Did you know that you can severely limit your success by having too broad of a focus? Are you working on several projects where you’re doing a good job at all of them, but none of them can get enough of your focus to be truly great? Is the good keeping you from your best? Remember the 80/20 rule… 80% of your results will come from 20% of your effort, and that effort must be focused on your core goals to achieve maximum results.

Start dissecting your work to see if you are spreading your efforts too thin. Even within a heavy workload there are decisions that you can make to thin your workload. You may need to say no to a new project, or prioritize and let a couple of your lesser projects sit on the back burner while you focus on your top project or projects.

If you’re an entrepreneur, I would recommend working on the projects that can help increase your profits. If you work for someone else you should focus on the projects that are important to your boss, or if you are self-managed I would encourage you to think like an entrepreneur and focus on projects that increase profits for your company.

Ask yourself: How can I focus more on my core projects and push the less important projects to the back burner?

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.

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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

After creating the list of shortcuts for the Window’s Key (WINKEY), I received lots of positive comments, so I would like to share with you some really cool things that can be done with the Control Key (CTRL) on your Window’s Keyboard.

Anywhere Within Windows
SHIFT+CTRL+ESC: Launches Task Manager
CTRL+ESC: Open Start menu (pressing the WINKEY also brings up this menu)
CTRL+ALT+DEL: Opens the Windows Task Manager (in older versions of Windows this caused a soft reboot of the machine)

Inside Most Windows Programs
CTRL+A: Select all
CTRL+B: Bold
CTRL+C: Copy
CTRL+I: Italics
CTRL+U: Underline
CTRL+V: Paste
CTRL+X: Cut
CTRL+Y: Redo an Action
CTRL+Z: Undo
CTRL+S: Save
CTRL+P: Print
CTRL+O: Open
CTRL+INSERT: Copy
CTRL+END: Move to end of document.
CTRL+HOME: Move to beginning of document.
CTRL+LEFTARROW: Move the cursor to the beginning of the previous word
CTRL+RIGHTARROW: Move the cursor to the beginning of the next word
CTRL+SHIFT with arrow keys select (highlight) a block of text
CTRL+SHIFT+END: Select (highlight) to end of document.
CTRL+SHIFT+HOME: Select (highlight) to beginning of document.
CTRL+SHIFT+LEFTARROW: Select (highlight) to the beginning of the previous word
CTRL+SHIFT+RIGHTARROW: Select (highlight) to the beginning of the next word
CTRL+DOWNARROW: Move the cursor to the beginning of the next paragraph
CTRL+SHIFT+ARROWKEY: Select (highlight) a block of text, works with any arrow key
CTRL+UPARROW: Move the cursor to the beginning of the previous paragraph
CTRL+F4: Closes the current child window (if multiple child windows are open)
CTRL+TAB/CTRL+SHIFT+TAB: Move through the property tabs, or switches between program groups or document windows
CTRL+TAB: Switch to the next child window (if multiple child windows are open)
Windows Explorer

Use WINKEY+E to bring up Windows Explorer
CTRL+A: Select all items
CTRL+C: Copy item/items
CTRL+D: Delete an item
CTRL+E: Places curser in search box
CTRL+F: Opens the Search Window
CTRL+G: Opens the Go To Folder tool (in Windows 95 Windows Explorer only)
CTRL+N: Open a new window
CTRL+R: Refresh
CTRL+V: Paste item/items
CTRL+W: Close Window
CTRL+X: Cut item/items
CTRL+Z: Undo last action
CTRL+Mouse Click: Select file or folder
CTRL+Drag file(s) using the mouse - Copies the file(s) selected
CTRL+SHIFT while dragging a file: Creates a shortcut to the file
CTRL+Right-Button-Mouse-Click while dragging a file: Brings up a menu to create shortcut, copy, or move the file CTRL+SPACEBAR: Drops down the window control menu (F10 is also a really useful companion to show the menu)
CTRL+The ‘+’ key on the keypad: Automatically adjust the widths of all the columns in Windows explorer (only works using the keypad plus ‘+’ key)
CTRL+ARROWKEY+SPACEBAR: Select multiple individual items in a window or on the desktop. Hold down the control key while using the arrow keys to navigate to other items, and then use the SPACEBAR to select (highlight) the items
CTRL+F4: Closes the current child window (if multiple windows are open)
CTRL+Mouse scroll wheel: Change the size of icons on the desktop
CTRL+WINKEY+F: Find computer

photo by Danny Olanes

This week I would like to share a personal story.

As many of you know, I recently left my employer of 10 years and went to work full-time on my Internet Marketing / Web Design business (http://www.wdu.net). This has been a transition phase of my life as I learn to do many of the things that were done by others when I worked for my former employer. Being a business owner means that I am 100% responsible for everything from accounting to sales.

Time management techniques for planning and control are paramount to keeping ourselves on track. If we don’t feel like using the techniques, we often allow ourselves to stop using them. One day slips quietly into another without seeing measurable progress.

Many times we know what to do, but getting ourselves to do it is the challenge. We’ve all been there. It’s the week that we didn’t plan; it’s the day or days that slip by without giving it our all. This is often caused by our feelings, emotions or by the mental state that we are in. If we allow ourselves to fall into a funk, it can be hard to crawl out of that funk to do what we need to do. It takes real discipline.

So just like a bad day, a bad week has to be shaken off. You must tell yourself that this week is a brand new week that is full of promise. As Anthony Robbins writes, “The past does not equal the future.” and so it is up to us to decide to start fresh again and go back to our course of action, which is pushing towards our goals. Just because you had a bad week doesn’t mean you’re done; it just means that you had a bad week. It means you’re human and you have temporarily lost your focus.

If you’re at the same place in your life as I am, I encourage you to do what I am doing. Learn something from what went wrong, where you went off course then re-establish yourself within a framework of success. What worked best for me was taking a pad of paper and a pen and getting deep into nature with no one else around. I spent time quietly reaffirming my goals, thinking about why I do these things that I do, and creating new action plans.

Allow yourself time to come back around and get moving again. You can do it!

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?

What is that weird little flag key on the bottom of your Windows Keyboard? No it’s not the ANY key! It’s the Windows Key and it’s programmed by Microsoft to make your life easier!

Here are some shortcut keys for Microsoft Windows that by memorizing and using them throughout your day can save you time during your daily tasks. To run one of these commands hold down the Windows Key and press the other combination key/keys. For Example, to display the desktop, hold down the Windows Key and press the D key (both keys must be held down at the same time)

I have included some screen shots taken from my Windows Vista Computer. Just click on the thumbnail to see the larger image. I have marked my favorites in red

Windows Key+Break
Display “System Properties”

Windows Key+D (favorite)
Display Desktop

Windows Key+M
Minimize all open windows

Windows Key+E (favorite)
Open Explorer (My Computer)

Windows Key+F (favorite)
Search for files or folders

Control+Windows Key+F
Search for computers

Windows Key+F1

Display Windows Help

Windows Key + L
Locks the computer

Windows Key + R (favorite)
Open the Run dialog box

Windows Key + U
Open Ease Of Access Center

Windows Key + G
Opens the Windows Sidebar in Vista