When I managed people in a call center, I used to like walking the floor at least once in the morning and once before I left for the day in order to talk with the employees. I often wondered where the time went in the day, and why there were times when I wasn’t getting everything done I wanted to. I knew the
people doing the hard work deserved my time, but I didn’t know how I could continue to balance it. My peers were getting feedback that their employees never saw them, so I knew I was doing the right thing, but I didn’t want my other work to suffer.

Then, I thought back to my own advice about blocking off time on the calendar. It was a lesson I’d been trying to teach others, and yet had completely missed the fact that it was the solution to my own problem! Although I could typically walk the floor in fifteen minutes, it wasn’t on my calendar. I instantly scheduled thirty minutes to start the day and thirty minutes to finish the day, for walking the floor. I built in double the time to allow for extended conversations, problem solving, or getting caught in the hall with someone who wanted to share a lengthy story. As I started to figure out actual timing, I adjusted it down and input a middle-of-the-day walk, too. I was actually more efficient because I knew a calendar reminder would pop up—and over time, I knew it was coming and became better able to focus on my current tasks and meet all of my goals.

Do you account for everything you do in a day? Take the time to list out ancillary pieces that you may not have typically added to your calendar and add them. Some examples may include:

• Walking around/time not at your desk (e.g., water cooler or
even a restroom break)
• Running into people in the hall/casual conversations with peers

Although you may not schedule these events, they do take your time. These previously unscheduled items can now be add-ons to the previously noted administrative block of time we discussed earlier. Have you accounted for this time? Using the blanket blocking of the time will allow you to know that time is still being taken up. All of the efforts to account for time are about knowing what is taking up your time each day. That knowledge is a powerful thing, because it will ease the pressure you feel on yourself; if it’s not done, it’s not the end of the world. However, as you become more productive, you’ll start to see more wins and sustained efficiency. In addition, on many calendar applications—Microsoft Outlook, Instant Messenger, and Skype, for example—those blocks of time you’ve set aside will show your peers that you are “busy,” thus keeping requests for your time in check.

Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):

• Down the Chute: A Toboggan Tale (children’s book)
• Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
• Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
• Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
• The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
• From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
• The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood

See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com.  Book and eBook purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com

Are you the eager employee who volunteers for everything that comes your way in an attempt to advance within your organization? What is your confidence level when your boss or your boss’s boss gives you an assignment when your plate is full? I remember working for an individual who was driving me hard. I made every effort to keep my tasks organized, so I maintained a spreadsheet. I had a column that noted all of my deadlines. Some were manager-assigned,
while many were self-initiated, aggressive dates to work toward. I wanted to do everything possible to push myself and prove my worth. One day, I was providing an update to my manager, so I showed him the spreadsheet. Although thirty-seven of the forty items were on pace to be achieved on time, he focused on the three that were past due. The three that were past due were my own deadlines missed. Unfortunately, he held them over my head for quite some time.

I learned a valuable lesson that day: We must be realistic with our timeframes, regardless of how badly we want to meet them. We should continue to drive our work and not sandbag our deliverables, but we must balance it with everything we’re doing. In our efforts to be “gogetters,” we may actually be casting a negative shadow if we don’t accomplish everything we said we would by the given timeframes.

Think back to the times when you were a go-getter and found some commitments not being fulfilled. Effective immediately, I want you to begin to under-promise and over-deliver. You shouldn’t tell the boss that it will be done by five o’clock p.m. because you hope it will be done. You should tell the boss when you know it will be done. If five p.m. isn’t the right timing, you should be honest and tell the boss when the realistic right time is, or invest time to reprioritize other tasks. If you haven’t established a strong enough relationship to do this, you may want to begin to build the trust and respect required to have those prioritization discussions. By under-promising and overdelivering, you’ll start to find appropriate times to hand work in early, beat deadlines, and often times start taking on more responsibilities. It’s ironic how easy it is to stop being a go-getter and actually go out and get more done when you are real with your deadlines.

Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):

• Down the Chute: A Toboggan Tale (children’s book)
• Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
• Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
• Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
• The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
• From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
• The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood

See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com.  Book and eBook purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com

I used to lie in bed and roll around with constant thoughts in my head: What do I have to do tomorrow? On no! Look at the clock. Tomorrow is now today. I would get ideas in my head, and keep kicking those ideas around to enable myself to remember them in the morning, thus sleeping poorly and often not even remembering it anyway. One of the greatest time management tips I can offer is a simple pad of paper at your nightstand. I’m now in the habit of waking up when I have an idea—most times I’m groggy, but it’s now ingrained in me to immediately write it down. I then drift off for the best night sleep ever, knowing that my ideas or follow-up items are waiting for me when I wake up for the new day.

Grab a pad of paper and a pen, put it next to your nightstand, and simply wait for the ideas to flow. When random thoughts wake you, write them down immediately. This has numerous benefits. First, you won’t forget. Second, you’ll sleep better. Finally—and the greatest benefit of all—you will have stronger ideas since you have reached the inner non-stressed part of your brain.

Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):

• Down the Chute: A Toboggan Tale (children’s book)
• Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
• Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
• Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
• The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
• From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
• The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood

See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com.  Book and eBook purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com

I come into work each day and the first thing I do is read a passage from the most impactful book I ever read: “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff”, by Dr. Richard Carlson. Why? In addition to doing it as an inspiration boost each day, I do it because my calendar tells me to do it. It’s been on my calendar for over ten years, and it pops up every morning at seven a.m. Naturally after all these years, I barely see it, because it’s so ingrained to do it—but it gets done. I’m not curing the world of its ills with this task, but it shows that building the right habits will lead to stronger time management. More importantly, it’s a great lesson: You don’t have to think about what has to be done next if your calendar can do it for you. My calendar is filled with what many would consider silly reminders—but I also have far less stress because I know what’s coming. Without even thinking, I get gently reminded to
transition work and tasks.

Create your own recurring appointments. Invest time today to study your schedule and start to add basic appointments immediately. You can start with the ones that should be on everyone’s calendar, regardless of position or role in an organization; the tasks that have nothing to do with your actual job responsibilities. First, add a five-minute
appointment at the end of each work day to review and organize tomorrow. Actually schedule this event at the end of the day on the calendar. I promise you that you will sleep better knowing exactly what’s on your plate for the next day. Five invested minutes will save you hours later!

Next, add an appointment to organize the following week each Friday—project out a week at a time and actually schedule this event on your calendar. Do the same thing at the end of each month
based on regular monthly tasks, such as budgeting, for example. It’s important to also be smart about when you do this. When I say end of the month, I’m not talking about the thirtieth. I’m actually thinking sometime around the twenty-sixth, so day one isn’t sprung on you. This allows you to better spread out the tasks over the course of a month versus cramming everything into marathon sessions. Many of us like to procrastinate until the actual need to do something. Therefore, if you have multiple tasks that are due at the end of the month, you may not worry about them until the end of the month. Suddenly, a flood of pressure is on you to beat the impending deadline. Be someone who does not procrastinate until the end of the month—spread your tasks
out during the month. The amount of time to complete these tasks throughout the month is the same time it will take to finish at the end of a month. The only difference is the amount of pressure you feel—and, most likely, the quality of work performed!

By creating recurring appointments, you’re shifting much of the self-created pressures away from you to the calendar, and investing time to save time. You’re now using your calendar as a tool to benefit you.

Thomas B. Dowd III’s books available in softcover, eBook, and audiobook (From Fear to Success only):

• Down the Chute: A Toboggan Tale (children’s book)
• Now What? The Ultimate Graduation Gift for Professional Success
• Time Management Manifesto: Expert Strategies to Create an Effective Work/Life Balance
• Displacement Day: When My Job was Looking for a Job…A Reference Guide to Finding Work
• The Transformation of a Doubting Thomas: Growing from a Cynic to a Professional in the Corporate World
• From Fear to Success: A Practical Public-speaking Guide received the Gold Medal at the 2013 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Reference
• The Unofficial Guide to Fatherhood

See “Products” for details on www.transformationtom.com.  Book and eBook purchase options are also available on Amazon- Please click the link to be re-directed: Amazon.com