Years ago clients would tell me they could not identify their priorities. Now I hear them saying 'I know what my priorities are?I just can't get to them'.
But effectively organizing yourself and managing your time takes an investment in time. Time to identify both long and short-term goals, time to set up workable systems and time to practice the processes these systems support. This investment leads to the actions that help us identify and remain focused on our priorities. But of course during this same time we experience increased workloads, unexpected deadlines, meetings, distractions and emergencies.
Master the basics
Setting up effective organizing systems is what gives us the tool to handle all the things we need to handle on a day-to-day basis. For many of us this is a formidable juggling act. But as master juggler Dan Thurmon says, "It is a pattern or system that allows us to handle more objects at the same time without dropping them."
Systems always have processes connected to them. But the processes, just like the systems, need to be refined on an ongoing basis because organizing is a dynamic state?not a static one. It means being clear on your goals and priorities and re-visiting them, if just mentally, several times a day.
Keep sight of your values
Values lie at the core of identifying both our goals and priorities. We make choices and decisions about our actions based on these two things. Choices that impact our professional and personal lives as we seek more balance and greater satisfaction. When we veer off the road from our goals and priorities, we essentially take a step backwards in achieving our hopes, dreams and aspirations.
Your organizing and time management system requires an investment in time. Remind yourself each chance you get about 'what matters most' in your life and take the next action step to getting there. Remember?thoughts lead to actions which develop to habits that develop character which determines destiny. If you are mindful. If you are conscious. If you live without hesitancy. You live your dreams. You live life.
Copyright 2001 Cynthia Kyriazis. All rights reserved.
Cynthia Kyriazis is an organizing and time management consultant, trainer, speaker, coach and author with over 20 years management experience in multi-unit corporations. Organize it, a division of Productivity Partners, Inc. is an organizational training firm she founded in 1995 and has been serving Fortune 500 clients ever since. Cynthia works with business and their employees to help improve performance and realize productivity gains.
Cynthia has appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Kansas City Star and the Legal Intelligencer. She currently serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), member of the National Speakers Association (NSA), member of the Kansas City of the International Society for Performance Improvement ? (ISPI-KC) and consultant to the American Coaching Association.
cleaning team near Winnetka ..This past Friday I was asked to speak with a... Read More
Do you have plenty to do, but don't have enough... Read More
Time - it is the one thing that we are... Read More
Tring ? Tring the alarm rings?but did you fail to... Read More
A common remedy for improving your time management is to... Read More
All too often we can feel overwhelmed by the amount... Read More
To work smarter all you need is the consciousness of... Read More
Friends, colleagues, and clients are all telling me that one... Read More
Vilfredo Pareto's Principle, or The "Pareto Principle," is more commonly... Read More
So What Then Is The Opposite Of Procrastination? Urgency is... Read More
How many times have you remarked to someone that there... Read More
We all know the harmful effects of overwork. People get... Read More
Ever feel that you spend too much time shoring up... Read More
Sometime ago, my lovely wife woke me up in the... Read More
Are you obsessed with getting everything just right? Do you... Read More
How do you eat two elephants? The same way you... Read More
Want to improve your time management?Edward W. Smith, motivational speaker,... Read More
My job in Chicago began with three months of probation.I... Read More
Do your dishes really need to be dried, or could... Read More
As a business owner, wouldn't it be great if you... Read More
An expert in time management was speaking to a group... Read More
Why Read?It's been said that there are three kinds of... Read More
Does it seem like there is never enough time in... Read More
If you work from home, you know the kind of... Read More
Are you drowning in a sea of unread papers? Do... Read More
family-safe home cleaners Northbrook ..Here's a smart system for doubling or tripling your daily... Read More
From Potential to PerformanceOne of the great things about life... Read More
How do you manage your time? Or is the more... Read More
How can you get an extra hour out of each... Read More
Are you obsessed with getting everything just right? Do you... Read More
TIME MANAGEMENTWith the creation of the universe, God gave humankind... Read More
To work smarter all you need is the consciousness of... Read More
According to a Miller Heiman 2003 Sales Effectiveness Study, over... Read More
In most organizations, meetings are often the biggest time-wasters. With... Read More
Procrastination, the habit of putting tasks off to the last... Read More
When trying to achieve a quality education, everybody knows that... Read More
"Fashionably late" is no longer in fashion. In today's heavily... Read More
Let's say that you have a software project that's under... Read More
If I had a dollar or even better a pound... Read More
Do you wish you could work less and play more?... Read More
What does it mean to practice self care? It's creating... Read More
I have a habit of sending a thank you letter... Read More
One of the biggest problems most people have when it... Read More
What keeping time really means is...being on time!You know, there... Read More
Clarity brings accomplishmentOne of the most important things you can... Read More
As the song goes, this is the time to relax,... Read More
We are constantly inundated with routine (often boring!) tasks around... Read More
Fitting an education into a busy lifestyleMany people have aspirations... Read More
There are the golden rules that apply to time. If... Read More
In this fast and crazy world, we want to multi-task... Read More
Time Management |