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Before you are going to do something, there is nothing as sensible as a plan. A plan as we know it is something thought about and chalked out in advance before the real action takes place. Pretty good definition, huh? I made it up myself.
But then, the word ‘plan’ does not need much of a definition. It has been used so much that it has become quite hackneyed. So, we all know what it means, but how many of us really resort to planning before we start a course of action.
No, I’m not referring to a mental picture that we cart out in our minds that is in one word VAGUE. I mean a real plan in black and white, that is, put down on a piece of paper. Please do not underestimate the importance of a written down plan. Once we write down something it clears up a lot of hazy areas and opens aspects that we probably overlooked.
And the most important of all is that with a plan and only with a plan can we get a rough estimate at least of how much time the course of action would take. Plans should always be time bound and there we get the relation between time management and planning. In fact planning is as fundamental to time management as organizing and prioritizing.
The advantages of planning are given below
The 8 advantages of planning
1. Planning helps us to have a better idea about the course of action that we propose to take.
2. Planning better defines the course of action that we propose to undertake.
3. Planning gives a rough estimate of the time required for a project.
4. Planning gives us a fairly good idea about the expenses involved in the project. In fact a budget is only a financial plan.
5. Planning helps us to get prepared for emergencies that may arise during the course of the project.
6. A well though about plan gives us a clear idea about want is to be every day, every week and every month.
7. Planning helps avoid duplication of labor.
8. If a plan is followed every one will have a clear idea about his or her role.
A point that I would like to add while we are talking about planning is that we should have both sort term plans as well as long term strategy plans. At the same time we should also try to draft out contingency plans to deal with a crisis if it arises.
I thought it would be useful for you to have a brief overview of the different steps involved in planning.
The six steps in planning are
1. Set objectives
2. Assess you present situation
3. Survey your alternatives
4. Decide on the course of action
5. Provide for control
6. And Implement the plan
But whatever be the plan I again want to stress the point that a plan should always be TIME BOUND.
But as the project moves along, the plan should be flexible in the sense that it should incorporate any changes that might prove necessary ounce the project is put into action.
Planning the work in your office
You have to understand that there is nothing like a very routine work that doesn’t require any planning. The belief that it will go on by itself is wrong. Even tasks that ca be done on an everyday basis can be improved if there is good planning involved.
Everywhere there is scope for improvement, better methods that are yet to be implemented and problems that have to be solved. And for all this you need proper planning. Let’s take a look at the different steps involved in planning for a week.
The best way to plan the work for a week is to maintain a planning sheet. Now, please remember that this is apart from the routine work that is done in the office.
The following steps will help you to make a planning sheet.
1. Take a fairly big sheet of paper and divide it into the number of working days in your office.
2. The column for each day should further be divided in to the morning and afternoon sessions.
3. Divide the job to be done ad assign each part to a concerned person.
4. Decide on which part of the task is to be done on each day and at which part of the day.
5. Put a cross mark followed by the concerned person’s initials on that section of the day on which you propose to do the decided part of the job.
6. At the end of the day, if the job is done put a circle round the cross.
7. If the job is not done, carry over the cross and add it to the next day’s cross.
In this way, at the end of the week, you can find out how much of the work was done each day and subsequent plans can be made for the following weeks
In this way you can plan for a week or a month, depending on your requirement.
While you are drafting your plan and estimating your expenses, you must never forget the fact that time means money. But your plan should be realistic as well. In order to finish the task at the earliest possible date, there is no sense in chalking out a schedule which would mean that you will have to break your back in order to meet the deadline. And that’s about planning.
Just look around you, it’s a beautiful world out there. Life is wonderful provided you have the time and can afford to sit back and enjoy the simple pleasures of life. This is a feeling that hits us every now and then. And then when we realize that we have to be confined within the floor walls of our office, doing some work that has no scope for imagination, we end up depressed.
Every job loses its charm after some time if nothing out of the way is done to make the job interesting. To make things worse, there are too many distractions around us. We end up thinking that this is not the job that I wanted to be doing. And when we realize that we will be doing this same job probably till the end of our lives, we will want to scream.
It is a human tendency to get bored with something after some time. When we get a new job, ten for the first couple of weeks we are like the peasant boy who walked into a new palace. Every thing is new and interesting and our interest is completely captured. We try to learn things as quickly as possible and are eager to impress and prove to the world that we are perfect for the job. But after a few months we get used to everything and slowly everything begins to lose the charm. We get bored and start looking for greener pastures.
It is at this stage that procrastination starts raising its villainous head. If the tasks that we are doing are repetitive ad monotonous, the picture becomes bleaker. Along with this, if the requires that we remain on toes all day long, then the future is sealed. It is in such situations that we need to keep ourselves motivated.
Speaking from the Organizational Behavior point of view let us take a look at what motivation is all about. The human brain as I mentioned earlier is a virtual store house of energy. There is nothing that we cannot do once we put our mind to it. Yeah, sure, all that has been proved time and again. But along with it comes a string attached. The same brain is easily distracted.
In fact our imagination is probably the one thing that can travel faster than light. And so it is no easy task to keep the brain occupied in the same task for an extended period of time. If the job is monotonous the task becomes more difficult and if the job is demanding and involves a lot of pressure to keep time then you are done for.
Motivation can be thought of as the process of channeling the surplus energy of the brain towards a definite goal or purpose.
So how long can the human mind focus on the same thing. Studies have shown that the maximum attention span of an average human being is just 45 minutes. 45 minutes? So much for those meetings and discussions that lasted for three or four hours! No wonder nothing much comes out of such meetings. In all likelihood most of the audience conked out after the first 45 minutes and after that focused their attention on staying awake.
If you have a good boss or superior, then the task of keeping you motivated rests with them. But even then you have the responsibility to keep yours self motivated, and believe me, self motivation is the best motivation because it comes from within.
So here are a few tips on how to ward boredom away and keep you motivated.
12 Tips to stay motivated and keep procrastination away
1. Never keep doing the same task for two long
2. Try to take breaks every half an hour. Get up and walk or do some stretching exercises
3. Try to alternate between two boring tasks. This will reduce the boredom in both tasks by 50%
4. If you have someone else with you who is doing the same job, try exchanging jobs with the person
5. Talk about your job to a sympathetic listener who can give you encouragement
6. Reward yourself once you have done a job well
7. If you have an uninteresting job left to do, write it down and pin it somewhere in your work station so that you can see it and get constantly reminded about it till you do it.
8. Try to make your work environment more attractive by pinning up some motivating words or some pleasant wall posters, preferably something that can make you smile. Those ‘Dennis the Menace’ posters are really wonderful for this.
9. If you are allowed to, try playing some soft music while you work.
10. Write down a list of not-so-interesting tasks that you have done and pin it up. It just tells you that if you have done it before, then you can surely do it again.
11. If possible keep a small potted plant near your work station; watching it grow is a wonderful source of inspiration. But take care to look after it properly. If you are going to watch it wilt and die, then it is going to have the opposite effect.
12. Take time to relax, just sit back and close your eyes and hum a favorite tune for a minute or two. But do not fall asleep!
Most of the points mentioned above are self explanatory but I would like to elaborate on one point that is rewarding your self.
This is one tactic that I have found to work wonders with me. If you have finished doing a job, you have every right and reason to reward your self. All the more if the task was a boring one or one that involved a deadline.
The reward does not have to be any thing great. It can be something like treating yourself to a good dinner in a favorite restaurant or it could be a simple chocolate bar if you have a sweet tooth.
But most of you weight watchers, it would be best if you could buy yourself something material that does not just go down your throat. If it is something that can be displayed in your work station, then it’s all the better.
Many such cute (but practically useless) baubles are available in most gift shops.
Now let’s get something straight. I have been preaching, moralizing and waxing eloquent about Time Management for quite sometime. But before I began this discourse, I forgot to ask you, what kind of person you are. No I’m not bothered about your physique or your eating habits. Nor am I bothered about your interest in water beetles and rock formations. I just want to know if you are a procrastinator, because if you are, then there is no point in talking about time management.
So, are you a procrastinator?
Indeed this is a very silly question because we all are. Procrastination is as fundamental to human beings as the insatiable appetite for sex. No, you are not going to admit that either, but it’s the truth. The old guy Adam who was chased out of Eden by God had them both. I mean the appetite for sex (how else do you think Eve coaxed him into having that fruit) and the habit of procrastination.
In fact, there is no official record that says that Adam was a procrastinator, but I think we can take it for granted since it is present in every human being that came after that.
Now, before you start thinking that the word ‘procrastination’ has a sexual connotation, let me proceed to explain what the connection is between procrastination and time management. Procrastination is simply the habit of putting off for tomorrow what you can do today. Does it ring a bell now? The fact is that nine out of ten of us have this habit. We tend to postpone jobs and tasks. And procrastination is the villain, the unsuspecting sneak that upsets every plan connected with time management.
The interesting thing about procrastination is that we tend to put of only those tasks tat seem unappealing to us. If the task is boring, or monotonous, or involves too much hard work, then it stands a very good chance of getting postponed. It is not because of the lack of time that we do not do the task. On the contrary, we might have plenty of time to do it but we tend to postpone it and justify ourselves saying that we do not have the time for it.
Take for example a visit to the dentist. How many of us go for monthly checkups to the dentist? The answer would be almost none. Over here the reason is pretty simple. Since childhood, dentists have been associated with physical discomfort. It’s not just the physical pain that we associate with a dentist’s clinic.
There is also a lot of stress involved. It certainly is an uncomfortable experience to spread oneself in a completely vulnerable position on the dentist’s chair with ones mouth open too as if one is resigned to one’s fate. The dentist, at such moments seems to have a sneer on his face as he approaches you in his spotless, white attire and contemplates on which of his shiny pointed instruments displayed before you he should use first to prod and poke.
As a result, a visit to the dentist, as far as I am concerned, is something that sends a shiver down my spine. It’s because of this that I keep avoiding visits to the dentist’s clinic. Even if I start having a truth problem I would rather depend on forces like voodoo and witch craft than go to my dentist.
That’s something that I and I think a lot of others as well tend to procrastinate. Let’s see if we can think of some things that are likely to get procrastinated in our professional lives. I know that for most people, cleaning up clutter is an unpleasant task. Over time, a lot of clutter gets collected in our workstations. Our drawers get stuffed with a lot of odds and ends. There will be piles of papers on our desks or perhaps under our desks so that no body sees it.
Some people even have a difficulty in clearing their mailboxes until a warning message pops up on the screen. Visiting card holders are another such area that gets neglected. Over, we stash so many cards into our card holders, most of thee cards belonging to people who may have migrated to another planet for all we know. And though we know that it is a god thing to dump half these cards every now and then we never get down to doing it until the card holder literally starts bursting in the seams.
These are some of the jobs that we put off for tomorrow, a tomorrow that never comes. Now, there are some problems that arise out of procrastination that are detrimental to time Management.
The 5 bad effects of Procrastination
A feeling that a job has been left undone is bad for our morale
Unfinished jobs leave a lot of clutter around which affects our efficiency.
Putting things off means accumulating jobs and urgency could crop up on the same day.
Procrastination when it comes to the notice of other people maybe branded as laziness and lack of interest in the job.
The job becomes more unpleasant the more you postpone it.
The only thing that you need to get straight is that you have to do the job any way so why not do it right now. Do not wait for that day when-you-will-have-more-time. It will never come. The chances are that you will be busier tomorrow than you are today. Most of those jobs that we procrastinate are the-sooner-done-the-better kind. And the sigh of relief that escapes from our lungs once the job is done and over is worth it.
All it takes is some will power, make up your mind to do a task and then do it while your mind stay made up, and believe me, the human mind does not stay made up for too long.
But then, there is a chance that you might be confronted with a strange feeling, you might start finding your job to be monotonous and boring and that is what we are going to deal with in our next chapter.
The idea might sound strange but being able to say ‘no’ is fundamental to any scheme of Time Management.
Yes you have the master plan for time management, you have everything worked out, you have a time table which you stick to religiously, and you have a ‘to do’ list as well. But just when things are beginning to work out fine, a colleague or friend comes your way and asks you to help them out by doing certain jobs which are really their jobs.
The person smiles very sweetly at you and showers sugar coated words on you, and before you even know what hit you, you have said yes and agreed to do the work for the person. Now what is the relevance of your well thought out timetable? Where is your scheme for time management? Your work is waiting in the pantry while you are sweating over somebody else’s work. And it’s because of the simple reason that you could not say no to the person. How many times have you had a similar experience?
I’m not saying that you should not be civil. If you find a colleague in distress and have the time to spare, by all means help the person. Who knows, tomorrow you might be in that persons position and you may need somebody’s help.
But that does not mean that you should let yourself be taken for a ride. If you are going to help a person at the expense of your work and schedule, then you are going to end up in hot water. It is human nature to shirk work and if word gets around that you are a very helpful guy (read that as s-u-c-k-e-r) then before you know it, requests for help will be coming from all sides.
Unless you want to take up from where Mother Theresa left off, you had better put your foot down and say “sorry boss, but I just don’t have the time.” Behave like a diplomat. I remember reading somewhere that a diplomat is a person who can tell you to go to hell in such a nice manner that you will actually start looking forward to the trip. I also came across the definition that a diplomat is a person who can say the nastiest things in the nicest way.
So that is just what you have to do. Done the mask of the diplomat and the next time someone approaches you with sugar coated requests to help them out, smile back at them. Give them a sugary sickly sweet smile. So much that anyone in their normal senses would want to throw up at the sight of your smile.
Then you could try telling them how much you love them. Extol at length what you think of the person and your relationship with him or her. And then tell them that what you are going to say is going to be a life long sorrow for you. It is something that will plunge you into the depths of despair and all that. And then put it painfully across, “no, I’m terribly sorry but N-O.”
And then when the person leaves your presence with a crest fallen face, wait till he or she is out of hearing range and then you can start that war dance. Or if you want you could try the hoola hoola.
Common face the facts, in today’s world of cut throat competition your very existence may depend on your ability to say “no.”
And its miles better being a selfish pig than a sucker.
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Before
you can have a successful home based business, you must first possess 3
"intangibles." These are things that must come from WITHIN you.
===> Intangible 1 <===
First,you must have a strong WHY.
Why MUST you have a successful home business?
What is driving you? What is it that you CAN'T have in your life anymore and/or
what is it that you absolutely MUST HAVE now?
For me, I couldn't stand
working 12+ hours a day anymore and missing the experience of my children growing
up. I also absolutely HAD TO HAVE the freedom of being able to control
my life and finances through a little box (laptop computer) that I
could carry with me anywhere in the world and not be tied to anyone's
time pressures or demands but my own. That was my carrot and my stick.
I felt a great pain deep in my gut of missing out on my children's
lives and the incredible freedom that succeeding in a home based business
would provide for me. I found my why. You MUST find yours.
===> Intangible 2 <===
You
must BELIEVE that it is possible.
If
you don't believe that it's POSSIBLE for you to have a successful home based
business or make your living from home, you won't. It's that simple.
For me, figuring out that it was possible was just a matter of realizing
that many other people were ALREADY making great money working from
home. If they could do it, I could too. It would just be a matter of
figuring out what those people were doing and then adapting it to my
situation.
There is no shortage of undeniable PROOF
that people (millions of them) are making money working from home. Just get online
and do some research and you'll find countless testimonials and stories
of REAL PEOPLE making real money on the Internet. Or head to your local
bookstore and you'll find the same documented evidence of this fact.
Truth is, it's getting easier and easier to make money with your own
home based business.
I've always said that
"affiliate marketing" (a simple way to make money from home) is the job of the
future. In the old days, you had to go to a potential employer, apply for
the position and hope for the best. Now you can simply go to any company
you want, fill out their affiliate application and start work
immediately. Affiliates are the new working class. In fact, making
money with affiliate programs or making your living on the Internet is
WAY MORE than possible. It is pretty much (or will be soon enough)
unavoidable now. Affiliate marketing is the "job" of the future that's
already here TODAY.
===> Intangible 3 <===
You must be willing to MAKE THE LEAP.
Ready, FIRE, then
aim... This is the operating philosophy you MUST adopt to succeed with
a home based business.
That's
backwards for most people who like to aim before they fire. The fact is
that home based business success is a moving target... The only thing
constant about it is change. You need to stop analyzing the game and
simply jump into it. You can't learn from the outside... You have to be
*IN THE RING* to truly understand and profit from it. In fact, this is
a business where you can truly be earning WHILE you're still learning...
The
lesson here is that you will never really be READY to start a home based business.
You simply have to start one. It's like having children... You're never really
ready, but when it happens you adapt and grow and therefore you succeed. This is
what I call:
"Making the Leap"!
The good news is that the cost of failure with having
your own home based business is very small. In the "brick and mortar"
world you need to evaluate things very carefully before you decide to open up
a business. It's almost always necessary to invest thousands of dollars
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