Try Something Simple

While at a conference last week, I was talking with a couple of business people about what Juggling Elephants and some of the strategies we share in the book. One of the individuals said, "I heard a speaker on time management last year and they gave me the best advice." "What was it?" I replied. Her response was priceless: "They said I should keep one to do list instead of having multiple places where I write things down." I would have expected to hear that 20 years ago, but not today.

In a time when there are a bazillion techniques to improve how we manage our time, it's good to remember that the simple solutions often offer the greatest potential for improvement. Simple techniques like:

• Take 10 minutes to plan your day
• When making your task list, list things you WANT to do, not just what you HAVE to do.
• Before leaving work, clean your desk of clutter and items from the day.
• Keep a note pad and pen next to your bed. As you have thoughts you want to remember, write them down instead of trying to remember them first thing next morning.
• If there are physical items you can't forget to take to work the next day, load them in the car the previous night.
• Keep only one calendar
• Review your task list throughout the day-not just when you first make it.

What are some simple solutions you find that work for you?

Time Management Advice From Someone in India

We received an interesting comment about Juggling Elephants from a man in India. He was reflecting on the value of the book and said, "In today's world, children should be introduced to books like these like they are to computers." At the risk of sounding self-serving, we agree.

When families are more time crunched than ever, it only stands to reason that the time available to children to complete their homework, practice a musical instrument or participate in sports and have time to engage in leisure activities is reduced. They don't (and shouldn't) have the complex schedule of an adult, but understanding the need to maximize the use of their time is important if they are going to have more time available to, well... be a kid.

If you want to teach your child some basic concepts on how to manage time based on Juggling Elephants, get out three hula hoops and visually show them the need to spend time in each ring-and the consequences if they don't. Or, grab some sidewalk chalk and draw the rings on a sidewalk or driveway (get permission first). Introduce them to the idea of being the one in control of some of their choices-of being the ringmaster.

Like our friend from Mumbai said, it's a skill that is just too important to overlook.

White Space

If you have ever had an art class you might remember the teacher saying something like, "pay attention to the white space." The white space or "negative space" your teacher was referring to are the areas on your page that are not marked - that are blank. It is the space between text and graphics. It is the margins, gutters and space between the lines.

In business, white space is sometimes referred to as the gaps in an organization chart or between job functions. These are areas or responsibilities that no one is in charge of or responsible for.

What about the white space in your life? Let's define white space as the time you have between events. It is the 15 minutes that you have in the doctor's office while you are sitting in the waiting room. The 30 minutes that you have between meetings on a busy day. If you commute, it could be your drive time. How about the time that you have after dinner and before you go to bed?

Consider how you are spending and utilizing your white space. Are you being productive or are you just waiting for the next event to come along? Well, I doubt you are just sitting there waiting but maybe you are surfing the Internet, watching TV, checking email AGAIN or reading/updating your social media. These are not bad things but you need to consider if they are helping you to achieve the things that matter most to you?

Pay attention to the white space! Have a list of important, meaningful tasks that you want to accomplish. When you have the rare 15 minutes, review the list and get something done - something that will make a difference and really matter. Best wishes with your masterpiece!

Time Management and the Caveman

I had to laugh out loud when I saw the article in Time Magazine entitled, Should You Eat Like A Caveman? As you can expect from the title, the article deliberated the benefits/challenges from seeking a diet more like that of our ancestors (Actual eating regimen is called the Paleo Diet). You can make your own decisions about its merit. What the article did get me to thinking about was using that same philosophy for managing our time.

So, with respect to those in the past here's my humorous attempt at the wisdom of time management offered by the caveman:

• Get your work done while the sun is shining. When it gets dark, it's hard to see and you won't be as productive. We have to prioritize and seek to accomplish tasks when we can most efficiently complete them. Doing otherwise is not helpful.
• Always keep a club, spear or stick with you. You never know when something may attempt to consume you-or at least get you off track. We have to guard our time. There are a million other things waiting to take away your ability to focus. You may not "beat" them off you, but having a prioritized schedule and knowing what is important helps minimize their ability to attack your schedule.
• Gather enough food for today, but don't try to horde it-you have no way of preserving it. You simply CAN'T save time. You have to make the most of the time immediately in front of you. You can spend less time on one task and have more time for another, but when the day is over (remember first bullet point) it's gone. Each day must be used wisely.

Granted, our lives are million times more complex than those of a cavemen. But, there are some timeless truths that span across all generations. Now excuse me while I go out hunting for a wooly mammoth.

"Time" Pennies May Be Costing You Dollars

In the February issue of Fast Company Magazine, the Numerology article states that the cost to produce a penny is 1.6 cents. Seems harmless enough, right? Maybe, until you read the next sentence which says the US Mint lost over 19.8 million dollars last year producing the pennies. That's a number that will get your attention!

Many of us are guilty of a similar dilemma in the use of our time on a daily basis. We reason that 3-5 minutes lost per day isn't that much. And flipping through TV channels or aimlessly web surfing for 30 minutes a day doesn't impact our ability to get other "more important" things done. But start allowing the numbers to accumulate over a period of time and things look quite different.

Let's look at what 5 minutes per day of "lost time" looks like:
In a week: 35 minutes
In a month: 150 minutes (2 hours 30 minutes)
In a year: 1825 minutes (Over 30 hours!)

Think about that the next time you are tempted to just aimlessly pass the time away (unless of course you need an intermission). Here are a few suggestions on how to make better use of that seemingly insignificant amount of time:

• Have articles (electronic or hardcopy) you could read in 5 minutes or less
• Review your task list and make appropriate changes and updates
• Do some quick strategic planning by asking yourself questions like, "What is the one thing I need to work on tomorrow that would make the biggest difference?" "What are 3 things that will require more of my attention in 1-3 months? What could I do to prepare now to better address those issues/items?"

Most importantly, don't discount the "change" a few minutes well-spent could make for your circus.