A Slow Start on a Busy Day

The Early Bird Catches the Worm

This morning, this early bird did not get up early. We went to Michael’s friends house for dinner last night and we didn’t get home until late. I was being polite since it was Michael’s friends and didn’t nudge him until about 10:30. It seems to be a thing in California, that when people say ‘Well, we should be getting going – early day tomorrow…” it seems to open a door for another potential 45 minute convo. Coming from a direct Philly approach, I nipped that in the bud about 5 minutes in – we didn’t get home until 11:00.

So, this morning I took it ‘easy.’ This is NOT a good use of my time. I have been doing a lot of research on Social Media and the internet in general.

20 Minutes Until My Next Phone Meeting

Switching from one task to another requires forethought. In other words, I need to ramp down what I’m doing just about now and start shifting gears. That means that as soon as I finish with this post, I will straighten my papers, put on my shoes and prep for the call. Immediately following the phone call, I have to leave for another meeting and I’ll be ready to fly. STOPPING what I’m doing to make the transition is the hardest thing I do each day.

Sunday


My day to make a list for the week. There are so many projects I am working on at the moment that if I don’t PHYSICALLY write it on paper, I will get lost. I started the list yesterday and as I remember things, I write them down. It’s a ‘work’ brain drain.

I played guitar and sang my songs at a House Party last night. It was really fun. The reason I thoroughly enjoyed it, I believe, is because I didn’t have ”loose notes’ floating around in my head.

The key to freedom is peace of mind; I get that peace from making lists and keeping on track. If I don’t get to something, maybe it isn’t a priority or perhaps it is something to carry over to the next day…

April 7th – Speaking – Spring Cleaning – Clearing the Clutter

Lori Cooper, Juli Shulem and Yours Truly, are speaking on a panel – Hosted by Women in Communications – Santa Barbara chapter.

Click on invite to see the invitation. Hope you come!


http://www.mypunchbowl.com/partypage/0720843d748d429b

Pareto’s Law – 80/20 rule


Follow the 80/20 way:
Stay focused on the 20% that matters. Those tasks in the 20% very likely will produce 80 percent of our results. Thus, it’s critical that we identify and focus on those things. When the “crisis of the day” begin to eat up precious time, remind yourself of the critical 20% you need to focus on. If anything in the list of activities and action items has to fall by the wayside – left undone – be sure it isn’t listed in that critical 20 percent.

Some Ways to Keep Up With Your Day

1) Eat
2) Drink Water
3) Pause for a few minutes
4) Make lists during the day to see if you’re on-track
5) Go the the bathroom when you THINK of it!
6) Review your list / calendar at the end of the day
7) Carry over the loose ends from today which you didn’t finish
8) Merge the loose ends with tomorrow and re-prioritize
9) Get up a little earlier in the morning
7) Start tomorrow

If there is too much on your plate, you are bound to feel frustrated. You will see it when you review your list. Try to see what might be a more long-term plan / ‘back-burner’ task that you can get to over the weekend or later in the week, month, year.