Often we think that once we make up our minds to change it just magically happens. I know I’ve tried it myself plenty of times. Then I get bored or it’s too hard or I get in my own way and I stop and go back to what’s easy. Even if what I’m doing that needs changing is actually harder for me, I feel it’s easier because that’s what I know.
Change happens gradually and with practice. A habit takes 30 days to form. Sometimes it can take even longer when someone is resisting the process. Those of you who would love to be more organized but are finding it difficult or challenging to start or how to start, may be relieved to discover this process doesn’t happen overnight.
I used to go into a new client’s home or office and take a look around. I’d listen to what he or she would tell me about their organizational process and the difficulties they were having. I’d make suggestions and we’d get to work. For the most part this was a good process. Things looked really great after we were finished.
What went wrong was I wasn’t teaching them the skills they needed to continue on their own. They quickly went back to their old methods of organizing and felt defeated. It’s purging when there’s a problem or about buying a new filing system from the Container Store. It’s about designing a system that works for you. Actually changing your habits from piling paper upon paper until you spend 15 minutes looking for an important item you just had “right in front of you a minute ago” to consistently filing those papers in a way that when you need to find a piece of paper it can take you less than 30 seconds to find it. That’s a system that works and keeps you motivated to continue.
A good system should allow you to know where your keys always are. A good system should get you to take responsibility for everything you own so you can actually find it.
I now simply consult clients on how to change their habits. I teach them how to figure out for themselves what they do to prevent themselves from living a fuller, easier and more stress free life. I teach them to manage their time, create with them systems for making decisions easier, systems to increase productivity and as a result, I have allowed those I work with actually make life lasting positive changes in their lives. It’s amazing.
If you are looking to make positive changes in your life, contact me at: info@gothamconcierge.com or 646-831-9625 to schedule a free 30 minute consulting session or sign up for biweekly sessions with me and see how working together and truly making a difference in organizing your time, space and life!
Showing posts with label lowering stress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lowering stress. Show all posts
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
How I Use Time Management to Keep My Sanity
I can’t tell you how happy I am to have become an expert in time management and productivity. Yes, I do enjoy helping people make their lives easier but more importantly it’s made MY life easier and less stressful.
As my business continues to grow and things become busier and busier, it becomes difficult to navigate everything that comes at me. Every week I have 20-40 offers of various networking opportunities I can go to. Which ones do I choose? I have personal responsibilities as well as professional responsibilities and which ones come first? How do I make time for myself, get enough rest, exercise, get all my work done and not collapse at the end of the day or week?
It’s not easy finding your own path when there are so many options that were never available before. It’s confusing and overwhelming and how do you make everyone else happy while remembering you need to be happy as well?
For myself, I had to not just learn time management and productivity skills I had to learn how to stand my ground and remember to think about myself. It is true you have to take care of yourself in order to do any good for others. Yet sometimes that feels like the most difficult task I’ve ever faced. It’s so easy to put off taking care of yourself when you have so many other responsibilities. However, it’s vital to continue to place yourself as a priority.
So, how do you get those productivity and time management skills to work for you? Well, when faced with so many opportunities, the best way to figure out which ones to go for and which ones to avoid is to break them down. I always think to myself, based on my past experiences, which types of networking meetings worked for me? Who is my target audience? Which businesses can help me gain more customers? Who do I need to meet? What times of day are easiest for me to meet others? Then I let the other opportunities go, as they are someone else’s opportunities, not mine.
This lesson I had to learn the hard way. I stayed in networking groups for too long because I ignored my gut instinct that told me I was on the wrong path. I instead chose to allow others to tell me that it was my fault if I got no business from the group. I wasn’t trying hard enough, I wasn’t a good business person, I wasn’t this, that, and the other thing. Once I stopped listening to the negativity and started focusing on what was fact, it became easier to see the direction I should have been in all along.
When balancing your schedule paying attention to what your body is telling you can help as well. Are you feeling overwhelmed? Perhaps walking away from an activity and taking a break is the best way to deal with it. Last week my computer crashed for no reason. I started to panic, thinking of all the material I had lost, the cost of finding someone to fix it, the possibility of spending more money on a new computer and getting it done immediately, which meant I was on the brink of freaking out. So I walked into my kitchen and washed my dishes. I did not allow myself to think of the “what-ifs” as there was no purpose in doing that. I did not know what the real outcome of my computer crashing was and therefore any thoughts toward my next steps was a waste of time. When I had calmed down enough to think rationally, I turned back on my computer (after taking a very large breath) and took a look at what had really happened. As it turns out, my computer had a minor bug in it that I could fix myself and everything was okay. Had I panicked and reacted, I would have wasted time and money getting someone in to fix a problem I could do myself. I also would have stressed myself out needlessly. Instead I forced myself to calm down and walk away until I was thinking clearly– a tool which is a huge time saver.
A few weeks ago I went to get my watch repaired. I’ve had it for well over 10 years and the battery was dying and I needed the clasp fixed. I took it to the company headquarters where they have a department which repairs the watches and expected to walk out 15 minutes later with a fixed watch and $30 less in my wallet. Instead I found out the whole watch needed internal repairs which would cost $350. I again began to panic and then utilized the 10-10-10 rule I learned from an article in Glamour magazine. I thought to myself, okay, I know the original price of the watch and what a watch from them costs now ($1,300). I know this is a very good watch maker. If I choose to walk away and not repair my watch, how would I feel 10 days from now knowing I’d have to spend more money on a new watch and spend time finding a watch I liked when I already had one I loved? How would I feel 10 months from now? How about in 10 years? I decided that I loved my watch and it was worth spending the money to be repaired. The good news was that I had a client who happened to work there. I asked her some questions about general upkeep so I wouldn’t be surprised by such a large price tag in the future and she was kind enough to give me a discount. In the end, I saved time by keeping myself calm and being honest to myself about how I would feel not just now, but in the future about my decision to keep my watch. I’m now back wearing my watch and loving it!
With everything that comes flying at us these days, there are so many decisions to make. The best way to keep yourself on task, stop everything from becoming too overwhelming and keep your stress levels at bay is to be true to yourself. Know what you really want from life, cheerfully say no to things that aren’t of interest to you and continue to move forward. Don’t be afraid of someone reacting badly to you saying no, of unexpected things that pop up and always make sure you take care of yourself. When you are well rested, eating well and exercising regularly your ability to make decisions and ward off stress are at their highest peak.
Everything that comes flying at you becomes your decision. Your decision on how to react to it, your decision to choose whether or not to dwell on a bad situation, your decision to turn a negative into a positive, and your decision to choose to make the world a little better, a little less stressful and a little more fun. Life isn’t easy but if you have the proper skills and tools and the ability to keep a positive attitude, it sure is a lot easier.
If you are looking to learn time management and productivity skills, contact Alison Kero at: 646-831-9625 or info@gothamconcierge.com. To learn more about Alison and her company, Gotham Concierge visit http://www.gothamconcierge.com.
As my business continues to grow and things become busier and busier, it becomes difficult to navigate everything that comes at me. Every week I have 20-40 offers of various networking opportunities I can go to. Which ones do I choose? I have personal responsibilities as well as professional responsibilities and which ones come first? How do I make time for myself, get enough rest, exercise, get all my work done and not collapse at the end of the day or week?
It’s not easy finding your own path when there are so many options that were never available before. It’s confusing and overwhelming and how do you make everyone else happy while remembering you need to be happy as well?
For myself, I had to not just learn time management and productivity skills I had to learn how to stand my ground and remember to think about myself. It is true you have to take care of yourself in order to do any good for others. Yet sometimes that feels like the most difficult task I’ve ever faced. It’s so easy to put off taking care of yourself when you have so many other responsibilities. However, it’s vital to continue to place yourself as a priority.
So, how do you get those productivity and time management skills to work for you? Well, when faced with so many opportunities, the best way to figure out which ones to go for and which ones to avoid is to break them down. I always think to myself, based on my past experiences, which types of networking meetings worked for me? Who is my target audience? Which businesses can help me gain more customers? Who do I need to meet? What times of day are easiest for me to meet others? Then I let the other opportunities go, as they are someone else’s opportunities, not mine.
This lesson I had to learn the hard way. I stayed in networking groups for too long because I ignored my gut instinct that told me I was on the wrong path. I instead chose to allow others to tell me that it was my fault if I got no business from the group. I wasn’t trying hard enough, I wasn’t a good business person, I wasn’t this, that, and the other thing. Once I stopped listening to the negativity and started focusing on what was fact, it became easier to see the direction I should have been in all along.
When balancing your schedule paying attention to what your body is telling you can help as well. Are you feeling overwhelmed? Perhaps walking away from an activity and taking a break is the best way to deal with it. Last week my computer crashed for no reason. I started to panic, thinking of all the material I had lost, the cost of finding someone to fix it, the possibility of spending more money on a new computer and getting it done immediately, which meant I was on the brink of freaking out. So I walked into my kitchen and washed my dishes. I did not allow myself to think of the “what-ifs” as there was no purpose in doing that. I did not know what the real outcome of my computer crashing was and therefore any thoughts toward my next steps was a waste of time. When I had calmed down enough to think rationally, I turned back on my computer (after taking a very large breath) and took a look at what had really happened. As it turns out, my computer had a minor bug in it that I could fix myself and everything was okay. Had I panicked and reacted, I would have wasted time and money getting someone in to fix a problem I could do myself. I also would have stressed myself out needlessly. Instead I forced myself to calm down and walk away until I was thinking clearly– a tool which is a huge time saver.
A few weeks ago I went to get my watch repaired. I’ve had it for well over 10 years and the battery was dying and I needed the clasp fixed. I took it to the company headquarters where they have a department which repairs the watches and expected to walk out 15 minutes later with a fixed watch and $30 less in my wallet. Instead I found out the whole watch needed internal repairs which would cost $350. I again began to panic and then utilized the 10-10-10 rule I learned from an article in Glamour magazine. I thought to myself, okay, I know the original price of the watch and what a watch from them costs now ($1,300). I know this is a very good watch maker. If I choose to walk away and not repair my watch, how would I feel 10 days from now knowing I’d have to spend more money on a new watch and spend time finding a watch I liked when I already had one I loved? How would I feel 10 months from now? How about in 10 years? I decided that I loved my watch and it was worth spending the money to be repaired. The good news was that I had a client who happened to work there. I asked her some questions about general upkeep so I wouldn’t be surprised by such a large price tag in the future and she was kind enough to give me a discount. In the end, I saved time by keeping myself calm and being honest to myself about how I would feel not just now, but in the future about my decision to keep my watch. I’m now back wearing my watch and loving it!
With everything that comes flying at us these days, there are so many decisions to make. The best way to keep yourself on task, stop everything from becoming too overwhelming and keep your stress levels at bay is to be true to yourself. Know what you really want from life, cheerfully say no to things that aren’t of interest to you and continue to move forward. Don’t be afraid of someone reacting badly to you saying no, of unexpected things that pop up and always make sure you take care of yourself. When you are well rested, eating well and exercising regularly your ability to make decisions and ward off stress are at their highest peak.
Everything that comes flying at you becomes your decision. Your decision on how to react to it, your decision to choose whether or not to dwell on a bad situation, your decision to turn a negative into a positive, and your decision to choose to make the world a little better, a little less stressful and a little more fun. Life isn’t easy but if you have the proper skills and tools and the ability to keep a positive attitude, it sure is a lot easier.
If you are looking to learn time management and productivity skills, contact Alison Kero at: 646-831-9625 or info@gothamconcierge.com. To learn more about Alison and her company, Gotham Concierge visit http://www.gothamconcierge.com.
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