I don’t know about you, but with the current economic situation of our country, the nasty political campaigns, and all the new media we have to choose from I am suffering from Information Overload which can bog me down mentally which hurts my productivity. To try to limit how much information I get and when, I do the following:
1) Read the news headlines on MSN and local newspaper websites once in the morning.
2) I watch one local news program each day, usually the 11 p.m. news.
3) I read my e-mail and return phone calls in blocks.
4) I delete e-mail forwards, chain letters and calls for political action without reading them.
5) I save my blog, magazine and social networking reading for the weekends when I’m less likely to be on overload.
It is sometimes hard to segment my days like this, but this system – though not foolproof – allows me to work in large blocks of time without being interrupted by the latest political, financial or celebrity scandal while staying on top of current issues of the day.
How do you compartmentalize your time to avoid the crush of news and information each day? I’d love to hear your ideas!
Virtually Yourz,
Dana Blozis
Showing posts with label time management. Show all posts
Showing posts with label time management. Show all posts
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Time Management Tips from Virtually Yourz
After doing some travel for business over the last several weeks, I have pending projects crying out for my time, as well as clients and prospects who want to see me. It's been tough to juggle it all, but I've found some ways to manage my time that are helping me to meet everybody's needs, including my own:
1) I schedule my appointments in blocks. For example, on Monday, I had an appointment in Tacoma and a business-related errand to run in Renton. I went to Tacoma and, on my way home, I went to Renton. That not only saved gas, but it also saved time if I'd made separate trips from home.
2) I've had some serious, deadline-based writing to do. To ensure that I can sit down and write uninterrupted, I close my e-mail inbox, shut off my cell phone and wait until my family leaves the house for the day. Then I sit down and get to work, finishing the assignments off one after the other. Knowing that I've tackled these big tasks, I can enjoy a leisurely lunch outside before I start my next project.
3) In conjunction with item #1, I leave at least 2 days during the week appointment-free. This allows me to have some committed, noninterrupted time in my office to get work done, as well as catch up on my bookkeeping work and organizing my office. I look forward to these days, where I can dress casually, work at my own pace and check things off of my "to do" list.
4) I also make time for exercise in the mornings when possible. This helps me to make time for myself, but it also energizes me. The natural high I get from working out keeps me going for hours afterward. It's a great way to fuel my productivity!
How do you manage your time? If you have tips to share with my readers, I'd love to hear them!
Virtually Yourz,
Dana Blozis
1) I schedule my appointments in blocks. For example, on Monday, I had an appointment in Tacoma and a business-related errand to run in Renton. I went to Tacoma and, on my way home, I went to Renton. That not only saved gas, but it also saved time if I'd made separate trips from home.
2) I've had some serious, deadline-based writing to do. To ensure that I can sit down and write uninterrupted, I close my e-mail inbox, shut off my cell phone and wait until my family leaves the house for the day. Then I sit down and get to work, finishing the assignments off one after the other. Knowing that I've tackled these big tasks, I can enjoy a leisurely lunch outside before I start my next project.
3) In conjunction with item #1, I leave at least 2 days during the week appointment-free. This allows me to have some committed, noninterrupted time in my office to get work done, as well as catch up on my bookkeeping work and organizing my office. I look forward to these days, where I can dress casually, work at my own pace and check things off of my "to do" list.
4) I also make time for exercise in the mornings when possible. This helps me to make time for myself, but it also energizes me. The natural high I get from working out keeps me going for hours afterward. It's a great way to fuel my productivity!
How do you manage your time? If you have tips to share with my readers, I'd love to hear them!
Virtually Yourz,
Dana Blozis
Thursday, July 3, 2008
My Master "To Do" List
A colleague asked me yesterday how I manage my time. Time management is, of course, different for everyone, but I find it helpful to keep a master "to do" list. I create a spreadsheet in Excel with four columns, from left to right: Done; Start Date; Item; and Due Date. I then sort by Start Date and then Due Date. The items that I MUST do the current day are highlighted in yellow, and Top priority items for that day are shown in RED. I leave blank lines at the bottom to complete as new assignments come in. At the end of each work day, I review and update the list, printing out a fresh copy so I know exactly what I need to start on the next morning.
In addition, I often break larger projects or assignments into steps (schedule interview, conduct interview, type/transcribe notes, ask follow-up questions, write, edit, submit) and I schedule each of those separately on my "to do" list so I can anticipate how much time each step will take me. Scheduling an interview, for example, might only take 10 minutes, but typing the notes and writing the article could take hours for each step.
For more ideas like this one, subscribe to one (or both) of my free monthly newsletters: writing and editing & marketing. You can subscribe at http://www.virtuallyyourz.com!
In addition, I often break larger projects or assignments into steps (schedule interview, conduct interview, type/transcribe notes, ask follow-up questions, write, edit, submit) and I schedule each of those separately on my "to do" list so I can anticipate how much time each step will take me. Scheduling an interview, for example, might only take 10 minutes, but typing the notes and writing the article could take hours for each step.
For more ideas like this one, subscribe to one (or both) of my free monthly newsletters: writing and editing & marketing. You can subscribe at http://www.virtuallyyourz.com!
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