Time Management-Guest Blog Post

This is a guest blog post from one of my LinkedIn friends, Marcus Cage. I thought it was full of great information that we all can learn from--especially considering time management is an issue we all deal with!


In the past few weeks, I have been dialoging with and observing several of my closest clients, colleagues and family and I have come to this conclusion. We ALL have TME MANAGEMENT issues!!! Whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur, CEO or stay at-home mom, time management is an obstacle and a stumbling block for many. In order for us to reach our goals, we must indentify and accept our shortcomings, so I have taken the liberty upon myself to address some issues that we ALL can relate to in some form or fashion.

1.Email- This is probably one of the most common and most unidentified circumstances for many. How much time do we spend responding, reading and sorting through emails? Too much!!! Mishandled, email can be a distraction and an interruption. One remedy to resolve this dilemma is to create three folders in which you can place your messages into. Personally, I have an Action Folder, which is designated for those emails that require an instant reply. I also have a Read/Review Folder, which is designated for messages that are more involved. Industry publications, contracts, and other research material are distributed to this folder. Lastly, I have my Pending folder, which is used for replies that I have sent to other parties or replies from other parties that I must response to. EVERYTHING ELSE GETS ERASED!!!! Check your emails two to three times a day, anything else can be classified as “Overkill.”

2.Phone calls – Also a distraction and interruption when mishandled. Our lives are dependent on communication and phone calls play a pivotal role. However, phone calls must be “Controlled.” My advice is to “Block” out specific times of the day to make and receive phone calls. The times may vary depending on the size of the project and time constraints, but demonstrating this strategy gives you “ Structure.” Emergency phones that have to be taken are at your discretion.

3.Grouping similar task s- This may sound simplistic, but how many of us are exercising this technique. The goal is to do everything ONCE. When you “Bundle” similar tasks together, you free up hours which results in increased productivity. Try taking all your items that need to be faxed in one trip or returning phone calls in one “Block” of time. Also, set aside SPECIFIC days for SPECIFIC business activities. For me, Thursdays is usually when I read research and study new concepts and topics. Hopefully, these tools can be of some help to the biggest executive or aspiring business owner. I am free and available to take any questions or entertain any opportunities or comments that you may have.

Rock, Paper, Scissors...and Scissors, Scissors,Tape

I was fortunate to help my friend "Amanda" (not her real name of course) organize her command center this weekend. The place where all school supplies, mail, keys, bills, scissors, tape, envelopes, pens, pencils, newsletters, batteries, phone chargers, small tools, miscellaneous hardware and much more end up. We all have this place in our house. My main command center is my office but I also have a sub-station or two around the house. I have two designated junk drawers in my kitchen, one which everything gets dumped in before company arrives and one that is for kids crayons, coloring books, markers and so on.


Amanda's command center wasn't bad at all. It is so easy for this area to get out of control. It is almost impossible to keep your command center clean and tidy when there are multiple hands in there several times a day. It is like shoveling when it is still snowing!



So what did we do first? First, we set up some bins on the table. Then, took everything off the shelves, one shelf at a time and placed like things in bins and piles. Any paper items, Amanda placed in one of three piles 1)trash, 2) shred and 3)keep. Once the shelves were empty, we moved to the drawers. As I was emptying out the desk drawers I realized she had some great space to really make this a functioning work area for her. We found more paper for her to go through and some donate-able (is that a word?)items such as place mats and table cloths that she hasn't used in quite a while.



After two garbage bags, two recycle bags and one donate bag we were ready to start placing the items back in command center. Since we set up the bins in the first place, we just used those same bins to place the items back on the shelves. We ended up with a bin of pens & pencils, glue, tape & scissors, phone & game chargers and even a miscellaneous bin.



Instead of placing a majority of the items back on the shelves on top, we used the great desk drawers on the bottom for items that she reaches for the most. We made sure that the bins above were clearly marked for her family to see where everything went. It shouldn't take them but 2 seconds to find their phone chargers and know where to return it.



Lessons learned from this re-organize:
1. Buy what you need. Sounds simple.Not really. It is easier to buy scotch tape in bulk when Costco or Sam's sells 2o roles for the cost of one! But the challenge is to figure out where to store the excess until you need it unless of course, you have a storage room just for this reason.

2. Designate a time for maintenance. You schedule oil changes for your car, you get your eyes checked each year and you get your dogs vaccinated annually. Why not set up a time to clean out command center? If done on a regular basis, it shouldn't take but 15 minutes to make it look great again.


3. Keep it simple. If every time you use your scissors you put them back in the same place you will always know where they are. Then the next time you are in Staples, you won't pick up another pair. If you never know where your scissors are you will end up with 20 pairs of scissors because you can't remember where you set them down the last time. Amanda and I had a great laugh over the amount of scissors we found in her shelves! All of us are like Amanda whether it is scissors, pens, tweezers (yours truly) or what have you!

4. Take the time test. Toss it or donate it if you haven't used in a six months or a year. This rule can be for anything from table cloths to phone books. In the case of phone books think of how often you refer to them. Do you go online to look for a number or do you reach for a phone book? If the latter, then keep them. If you go online, then toss them!



Remember....keep it simple and your results will be amazing!

Brag Post:
"Thank you so much for organizing my "command center." I can't believe how much junk I had accumulated and how disorganized it was. I am so inspired."--Amanda, May 2009