Change 1 To Do And You Can Change It All!

OK - You’ve got a list. We ALL have a List. Now’s the time to take control of those To Do’s and turn them into Ta Da’s!Ask yourself.

What single thing will I absolutely get “DONE” today?”

Write it down.

Now write down 3 items you’ll take off today’s calendar so you can keep your focus. Take those items and delegate, dump, or time block them so they’re off your To Do list and you can celebrate what you got DONE today and the rest of the week. Ta Da!

January 28, 2008 | Filed Under Goal Setting, Organization, Processes, Productivity Tools, Time Management | Leave a Comment 

SHIFT YOUR TO DO LIST TO HIGH PAYOFF TA DAs!

© 2008 Linda Feinholz.

You’ve got dreams and you’ve got your attention on what it takes to achieve them. You’re ready to roll up your sleeves and eager to start producing massive results.

The problem is, you’re dragging. You put in tons of hours, your desk is piled with papers, and no matter how hard you work, you’re plagued by a To-Do list a mile long and growing. You’re constantly busy yet you get to the end of each week before you get to the end of your list.

Important things fall through the cracks. In fact you’re feeling frustrated, drained and overwhelmed. And you’re doubting what you’ve actually accomplished.

I started coaching this month with two new business leaders and that’s exactly what they were facing, every day. They were wondering how they’ll ever achieve their big goals when they can’t seem to dig themselves out from under their avalanche of tasks and ‘have to get done’s’.

So I gave them a To Do list Makeover. We turned that time and energy sucking list of “To Do’s” into “Ta Da’s!” they can smile about. And you can use it too!

So what’s a Ta Da! List?

Have you ever noticed that your To Do List is a never-ending list of everything you think you should be doing?

We’re all so adept at creating lists of things that need doing. But not all items are created equal—some are simple items to get done, others take major effort. As a result your To Do list is full of busy work all mixed in with the important stuff and even the urgent and critical things your success depends on.

A Ta-Da! list is results focused. It’s a list of High Payoff tasks, that when completed have immediate impact on your results and success. Completing items on your Ta-Da! List results that in energy focuses you and each next effort on accomplishments.

A Ta Da! List is a declaration of what you are committed to getting done. And that means getting it done in the most effective way possible.

Here is a 5 step plan to tame that To Do list:

Step #1: Declare Your Top 3 Priorities.

Your Ta-Da! List needs a clear focus. Every day, start a fresh list with your 3 most important projects or priorities. Don’t let your High Payoff Activities get buried – keep everything else off this list. Clearly focus on the 3 priorities that must get done, no matter what else happens. Let this focus your actions.

Step #2: Dump The Lowest Priority Items.

If everything is equally important then nothing really is. Take a fresh, honest look at your To Do list. Now filter your list for the things that you dream of getting done ‘someday’ and write them down on a separate piece of paper – out of your sight, permanently. Ask yourself “What items on my list fall in the ‘great idea’ category but have very little payoff if I do them? What items have absolutely no consequence if I DON’T do them?” If you’re finding “shoulds” that you keep stalling on because they aren’t aligned with your top priorities, cross them off and be done with them.

Step #3: Delegate. Delegate. Delegate.

Identify anything and everything that must get done, yet could be done by someone else. That means handing it to someone and overseeing their accomplishing it so you stop being the ‘only one’ who could get it done. I teach my clients to use the “If I Ran off to Fiji Test”. If you decided to catch a plane tomorrow, and it still needed to get done, who ought to have it on their list? If you’re concerned it won’t get done to your standards, set-up a formal hand off with a ‘check in’ dates and times to review progress and provide input. But commit to letting someone else handle it all the way to completion.

Step #4: Pencil Out The Week.

Take another look through your list. If there’s anything on your list that doesn’t have to be completed today, but does need to be completed within the next 7 days, pencil it onto the appropriate days. Just knowing you’ve created a time and space for them will free you up to focus on other, more important, priorities right here and right now.

Step #5: Time Block The Rest.

All that should be left on your list are those items that (a) must be done today, (b) are linked to a top priority item and (c) must be done by you and only you. You may want to break them into 45-minute blocks of time, alternating with 15-minute breaks, so you know you’ll accomplish them and also give attention to quick fix items that crop up. Write those blocks of time in your calendar.

And anything else that crops up during your day? Take them through steps 1 through five and get your attention back on your declared focus for the day!

That’s it. 5 simple steps to create your Ta-Da! List. Watch how much more focused and productive you are.

January 26, 2008 | Filed Under Delegation, Goal Setting, Managing, Organization, Processes, Productivity Tools, Time Management | Leave a Comment 

Change 1 “To Do” And You Can Change It All!

Have you noticed how much time you spend staring at (or avoiding) your To Do list?

You can join Mark and the others in getting you time ‘spent’ on what matters. Instead of wrestling with time, take a step back and shift your perspective.

Start by changing your To Do’s and you’ll revolutionize your relationship with Time and blast by the folks who are still staring at their calendars in despair.

Ask yourself

“Which of these To Do’s actually move me toward my Vision?”

Now prioritize the top 5 remaining To Do’s and put them on you calendar today! Everything else needs to be Delegated or Dumped. Call me if get stuck deciding which of those three lists to put things on!

October 8, 2007 | Filed Under Delegation, Managing, Productivity Tools, Time Management | Leave a Comment 

A HIGH PAYOFF TAKE ON TIME

By Linda Feinholz, “Your High Payoff Catalyst”

The easiest path to High Payoff results is by changing your relationship with Time.

If you’re looking for ways to get “more” done then I know you’ve probably read a hundred articles about managing time trying to find out how. I know I have. So had my client Mark.

Mark complained endlessly that for the lack of time, running his $400M company meant he never saw his kids. He was frustrated by the constant feeling that no matter how smart he was, Time always beat him. He listened to tapes on all the best techniques for corralling time while running on the treadmill at the gym. He read more tips in magazines on flights he sat on from city to city all over North America. And his head of Human Resources handed him the latest books to read in his ‘spare’ time.

I used to read all those articles and listen to audios in search of the miracle technique. I even sat through a couple of live programs with tools and systems. I expect you’ve done the same over the years.

I bet you’ve noticed the same paradox in your life that I have in mine: There is no end to time, and despite all those resources, there is no limit to the amount of To Do’s you can pile on your list. So over and over it feels like there isn’t enough time to get it all done.

I finally figured out that the Time Management industry exists because there’s no end to the myth of gaining the upper hand – It’s a great emotional magnet, especially the way the solution keeps being defined: Learn how to “manage” time and you’ll be its master!

Listen to me, please! You can’t master time, loose time or buy time. Time just flows. In fact, the more attention you give to Time Management, the more time you spend with your attention on “Time” the more your energy is on the wrong thing, and the less you have for getting the right things done.

I’ve designed a simple system to get your attention back where it belongs. I teach it in my business coaching programs and my work with business owners and executives. It consists of three simple actions and a single “Time Management Technique”. First the actions:

1 – Step “Back” To See Your Goal
The first thing we did was reset Mark’s attention from ”The List” to his Vision. Mark started out our discussion with the idea that his goal was to get his To Do’s “done.” He had 64 items on that list the day we counted them. But, what was his High Payoff Goal? To have his company earn $400 million, with his management team working effectively with him and with each other, and make it work so smoothly within 2 years that he could sit at his kids after school activities with his cell phone turned off and not worry about it.

2 – Identify Your Distractions
Mark had that long To Do list. He held the mistaken conviction that he had to “Do” each and every one of them. He was mesmerized by the idea that only he could ensure each one of them would succeed. In a Time Management model we would have figured out how he could do each thing most efficiently – what time slots on which days would he work on them, and so on. Instead we changed the conversation to what “Done” would look like, and “Who else” could get it done, and “What would they need to get it done well.”

3 – Prioritize Your High Payoff Actions
By taking Mark through the first two steps, he was ready for this next one with ease! What top 5 To Do’s would get him to his Vision and needed his, and only his, attention in a given day? Mark’s time, intelligence and energy were better used defining what “Done” would look like, and “Delegating” to the “Doer” than doing it himself. Anything else that was important and needed to be done in the same time period he delegated to others.

And the technique I mentioned? It’s simple. I call it “45-minute hours.” Take each hour of the day and divide it so that there’s a 45-minute span that’s uninterrupted and focused on a single item. Use the other 15-minutes for calls, email, answering questions for others, and so on. Then back on focus again.

Within a month Mark had his team using the technique and actions. His High Payoff result: Gone – obsessions with time. Gained – everyone’s boosted productivity!

October 6, 2007 | Filed Under Managing, Productivity Tools, Time Management | Leave a Comment 

Change 1 “Interruption” And You Can Change It All!

Many of my business clients are used to an ‘open door’ policy. They have the mistaken notion that an open door culture must mean ‘I’m always available.” As a result, their own work takes three to six times as long to accomplish as it needs to.

The best technique you can use is Calendared Open Door. Another way to think of that is “I’m always available to set up time to meet with you.” And that doesn’t mean right here, right now.”

The next time someone calls or stops at your door and asks “Have you got a minute?” ask them

“Will 3 o’clock work for you to discuss that?”

Get the appointment on the calendar and get your attention back where it belongs, on the thing that needs your undivided attention so it gets done.

September 16, 2007 | Filed Under Time Management | Leave a Comment 

Creating High Payoff Focus That Accelerates Your Results

By Linda Feinholz, “Your Success Catalyst”

I kicked off coaching with one of my Platinum Private Coaching clients, Brad, this week. As we discussed the High Payoff Vision that he is setting for himself, he mentioned that one of his goals is to ‘level’ his week.

When I asked him to say more about that, he told me “Well, it’s sort of about getting better handle on my time and how I’m using it. Managing my time. It feels out of balance and out of my control.”

I really appreciated that he didn’t say “I need better Time Management.” It’s a jargon phrase that I have lost patience with. I have to bite my tongue when people use that expression. Twenty-plus years of working with solo-preneurs, executives, and business owners has proven to me over and over that there is no such thing as Time Management. There is Attention Management and Action Management, but not Time Management.

Time just courses and flows. There is no such thing as lassoing and saddling up time and steering it down the trail you want it to take. It takes you on the ride and it’s up to you to get comfortable with that fact and to put your reins on what you actually can control and steer.

So I’ll be working with Brad on techniques that increase his focus on what really needs his attention, and eliminating his distractions, and our starting point is going to be using the following 5 steps:

1 – Set Crystal Clear Goals

Make sure your goals are measurable and observable. If you find yourself saying things like “I want a better handle on my time” you aren’t setting a goal you can actually achieve. Why? Because “better” can mean anything to anyone. I often have to do my ‘Vague Words’ exercise with business teams I work with and this word is one of our gems, along with “I’ll take care of it.” Be very specific with how you’ll be using your time when you reach your goal and how is that different than today? What will ‘done’ look like when you achieve that goal?

2 – List The Actions That Will Get You There

For each goal you can name, list the first actions that will move you towards having it accomplished. My small business clients are often running from one meeting to another, from one problem to solve to another. What is often missed is the critical first step: Design what needs to get done. If you’re moving straight into action, you’re likely to spend twice as much time fixing and cleaning up what didn’t go the way you expected. So take it from the best managers in the world. Start your action list with quiet uninterrupted thinking and planning time.

3 – Calendar Your Time – ALL Of It

Many of my professional clients set meeting times with other people. They then assume they’ll fit in the ‘work’ they need to accomplish for themselves around those meetings. Boy have they got it wrong! Your work time is often five times as valuable as what you are actually giving your attention to. So block off time on your own calendar for meetings with yourself to get your own work done.

4 – Have Boundaries and Stick To Them

When you set time-bound goals, such as the start time for meetings, the delivery date for a project, or the length of time you’ll work on something your productivity soars. Stick to it. Go beyond just putting the name on the calendar. Have an intention for how that time will be spent and write that intention on the top of the page you have in front of you as a reminder you can check in with during that time.

5 – Deflect All Your Distractions

Are you irritated by interruptions? Mauled by email? Nabbed by newsletters? Set specific standards for how you’ll handle phone calls, email, and people at your door. So many of my coaching clients are in the habit of answering questions anytime one is posed. They’re working on a task and someone comes along in the middle of it with a burning issue. Is the building in flames? Probably not (grin).

My clients learn to pause only long enough to set an appointment for people to come back at a set time when they’ll focus on their specific question. Commit to checking with your intention for how you are using your time. Then you’ll know how you’ll respond. That includes turning people away so they get none of your attention while you’re working on the items you’ve got your attention on right now.

Brad is going to start using these techniques this week to gain control over his attention and actions. He’s going to create blocks of time, each day and each week, for using laser like focus and he’ll love every moment of his un-distracted productivity for hours every day!

Now go get focused on what really needs your time, attention and energy and enjoy the flow!

September 13, 2007 | Filed Under Organization, Productivity Tools, Time Management | Leave a Comment 

THE POWER OF A TIMELY ‘NO’

By Linda Feinholz, “Your Success Catalyst”

One of my private coaching clients had an epiphany this week. 

It took place because Scott had changed his schedule, changed his pattern, and stopped what he was doing to join me in a conversation outside the bounds of his To Do list for the week. 

The only reason he was available for his own revelation was that he said “Yes” to changing his pattern and making time to meet with me. 

For many business owners, professionals and entrepreneurs, your workload has you so inundated that you simply don’t have the time to devote to taking in new information. Sometimes our insights come as a result of effort and sometimes they come as unexpected gifts. If you’re like me, you know from personal experience that if you immerse yourself in new information, and apply it to a situation you’re facing, you’ll get an “Ah Ha!” that can change your life. 

Once in a while, a chance conversation on an airplane, a comment on the radio, or a line in an article on an unexpected topic can utterly shift your perspective. Any of those events can trigger your excitement about your business and your life. 

The challenge is how to break the rhythm of staying busy on what is already known. It’s understandable that you’d rather say ‘No’ to a change in where you’re placing your attention. After all, its so much easier to just stick with the habit of running on automatic… staying over booked, loaded with more To Dos than you will ever get accomplished. Saying “Yes” to everything you put on your list makes you certain that you’re taking action. And if you’re in action then you believe you’re making some sort of progress on those items you’ve made a commitment to get done. 

Creating that shift in time often makes us anxious, tense and impatient at the very idea of changing our habits. And rather than step into that discomfort, we’ll keep immersed in the familiar stress we’ve already piled on. 

In fact, each time Scott is effective at accomplishing a business challenge, he’s approached with three more challenges his clients want him to take on. And wanting to be of service to their success, he keeps saying “Yes.” He’s been thinking that saying “no” means he’ll be letting people down, breaking commitments, avoiding responsibility, being selfish. 

If you’re like Scott, you’ve got it all wrong. In fact, while you’ve been assuming that “Yes” was the most powerful way to be present, you’ve got it backwards! The more you say “yes”, the less time you leave for making certain that you’re putting your own time to it’s best and highest use. 

Scott complained that he’s seldom thanked for everything he gets accomplished. Rather, he gets calls about what hasn’t been completed to someone else’s satisfaction. He’s so busy saying “Yes” to each request that he’s lost the time to evaluate whether those requests fit in with his Vision of what he wants to create. And by keeping busy, he’s eliminated any time for evaluating whether he’s being productive, effective, efficient, and valued. 

Clearly, Scott must create the selfish time for asking how a request fits in with the big picture he holds for himself. 

Just like Scott, if you want to be certain that you are creating the highest payoff from your own time, intelligence and effort, you must build in the time to check what you’re giving your attention to. You need to dedicate time for the new idea to enrich your thinking and to commit to the actions that will build your future. 

It just might be that the most powerful word you can use is “No!”

 

September 6, 2007 | Filed Under Time Management, Vision | Leave a Comment 

Change 1 Distraction And You Can Change It All!

Have you spent more time thinking about a task that needs doing than actually putting the work into getting it done? Burst through what’s got you distracted by focusing on one, just one task.

Ask yourself and your team

“What single activity on the list would create the Highest Payoff?”

Once you have your answer, break the task down into manageable steps and decide on the order you’ll get them done. Assign them to others if you want to accelerate your results.

August 26, 2007 | Filed Under Processes, Time Management | Leave a Comment 

5 STEPS TO MASTERING YOUR DISTRACTIONS

By Linda Feinholz, “Your Success Catalyst”

Have you ever had one of those perfect solo-preneur days…

Your To Do list is crystal clear, prioritized and focused on all the High Payoff activities that will get you the results you dream of.

The phone is nice and quiet and no emails are peppering your computer.

You have few appointments that need you away from your office.

Sounds like a dream, doesn’t it?

Have you ever had one of those days and still not gotten the things you need to done?

I’ve been faced with one of those days, well actually weeks, right now! For seven straight days I’ve been cycling in and out of the flu, with 100% laryngitis, alert enough to send people emails saying “Sorry! Let’s touch base next week!”

All my coaching clients agreed to reschedule our work together and three prospective clients were very sympathetic and moved our calls as well. I love the people I attract to my work!

Meanwhile, here I am rattling around my international corporate headquarters, also known as my home, awake enough between bouts of medicine to feel I “oughta” get stuff done! I’ve been moping and muttering to myself avout everything I’m not getting done.

Like most entrepreneurs and small business owners, I can be my own harshest judge about what I am and am not getting accomplished. I feel like I’m breaking my commitments to my vision and to the deadlines I set with my mastermind buddies. I’ve even had a few moments of self-criticism about whether I’m modeling what I should be for my coaching clients.

This time, as I floated up and out of my drug-induced haze I laughed about it. I know enough not to slip into a pity party – I’ve been hospitalized several times in my life and this is nowhere near that kind of external diversion! So when I was done laughing, I hauled my attention back under control, got focused and got practical about how to still get stuff accomplished.

Whether your distraction is internal or external the following tips will help you grab the reins and take control again before too much time slips past.

Pick one task, just one.
I have six things I said I’d get accomplished this past week. My current score? 10% on three of them, 20% on two of them and zero on the third. But I’ve been having a grand time beating myself up about not getting things done! So, I’m picking just one to get accomplished and taking my attention back from the rest of the list. And I’m picking the one that will get my the highest payoff for my effort.

Break it down into bite-sized pieces.
I settled on getting my newsletter out this week. I’ve been very committed to publishing it timely on Thursdays, getting it up on the blog and to the articles distributors as well. Each of the steps is actually only 5 to 15 minutes of work and attention. While I love working through them all in a stream, I recognize that this time I’m doing one step, pausing to see if I have the attention for the next or not. If I need the break I take it. If not, on to the next step!

Do each step to completion.
Is this how your mind works, too? As I do one task, ideas about three other ones leap into focus as the ‘perfect’ solutions that I just have to act on now! I don’t let them pull my attention away. I just make a note of the idea on the To Do list and come straight back to the task at hand. As I count the steps associated with getting my newsletter done there are 20. I’ve done 3, and actually writing this article is number 4 so I’m making headway here and it feels great as each one is checked off.

Appreciate what you are getting accomplished.
A year ago the newsletter was an idea I was passionate about. Eight months ago it launched. I’ve published an issue every week since then and received rave reviews from colleagues, clients and the public that have appreciated the stories, ideas and practical tips.

Set aside what will not get accomplished.
For the past 32 weeks, I’ve recorded an audio version of the article and added it to the newsletter. I’ve only missed doing it twice due to travel. Laryngitis. I’d say it’s going to win! If there’s no audio link on this newsletter you’ll know I did indeed allow myself the grace to regretfully not include it. And I moved on to the next step needing my attention.

So I invite you to join me in breaking through what has your attention distracted today. I’m going to go finish this great business building activity and then take the next item on my To Do list and repeat the process. Join in!

August 23, 2007 | Filed Under Processes, Time Management | Leave a Comment 

High Payoff Lessons From Luggage - Time to ‘Let Go’

By Linda Feinholz, “Your Success Catalyst”

Personal productivity is a topic that we all explore, sooner or later. Pick up any magazine or newspaper, tune in to your local radio, and you’ll receive a flood of material on work productivity. Get on an airline and the articles will be slanted to luggage productivity of the rich and famous. It all can weigh you down instead of lightening your load.

In my 20-plus years of consulting and coaching business owners and entrepreneurs, I’ve found that how we handle our physical luggage is practically the same as how we handle our travel luggage. And there’s a better way to handle our suitcases and our mental baggage.

If you’re anything like me, preparing for a vacation or business trip is a real test of how to pack. You know – you find yourself with your luggage out and more things to put in it than you really can use on your trip. The six extra tops, four extra pants, and fifth pair of shoes ‘just in case’ you go out to a nice restaurant.

The same thing holds for tools you use in growing your business. Nothing is more tiring than carrying obsolete, unusable and hindering stuff with you on your journey.

Your goal is to be efficient and nimble and so it’s worth your time to figure out what will serve you, and to limit yourself to the tools you actually need.

Just like those extra unnecessary items you’ll fold and leave behind, there’s an art to letting go of the ideas, assumptions and old decisions that are slowing you down.

Today I’m going to share with you four important tips to help you lighten your load and carry the High Payoff productivity tools you can really use.

Decide what you need next
Just like carrying a winter jacket to Europe in the Summer, old work processes in your company may be slowing you down. My promotional products client suspected that his division’s workflow wasn’t as efficient as it could be. We designed an intensive work session with all of his team to map out their Vision for what they should be accomplishing. I had them pinpoint each place where an old way of doing things was actually slower than one they could imagine, right there. We got those changes turned into projects and the 80% of the improved work processes were in place 60 days later.

Make sure what you’re using now fits
Can’t get the extra sweater or pair of gym shoes jammed into the bag? Once the work flow was posted on the wall, the entire team could see that it had worked when they were a start-up, but it was getting in the way now that they were doing millions of dollars of business. It wasn’t interpersonal issues that were holding things up, it was legacy systems that no one had taken a fresh look at. It was clearly time to test new ways of doing things!

Sort out what isn’t serving you any longer
I left that third pair of shoes at home. Well, actually the fourth pair. That same client was able to identify nine different times where more than eight people had to sign off on decisions. That sure got in the way of decision-making and action by the people doing the work. You can bet that, once everyone saw it, a new decision-making process was agreed to by all hands in under fifteen minutes!

Plan where you’ll store what you’re not taking with you
Sometimes I’m tempted to store what needs to be tossed, and toss what needs to be stored. Just because I’m traveling off-season doesn’t mean that parka won’t be worth taking along on another journey. And the same goes for you and your business as it grows. My client decided that their innovative way of conducting meetings when the company was young, did not work for middle management’s project status meetings. But it’s perfect for their creative team that has to solve a unique problems on an ongoing basis.

My luggage stays light when I’m traveling and my clients baggage gets sorted out so that they can stay nimble as they face their business challenges.

Use these lessons from the road to lighten your load and ensure there’s a high payoff to carrying your experience, know how and skills into how you’re running your business.

August 16, 2007 | Filed Under Organization, Processes, Productivity Tools, Time Management | Leave a Comment 

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