Did you ever wish you had planned ahead for a difficult day? - photo by D. Hennessey

There has been days when I have woke up in the morning and wondered ‘Okay, what do I need to get done today?’ When I have this thought I know I am in trouble when it comes to my personal time management.

After many years testing and retesting time management systems that I have come across to help me achieve more effectively my daily goals I realized that I needed an ‘action list’ often called a ‘to do’ list BUT I recently realized I was reviewing my ‘to do list’ at the wrong time of day.

I had been reviewing my list first thing in the morning when I needed to review it briefly as one of the last things I did at night.

When I review my list as one of my last things at night (note: my to do list includes personal, family and work items) I can confirm they are definitely actions ‘to do’ and not actions ‘not to do’.

Then as I go to sleep I set my subconscious mind to work on the successful completion of the tasks the next day. This helps me have clear thoughts of motivation when I wake up. So I get out of bed with my priorities already established for a fulfilling day.

Yes, I do look at my list in the morning as I start to take action but I know it is what I want to do because I planned it the night before.

Note: If my ‘to do list’ is not inspiring enough to get me out of bed I definitely need to review the list and put priorities on their or the list is more of a ‘Not to do’ list.

Remember you can learn how to be time effective so you can do more of what you want to do by reducing the stress in your life. Request a copy of my FREE eWorkbook via the form on the right of this page and see if you are missing any of the 19 steps I share to help make your life more fulfilling and less overwhelming.

Your friend on the journey,

David

Not to Do - Park here - that's a sidewalk!

‘The Not to Do List’ is an idea I remember reading about years ago long before I read Timothy Ferriss’s notes about The 4 Hour Work Week. If you recall another source of the idea before Timothy Ferriss’s book please help me out with an email to ‘remind’ my memory what was my original source.

The Not to Do List is exactly as it sounds. It is a list you keep beside your daily ‘To Do’ list to help you keep focused. The list contains actions that you want to avoid since they get you off track and out of focus and life just drifts away.

Here are some ideas you can use to create your list.

One

Avoid having the urges to answer every single phone call right away. Invest in a message center on your phone and schedule times of day you will check your messages. Please avoid answering the phone if you are in a meeting whether it is business or personal unless you have a wife who is expecting or someone you know is ill. Unexpected phone calls can really destroy your focus.

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Two

Avoid checking your email first thing in the morning. Set priorities that you want to accomplish every day and do them first then check email. You will also want to add Facebook and other forms of Social Media to this ‘avoid checking first thing in the morning’ list.

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Three

Avoid driving around town to save a few pennies on an item. Yes, price compare but do it online and even by phone on higher priced items but don’t burn your life away (and the earth’s fossil fuels) just to save less than you will spend in the process of driving around. If you do see a good price on a product you use often either buy several of them there and then and store them. Or make a note where you are at for the next time you are in the area to cash in on the special deal.

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Four

Avoid doing activities you don’t like. If you have a friend who likes to jog and you detest jogging don’t jog  ride a bike beside them, skateboard, rollerblade find something you like to do on their route or meet them afterwards for a swim or a refreshing drink.

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Five

Well, I sense you have the idea only you know what you need to put on your ‘Not to Do ’ list. Now take your ‘To Do’ list and write a note to make your ‘Do Not Do’ List today.

Your friend on the journey,

David

P.S. If you would like to read more about Timothy Ferriss’s book The 4 Hour Work Week there are almost a thousand reviews on Amazon. Find out details via this link to The 4-Hour Workweek

This car could go very fast in circles!

Some personal and professional development ideas are so simple they get pushed aside with the assumption everyone will know this idea. This article is to share one of the simple ideas I use that perhaps can benefit you.

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Have you ever gone on a driving trip to pick up several items for your work or personal life and at the end of the journey you realize you spent a lot more time traveling between locations than you anticipated? In fact, you even crossed the same path at least once on your journey.

I must admit I have done this in the past.

Here is a simple time saving idea that I use to make it easier for me to be more efficient with the use of my time when I have a number of activities to accomplish on the road. It has even helped some people I have shared it with.

One

Create your list of activities you need to achieve and decide if you can delegate any of them. (You may wish to read this article about delegation).

Two

Once you know the actions you have to do in person take out a map and look at the location of each place you need to go to. Then number them from 1 to 10 (or to whatever total number you have) in the order that you will drive around to accomplish them most efficiently.  Sometimes you might number two items the same number or (1 a and 1 b) since they are in the same location.

Then off you go, hopefully saving time on your way.

Yes, I know the idea is simple but for me when I applied this idea my trips started to be more time efficient which left me with more time in my day to do other things I enjoyed.

Perhaps, you already do this, if not, check it out and see if it helps you save time.

Best Wishes,

David