Knowledge and Learning

Wow.  Just came back from a Time and Planning session with Andy Sherwood.

It was an incredibly powerful experience.

If you read my client letter last month, you’ll remember the tips I passed along, including putting “life first”.

For all the rest, this seminar covered it.

The entire working population has been estimated to be 30% less effective than it could be.  The competitive advantage becomes, “who can learn the fastest?”

Studies have also shows that 80% of your day is reactive.  When your email “dings”, do you rush to check it right away?

Would it sound silly if you ran to the mailbox twenty times a day to check for letters?  But that’s what some of us do with email!  Most people check their email first thing in the day.  By definition, this is reactive and it starts the day all wrong.

What’s the email address for 911?  They don’t have one!

Urgent or important matters are still best handled the old fashioned way.

Andy said something that made a lot of sense today – you can’t control all your distractions, so instead plan on 2-3 hours a day of productive work.  Any more than that, and it probably won’t get done.

Being realistic about your incoming work load is important.  Most of us try to bite off more than we can chew.

Also, the number one distraction for most people is a messy desk.  Clutter traps energy.  The average worker spends four minutes out of every hour looking for information on their desk.  That’s about 15 days a year!

And remember – the brain should be used for processing, not storage.  Dump it out on paper and you’ll feel much better.

Here’s one that was really important… every time you say “yes” to something, you are actually saying “no” to something else.  When you book an appointment when you were supposed to work out, you are saying “no” to your body.  When you take that appointment on your day off, you’re saying “no” to yourself and your family.

Truthfully, I’ve been there before.

The other thing that I always mention is that most of us don’t work really hard.  We work long hours, and it’s tough on the brain… but it’s not hard work.  There’s a difference… ask your great grandparents.

Andy’s company is Progressing Training – I use their Priority Manager daytimer and I love it.  The course is all about how to use it, and they even come visit you at your workplace to offer tips and advice after the course.

I HIGHLY recommend the course.

Our limiting factor is time – there’s always more money and more things to do and people to see… but we all start the day with the same number of hours.

Another good website is Don Wetmore’s Time Tips – sign up for his free newsletter at Balance Time.