With so much to do and so little time and resources available to do it… the two questions everyone seems to be asking are:

1.       “How can I optimize my time so that I can continue to provide the most value I can to my employer or company and give myself the best opportunity to get the job done…?”

2.       “How can I balance my professional life with my personal life – optimizing the time I have with family and giving them the love, support and attention they need?”

And these are great questions. 

In today’s HYPER-CONNECTED world, it’s only gotten tougher. 30 years ago, you’d go to work, do you job the best you could and come home at a decent hour to spend time with your family.

There were no cell phones, no PDA’s, no email or Internet. There were none of those instantaneous distracting devices that seem to “pull us out of the moment”, without warning - sending us off into different directions almost constantly on a daily basis. 

And yet – we still managed to get things done. How do you think that was?

If I really take a look at technology today, I for one say – couldn’t live without it. How could I live without email? Whenever I leave the house and realize I’ve forgotten my cell phone… I feel “paralyzed”, and weird thoughts go through my head like, “what if the car breaks down..? or what if someone is trying to reach me???”

Life still went on without all this technological stuff. People went to work and were successful. Time with family was properly managed and well spent.

So why should a tremendous benefit like technology be such a bad thing for time management?

It’s a double-edge sword really. Technology without instruction is a bad thing – and basically, that’s what we’ve been dealt. We’ve been given all these great tools to be more productive and accessible to the world… but haven’t been given the training to use them properly.

It’s like the line in Spiderman the movie… “With great power comes great responsibility.” Well, we just haven’t learned how to be responsible with our time.

If you don’t put any value on your time… then the honest and brutal truth will be that NO ONE else will either.

If you're like me, you get many emails throughout the day.  And you may connected to an instant message tool.  My cell phone receives phone calls, text messages and emails all throughout the day.  I belong to a selection of social media sites and networks - and I'm contacted via phone, email and by text message.  I am very much "connected" and accessible all day.  And recently I started wondering how much time is really spent "working" vs "communicating vs cleaning up my inbox, etc.,  It is a daily barrage of messages that can't be stopped.  Sound familiar?  But you can control it.

So how do you do it? Great question. I am by far not a ‘time management’ expert… God knows I have issues. But here’s the thing… I realize the mess I'm in. For some reason, I’ve been able to ‘lift the veil’ and disconnect myself from the matrix to really see what’s going on here. Here are some of the things that I do that help me in my day.

1.       Check email 3X / day. Now I know this is tough for many of you because the sound of an Outlook “chime” whenever a new email arrives is a trigger for some folks (think Pavlov’s dog). So… secret #1… turn down your volume and keep working. Reacting to new email will always, always, always take you out of the moment and leave you focusing on things that really don’t matter. If someone is trying to reach you with something urgent, they can pick up the phone and contact you. Get in the habit of checking your email in the morning, after lunch and before you leave your office. You can plan to respond to urgent emails at each of those intervals and respond to the non-urgent one’s the next day. Be vigilant!
  

2.       Get rid of your Blackberry. What? Are you crazy? Well, what’s the alternative? (read #1 above). Ok, I was kidding about getting rid of your Blackberry, a very smart and convenient productivity and connectivity tool.  But - it is about discipline and control. You need to be able to control your device and not let your devices control you. It’s great to have instant access to your emails while on the road. The trick is to not be in reactive mode. Think “proactive” mode and set your PDA review schedule. This really helps to stay focused on what you need to be focused on at the moment you decide to focus. (That’s a mouthful!)
 

3.       Do the best you can to limit your accessibility during prime working hours. Your work requires focus. You know your most productives times of the day.  During those times, limit your accessibility so you can be most productive.  Block out and max out that time.  And - you cannot be focused if you’re multi-tasking. I know there are people that feel they can multi-task. Don’t kid yourself - it’s not good for your focus or your health. Multi-tasking creates fragmented focus and attention deficit. But probably more important – studies have shown when you multi-task, less gets done. It’s a fact. And there is a greater chance for error or oversight.
 

4.       Keep your cell phone number 'personal'.   It’s great to have a cell phone. But what isn’t great is allowing yourself to be reached at all times of the day and night. I remember when I had only one phone number and that's how and when you could reach me.  Honestly, unless you’re a surgeon – you don’t need to be that accessible. We’ve been lead to believe that given someone total accessibility to you is the equivalent to giving great customer service. It’s not. Your clients respect what you can do for them and that it takes time and focus to deliver the best service. Your clients will respect your time. Set the stage up front. No one really cares about the “wise man” at the bottom of the mountain.

Remember, if you spend your day answering your cell phone calls and checking emails… when will you have time to ever get anything done?

And then who suffers?? You, your work, your company and most importantly… your family because mommy or daddy comes home too late or even worse, when they are home – they’re not “present”… because they’re talking on their cell phones or playing with their laptops.

Now think about how this relates to other types of technology that you use with your computer... namely software.  Having the right software to help you manage your work can be a great thing when used properly. 

It stands to reason that web based tools that provide automated functionality can help you with your operational and administrative duties. 

 

When you can rely on tools like FAMCare and OmniTrackPlus to get the job done... Your overall focus and productivity will soar!

Take back control, improve the quality of your work and family life… and most importantly – SLAY THE TIME BANDITS!!!