Whether it’s the best of times or the worst of times, it’s the only time we’ve got.
Art Buchwald

Hey Everyone,

I added a Twitter Feed…. (main page at the upper right)

So you can see what I’m doing

Have A Great Day

Orin

Does your life sometimes feel overwhelming because there are so many things that aren’t getting done and they are beginning to stack up? Do you feel like this chaos is causing you constant stress? If so, read on…

For all of us there are recurring events in our life, we need to pay the bills, pick up the dry cleaning, walk the dog, mow the lawn, wash the dishes, and so forth. The one thing that makes makes these events special is that we can plan for them. In order to do that effectively, we need to setup a routine.

Setting up a routine doesn’t need to be difficult, and will work best if it is driven by a system. For example, if every time that you get your electric bill, you use that as a reminder to change your furnace filter, you have a simple easy-to-remember routine that will work every time.

Here are some tips

• Setup all your important birthday’s, anniversaries, and holidays in your computer’s calendar. Then Set the program to remind you about these upcoming events. Some companies such as Blue Mountain and AmericanGreetings.com allow you to setup online reminders of when to send out cards
• Establish routine with walking your dog, feeding your cat, etc. For example, walk your dog first thing in the morning and then feed him/her when you get home
• Rinse your dirty dishes and put them into your dishwasher when your done eating, then when it gets full you can turn it on before you go to bed
• Take your car to the car wash on Saturdays when you’re running errands and grocery shopping
• Lay out your clothes for Monday morning on Sunday night, so you won’t be rushed in the morning

As you can see, there are countless ways to turn your stressful days into calm days just by establishing some simple routines.

Technorati Tags: How To Set A Routine, Reduce Stress, Eliminate Stress, Organizing Recurring Events

In order to help me make this website better, please take a moment to let me know what are your biggest frustrations or problems related to time management. Just leave your comment below, and thank you for your help!

True Story…

Last week one of my friends ran into a problem with her computer. While she was browsing the Internet, she went to a website that had a pop-up that asked her if she wanted to scan her computer. She is usually really good about clicking on the Cancel Button or closing the ad, but she accidentally clicked on ‘OK’. The program started installing itself on her computer and basically took over her browser, changing her home page, and popping up even more windows and ads. She had no idea how to stop it, or to get rid of it. Every time she closed her browser, a new one popped up with ads, and more windows!

Fortunately her husband is a computer programmer and she turned it over to him. After several hours (2:30AM) he got rid of all the adware and was able to go to sleep. Afterwards I talked to him about it, he told me that it didn’t damage the computer, but was more of a nuisance, but it certainly did freak both of them out. The program hid itself, and was mascaraing as Anti Virus Software… He had to go into the registry and carefully remove each item!

Now imagine if this happened to you. How would you get rid of this problem?

I have been using a program called Adaware from LavaSoft for years. It is the best anti-spyware software that I have found. I think if they would have been running this program they could have quickly killed this program and saved hours of grief during the late night hours.

This software is well trusted in the industry and has received a 5 out of 5 rating by Softpedia. It also has been heavily reviewed by CNET’s download.com and featured on Tucows.com.

Ad-Aware 2008 Pro provides advanced features for IT professionals and savvy computer users for optimal control of scans, malware removal, and damage repair.

Click Here To Order Adaware Pro

An Italian economist, Vilfredo Pareto, discovered that 80% of the results in any endeavor come from 20% of the efforts. This is now known as Pareto’s Principle.

For example, 20% of the employees of a company produce 80% of the results

Have you thought about how your day is constructed? You will produce 80% of your results with just 20% of your efforts. The time that you spend answering unnecessary email, checking your stocks, taking breaks, chatting with co-workers, and so forth is wasted time and does not contribute to your day

How much results you get is determined by your actions, so if you have small efforts, then you will have small results. Conversely, major efforts can equal enormous results!

What this means is that we have to concentrate our efforts, or concentrate our focus, on the key things that can return the best results. For you this may mean calling on customers, getting that report to your boss, or building your website. No matter what task is most important to you, make sure that your spending time on it first before you tackle the smaller, easier tasks.

In a nutshell: Do the important stuff first (it’s usually the hardest) and great results will follow

Have you ever had a goal and it seems like you’re committed to it, but you never quite seem to get there?

Do you have a plan to drive it from start to finish so that you are sure to meet or exceed your goal?

Think of this article as a mini-workshop in which I am challenging you to put together a list of tasks to which you are totally committed. All of these tasks must fall under one major goal.

What happens to us as humans, is that we tend to work generally toward an idea, but we wander around trying a bit of this, and a bit of that, never taking the fastest path. Your actions might get you there, but you are taking the long way around to get to your final destination.

There is a fancy word for this called “circuitous”

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary has two definitions
1: having a circular or winding course <a circuitous route>
2: not being forthright or direct in language or action <a circuitous explanation>

It is an adjective that seems to relate back to the root words “circle” and/or “circuit” (these are never ending loops!). If you look at these definitions, both of them describe our dilemma.

What we want is a bullet that will shoot straight and true to our target, not a winding road. Take out a large sheet of paper and write your major goal at the top. For our example, let’s assume that you want to take a vacation; you would write your goal at the the top of the page and make sure you include a date by which you want to accomplish it.

Goal: To go on a one-week vacation with my family to the beaches of Florida, before August 26th when the children have to go back to school

After that write down three actions that you can do regularly that will move you towards your goal. These actions need to be something that you can do consistently, and that your completely committed to doing.

For our example they might be:

I am committed:

• I will not spend any loose change. I will put all of my spare change into a “vacation jar”. Even if I have 75 cents in my pocket and a can of soda costs 50 cents, I will use a fresh one-dollar-bill to pay for my drink so that I will have $1.25 to put in my “vacation jar” when I empty my pockets

• I will run errands for friends and help with baby sitting to earn extra money, and I will put all of it into my vacation fund

• I will watch movies on TV or on a DVD I own, rather than going to the movies or renting a movie

Next we will create a score card to track your progress and record your results (give yourself one point per activity accomplished, if it’s a weekly activity, you get a “freebie” for the day so give yourself a point).

My score card:

My result: (write your result here)

At the end of the week rate yourself on the following scale:

This consistent effort propels you towards your goal, and your goal towards you. Be on the look out for things that can move you more rapidly towards your goal. Things like, getting a raise, getting an income tax refund, receiving an extra paycheck, or saving $10 on medication by switching pharmacies or using a coupon. Use this money towards your goal. This is the Universe helping you, so don’t squander your opportunity.

Your goal may not be to go on a vacation or deal with money, but you should be able to take the idea from this article to help you toward your personal goal. Just make sure that you make your goal and actions believable and that your committed to them.

Telling yourself that your going to exercise one-hour a day may sound believable, but unless your 100% committed to it, you are probably going to stop doing it before you get to your goal. Better to set smaller goals with easier steps, for example, committing to take the stairs rather than the elevator, or committing to walk for 15 minutes per day. That is not only believable but you can fit it into the busiest of days. Loosing 10lbs may not be as glamorous as 30lbs, but breaking your goal into chunks with real consistent action will get results. Luck isn’t necessary when you have a consistent system towards a realistic goal.

Please leave a comment if this article helped you, also tell us what you accomplished or are going to accomplish using this system.

The Internet is full of websites and tips for “time management”, productivity, and countless other personal development topics. You are probably subscribing to many of their Feeds and on countless email lists.

My question to you is “Are You Using Them?”

This question goes beyond “time management” tips, or even this website, it applies to any new information that you find useful and that you need to implement. Do you find yourself constantly gathering information but never putting it to use?

Remember: ONLY ACTION PRODUCES RESULTS

Here are a few tips to get you productive

1. Capture the idea - write them down or print it out
2. Put it on your “to do” list
3. Next put it on to your Calendar and on your “Today’s Tasks List” - remember these are things you are committing to doing
4. Take Action!
5. Measure your results. If it doesn’t help after doing it a few times, its time to scrap it and move on. If it takes more time than your saving, it really isn’t worth the effort!

If you are reading blogs and subscribing to email lists, make sure they are delivering good value, and also make sure you are actually using the information that they are providing.

One last thought to think about…if you are not using the information you’re receiving, then why even bother getting it?

I want to make TipsOnTime.com even better, however, I need your help. I want to cover all the topics that you want to learn about. The survey should only take a couple of minutes and I would appreciate your input

Thank you for participating in my survey…
Click Here to take survey