"If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend the first four sharpening the axe."
Abraham Lincoln
Finding time depends on Power-Planning. Power-Planning sharpens your capabilities by developing your focus. The bigger the project, the more time you save by planning ahead. Here's a quick guide that will facilitate your process.
Power-Planning Projects in 5 Quick Steps:
Ask yourself these questions & write down the answers:
- What items do you need on hand to get the job done?
Include what you need to remain comfortable and focused, so that you aren't constantly getting up for something you forgot. Create a base list you can reuse with modifications. When you gather the needed items beforehand, see if you can create a "kit" for supplies you can store together for easy retrieval.
- What online sites help you shop quickly for good value and quick delivery?
Dedicate a file in your browser for each big job. In your file, bookmark the best sites for future reference.
- What steps can you break the project into?
In your final breakdown of steps, separate activities into chunks that you can accomplish during a single work session. Include time for:
* Preparing your workspace.
* Breaks for stretching or something to eat or drink.
* Cleaning up afterwards,
* Reviewing your progress
* Revising future steps, if needed, and
* Outlining next day's tasks.
- How can you group activities to save time?
Brainstorm your list. Some items to consider are location, time of day, interruptions, making phone calls and gathering information.
- What's my top priority? What comes next?
As you assign priorities, have a calendar nearby to coordinate your action steps with your current commitments. When in doubt, schedule twice as much time as you think you'll need, and develop a contingency plan for using any pockets of free time that develop.
Great! Now you are ready to launch your project.
What is your next step in Power-Planning your day and finding quality time?
You will find expert guidance quickly with our free, twice-weekly Finding Time Tips. You are invited to sign up at http://www.findingtime.net/ezine.html
Each short Finding Time Tip is paired with a practical action step that you can use immediately to enhance your time effectiveness.
And as a bonus, you'll also receive our free, monthly Award-Winning Finding Time Ezine where we discuss the role of time in our lives. Offered by Paula Eder, Ph.D., The Time Finder.
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