Today is day three of the special Time Management series from my guest blogger, Rodger Constandse. Be sure to come back every day this week for a chance to win valuable prizes to enhance your productivity.

Are you struggling to find enough hours in the day? Do you feel like you have too much to do and not enough time? Are you wondering when you’ll finally get caught up and get everything done?

One of the most important lessons in time management is to realize that you’ll NEVER be able to get EVERYTHING done. In our modern day world, there’s more available for us to do than we could ever accomplish in our entire lifetime.

What this means is that we need to figure out how to use our limited amount of time in a better way, focusing on the really important things, the ones that can truly make a difference in our lives and business. And your time management approach makes a HUGE difference in how well you do that.

Here are three signs that your current time management approach isn’t really working for you…

1. You find yourself wasting time on unimportant things. Just because you’re busy doesn’t mean you’re actually being productive. Your time management approach isn’t working if you feel busy but you’re not really accomplishing what you want or taking steps toward your important goals.
2. If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, and have no time left for your friends and family members or for the hobbies, interests and passions you enjoy. You’re probably overwhelmed because you’re spending your days spinning your wheels and focusing on low value tasks and busywork.
   
3. If you feel as if you, and your attention, are being pulled into several different directions. The result is scattered and unfocused thinking. Multitasking is what people call it but the truth is multitasking doesn’t work. You’re much more effective and efficient if you can focus your time and attention on one thing for a block of uninterrupted time.

If you find you’re experiencing any of the above, then chances are your time management approach isn’t working for you. You’re probably spending too much time on low-value activities and busywork instead of accomplishing what really matters to you.

The right time management approach helps you create goals that have purpose, passion and vision. It helps you create strategies to achieve those goals and provides tools to make it happen.

Effective time management is a skill that you can learn and improve with practice. And when you do and you apply it to your life, it helps you achieve your most important goals and still have the time and energy left for a little fun.

For more information, tools and resources on how to accomplish what really matters to you, check out Goals to Action.

Do you have any insights or lessons that you’ve learned about time management, productivity and getting things done that you’d like to share?

The prize for the best comment is a free copy of my Effective Time Management course.

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on Is Your Time Management Approach Working For You?.

Today is day two of the Time Management series from my special guest blogger, Rodger Constandse. Be sure to come back every day this week for a chance to win valuable prizes to enhance your productivity.

One of the simplest, most powerful and valuable time management techniques that I recommend to all my clients is what I call the “Project Block.”

All you need to do is to make appointments with yourself (one hour appointments work best for me) and spend that hour focusing on a single project. That’s it.

Now, you’ll want to spend your project block time focusing on important high-value projects because they are the ones that really matter, so don’t waste this valuable time on low priority busywork.

Here are two important reasons why the project block strategy works so well:

1) They help you create blocks of uninterrupted time that you can devote to important projects

Peter Drucker says that knowledge workers NEED unbroken blocks of time to work productively. It’s not a matter of preference… you NEED to do this if you want to do productive knowledge work.

The reason is that it takes some time to get into a productive state when doing knowledge work and if you keep jumping from one unrelated thing to another, you’ll never get a chance to get into your groove and you’ll end up wasting a lot of time.

2) They help you MAKE time for important stuff

When you schedule an appointment with yourself, you are MAKING time for your project in your schedule and excluding everything else you could have done with that time.

You’ll know exactly when you are going to work on that project next because the appointment will remind you to do it.

The easiest way to use project blocks is to schedule them in your calendar just like if you had an important appointment or meeting.

Just try using this strategy the first hour of the day to help you work on your most important projects and you’ll immediately notice a big difference in your productivity and results.

Of course, project blocks work better when you combine them with all the other time management principles & strategies you’ll find in my Get More Done In Less Time ebook, like separating projects/tasks in your to-do list, prioritizing and weekly planning.

What are some of your favorite tips, techniques and strategies to get motivated and overcome procrastination?

Today’s prize for the best comment is my Psychology of Procrastination course.

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on Why Scheduling Your Projects Helps You Get Them Done.

My name is Rodger Constandse and I’ve spent the last several years figuring out how to be more productive and effective… and how to help other people do the same.

Over the years, I’ve read tens (maybe even hundreds) of books related to productivity, time management, goals and personal development. I’ve also listened to CDs, DVDs and attended several seminars.

I’ve personally tried many different tools, techniques and strategies. Along the way, I’ve figured out what works and what doesn’t work.

This week, I’m going to share with you some of the best insights, lessons, tips and tricks that I’ve learned to help you get organized, be more productive and make better use of your time.

In this article, I’m going to share three simple time management secrets that you can start using right away to help you get more done.

Secret # 1 – Work From A List

If there is one thing that virtually all time management experts agree on, it’s this: instead of jumping from task to task doing whatever grabs your attention next, develop the habit of working from a list.

There are two important reasons for this.

The first is that while your brain is really good at storing concepts and experiences and finding connections and relationships between them, it’s not very good at storing and recalling small little details that keep changing all the time.

That’s why it’s much better to write down your to-do’s and appointments than to try to use your head to keep track of them.

In fact, business coach Brian Tracy says that most people experience a big surge in productivity when they start planning their day and consistently working from a list.

The second reason is that it’s much easier to plan and prioritize when your tasks are out in front of you than when they are all up in your head. You can use your list to pick out the important, high-value tasks and decide which ones you are going to work on first.

Secret # 2 – Plan Your Week

Charles Bixton said,

You will never find time for anything.
If you want time, you must make it.

If you want to have time to do something important, you need to stop trying to find time for it and instead decide to MAKE time for it. Planning helps you do that. It helps you make time for the most important things in your life and your business.

It turns out that a week is a very natural period for effective planning. It’s short enough to allow you to make reasonable plans but it’s long enough to allow you to balance important long-term goals with more urgent short-term tasks.

Secret # 3 – Develop A “Productivity” Mindset

Busy and productive are not the same; in fact, they are two very different things. You can be busy all day long and not really get anything significant done.

Ultimately, the secret to time management is to focus on things that help you accomplish what truly matters to you.

Basketball coach John Wooden often told his players to never confuse activity with achievement. You can stay very active and busy doing things that are meaningless and don’t lead you to where you want to go.

To develop a “productivity” mindset, you need to start thinking in terms of outcomes and not just actions. Be clear about what you are ultimately trying to accomplish and recognize whether the actions you are taking are helping you get there or not.

If you really want to incorporate these time management secrets into your life and use them to help you get more done, then you need to turn them into lifelong habits.

One of the best ways to do that is to develop your own productivity system (a consistent way of getting things done that you use every day) and make these secrets a part of it.

If you want to learn more, you can check out my free ebook Get More Done In Less Time.

What are some of the best time management tips, tricks or habits that you’ve picked up over the years to help you get more done?

The prize for today’s best comment is a free copy of my Magic of Habit course.

Be sure to come back every day this week for chances to win more prizes!

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on Guest Post: 3 Time Management Secrets To Get More Done.

It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of.

When Burt Bacharach penned the above lyrics, he was, of course, referring to “love sweet love,” but I can think of a few other things that could fit into that category… take time, for example. There aren’t very many people who have never said they couldn’t use a few extra hours in the day, or even an extra day in the week, but no matter what we do, we can’t create more time – we can only learn to make better use of the time we have.

If you’re one of the lucky few who has perfected the art and science of time management, feel free to move on to another blog. On the other hand, if you’re like the rest of us who are always looking for new ways to manage time effectively, I know you’ll be as excited as I am about my special guest for next week.

Rodger Constandse, the owner of GoalsToAction.com and principal developer of the Achieve Planner software system, will be visiting my blog every day from March 15 to 19 to share some of his best time management strategies. What’s even better is that he’s planning to give away one of his products every day during his visit! Some of the available prizes will include Rodger’s Psychology of Procrastination course, his Effective Time Management course, and a copy of his Achieve Planner software.

In case you think I’m going to be slacking off all week, I should let you know that I’ve been assigned the task of picking the prize winners by determining who has made the most valuable comment each day – so come prepared to share your own timely tips, successful strategies, or perplexing problems. Prizes will be awarded every day that five or more comments are made, so be sure to tell others about this great contest.

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on A Chance to Win Free Time (or the next best thing).

Many people use the start of a new year to think of ways in which they can improve their lives, such as becoming more organized. Although most people understand that being organized can help save time and money, increase productivity, enhance their quality of life, and reduce stress, sometimes it’s hard to figure out where to start. For that reason, I’ve teamed up with professionals from all over the world in the first ever Great Organizing Give Away.

When you sign up for this free online event, you can receive an amazing number of free resources to help you organize your home, your office, and your time. You don’t have to worry about these resources contributing to your existing clutter, as you can choose the ones that will help with your specific challenges, and most are in digital format, to be read, listened to, or printed out as needed.

In addition to Organized Assistant’s Personal Medical Organizer which normally sells for $14.95, here are a just a few of the free gifts you can receive:

Organize Your Office:

• How Productive Is Your Business/Non-Profit? - Self-Assessment provided by Stephanie Calahan of Calahan Solutions, Inc., who organized The Great Organizing Give Away
• Make Your Office Work Better – Report provided by Alaia Williams of One Organized Life
• 112 Tips to Organize Your Workday - Booklet provided by Sue McMillin of With Time To Spare

Organize Your Time:

• Time in Motion Action Planner – E-book provided by Allen Davis of Productivity Engineer
• 10 Easy Ways to Liberate Time Report - Report provided by Susan Lannis of ORGANIZATION Plus! Inc.
• Top 5 Organizing Mistakes – Report provided by Marcie Lovett of Organized by Marcie

Organize Your Home:

• The “Simplify Your Life” Collection - Free e-books and audio classes with ADD-Friendly Strategies that Work for EVERYONE, provided by Ariane Benefit of Lotus Bridge, LLC
• Clutter Code 6 step Organizing System Starter pack – E-book and worksheets provided by Elaine Shannon of Organizing Connection
• How to Set Up a Command Center – Guide provided by Tracy Molendi of Simply Organized & Staged

I’m going to grab a few resources myself! I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything like this, and I’m very excited to be a part of it.

Many professional organizers are offering free consultations, so be sure to sign up for The Great Organizing Give Away for access to the above gifts and much, much more.

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on The Great Organizing Giveaway.

I know, your social calendar for December is already full, and you have so much else to do! That’s okay. For this party, you don’t have to dress up, and you don’t even have to leave your house! (That means you can eat or drink as much, or as little, as you want, and no one will say a word!)

Krista Colvin, one of my professional organizer buddies, has asked me to let my readers know that this Wednesday from 6-8 PM PST (that’s 9-11 PM EST) Organize.com is holding a Holiday Twitter Party. This is a whole new concept to me, and maybe to you too, so I’m going to explain how it works.

First, you’ll need to sign up for Twitter, if you don’t already have an account. Next, you need to RSVP/register. This is an Open House, so you can do this any time, even once the party has started. The party itself will take place on TweetGrid.

Since this particular party is hosted by Organize.com, you can be sure that a lot of the conversation will be about organization, so if you’ve got questions, this is a great chance to ask the experts. If you happen to be an organizing expert, it’s a good opportunity to share your knowledge. To make things even better, exciting prizes will be given out throughout the evening.

Sound like fun? Get your invitation at http://www.organize.com/twitter-party-invitation.html.

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on It's a Party – and You're Invited!.

If you’re over 40, the title of today’s post might bring back memories of a very popular TV show. That’s not what this post is about, but I will come back to it, for those who are interested in nostalgia and/or trivia.

Today I’m actually going to talk about choosing colours for your logo, your blog, your website, or just about anything. Unless you’ve had training in art or graphic design, it can be pretty tricky to come up with colours that go well together and portray the type of image you’re looking for. I don’t have that type of training myself, but I’ve found a few helpful websites that I’d like to share with you.

216 Web Safe Colors

According to Wikipedia, this palette was devised when most computers were only capable of displaying 256 colours. By sticking to the 216 designated “web safe” colours, you were supposedly assured that the shades would appear exactly the same, regardless of the computer they were viewed upon. When I learned about this, I attempted to stick to these shades, only to discover that #FFFFCC looks nice and beige on my system, but a sickly shade of yellow on my husband’s. Similarly, #CCCCFF is a lovely pale blue on my computer, but distinctly mauve on Scott’s. After coming to that realization, I no longer worry about sticking to supposedly web safe colours, but the page is still a quick and easy way to find the hexadecimal and or RGB code for a particular colour.

RGB to Hexadecimal Color Conversion

Sometimes you’re working from a Word document you or your client has created, and you want to use the same colour online. Since Word only uses RGB or HSL colour codes, this website is very useful for calculating the equivalent hexadecimal code. It even tells you how to convert it to a web safe colour, should you wish to do so.

ColorBlender

Maybe you’ve got a colour that you like and you want to find some others that will go well with it. That’s where this site comes in handy. You simply enter the RGB or HSL code for your starting colour, then click on Match blend from active colour. You can then tweak or edit the shades if they’re not quite to your liking, and when you’re done, you can save your blend or send it by email if you want feedback from someone else. You can even click on Load a random blend if you’re really stuck for ideas!

COLOURLovers

If the above links didn’t excite you, please don’t go away just yet, because this one is really special. And if the above links DID excite you, get ready to be blown away!

In addition to a vast selection of colours and palettes, COLOURLovers lets you choose or even create patterns based on your favourite shades. It is actually a community where you can vote on palettes and patterns and even share your own. Their latest development is Themeleon, which lets you create a background for your Twitter profile. Of course, when I found out about it, I just had to try it out. Check out my new Twitter background!

I’m warning you: Don’t go to this site unless you have a specific goal in mind and the self-discipline to stick to it, or lots of time to kill, because it truly is addictive!

Well, that’s enough fun with colours for today!

If you were wondering, Disney’s Sunday night show was called “Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color” from 1961 to 1969. I won’t ask you to admit that you knew that.

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on The Wonderful World of Colour.

I hate to say it, but the end of summer is not very far away. I’m not talking about the official end of summer on September 21, but the start-up of fall activities. In fact, in some places, they’ve already gone back to school!

Even when the school year had no bearing on my own schedule, I’ve seen September as the ideal time to establish new routines, even better than New Years Day. After all, New Years is so tied up with the holiday season that it’s hard to really focus on making positive changes, but in September, many of us are getting back into a regular routine after vacation or a more relaxed schedule. So why not start off on the right foot?

I know that one area where many of us could benefit is using social networking sites more effectively. Social networking can be lots of fun, and because of that, it’s easy to lose track of why you’re doing it and to spend time on activities that don’t benefit your business. It’s fine to use these sites to stay in touch with friends and family, and to get to know business contacts better, but if your reason for joining a social media site in the first place is to get more clients, it’s important not to lose sight of that goal.

On Friday, August 14, Biana Babinsky, who is a social networking and marketing expert, is presenting a free teleseminar on How To Get Clients With Social Networking. In this class Biana will teach you how to get more results from your social networking, while actually spending less time on it. For access to this free call, simply enter your email address on the How To Get Clients With Social Networking registration page. If you’d like to establish a productive social networking strategy, this call could be just what you need!

Don’t wait to think about changes you’d like to make until it’s time to put them into practice! Whether it’s marketing or some other aspect of your business, a little time spent planning can pay huge dividends.

Graphic Courtesy of Mark Smiciklas, Intersection Consulting

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on Using Social Networking to Grow Your Business.

Every year since 2006, I’ve been a part of Face to Face – Hamilton’s Job Fair, which has kept me pretty busy during the summer and early autumn. Over the years, Face to Face has gained a solid reputation for providing job seekers with an opportunity to connect with a large number of high quality employers in a wide range of industries.

Due to the economic situation, some employers are not in a hiring position, and a lot of local residents may be considering a career change, so this year’s Face to Face will be slightly different than previous events. In addition to employers with job openings, exhibitors will include employment service providers as well as organizations offering retraining programs, and there will be a series of informative presentations throughout the day. As a result, the name of the event has been changed to Face to Face Employment & Training Fair.

Scott will also be on the Face to Face team this year, replacing one of the regular team members who is not currently available, and I am really pleased that we can both be involved in this program, which provides such a valuable service to our community.

We have created a Twitter account to keep you posted about participating employers, organizations, and speakers, and to provide tips for preparing for the event, and I’d like to invite you to follow us at http://www.twitter.com/FTFHamilton. If you know of any job seekers or employers planning to hire in the Hamilton area, please let them know about Face to Face!

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on It's Face to Face Time Again!.

Janet:  Thanks for stopping by, Vanessa. It’s great to meet you.

Vanessa:  Thank you, Janet! I’ve been a fan of yours for a long time. I’m honored to be here.

J:  Thank you. That’s nice to hear. Why don’t you give my readers an overview of your e-book series?

V:  I’d love to! The Adventures of Vanessa Andruz, Virtual Assistant series is a collaborative effort between me and my writing partner, Melodee Patterson of Short-term Solutions. I knew nothing about the Virtual Assistance industry when I left the SafeRight Insurance Company after being the President’s Executive Assistant for a number of years. But after doing some Internet research on the subject – which I discuss in the first e-book – I decided becoming a Virtual Assistant was the perfect solution for me.

I did tons of research on all aspects of becoming a VA – such as what kind of business structure was best for me, how to set up my home office, how to determine my rates, the best ways to market my business, getting over my fear of networking, and how to blog. It was hard work and took a lot of time!

J:  So you decided to share your findings with other prospective Virtual Assistants?

V:  Yes, exactly! Melodee and I wanted to save other VAs the time and frustration of plowing through all that information themselves. We used my research notes and the forms I created for my own business as a blueprint for the series.

J:  I understand you had some interesting adventures while starting your company. What happened?

V:  Oh, Lordy. For one thing, my mother – she reads auras for a living – was bound and determined to “help” me. You wouldn’t believe the things she mailed me from Sedona, Arizona! And then there’s my ex-husband who had the nerve to tell me I couldn’t possibly start my own business without his help! Luckily, my friend Marci was very supportive and helped me through the rough patches. Anyway, it’s all in the e-books. I wanted prospective Virtual Assistants to know that life may throw some roadblocks their way, but becoming a VA is worth the effort.

J:  How many e-books are available?

V:  At the moment, there are three e-books. The first e-book, Vanessa Has a Dream is free to download. It describes how I left my job and decided to become a Virtual Assistant. It’s an unbelievable story, but I swear my adventures are as real as I am!

In the second e-book, Vanessa Becomes a Virtual Assistant, I discovered my company name – with a little help from the Universe, created a business plan template, and decided on a business structure. And the business plan template is downloadable!

J:  That’s great. What about the third e-book?

V:  Vanessa Sets Up Her Home Office is full of practical advice on choosing the right office equipment and supplies for your own VA business. There are research notes about computers, fax machines, scanners, ways to access the internet, and lots of other good stuff. I even describe my visit to my hometown’s office supply store. Don’t you just love wandering around in the pen and pencil section?

J:  Ummm, yes, I do. Where can my readers download your e-books?

V:  They can go to the E-books page of my current website here.

J:  Are there other ways they can contact you?

V:  Sure! They can email me, and I’m also on Facebook.

J:  It was a pleasure having you here today, Vanessa. I’ve enjoyed the first three e-books in the series and I can’t wait to read the rest!

V:  Thanks again for letting me stop by, Janet. I’ll be sure to let you and your readers know when the next e-book is available.

J:  Before you leave Vanessa, I have to ask…you do realize that you’re not a real person, right?

V:  [Sigh] Yes, I know. I’m just a figment of Melodee’s imagination. But that doesn’t mean my e-books aren’t informative and entertaining.

J:  I certainly agree with that. Thanks again for coming, Vanessa.

V:  You’re very welcome, Janet. I enjoyed talking with you.

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on An Interview with Vanessa Andruz, Virtual Assistant.