Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

ROSEMARY TATOR (Dover, NH), as Principal Partner of 2beffective(TM) LLC, helps clients increase effectiveness while reducing stress. ALESIA LATSON (Sharon, MA) as Principal of the Latson Leadership Group, helps executives at all levels to expand their management and leadership effectiveness.

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“[T]he fast-paced world of work can be incredibly stressful. ReadMore Time for You and let the authors show you how to create more of what you need: time!”— Marshall Goldsmith, world-renowned executive coach and author of New York Times bestsellers,Mojo and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

“The authors share proven techniques, tools, and personal stories and present an efficient, well-organized approach to tame e-mail and leverage social media so you can achieve balance in your life. Invest your time to read and apply their techniques.”— Steve Thornley, SPHR; Leadership & Organization Development Project Manager, Staples, Inc.

Why does it seem like no matter how you try to organize your work and your life, you never get less busy? Why are so many “time savers” really just time drains? And most important, what can you do about it?More Time for You is the answer.

This potentially life-changing book spells out a proven and powerful system to help you get and stay organized, prioritize responsibilities, get things done faster, and have more time away from the phone, e-mail, office, paperwork—whatever it is that’s interfering with your productivity and your life. Written to help you make the most of productivity enhancers you probably already have,More Time for You will show you how to:

Set up a calendar management system using Microsoft Outlook® or similar applications • “Triage” your e-mail to maintain an empty mailbox • Abandon strategies that don’t work, including the impossible “multitasking” • Handle (and even eliminate) distractions • Take full advantage of cell phones, smart phones, and other handhelds • Maximize the power (and minimize the time sink) of social media like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter • Banish that nagging feeling that something is slipping through the cracks • Make better decisions based on quantifiable priorities

Add to your everyday technologies the tips, examples, screenshots, and real-life scenarios inMore Time for You, and you’ve got everything you need to streamline your work—starting now!

Rosemary Tator, as Principal Partner of 2beffective™ LLC, through corporate training programs, webinars, and speaking engagements, provides her clients, including AT&T, Eastman Kodak, IHS, DuPont, and major financial services companies, with increased individual and organizational effectiveness.

Alesia Latson, as a consultant, facilitator, public speaker, and Principal of the Latson Leadership Group, advises and coaches executives around the world on expanding their management and leadership effectiveness. She has held management and organizational development roles in large financial services organizations, healthcare, and government.

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MORE TIME for YOU

AMACOM

Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS....................................................................................ixINTRODUCTION.......................................................................................1PART 1: SO MUCH TO DO..............................................................................5CHAPTER 1 TIME AND EFFECTIVENESS...................................................................7CHAPTER 2 THREE COPING STRATEGIES THAT DON'T WORK..................................................25CHAPTER 3 TIME AND YOU.............................................................................39PART 2: KNOWING WHAT YOU WANT......................................................................47CHAPTER 4 BEING CLEAR ABOUT WHAT IS IMPORTANT......................................................49CHAPTER 5 CREATING YOUR LIFE.......................................................................61PART 3: THE MORE-TIME-FOR-YOU SYSTEM TO ORGANIZE YOUR WORK AND GET THINGS DONE.....................73CHAPTER 6 CAPTURING YOUR THOUGHTS..................................................................74CHAPTER 7 DESIGNING YOUR DAYS......................................................................92CHAPTER 8 DREAMS COME TRUE WHEN YOU PLAN...........................................................113CHAPTER 9 MANAGING E-MAIL..........................................................................122CHAPTER 10 REDUCING E-MAIL VOLUME..................................................................148CHAPTER 11 BACK ON THE TRIAGE WAGON................................................................160CHAPTER 12 SOCIAL MEDIA IS HERE TO STAY............................................................164CHAPTER 13 RELAUNCHING YOUR CREATED LIFE...........................................................174CHAPTER 14 PARTING WORDS...........................................................................197APPENDIX A IMPLEMENTATION ACTION PLAN..............................................................199APPENDIX B ADDITIONAL TECHNIQUES FOR MANAGING CALENDAR AND E-MAIL SYSTEMS..........................202NOTES..............................................................................................219INDEX..............................................................................................221ABOUT THE AUTHORS..................................................................................227

Chapter One

Live a good life. And in the end, it's not the years in the life, it's the life in the years.

—ABRAHAM LINCOLN

If you had Aladdin's magic lamp and could make three wishes, it's a good bet one of them would be to have more time. You wouldn't be reading this book right now if you already had all the time you wanted. Chances are that you are interested in having more time not just for the sake of having more time (after all, who wants to have more time to be in the dentist chair?). You want more time for particular purposes. You want more time to do all the things you dream about doing. More time for the things you love; more time to spend with friends and family. More time to engage in work that is fulfilling, rewarding, and satisfying. More time to spend in places that you dream about going, or places that you long to return. More time to shop, read, dance, cook, sing, play, sail, travel, paint, listen to music, run, walk, read, sleep, eat, kiss, ski, fish, knit, journal, garden, volunteer, entertain, play golf, meditate, hike, make wine, or swim. More time to enjoy the nectar and sweetness of life.

Unfortunately, there is no way to get more time. We can't manufacture minutes. It's impossible to add more hours to the day. We have a fixed quantity of twenty-four hours in a day to work with. So, it's not how much time we have; it's what we do with the time that we are given.

That's what this book is all about. It's about adding "life in the years," and having compelling answers to the following questions: What will you do with your allocation of time on this planet? Who will you become? What will you have? What legacy will you leave behind?

If you want more time for you, then you are going to need to increase your capacity to be more effective, efficient, and productive with the time you currently have. This book gives you step-by-step instructions on how to do just that.

Our journey begins with the lives of three people who, in juggling the priorities of their professional and personal lives, feel overwhelmed by trying to plan and do all the tasks required for all aspects of their lives. Starting with these stories, this book explains what robs us of our time, and then provides a powerful system for organizing work and getting things done so that there is more time for you to live your life on your own terms.

ELIZABETH'S STORY

Elizabeth is a hardworking, committed wife, mother, and professional who defines herself by how much she is able to accomplish. She knows it is often impossible to complete every task on her daily list, but continues to feel incompetent when she fails to get something done. She finds herself caught in a vicious cycle: The more she struggles to do everything that needs to be done, the more there is for her to do. And the more there is to do, the more dissatisfied she becomes in her role as a wife, mother, and professional.

When Elizabeth began her job as a commercial real estate broker, she was both confident and excited about this new opportunity; nowadays, she finds it difficult to handle the demands of her professional and personal life. A typical day might involve showing the mill property, meeting with the developers for the new school, searching for the tax card for the multifamily house that she's been trying to close for the last two months, catching her son's soccer practice a half hour late, picking up her daughter from Girl Scouts, and making ten calls to organize the bake sale for her church. But no matter how hard she tries, no matter how much she manages to get done, she continues to fall behind.

There are some obvious signs that Elizabeth is in trouble. The first sign is that she has neglected to take care of herself. She fails to exercise or eat nutritiously, so she is overweight. She constantly skips breakfast or lunch to create more work time in her schedule, and is consumed with hunger by the time that she arrives home at 7:30 p.m. When she walks in the door, she is ravenous and eats whatever she can find that is both filling and easy to make. By this time, it is either too late or she is too tired to enjoy her family. Despite her most valiant attempts, she usually falls asleep within fifteen minutes of sitting and relaxing with her husband and children. At 5:00 a.m. the following morning, the alarm jolts her from sleep, and by 6:30 a.m., she begins her commute back to her office, at work once more.

Another sign of trouble is clutter. Elizabeth moves so quickly that she creates a wake of clutter behind her, one wave after another. The accumulating mess becomes so daunting that she cannot bear to face it. She is incapable of sending or receiving e-mail because she has exceeded her storage quota and filled her inbox. She can barely find anything on her desk because of...