Congratulations. You found it.

Further searching is not necessary.

THIS IS THE END. There is no more.

Didn’t you believe me?

If you’re still on this page scrolling down, you need to stop.

This is it. This is the end. This is the last page of the internet.

Quit scrolling!

You need to stop it right now.

This is not what you should be doing.

Go no further!

I mean it, STOP!

Get back to work NOW!

OK, I was just testing you.

That was not the . . . → Read More: The Last Page Of The Internet]]> This is the last page of the Internet.

Congratulations. You found it.

Further searching is not necessary.

THIS IS THE END. There is no more.

Didn’t you believe me?

If you’re still on this page scrolling down, you need to stop.

This is it. This is the end. This is the last page of the internet.

Quit scrolling!

You need to stop it right now.

This is not what you should be doing.

Go no further!

I mean it, STOP!

Get back to work NOW!

OK, I was just testing you.

That was not the real end.

This is the real end.

You couldn’t resist could you?

I can’t believe you’re still doing it.

Do you think you might be addicted to wasting your precious time

doing this kind of internet stuff? Really, THIS IS THE END.

You need to get back to work now.

Stop Now. I’m serious. You are way too compulsive about reading all this.

You have priority-setting issues. You need to learn to focus.

Don’t you see that you have a problem if you’re scrolling way down here?

Follow my advice and get back to work. You’ll feel better right away.

You obviously need help.

You shouldn’t be reading this far.

You really do have a problem.

Admit it and deal with it.

If you are still on this page you must be in denial about your problem.

You’ve got to face up to it and deal with it before it takes over all your time.

Reclaim what’s left of your life.

Stop scrolling right now and click here to improve your time management and get back into the Internet and learn to improve your time management skills.

There is nothing else after this. This is it.

This is the end of the last page of the Internet.

STOP IT!

Quit scrolling!

It must be obvious to you by now that you

REALLY, REALLY need help right away.

Your journey to find the end of the last page of the Internet is over.

You’ve finally found it, and now it’s time to move on.

I care about you.

Click here to get back into the Internet and get immediate help learning how to focus on your top priorities and improve your time management.

Quick Reference Cards are an exciting, learning tool to help you build you or your team’s time management skills. The cards summarize 27 of Peter “the Time Man” Turla’s high leverage time management strategies. Use a different card every day and learn how to get more done and have more free time.

Each of the 27 cards in the Quick Reference Cards deck focuses on one key goal (a mini-time-management lesson) and provides specific action steps to achieve it.

Here’s a suggested use for your team: Deal 3 or 4 cards to each team member. Each member then reviews his or her cards and selects one principle to share with the rest of the team. Members then describe how they relate to the ideas presented and how they’ll put them into practice.

The cards make self-improvement easy. They are a fun, easy way to stay motivated and inspired to practice powerful time management strategies. Simply place the whole deck into the convenient plastic case included with the deck, change the face card each day, and follow the lessons presented on the card.

Sample Quick Reference Card front side

Sample Quick Reference Card reverse side

CARD 1 (Front): . . . → Read More: Time Management Tips Quick Reference Cards]]> Time Management Tips Quick Reference Cards

Time Management Tips Quick Reference Cards are decks of 27 time management tips on flash cards

Quick Reference Cards are an exciting, learning tool to help you build you or your team’s time management skills. The cards summarize 27 of Peter “the Time Man” Turla’s high leverage time management strategies. Use a different card every day and learn how to get more done and have more free time.

Each of the 27 cards in the Quick Reference Cards deck focuses on one key goal (a mini-time-management lesson) and provides specific action steps to achieve it.

Here’s a suggested use for your team: Deal 3 or 4 cards to each team member. Each member then reviews his or her cards and selects one principle to share with the rest of the team. Members then describe how they relate to the ideas presented and how they’ll put them into practice.

The cards make self-improvement easy. They are a fun, easy way to stay motivated and inspired to practice powerful time management strategies. Simply place the whole deck into the convenient plastic case included with the deck, change the face card each day, and follow the lessons presented on the card.

There are 27 different cards in the deck.

Sample Quick Reference Card front side

Sample Quick Reference Card reverse side

Contents of Time Management Tips Quick Reference Cards

CARD 1 (Front): Ask, “What’s in it for Them?”

(Back): REINVENT YOUR JOB DAY

CARD 2 (Front): Get Do Nothing Time For Yourself

(Back): STRETCH YOUR THINKING TO BE MORE EFFECTIVE DAY

CARD 3 (Front): Respect the Balance of Your Business and Personal Life

(Back): NEW WAY TO CONTRIBUTE TO OTHERS DAY

CARD 4 (Front): Develop a Positive Mental Attitude

(Back): SEE TO-DO ITEMS AS OPPORTUNITIES DAY

CARD 5 (Front): Prevent “Maxing Out”

(Back): WORK ON YOUR NEGLECTED PRIORITY DAY

CARD 6 (Front): Focus on the Important Tasks

(Back): ORGANIZE YOUR DESK

CARD 7 (Front): Pay Attention to Your Intention

(Back): OVERCOME PROCRASTINATION DAY

CARD 8 (Front): Avoid the Monkey Trap

(Back): WHAT ACTIONS ARE MISSING? DAY

CARD 9 (Front): Motivate Yourself to Do it Anyway

(Back): SOLVE SMALL PROBLEMS BEFORE THEY’RE BIG ONES

CARD 10 (Front): Do a Brain Dump into a Planner

(Back): EMPTY YOUR BRAIN DAY

CARD 11 (Front): Avoid Paralysis of Analysis

(Back): MINIMIZE UNFINISHED BUSINESS DAY

CARD 12 (Front): The Second Mouse Gets the Cheese

(Back): REVIEW AND UPDATE YOUR GOALS DAY

CARD 13 (Front): Get Extraordinary Results using Kaizen

(Back): FEED YOUR ELEPHANTS DAY

CARD 14 (Front): Stop Waiting for the “Perfect” Time

(Back): DETERMINE YOUR KEY RESULT AREAS DAY

CARD 15 (Front): Ask, “Why Me?”

(Back): LEARN TO DELEGATE DAY

CARD 16 (Front): Make Your Goal To Be Early

(Back): IMPROVE YOUR TIME ESTIMATING SKILLS DAY

CARD 17 (Front): Stretch Your Comfort Zone

(Back): LIVE WITH NO REGRETS DAY

CARD 18 (Front): Ask, “Is This The Best Use Of My Time?”

(Back): LOOK BACK FROM YOUR FUTURE DAY

CARD 19 (Front): Schedule Meetings with Yourself

(Back): EAT AN ELEPHANT A BITE AT A TIME DAY

CARD 20 (Front): Prevent Perfection Paralysis

(Back): LEVERAGE YOUR TIME DAY

CARD 21 (Front): Whack the Side of Your Head

(Back): STAY FOCUSED DAY

CARD 22 (Front): Handle Postponed Decisions

(Back): IDENTIFY YOUR HIGH IMPACT PRIORITIES DAY

CARD 23 (Front): Make Yourself More Efficient and Effective

(Back): MAKE A TIME LOG DAY

CARD 24 (Front): Work Fewer Hours

(Back): USE INITIATIVE AND TAKE QUICK ACTION DAY

CARD 25 (Front): Determine the Minimum Effective Response

(Back): EXPRESS APPRECIATION TO OTHERS DAY

CARD 26 (Front): Take the First Small Step

(Back): DO CONTINGENCY PLANNING DAY

CARD 27 (Front): Determine What Fills Your Tank

(Back): GET OTHERS TO MEET YOUR DEADLINES DAY

ORDER YOUR TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS Quick Reference Cards TODAY!

Order now and we’ll rush your Quick Reference Cards to you so that you can start using them to teach yourself or others how to get more done in less time and gain more free time.

Each deck is $19.95 plus $1.88 shipping. Free shipping plus 10% discount on orders of 12 or more.

For more details, call the National Management Institute on 1(817) 491-9681

To order 12 sets of cards or more.

To order single sets of cards.

You can also use this as a time managment game by having all your team time themselves and find out who can complete this time management crossword puzzle in the fastest time. The winner gets to go home early.

Your privacy is important to us. To better protect your privacy we provide this notice explaining our online information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used. To make this notice easy to find, we make it available on our homepage and at every point where personally identifiable information may be requested.

Collection of Personal Information

When visiting Time Management Made Easy, the IP address used to access the site will be logged along with the dates and times of access. This information is purely used to analyze trends, administer the site, track users movement and gather broad demographic information for internal use. Most importantly, any recorded IP addresses are not linked to personally identifiable information.

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The contents of this statement may be altered at any time, at our discretion.

If you have any questions regarding the privacy policy of  Time Management Made Easy then you may contact us via our contact page.

Make sure you check out our range of personally recommended time management products to enhance your time management skills.

Click here to view the full details of the above time management products

Want to read faster?

Use AceReader to:

1. Assess your current reading level;

2. Improve your reading speed and comprehension, both online and offline; and

3.  Help you read faster while on the computer, by utilizing special display modes.

Click here for your FREE trial copy of the Ace Reader Speed Reading Software

Save hours every day by becoming a speed reader. Learn to read fast and remember what you read.

This speeding reading strategies guide, is based on a time-tested and highly popular course by speeding reading expert, Kathleen Hawkins.

It will help you to be a faster, more effective speed reader.

Click here to download your copy of the Speed Reading Strategies Guide.

These quick reference cards are an exciting learning tool to help you build you or your team’s time management skills. The cards summarize 27 of Peter “the Time Man” Turla’s high leverage time management strategies. Use a different card every day and learn how to get more done and have more free time.

Each of the 27 cards in the card deck focuses on one key goal (a mini-time-management lesson) and provides specific action steps to achieve it. Simply place the whole deck into the convenient plastic case . . . → Read More: Time Management Resources]]> Time Management Products

This is our selection of the best time management resources and products to increase your personal and professional effectiveness.

SPEED READING SOFTWARE

Want to read faster?

Use AceReader to:

1. Assess your current reading level;

2. Improve your reading speed and comprehension, both online and offline; and

3.  Help you read faster while on the computer, by utilizing special display modes.

Click here for your FREE trial copy of the Ace Reader Speed Reading Software

SPEED READING STRATEGIES

Save hours every day by becoming a speed reader. Learn to read fast and remember what you read.

This speeding reading strategies guide, is based on a time-tested and highly popular course by speeding reading expert, Kathleen Hawkins.

It will help you to be a faster, more effective speed reader.

Click here to download your copy of the Speed Reading Strategies Guide.

TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS QUICK REFERENCE CARDS

These quick reference cards are an exciting learning tool to help you build you or your team’s time management skills. The cards summarize 27 of Peter “the Time Man” Turla’s high leverage time management strategies. Use a different card every day and learn how to get more done and have more free time.

Each of the 27 cards in the card deck focuses on one key goal (a mini-time-management lesson) and provides specific action steps to achieve it. Simply place the whole deck into the convenient plastic case included with the deck, change the face card each day, and follow the lessons presented on the card.

Click here for more details about the Time Management Tips Quick Reference Cards

PETER’S LAW POSTER: The Creed of the Sociopathic, Obsessive-Compulsive, Time Manager

Hang this poster on your wall and remind yourself and others of classic time-management concepts that any obsessive-compulsive person would love.

22 x 28 inches. Usually ships in: 24 hours.

Click here to order this poster from AllPosters.com

Time management involves keeping track of time.  This page is devoted to understanding our historical quest to better manage our time by keeping track of it and knowing what the current time is.

TimeandDate.com has a variety of information that is time and date related, such as yearly and monthly calendars, counters, countdown, and a world clock which shows current time in cities all over the world.

TimeandDate.com

Learn more about time by visiting the on-line time exhibit of the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.

Museum of Science and Industry Time Exhibit

Find out about the evolution of time measurement through the ages.

A Walk Through Time

What’s inside your wristwatch? Learn how your quartz watch works.

Smithsonian Keeping Time Exhibit

Why is Clock Time so Important? On Time explores the changing ways we’ve measured, used, and thought about time over the past three hundred years. Visit the On Time Exhibit at Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History

On Time – How America has learned to live by the clock

The National Watch and Clock Museum

Clock Museum

Calendars used throughout the world

Calendars Thru The Ages

In my time management presentations I sometimes use the following story to make a point about staying focused on the objective you’ve set out to accomplish:

I saw my new neighbor, Ed, putting one of his dogs into the back of his pickup truck. I went over and asked Ed what he was up to. He said he was going hunting for quail and needed the dog to help him find where the birds are hiding and point them out. I asked why he used this older, slower dog and not Harley, his younger, more energetic dog.

He said, “Harley is younger and faster, and loves to go hunting, but when we get out there in the brush, he forgets his job is to point out the birds to me. Whenever a rabbit flushes out and starts to run, Harley hauls off and chases after him and that’s the end of my quail hunting for a while. A good bird dog knows to let the rabbit go and keep pointing out the birds. Harley has never learned that.”

Do you have the rabbit-chasing syndrome? Are you like Harley? Do you start on one thing and then find yourself getting sidetracked?

Instead of getting sidetracked by the latest or most interesting priority, learn to stay focused on your main objective. Ask yourself, “Is what I am about to do, going . . . → Read More: Time Management Tips – The Bird Dog Who Chased Rabbits]]> Time Management Tips – The Bird Dog Who Chased Rabbits

By Peter Turla, timeman.com

In my time management presentations I sometimes use the following story to make a point about staying focused on the objective you’ve set out to accomplish:

I saw my new neighbor, Ed, putting one of his dogs into the back of his pickup truck. I went over and asked Ed what he was up to. He said he was going hunting for quail and needed the dog to help him find where the birds are hiding and point them out. I asked why he used this older, slower dog and not Harley, his younger, more energetic dog.

He said, “Harley is younger and faster, and loves to go hunting, but when we get out there in the brush, he forgets his job is to point out the birds to me. Whenever a rabbit flushes out and starts to run, Harley hauls off and chases after him and that’s the end of my quail hunting for a while. A good bird dog knows to let the rabbit go and keep pointing out the birds. Harley has never learned that.”

Do you have the rabbit-chasing syndrome? Are you like Harley? Do you start on one thing and then find yourself getting sidetracked?

Instead of getting sidetracked by the latest or most interesting priority, learn to stay focused on your main objective. Ask yourself, “Is what I am about to do, going to contribute to what I’ve set out to accomplish today?” Learn to stay focused and follow through on your most important priority.

You may copy, reprint or forward all or part of this Time Tips article to friends, colleagues or customers,
as long as you credit the information to Peter “The Time Man” Turla, TimeMan.com

Americans are busier than ever before. We have a work ethic that makes us feel guilty if we are not being “productive.” To appeal to the needs of my time management seminar participants to be more productive, I explain to them that if they take more time for themselves they will actually be more productive in the long run and they will avoid burnout.

“Parkinson’s Law” states that work expands to fill the time allotted to its completion. I often suggest to everyone attending my time management session that they pretend they’re in a car pool.

The idea is to have a specific goal for when you’re going to quit for the day. Otherwise you get into an “I can always stay late and get it done” mode of working. After awhile you have to stay late to get things done because you get sloppy and unfocused with your priority setting.

By pretending you have to catch your car-pool ride home, you’ll force yourself to rethink what you’re doing and focus on the truly important items. The bonus is you get home at a decent hour and have more time for your personal life.

Remember the old saying: “If you win the rat race, you’re still a rat.”

You may copy, reprint or forward all or part of this Time Tips article to friends, colleagues or . . . → Read More: Time Management Tips – Work Fewer Hours and Be More Productive]]> Time Management Tips – Work Fewer Hours and Be More Productive

By Peter Turla, timeman.com

Americans are busier than ever before. We have a work ethic that makes us feel guilty if we are not being “productive.” To appeal to the needs of my time management seminar participants to be more productive, I explain to them that if they take more time for themselves they will actually be more productive in the long run and they will avoid burnout.

“Parkinson’s Law” states that work expands to fill the time allotted to its completion. I often suggest to everyone attending my time management session that they pretend they’re in a car pool.

The idea is to have a specific goal for when you’re going to quit for the day. Otherwise you get into an “I can always stay late and get it done” mode of working. After awhile you have to stay late to get things done because you get sloppy and unfocused with your priority setting.

By pretending you have to catch your car-pool ride home, you’ll force yourself to rethink what you’re doing and focus on the truly important items. The bonus is you get home at a decent hour and have more time for your personal life.

Remember the old saying: “If you win the rat race, you’re still a rat.”

You may copy, reprint or forward all or part of this Time Tips article to friends, colleagues or customers,
as long as you credit the information to Peter “The Time Man” Turla, TimeMan.com

As a former rocket scientist, I find this quote to be very inspiring: “If humankind could spend just a fraction of the countless millions of dollars and millions of hours we spend trying to predict the future, instead on imagining preferred future options together, we’d be living in a different world.” – Ed Lindaman, Director of Program Planning, Apollo Spacecraft Project.

Lindaman is referring to a technique called “Backcasting.” It can be a useful way to gain insight into what your top priorities should be today.

Try it out right now.  Think of some important aspect of your future where you’d like to gain a better sense of direction.  Rather than forecasting from today’s trends, picture what your ideal situation would look like if you could have it any way that you wanted, in other words, imagine a preferred future option.

Now pretend you’re in that ideal situation. Where are you, what is going on, what are you doing?

Look back to the present from that preferred future point of view and ask, “What significant steps would have to have happened to get from there to where I am now in my ideal future?”

When you write those steps down and set priorities on them, you’ll have your action plan for building a successful future for yourself.

Which priorities will have been the most significant for you . . . → Read More: Time Management Tips – Setting Priorities to Change Your Life]]> Time Management Tips – Setting Priorities to Change Your Life

By Peter Turla, timeman.com

As a former rocket scientist, I find this quote to be very inspiring: “If humankind could spend just a fraction of the countless millions of dollars and millions of hours we spend trying to predict the future, instead on imagining preferred future options together, we’d be living in a different world.” – Ed Lindaman, Director of Program Planning, Apollo Spacecraft Project.

Lindaman is referring to a technique called “Backcasting.” It can be a useful way to gain insight into what your top priorities should be today.

Try it out right now.  Think of some important aspect of your future where you’d like to gain a better sense of direction.  Rather than forecasting from today’s trends, picture what your ideal situation would look like if you could have it any way that you wanted, in other words, imagine a preferred future option.

Now pretend you’re in that ideal situation. Where are you, what is going on, what are you doing?

Look back to the present from that preferred future point of view and ask, “What significant steps would have to have happened to get from there to where I am now in my ideal future?”

When you write those steps down and set priorities on them, you’ll have your action plan for building a successful future for yourself.

Which priorities will have been the most significant for you to have accomplished to achieve your ideal week, month, year, and life?

“Backcasting” one week from now? ………………………………………………..

“Backcasting” one month from now? ………………………………………………..

“Backcasting” one year from now? ………………………………………………..

“Backcasting” five years from now? ………………………………………………..

“Backcasting” from near the end of your life? …………………………………….

“First say to yourself what you would be; and then what you would have to do.” – Epictetus

You may copy, reprint or forward all or part of this Time Tips article to friends, colleagues or customers,
as long as you credit the information to Peter “The Time Man” Turla, TimeMan.com

To manage your time well, it’s critical to make wise choices when you set priorities; but that can be a major challenge, especially when everything seems like a top priority.

In crises situations, you might be tempted to give top priority to the person who’s yelling the loudest, to whatever is at the top of the pile, or to the item you can finish the fastest. When you’re in a hurry, it’s best to slow down. A few seconds of thinking about where to invest your time could save you hours of misdirected time.

When you set priorities here are some criteria that can help you to sort things out.

All things being equal focus on:

You may copy, reprint or forward all or part of this Time Tips article . . . → Read More: Time Management Tips For Setting Priorities]]> Time Management Tips For Setting Priorities

By Peter Turla, timeman.com

To manage your time well, it’s critical to make wise choices when you set priorities; but that can be a major challenge, especially when everything seems like a top priority.

In crises situations, you might be tempted to give top priority to the person who’s yelling the loudest, to whatever is at the top of the pile, or to the item you can finish the fastest. When you’re in a hurry, it’s best to slow down. A few seconds of thinking about where to invest your time could save you hours of misdirected time.

When you set priorities here are some criteria that can help you to sort things out.

All things being equal focus on:

• Opportunity

• The future, not the past

• The return on the invested time

• Priorities that support your values

• Long-term fixes rather than the “quick fix.”

• Problem preventing rather than problem solving

• System-wide solutions rather than a local solution

• High-impact priorities that matter to a lot of people

• Breakthroughs rather than perfecting the status quo

• Feeding your elephants (big important stuff) and starving the ants (trivia)

• Making wise choices when you set priorities is the key to managing your time well. Using the above criteria should help you to identify what is truly important.

You may copy, reprint or forward all or part of this Time Tips article to friends, colleagues or customers,
as long as you credit the information to Peter “The Time Man” Turla, TimeMan.com

If you live by e-mail, it’s easy to die by e-mail. E-mail fatalities come in many forms, and one of the most common is drowning. These “Top-15″ e-mail Time Management Tips from Peter Turla will help you stay afloat and swimming in the right direction through that flood of messages vying for your attention.

Keep your “business” e-mailbox as lean as possible. Create electronic folders so you have a place to keep messages sorted by subject. Plan your filing. Don’t just create a new folder for every detail or use your In-box or “Sent Mail” as a huge miscellaneous file or everything will run together and get out of hand. File messages according to subject, key word, or author, and then move incoming, related messages into the respective folders. This will keep things neat and organized.

Here is a “Top-20″ list of Email tips that my time management seminar participants came up with during a brainstorming session. Keep these ideas in mind whenever you’re writing and sending e-mail.

1. If it’s appropriate, insert “No Reply Needed” in the “Subject” line or the opening of your e-mail. This can reduce the number of return e-mails that you receive.

2. Use pre-written responses to frequently asked questions or requests for information, such as directions, fee schedules, or “how-to” guidelines. Then cut-and-paste your replies.

3. Do a spell check before you send important e-mail.

4. Put enough details in the subject line so that recipients know right away what your e-mail is about, such as “Remember the team project meeting next week, 9/25.”

5. Have one e-mail per subject. People often respond to your first and last questions, but overlook or forget the others, so keep things simple. Use one e-mail to address the meeting reminder, for example, another the company picnic, and another the status of a particular report. Recipients can respond accordingly as they have the time and the necessary information.

6. Be aware that when you send e-mail, it could be forwarded to others and read by people you didn’t intend to see it.

7. A phone call is sometimes faster and easier than sending lots of back and forth emails.

8. If a person asks . . . → Read More: Time Management Tips For Email]]> Top 20 Time Management Tips For Dealing With Email

Here is a “Top-20″ list of Email tips that my time management seminar participants came up with during a brainstorming session. Keep these ideas in mind whenever you’re writing and sending e-mail.

1. If it’s appropriate, insert “No Reply Needed” in the “Subject” line or the opening of your e-mail. This can reduce the number of return e-mails that you receive.

2. Use pre-written responses to frequently asked questions or requests for information, such as directions, fee schedules, or “how-to” guidelines. Then cut-and-paste your replies.

3. Do a spell check before you send important e-mail.

4. Put enough details in the subject line so that recipients know right away what your e-mail is about, such as “Remember the team project meeting next week, 9/25.”

5. Have one e-mail per subject. People often respond to your first and last questions, but overlook or forget the others, so keep things simple. Use one e-mail to address the meeting reminder, for example, another the company picnic, and another the status of a particular report. Recipients can respond accordingly as they have the time and the necessary information.

6. Be aware that when you send e-mail, it could be forwarded to others and read by people you didn’t intend to see it.

7. A phone call is sometimes faster and easier than sending lots of back and forth emails.

8. If a person asks a series of questions in an original, reply by quoting each question (or enough of the question to make the context clear) and then put your answer after it. Do this by cutting out parts of the original message and inserting answers or other remarks at appropriate places.

9. Alert recipients if you’re going to send a huge file so they know that it might take a while to download or use a service like YouSendit.com.

10. If you forward a message, put your comments at the top rather than at the end.

11. Just reply to the sender, rather than to everyone on the sender’s list unless there’s a good reason to respond to everyone.

12. Don’t overuse capital letters or punctuation marks or you’ll appear MELODRAMATIC!!

13. If you don’t want everyone in a group to see each other’s e-mail addresses, send the e-mail as a blind copy (BCC).

14. Get an author’s permission before sending his or her personal e-mail to others. Then include the author’s name and any necessary copyright information.

15. Avoid using acronyms, such as BTW (by the way), IMHO (in my humble opinion), NRN (no reply necessary), or FWIW (for what it’s worth), which some of your readers might not understand.

16. Avoid sending emoticons. Not all your recipients will know what it means.

17. Avoid using fancy text, such as italics, bold print, and colors, which might not translate well to your recipient’s screen. These devices might appear as programming codes on your recipient’s screen.

18. If you have a choice to send information as text or in HTML format, stick to the text format.

19. Prepare long attachments for easy reading by breaking up long passages of text with subtitles.

20. If you spend a lot of time on the computer, rest your eyes frequently with a “far focus” technique: look as far away from yourself as possible (out a window, across the room, or down the hall). If you can’t do that, try closing your eyes for a minute or two.

Question: Peter Turla, you’re a time management expert who advises us to set priorities on the things we want to get done, but don’t most of us routinely set priorities on our activities?

Answer: Yes, most people do set priorities, but they give high priority to the wrong things–to items that are quick and easy to get done.

Question: So what’s the right way to set priorities?

Answer: The key is to ask, “How does this activity fit in with my long term objectives and where I want to go with a particular project or with my career or my life?”

Often we lose track of the overall direction we should take and we just ask, “What is something fast and easy that I can get done so I can cross it off my To-do List?” or “What is the most urgent, the next most urgent, and what can wait?”

The items we think can wait are often the things that would have a significant payoff for us, perhaps not immediately, but in the future.

Unfortunately those are the items that get put on the back burner. Important things are not always urgent and urgent things are not always important.

Question: What is the most common mistake people make when they set priorities?

Answer: They delay long-range planning in place of solving immediate, but insignificant problems.

People who do this find that their entire . . . → Read More: Time Management Tips For Getting Results]]> Time Management Tips For Getting Results

Question: Peter Turla, you’re a time management expert who advises us to set priorities on the things we want to get done, but don’t most of us routinely set priorities on our activities?

Answer: Yes, most people do set priorities, but they give high priority to the wrong things–to items that are quick and easy to get done.

Question: So what’s the right way to set priorities?

Answer: The key is to ask, “How does this activity fit in with my long term objectives and where I want to go with a particular project or with my career or my life?”

Often we lose track of the overall direction we should take and we just ask, “What is something fast and easy that I can get done so I can cross it off my To-do List?” or “What is the most urgent, the next most urgent, and what can wait?”

The items we think can wait are often the things that would have a significant payoff for us, perhaps not immediately, but in the future.

Unfortunately those are the items that get put on the back burner. Important things are not always urgent and urgent things are not always important.

Question: What is the most common mistake people make when they set priorities?

Answer: They delay long-range planning in place of solving immediate, but insignificant problems.

People who do this find that their entire day is cluttered with a lot of small projects and small decisions. The things that sometimes don’t get done are major items, such as long-range planning and important backburner projects.

Don’t confuse activity with accomplishment.

Many people concentrate on what I call “ant stomping” when they should concentrate on “elephant hunting.” When you focus on stomping ants you confuse activity with accomplishment.

You’re going for the small insignificant tasks that are easy to do. They can be done quickly, so you give yourself the illusion that you’re really accomplishing a lot, when in actuality you’re getting further and further behind because you’re overlooking the elephant hunting.

Question: Can you be more specific about what you mean by elephant hunting?

Answer: Elephant hunting means to pursue significant projects that have long-term payoffs for you. If you’re busy stomping ants all day long, you might not even be aware that you’re totally ignoring some of your elephants.

Question: What kind of activities do you define as “stomping on ants”?

Answer: Constantly being busy dealing with minor interruptions, for example, or spending time reading lots of relatively unimportant emails. If these kinds of activities distract you and keep you from working on higher payoff activities, you’re “stomping ants.”

Question: But there are urgent matters that have to be attended to. Doesn’t devoting time to taking the long-range view distract from such day-to-day demands?

Answer: Solving problems is “fire fighting.” You’d be better off in the long run figuring out how to prevent fires in the first place instead of constantly reacting to problems. Preventing fires puts us ahead of the game–and saves us time.

If people tell me, “I don’t have time to plan properly,” I tell them that, if you don’t have time to plan, that’s all the more reason you should make the time because planning actually creates more time for you in the long run.

If you don’t take time to get organized, plan, and develop good time-management habits, you’ll always be playing the catch up game. Lack of planning is a big waste of time.

Many people have “train wrecks” that happen in slow motion. The wreck is easily predictable–and preventable–if you take time to look way down the track.

Question: What if it’s hard to plan your day because lots of unexpected things always come up?

Answer: If that’s the case, then expect the unexpected. Set some time aside during the day to deal with the unexpected.

Question: What techniques do you recommend for carrying out your advice?

Answer: Everyone should have a To-do List and set priorities on each item based on the significance of completing each item. Many people prioritize items based on what’s most urgent and what’s next most urgent. Instead, I suggest that you answer, “What are the most significant items on my To-do List in terms of my overall long-term objectives?”

I personally put a number “1″ next to my high-payoff items, a number “2″ next to medium-payoff items, and a number “3″ next to low-payoff items. Then I go back over the list and put high priorities on my most high-payoff items.

Low payoff items should be put off, delegated, or ignored. Then devote the time you save to working on the big important stuff–the elephants on your list.

Question: What tips do you have on how to develop the discipline to do this?

Answer: Break high-payoff projects into sub-tasks and devote some time each day to work on at least one of those sub-tasks. Or break it down into simple pieces so others can help you with parts of it.

Each day put an elephant, or a piece of an elephant, on your To-do List and then do it. That way you make progress on something significant every day.

Question: Are there other common mistakes we make when setting priorities?

Answer: Many people think in terms of being efficient.

One of the things I emphasize in my time-management seminars is to focus on being effective rather than simply being more efficient.  Being efficient is getting something done fast, while being effective is getting the right thing done. It’s better to do the right thing slowly than the wrong thing quickly.

Imagine you’re walking down the street, for example, and you had a hundred $1.00 bills and two $100 bills in your hands and a whirlwind came along and blew them out of your grasp. What would be your strategy to get the money back?

If it’d be to pick up the bills closest to you and work your way toward the rest, you’d save steps–you’d be efficient.

But if your strategy would be to try to get the hundreds first, you’d be effective.

Question: How do people who use your priority-setting advice find that it works for them?

Answer: Most people who follow my advice save an hour or more a day. By working smarter, not harder, they feel a greater sense of progress, accomplishment, and fulfilment–and less stress–because they achieve their important goals and priorities.

You may copy, reprint or forward all or part of this Time Tips article to friends, colleagues or customers,
as long as you credit the information to  TimeMan.com

The time management skills and disciplines that you develop as a student can help you for the rest of your life.  Here are some tips to help you develop good time management skills.

1. Study at the same time each day so that it becomes a habit.

2. Plan for weekly reviews.

3. Set aside blocks of study time (about 45 minutes each).

4. Keep your study area just for studying and get rid of distractions.

5. Write down assignments in every class including the DUE DATE and then “check off” items as you complete them.

6. Take advantage of “open time windows.”

· Use the time you spend waiting, walking, riding, etc. to review what you’ve learned.

· Just before class, quickly review your notes or readings relating to that class.

1. Set up a school-year calendar to get a big picture of your semester–don’t include too much detail at this point.

2. Schedule your fixed commitments. Block out time for papers, projects, readings, meetings, scheduled exams, holidays, breaks, presentations, etc.

3. Make a Weekly Schedule. Once a week block out time on a more detailed level for important commitments and . . . → Read More: Time Management Tips For Students]]> Time Management Tips For Students

The time management skills and disciplines that you develop as a student can help you for the rest of your life.  Here are some tips to help you develop good time management skills.

A. Create good study habits

1. Study at the same time each day so that it becomes a habit.

2. Plan for weekly reviews.

3. Set aside blocks of study time (about 45 minutes each).

4. Keep your study area just for studying and get rid of distractions.

5. Write down assignments in every class including the DUE DATE and then “check off” items as you complete them.

6. Take advantage of “open time windows.”

· Use the time you spend waiting, walking, riding, etc. to review what you’ve learned.

· Just before class, quickly review your notes or readings relating to that class.

B. Plan Properly for Peak Performance

1. Set up a school-year calendar to get a big picture of your semester–don’t include too much detail at this point.

2. Schedule your fixed commitments. Block out time for papers, projects, readings, meetings, scheduled exams, holidays, breaks, presentations, etc.

• Allot time for planned recreation, sports, club activities, etc.
• Enter important dates for your social and family life.
• Leave free time for yourself so you have flexibility.

3. Make a Weekly Schedule. Once a week block out time on a more detailed level for important commitments and deadlines you need to meet. Schedule meetings with yourself to work on back-burner items.

4. Make a Daily To-Do List. At the end of each day organize and schedule your next day. Include routines, errands, and study time.

C. Follow your plan

1. Don’t let peer pressure or the quest for short-term gratification dictate what you consider important.

2. Focus on the goals you’ve set for yourself and follow up on your true top priorities.

3. Align your priorities with your long-term values and goals.

D. Set priorities: There’s always more to do than you have time for determine top priority

1. How to Determine Your Top Priority

a. What positive things might happen if you make something a top priority?

b. What negative things might happen if you don’t make something a top priority?

c. Taking the following into account, what should your top priority be?

1. How good or bad are the best and the worst things that might happen?

2. What are the probabilities of the best and the worst thing happening?

3. How much time and energy would you have to invest?

E. Overcome procrastination

Without a date, you’ll procrastinate. Whenever you get an assignment, set a goal for when you’re going to start it so you can finish without a last minute panic.

1. Once you’re given a due date on an assignment, count backwards from the due date to establish a start date. Take into account time you’ll be spending on other items like social events, sports, etc. Refer to your school calendar where you’ve blocked out time you’ve committed to other things.

2. Keep stress to a minimum. Start early to avoid a frantic finish.

3. If you usually wait until the last minute to study or work on an assignment, instead of making your goal to finish on time, make your goal to finish early.

4. Remember the riddle, “How do you eat an elephant?”  The answer: “A bite at a time.”

If it’s a big assignment, break it into small steps.

F. Look Back From the Future

Things that appear critically important today might seem relatively unimportant when you view them from a future perspective. Also, things that appear to be relatively unimportant today might be very important when you view them from a future perspective.

Looking back from the future–”backcasting” instead of forecasting–which items will have been the most significant for you to have accomplished to achieve your ideal week, month, year, and life?

“Backcasting” one week from now? ………………………………………………..

“Backcasting” one month from now? ………………………………………………..

“Backcasting” one year from now? ………………………………………………….

“Backcasting” five years from now? ………………………………………………..

“Backcasting” from near the end of your life? …………………………………….

School represents a time in your life that may have a major impact on how the rest of your life turns out. Keep that in perspective so that the daily decisions you make are wise ones.

You may copy, reprint or forward all or part of this time tips article to friends, colleagues or customers,
as long as you credit the information to TimeMan.com

Here are some helpful time management tips you can use to better manage your next project:

1. Start with the desired end result in mind.

2. Write a statement describing the completed project.

1.You can’t do a project. You can only do tasks.Starting with your end result, keep answering the question,”What has to happen for that to happen?”

2. List the required action steps and put them in the right sequence.

1. Generally no task duration should exceed two weeks. If it does, look for sub-tasks that can be accomplished within a two-week time frame.

2. Have enough planning details to show the reality of what’s going to happen in the project. Don’t overdo it, however, because too many details mean too much time and effort spent updating the plan.

1. A project is controlled by its scarcest commodity. Identify if the project is schedule or resource driven.

2. If it’s schedule driven, identify and carefully monitor the critical path. The critical path is the time path that will take the longest to complete.

3. Clarify when you’re working with optimistic, pessimistic, or most-likely time estimates.

4. If the project is resource driven, know in advance where the bottlenecks will occur.

1. . . . → Read More: Time Management For Projects]]> Time Management For Projects

Here are some helpful time management tips you can use to better manage your next project:

PLAN BACKWARDS

1. Start with the desired end result in mind.

2. Write a statement describing the completed project.

DIVIDE THE PROJECT INTO A SERIES OF SMALL TASKS

1.You can’t do a project. You can only do tasks.Starting with your end result, keep answering the question,”What has to happen for that to happen?”

2. List the required action steps and put them in the right sequence.

PLAN THE DETAILS

1. Generally no task duration should exceed two weeks. If it does, look for sub-tasks that can be accomplished within a two-week time frame.

2. Have enough planning details to show the reality of what’s going to happen in the project. Don’t overdo it, however, because too many details mean too much time and effort spent updating the plan.

IDENTIFY POTENTIAL TROUBLE SPOTS

1. A project is controlled by its scarcest commodity. Identify if the project is schedule or resource driven.

2. If it’s schedule driven, identify and carefully monitor the critical path. The critical path is the time path that will take the longest to complete.

3. Clarify when you’re working with optimistic, pessimistic, or most-likely time estimates.

4. If the project is resource driven, know in advance where the bottlenecks will occur.

USE GRAPHICS TO EXPLAIN AND PERSUADE

1. Use graphics to communicate the big picture

2. Show people how their part of the project contributes to the whole.

You may copy, reprint or forward all or part of this time tips article to friends, colleagues or customers,
as long as you credit the information to TimeMan.com

“Time is a great healer, but a poor beautician.” – Lucille S. Harper

“Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.” – Earl Nightingale

“I am definitely going to take a course on time management… just as soon as I can work it into my schedule.” – Louis E. Boone

“You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it.” – Charles Buxton

“Those who make the worst of their time most complain about its shortness.” – La Bruyere

“Nothing is ours except Time” – Geothe

“He who gains time gains everything.” – Benjamin Disraeli

“Time is money.” – Benjamin Franklin

“You delay, but time will not.” – Benjamin Franklin

“Time lost is never found again.” – Benjamin Franklin

“Be mindful of how you approach time. Watching the clock is not the same as watching the sun rise.” – Sophia Bedford-Pierce

“Living your life without a plan is like watching television with someone else holding the remote control.” – Peter Turla

“It’s better to do the right thing slowly than the wrong thing quickly.” – Peter Turla

“Managing multiple projects is like being the parent of a large family that you have . . . → Read More: Time Management Quotes and Sayings]]> Time Management Quotes and Sayings

“Time is a great healer, but a poor beautician.” – Lucille S. Harper

“Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.” – Earl Nightingale

“I am definitely going to take a course on time management… just as soon as I can work it into my schedule.” – Louis E. Boone

“You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it.” – Charles Buxton

“Those who make the worst of their time most complain about its shortness.” – La Bruyere

“Nothing is ours except Time” – Geothe

“He who gains time gains everything.” – Benjamin Disraeli

“Time is money.” – Benjamin Franklin

“You delay, but time will not.” – Benjamin Franklin

“Time lost is never found again.” – Benjamin Franklin

“Be mindful of how you approach time. Watching the clock is not the same as watching the sun rise.” – Sophia Bedford-Pierce

“Living your life without a plan is like watching television with someone else holding the remote control.” – Peter Turla

“It’s better to do the right thing slowly than the wrong thing quickly.” – Peter Turla

“Managing multiple projects is like being the parent of a large family that you have to feed. Each aspect of your job can be like another child that needs nurturing. You can’t neglect any one of the ‘children’ and expect to have a healthy family.” – Peter Turla

“Everything requires time. It is the only truly universal condition. All work takes place in time and uses up time. Yet most people take for granted this unique, irreplaceable, and necessary resource. Nothing else, perhaps, distinguishes effective executives as much as their tender loving care of time.” – Peter F. Drucker

“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.” – Peter F. Drucker

“Once you have mastered time, you will understand how true it is that most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year — and underestimate what they can achieve in a decade!” – Anthony Robbins

“Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no laziness, no procrastination; Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” – Lord Chesterfield

“Since time is the one immaterial object which we cannot influence — neither speed up nor slow down, add to nor diminish — it is an imponderably valuable gift. Each of us has a few minutes a day or a few hours a week which we could donate to an old folks home or a children’s hospital ward. The elderly whose pillows we plump or whose water pitchers we refill may or may not thank us for our gift, but the gift is upholding the foundation of the universe.” – Maya Angelou

“Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that’s the stuff that life is made of.” – Benjamin Franklin

“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” – Michael Altshuler

“Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” – C. Northcote Parkinson

“If it weren’t for the last minute, a lot of things wouldn’t get done.” – Michael S. Traylor

“All the flowers of all of the tomorrows are in the seeds of today.”- Chinese Proverb

“You can’t catch one hog when you’re chasing two.” – Moe Schaffer

“Ordinary people think merely how they will spend their time, a man of intellect tries to use it.” – Schopenhauer

“Take a rest. A field that has rested yields a beautiful crop.”- Roman poet Ovid

“Money is a wonderful thing, but it is possible to pay too high a price for it.” – Alexander Bloch, American conductor

“There is more to life than increasing its speed.”- Mohandas K. Gandhi

“The most important question to ask on the job is not “What am I getting?

“The most important question to ask is “What am I becoming?”- Jim Rohn

“We can no more afford to spend major time on minor things than we can to spend minor time on major things.” – Jim Rohn

“The worst days of those who enjoy what they do are better than the best days of those who don’t.” – Jim Rohn

“You must get good at one of two things. Planting in the spring or begging in the fall.”- Jim Rohn

“Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save.”- Will Rogers

“I made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter.” – Pascal, Provincial Letters XVI

“Crash programs fail because they are based on the theory that, with nine women pregnant, you can get a baby a month.” – Wernher von Braun

“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” – Will Rogers

“I was part of that strange race of people aptly described as spending their lives doing things they detest to make money they don’t want to buy things they don’t need to impress people they dislike.” – Emile Henry Gauvreay

“If you win the rat race, you’re still a rat.” – Lily Tomlin

“The cost of a thing is the amount of what I call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run.” – Henry David Thoreau

“Do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress.” – Alfred A. Montapert

“I recommend to you to take care of the minutes; for hours will take care of themselves.” – Lord Chesterfield

“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do.” – Helen Keller

“Time is the substance from which I am made. Time is a river which carries me along, but I am the river; it is a tiger that devours me, but I am the tiger; it is a fire that consumes me, but I am the fire” – Jorge Luis Borges

“It is better to have lived one day as a tiger than a thousand years as a sheep.” – Tibetan saying

“Live each day as if it be your last.” – Marcus Aurelius, 140 AD

“Never leave till tomorrow that which you can do today.” – Benjamin Franklin

“He does not seem to me to be a free man who does not sometimes do nothing.” – Cicero

“The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.” – Bertrand Russell

“In an organization, each person rises to the level of his own incompetence.”- Laurence Peter

“Never fight with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig enjoys it!” – General Abrahm’s Pig Law

“Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save.” – Will Rogers

“Focused action beats brilliance” – Mark Sanborn

“There is a time in the life of every problem when it is big enough to see, yet small enough to solve.” – Mike Leavitt

“Be willing to make decisions. That’s the most important quality in a good leader. Don’t fall victim to what I call the “ready – aim – aim – aim – aim syndrome. You must be willing to fire. ” – T. Boone Pickens

“Start by doing what’s necessary, then what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” – St Francis of Assisi

“Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils.” – Hector Louis Berlioz

“It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about?” –  Henry David Thoreau

“You’ve got to think about big things while you’re doing small things, so that all the small things go in the right direction” -. Alvin Toffler

“We all need a daily check up from the neck up to avoid stinkin ‘thinkin’ which ultimately leads to hardening of the attitudes.” – Zig Ziglar

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