebook or Twitter? Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Twitter and catching up with all my friends there, but I click in and out and don’t jabber on with meaningless dribble! Are your kids hearing you say, “In a minute,” much too often when they ask you to spend time with them?

* Keep your time on the Internet short and get involved in life. Instead of chatting with your online friends, spend more time with your real life friends and family!

2. Telephone Chatter.
Sure, we like to call old friends and chat, but do you chat on the phone all day long? If you do, you may find that you get hardly anything done all day. Good time management involves setting limits!

* Keep phone calls to a minimum or set a timer to go off after 15 minutes. This way you won’t feel deprived of a good conversation, but it won’t take over your whole day.

3. Television.
We’re a couch potato society! We schedule our lives around our favorite television shows and we spend less time doing more important activities like attending social events that could strengthen our relationships.

* Record your favorite TV shows and watch them during your leisure time, or limit your TV intake to just a couple hours a week. TV is a major player in the time wasting stakes!

4. Daydreaming.
It’s fun and healthy to dream about career ambitions or future aspirations, but when those dreams prevent you from taking action in your life, then you’re wasting time. Avoid getting bogged down with too much dreaming.

* Make a list of your goals or dreams, then take action to make those dreams come true.

5. Video and Computer Games.
This is becoming such a time waster that gamers are actually developing what is called “gamers thumb,” a repetitive stress injury.

* Set time limits for yourself and your kids and help your kids understand why this is important.

6. Hobbies.
Yes, there are people who are so obsessed with a hobby that they don’t make time to do anything else. They rush home from work to their hobby, even skipping dinner.

* If this is you, get a grip! Schedule your hobby time so you’re not skipping meals, missing time with your family, or cutting into other productive time.

7. Wasting Your Worry.
Many people will worry until doomsday about every little thing in their lives. This is simply unproductive and bad for your health, mind, and spirit.

* If you have something worrisome coming up, craft a plan of positive action on paper, then let it go. After all, worrying doesn’t accomplish anything positive.

8. Planning.
Planning is a definate positive in time management! If you don’t take the time to plan your day, the important things you need to accomplish may not get done. You need to spend some time planning but make it short and sweet!

* Write down your daily goals and tasks.
* Schedule your day in the order of your top priorities.

9. Traffic and Commuting.
Some of us spend an enormous amount of time traveling to and from work. You can turn your commuting time into productive time!

* Try carpooling or taking the bus, subway or train to work. You can use this time to read, plan your day, complete paperwork, or even relax your mind before a productive day.


* If you drive, you can listen to inspiring and informative CDs or tapes to sharpen your mind each morning.

10. Meetings.
Although necessary, meetings can be one of the biggest time wasting efforts of our workday. If everyone is wiped out from sitting in long meetings all day, productive time will be low.

* If you’re in charge of meetings, set timeframes for them and stick to your stated time.

* Limit the length of your meetings: keep needless chatter and agendas out of the meeting.

There are many other ways we waste our time in our everyday lives too! With a little effort, you can avoid time wasting activities and turn that time into an advantage. Then your time wasting will become good time management instead!