Time Management

A google search on PLR materials on Time management would be a good start.

Great idea, Tracy! Here are a few more...

Preference and Priority - Accept the fact that there simply isn't enough time to do everything. That's why it's so important to work on the most important things in your life. Only you know what matters most to you. If you're always focused on the most significant items -- both in your business and personal life -- you'll always be making the greatest possible contribution with your time. When you get busy on the meaningful tasks, you're using your time wisely.

Your Sacred Space - Treat your workspace as a place of productivity. Condition your mind to acknowledge your office or work area as a special place where things get done. Do this consistently and you'll soon find yourself accomplishing more because you automatically adopt a mindset of productivity whenever you set foot in your working zone. Find another place for other less-productive activities, events and actions. Keep your work space reserved for high-performance activities only.

Prioritize Tasks - Rearrange your list according to importance. The easiest way to do this is to categorize each item into three major sections: A) Crucial and Urgent B) Important But Not as Urgent C) Neither Important or Urgent. The A's are the vital tasks and therefore should take top priority- always. B's are next in line and C's are seldom worth spending your time on. Taking the time to prioritize in the beginning will help you to knock off one job after another, without stopping to decide the relevant importance of a task. Spend most of your time on the most important tasks and details and your time will be well-invested.

Delete the Unimportant - Get rid of any task from your to-do list that simply isn't important. Ask yourself, "What's the worst thing that could happen if I dropped this entirely from the list?" If you can tolerate the answer painlessly, drop it at once. Getting more accomplished is largely a task of prioritizing your time.

Audit Your Time - Factor in the time investment required for each task on your list that you need to accomplish. Take into account such things as travel, eating, briefing others, planning and outsourcing. Don't forget to consider the loss of actual productive time while you're involved in these other activities. Give yourself a buffer. As you schedule the various tasks involved in completing a project, allow 15% - 20% more time than you need. If everything goes according to plan, you'll get everything done and still have some free time. But the added cushion of time serves as a safety net for those unexpected delays triggered by things like computer crashes, traffic, or running short on supplies.

Set goals - Write them down and keep them in front of you. Knowing what you're striving for gives your daily life purpose and meaning. Record your goals in a day planner and refer to them often. Set a realistic time-line for the accomplishment of each goal and focus on taking the specific actions that will lead you there.

End of Day - Spend 10 minutes at the end of the day preparing for the next one. Generate your to-do list and prioritize it a day in advance. This saves you precious time at the start of the day, enabling you to begin with an important action step right out of the gate. Using this strategy gives you a head start on the day and gets you working on an important task first thing when you're fresh. Most of us are less productive towards the end of the day. Once today's critical tasks are complete, it's time to prepare for tomorrow. Getting your list completed ahead of time gives you a jump start on tomorrow. It also prepares your mind in advance for what lies ahead.

Start on Time - Get to work immediately. Assume a "Just Do It" attitude and approach. If you don't start, you'll never finish. If you wait for conditions to be just right, you could miss out altogether on the rewards of accomplishment. Do something every day that will move you closer to your goals. Don't put it off. Do it now and it's just a matter of time before you reach your desired outcome.

Downtime Reversal - Transform downtime into productive activity. Determine the time of day when you're operating at your peak level of productivity. Reserve this time to do your most intense, demanding work. Use less productive times to return calls and emails, answer questions, hold meetings, and have brief discussions with staff, suppliers or clients. No one can be at their peak performance state at all times of the day. The secret is to know when you're most effective and to use that time for the most important and demanding work before you.

Beat The Clock - Challenge yourself to finish jobs ahead of schedule. Constantly seek out better, faster, more productive ways of doing things. Streamline processes. Consolidate activities. Look for a rhythm to your work. Get into a flow where things click and productivity soars. Then be sure to reward yourself after for any significant increase in your effectiveness.

Robert

have you looked into David Allen's "Getting Things Done", or in some circles known as GTD?

there are adaptations that can be done with Microsoft Outlook, Thunderbird, and even Lotus Notes used as PIMs.

there are also tools out there supporting this methodology - google "GTD software"

if you are interested, you can start with a book from your local library on this method

Everyday pick 6 important things to get done for the day. These things need to be related to your goals.

If it is something that I don't like doing, then I set the timer for 30 minutes or if it's something that I take too much time doing then again I set the timer so that I have time to do the other things.

I also try to get something done first thing in the morning so that as the day goes on life doesn't stop me from getting it done.

Denise