Mike and the Kids | How many of us have done this

What is scary about this one which is the last in the video series I have to show you all is how many of the people who have seen this who watch it and go ‘yep i’ve done that.’

 

 

If you have done this and would like some help contact Priority Management.

 

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Meetings | Back to Back meetings

In keeping with the video I posted yesterday here is another one in the series.   Again I wonder how many of us have ever had this experience.

 

And yet again Priority Management can help with making meetings run more smoothly, be for effective and be on time.

 

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Time Management | Ever feel like this

 

 

 

If any of you ever feel like this then Priority Management can help.  Learn how to use Outlook, lotus notes groupwise or you blackberry to gain control of your life and get  more done.

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Time Management | Tips for Effective Time Management

Every individual only has so many hours within a day to work with. Effective time management strategies can help you get more done within only a few hours.This will help increase your productivity rather than extending your work on a single project for days. Here are a few examples that you can apply to achieve that:

1.) List Down Your Activities

It need not be overemphasized that you have to learn how to prioritize your work. Meaning, you must set aside the less important things so you can concentrate on the more important ones. When you learn how to do this effectively, you can easily accomplish whatever it is you need to do within a shorter time. Make it a habit to write down a list of things to do. If you want to be really specific, break down all that you have to do within a day and in the order that you want them to get done.

 
As you list down your set of tasks to do, you have to identify which ones are long or short-term projects. Hence, you will be able to determine how much time you can allot for them within a day. A short-term task might be accomplished within, say a couple of hours. Meanwhile, for long-term tasks, you can try allotting 1 or 2 hours each day until when you intend to finish them. Hence, breaking down tasks would make it more efficient for you as you won't find it too strenuous.

2.) Allocating Time
Once you have your list, you now have to decide on how much time to allocate for each task or project you have set out to do for the day. Some tasks eat up a lot of time, so you have to be aware which are those. So as not to end up wasting so much time on one task, you have to provide time limits on each task so you can easily move on to the next.

When you do tasks in small instalments, it becomes less demanding and easier for you. Hence, you have eased yourself of the pressure. Instead, you can just concentrate on the things you need to complete.

3.) Know What You Want To Accomplish
Your "to-do" list will serve as source of information for what your daily goals are. Hence, you can consult it to know what you have to do once you're through with one task.
There are a few questions that you can ask yourself: How much time are you willing to render for doing leisure activities? Are you willing to cut on the leisure time and appropriate more of them into your work so it can be more productive? Once you identify what your points are, you can actively use that as a motivator in order to complete the list you made.

4.) Don't Make Your List Of Actions Too Long
When making your list, productivity is always on top of your mind. However, you should not try to make your list too long. Most people have this tendency but that is a common misconception. Doing more work at one time is not always equal to being productive.
Start off with a short list of the most important things you have to accomplish. That way, you can easily prioritize them. When you have already completed those on top of the list, you can always add a new set of activities.
When you try to put to many things to accomplish on your agenda, it may become too overwhelming and unreachable. You could easily end up having to do several unfinished tasks at once. But that is not advisable. If you are able or if it's within the allowed time you have set aside for a certain project, try to complete it before starting another task.

If you try and utilise these four tips as much as you can you will soon find that you are achieving much more in the time you have available to you. For more help with achieving better results in terms of productivity contact Priority Management.

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Time Management | Meetings and how to make them work

 

Meetings are something that almost everyone has to factor into their time and none of us can afford to needlessly waste time, yet it seems that we do spend to lot of your time doing just that.  One of the main culprits for a lot of people is the amount of time they spend in meetings. Here are some things that you should think about when you are arranging or attending meetings in order to make the best use of your time.

There are many types of meeting, but the kind of meeting I am concerned about there is the formal meeting, those to which people are invited and at which decisions should hopefully be made. It is vital that these meeting are run effectively, efficiently and economically and here are some ideas about how to achieve this.

Are Meetings Largely a Waste of Time?
Surveys have revealed that managers spend more than half their time in meetings and that over half of that time is considered to be unproductive. The amount of time managers waste in meetings is therefore comparable to at least one full working day each week.
There can only be two reasons for such poor time management and this alarmingly high waste of valuable time: a lack of knowledge on how to run successful meetings; or a lack of discipline in following good practice. In either case it is worthwhile itemising just a few of the ways in which meetings can become an effective, efficient and economic means of managing a business.

At the heart of this problem is the fact that people may well value their own time highly, but they seldom value the time of those they do not manage. Depending on the organisation involved, real improvement will not come without a fairly robust commitment to making change.

A Review of Meetings
Any review of the way in which meetings play a part in the management of an organisation is bound to include the number and need for meetings. Such a review should be both on-going, and undertaken periodically as a discrete exercise. It must be remembered that meetings are such an integral and important part of an organisation and its culture that if an attempt was made to drastically reduce their number, then their absence would be replaced by informal meetings with even less likelihood of effectiveness.

It is important that meetings do not proliferate and that each can be justified. Where meetings of doubtful worth are commonplace, it is very likely that there will be little or no appreciation of what could be achieved by change - and little enthusiasm to disturb what has become unthinking acceptance of routine. Rather than trying to impose radical overnight change, the problem can often be resolved by first changing the way meetings are conducted. This will do much to bring a shift in the way in which participants value those meetings

 

Routine Meetings
These can be the most wasteful type of meeting. They are often held on a repetitive cycle - often simply to impart information. They often require the attendance of a management or project team, ostensibly to report progress and decide priorities or steps forward for the next time period. Timing often revolves around production of management information. However, the timing of required decisions seldom fits neatly into a repetitive cycle - so that means decisions are either delayed to the next meeting, or taken outside of the meeting.

People who attend routine meetings regularly can find they do so with a clear purpose on one occasion and with no good reason on another. Where this occurs meetings, as a whole or in part, are often characterised by a poor attitude towards making sure that they are of value to the attendees and by a more casual approach in adhering to good practice in meeting management.

Of all meetings, these should be placed under the microscope, and their purpose and worth evaluated. Where possible the timing of the meeting should be made flexible and reflect the agenda items, and the attendee requirements.

Conducting Meetings
Time management within the conduct of holding meetings has many facets. All meetings should feel "fresh" and "alive" with well-defined purpose. Much can be done in preparation for the meeting, but the way in which the meeting is conducted plays a major part here. It is important to establish "momentum" early within the proceedings with active participation from attendees - and to ensure that "momentum" is not lost. There are many reason why this is not achieved and chief amongst these are inappropriate attendance, agenda and preparation; dominance by key (or sometimes not key) people, and allowing meetings to wander "off-subject". All these must be resisted by each participant, supporting the chairperson in efforts to do so. Often matters that arise can better be pursued outside of the meeting.

Always start on time. It is hard to insist that this rule is never broken and there can be occasions when a late attendance is accepted by all as unavoidable. The culture of requiring punctuality must be established with latecomers made to understand that tardiness is not normally accepted behaviour. Altering the time at which meetings commence can assist in circumventing the development of routine - something which should be avoided in almost every aspect of meetings.

The first item should be a review of the forthcoming agenda and establish ground rules for the conduct of the meeting. These should include the necessity to participate, remain focussed on each item in turn, make progress according to time allotted to each item (and what will happen if an item cannot be finalised in that time) and commitment to the agreed outcome.

The method of recording the meeting and outcomes should be established, if this has not already been done. A concise record of the agenda item, what was considered or taken into account and what was concluded can often suffice. The outcome should include the person responsible, resources to be committed, deadline or reporting interval, and the means and timing of reporting progress.

Agenda
The agenda is the cornerstone of controlling meetings - in establishing the purpose and requirement for a meeting, and obtaining value for time invested.
No meeting should take place without a pre-notified agenda, and (significant emergency apart) no item discussed that was not pre-notified. Notification must include not simply the item, but information sufficient to ensure attendees have sufficient knowledge to express opinion and decide the next action. A lax approach to the formulation of, and acceptance of agenda items signals to everyone that a casual attitude is taken with regard to the meeting itself, and the importance attached to achieving positive outcomes.

At the outset the chairperson should ask each participant to signal their preparedness to discuss the item, and their acknowledgement that they have read any papers in advance. Any problems here should be highlighted at the outset as it may affect the conduct of the meeting as a whole. Each agenda item should include the range of anticipated outcomes - and where possible the desired outcome. Depending on the complexity of the matter in hand this can be the subject of a detailed paper or summarised in a few words.
The order of the agenda should allow the meeting to flow so that discussion and decisions taken earlier lead into later topics. It should also reflect the need for participation of individuals who might join or leave the meeting as needed.

The type of meeting should be reflected in the agenda items. It is often better to have separate meetings for complex planning matters and items requiring minimal consideration. Complex issues are better broken up into several agenda items.

Any Other Business
As a rule of thumb this should be used only to alert the meeting to matters that will be the subject of discussion and decision outside the meeting, or to raise matters that require attention at the next meeting and to gain approval for inclusion then. It should not be used to hijack a meeting or "persuade" attendees into consideration of an item in an ill-prepared way.

Closing Meetings
At the end of each agenda item the way forward should have been summarised and agreed. Finally the chairperson should re-state and ensure agreement with all that had been decided throughout. This allows an opportunity to evaluate the meeting - and each participant should be asked to contribute to this - and specifically whether the meeting had been productive. One yardstick against which to assess the meeting would be whether each participant felt it remained "fresh" and "alive" with "momentum" and well defined purpose throughout.

 

Priority Management can help you to run better meetings and better management your time.

 

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Time Management | Tips to Proactively Take Charge of Your Time

Time is precious. And finding time is a priceless gift. But keeping your time within your control may feel impossible! If your answers to the questions below are yes, you can take steps to find the time you need by applying the lessons that follow.
Proactive Question #1: Do you feel like you spend most of your time putting out fires?
Proactive Question #2: Do you respond to other people's priorities, leaving your own on the shelf?
Stop for a second. Think about ways that you are being reactive in your decisions about your time. Bottom line, if your choices around time are reactive it will always be hard for you to create a plan and stick to it. When you set aside your own priorities to tend to others be aware that you are responding reactively to other peoples
* Demands,
* Desires, and
* Difficulties

Be Proactive
What can you do when faced with any of these issues? First, do not let someone else's tone or urgency automatically overrule your own priorities. Stop and apply the 4 D’s,  ask yourself, can I
1) Do it,
2) Delete/Dump it

3) Delegate it

and if you can’t do any of these then you need to

4) Decide when you are going to start on it.

This simple process will help to make the right decisions about the work that comes across your desk every single day.

 
Proactivity and rigidity are two very different things; and don't make the mistake of equating being reactive with being flexible!
To become proactive while remaining responsive, look within to decide what time choices work the best for you. Your first challenge is to avoid being put on the spot.

Practical tips to help you be more proactive:
Tip #1: Weigh what you may hear others say, but allow yourself all the time you need before answering.
Tip #2: Take the responsibility to gauge how significant or urgent the issue truly is.
Tip #3: You needn't allow those who possess strong verbal skills, who are dominant or those who work off crises to overpower your plans.
Tip #4: Try saying, "I'll think about it and get back to you."
Tip #5: Reserve the right to set a boundary for yourself.

Try This on for Size:
Perhaps your boss thrives on the excitement of last-minute adrenalin. After lunch, you are approached by your employer with an "urgent" job. You could say:
* I can see that you feel (X) is very important.
* I just want to let you know that if I do (X) now, I probably will not have time to do (Y) by the end of the day.
* Which of the two do you prefer I do first?
In this way, you:
* Acknowledge the request but do not react,
* Convey the consequences of not setting priorities, and
* Give your boss the opportunity to make a choice.

The way you spend your time is the way you live your life
People make time choices differently, depending on their values. To be more proactive, start by setting some reasonable boundaries for yourself. Experiment a little and learn from others' examples. Over time, you'll acquire the self-reference and skill sets to make naturally proactive time choices.

 

If you want more help with how to manage your time and become more productive particularly if you use tools like Outlook, Lotus Notes or Groupwise, Priority Management can help.

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Project Management | Distinguishing Portfolio Management, Program Management, and Project Management

Project Management, Program Management and Portfolio Management are often  misunderstood, and hence a mixed and overlapping use of terms, when it comes to program management. Sometimes a program is called a project. Sometimes a project is called a program. In addition, sometimes project portfolio and program are mistakenly used interchangeably. This article is intended to clarify the main differences and to distinguish the unique aspects of project portfolios, programs, and projects.

A great way to start to think about these is to think in terms of a pyramid hierarchy. At the top of the pyramid is portfolio management, which contains all of the projects and programs that are prioritized by business objectives. Below that is program management, which contains numerous projects that are interrelated, since they support a particular business objective. Programs consist of multiple projects, but projects can be independent and simply part of the portfolio. Projects differ from programs in that they are strictly tactical in nature.
Here is a more detailed look at each:

Portfolio Management
One of the key distinguishing features about Project Portfolio Management is that it is a process that is clearly characterized by business leadership alignment. Priorities are set through an appropriate value optimization process for the organization. Risk and reward are considered and balanced, and programs are selected based on their alignment with organizational strategy. Feedback is provided from program and project implementation so that portfolio adjustment can occur, if necessary. Strategic changes can also require portfolio adjustments.

Program Management
A key distinguishing feature of Program Management is business sponsorship. Almost by definition, based on decisions made at the Portfolio Management level, programs are sponsored by business needs. The Program takes on the ownership of benefits and is measured primarily based upon achievement of those benefits. Programs can also sometimes have "benefits streams", or sets of interrelated benefits, such as increased R & D capabilities combined with increased market penetration, that cut across functions in the organization. Because programs, naturally consisting of multiple projects, span functions within an organization, they have all elements of a business system, and hence are general management oriented.

Project Management
Project Management is most concerned with delivery of capabilities, typically as defined within a program. Projects need to be strategy-driven, but do not own the strategic initiative as does a program. Rather, the project takes inputs and develops and implements a tactical plan. Monitoring along the way and final measurement of success is typically based more on the tactical considerations such as budget and schedule than upon achievement of a strategic business objective.

Hopefully this explanation has made the distinctions between Portfolio, Program and Project Management.  Priority Management can help with all of your Project Management Training needs.

 

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Project Management | 10 tips for running projects

Project Management is a challenging field.  It must be given the number of Projects that fail to be completed on time and on budget  Why do so many projects fail? Researchers regularly conduct studies to find out the leading causes of project failure  and a number of these are available in the public domain. 

These studies reveal a number of recurring themes. Here are some of the common causes they identify:
• poorly defined organizational objectives
• loose project sponsorship and executive leadership
• untrained project manager or project team
• loose scope containment and project change control
• poorly defined requirements
• lack of consultation with key project stakeholders
• no risk management plan
• unrealistic project estimates

Do any of these look familiar to you? Do you recognize one or more as handicaps in your organization? Below are ten things you can do to improve the chances of success of your projects.

1. Before you start your project, find a committed project sponsor who has sufficient clout in your organization. Your project sponsor will prove invaluable in helping you overcome organizational roadblocks as they arise.

2. Analyze who are your project’s key stakeholders and communicate with them throughout the project. Your stakeholders can make or break your project. Compile a stakeholder communication plan with the help of your project team and sponsor.

3. Get your sponsor and key stakeholders together to thrash out the measures of success of your project. How will you know if your project has succeeded? What are the key indicators of success? Get everyone on the same page from the outset.

4. Decide upfront the methodology you will use on your project. What project phases will the project proceed through? What will be the key go/no go decision points? What are the expected project outputs for each phase?

5. Draw up a project schedule that clearly allocates project tasks to team members. Identify which tasks depend on others for their successful completion. Communicate schedule progress regularly to all team members and to the project’s sponsor.

6. Make sure that project changes don’t get out of hand by reviewing and authorizing all proposed changes. Evaluate each proposed change for the impact on project cost, quality and schedule.

7. Do not let an unforeseen event sink your project. Find out what risks can threaten your project and build a risk mitigation strategy into your project plan. Issues will also arise from time to time, so you will need to keep track of these and communicate their impact to all concerned.

8. Decide at the start which documents your project will generate and when. For medium- and small-sized projects, keep documentation requirements to a manageable level without significantly increasing the risk to the project.

9. Once your project finishes, use the measures of success that you agreed at the start to evaluate project performance. Was it within budget? Was it on schedule? Did it produce what it was meant to produce, and at the required quality? What can you learn from this? Now report your project’s performance to your sponsor and the key stakeholders.

10. Follow up with the key stakeholders and your project team members and find out how they felt about the project. Was the project a success from their perspective? How did the project impact them personally? From this you will discover what went well and what did not go so well. Apply these lessons to your next project.

Successful projects do not just happen. They require structured planning, the right tools, insightful management and good interpersonal skills. Use the ten tips above to help make your next project a winner.

 

Priority Management can assist with all of your project management training needs.

 

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Project Management | MS Project Training

 

Microsoft Project is a great tool for managing your projects however even if you are a fairly experienced user, you will likely be astounded at how a few days of project training will improve your efficiency and organization. Not only will it improve your skills with project it will also tell you the limitations of it as well.

 

Today more and more companies are using cost reporting, results measurement, and other various types of advanced reporting when analyzing the effectiveness of projects. Oftentimes, project managers and superiors alike are surprised at how much inefficiency there is in the project process. With tools like MS Project and the low cost of project training, there is no reason why any business can't fine tune their processes to drastically improve results.
Great project managers (PM) are difficult to come by. Project managers that are organized, consistently aware of the progress of their project, and deliver on time with accuracy, earn top dollar are in high demand in the job market. Through Microsoft Project training, both new and seasoned PM's learn how to manage any type of project with optimal efficiency from start to finish.

Projects that end in disaster usually stem from one of three root causes; poor project planning, ineffective communication between project members, and consistently falling behind on milestones. Microsoft Project training not only addresses how to apply the project software to increase effectiveness in these areas, but also project management concepts in an environment with other forward-thinking project managers.

Idea sharing tends to transcend the classroom and continue during breaks and after courses. It is this type of dialogue that makes Project training in the classroom environment so much more effective than self-paced book learning. In essence, projects are a collaborative effort and those best at project management tend to gain more from a group learning environment.

For managers, MS project training is a highly effective way of refreshing and motivating your team of project managers while they build new skills together. Further, project training is an extremely effective way to train up and coming project management hopefuls for promotion within the company. Oftentimes, throwing a "newbie" into a project and hoping for the best is a sure-fire way to destroy a project and a potentially capable associate's chance of advancement.

It is important for everyone involved in the project team understands the plan and how it is going to be implemented, and how changes to it are going to be tracked and communicated, training in Microsoft project can help with all of these issues and Priority Management can provide you with all of your training needs.

 

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Project Management As Task Management

 

Do project managers truly, in all essence, manage projects? This is a rather tricky discussion as, ultimately, all project managers really do is manage a collection of simple to complex tasks. When you really analyze the matter, though, this is not something to simply be taken for granted, because it is in these tasks that all the vital actions take place and transpire.

Managing Tasks on a Project
The function of scoping, planning, controlling, managing risks, and more is all about figuring out what tasks are to be done and making sure they get done (at the right time and in the right order). But without the execution of those tasks, any upstream job function, such as the planning and so forth, are a waste of time. Getting the tasks done is what it is all about; and anyone aspiring to get into project management needs to know how to get tasks done -- and how to lead others to do so.

Managing Tasks in a Department
Keeping a department going on a day to day basis involves spending time "at the edge", or on the exception. It involves being both reactive, as processes are monitored and adjustments are needed, and it involves being proactive, as projects are undertaken to improve and advance the processes that exist within the department. Being good at managing change is being a good planner; but sound task management, at the end of the day, is where all the action that matters takes place. If the task does not require action, then there really is no need for management.

Managing Tasks in an Organization
Action in an organization is a collection of executable tasks within the organization. Making that action take place where it counts the most is the job of upper management. Understanding how to get things done, as well as what, why, when, where, and who, is what leadership is all about. All executives must be good at task management in order to perform effectively.

Personal Time Management and Task Management 
It is easy to become frustrated with personal time management and, sometimes, even more frustrated with much more complex challenges. It always comes back to task management, no matter what level is being worked. For example, managing a project is simply an umbrella over a more complex set of tasks, and the only thing that really moves the project forward is the completion of those tasks. A similar statement can be made about department management or organization management.
A more complex situation, such as building a system, or building a building, proves the point. In the end, after all the planning, meeting, discussion, and thinking, what is left is a set of tasks that, if completed on time and within budget to proper quality standards, brings about a successful project. So it is simply a collection of everybody's task lists, alignment with the strategy, and properly prioritizing and sequencing what ties together time and task management. And, in the end, it's all about task management.

 

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Project Management | Creating A Project Management Plan For Success

 

 

 

Project management is tough, but having a well-thought out project plan makes even the simplest of tasks easier to complete. Remember writing a grocery list before you head to the supermarket can help you stay in budget and efficiently get everything you need.

When a task is more complex, a comprehensive project management plan becomes even more necessary. Project management professionals know this better than anyone. As the person in charge of organizing large-scale, often expensive projects from inception through completion, project managers understand the importance of a well-developed plan.

A project management plan is more than a mere timeline of events on the path to project completion. Project Managers  the project plan to guide and explain every detail of a project to ensure the finished product meets or exceeds expectations and fulfills its purpose.  here are 10 critical steps in creating a effective project plan.

Deliver a Full Explanation: Be sure that all project stakeholders have a good understanding of the project plan. Stakeholders will need to approve and interact with various aspects of the plan throughout a project, and this will go more smoothly if they fully comprehend its purpose.

Delegate Responsibilities: Determine who is responsible for reviewing which parts of a project plan in advance. Each stakeholder then only weights in on aspects of the project plan that pertain to them, resulting in efficient approvals.

Host an Inclusive Kickoff: Start the project plan off right by bringing all stakeholders together to initiate the planning process. In this way, everyone’s voice can be heard and the project plan becomes more of a collaborative effort.

Create a Scope Statement: Write a clear description of the project and its intended outcome. This ensures all stakeholders and the project sponsor are on the same page with regards to the project plan.

Develop a Work Breakdown Structure: Identify all the deliverables produced on a project in order to outline the necessary work to be done, from the highest level deliverables down to the lowest level of detail.

Schedule and Budget: For each task to be completed, identify a reasonable time frame and cost. Keep in mind which tasks are dependent on others, and understand that this schedule may change over time.

Identify Management Steps: As many aspects of the project plan will undoubtedly be altered, a plan should be created to manage any variances and determine their impact on the project as a whole.
Chart a Staffing Plan: Organize a Gantt chart detailing which outside resources will be needed for the project and its expected length of time. This will show when a given resource can be expected to enter and leave the project.

Manage Quality and Risk: Set standards for quality and analyze potential risks a project may encounter over its course. This helps to eliminate errors throughout the process and create a crisis management plan before problems arise.

Communicate Effectively: Identify who will require project updates and reports and when, as well as specifications for project information storage. This information creates a communications plan that ensures all stakeholders are current with the status of a project and their role.

The above ten steps can help any project manager navigate the complex undertaking of creating a project management plan. Priority Management can help with all of your project management needs.

 

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Time Management for Teens | Tips to Make High School Life Easier

 

High school student not just study and take classes. They also have to join school activities, socialize and do their homework, and given the amount of homework given out, it is essential for high school students to be organized.

If you are a high school student, it may seem like you are always running out of time and all you do is study and never get enough time with your friends and family.

Listed here seven tips for you to follow to make life of high school students easier and add extra time for you to be with your friends and family:

1- Set the target everyday – Before you go to bed, list down all the matters you want to accomplish on the next day. A ‘to do” list will help you to know what you are going to do and avoid doing unimportant tasks, of which will get everything done more efficiently and faster.

2- Prioritize your list of target – Once the “to do” list completed, try to prioritize the goals you want to achieve. Set your most important goal in life on top of your priority and your least important goals to down below on the list.
Be realistic on your list. It is better to list on what you need to achieve and not on what you want to achieve. If you have a long-term priority, it is probably best that you put it on the bottom of your list; you can always work on that tomorrow.

3- Utilize your spare time – You may not notice the amount of free time you actually have. Try to figure out where this time is and what you are currently doing with it.
Use these times to create strategy of how to finish your homework effectively. By doing this, you will get an idea on what you need to do on your homework when you get home. This allows you to finish your homework faster and have extra time for other things.

4- Finding the right time – Sometime, students have specific time to study more efficiently. For instance, you can solve your math problems well on the afternoons; then do not wait until night time to do it. Mood is important here since mood can shifts immediately.

5- Taking notes – An effective way to study is to write down important notes. It is proven much better than just plain reading. Writing down notes has an effect on your mind. You can understand the topic more effectively and memorize it more effectively than by just reading.
Review your notes as your teacher might give a pop quiz on the next day. Reviewing your notes will help you be more prepared for the pop quizzes that your teacher may suddenly give.

6- Get adequate sleep – I know its tough when their are so many social connections out there but it is unhealthy trying to stress yourself out studying when you are supposed to be sleeping. It can bring ineffective results and unwelcome health problems.
If you need to sleep you have to sleep, do not force yourself to study if you cannot effectively study. If you try to study in this situation, you will most likely waste your time.

7- Keep your goals realistic – Trying to accomplish unrealistic goals can often result in failure and frustration. Setting realistic goals that is difficult and achieving it can give you self-worth and be proud on your achievements.

Just remember, everything you need to accomplish in one day is possible if you are organized and plan everything you do in a day.

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Time Management For Teachers | Will this year be just like the last

How can a teacher manage to find time during the day to get things done? Time management in education at the teacher level is difficult because you face unique challenges:

Your time is booked every day. There is no leeway in altering a class schedule, so you must work within the very limited planning periods.
An important component of your job is to be available for students and parents beyond the actual classroom sessions.

One very effective method for teachers to save time is to group activities as much as possible. With this process you can use to maximize those all-too-short blocks of time so that you can lessen the amount of work you drag home every evening.

You are four times more productive when you can focus on one type of task rather than switching back and forth among assorted tasks. Constant multitasking slows you down. While you can never eliminate all of the interruptions in your day because you do need to be responsive to students, make the best use of the short periods of time that you do have.

What activities are effective when grouped?

Telephone: Set aside a time when you will make and return non-urgent phone calls. It might be fifteen minutes in the morning and another fifteen minutes in the afternoon. Work toward keeping routine calls within that block.

Email: Electronic messages can easily dominate your day. Turn off the sound or alert that advises you of incoming messages. Just as with telephone calls, set a block of time each day when you focus on just your email.

Discussions: If you confer several times a day with certain colleagues, set up a folder and collect items during the day so that you can cover all points during just one meeting. This limits interruptions for both of you. Encourage others to have a folder for you also.

Reading: For articles and publications that do not have an action date, keep them together and schedule time on your calendar to catch up on the reading. This reading block can include both paper and electronic information.

Filing: Even if you have a terrific filing system and you know where to put all your reference papers, do not stop and file each individual item as it comes in. Wait until you have a folder of papers, and then note on your calendar when you will file.

It will take practice to develop the habit of grouping your activities in order to limit multitasking, but the resulting increase in productivity is worth the effort.

 

Priority management specialises in helping teachers and educators to find ways to be more productive and to obtain a better work/life balance.

 

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Time Management | Smart Time Management Tips for everyone.

 

Time Management is some thing that most of us struggle with from time to time.  The real struggle for most of us is how to find enough time in our day and how to make that time work for us.

Good time management skills are developed over time. It all starts with learning just what is slowing us down and what types of things keep getting in the way of our productivity.

If we think of it from a little bit of a sideways point of view, think about cooking.  Have you ever spent countless hours preparing for a special dinner or party only to find what should have taken a few hours ended up taking the entire afternoon? So what goes wrong and why does it always to seem to take twice as long to pull some things off?

First, it was the missing recipe ingredient you had to rush out to the grocery store for. And like most Saturdays, the store is busy and the customer in front of you has five too many items for the express line. When you do arrive back home the delays continue, the phone rings non-stop and the kids keep pestering you about “where’s my…” and “have you seen my…” And with all the confusion, the white sauce gets scorched and the chocolate soufflé sinks.

Interruptions come in many forms – the most obvious being the telephone or doorbell but they can also be silent – like when your mind wanders. But take heart. You can get more done in less time once you become aware of what type of things slow you down.

For some big ‘time management’ improvements try the following tips on for size.

DEFLECT DISTRACTIONS – Create an atmosphere that fosters concentration. First begin by finding some quiet time for yourself. If your phone rings frequently, let the answering machine pick up your calls. If people are continually interrupting you with little things, tell them you need to concentrate on what you’re doing. Explain that if they let you focus, you’ll finish quicker and be able to deal with their issues after that.

CLEAR YOUR DESK – It’s hard to concentrate on work when your desk is overrun with clutter (paperwork in need of filing, library books in need of returning – you get the idea). The solution comes when you move everything else out of sight except for the things needed to accomplish the task at hand.

PRIORITIZE – Many people can’t concentrate because they have too many things on their plates. So many things are competing for our attention that it’s difficult to focus on any of them. The answer comes in writing a detailed to-do list, beginning with the most urgent project and working down to the least important. Having a list to refer to helps you select one project at a time and give it your full attention.

 

For other ways to improve your productivity contact Priority Management.

 

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Blogging - Developing A Readership

Blogging is becoming incredibly popular, however once you have finally created a blog and you've made your first post, how do you get people to actually read what you're blogging about?
Here are some tips on promoting your blog.

1) Quality Content - Interesting content will keep your readership returning. Update your blog regularly.

2) Take part in forums that are related to blogging. Ask other bloggers for their opinion on your blog and take their suggestions to heart.

3) Publish an RSS/Atom/XML feed. If you're using Blogger, you can turn on RSS feed by clicking on settings in your dashboard and then clicking on site feed and make sure that your settings are set to yes.

4) Carefully choose your subject titles, taking into consideration what other internet users may be searching for.

5) Involve yourself in commenting on other blogs. You can gain a loyal readership just by offering feedback to your fellow bloggers. The comment feature allows you to add a link back to your blog as well.

6) Be sure to include your blog address in forum signatures and in your email signature.

7) Submit your blog to directories.

8) Write articles. Include a resource box in your article and submit it to article directories.

9) If you're using blogging software such as Blogger, there is an option to notify the central blog update services  whenever you've made a new entry to your blog. Make sure that this option is turned on! In blogger, click on publish in your dashboard and make sure that your settings are set to yes under notify weblogs.

10) Link to other blogs.

Be patient, traffic doesn't happen overnight. The best way that I've found to increase traffic is by getting to know people. Spend what free time that you have, reading blogs, leaving feedback and building friendships. Try to leave comments on the blogs that you visit as often as you can. While you are waiting for the traffic to come, just enjoy blogging. You'll be improving your writing in the process.

Eventually you'll build a network of not just readers, but friends and loyal supporters. Blogging is not just about marketing; it's about creating lasting relationships.

 

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Time Management | Tips For Professionals

Time...It is ever moving and so easy to lose track of. Whether you are an engineer, a supervisor, a counsellor or a nurse, productivity is important. We are all controlled by cost-effectiveness and billable hours. In this article, we will discuss several time wasters and ways to increase your productivity.

1. Identify, eliminate, prioritize, delegate
You cannot be expected to do everything. So often we feel so pulled in each direction that we do not get anything done. Make a list of everything you "need" to do and when it must be done. For some people this means a detailed description of what needs to be done and a daily schedule. For others, a list can be just that---a list. Keep three pages for each day: The things that MUST be done (i.e. pay the electric bill), things you would like to do (such as mow the yard) and things you will do if you have time (rearrange your sock drawer). From that list, eliminate anything that is not necessary, prioritize what is left and delegate whenever possible.

2. Translate your priorities into concrete goals, with component activities.
For engineers, this is much like project management. The only difference is that the project is your time. Break each goal into smaller steps needed to achieve the goal. Identify the requirements and resources you need related to each activity step and set beginning and ending times. This helps you organise for success and have what you need to move forward towards goal attainment. Pinpointing resources, setting deadlines and having a central contact person is especially important if accomplishment of your goal requires the cooperation or assistance of other people.

3. Evaluate ways you procrastinate.
Once you are organized, have goals and resources, then failure to move forward is psychological. Provide rewards to yourself for working on the project for a defined period of time or until you achieve a set goal. For example, you can go play a round of golf after you work on the project for 1 hour. Identify reasons the task is in your best interest: it will help you get a promotion, make you healthier, make your spouse happier. Remind yourself of these to keep yourself motivated. Get a buddy. IAsk yourself why you are procrastinating. Do you hate what you are about to do? Is there anyway you can make it tolerable?

4. Learn to say "No" to opportunities and requests that take your time and don't move you forward towards goal attainment.

To the extent feasible, saying "no" is an important safeguard of your time. Doing so with courtesy and conviction will make it easier to say "yes" at a later date and simultaneously affirm your commitment to yourself to follow through on your scheduled activities. This also means shutting your door so people do not just aimlessly drop by to chat.

5. Just do it 
A mentor once told me to just do 15 minutes. You can do anything for 15 minutes. If after 15 minutes you are still miserable, stop. I nearly always found that I started intending to only do 15 minutes and 2 hours later I was emerging from the study. You can also set aside one day each week to do the dreaded tasks. For me it was chart reviews. I would spend every Friday doing chart reviews.

6. Set a schedule
Some people do not like rigid schedules, but most people do well with some sort of routine. Once you finish your goals for the day, relax. Life is a marathon, not a sprint. If you reward yourself for a job well done, you will be more motivated to plow through what you have to do each day.

7. Identify your "high energy" times
Everyone in my family is a morning person. We are most focused, energetic and productive before 2pm. For me, 5:30am is a great time. For my kids and husband it is more like 8am. Nevertheless, if you can work during your peak hours, you will get things done a lot more quickly. I have held several jobs that allowed me to set my own schedule. The companies got a lot more out of me because I could take advantage of my personal rhythms. Many companies are moving toward performance based work instead of presence based work.

8. Get enough rest
Without adequate rest it is difficult to concentrate and you will make needless mistakes. Keep a pad and pencil by your bed to jot down anything that comes into your mind so you do not dwell on it and you can rest more easily.

Try implementing these things for yourself and in your office. You will find that you save a lot of time and have higher morale and productivity. For more ways to improve your time management skills and productivity contact Priority Management.

 

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Time Management | The Art of Effective Time Management

Time management is incredibly important these days where we all have so many things to do, so many books to read, so much to study, so much you want to accomplish-and so little time!
You've heard the joke. "I try to take one day at a time, but lately several days have attacked at once."  Unfortunately sometimes, that's how it feels if you don't practice proper time management. There's so much to do and you're already burning the candle at both ends, yet you never seem to finish everything you set out to do, everything you need to do.

The Spanish have a proverb that says, "Time is short, but wide." That means we all have the same twenty-four hours each day; it's what we do with it that matters. So what do you do when there's so much demanding your attention and seemingly not enough time to get it all done?

First, in order to use your time wisely, it's essential to find out where you waste time. Maybe it's watching television or playing computer games, or even talking on the phone. If you work at home, you may find that well-meaning family and friends can waste a great deal of your working time. It's hard to make them understand that just because you work from home; it doesn't mean you are always available to them.

You need to prioritize those many tasks. Start by making a to-do list of the tasks that need to be done each day. Only include the essential, must be done by day's end, jobs. Don't waste time on the trivial tasks. Estimate how much time each job will require. Try not to under estimate, or you'll feel like you're running behind all day. However, be realistic about what you can achieve in the time given. Don't forget to allow for the unexpected; have a contingency plan. It's important to be flexible; don't get stressed out over interruptions in your schedule.

Focusing on your priorities is extremely important. It's easy to get sidetracked with other less important tasks. Try to tackle the most important or most difficult task early in the day, when your mind is at its energetic peak. You're rested and raring to go. Jump right in and get going. It's too easy to put off that uncomfortably difficult job, day after day. Procrastination then sets in and you're in trouble. Be honest and ask yourself this question. Is this something I absolutely have to do or need to do right now? If not, push it to one side for later or if it's important, but not urgent, delegate it to someone else.

For many tasks, small blocks of time will do. Fifteen minutes here, thirty minutes there, and you'd be surprised how much you can finish by day's end. Check off each task as you complete it. This will give you a wonderful sense of accomplishment.
Get yourself a Day Planner or pocket calendar, and start keeping track of your obligations, tasks, commitments and goals. Update it regularly. Each night, make your to-do list for the next day, so you know precisely what you'll be working on.

And remember what H. Jackson Brown, Jr. said. "Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo DaVinci, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein."

 

For more assistance with becoming more efficient and productivity contact Priority Management.

 

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Project Management | The Rising Need for Training

 

In today’s global marketplace, complexity and speed are essential factors to survive. If we try to have close look on different projects taking place in various corners of the world, they all are being initiated under tight budgets with fewer resources than ever before. Apart from this, project-based business is growing bigger and bigger every single day.

In last few years’ modern business are no longer based on just operations. More and more key business initiatives are now subject to a defined project plan, with specified deliverables and time constraints. These days every manager is expected to do more with less. In such an environment, a good saying for project management is, "Do It, Do It Right, and Do It Right Now." Creating clear directions, timely response and quality outcomes are the demand of current scenario. The art of project management has gradually changed and as a result of this today the art of effective project management requires a new type of skill base.

Project managers need to develop a new type of skill base. It’s very unfortunate that today accidental project managers' are on the rise. Moreover, it is estimated that almost 2/3 of employees in project manager roles lack the necessary guidance and understanding essential to accomplish successful projects. A recent survey conducted by independent research agency has shown that 58% of people surveyed agree that their projects rarely meet time, cost and quality targets. Accordingly the importance of project management training and certification is on the rise.

Project management is a critical role within a project that acts as the ‘glue’ in bringing diverse competencies together and coordinating the current of information between them. In fact it is the demand of present scenario and project manager must be able to play several functions including an advisor, a planner, a manager, and effective communicators and a businessperson. The challenge for the Project Manager consists of attracting the correct resources, shaping a solid team, keeping the team motivated, meeting individual aspirations and getting the work done - all within scope, cost, time, and customer satisfaction.

Thus project management training can help project managers understand the what, why, and how of the discipline. Apart from this, project management training also help these project managers in understanding:

• What are the fundamental skills project managers need to be effective and how to develop them
• Why business and project alignment is essential for project management success and how to get it.

The basic purpose of project management training is to educate and train project managers with the ability to foresee as many dangers and problems as possible and control activities so that the project is completed as successfully as possible in spite of all the risks.
Today, project management training has revolved around the benefits of a set framework of principles and various practices that are a part of effective project management. The result-oriented approach of effective project management training makes it easy for project managers to develop concepts of good project management and deliberately apply their knowledge into their projects.

If you are interested in increasing you skills in the Project Management arena, then Priority management can help.

 

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Project Management | Get the right mindset

 

Project management as a science and art is undergoing key transformations as a result of countless stories of failed projects, cost overruns, and cancelling that project that took 2 years of your employee's lives. Needless to say, these scenarios not only cost money, time, and lost opportunities, but also have a longer term impact on the overall morale of a workforce.  This article looks at the mindset you need to be as successful as possible in your Project Management.

Though there is no panacea to these inevitable outcomes, it's important to take a look back on the cornerstones that define effective and success-prone project management.

Ultimately project management like most disciplines, requires just that-discipline. This discipline of mindset far outweighs any single tool, or management fad with a catchy name. The PMBOK or The Project Management Body of Knowledge is a good reference guide to begin, refocus, or sharpen your project management mindset.

Here are some key attributes of the Project Manager mentality:

1. A solid understanding and vigilant re-education in the discipline, the science, and the are of project management and it's key knowledge and practice areas.

2. The experience and wherewithal to not attack a project with everything and the kitchen sink and instead being able to pick out the appropriate tools for improving implementation and the planning of the project.

3. Understand the dynamics of a team, and serve as the glue that holds the members together.

4. The ability to incorporate the new methodologies with the old on the fly.

5. People, People, People! A knack for understanding how to communicate effectively with your team members as it relates to project changes, overall progress, and transcribing the overall vision for the project throughout it's duration.

Overall the skills required to achieve the project manager mentality are: being flexible, possessing strong oral/written communications, the ability to think strategically and solve problems on your feet, team building and interpersonal skills, a sense of accountability for yourself and your team members, and finally the technical credibility to lead the project in question.

 

Priority Management can help you to develop a Project Management Mindset.

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