Article by Stefani Padilla

I was listening to a time management guru online the other day, and he gave this simple time management technique. He said:

“I want you to write down your top 3 distractions, whatever they may be.

Once you have them written down, all you have to do is eliminate them.”

Excuse me as I pick myself up of the floor from laughing. You see, my top 3 distractions are my 8 year old, my 4 year old, and my 20 month old! I cannot really see myself “eliminating” them!

Now, of course what the guru meant was if it’s e-mail, close your e-mail program, turn off your IM’s, and shut down Twitter. But it also goes to show how different men and women, (and even women and moms) work from home. For the work at home mom, you can’t simply “eliminate” your top distractions, actually, what you have to do is distract your distractions!

Here are a few tips for distracting your distractions if you’re a work at home mom.

Play Dough

I only bring out the play dough when I am trying to work. And I only bring it out in the kitchen. Sure I end up with an extra hour of cleanup getting those little play dough pieces off the floor, but if I get anything accomplished in the hour it distracts them, I still consider myself ahead.

Bubble Machines

In my experience, a bubble machine is good for about 20 minutes of un-interrupted work time. These are those little machines that you put in a battery or plug it in, add a little bubble solution, and ta da – it blows the bubbles for you! They are best used outside, however, if I use it inside, it tends to give my floor a bit of a between the mopping cleaning! (Now if only I could find a non-toxic floor cleaner that makes good bubbles, then I could really take advantage of this little invention.)

Computer Games

Although it only really distracts one child at a time, two at the most, I try to pick up educational computer games on a regular basis. You can get many for less than , some even less than . That way I feel a little better about letting my kids spend time on the computer. Depending on the game and the child, I can get anywhere from 20 minutes to almost an hour (or more if I let it go that far) of uninterrupted work time.

Nap Time

It’s free, it’s easy (if practiced regularly) and it’s usually worth at least an hour! Yes, the afternoon nap. When my kids are too old for the nap (like my 8 year old), I simply call it a “quiet time.” Set the timer, and set them on their beds with several books and get to work. The hour will be up before you know it.

Television

Well, I hate to admit it, but yes, I use the television to distract my kids. I have a television in the room with my computer, so I usually have them watch in there so that I can monitor what they watch. I’ve found that even on “safe” channels, there are often commercials or things that I may not approve of, so just to be sure, I make my kids watch cable in the same room with me. We also have a stash of DVD’s that I’ve already approved of, and those they can watch in a different room. I’ve also discovered that the public library is a good source for DVD’s to help change things up without costing me a fortune.

Last Resort

As a last resort, when I can’t seem to distract my kids, I simply take a break and spend some extra time with them playing a game or reading a book or taking a walk. Sometimes all kids want is your attention, and there is no substitute for that. And that is what makes working from home so great!

Article by Paula Eder

Time management tips can be your best ally when technology transforms the ways you connect. What can you do to seize new opportunities while still enriching your life off-line?

The Annenberg Center for the Digital Future, based at the University of Southern California, has pointed out the challenge this presents. Their 2011 Digital Futures Report cites that fully 50 percent of Americans it interviewed last year said they felt ignored by family members who spent too much time online.

Fortunately, tuning into what works best for you personally can help you create a balanced approach. Your important relationships can then continue to flourish, while you progress with online networking.

Where Do You Stand?

It’s best to start with your own assessment. Do these findings translate out to your life? If so, where do you appear on the continuum? In the first half of the decade, people reported spending an average of 26 hours per month with their families. By 2008, however, that shared time had dropped to about 18 hours. That’s more than a 30 percent decrease!

An easy way to get a quick overview is to roughly track the amount of time you spend with family members and friends. Jotting a daily estimate every evening for a month into a small notebook is all that’s necessary.

* Is this time increasing or decreasing?

* How do you feel about it?

* How will your current patterns affect you if you are faced with a crisis?

* How easy is it for you to develop and maintain effective time boundaries?

It’s key to remember that your time is absolute, concrete, and limited.

To mobilize yourself, assess how satisfying your current balance of online and offline activity is. Think of your three happiest moments over the past month. Would you like to give more time to your favorite pastimes? Where can you find the extra time? For each minute you trim from surfing the Internet (for example) you are gaining new opportunities to spend time in other ways.

If you find that you are sliding into spending more time in your virtual world than is rewarding to you, you may want to step back and make some conscious choices. Here are 3 ideas, for starters:

Structure your on-line time so that you have clear goals and parameters. Before logging off for the day, quickly review the sites you visited. How closely does your list of sites match your objectives? Try using a timer to give yourself an endpoint. If it’s helpful, place it in a different room! Plan together time with your family and make sure it’s in everyone’s schedule.

Creating intentionality provides you with enormous power. Even if you elect not to make any changes at all, you have dignified your choices by making them conscious and claimed. The more you assert that your choices matter, the more care you will take to make sure they address your priorities.

Make time choices that enrich your day from your perspective! Your life is simply too good to waste.

What is your next move to make the very most of your time?

Article by Harrold Swalve

People who work at home have the freedom to set their schedules and hours. However, it can be difficult to stay on task with so many additional distractions when you work at home. Here are some time management tips to help you stay on task as you work at home.

First of all, have a set agenda when you use your computer and go online as you work at home. Keep a list of your daily tasks and goals and stick to your list. It’s very easy to stray from your work tasks and check your personal email or just surf the net. Work from your to-do list and cross off your tasks as you accomplish each one. You should group similar tasks together. Check your email 2 or 3 times daily and answer your email at those same times. Work on one project at time and stick with that project until you are finished. Jumping between tasks as you work at home takes more time.

Assess your needs and see if it is justifiable to get wireless Internet and/or a laptop for your work at home needs. A laptop can enable to you to take your work with you if need be. This might be beneficial if you spend a lot of time waiting for kids at practices or if you are watching your kids in the yard while you try to work at home.

Identify things at home that waste your time. Perhaps friends call to talk or your favorite television show comes on during the middle of the day. Try to eliminate these time wasters as you work at home. Don’t answer the phone for personal calls during your work time and avoid household distractions such as the television.

Use a timer to keep on task. Allow yourself so much time for a break or to accomplish quick tasks and stick to that set amount time. Having a routine helps with time management. A routine allows you to do task automatically and takes up less time. For instance, checking your email first thing everyday as you work at home can become routine and help you to get your day started right away. A routine allows your day to run more smoothly.

Finally, you have to set limits for yourself. Sometimes it’s not feasible to get all your work at home projects accomplished in one day. Make sure your goals are realistic and can be accomplished in the time you have allotted for them. Following these few rules can help you save time as you work at home and make your days a little easier.

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Article by Noel J ireland

Stress has always had a role in our everyday lives; trouble at work, business concerns, or even issues with your friends and family, stress always shows its ugly face to make our life hard. Errors in decisions will result from our state of mind, which is confused due to rampant stress. Actually, not being successful, that is when anxiety and fear overtakes thinking that is rational, which is also caused by stress.

Stress Management is supposed to help people deal with stress. This consists of methods and plans to assist people to cope physically, mentally, and emotionally, with their personal issues. If you have not heard the term before, then it’s a good idea if you read on, so you can use these techniques in your own life.

Stress Management 101: Defined

Stress management uses techniques and strategies to empower a person to manage stress-related issues before it begins to take a physical toll on their health. Many times, people who are tied down with stress are frequently afflicted with physical sickness, emotional troubles, or actual mental and behavioral issues, which can affect the way they live their life.

In order to cope with their own problems and stress, different tricks and techniques can be employed by a person. The effectiveness of certain stress management methods varies; if it works on one person, it may not work on you. Utilizing stress management techniques is a mindset in and of itself; it depends on how we see stress and how we think we manage it.

The Key is To Relax

It is agreed by the experts that when problems occur in our life now and then, it is the beginning of stress. Minor issues are easy to handle, but when problems begin to pile up, they cause a lot of stress for you. Truthfully, stress grabs hold of our minds and might turn into a problem if we let it take over how we think.

When in the grip of stress, an individual must relax. There is a myriad of methods for relaxation you can employ for the achievement of a calm state of mind. Meditation is a good method to use for focusing your thoughts on more positive points than feeling bad about your problems, which will sooner or later cause you to feel sorry for yourself and be depressed. Meditating everyday will help someone figure out a way to deal with a problem in a separate state, which means that your emotions will not influence your choices, and that you can go ahead and handle your business without being concerned about making an error.

To get and maintain a relaxed mental state, there are exercises focusing on breathing that are useful. Breathing exercises help with distributing oxygen through your entire body, thereby allowing for a clear mind. Additionally, a beginning for meditation is practicing breathing exercises.

Request Professional Assistance

If you are having trouble handling stress by yourself, then the time has come to seek professional advice to assist you. You can let a professional stress counselor examine your condition and assist you with handling it. For most situations, these professionals will assist you in dealing with your fears and concerns directly so you can discover a way to deal with the issue, so your stress will be eliminated.

Article by Keith Richard Conwell

Having trouble managing your own time? Well, it can be easy once you have determined that time is for you to hold. This would only mean that you can achieve time management techniques after considering these ideas.

Plan – In time management tips, you have to have a plan in setting out your goals and priorities – everyday! There should be no alibis in stopping you from your daily activities. You can at least use one hour of your time in listing your next activity for tomorrow.

Once you have your plans for tomorrow, you can be assured that everything is scheduled in time and you don’t have to worry about getting in a hurry since everything has been pre-scheduled.

Avoid too much work pressure – Although you can say that there are urgent times wherein your time schedule has been interrupted, you can still manage your time. How? Time management tips – multi tasking.

For sure, you can do extra work even under pressure. As long as your body and mind is relaxed and you are prepared with the situation, you can do even the impossible things.

However, multi tasking can drain your physical and emotional abilities; you still have to take a break. There are no reasons for you to go on especially if you cannot do it anymore. Just relax and don’t be bothered by the tasks ahead since you can still finish it (minor priorities at work) after having a break since everything has been planned.

Organize – One of the best time management techniques is to organize everything. This is different from time planning since you are still setting your tasks ahead. In organizing, you are already doing it.

Your first priority as part of your time management tips is to start with the most important things at work. Again, avoid too much pressure since there is still time ahead. Remember, you should be the one to hold time.

Be motivated – A lot of individuals fail to finish their tasks at work. This is because they are not motivated. Be inspired and think about the positive things in your life. In this way, you will feel rejuvenated and happy at work and you can finish your work in due time.

Another idea in time management techniques is enjoy your work. You don’t have to be sloppy and slow. One way on how to be motivated at work is to eat and hydrate well. Meaning, your stamina can also be drained at work and that is the reason why you are taking a lot of time in finishing all your tasks. Vitamins and mineral supplements can be taken in just to make your body feel strong and you can surely get the job done at work.

Record time – After a hard day of work, you also have to relax and contemplate on what you have accomplished. This is by listing down the tasks you have done at work. You can determine the things that you have done and have not. Well, you can say that it is not a bad day after all since you have planned, organized and done your priorities at work.

The last thing in time management tips is to sleep early. This is to replenish your body and mind. Conquer time and enjoy work with flying colors!

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When a crisis arises, people often tend to panic and they can sometimes make things worse by trying to execute a quick fix rather than truly solve the problem. Usually time is of the essence in a crisis situation, so it can be difficult to take any extra time trying to work through the problem. With the right time management techniques, you’ll have a better chance of fixing the issue at hand while remaining calm and collected.

Using Your Staff

Let your employees do the jobs you’ve hired them to do. If you’ve employed capable people and have trained them well, allow them to do their part to contribute to the problem solving process. Micromanaging will only take up more of your valuable time and attention so delegate what you can to your staff. This not only frees you up for more important tasks, it will give them valuable crisis training to use in the future.

Working without Employees

If you work completely on your own, you won’t have the luxury of falling back on a team of staff. In this case, outsource some of the simpler tasks to any peers you may have. If you have any family or friends with skills that could serve your purposes put them to work for a one time fee. Paying friends or other professionals who can help when you need it may save you time and money if it ensures you’ve prevented a disaster.

Plan for the Future

Learn from every problem that arises and determine what factors are to blame for your setbacks. This may take a little time out of your schedule, but the effort it saves you in the future will be invaluable. Predict, plan, and prevent a crisis whenever possible, but be sure to take a step back and react calmly should one occur.

Uncontrollable events will happen that can leave you in a tough spot, but taking steps to make sure you aren’t doing it to yourself is important. Putting yourself on an unrealistic deadline can turn a challenge into a crisis. Panicking instead of taking the time to think things through will only lead to wasted time while you try to deal with your stress. Staying positive and motivated when problems arise will give you the ability to deal with things effectively and turn a crisis situation into a valuable experience.