More hours in the day

A business associate told me once that it wasn’t fair that I get more hours in the day than he do. He has a good sense of humor. He is well aware that we are all given the same number of hours each day. So, why does it seem that some are able to accomplish their daily goals, while others wonder at the end of each day where the time went?

One of the best tips I can give you so that you can move toward joining the some who are able to accomplish their daily goals is to EVALUATE.

A lot of Chocolates on MY Pillow clients come to use feeling overwhelmed with the current project they are working on. We first tell them to take a closer look at how they spend their time. Purchase a special appointment calendar. Then for a week, write down in this calendar each and every little thing you do throughout each day. For example, if you spend one hour checking and responding to e-mail correspondence from 8am to 9am, mark this in your calendar. If you spend half an hour looking for a file from 2:15pm to 2:45pm, jot this down in your calendar as well. If you are occupied with a staff meeting, write it in your calendar. By the end of the week, you should be getting a clear picture of exactly where your time is really going.

Now you can clearly evaluate the way you are spending your time each day. Take a good, hard look at the ways you may be contributing to your hectic schedule. Are you wasting time checking e-mail or voice mail numerous times throughout the day, when checking once or twice a day would be sufficient? Depending on your circumstances and responsibilities, you may be able to limit yourself to checking e-mail and voice mail once in the morning, once after lunch and once at the end of the day. Are you interrupted throughout the day with telephone calls? Perhaps you can set aside a block of time each day where you will work undisturbed and allow all non-urgent calls to be transferred to voice mail. These and other simple changes can transform your days!

And as always, we at Chocolates on MY Pillow are ready and willing to assist by providing personal concierge services and virtual business support for those who have more to do than they have time for. Visit our website!