I must confess that I do so many little things to save myself time and aggravation that others may think are silly but I know they simplify my life. Why don’t you try a few and give me your feedback. Removing tops: Rather than wasting time opening and closing a package to get to what I need, I remove the tops of things when I purchase them, such as egg cartons, pop tart boxes and dog treat boxes. Remove excess packaging: Rather than fumbling with things that have excess packaging when I’m in a rush, I take the time to… read more »

If you are a small business owner like me, chances are that you wear many different hats. You are the sales person, the marketing person, the administrative person, the research person and the person that goes out on the job. With so many tasks to manage, it is very important to plan your week, to allow time for you to work in the various roles. It is equally important to come up with systems and procedures of how and when you will execute each task. For instance, you may determine that you will return phone calls daily between 9:00 a.m.… read more »

Being more productive at home just takes planning. If you take the time to map out your day in advance, you will get so much more accomplished, and you will have more time to spend doing the things you love to do. Here’s a short example of how you can simplify your day and be more productive: Determine the things you need to get done that day. Let’s say I need to buy a present for a baby shower, drop the kids off for school and pick them up later, do two loads of laundry, do dishes, pick up laundry… read more »

If you want to be more productive at work, it takes planning. What do I mean by planning to be more productive? That means taking the time in advance to: Determine every task, paper or project that comes across your desk. Establishing a home for each task, paper or project. This is where it will live until you have the time to work on it. Do like things with like things. Make all of your phone calls at once, pay all of your bills at once, etc. Create a schedule for when the work will be done. Normally tackling the… read more »

Most managers receive over 100 email messages per day, and spend only a second or two deciding whether to open them. Most such decisions are based on the subject line. Even when they open the message, they may only read a line or two before deleting it and going on to the next one. If you take the time to send an email message, take the time necessary to insure it fulfills its purpose. For instance, craft the subject line so it grabs their attention while telling them what the email message is about. Put the vital information in the… read more »