In this post I am going to show what is inside a product I have made to get your inbox under control.

There are 5 levels of control and I think that just training alone isn’t going to get you to inbox zero nirvana.

So watch the intro video and I’ll show you how I do it.

PS Please leave me a comment as to what you think about this.

Thanks

Anthony

PPS …This product is available now. Not for 4 hours away in a class room for $440

This 7 module course is just $97 . It’s now free at the time management page.

Think how much you would save by being more productive and less stressed ….

The post Inbox Hierarchy of Control – Make Email Less of a Priority appeared first on Balance Business Coaching.

Hi – hope your well.

In this post I  show you a process for maximizing productivity and give examples of different types of e-mails to explain how you might handle them.

The value I hope you get is an understanding of how important a good task list set up is.

Yes it is more important than the calendar, contacts or e-mail function!

Watch now and download your copy of the process flow chart here.

If you like this please leave a comment below or share with friends.

Transcript of the video is coming and will be placed here. show

By Anthony Idle  © 2012

The post Time Management – How to Master Multitasking for Maximum Productivity appeared first on Balance Business Coaching.

This video is about how to embed your goals or new years resolutions into your subconscious mind.

I hope that by watching this you achieve your goals as they stick and pull you towards them.

The whiteboard is of my short term goals for 2012.

I have a different drawing or goal map for my medium terms goals that covers central theme supporting goals, why I am doing this, who will help me and how I will achieve them.

A really important question to ask yourself about all this is – who will I be as a result of achieving these goals! Know that identity well and start living it today where you can.

I know of a famous copywriter who writes a letter to that person and reads it 12 months after he writes it.

Please leave me a comment as to what you use to help you embed and visualize your goals.

Transcription of the Video is here.show

Happy New Year.

Anthony

By Anthony Idle  © 2012

The post How to Set Better New Years Resolutions – Use Visual Goals appeared first on Balance Business Coaching.

I was really impressed wiht my daughter today.

She set 5 fantastic goals at the start of the day, and came home having achieved all 5.

She even said she forgot to write dowwn and go for a 6th.

What a gal. Motivational stuff.

What do you think?

The post Time Management Motivation – 5 Daily Goals from my Daughter appeared first on Balance Business Coaching.

In this article I want to recap what the signs of stress are, what are some causes and share a way you can use to relieve some pressure.

The value I hope you get from reading it is a zero cost way to feel better.

So it turns out I was writing an assessment tool for a training course I run.

It’s been going on for some time and as it is part of a a large multi week project I felt frustrated at my own lack of progress.

Sometimes when I get like this I tend to do the equivalent of pacing the corridor on line.

That means checking e-mail or social media looking for a distraction.

The requirement of the assessment tool requires a person to be able to recognise the signs of stress.

A quick trip over to Wikipedia shows the following comprehensive list of signs of stress:

Poor judgment, a general negative outlook, excessive worrying, moodiness, irritability, agitation, inability to relax, feeling lonely, isolated or depressed, acne, aches and pains, diarrhoea or constipation, nausea, dizziness, chest pain, rapid heartbeat, eating too much or not enough, sleeping too much or not enough, social withdrawal, procrastination or neglect of responsibilities, increased alcohol, nicotine or drug consumption, and nervous habits such as pacing about, nail-biting, and neck pains.

Wow what a list !!

It dawned on me that the problem I have with the large project is that I am taking a ground up approach and not knowing what the final outcome looks like.

That is I’m doing a step and then wondering what’s next.

So When we don’t know what the desired outcome is we feel like we may not be on the right path.

This leads to uncertainty whether the next step is towards the right end goal or not.

That in itself creates frustration or tension.

Thankfully this project has a reasonable deadline that I know is reasonable so that wasn’t a trigger.

So what I recommend you do if you have multiple projects with multiple outcomes is write down a long list of things to do in their finished state.

Eg Submit assessment 2 by 20 december including the 24 sub documents bundled in a 3 clip folder.

Then get clear on the next steps to take and any incomplete steps.

E.g Check and verify document H, S and Q. Modify template U and include a marking guide to each question.

When you have a long list of projects to complete, make sure you have defined a next action for each of them.

Then have a look at any deadlines associated so you know the terrain of your work.

This is a great exercise to help you feel better and get your workload under control.

Hope it helps you. Please leave a comment below and let me know.

By Anthony Idle  © 2012

The post Stress Management Techniques for Busy Business People appeared first on Balance Business Coaching.

 Apply the”4D - do it, delegate it, defer it, delete it” rule to get your in-box to empty* Reassess goals and stay focused in changing situations* Plan projects as well as get them unstuck* Overcome feelings of confusion, anxiety, and being overwhelmed* Feel fine about what you’re not doing.

Yes, Getting Things Done offers a complete system for downloading all those free-floating gotta-do’s clogging your brain into a sophisticated framework of files and action lists–all purportedly to free your mind to focus on whatever you’re working on.

 Allen, whom the New Economy bible Fast Company has dubbed ”the personal productivity guru,” suggests that instead of meditating on crouching tigers and hidden dragons while you wait for a plane, you should unsheathe that high-tech saber known as the cell phone and attack that list of calls you need to return.

From core principles to proven tricks, Getting Things Done can transform the way you work, showing you how to pick up the pace without wearing yourself down.

 

To get things done without the stress click the affiliate link below.

By Anthony Idle  © 2012

 

 

 

The post Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity appeared first on Balance Business Coaching.

This article is about how to get more done with less effort.

It covers the different areas or contexts that you can bundle your workload up into, and gives examples of tasks that you might create under those contexts.

As a result of reading this article I hope you find a way to feel less guilt as to what you aren’t doing and make better choices as to what your priorities are that you will do leading to better time management.

In the seven habits of highly effective people, Stephen Covey talks about habit #6 Synergy. Synergy is about one plus one equalling three. Or in other words getting more bang for your buck by doing things together.

David Allen who wrote the book on Getting Things Done, suggests to create synergy we bundle up the things we need to do on a list containing similar items.

For example I have a list of all thethings I need to :

• talk to someone in person,
• call on the phone about,
• do at the computer
• pick up / buy when I’m out doing errands
• do at home
• read / review
• waiting for from others.

In reality, these aren’t separate lists rather categories of pass on my task list.

The beauty of doing this is that if I’m in the car and I really only have two options.
Use my phone to attack some of the phone calls, not the safest thing, or pick up some things on my errands list.

You needn’t feel guilty about not doing things that you can’t because you are not in that context.
You can make better choices as to how to use your time by considering the upcoming context.

For example I take my own reading material to the surgery as it helps me tick off my read and review task list.

So to get started, why don’t you grab a piece of scrap paper and brainstorm up all the different contexts that you might have? Think about it carefully as just because you have a list of things to do for clients they might be better off being separated at computer, at calls, at agendas etc so as to give you the synergy to get 2 or 3 done at once.

If you use the Outlook task function then enter the category on your tasks and switch to the category view. If you use G-mail tasks it is the process of creating a “New List” for each context.  My favourite list manager is Toodledo and I forward e-mails to my task list to minimise data entry time.

Hope this helps your time management efforts.

By Anthony Idle  © 2012

The post How To Create Synergy In Your Time Management Process appeared first on Balance Business Coaching.

One thing about time management in families & small businesses that is so different from larger organisations is that everyone has multiple roles and a lot more to do with fewer resources.

Whether Mom is wearing the Taxi Driver hat or Dad has the “Tim the tool man” repair belt on everyone is busy busy busy.

So here is my top 5 list of time management tips which apart from saving you time and effort, I hope they make your family and small busy relationships smoother with less frustrations.

1.     Keep your To Do list, e-mail and calendar as separate purpose tools.

I admit that keeping a To Do list is a chore itself. But without a list many things fall of the plate and it is hard to get the overview needed to decide what is really important to do now. The biggest benefit of keeping a list is that, if you keep it up to date and trust it, then it is externalised from your mind. No need to wake up in the middle of the night thinking I must remember to call Jenny on the Parents and Citizens committee. Relax it’s on your list.

Likewise if you use a diary or calendar then this is the place to put anything that is date or time specifically bound. Look at that first thing of a morning before you check your e-mail.

And while we are on e-mail, don’t use it for a list or play with flags. Make the three tools separate.

2.     Decide on the outcome required together before trying to nut out what to do.

When you have a project to do such as renovate the back yard or create a product launch, if your team is not on the same page working towards the same goal, there will be friction. What if you are thinking low maintenance easy to clean concrete and your partner thinks tropical Asian inspired terrace garden. Have this conversation up front and brainstorm the results. You can then sequence the order of the steps and refer back to this document when you feel you are diverging.

3.     Be clear on who is going to be responsible for what.

Having organised what to do, in what order, you need to be clear on who is going to tackle what sub project / tasks. One of the biggest issues for small business is that of staff conflict. To me this is like a friction burn. Either someone is being held back from doing something they want to do or being dragged towards something they don’t. If you talk about his up front and decide who is better at what type of things, the less friction there is to get things done. Me I’m big picture and very poor at details.

4.     Group things to do by context to get more done with less effort.

Do you have a folder that you put all your bills to pay into? Why do you do this? The reason for many is that while you are paying one it takes less time to pay 3 or 4 at the same time. By why stop there what about calls to make, errands to run, things to do on the computer, things to do at home, things to read/review, Things to talk to a particular person about. Every action on your To Do list can be categorised and grouped in this manner. Try it and feel the pride as your burn through a few at a time.

5.     Get together at least weekly to review where you are at and where next.

My favourite weekends are when nothing is planned. I get to relax and take it as it comes. But I don’t want to find out Saturday lunchtime the relatives are coming for an afternoon BBQ. On Friday after lunch I want to look back at the week I‘ve had, check the week ahead and update my to do lists. By getting my next steps decided and out of my head I have a chance to enjoy my time off.

I hope that if you follow the above 5 tips you get and enjoy more time off too.

The post Top 5 Time Management Tips for Mums and Dads or Busy Small Business Owners appeared first on Balance Business Coaching.

This article is on how to win the war with your email inbox.

It covers working with your calendar and task list, setting goals and standards, and setting up rules to automate your processing.

The value I hope you get is that you achieve more planned important outcomes rather than reactive e-mail interruptions.

Let’s start with two goals:
Have no more than 20 emails or a pages worth at any one time. (Scary if you have 2500+ in your inbox right now.)
By the end of your working week this week – have zero in the inbox so you can have a great weekend.

That sounds insane to most people, but I do this almost every week all part of a success routine.

Some of the biggest weapons in my arsenal are a task list for things I need to do and a calendar for doing specific things at a certain day/ time.

The point is that your inbox is not a to do list and setting flags is not a calendar. Stop trying to use your inbox for something it is not. You wouldn’t run out to the letterbox at the front of your house to see what you need to do this weekend. Mail boxes are just an entry point to your system.

So make some time on your calendar for processing e-mails. I have an half an hour blocked out on my calendar in the morning and half an hour in the afternoon. By processing I mean deciding what needs to be done with the email and either put the appropriate action on your task list or on your calendar.

When you process you need to remember the 4D’s – Do it, Delegate it, Delete it or Date defer it.

Do it.
David Allen of GTD fame suggests if you can do something inside 2 minutes do it immediately. I found in practice you get interrupted 3 times in two minutes and things take 10 instead of 2. Be careful and I’d try to stick with processing and no doing at first.

Delegate it.
Ask yourself am I the best person to be doing this over the long run? perhaps you have a colleague who may benefit from this as a development project, or is simply their responsibility. If so have a talk to them before forwarding on the e-mail with instructions.

Delete it.
My favourite. I just love hitting that delete key. Such an easy decision and quick shot of success. but you should ask yourself why did that e-mail enter my world in the first place.
If it is because you have subscribed to 40 LinkedIn groups each with a daily digest of group activity time to start changing your message settings. unsubscribe or at least change to a weekly digest rather than daily.

In Outlook and Gmail you can set up rules to automatically take a message from your inbox to a folder where you can look at them all in one sitting later if you so wish.

Date defer it.
By this I mean put a note in your calendar to action the item on a specific day or on your task list with a deadline if you can work on it anytime up until your deadline.

One last note, pay it forward. Talk to others in your workspace about reducing e-mail and set some rules about avoiding “reply all” and “cc”carbon copies to everyone.

Remember my last goal. One less email in the world is a very good thing.

The post How to win the war over your email inbox appeared first on Balance Business Coaching.

In this post I talk about how to be aware of when you aren’t being there for your family.

It talks about finding leading indicators.

The value I hope you get is an awareness that you can then do something about.

One of things I love to do with my son is ride mountain bikes together.

We go across the road from our house to some sandy tracks that run behind the beach.

The view is spectacular and it is one of the best spots in the world as it’s a place to live rather than make a living.

One of the things that now haunts me and is a bit of an indicator when I am not being there for my kids is the state of their bikes.

Cameron was riding with me the other day and he couldn’t make it through the soft sand as he was using too heavy a gear.

His gears needed some adjustment as the cable had stretched.

When I asked Maddie how her bike was she said she wanted a new one as the current one is noisy and she doesn’t like the colour.

I checked out her chain and it was badly in need of some oil.

It makes me wonder what other tip of the iceberg indicators show up when you are not paying enough attention.

If you have had similar aha moments and found a few leading indicators of your own could you please let me know?

The post Zen and the Art of Kids Bike Maintenance appeared first on Balance Business Coaching.