1.    Do not work with your mail box open.

Do NOT leave your mail box open when you are working. You will end up checking every new mail that arrives and deal with it immediately. Give more respect to your work. Do not let emails disturb you and break your flow unless your work IS checking mail. I am NEVER able to stick to my schedule if I work with my mail box open. Also, if you are working on something important and an important mail pops in, not only does it take away focus and attention but is also a waste of time because you are anyway going to respond to it later after you have finished the task on hand. Just knowing that an important mail has come in does not help at all!

2.    Using MS Outlook (not outlook express) to manage all your email accounts – company, yahoo, gmail, ymail, etc.

There are huge benefits of doing this. Doing this alone saves me 15-20 minutes every day.

• You do not need to login again and again into separate accounts to check mail.
• When you are sending mail, Outlook allows you to choose the email ID you want to send from.
• All your mails are in one Outlook account. Therefore if you need to take a back up or transfer account to another PC, it can be done in one shot rather than taking multiple backups.

3.    Use rules to manage incoming emails.

For example my mails coming in from different sources – key customers, partners, Linkedin, Facebook, Mybloglog, Yahoo groups, etc., all get deposited into different folders that I have designated for the same. Makes it easier to respond to and find old emails.

4.    Check mail at predetermined times.

Bunch up checking of mail at predetermined times. I try to limit this to twice a day and I do not stretch beyond thrice. I usually do this at my ‘low productivity time’ – usually afternoon or late at night, thereby using up more productive time for better things.

5.    Check mail ONLY when you have time to respond.

The worst situation is having an email pop in that requires a response which may require some time to think. In this situation I simply used to add the mail to the to-reply list and get back to whatever I was doing. This is such a waste of time. Now I only check mails, when I am prepared to respond to them at the same time – however, difficult/inconvenient/time consuming it may be.

6.    Bunch up low priority email.

Examples of low priority mail are – messages from Facebook, Linkedin, Yahoo groups, newsletter, forwards etc. I let these mails bunch up automatically in pre-designated folders and deal with them even less often – once a day and sometimes once a week.

7.    Using Auto Response

Most of us attach undue importance to being able to respond quickly to emails. Thus, we are constantly struggling with eating food with one hand while replying on our Blackberry with the other. If we are travelling or otherwise unable to access mail for more than 24 hours, simply use an auto response with a number where you can be contacted in case of an emergency.  Separate auto responses can be configured for different people as well and that makes this feature even more effective.

8.    Do a regular clean up of the folders.

Doing a regular clean up (I do it roughly once a month) has 1 minor and 1 major benefit.
• I delete all unwanted mail and keep things light (minor benefit).
• I am able to get ideas about
o What leads to go after.
o Which friends have I not been in touch with.
o Which customers am I neglecting.

9.    Scan through junk folder before emptying.

Sometimes useful and legitimate emails land up in the junk box. Through experience I have realized that the best way to deal with this is to do a regular scan through the junk folder before emptying it. I have found some gems in there.

10.    If you HAVE to, mark it unread.

If there is an email that you are simply unable to respond to and you need to respond to it later, mark it unread so that it does not get missed out.

11.    Write mails now and auto send them later!

Outlook also offers a feature to write a mail and send it at a pre-determined time and date. I find this very useful in certain business situations, not to mention sending happy birthday mails. The mail stays in the Outbox till the magic hour arrives.

–

Shalu Wasu is a creativity consultant and trainer based in Singapore apart from being guest faculty at select institutes. To attend his one-day open programme on creativity on 15th January, 2009 at NUS, Singapore, please visit www.lifeahoy.sg or contact shalu@lifeahoy.sg.

1. You are doing everyone a favour by saying no.

Whenever you are saying NO to someone, remember that it is for their benefit! By saying no, you are

• Giving the person an opportunity to look for someone who can do the job better.

• Avoiding negative feelings about the person.

2. Visualize the alternative (to saying no) in vivid detail.

• You will feel bad and will curse yourself for accepting the task.

• You will do a bad job.

• You will hate the person for putting this on to you.

• The person will hate you for doing a bad job.

• You should not have said yes, if you were not going to do a good job, the person will tell you later.

3. Remember what happened the last time you said yes!

4. Use the situation as an opportunity to build a better relationship.

If you like the person and don’t want to burn your bridges then having to say no can actually be a great opportunity to improve your relationship with this person. This is very much possible, provided you take the extra effort to honestly explain to the person why you cannot do this and why you value the relationship and that you really believe that by doing a half-baked job you will be hurting the relationship.

5. Enjoy!

Sometimes, saying no is just pure joy! The joy gets magnified if you do not provide any reasons at all!

6. Go overboard explaining why you cannot.

The explaining might make the person feel better than if you had said yes!

7. Use the big–picture test.

Focus on the big picture. What are your ultimate goals and objectives? Is this task in sync with your goals? If not, just say no and rest assured that you have made the correct decision.

8. Use a bit of cunning if you need to (in this order).

a. Negotiate. If you can take this off my plate, then I can do that. Or if I can get resources for this, then I can do that.

b. Postpone. Let me think about it and get back to you on email.

c. Deflect. I cannot do this BUT I can help you with that.

d. Bluff. Carry around your dummy calendar (choc a bloc of course) and show it to the person!

e. Throw the ball back. Ask for help in deciding how you should fit in the new task on the list of priorities (especially if it is your boss).

f. Lower expectations. Point out that you might be able to do everything, but not to the usual high standards that are expected.

g. Googly or curve ball. Say yes, then call back or SMS in the next 10 minutes to say why you cannot do it. Why 10 minutes? Well because that is the average time required for homo sapiens to come up with a good excuse.

h. Scare them off if nothing works! It’s just that I have this crazy flu and I don’t want you to get it

9. If they get really pushy, switch gears and think of it as a game.

There is no way you can say yes NOW! Smile and tell them so.

10. And before we end, here are a few statements for you to practice!

• I have another commitment.
• I have no experience with that.
• I know you will do a wonderful job yourself.
• I am in the middle of several projects.
• I am not comfortable with that.
• I need to leave some free time for myself.
• I would rather decline than do a mediocre job.
• I am not taking on any new responsibilities.
• I would rather help out with another task.
• Let me hook you up with someone who can do it.
• I am not the most qualified person for the job.
• I do not enjoy that kind of work.
• I do not have any more room in my calendar.
• I hate to split my attention among projects.
• I need to focus more on my personal life.
• I need to focus on my career right now.
• Some things have come up that need my attention.
• This really is not my strong point.

–

Shalu Wasu is a creativity consultant and trainer based in Singapore apart from being guest faculty at select institutes. To attend his one-day open programme on creativity on 15th January, 2009 at NUS, Singapore, please visit www.lifeahoy.sg or contact shalu@lifeahoy.sg.

We have a persistent feeling of events receding into a past of non-existence. The future is a nebulous void. The present moment is all that we experience and therefore grant it a higher level of existence.

But as soon as we become aware of the present moment, it turns into the past. It is like the flash of lightning that appears and disappears. As events flow in succession, we are left wondering what this freaky ride from birth to death is all about.

Apparently, time is a continuum consisting of the past, the present and the future.

Generally, when we think of time we think of the ways in which we measure the passing of time such as hours and days. We do not think of time itself. Time is seen as a measuring system that we use to sequence events.

But what is it that we are measuring?

We may say that the next train will come in 45 minutes. While this information is useful, it says nothing about what it is that we are measuring. What interests me is the nature of the ‘interval’. What happens when time passes?

A bud blossoms into a flower. Once in full bloom, it starts withering away slowly. Everything around us goes on changing. What brings these changes about? The obvious answer is time. But what is time?

Time is what life is made of. Time is what we have when we are alive. As a necessary attribute of existence, it is very obvious. And yet, it completely eludes us as it has no form.

HOW WE SENSE TIME

Time is the main factor for the ‘persistence’ of existence and for the change to happen. Interestingly, change is caused by time which in turn enables us to perceive change.

Time is a convenient paradigm to register the movements of the earth, the moon and other bodies in the space. Time is measured by motion and it also becomes evident through motion.

Time is the framework that allows us to put experience in perspective by placing events sequentially. It isolates events occurring in the same physical location. It prevents everything from happening simultaneously.

Different people perceive time differently. Even the same person perceives it differently at different times.

When we are engaged in an activity we love, time seems to fly. We experience timelessness. When we are doing something unpleasant, time seems to drag. Different stimuli alter our perception of time.

Small amounts of time are seen in a cyclical fashion – 24-hour clock, 7-day week, 12-month year – all repeating themselves. Long stretches of time, however, are seen in a linear fashion as they stretch on before us.

Time also appears to pass more quickly as one gets older. According to Stephen Hawking the perception of time is a ratio between the unit of time and time lived.

For example, one day to a one year old would be 1:365 while one day to a forty year old would be 1:14610. Therefore, one day appears much longer to a child than to an adult, even though the measure of time is the same.

All of which means that time is only in our mind!

TIME AND THE RELATIVITY THEORY

The universe is said to have emerged as a result of the Big Bang some 13.7 billion years ago. Before that, all matter was packed into an extremely tiny dot. That dot also contained the matter that later came to be the sun, the earth and the moon – the heavenly bodies that tell us about the passing of time.

Before the Big Bang, there was no space or time. The concept of time and space began exactly when the universe started expanding with the Big Bang. Space happened as the universe expanded. Time happened so that the changes in space could be noticed.

If space has three dimensions, time is the fourth one that reveals the movement of the objects in three-dimensional space.

Einstein says that we can imagine all of space and time represented as a four-dimensional space-time combo, which embodies all of the past, the present and the future of the universe.

According to this theory, the past, the present and the future have the same level of existence. Since our senses can’t absorb the totality of the space-time combo at once, we absorb it in parts.
What we absorb at a given time is called the present. What has already been absorbed is the past. What is yet to be absorbed is the future.

According to Einstein’s relativity theory, we have this illusion of a changing, three-dimensional world, even though nothing changes in the four-dimensional space-time combo.

The relativity theory also gives rise to the concept of time travel that involves moving backwards and forwards in time. Though theoretically possible, it is not known how far it is practical.

LIVING IN TIMELESSNESS

Finally, here is an interesting fact about a tribe, which is in perfect consonance with the relativity theory!

The language of the Hopi contains no words or expressions or grammatical forms that even remotely refer to time. For them, there is no such thing as the past, the present or the future. For them life is one big timelessness.

Now, however plausible the relativity theory may be, I am personally not comfortable with it. What I intuitively reject is the presupposition that the future is pre-determined. Secondly, the concept of time travel violates the concept of causality.

And yet, for some reason, the idea of the Hopi living in timelessness fascinates me. I would be happy to live among them.

Who knows, dropping the concept of time may bring about an understanding of time – a temporal paradox that I would love to experience!

Understanding the Concept of Time

It might be a cliché but time is indeed gold. Once it is lost, you can never regain it. Therefore, as much as possible, you want to make the most of your time by aiming towards increased productivity.

How many times have you experienced having to scramble with your tasks just to complete them in time? When you evaluate your activities, you’d realize that you spend one afternoon watching TV or playing video games. Then, the next day you are bombarded with tasks that you must finish. However, the limited time you have left just seems not enough.

Until that happens, you never really realize the full value of time. Hence, it is important that you look for ways to maximize your time to make room for all your work and recreational activities.

Organization For Better Time Management

One way to maximize your time is by learning how to organize your activities according to how much time you need to work on them. Listed below are some methods that you can apply into your schedule:

1.Make a To-do list: This is the basis of all time management systems. Whether it be an electronic device or the traditional post-it notes, this is where you refer on what activities you need to get done on a certain period of time.

2.Prioritizing your list: Aside from making a list, you also need to list them according to the most important or urgent tasks. Hence, you finish those that needs to get done first on time before moving on to the next task.

3.Have goals, specific ones: Whatever your goal is, it helps provide direction to whatever it is you need to do for a certain period of time. Hence, specify your goals according to activities you need to do for the day, week, or within the month.

4.Use organizational tools: By being disorganized, you could lose precious time attending to unimportant tasks instead of utilizing them for more important activities. Hence, keep your things organized and orderly for easy access when needed.

5.Do not procrastinate: Whatever you can do for today, do it now. Never put off something because you’ll never know when you’d have the time to work on them.

Evaluate Daily Activities

To setup an effective time management system, you need to look into every detail of your daily activities. Hence, you can identify which activities are important and which ones are not, as well as how much time is consumed.

Create a daily schedule that you need to follow strictly. Then, you can check that at each start of the day. When you have a schedule, you can divide up your activities evenly to avoid being overwhelmed with activities at a certain time of day.

Aside from organizing your activities within the day, you can use your daily schedule of activities for evaluation on your level of productivity. As you examine the activities, take note of each one and the time spent. Do these activities contribute to the accomplishment of your goals? Are you focusing your efforts and time on necessary things? If not, then you are not maximizing your time well.

These are just basic time management procedures you can follow so you can achieve more in less time.

————————

Larry Rivera is a Internet Network Marketer who teaches people how to use the internet to start a home based business. Success University is the #1 Personal Development website on the internet. It gives you a place to earn while you learn. Having problems with relationship building, Learn the skills they never taught you in school.

http://www.profitonknowledge.com

Success breeds complexity.

Do you really think Tim Ferris, author of the bestseller, The 4 Hour Work Week works only 4 hours a week? Simplicity and traditional success are a tricky combo. The masters of it are exceptions. They are also chilled, prosperous and rarely in a rush.

Leo Babauta is in no rush. Why hurry when you know what’s most important?

His new book, The Power Of Less, is an easy, breezy read on “the fine art of limiting yourself to the essential…in business and in life.”

My four favourite reminders from this inspiring book:

1. Let your life be ruled by the moment. (Huh, is this a productivity book I’m reading?) Don’t schedule most appointments. If someone requests an appointment, tell them to call you a little before they would like to meet and if you’re available, then meet.

2. If you aren’t finding yourself passionate about a certain tasks, allow yourself to move on to something you’re more passionate about. The more passionate you are about a task or project, the more energy you’ll put into it, and the better you’ll do with it.

3. Create a simple projects list – just three projects, not ten, that will have your entire focus until you see them through to completion. The other projects on your list go on the “On The Deck List.”

Leo is a big proponent of email checking restraints. His suggestion is to set email times – check it once in the morning, and check it once in the afternoon. Leo admits that this is not as easy as it sounds. His answer is deceptively simple:

4. Every time you find yourself habitually switching to e-mail, stop yourself. Breathe. And then focus on your work instead. Your reward: you get a lot more done.

Got the itch to Twitter or check in on your Facebook friends in the middle of a looming deadline? Breathe. The itch will pass and your fans will love you all the more when you tweet. I breathe a lot.

Many productivity books have a drill sergeant running between the lines. Panic! So much to do to organize all that I have to do. The Power of Less is a sweet exception to that. Babauta’s energy is gentle and kind. No whistles. No drills. Just a zen-like understanding of what it takes to honour what’s essential.

The peace. The humility. The sheer devotion. Getting to Christ In The Desert was a pilgrimage that my cells thirsted for. It’s worth mentioning here that I considered being a nun when I was about six years old. Then I learned what celibacy was and heard that there was a lot of cleaning involved in convent life, and I asked Jesus for his forgiveness because I just knew I wasn’t going to make the cut. I decided I wanted my own variety show, like Cher. Religion, cabaret…it’s all a kind of intense theater of passion.

I arrived just in time for prayer. The monks sing their prayers. Glorious Gregorian chants echoed against the baked clay walls. My heart swelled. Tho’ the heavy sin-trip of the Psalm wasn’t lost on me, I was swept away by the beauty of it all. And I so needed to be swept away. When the chants concluded and the monks filed out behind the tabernacle, I was able to be alone in the chapel for a long, sweet time. I thought about hope – which I have a very cantankerous relationship with. And I thought about priorities of the most divine kind. My priorities have been bumping against each other for a while now – clanking around and grinding down my heart. The focus of my trip was to put my so called priorities on the altar. Smash few. Polish some. Reorganize them to sync with my soul.

“Above all, prayer holds the first place in the monk’s day and nothing must be preferred to this activity. Prayer involves coming into contact with divine life, in openness to the mystery of love which is written in our hearts.” The monks are encouraged to stop their chores if they feel inspired to pray. The passion to pray comes before work and all other tasks. The Brothers pray seven times in day in collective chanting and in solitude. Seven times a day.

So many mornings I have chosen email over meditation. I let deadlines rank over a stretch or a cuddle or a glass of water swallowed slowly and appreciated. I override the call to feel myself – the call to pray, or meditate, or be fully awake. Prayer comes in all forms and each one spoken brings grace to the day.

Thank you. Yes. Have mercy. Keep them safe. How lovely. Courage, please. I love you.

Our hearts are the altars. Ours days, when lived awake, are another chance to know the joys of what matters most. Attend first to the divine and the work at hand becomes art.

Tune in tomorrow for Part II of my monastery adventures…

The funny part is that I have seen a few of these faces busily waiting for their baggage at the carousel and I use the words ‘busily waiting’ because of the impatience they telegraph through their actions and gestures. On one hand I am tempted to ask them which company they work for or own and invest in that organization. Because, all said and done, such intense effort would have rewards, right?

On the other hand I am also tempted to find out which organization they work for and try to decipher how much of this enforced urgency is actually productive and how it helps them, their team and the organization. Is this a function of our modern society where action is rewarded over inaction, even if the action might be counter productive? Or, is this a manifestation of insecurity and the projected ‘busyness’ is assumed to create an image of contribution, productivity and success to feel important and impress others?

My personal view is that this is more a reflection of a jumbled thought process and every new thought, memory jogged, stimuli received is enough to activate a fresh, new frenzy of action! Introspection and concentration are obvious casualties. Serenity is of course not to be considered at any point in time.

Lastly, such orientation is more reactive and feeds on itself to become repetitive, and deliberate, carefully measured responses no longer feature in the scheme of things. Every time, I am on a flight or elsewhere and I see these very busy people, I feel like holding up a huge sign in red saying “STOP, TAKE A DEEP BREATH!” Focus, concentrate and direct your thought, energy and action.

I am reminded of the advice Arjuna got in archery, when aiming at a bird’s eye. He was told that there is nothing else in the universe excepting the bird’s eye. Even the bird should cease to exist in the archer’s mind. Only then will the aim be true and the arrow hit the mark. A simple enough lesson followed more as an exception than as a rule. Most probably the modern day Arjuna might have a laptop with a telescope to aim at the target, while checking mail and also answering an important call through his blue tooth hands free. And most probably, he might be posting his status updates on Facebook and Twitter saying, “Aiming for the eye”. Most likely, the following status update would be, “Shucks, missed again”!

Anything that we do or embark upon is predicated on three elements: Time, Competency and Energy or Capability. For anyone to manage any task successfully these three elements should be aligned and balanced in such a way that there is no conflict and they seamlessly integrate to produce the desired results. In most cases one or more of these elements are either ignored or assumed to be adequate. Let me illustrate with a simple example. Supposing someone decided to travel between two cities in a car and agreed to complete the journey in an hour then he/she would require two other variables namely driving skills and a competency to navigate the journey as also the energy in terms of the driver’s energy and capability to drive as also the car’s capability to complete the journey within the said time.

Supposing the driver was not competent or did not know the road or perhaps the car was not in a good condition and would stop every so often, the objective of completing the journey in an hour becomes a burden. In this context, racing against the time limit of one hour becomes increasingly stressful till some of the existing capabilities or competency is also compromised. Under stress the driver takes a wrong turn or pushes the car too hard and it breaks down.

Regardless, one is always racing against a time limit and never against time. Time marches along in solitary splendor, gathering everyone’s efforts on the way and leaving behind the success or failures in its wake.

Is there a better way to manage this race?

Of course there is. The alternative is to be realistic in balancing the three variables mentioned above and ensuring that each of them is optimally poised to form perfect balance. But, first it starts with accepting realistic time limits. For that to happen, one needs to be aware of one’s capabilities, competencies, strengths and more importantly weaknesses. In other words, one needs to know his/her true self and not be carried away by the image one projects to the outside world.

When one balances these elements successfully and works towards maximizing each of these elements, then the whole thing works in perfect harmony. Time is utilized well. Competencies and capabilities are directed towards productive use. Energy is directed towards achieving success. One should not assume that I am advocating complacency. I am not. All I am saying is when one works with a well balanced mix towards an optimum time limit, success has a higher probability. Repeated success creates a success formula and then one tends to learn how to stretch themselves and grow.

Time management has more to do with managing one’s capabilities, competencies and expectations than managing time by itself. The best time management exercise is to be aware of time and respect its absoluteness and align other variables to better leverage this powerful factor.

Productivity is required at all levels and times. I have a few questions, though. Does everybody know what ‘productivity’ means? Does everybody know that the process of maximizing effort in minimum time is called productivity? Do you have to be a management pro, expert in the technical jargon to be productive? I have no clue what ‘chores automation’ means, or what ‘overcoming procrastination’ might possibly refer to (hats off to the ones who do know, though).

To be truthful, nothing struck a chord in my mind when I read about the productivity theme. Does that mean that I don’t know much about productivity? Quite obviously. But does that mean that I am not productive? I don’t think so. Anybody who knows how to maximize time use is productive. But a few tips by the great management gurus are always appreciated.

Time management comes first and foremost. The question is…. can we really manage time? No, we cannot. We can only tune ourselves according to the day (and night). No one can manage time — we only get twenty four hours in a day — not a second more, not a second less. ‘Time management’ does sound impressive and makes us feel important, as if we are managing nature when actually we are making the adjustments to nature.

About email management, I suggest directly delete spam without attempting to fish for some accidentally-sent-to-spam-folder-useful-mail. Trust me, there’s no such thing. Other than that, it’s work-related mail and personal messages, in order of priority, depending on time available (forwards and advertisements ignored). Killing off email is not feasible but on busy days it would be nice to send it on vacation.

With respect to ‘chores automation’, how far can we take it? Program Power Point so that feeding in topics is all you have to do to prepare slides, and maybe even have a voice over program for presenting them? If so, I think Microsoft and the World Wide Web would be entitled to salary checks for every project we complete. Nah, automating chores is to aid and facilitate work; the brain behind the work will always be, well, a brain — a real live human one right there on the spot.

Goal management is another important factor — the most important one, next to time management perhaps. Clearly defined goals that are realistic and broken down into smaller steps are instrumental in achieving high productivity. Compiling a “To Do” list comes in useful here as we all have lapses in memory. Along with productivity tools, they bring a lot of clarity and simplicity. Just spend a few minutes make a “To Do” list, and it helps you to focus throughout the day.

Getting rid of distractions is one thing I find to be most challenging. However, I do believe that to minimize distractions the first step is to identify them. There is a fine line between distraction and recreation and you must identify it. Dear old Facebook for example, is a recreation that can become a distraction if I am not careful.

Overcoming procrastination is another difficult task, be it official work like finishing assignments before the deadline or something as basic as waking up in time for an early lecture. Perspective helps a lot, though. Delaying a job results in a pile up of work (as if you didn’t know that), so merely thinking about the prospective stack or panic as the deadline approaches helps to overcome lethargy and laziness.

Cutting down on sweet sleep is perhaps the hardest of all and totally unnecessary. Cutting down on oversleeping certainly is what is really important. Everyone needs a healthy dose of sleep synchronized with a sensible work rhythm (I think working at night is the best!). You wouldn’t want to work for twenty two hours one day, then feel sleepy and strained for twenty hours the next day, and end up sleeping for forty eight hours straight, would you?

The level of productivity on a collective level also has a psychological aspect. Work morale, work environment, encouragement and incentives are factors which make people want to work. So along with the methods and numerous suggestions here, my conclusion comes down to this: Productivity cannot just be achieved by a list of tips to be followed; it has to come from self-motivation or personal willingness!

The irony of the situation is that even after thinking so much about time — its significance and the consequences of wasting it — most of us fail in managing our life time successfully! Therefore, I thought of sharing a little secret of mine that might nudge you into appreciating time and using it well.

Just imagine you have a big bottle to fill every day and you are given three things to fill this receptacle: the first is big pebbles, then you have small pebbles and finally you have sand. However the one condition is that you have to fill the bottle in such a way that no spaces are left among big pebbles, small pebbles and the sand.

There are three ways to do this: first you can fill the sand first then the small and finally the big pebbles. But if you do so, there will be spaces left between big and small pebbles as all pebbles are of different sizes (remember we need to fill the bottle while completely packing it).

As a second option, you can fill the small pebbles first then the big stones and then the sand but this time some of the sand will tend to slip down from the spaces between the big pebbles and reach the small pebbles so we will still have some minute spaces in between (this method clearly fails).

Thirdly you can first fill the big pebbles but since they are of different sizes some space will be left in between so next you can fill the small pebbles which will occupy the spaces left between the big pebbles. Although the small pebbles are of a different size, some space will be left in between them as well. These minute spaces can be filled by the sand and in this way you can completely fill the vessel without leaving any spaces.

Now you must imagine that time is like a vessel and the big pebbles are the most important things in your life. The small pebbles are less important matters and the sand represents the things that have least importance on your priority list. The empty spaces left in between signify the regrets or opportunities missed in life, so you must divide your work in order of priority to leave no empty spaces (regrets or missed opportunities).

Remember as you utilise your time so shall you define your life. Make your life’s priority list and examine it regularly with this illustration in mind. Are you putting the small, insignificant things things first or are you pre-occupied with the not-so-important facets of your life? Are you neglecting your inner self, your big dreams, your family or your spiritual life while putting friends, ego, and money first?

So what kind of life are you opting for today — one filled with spaces or one with no spaces for regrets?

The peace. The humility. The sheer devotion. Getting to Christ In The Desert was a pilgrimage that my cells thirsted for. It’s worth mentioning here that I considered being a nun when I was about six years old. Then I learned what celibacy was and heard that there was a lot of cleaning involved in convent life, and I asked Jesus for his forgiveness because I just knew I wasn’t going to make the cut. I decided I wanted my own variety show, like Cher. Religion, cabaret…it’s all a kind of intense theater of passion.

I arrived just in time for prayer. The monks sing their prayers. Glorious Gregorian chants echoed against the baked clay walls. My heart swelled. Tho’ the heavy sin-trip of the Psalm wasn’t lost on me, I was swept away by the beauty of it all. And I so needed to be swept away. When the chants concluded and the monks filed out behind the tabernacle, I was able to be alone in the chapel for a long, sweet time. I thought about hope – which I have a very cantankerous relationship with. And I thought about priorities of the most divine kind. My priorities have been bumping against each other for a while now – clanking around and grinding down my heart. The focus of my trip was to put my so called priorities on the altar. Smash few. Polish some. Reorganize them to sync with my soul.

“Above all, prayer holds the first place in the monk’s day and nothing must be preferred to this activity. Prayer involves coming into contact with divine life, in openness to the mystery of love which is written in our hearts.” The monks are encouraged to stop their chores if they feel inspired to pray. The passion to pray comes before work and all other tasks. The Brothers pray seven times in day in collective chanting and in solitude. Seven times a day.

So many mornings I have chosen email over meditation. I let deadlines rank over a stretch or a cuddle or a glass of water swallowed slowly and appreciated. I override the call to feel myself – the call to pray, or meditate, or be fully awake. Prayer comes in all forms and each one spoken brings grace to the day.

Thank you. Yes. Have mercy. Keep them safe. How lovely. Courage, please. I love you.

Our hearts are the altars. Ours days, when lived awake, are another chance to know the joys of what matters most. Attend first to the divine and the work at hand becomes art.

I am not against using Facebook. I believe it’s the best networking site (I am a Facebook user as well). But I am amazed to see the outrageous Facebook fad taking control of so many lives among people of all ages.

We all know that Facebook is meant for an age group of 13 years or over of age but many children under the stipulated age are signing up to be members with false information. There is the danger that these children could become victims of dangerous online adult predators, which is one of the biggest risks associated with social networking sites. These children wind up adding unknown people to their ‘friend-list’ leaving themselves open to cyber bullies or even worse, a parent’s worse nightmare – the pedophile.

Teenagers are among those most addicted to Facebook. Precious time which could be used for other constructive activities such as reading, playing sports, or learning new life-enhancement skills like meditation, aerobics and yoga is spent on Facebook. The site not only encourages teenagers to waste valuable time, but also leads them into the pit of peer pressure when they are compelled to participate in all kinds of silly contests such as “Who’s The Sweetest Person?” There are an alarming number of ‘post your photos competition’ which lure teens to post photos of themselves online. This is a welcome signal or green light for every pervert and child predator online.

This is a dangerous trend not only for teenagers but for Facebook users of every age who are not well-informed about the hazards of socialising online.

I have seen people going crazy about Facebook, making desperate efforts to increase their friend-list in order to ensure he/she has a more friends than other people. They choose to ignore the fact that most virtual ‘friends’ should never be trusted and can violate your privacy at the drop of a pin.

Ludicrous as it seems, there has been a new twist in the story these days as parents deliberately make up profiles on Facebook in order to check up on their kids (one would think that older people would have better things to do with their life than playing around on Facebook). The end result is that the whole family turns out to be on Facebook instead of spending quality time together.

Don’t get me wrong, Facebook is a great platform to express yourself by making up your own group, keeping in touch with friends and exploring other interests. However, one must remember that Facebook is just another means to enjoy life but not another means to live life.

By limiting yourself to Facebook, you lose out on a rich and exciting life of real possibilities beyond a social networking site.

So the next time you log on to Facebook with the intention of spending hours in useless socialising, pause a while and ask yourself, is there something more interesting, constructive and uplifting I could be doing with my time?

Here is a model of time management that, although highly original and innovative, is based on a theory that is several thousand years old. The theory is the theory of the Four Elements. According to the ancient Greeks, all matter in the universe was comprised of just four elements: earth, fire, air and water. These four elements are not just real. They’re also symbolic. And they represent the four key elements of time management. When you hold these four elements in balance through the tasks you perform, you bring to your life a rich, varied and harmonious pattern. Let’s see exactly how.

1. Earth Tasks. The Earth element represents the source from which we obtain our nourishment. It is the basis on which everything else is built. It is the rock, the core, the groundwork. Earth tasks are those tasks in our life that have to be done if we are to survive. They include sleeping, eating, and bodily needs. In an organizational context, they are the routines, systems, and rituals around which work is organized.  As such, Earth tasks are essential, if sometimes dull.

Spend up to a quarter of your day on Earth tasks. Do them when you want a break from thinking, creating, and relating tasks.

2. Fire Tasks. The element of Fire represents the creative spark in us. When this spark is lit, it can produce something uniquely special that adds to our lives and the lives of others. Fire tasks include any inspirational, dynamic, spontaneous, and productive work, such as developing new ideas, working on projects, taking risks, trying out something new, developing ourselves and innovating. While we connect with Earth tasks through our lower bodies, we connect with Fire tasks through the heart and belly. Without Fire tasks, your life is repetitive and circular. With Fire tasks, you move ahead and fulfil the potential you were born with.

Spend up to a quarter of your day on Fire tasks. Do them when you want a break from routine, thinking, and relating tasks.

3. Air Tasks. The element of Air is associated with any activity that involves thinking. As such, it is often thought of as any non-doing activity. Air is the most elusive of all the elements. Air is everywhere and nowhere, yet it is impossible to grasp and contain. Air tasks include any pure thinking activity, such as goal-setting, planning, decision-taking, problem-solving, creative thinking, analyzing, and learning. It is also the time we need to spend in our lives for renewal and recuperation. For many people who see work as constant activity, the Air element is a reminder of the need to switch off. Without Air tasks in your life, work becomes a struggle. With them, it becomes effortless.

Spend up to a quarter of your day on Air tasks. Do them when you want a break from routine, creative, and relating tasks.

4. Water Tasks. Water is a metaphor for working with others. Like water, time with others is a connecting process. Just like our relationships, water may be still or turbulent, trickling or rushing, bubbly or calm, shallow or deep, active or passive, destructive or playful. While essential for getting things done, time with others can also be one of our biggest time robbers. We can achieve nothing without others. But if we are not careful, we can achieve nothing because of others. That’s why, like water, this aspect of time management is best when controlled and systemized.

Spend up to a quarter of your day on Water tasks. Do them when you want a break from routine, thinking, and creative tasks.

Balancing each day’s activities is not simply a sensible way to live. It is also healthy, productive and enjoyable. To follow an intense period of planning (Air work) with a physical task (Earth work), then to follow that with time on a project (Fire work), followed by time with colleagues (Water work), is to create a rich and whole texture to the day that somehow feels right. That’s why the theory of the Four Elements, as old as it is, still has so much relevance to our lives today.

There are also plenty of articles, books and talking about the subject. Why?

Let’s start from the end. With more time available you will be able to exercise innovation, develop “out-of-the-box” thinking to see what is wrong and what can be improved. You will be able to be more connected and updated with trends, opportunities and threats. You will be able to have a more balanced life with leisure and with your family.

So, what should you do?

There is no magic. But the best solutions for the worst problems are the most simple.

Start with writing the daily tasks that you need to do every day. Examples: read the news, read e-mails, reply e-mails, pay bills, verify bank accounts, verify stock, call suppliers, check with the staff if everything is ok, and so on.

Dimension how much time do you need (or you are expending) to accomplish those tasks. Verify where you can optimize your time, and organize the schedule to get it done. Start with only controlling the time spent. It is already a great step.

Resolve first the easiest and shortest tasks. If in some task you exceed your time limit, stop and go to the next one. Return to that one only after finishing the current “round” and use your “spare time” for so doing.

Try to reduce 10% to 30% the time of some tasks. With other tasks, develop a worksheet (a simple control) and try to empower someone to make it, and control.

Try to reserve, at least, one or two hours for creative thinking, to research, new products, new approaches, and new markets, depending on your core business and always with focus on strengths. And, also, don’t lose ever the “picture” of your market and competitors.

When you are stuck in a particular situation and don’t find a solution, go for a walk, have a coffee,  do something that makes you disconnect completely and quickly from the problem, and return to it later.

Don’t try to memorize every thing that happens or that you will need to do. You will lose time to remember some of them. Write on your notepad, outlook, palm, smart phone, or even a piece of paper.

When you are involved with a complex problem, that needs immediate resolution, and you need concentration, don’t let anyone interrupt your thoughts, close the door, don’t answer the phone, and finish your task first. You will economize time; will have more efficiency and efficacy.

Stop reading this article and go to practice.

Time, it is not only money, it is your life!

1.) Just start.  That’s it – just get started.  Pick up one stack to sort or one drawer to clean out. Just take one step on your new walking program.  If you’re like me, once I get started, it’s game on.

2.) Hire someone else to do it.  Seriously.  I pay someone to clean my house and it is the best money I spend.  I don’t want to spend my time cleaning, but I don’t want to live in a dirty house.  Let’s say paying someone isn’t an option for you.  No problem – just find out what it would cost to pay someone, then next time you find yourself putting it off, think, “If I get this done it will save me $75.”  You’ll either be motivated to do it or you’ll write the check.

3.) Let go of perfection.  I believe (and we do lie best when we lie to ourselves) that my procrastination is linked to my perfectionism.  I feel that if I can’t do something right (i.e. perfect), I shouldn’t do it at all.  So when I think about the database entry, I think I don’t have time to do it all, so I do nothing. And a 15 minute job accumulates into a five hour job and all my leads are cold.  Better to do it halfway than not do it at all.  Better to walk one mile than zero.  Better to have half the laundry folded than none.  And go back to number one – once you start, you often finish.  Perfectionism is idiotic.  (And yes, I am working on being less of an idiot.)

This is another reason why people don’t delegate or hire others.  Many women tell me they won’t hire someone to clean their homes because that person wouldn’t do the job as well as they would.  Okay – if you want to spend your life cleaning your baseboards, rock on!  I’ll be out enjoying my life.

4.) Trick yourself.  I got a lot of this done because I fooled myself into thinking it was fun.  I sat at my desk, lit some candles, put on some TV shows I like and did data entry for hours.  Hey – see number three – we lie best when we lie to ourselves.  Tell yourself going through all that junk you’ve been hoarding will be fun!  Whee!!!  Or find a way to make it fun for you – invite a friend over to help you with your closet or promise yourself a reward when you’re finished.   Bribe yourself!

5.) Create urgency.  I wanted to get stuff donated before the end of the year to help reduce my taxes, so I cleaned out closets.  Maybe you have a birthday coming up and you don’t want to spend another year in your current state.  If you can set some kind of goal or deadline, this will help.

6.) Dump it all.  Maybe there are stacks in your office or a bunch of junk in your garage.  Get a box (or boxes or trash bags) and just pitch it all.  If you are not using that stuff, get rid if it!  If that’s too drastic, date the boxes – if you didn’t need anything out of then in a year – for God’s sake – THROW THEM AWAY!  If it’s a hobby or a craft project or a piece of exercise equipment – be honest with yourself – use the damn thing or toss it.  Here people start thinking, but I spent $250 on that!  Yep – then try to sell it on Ebay, because that money is gone, baby and it ain’t coming back.  Most of the time your old junk really is just junk.  For all the time it might take to sell it, you’d be better off just taking it to Goodwill and writing it off.

7.) Multitask – maybe.  Depending on the task, multitasking might help or it might harm.  If it’s reading, I can go through a lot of stuff while I ride the stationary bike.  I feel like I’m getting some exercise AND accomplishing something.  I love it!  But sometimes trying to multitask derails me.  Deactivating my e-mail alert was a huge time saver – no distraction, more focus, more execution.  Every interruption slows you down dramatically.

8.) Think of the consequences.  If I don’t update my database I lose touch with my clients and that can cost me money.  If you don’t go through those stacks on your desk, you look disorganized and lose credibility.  If you have chaos in your e-mail inbox, you may miss opportunities or appear unreliable.  If nothing else, clutter saps your energy and wastes your time.  Take control.

Try a couple of these – I’m telling you from the other side, when you finally get the task done, it will take much less time than you thought and you’re going to feel a lot better about yourself.  Now I need to get that mailing out.

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Denise Ryan, MBA, is a Certified Speaking Professional, a designation of excellence held by less than 10% of all professional speakers.  She is a blogger http://motivationbychocolate.blogspot.com
Her website is http://www.firestarspeaking.com where you can see more articles and sign up for a free newsletter.

The successful entrepreneur is well-organized.  The more organized the professional the easier the day. The best and most successful understand how to move around the hurdles in a structured manner so that they accomplish more – with less.

I recall many years ago living in New Jersey and commuting to Manhattan, one frequently stopped to pay tolls. These necessities are required for road improvements, etc. yet they become an annoyance and add time to your commute. Tolls create agitation because you need to stop and restart, they frustrate you as you fumble for ways to weave through the longest line to ease your commute and finally, distract you as you watch other foppish commuters.

There are three tolls in your life and your business that disrupt your day. They are:

1.    People
2.    Problems
3.    Processes

Each of these factors contributes to a waste of time, energy and euphoria and manages to throw your days into pandemonium. For you to gain instant organizational momentum you must embark in three ideologies:

•    You must have some selfishness.
•    You must keep in mind moments do not return.
•    You must embrace the issue and make an immediate change.

If you keep these in mind throughout the day your disarray will lead to order.

When we look at organizational skills we need to first understand what gets in the way of efficiency and organization and the most common cause of disorder. Procrastination detains you. When you steer away from confrontational or imperative issues you back up other issues creating a domino effect.

There are a number of major reasons for procrastination such as is a FEAR. The issue takes too long to complete, is too boring or simply is ridiculous and takes time from something else. Yet, research shows that in 98% of instances when procrastination exists, the excuses for procrastinating actually take more time than the issue itself.

If you find yourself not dealing with things, paperwork is piling up and calls unreturned then you must absolutely begin to change you habits. Paperwork, calls and reports do not disappear because of avoidance they grow LARGER!!!

Self-management is simply the result of developing good habits and letting them control you. Another way to look at it is don’t let bad habits control you  – you are in charge – so you make choices. In order to overcome procrastination one must meet it head on. Moreover, there are numerous things you can do to refrain from procrastination. They include:

1. Get the things you hate to do completed first. Stop putting things off until tomorrow or the next day since it will not get accomplished anyway. Get the calls, the reports, the meeting with the nasty client all out of the way first and the remainder of the day is easier.

2. Stop seeking alternatives through email and voice mail. Many individuals hide behind electronics. Refrain from wearisome habits and confront the issue. The manner in which to stop poor behavior is confronting it. This is what you tell your clients, isn’t it?

3. Stop pondering. More time is spent on not conducting the task then physically doing it. When surveyed, 93% of participants stated that blowing off the issue took more time than the physical issue. Pay bills twice per month; make calls and emails first, etc.

4. Prioritize. Most people simply lack good planning and goal setting. The only way to stop sputtering is simply to prioritize. Plan the day and stick with it, do not enable interruptions.

There are also some additional guidelines for sanity and organization:

1. Create time frames – block out times in a day for specific activities and events. Do not enable interruptions during these imperative times.

2. Hold yourself accountable – ensure success by keeping to times and to goals. You hold your clients and relatives to specific schedules why not yourself?

3. Keep only one list – good organizers place information in one place so that they are not distracted. The problem with most people is that they don’t keep a list at all. Others have too many, to remain atop the issues have one list such as a to-do and keep it in a location where you are most apt to view it.

4. Keep a notepad wherever you are – One of the best methods for organization is to keep pen and paper with you at all times, if you are technologically desirous then a recorder. During a single day individuals have numerous thoughts. When was the last time your great idea would place you as the world’s wealthiest person only to forget the idea hours later? With so many distractions interrupting our days it is best to record those precious moments. Keep a notepad wherever you go: auto, airplane, business bag, knapsack, nightstand, bathroom etc. Never lose another thought. Once you create the memory then transpose the idea to your main list for ultimate success.

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Drew Stevens is a business growth expert. He speaks and consults around the world for organizations that require expertise in leadership and marketing. Visit Drew at www.drewstevensconsulting.com/freestuff and get hundreds of dollars in FREE selling tips.

Here are a few ways to overcome it:

1. Break down goals into smaller more realistic goals. Say if your goal is to make a million dollars, start with a goal of $20,000 a month. When you have $200,000 you are much closer to the million, but it’s till far away, so you need to make a new goal, maybe $30,000 a month and knowing you can make $20,000 a month makes it easier for you to believe you can make $30,000 month than if you make $10,000 a month. Understand? Good!

2. Create a ‘to do’ list every single day and finish urgent tasks you have not built up the confidence or had time to do. So creating that ‘to do’ list now and start chopping away, without distraction is an amazing thing that really helps.

3. Have a bigger picture in mind. This means you know what you want and believe you can get it. So if you spend that 15 minutes to do something IMPORTANT that you know you wouldn’t have else done, you are ahead 95% of the people out there, meaning you are closer to success than you think.

4. Stop doing counterproductive tasks when you have something more important to do. Say NO to people who interrupt you in the middle of work, and be sure to complete smaller goals before moving on to bigger things. Do the hard work first, that way it feels like REST when you actually do the smaller tasks!

5. Be ready for problems and obstacles on your road to success. Like any terrain out there, there is never a straight road to the final destination, especially if it’s a long road, so be sure to move on ahead when you hit the “brick wall”.

6. Motivate yourself with treats upon completion of bigger goals. Yes, go to that restaurant you have wanted to go to when you finish the day, and make sure you overtip… That way you get all your money back and more the next day, cause you fulfilled your inner self first!

7. Keep reasonable deadlines. This removes the thought of having all the time in the world to complete a task, meaning you usually never do them. Instead say how soon it needs to be done and do it, do not procrastinate on this part.

8. Break free from the procrastination habit. Procrastination is a BAD habit that you want to break, so doing something the same for 30 days will eliminate the procrastination process and program in a go getter attitude into your mind. Try it!

9. Ignore procrastinating tasks. Don’t be afraid to fail. Everybody fails when trying to be successful. Be strong and confident about your actions. Try to avoid anxiety and instead be proactive and go for it, jump through the hoops to get what you want. Stop procrastinating NOW and go do the things you have procrastinated on before!

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To start doing what you need to be doing and making the dreams you have set for yourself come true visit http://www.instantlystopprocrastination.com right now! Visit http://www.instantlystopprocrastination.com today to find out!

Such people always feel beleaguered by different tasks they have to do each day. They feel exhausted and tired. The solution lies in being in control of your life so that you wake up each morning feeling calm and rested.

Time management is a way to control our activities and an aid to making choices so that we can make the best use of our time. Both the rich and poor alike have the same number of minutes and hours available in a day, a week, a month or a year.

It is how we use these moments which is crucial. Effective time management will give us more time to do what we really want whether it is reading, writing, sports or any other pastime.

Time management can have a spectacular effect on our professional and social life. All of us can get started with a ‘to do’ list. Most winners and champions use “to do” lists so that they can use their limited time effectively.

Indeed, whatever I put on my ‘to do’ list gets done, and whatever I do not remains pending. I keep a diary next to me and keep on adding to the “to do” list as and when something strikes me.
This enables me to keep my focus on what really needs to be done, keeping away from unimportant tasks that don’t have much value. This approach is invaluable in helping me to decide where my priorities lie.

Updating the ‘to do’ list frequently is very important to sift between the (1) urgent (2) important but not urgent and (3) neither urgent nor important. Again, you have to decide about (1) and (2) while the tasks in (3) can be attended to after you have finished with others.

While you work on the basis of your ‘to do’ list, some unexpected matters may crop up, requiring all your time and energy. In that case, it becomes vital again to reorganise your ‘to do’ list.
Some people trust their memory to prepare and prioritise their ‘to do’ lists. My experience has shown that quite often we may not be able to do all the things we want to unless we put things down in writing.

So I keep a pad and pen near the telephone so that vital details of any message could be written down. Even when travelling, I keep a note book and pen handy and avoid taxing my memory as far as possible.

If I don’t note down things, then I have to keep my mind busy by constantly thinking about a few things which need to be done. And yet when the time to do them comes, they are forgotten completely.

Another important point in time management is to keep your things in order. You would feel demoralised if you allow piles of unsorted papers to overwhelm you. If some paper is important, make it a point to file it there and then, otherwise chances are that you will misplace it or lose it.

A neat environment facilitates working efficiently, making it easy to find whatever you want to find. Make a determined effort to keep your environment clean. You can do so in bits and parts. For instance, when I notice things cluttering up, I make it a point to put one item away at a time. It does not tire me and the task does not look daunting.

Never lose focus on what you are doing. If you recall that you should be doing something else when you are on one project, simply write it down on your “to do” list to get it out of your mind and take it up, if it is that urgent, after you have finished the task at hand.

Telephone is an integral part of most jobs. The phone calls cannot be neglected. However, if you are busy doing something important, do not break your concentration and answer the phone calls after you have attended to whatever you are doing. But do take care to answer all calls reasonably promptly.

Sometimes, we get invited to meetings and programs that have no relevance to what we are doing or what we want to do or in what we are really interested in. Instead of wasting time on things which do not add to your happiness or productivity, just send a polite refusal note. It is equally important that you should invite only those people who are relevant to your programs, meetings or plans.

I have noticed that many a time, people are not clear what they want to say during telephonic conversations and a lot of time is wasted in first creating misunderstanding and then clearing them up. But an email leaves no scope for ambiguity. So do write email instead of making a telephone call whenever precise communication is required.

Lastly, we all have many distasteful jobs to do. It could be lodging a complaint or giving a junior a piece of our mind. It is better to do such unpleasant tasks the first thing in the morning. This will reduce your stress level and you will have a feeling of having put the nastiest task out of the way.

Someone has put it well, “Time is at once the most valuable and the most perishable of all our possessions.” So use every minute of the day well.