Analyzing Your Time - Work Smarter Not Harder
How well are you managing your time?
Do you end the day wishing for more hours? If this describe you, there are ways to get more from your day without having to need more hours.

Time management is a very important skill for anyone working in a flex-based environment. For mobile workers it can be the difference between sanity and insanity.

Creating and keeping a schedule will require some effort initially but once you get into this routine, it will become second nature to make plans and stay organized. You will need to breakdown your activities based upon Work and Home/Chores.

If you analyze the time spent doing various activities over a period of one or two weeks, you will see patterns developing. Those patterns are what you need to track. They will be either time wasters or maximum use of time.

Work

* Telephone calls and dealing with email can be two of the biggest time wasters we have.

* Keep all calls short and on topic. It’s not the time for socializing and catching up on gossip.

* Have separate email accounts for work and personal use. Leave reading the personal email until you are not on “the clock”.

Working in a remote environment it can be very easy to get side tracked and forget what your original purpose was.

* Make sure you stay focused and if you have to, use a timer.
* Set time limits for how long you have to work on a specific task.
Don’t set unreasonable limits, as you will frustrate yourself.

Keep favourite sites and search engines bookmarked. This will save valuable time. Save information in a text file that lists different sites and what information is found there.

Save your reading/writing/training for times when you know that you will not have to worry about interruptions. Nothing is worse than trying to learn something new and having the phone ringing from co-workers asking questions or looking for information.
Chores
Your first priority, especially when working from your home office is your job. Save chores for after work hours or for break times. If you allow yourself to get caught up in household chores, you will not get any work done.

Don’t forget you still need regular breaks and time to eat. It is too easy to get caught up in work and miss meals or not take a break and you will pay for that later.

Organizing your day to include regular breaks and scheduling your work tasks will enable you to work much smarter and it will also be lesss stressful.

This piece is courtesy of Catherine Roseberry.

One of the nights I reserve for some TV is usually Monday. I recently started to watch “DeadWood” and I can confess that I’m hooked. Ever since my parents bought me the “western” toy set back when I was about 4 which came with the toy gun, the holster + belt, sheriff badge and hat I’ve been hooked on westerns. I’ve seem then all, even the black and white ones with the grainy images and no sound.

Before “DeadWood” started to show on a Monday I would usually tune in to my next passion, football. Last night I had to choose and since the team I usually support was not playing, football fell into the “flick when there’s a commerical”.

Last night saw New Orleans vs Atl in New Orleans..yep! In New Orleans. Under normal circumstances I would support Atl if I had to choose a team. I just love the skills and mobility of Vick. However, I found myself not only supporting the Saints, but I missed most of DeadWood as the game became the program to watch.

I bet almost everyone watching the game on their tube was somehow wishing for the Saints to win. First game back at home… seeing the fans excited and happy and the guys on the field just as pumped and giving their ALL!

Well done Saints!

Have you noticed that the parking spots at new malls, mega stores etc are getting smaller and smaller? Pack us all in like sardines so they can harvest the dollars from our pockets.

Went to the new “Walmart” a few days ago (have you also noticed how large these stores are getting?) and it was a nightmare trying to find a parking spot… it’s not even Christmas time yet! When you did find a spot… as if it was not tight enough to get in to these lypo-sucked parking spots, the car parked on the right side is one of those TANKS they now call SUV. On the left side is a person who’s in grade 6 math class and has tested this new thing they call angles. Yep! they’re parked at a 30 degree angle, so they’re chewing both lines of their assigned parking spot. Maybe I should get me a monster-tank, just to help these idiots park within the lines
Let’s recap… the parking spots are getting smaller, cars bigger and people just don’t know how to stay within lines. The holiday season will be interesting!

BTW… and what’s with all the cement dividers and curbs? Half the time you have to ride these with your tires just to navigate a corner.

Yep! It’s Monday, and this was my pet peeve post for the week.

Work from home Wednesday. This new segment will appear every Wednesady from now on and will focus on one work from home (telecommute / freelance) tip for the week.

I love working from home and couldn’t see myself doing anything else… well maybe being the chef at my own restaurant One of the things I suggest to people who are now starting off a work from home career is… DRESS THE PART! Many of you who work in a home office may never see your clients (or prospective clients) - so you say “Why does it matter how I dress as long as I make money?”

You’ve heard it said, “Clothes make the man (or woman).” But, have you stopped to consider that the clothes you choose to wear (or not wear) can affect your work attitude and production?

Experience forces me to wake up every morning and make myself ready for work. I’m not saying you should end up in a 3 piece suit, however getting out of those pyjamas, boxer shorts, birthday suit, etc is a good start.

Have a great day!

Chris

Yep it’s Monday and time for another edition of the now familiar pet peeve!

Why is it that the person sitting next you while driving MUST be a pain? With all good intentions of have a great day, you set out for an out of town drive…

- it’s a yellow light..STOP

- why didn’t you just go through the yellow light?

- look at that jerk… does he not know how to signal?

- does he have to pass us in the turning lane? He must be in a real hurry!

- jerk… it says stop not park!

- It’s a green light, why are we not moving?

- look at her…. cigarette in one had and cell phone in the other!

- he’s so close I can’t see him in my mirror!

- can you clean my side of the front window… there’s a spec of dust on it

- it’s too hot

- it’s too windy (when the windows go down to cool the “HOT” car)

- do you have to step on the brakes so hard and fast? (try stopping when you’re going 70 and there’s a 10-wheel truck coming up very fast).

- we’re parked to close to the other car

- did you hear that? (yea it’s called the other cars)

- what’s that smell? Somethings burning?

- The tires look a bit flat.

- nope I can’t answer the phone.. you’re driving and it’s safer for you to do so.

- why are you popping the horn at the mascots or striking workers?

- there it is… after we’ve already passed the street we’re looking for

- there it is… I do undertsand left and rigth side you know.. there it is does not tell me which direction to turn.

- who’s laying on the horn?

- are we close? (like you this is my first time going there)

…. and that was just the first 15 minutes of the trip.

Have a great week!

Chris….

p.s. I hope I didn’t step on anyones corn!