Time Management Seminars

Welcome to the Productivity Institute’s Time Management Blog

2008-04-06T17:41:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Productivity Institute’s Time Management Blog helping you get more done in less time and with less stress!

To find more information about our Time Management and Personal Productivity Seminars and services, scroll down.

To access free Time Management articles, in the column to the right, click on the arrow to the left of “2007 (96)”, then click on the arrow to the left of “June (90)” and choose from nearly 100 free Time Management article titles!

Please print out and post these articles for others to enjoy and to help them get more done in less time and with less stress. Please also visit our website at http://www.balancetime.com/

Why is He Always Late?

2008-04-06T17:40:00.001-07:00

By Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

We’ve all had this experience. We walk into a meeting for six people at 2:00 p.m. and five out of the six are there but one is not and so we wait. And we wait some more and eventually the other person comes strolling in and our 2:00 p.m. meeting now begins at 2:15 having kept five on-time people waiting, wasting more than a full hour of the organization’s productivity time.

When queried, the late comers believe they really could not have made the meeting on time. “You don’t understand the responsibilities I have”, they will implore. “The buck stops here with me.”

So here’s what happens. It’s 1:54 and our late comer is about to leave his office with all the good intentions of getting to the 2:00 p.m. meeting on time and his phone rings.

What does he do? He answers it. “This could be an important call.” he reasons and after all, “This will only take a minute.” he assures himself.

Buy it takes several minutes for this call and there’s that one follow-up call. It is now 2: 07 and proceeding down the hall to the 2:00 p.m. meeting our chef of tardy sauce encounters one of his team members who has an urgent request. He stops and listens. “Don’t expect me to turn my back on Sandy. She’s one of my key people! Yes, Sandy, what can I do for you?”

It’s now 2:15 and our starting-time-challenged straggler arrives at the meeting having kept the others waiting and wasting time but convinced he could no have done otherwise. “Sure, you can get to meetings at 2:00 p.m., but you don’t understand my responsibilities. I can’t make these meetings on time.” he explains.

Do you know this person? No doubt you do and maybe several others like him.

But here is the irony. That so terribly busy person who can never get to the meetings on time is never, ever late for a 4:17 p.m. flight out at the airport. Why is that? Because if you arrive 15 minutes late for your flight you’ll be walking to your destination rather than flying to it.

So here’s what happens.

It’s 12:59 p.m. and our friend, Lester Late, in his office, has just two minutes to get outside in front of the building to catch the last ride to the airport for the day. If he misses this bus ride he misses his business trip.

So, he picks himself up and proceeds to his office door and his phone rings. What does he do? He lets it ring. He can’t take the risk of getting bogged down on a lengthy call. He knows that if this had been just thirty seconds later the call would have gone to voicemail.

Now down the hallway he is confronted with his team member Sandy who has the most urgent, crucial thing to discuss. What does our carelessly clocked fellow do? He tells her that this issue is very important and that he will call her from the airport to discuss fully.

Our friend just makes different choices when en route to his ride to the airport than when going to a meeting. Can he get to the meetings on time? Yup. It’s a choice.

Why is he always late? It’s a choice. His choice. It is the choice to regularly prioritize something else over the importance of getting to the meeting on time.

Does it make a difference what your job title is as to whether you will get to meetings on time? I don’t believe so.

Take the busiest job of being President of the United States. Can the President get to meetings on time?

If you are George W. Bush, the answer is yes. He has been a stickler about holding on time meetings.

And Bill Clinton? He was notoriously late for meetings of all types. The joke was “Real time v Clinton time”.

I don’t mean this as a criticism but simply an observation. Both men had the same job and one was on time for meetings and the other was not. The difference? It was a choice to make meeting starting times a priority.

Now go to your meeting. Go ahead. Go now. And get there on time.

Get your copy of “Meeting Madness”, a humorous look at the pressure meetings puts on us. It’s no cost. If you would like a copy, email your request for “meeting” to: ctsem@msn.com

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
ctsem@msn.com
http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 2008 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

On-Site Seminars

2008-01-31T17:38:00.000-08:00

We are pleased to design and deliver our Time Management and Personal Productivity Seminars On-Site at your location.

Don Wetmore, one of the leading experts in Time Management and Personal Productivity, with over 20 years' experience and over 2,000 presentations worldwide, will personally prepare and present his dynamic, motivating, and content rich seminars onsite at your location helping your audience to get more done in less time, and with less stress.

Don will also be available after the program via telephone to everyone who attends your On-Site seminar for individual coaching and consultation.

Programs can run from one hour to three full days, helping your staff to get more time and balance in their lives. Our seminars help reduce turnover, improve morale, and increase individual performance both on and off the job.

"The best seminar I have ever attended!"

For more information about our On-Site Seminars, you may contact Don Wetmore directly at: (800) 969-3773 or (203) 386-8062 or send your email to him at: ctsem@msn.com

FREE! "Basics for a Successful In-House Training Program". To get yours, send your request for "basics" to ctsem@msn.com.

Time Management Seminar Schedule

2007-11-06T17:38:00.001-08:00

TIME MANAGEMENT SEMINAR SCHEDULE Get more time now for your family, your friends, and you! A person being paid $50,000 per year, who wastes just one hour per day, is costing their organization $6,250 per year. Attend our Time Management Seminar and you will learn several new, easy techniques to regain several hours in every day! TIME MANAGEMENT SEMINARS-WORK AND LIFE SKILLS FOR INCREASING PERSONAL PRODUCTIVITY NOW! LEARN NEW WAYS TO GET MORE DONE IN LESS TIME, WITH LESS STRESS. HAVE MORE TIME FOR YOU! “THE BEST SEMINAR I’VE EVER ATTENDED.” “I’M SENDING MY ENTIRE TEAM.” “NEVER HAD SO MUCH FUN!” OUR SCHEDULE: (Tuesdays: 1:00-5:00 p.m.; Wednesdays & Thursdays: 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.)

Tuesday, June 7-Thursday, June 9, 2011

Tuesday, September 13-Thursday, September 15, 2011

Tuesday, December 13-Thursday, December 15, 2011

All seminars are held at: Ramada Hotel-Stratford

225 Lordship Boulevard

Stratford, CT 06615

(203) 375-8866

Seminar fee is only $995. 100% satisfaction guarantee! Repeat anytime! To register or for additional information now, call (800) 969-3773 or (203) 386-8062 or online at: http://www.balancetime.com/

Call for group discount rates. In-house seminars available at your location from one hour up to three full days for groups of any size. Call Now (800) 969-3773 Or (203) 386-8062 Or Online at http://www.balancetime.com/ for details.

Your Business Marketing Consultant

2007-11-06T17:34:00.000-08:00

YOUR BUSINESS MARKETING CONSULTANT

You’ve worked hard to create your business to where it is now but you want more sales, more profit and more success.

The day-to-day tasks keep many entrepreneurs from planning and implementing effective marketing programs that can dramatically increase their businesses.

Maybe it’s time to get Your Business Marketing Consultant.

Why do I need Your Business Marketing Consultant?

You don’t. You’re successful already. You will be a bigger success tomorrow. Sooner or later, maybe later. With Your Business Marketing Consultant you will get there sooner, with greater certainty, control, and predictability.

Who is Your Business Marketing Consultant?

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore.

Don received his Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting (BSA) from Bentley College, his Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Babson College, and his Juris Doctor Degree (JD) from Suffolk University Law School.

Don has started and operated dozens of businesses over the years. You will learn from his experiences, step by step.

He is your personal marketing guru.

He is also a member of the MBA graduate faculty at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York, where he has served as Assistant Professor of Business Law and Department Chair for the undergraduate and graduate divisions. Currently, he is Adjunct Professor for the Master of Business Administration program and the author of “Beat the Clock”, “Organizing Your Life”, and “The Productivity Handbook” and over 100 published articles. He is frequently interviewed by major media including ABC Radio, Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, The London Observer, and the Dallas Morning News. He has appeared extensively on radio and television and as the host of the cable TV program, “It’s the Law”.

“It was hard to believe that I could improve my operation in such a short period of time with Don’s guidance.”

What will Your Business Marketing Consultant do for me?

You and Don will meet at your location and together create super marketing and financial goals for the next twelve months. Don will then devise a step-by-step plan of action to get you there.

What does Your Business Marketing Consultant cost?

The most expensive trip you will take is to continue down a path that is not maximizing your returns for the time, talent, and resources you are expending. It creates a decreased present value of your future. You probably have thought a lot about growing your business for some time but you haven’t been able to get it off the ground. Now you will.

Question: How much does “Your Business Marketing Consultant cost?” Answer: “Would no charge be too much?”

Your Business Marketing Consultant is not a cost. He’s an investment.

It really doesn’t matter what you pay for an investment. What’s relevant is what you get in return. $4,000 for a new furnace in the summer is an expense. When it gets cold, it’s an investment, worth every penny you spent. What it costs is not as important as what you get for your investment. (What is it costing you now for the business you are not getting?)

“My business value has increased dramatically. I’m a lot more in control of my sales volume and profits.”

To review your situation call Don now and let’s see if we can work together to help your business grow dramatically. Call Don at: (203) 386-8062 or send an email to Don at: ctsem@msn.com

Time Management Teleseminars

2007-10-30T17:47:00.000-07:00

TIME MANAGEMENT TELESEMINARS
Get more time for you now! Get better balance in your life!
Sign up now!

What is a Teleseminar?
It is a live seminar that you attend, only instead of everyone meeting in the same room at the same location to hear the speaker, we all meet via telephone in a conference call. You call a special telephone number and join in!

Join Dr. Don Wetmore for a one-hour Time Management Teleseminar, anywhere you are from the convenience of your telephone. When you sign up for this special event, you will be given the telephone number to call to join with thirty people in this conference call as Don Wetmore conducts a one-hour Time Management Seminar live, sharing his unique tools and techniques with you to help you get a lot more done in less time, with less stress.

Why a Teleseminar?
So many people have such busy schedules that they do not have the time to travel and physically attend one of our many Time Management Seminars. You can attend this convenient, informative, live Teleseminar from the comfort of your home or from any telephone location of your choice.

You will learn new, easy, and fun ways to:
- Manage your to do list
- Manage multiple priorities
- Organize “have to’s” and “want to’s”
- Effectively prioritize
- Use time better, with less effort
- Invest time v. expense time
- Leverage your time for greater productivity
- Gain control over the entire 24-hour day
- Focus on the “crucial” work v. the “urgent”
- Create balance between work and personal time
- Avoid “crisis management” and wheel-spinning
- Identify and eliminate time wasters
- Create a more productive physical setup of your work area
- Reduce stress
- Daily planning techniques
- Improve your communications skills
- And much, much more!

“Probably the best hour I have ever invested!” “Don shows you the “how to” in simple, easy to follow steps.” “I’ve never had so much control over my day.”

Imagine having more time every day to do more of the things you want to do; spend time with your family, enjoy hobbies, spend more time with your friends, work in your garden, read a book, watch a video. You can now!

Don has shared his material with client companies including IBM, K-Mart, Bank of Nova Scotia, Subway Franchises, Credit Suisse, Univision Television Network, Tulane University, Praxair, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and hundreds more.

When is it?
Wednesday, August 26, 2009, 4:00 p.m. (EDT) for one hour.

Don Wetmore is one of the leading experts on the topic of Time Management, having made over 2,000 presentations to audiences from around the globe, helping people from all walks of life to get more done in less time, with less stress and have more time for their personal lives.

Now, you can join him and attend this dynamic, informative Time Management Seminar right from the comfort of your work or home.

Who should sign up?
Anyone who wants to get more time out of every day. Professionals, staff people, salespeople, office workers, homemakers, students, managers, teachers, engineers, medical personnel, parents. (Enrollment is limited to the first thirty people who sign up for this session. Enrollments are accepted on a first-come basis. Don’t miss out. Enroll now!)

About Don:
Dr. Wetmore received his Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Bentley College, his Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Babson College and his Juris Doctor Degree from Suffolk University Law School.

Dr. Wetmore is a member of the faculty at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York, where he has served as Assistant Professor of Business Law and Department Chair for the undergraduate and graduate divisions. Currently, he is Adjunct Professor for the Master of Business Administration program and the author of “Beat the Clock”, “Organizing Your Life”, and over 100 published articles. He is frequently interviewed by major media including ABC Radio, The New York Times, USAToday, The Wall Street Journal and the Dallas Morning News. He has appeared extensively on radio and television and served as the host of the cable TV program, “It’s the Law”.

In 1984, Dr. Wetmore created the Productivity Institute to conduct his original and unique Time Management and Personal Productivity seminars for people from around the world. Having been in the field of Time Management for over thirty years, Dr. Wetmore created his programs to address the specific Time Management needs of all who want more out of life. In his seminars, teleseminars, keynotes, and consulting, he teaches participants how to significantly increase their personal productivity, both on and off the job and accomplish more in less time with less stress for greater personal balance. His presentations are always entertaining, fast-paced, and filled with practical, common sense tools. His audiences say, “he is one of the funniest and most engaging speakers available today.”

“I want my entire staff to participate in this.” “I wish I had done this a long time ago.” “I really reduced my stress.”

How do I participate?
Sign up below and you will be given the special telephone number we have set up for this event. Then at the time the seminar begins, (4:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time- EDT on Wednesday, August 26, 2009), you will call the special number and be connected directly to Don and the rest of those who have signed up for this exciting seminar. (Regular telephone toll charges apply for this call.) Then sit back and enjoy the one-hour presentation by Don and learn new ways to better manage your time and control your day.

What is my investment?
$29.95

Is there a guarantee?
If you are not 100% satisfied after attending your Teleseminar, you will receive a 100% refund. No questions asked.

How do I enroll?
By telephone: Call our voicemail now at either (800) 969-3773 or (203) 386-8062. (These are secure lines.) Leave your name, email address, daytime telephone number, credit card account number and expiration date. (Please speak slowly and clearly.) Your account will be charged $29.95. You will then receive via email the special telephone number to call to attend the seminar.

By email: Email your registration now to: ctsem@msn.com Send your name, email address, daytime telephone number, credit card account number and expiration date. Your account will be charged $29.95. You will then receive via email the special telephone number to call to attend the seminar.

What if I cannot attend this seminar?
You can get your copy of the CD of this seminar, the full hour, to listen to and review at your leisure. To receive the CD of this exciting seminar, use the form below now and send it via email to: ctsem@msn.com or call in your information to (203) 386-8062. Your account will be charged $29.95 plus $2.50 for shipping and handling, a total of $32.45. Your purchase is backed by 100% money back guarantee. If you are not completely satisfied with your CD, return it for a full 100% refund. No questions asked.

Register for Six Teleseminars and Save 20%!
Sign up now for all six Teleseminars listed below and save 20% - $35.94! Or order all six Time Management Teleseminars on CD and save 20% - $35.94!

(Note: Dates and time are subject to change.)
Wednesday, August 26, 2009, 4:00 p.m. (EDT)
Wednesday, September 23, 2009, 4:00 p.m. (EDT)
Wednesday, October 28, 2009, 4:00 p.m. (EDT)
Wednesday, November 25, 2009, 4:00 p.m. (EST)
Wednesday, December 23, 2009, 4:00 p.m. (EST)

Wednesday, January 27, 2010, 4:00 p.m. (EST)
Order Form
Yes! Sign me up for the one-hour Time Management Teleseminar on Wednesday, August 26, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. (EDT) for $29.95.
Yes! Sign me up for all six one-hour Time Management Teleseminars for $143.76. Save 20%/$35.74!
Yes! Send me the one-hour Time Management Teleseminar CD by Don Wetmore for $29.95 and $2.50 shipping and handling, a total of $32.45.
Yes! Send me all six one-hour Time Management Teleseminar CDs by Don Wetmore for $143.76 plus $15.00 shipping and handling, a total of $158.76. Save 20%/$35.74!

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Thanks for your order!

Effective Negotiating & Communication Skills Seminar

2007-10-28T18:50:00.000-07:00

EFFECTIVE NEGOTIATING
& COMMUNICATION SKILLS SEMINAR
How to Get What You Want in Less Time

“Effective Negotiating and Communication Skills-How to Get What You Want in Less Time” provides the tools and techniques to help your participants to get more results in less time.

This is a powerful seminar for your group. Negotiation is when two people meet face to face or via phone and email, to discuss and reach an agreement. Everyone negotiates several times each week seeking for example, a better price on a purchase or getting the cooperation and assistance from a co-worker or family member. The better your people are at negotiation and communication, the more productive they will be for you.

What your group will learn:

-How to Effectively Prepare to Negotiate With Ease and Results
-How to Reach a Win-Win Agreement Every Time
-How to Easily Improve Verbal Communications
-How to Easily Improve Written Communications
-How to Deal with Difficult People and Help Them to Be Your Strong Supporter
Don has made over 2,000 presentations worldwide, and will personally prepare and present this dynamic, motivating, and content rich “Effective Negotiating and Communication Skills-How to Get What You Want in Less Time” seminar for you. You will learn new and powerful techniques and tools to get what you want now by effectively communicating and negotiating.
Don received his Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting (BSA) from Bentley College, his Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Babson College, and his Juris Doctor Degree (JD) from Suffolk University Law School.
Don has personally developed and implemented dozens of effective negotiating techniques over the years in his many business ventures. You will learn from his experiences, step by step.

“My negotiating and communication skills are much more effective today because of Don’s help.”

Dynamic Speed Reading Home Study Seminar

2007-10-28T18:40:00.000-07:00

DYNAMIC SPEED READING HOME STUDY SEMINAR

Now you can double your reading speed with this exciting home study seminar and you will increase your reading comprehension and reading pleasure! You will read more in less time!

Perfect for professionals, students and busy working people!

We get more printed information thrown at us in one day than our great-grandparents saw in a lifetime. (Beyond a seed catalog and a book or two, what did they have to look at and absorb?)

Today, information is coming at us from all directions. Books, memos, periodicals, email, newspapers, reports, faxes, magazines, the Internet and more leave many buried, able to wade through just a fraction of what they need to read. Do you happen to know anyone who has a stack of stuff that they haven’t had time to go through? Maybe that’s you!

Knowledge is power. This is the Information Age. Half of what we know today, we didn’t know just fifteen years ago. The amount of information has doubled in just the last fifteen years and some experts predict it will be doubling again every two years.

Everyone has books on the shelf they’ve never read because they didn’t have the time. Some even find reading a slow, laborious task because they read slowly, their mind wanders, and they often have to go back and re-read what they just read. As a result, work suffers and grades suffer.

You cannot control the flow of information to you and if you don’t increase the rate at which you read, you are seeing less and less of what’s out there.

The average person spends about two hours per day reading. If you can double your reading speed, you can cut your reading time in half. What takes two hours can now be done in one hour.

An extra hour a day for you. Seven hours per week and 365 hours for you over the next year. That’s the equivalent of nine additional workweeks over the next year to spend time with your family, on hobbies or work on those important tasks that are being neglected.

It can be done. Easily and with a lot of fun!

Dr. Don Wetmore, the country’s leading expert on Personal Productivity, offers the most comprehensive Dynamic Speed Reading Home Study seminar anywhere. You take the lessons at your pace, on your schedule and you will double your reading speed and significantly increase your comprehension level and reading pleasure. The entire seminar can be completed in as little as four hours!

And then, imagine reading a book in one sitting! Or reading those books you bought, never read and placed on the shelf. (95% of all books purchased are never read.)
How about going home each night with all of your paperwork done, with a clean desk for the next day! What better way to insure your career advancement and success?

Or for students, imagine getting better grades in less time, with less effort!

“Probably the best seminar I have ever invested!” “Don shows you the “how to” in simple, easy to follow steps.” “I’ve never enjoyed reading so much and been able to read so much.”

What you will learn
How to easily read beyond the way you were taught in the first place
How to eliminate the blocks that cause you to read slowly
How to avoid losing concentration when your mind wanders and you have to go back and re-read the same material
Tools to maintain your new skills and to continue to improve your speed and comprehension
Multiple reading techniques for different materials
Improved memory tools
And a whole lot more!

“I can’t believe how much fun this was!” “I’ll sign up the sales staff for another one!” “I learned a lot more than I planned on. This was great!”

The “Myths” About Dynamic Speed Reading
Speed Reading a just a “skimming technique.” Not true. You will read significantly faster and read every word. You will learn how to eliminate the blocks that slow you down.

Speed Reading requires a lot of formal education. Not true. Anyone with a basic, primary reading ability can learn and apply Dynamic Speed Reading tools to double their speed and comprehension. In fact, this program is ideal for any reader 10 years or older!

Speed Reading will reduce my comprehension. Not true. In fact, it’s the opposite. Increasing your reading speed will significantly increase your comprehension and concentration. You will not only be able to read a lot faster but you will be more effective.

Speed Reading requires a lot of study and practice. Not true. You will learn simple, easy techniques and double your reading speed by the end of this unique seminar. You will get the results during the seminar as you apply the new, easy techniques that you will learn.

Speed Reading will not permanently change my reading speed. Not true. Not only will you double your reading speed and significantly increase your comprehension and reading pleasure by the end of your Dynamic Speed Reading Home Study Seminar, you will have the easy tools to permanently maintain your new skills.

Some Client Companies
Don has shared his Dynamic Speed Reading Seminar with client companies from all over, including:

ClifBar
Credit Suisse First Boston
General Electric
Genworth Financial
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Life Tigers
Mercy College
Noble Foundation
Purdue Pharma
Sacred Heart University
Swedish Mission to the UN
Tracey Locke Partnership
Tyco Electronics
United Nations
Wyckoff Medical Center

Now you too can receive the benefits of this terrific home study seminar, at your pace and your convenience.

About Don:
Don has conducted over 2,000 public speaking presentations during the last twenty years, to audiences from around the Globe. He holds a coveted Professional Membership with the National Speakers Association.

He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Bentley College, his Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Babson College and his Juris Doctor Degree from Suffolk University Law School. He has been a Speed Reader throughout his adult life. He walks the talk. He practices what he teaches. You will learn from a doer.

Don is a member of the faculty at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York, where he has served as Assistant Professor of Business Law and Department Chair for the undergraduate and graduate divisions. Currently, he is Adjunct Professor for the Master of Business Administration program and the author of “Beat the Clock”, “Organizing Your Life,” “The Productivity Handbook” and over 100 published articles. He is frequently interviewed by major media including ABC Radio, The New York Times, USAToday, and the Dallas Morning News. He has appeared extensively on radio and television and as the host of the cable TV program, “It’s the Law.”

Dr. Wetmore created the Productivity Institute to conduct his original and unique Dynamic Speed Reading and Personal Productivity seminars for organizations from around the world. In his seminars and consulting, he teaches participants how to significantly increase their reading speed and comprehension, improve their personal productivity both on and off the job and accomplish more in less time, with less stress, for greater personal balance.

Who should get the Dynamic Speed Reading Home Study?
Anyone who wants to double their reading speed and reading comprehension now.
Professionals, staff people, salespeople, office workers, homemakers, managers, teachers, engineers, medical personnel and especially students.

What’s included?
Your own Dynamic Speed Reading Home Study Seminar on CD’s, personally recorded by Dr. Don Wetmore. Our 100-page Dynamic Speed Reading workbook and binder for seminar use and as a follow-up tool.

What is the investment?
Regularly priced at $297, the Dynamic Speed Reading Home Study Seminar is available to the first fifty purchasers for only $197! (plus $8.95 shipping and handling) 100% money back guarantee if not 100% satisfied!

“I wish I had done this a long time ago.”

YES! Send the Dynamic Speed Reading Home Study to me!
Name____________________________________________________

Company_________________________________________________

Street___________________________________________________

City_____________________State_______________Zip___________

Telephone____________________________________Ext.__________

Email____________________________________________________

Method of payment:
MasterCard, Visa, Discover, American Express or Check

Credit card#__________________________________Exp__________

Submit your order now:

Email: ctsem@msn.com
Or Call Our Secure Telephone Line: (203) 386-8062
Or Mail to: Productivity Institute, 127 Jefferson St. Stratford, CT 06615

Tell Us About Your Best Time Management Practices!

2007-06-12T13:05:00.000-07:00

Tell us about your best Time Management practices.

We at the Productivity Institute would love to hear about your best Time Management practices that help you get more done in less time.

Add your comments below.

Thanks for your participation!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson Street
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com
Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Workaholics: Extreme Workers

2007-06-12T12:57:00.000-07:00

WORKAHOLICS: EXTREME WORKERS

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

In the May 23, 2007 edition of USAToday there appeared a feature article about the growing number of workaholics in our country. My experience with my clients confirms that it becoming an epidemic in the workplace where employees are given increased tasks and then achieve increased performance by paying for it out of their hides, putting in more time rather than acquiring better time management skills to learn how to get more done in less time.

About 60% of high earners work more than 50 hours each week and complain that their health and sleep suffer as well as their relationships with their spouses and children. About 35% of the workforce is giving up some vacation time to work more and more a third of those surveyed felt guilty about taking time off.

The causes for this increase of workaholics include a more competitive business environment, less job security and technology such as BlackBerries, laptops and cell phones that keep people tethered to their jobs 24/7.

The article offers some warning signs to tell if you are an Extreme Worker.

Do you find your enjoyment of social activities less?

Are you thinking or worrying about work?

Does your family complain about your work hours?

Are you the last one to leave the office?

Effective personal productivity is not working harder but getting the most important items done. You will leave undone more that you ever get done. You will only accomplish a tiny fraction of what you would like to get done. Having a goal, then, of “getting it all done” just buys stress and frustration and more hours for work and less time for you as you become ensnared in the Extreme Worker trap.

What to do? Two strategies might be helpful.

Start by setting in advance the total number of hours you wish to spend on the job. This will help you to take advantage of Parkinson’s Law which says, in part, that a project tends to expand with the time allocated for it. If you give yourself ten hours in the day to do your work it will take ten hours to complete. You will fill in that time.

On the other hand, if you chose to give yourself eight hours in the day to do your work, you will find yourself generally getting it done within that time frame. You will automatically become more effective at planning and managing your time. You will be less willing to spend time in wasteful meetings for example and will suffer fewer wasteful interruptions.

Second, take a regular, hard look at your To Do list and identify the items that can be delegated. There is a big difference between “I do it” and “It gets done.” What is more important is that it gets done. And the hardest part about delegating is simply letting go, especially for Extreme Workers.

I have had many executive coaching assignments helping clients to get free of the workaholic syndrome and as is often the case, the problem stems from an inability and unwillingness to delegate. “If you want a job done well you have to do it yourself,” leads you to the prison of an Extreme Worker.

If these ideas were helpful, we have prepared an additional article entitled, “Your Just Might Be a Workaholic”. It’s a humorous take on the Extreme Worker that you will find amusing and instructive. If you would like a complimentary copy, email your request for “might” to: ctsem@msn.com

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 1999 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Why We Divorce

2007-06-12T12:56:00.000-07:00

WHY WE DIVORCE

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

Time Management only has to do with making up a good “to do” list and following through. Right? Not really. Time Management has a lot more to do with what we are NOT doing rather than what we ARE doing.

Good Time Management requires that we get what we “have to” get done but, more importantly, what we “want to” get done.

This requires balancing our lives in all of life’s Seven Vital Areas: Health, Family, Financial, Intellectual, Social, Professional, and Spiritual. If we are out of balance on one (never mind two or three!) it is going to adversely impact on the other legs.

There will be about 2 million marriages in the country this year. Isn’t that nice? And there will be 1 million divorces. For the last twenty years, I have been a Professional Speaker and also an attorney and I have participated in over 200 divorces, representing an equal number of men and women in all age groups. (And out of the 200 divorces I have been involved in, I have never represented the party who was at fault!)

Why is marriage and divorce a Time Management issue? Well, let’s say you are 25 years old, you get married, and now, 20 years later, at age 45 you are going through a divorce, all so common in our culture. In one day in divorce court, you give up over 50% of everything you have ever worked for in your adult life through a property settlement. Now that’s good Time Management.

It is so much like the squirrel, hoarding the nuts in his tree while someone is drilling a hole in the bottom of the tree to steal his bounty, but the squirrel doesn’t pay attention to the drilling sound. He is so caught up in doing it the wrong way, he cannot find time to plan how to do it the right way.

And the cause of divorce? You typically hear reasons like money issues, “he has a girlfriend”, “she drinks to much”, etc, etc. But in my experience, 95% of all divorces are caused by one thing. A lack of communication.

The average working business professional spends, on average, just two minutes per day in meaningful communication with their spouse or “significant other”. I don’t know about you, but I can’t get out my story let alone hear what my wife Nancy did in her day in just two minutes. (Interesting to note also that the average working business professional spends less than 30 seconds per day in meaningful communication with their children. That’s just a bit more than, “Hi. How was school? Good. Do you have homework? Go do it. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

Now, when we go back to the beginning the relationship that preceded the marriage, was the couple communicating? Sure. Why? Because they were spending time together. They were going places together, laughing together, crying together, doing this thing called “communication”. And then what happened? After the wedding “something came along”. Lots of “something’s” came along. He was busy traveling and she was busy getting her degree, and the kids, yes the kids, and like two ships in the dark, we frequently pass each other daily with only slight notice.

I am not who I was five years ago, nor are you. I am not who I am going to be five years from now, nor are you. Don’t you think that this is true about that special person in your life? Of course and without substantive ongoing communication we tend to grow apart and then one morning at the breakfast table one asks, “who is that stranger sitting across from me and who is the young pool boy she’s with…..we don’t have a pool.”

I have written a short article entitled, “Five Ideas to Improve a Marriage” to help increase the quantity and quality of time we spend with that special person. It’s no cost. To get yours, email your request for “ideas” to: ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIME MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION LIST”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you aboard!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore-Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson Street
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit our Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 1999 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Five Ways to Not Get Promoted

2007-06-12T12:55:00.002-07:00

FIVE WAYS TO NOT GET PROMOTED

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

“Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to work I go;
From 7-3 it’s misery;
Hi ho, hi ho.”

Time Management has a lot more to do with “investing” our time wisely rather than just “spending it”. A lot of people are not getting the returns from their time that they desire because they are not investing their time effectively, keeping them from getting promoted and advancing beyond where they are, more rapidly. They view their job as just that, a “job”, where they exchange their time for money rather than viewing it as a “position”, a platform and a springboard to even greater success.

In my twenty years as a professional speaker, I have met many who lament that they are stuck where they are at and are not getting the advancement they desire thinking that external forces are keeping them from moving up the ladder. In some cases, this is true. In most cases, it is not. A lot of why we do not get what we want in life is because of what we are and are not doing. Time Management, you see, is not doing the “wrong” things quicker. That just gets us nowhere faster. Time Management is really about doing the “right” things.

And so, here are the five surefire ways to “not” get promoted.

1. Don’t plan your day. Go to work each day without a plan in mind. “People don’t plan to fail but many fail to plan”. Respond to whatever comes at you, the loudest voice demanding your attention. You will work “hard” but maybe not “smart”.

2. Do the minimum. Many have the attitude “they don’t pay me for that”. They do what is required of them to cover themselves and fail to recognize that in order to qualify for a raise, we have do more now than what we are already being paid to do. Like a wood burning stove, many stand at the cold stove and demand its heat without recognizing that you have to put the wood in first, start the flame, and wait a while for heat to radiate.

3. Rely on your current base of knowledge. Half of what we know today, we did not know fifteen years ago. The amount of information has doubled in the last fifteen years and it is said to be doubling every eighteen months hereafter. The world, our companies, and our jobs are changing whether we are along for the ride or not. It has been reported that within five years, 60% of us will be doing jobs that are not even in existence today. Statistically, if we continue to do what we do, the same way, within five years, most of us will be obsolete, the world will pass us by.

4. Voice your complaints. Every job has something to complain about. The pay, the hours, the location, the facility, your boss, your co-workers, the customers, etc. Since we can never be sure whether those around us are aware of our particular discontent, be vocal about what you don’t like. It will keep you and them from doing what really needs to be done and it will send out a message to the “powers that be” that maybe, just maybe, you won’t be here in a few months, so why should they give you any more money or any more responsibility? And you may not mean anything by the complaining but it does have a tendency to send out a negative message about your commitment to the organization and call into question whether or not you will be here in a few months.

5. Don’t share the credit. When something goes right, put your name on the top of the list of those who made it happen. Don’t acknowledge others’ contributions. If something doesn’t work out well, point the finger to someone else. “Victory has a thousand fathers. Failure is an orphan”.

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore, a full-time Professional Speaker, is one of the foremost experts and speakers on Time Management and Personal Productivity and the author of “Beat the Clock”. If you would like to receive a no cost copy of his companion article, “5 Practices to Get a Promotion”, email your request for “practices” to: ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you aboard!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com
Professional Member-National Speakers Association since 1989
Copyright 1999 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication or newsletter. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Big Time Wasters

2007-06-12T12:55:00.001-07:00

Big Time Wasters

By Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

You may be well intended about getting things done during your day at work or during your personal time, but there are big time wasters that will conspire against you to take your productive time away. It has been said that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. In conducting my Time Management Seminars over the last 20 years, I have identified five Big Time Wasters that you can attack.

Poor planning. “People don’t plan to fail but a lot of people fail to plan.” Without a plan of action for your day you tend to direct your attention to the most urgent thing that may not necessarily be the best use of your time. Often, the day will be filled with wheel spinning and “busy-ness”, rather than business. When I was in the military, we referred to the “Six P’s”: “Poor planning produces pretty poor performance”. (I recall that some used a different word for “pretty”, but I’m sure you get the point.)
Procrastination. Taking the time for planning is great but what if you don’t execute on your plan? You tend to put off doing what you know you ought to be doing when there is little or no pain for not doing it and little or no pleasure to do it. Procrastinating the unimportant things has a positive value in your day. The problem for many is that they are procrastinating the important items.
Interruptions. You can do a great job of planning and not be much of a procrastinator, but interruptions will come your way and rob you of productivity. An interruption is an unanticipated event. That’s what makes it an interruption. They come to you from two sources, in-person and electronic (telephone, email, beeper, pager, etc.) Interruptions are both good and bad. There are A (crucial) and B (important) interruptions that you receive without reservation. By definition, they have value to you and are welcomed. But then there are the C (little value) and D (no value) interruptions that only take you away from being as productive as you might otherwise desire.
Failure to delegate. “If you want a job done well, you have to do it yourself”. Have you ever said that to yourself? The problem is you only have 24 hours in your day, 7 days a week for a total of 168 hours. Subtract from that the time you sleep (perhaps 8 hours per night, 7 nights per week, or 56 hours in total) and you are now down to only 112 hours each week to do everything you need and want to do. Delegation is plugging into someone else’s time stream when you don’t have the time or the expertise to accomplish a particular task. Delegation is how you can leverage your time through other people. A lot of time is being wasted by doing what ought to be delegated to others.
Attending meetings. In a typical day in the United States, there are 17 million meetings. A meeting is when two or more people get together to exchange common information. What could be simpler? Yet it surely is a major time waster for many. They are particularly wasteful and unproductive when there is no agenda or time frame and the meeting then drifts out on one tangent and then another without concrete results.

Want five easy tips to help you to stop wasting a lot of your time? Get your no cost copy now of “Stop Wasting Time”. Email your request for “stop” to: mailto:ctsem@msn.com

Receive your no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com.

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 2001 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: mailto:ctsem@msn.com

Visions that Repeat

2007-06-12T12:54:00.000-07:00

VISIONS THAT REPEAT

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

You spend a lot of time reliving memories from the past. Some memories are positive and uplifting and give our days a bounce, enhancing our productivity and results. Other memories are not so bright and bum us out, draining our spirits and motivation and productivity.

Memories are stored in your head after a long journey that begins with a single vision. Visions are the pictures you see in your mind. You can have positive visions or negative visions.

For example, you are going to a party Friday night. This is a party that your brother-in-law always attends and in the past you always got in an argument with him, then left the party in a huff, and generally had a bad time. So you start to visualize going to the party again on Friday and what do you see? You see yourself having a bad time at this party because, after all, you’ve always had a bad time at the party with your brother-in-law.

From those visions, those pictures, you take action. You see a confrontation coming with your brother-in-law and consistent with that image you attend the party waiting for him to trigger the arguments as he has in the past, and sure enough, your body language and words telegraph the message that you are ready for verbal combat and so the process moves forward to conflict and leaving in a huff.

These actions produce results. Your result was, “not having good time at the party”. Those results then become the memories that you re-live over and over again negatively affecting your future productivity.

Your visions direct the actions you take that create the results you realize that form the memories you re-live over and over again,

Now let’s say you would prefer to have a positive memory from this upcoming party in your mind to relive in the future for enhanced productivity. What can you do in advance to change the outcome, the lingering memory? You change the vision.

You stop visualizing having a bad time at the next party. I know, you’ve had a lot of history with bad results, but you put a new picture in your mind this time. You see yourself intentionally avoiding being in the same room with your brother-in-law and if he presses to goad you into argument, you see yourself walking away. You see yourself sitting with Aunt Sarah, whom you spend little time with and talking with her for the evening.

You repeat that vision only, over and over, and if you do enough of that, you find yourself changing your behavior, avoiding your brother-in-law and instead, spending quality time with the other guests. When you leave, you discover you have produced the result called “not having too bad a time at the party”. You recall and remember this now in a positive vein, as an uplifting memory that boosts your attitude and daily productivity in the future.

Does it all happen so easily and quickly? Unlikely. Maybe you create no new results in the near term from this new, more positive way of visioning, but if you are willing to persist and make this healthier way of thinking a consistent habit, then soon you will find it does work. Your visions will be more positive, your actions will follow the visions creating the results that form the positive memories you will re-live over and over.

Don is available to conduct his unique and dynamic Time Management Seminar worldwide, at your location, for groups of any size, from one hour up to three full days, helping you to get more done in less time, with less stress. For details, email your request now for “in-house” to: ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you to our list!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association since 1989
Copyright 2006 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication or newsletter. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Uni or Duo Dimensional

2007-06-12T12:53:00.002-07:00

UNI OR DUO DIMENSIONAL

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

The underlying core of my more than 2,000 Time Management presentations during the last twenty years has been the concept of “balance”. Success in managing our time has less to do with the tools available to us, such as “to do lists” and techniques for delegation, as it has to do with achieving daily balance in our lives. If we are not in balance to begin with, we are likely to sabotage our success. Successful Time Management then has a lot to do with what we are not doing.

Our lives are built on several legs, the Seven Vital Areas: Health, Family, Financial, Intellectual, Social, Professional and Spiritual. If one is a little longer than the rest, like a table, it will affect then entire table.

Life can be cruel. You can lose in any of those areas overnight. Your health can go away. Your money can be lost. Your family can leave you, all on a moment’s notice. Not that we don’t do things to prevent that from happening, but the point is, if one or two legs falters, you have others to hold you up.

It takes three legs for a stool to stand. If you build your life around just one or two legs or areas you first have a continual problem maintaining your balance. Worse, if you lose those one or two legs of those remaining legs, you collapse.

Here’s my list of the seven best ways to get out of balance and become uni or duo dimensional.

1. Ignore your Health. Don’t get the quantity and quality of sleep you require. Don’t take time for exercise. Eat the wrong stuff. (90% of those who join Health and Fitness Clubs today will stop going within the next 90 days.) Your resistance level will be reduced and you will be susceptible to all the latest sniffles and flues going around to ensure that you take advantage of all the sick days you are allowed. 75% of all adult deaths are preventable. We are literally driving ourselves to early grave in the “hurry-up, stressful” life of ours.

It’s interesting when someone gets a new car, they bring it in for the scheduled maintenance, put the right grade of fuel in the tank, and keep it shiny and clean. Our pets visit the veterinarian on a scheduled basis. In a recent study, 34% of the men surveyed said they would not go to doctor even if they were experiencing chest pains.

2. Postpone Family time. They will always be there for you anyway when you get the time for them. A student once asked me, “What is the best way to take my four year old on vacation?” I replied, “You take her when she’s four years old.” Fifty percent of marriages wind up in divorce court. Imagine, getting married at age twenty-five and twenty years later, at age forty-five, you give up 50% of everything you have worked for in your adult life in a property settlement in divorce court. It’s like the squirrel, gathering the nuts, hoarding away while someone is drilling a hole in the side of the tree to let all the nuts escape. The squirrel is too busy to hear the impending threat. The average working person spends less than two minutes per day in meaningful communication with their spouse or “significant other” and less than thirty seconds per day in meaningful communication with their children.

3. Don’t plan your Financial life. Be assured that your employer, and if not, then the government, and if not, then maybe a kindly relative will take care of your needs. Most people arrive at the end of life financially deficient or dependant upon some type of assistance from the government or relatives. Most people do not spend a little of their time, on a regular basis, to create financial freedom and live their lives they way they “want to”, but rather do what do because they “have to”. Eighty percent do not want to go to work on Monday morning. Ninety-seven percent say that if they did achieve financial independence, they would not continue with their current employer or in their current line of work.

4. Stay away from Intellectual development. You have the degree. You read books at one time. Five percent of the population purchases ninety-five percent of all the books. The other ninety-five purchase the other five percent of the books. They don’t have time to read them. They give them away as gifts. You barely have enough time to keep your head above water, what with work and other interests. Coast with the knowledge you have. It’s draining away from you daily but hopefully you filled the reservoir enough early on that it will carry you through your life.

5. Let your Social contacts decide your future. Follow the advice of your friends about what you should be doing in your life even if they are not in a place where you would want to be. Be ever conscious of “What would my friends say/think if I did…?”. Always seek out and act only with the approval of your peers. Take comfort in the knowledge that when there is a void in leadership your life on how you should be spending your time, someone else will fill that void and tell you what to do.

6. Let your Professional life just happen. Do not establish a lifetime plan of where you want to go. Take whatever opportunity and advancement life gives you and be satisfied. Don’t rock the boat. Seek the familiar and avoid the strange. Play it safe. Make it comfortable. If you chose a career path when you were eighteen or twenty years old, and now at age forty you are unhappy, don’t consider a change. Hold on to that decision you made twenty years ago. It will be like going to a twenty year old for career counseling.

7. Avoid spending time in your Spiritual area. Not only in a formal religious venue, but also in our relationships to others, our community, our environment, and the universe. Leave those questions to others to ponder. “When man forgets his Creator, his own creations will be turned upon him.”

Don is available to conduct his unique and dynamic Time Management Seminar worldwide, at your location, for groups of any size helping you to get more done in less time, with less stress. For details, email your request now for “in-house” to: ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you to our list!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association since 1989
Copyright 2006 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication or newsletter. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Twice as Much

2007-06-12T12:53:00.001-07:00

TWICE AS MUCH

By Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

I take Time Management very seriously. I have conducted over 2,000 presentations as a professional speaker on Time Management over the last twenty years to over 100, 000 people. But a good laugh now and then is as important as our serious side.

So, I have accumulated some of the most offbeat Time Management tips for you to get twice as much done. I know you’ll get a chuckle or two from them.

Don’t buy an address book and fill it out. Instead, get a copy of the white pages from your local telephone company and cross out the names you don’t need.
Support cloning.
Watch the television program “60 Minutes” in half an hour.
Always use twice as much grass seed as the directions call for and grow twice the grass.
Always order a double martini.
Use a large scrub brush to brush your teeth.
Shower for twice as much time on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and you can skip Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
Catch two colds at a time and take only half the sick days.
Go to bed dressed, ready to start your next day.
Keep one eye closed during the day and you’ll only have to sleep half as much time.
Have twins.
Ski downhill twice as fast as you are used to and get it over with in half the time.
Buy Double-Mint gum.
Only go out on a double date.
Listen to your politicians and learn how to be better at double talk.
At the beach, roll across the sand and tan your front and back at the same time.
When angry, slam the door twice so you won’t have to do it the next time you get angry.
Only look at every other word and read twice as fast.
I know cookies should be baked at 350 degrees, but try cooking them at 700 degrees in half the time.
Pack twice as much as you need when traveling.
Play your CD’s and DVD’s in the Fast Forward mode.
Eat your dessert while eating your main course.
When writing, always use both hands at the same time.
Have a double set of speakers for your sound system and you will listen to twice as much.
On rainy days, leave the umbrella home and then you can skip your shower the next day.
If you are a golfer, hit two balls at the same time.
When you make a big mistake, be sure to have two excuses why you goofed, to get you out of trouble twice as fast.
At a birthday party, leave off singing the second half of the “Happy Birthday” song.
Fish with two poles.
Cut off half the buttons on your shirts and blouses and you will be able to button what’s left in half the time.
Bet on the Daily Double.
Dig a hole with two shovels.
Use two bars of soap when you wash and get it done in half the time.
Always wear a sweater so you don’t have to spend time looking for one when you really need one.
Tip 30% rather than 15% at the restaurant and enjoy twice the service.

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore, a full-time Professional Speaker, is one of the foremost and entertaining speakers on Time Management and the author of “Beat the Clock” and “Organizing Your Life”, and “The Productivity Handbook”. Invite Don to conduct his dynamic Time Management Seminar on site, at your location from one hour up to three full days for groups of any size. For details, mailto:ctsem@msn.com and put “on site” in the subject line.

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore-Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute-Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St., Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
email: ctsem@msn.com
Timely Time Management Tips:
Visit our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com/

Professional Member-National Speakers Association since 1989

Copyright 2001 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication or newsletter. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Top Five Best Time Management Practices

2007-06-12T12:52:00.001-07:00

TOP FIVE BEST TIME MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

From my thirty years in the field of Time Management, I have developed the “Top Five Best Time Management Practices” to help you to get more out of every day.

1. Plan an hour per day for “Me Time”. Give twenty-three hours to the world but keep one hour for yourself. During this hour add a new dimension to your life that is not there because you didn’t feel you had the time for it. Read the books, learn a hobby, learn a foreign language, develop computer skills, start a business, spend time on health development etc. One hour per day is 365 hours in a year. The average college course is about 35 classroom hours. That equals 10 college courses per year. One hour per day and you become a full-time student! By taking one hour per day of focused study, any of us can become a world-class expert in a topic of our choice. Would your future be more secure, certain, and successful if you became a world-class expert in a topic of your choice?

2. Establish a regular reading program. It can be just fifteen minutes a day. Even with that small investment, the average person will read fifteen books in a year. Also, consider taking a Speed Reading course. I did. It helped me to double my reading rate and comprehension. I can now read twice as much in the same time period.

3. Overload your days. Build a daily action plan that includes not only the things you “have to do”, but the things you “want to do”. Parkinson’s Law tells us that a project will tend to expand with the time allocated for it. If we give ourselves one thing to do during the day, it will take us all day. If we give ourselves two things to do during the day, we get them both done. If we give ourselves twelve things to do, we may not get twelve done, but we may get eight done. Having a lot to do in a day creates a healthy sense of pressure on us to get focused and get it done. We almost automatically become better time managers, less likely to suffer interruptions, not waste time in meetings, etc. by having a lot to do. (“If you want to get something done, give it to a busy person.”)

4. Prioritize your list of “things to do”. Some of our tasks are “crucial” and some of our tasks are “not crucial”. We have a tendency to gravitate to the “not crucial” items because they are typically quicker, more fun, and easier to do. Identify the most important task you need to do and label it as a “1”, the second most important task as a “2”, etc. Then tackle your items in the order of importance, doing the most important items first.

5. Radiate a genuine, positive attitude. Often, like attracts like and it repels the opposite. When you are in a negative mood you tend to repel the positive people who do not want to be strained and drained and brought down by your negativity. And, when you are in a negative mood, you have a natural system set up to attract the other negative people to you who want to share their stories of their misery so the two of you can compare experiences to decide who has the worse life. Positive people help to bring us up. Negative people help to bring us down.

Have you been meaning to get going on these suggestions but couldn’t get started? Get your no cost copy now of “Procrastination Paula”. (Don’t wait until tomorrow!) To get yours now, email your request for “Paula” to: ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you aboard!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 1999 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

The Tools for Increasing Employees' Productivity

2007-06-12T12:49:00.002-07:00

THE TOOLS FOR INCREASING EMPLOYEES’ PRODUCTIVITY

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

Helping employees to become more productive means they are getting more done in less time and with less stress, burn out, and turnover. It also means recruiting and retention costs go down, enhancing the bottom line. (And, it’s not a bad way to run a business!) Over the years, I found these five suggestions as valuable principles to help employees to increase their daily productivity.

1. Train for success. No one can do it better and more productively, unless they know how to do it. Many employers fail to not only train employees initially, but as an on-going process. They are fearful of taking people offline and losing their immediate output. The result is, however, that people are so busy doing it the wrong way because they cannot take out some time to learn how to do it the right way. The training process ought to help employees handle their current responsibilities more effectively and to prepare them for what they need to know a year from now, and five years from now, as the information explosion changes the way we all do business.

2. Provide the right tools. These tools include not only the physical resources and proper staffing but also the personal tools of self-development. Many employers will send a painter out in the field with a ladder that’s three feet short. Employees are the Rolls Royce’s of the company. If you fail to spend a little to give the Rolls the proper fuel and maintenance, that $200,000 machine will not operate properly.

3. Keep employees in the loop. Let employees know what the “big picture” is, where the company is going, and how they fit into the scheme of things. There is nothing less productive than an employee who doesn’t understand how they fit into that “big picture”, how their every act and contribution is vital to the success of the entire organization.

4. Recognize and reward. Most employees want recognition above money. Sure, the money is important but so is the pat on the back. Catch people doing it right. Behavior rewarded persists. Praise publicly. Send complimentary notes. (It’s an event in most people’s lives. When was the last time your received one?) This is not about spending money, it’s about giving what employees want and need the most. Apples shine when you polish them.

5. Empower. “What they write, they will underwrite.” Push decision making to the lowest levels. Help employees to feel a part of the decision making process. Give them some authority to make decisions that will make their job more productive. Will they make “bad” decisions? Sure. But over time, the “good” decisions will far outweigh the “bad”.

It has been said, “A problem well-defined is 95% solved”. We have developed a unique Staff Personal Productivity Assessment Questionnaire to measure your employees’ strengths and weaknesses and we will include our specific recommendations to help your employees achieve higher levels of daily productivity. If you would like more information on how this tool can help improve your company’s profitability, you may contact Don Wetmore directly at: ctsem@msn.com or call him at (203) 386-8062.

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you aboard!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association since 1989

Copyright 1999 & 2004 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Some Time Savers

2007-06-12T12:49:00.001-07:00

SOME TIME SAVERS

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

In my Time Management seminars, which I have conducted for more than 100,000 people from around the globe, I show people how to get more done in less time, with less stress; to help them have more time for the things they want to do in their work and personal lives.

If you can recapture a wasted hour here and there and redirect it to a more productive use, you can make great increases in your daily productivity and the quality of your life.

Here are five of the many techniques I share in our Time Management seminars, each one of which will help you to get at least one more hour out of your day for additional productive time.

1. Run an Interruptions Log The average person gets 50 interruptions a day. The average interruption takes five minutes. Some five hours each day are spent dealing with interruptions. Many are crucial and important and are what we are paid to do but many have little or no value. Run an Interruptions Log to identify and eliminate the wasteful interruptions. Just use a pad of paper and label it “Interruptions Log” Create six columns: Date, Time, Who, What, Length, Rating. After each interruption is dealt with, log in the date and time it occurred, who brought it to you, a word or two about what it related to, the length of time it took, and finally the rating of its importance: A=crucial, B=important, C=little value, and D=no value. Run it for a week or more to get a good measure of what is happening in your life. Then evaluate the results and take action to eliminate some of the C and D interruptions that have little or no value.
2. Delegate It We all have 168 hours each week and when you subtract 56 hours for sleep and another 10 hours for personal care, that doesn’t leave a whole lot of time to get done what needs to be done. Delegation permits you to leverage your time through others and thereby increase your own results. The hardest part of delegation though, is simply letting go. We take great pride in doing things ourselves. “If you want a job done well, you better do it yourself”. Every night in Daily Planning, look at all that you have to do and want to do the next day and with each item ask yourself, “Is this the best use of my time?” If it is, do it. If it isn’t, try to arrange a way to delegate it to someone else. There is a lot of difference between “I do it” and “It gets done”.
3. Manage Meetings A meeting is when two or more people get together to exchange common information. What could be simpler? Yet, it can one of the biggest time wasters we must endure. Before a meeting ask, “Is it necessary?” and “Am I necessary?” If the answers to either are “no”, consider not having the meeting or excusing yourself from attending. Then prepare a written agenda for the meeting with times assigned for each item along with a starting time and ending time. Circulate the written agenda among those who will be attending. There is no sense in holding a meeting by ambush. Let people know in advance what is to be discussed.
4. Handle Paper It’s easy to get buried today in the blizzard of paperwork around us. The average person receives around 150 communications each day via email, telephone, hard mail, memos, circulars, faxes, etc. A lot of time is wasted going through the same pile of paper day after day and correcting mistakes when things slip through the cracks. Try to handle the paper once and be done with it. If it is something that can be done in a minute or two, do it and be done. If it is not the best use of your time, delegate it. If it is going to take some time to complete, schedule ahead in your day calendar on the day you think you might get to it and then put it away.
5. Run a Time Log If you want to manage it, you have to measure it. A Time Log is a simple yet powerful tool to create a photo album sort of overview of how your time is actually being spent during the day. Simply make an ongoing record of your time as you spend it. Record the activity, the time spent on it, and then the rating using A, B, C, and D as described in #1 above. Some examples of how your time might be spent: Made telephone calls, 35 minutes, A; Answered emails, 48 minutes, B; Attended staff meeting, 55 minutes, C. Run this for a few days to get a good picture of how your time is being spent. Then analyze the information. Add up all the A, B, C, and D time. Most discover a lot of their time is being spent on C and D items that have little or no value. Finally, take action steps to reduce the C and D items to give you more time for the really important things in your life.

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore, a full-time Professional Speaker, is one of the foremost experts on Time Management and the author of “Beat the Clock”, “Organizing Your Life” and “The Productivity Handbook”. If you would like information about his on-site Time Management Seminars for groups of any size, email your request now for “on-site” to: mailto:ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive more Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe”. We welcome you to our list!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association since 1989

Copyright 2001 & 2006 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication or newsletter. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: mailto:ctsem@msn.com

Some Time Savers #2

2007-06-12T12:36:00.003-07:00

SOME TIME SAVERS #2

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

In my Time Management seminars, which I have conducted for more than 100,000 people from around the globe, I show people how to get more done in less time, with less stress; to help them have more time for the things they want to do in their work and personal lives.

If you can recapture a wasted hour here and there and redirect it to a more productive use, you can make great increases in your daily productivity and the quality of your life.

Here are five of the many techniques I share in our Time Management seminars, each one of which will help you to get at least one more hour out of your day for additional productive time.

1. Run an Interruptions Log The average person gets 50 interruptions a day. The average interruption takes five minutes. Some five hours each day are spent dealing with interruptions. Many are crucial and important and are what we are paid to do but many have little or no value. Run an Interruptions Log to identify and eliminate the wasteful interruptions. Just use a pad of paper and label it “Interruptions Log” Create six columns: Date, Time, Who, What, Length, Rating. After each interruption is dealt with, log in the date and time it occurred, who brought it to you, a word or two about what it related to, the length of time it took, and finally the rating of its importance: A=crucial, B=important, C=little value, and D=no value. Run it for a week or more to get a good measure of what is happening in your life. Then evaluate the results and take action to eliminate some of the C and D interruptions that have little or no value.
2. Delegate It We all have 168 hours each week and when you subtract 56 hours for sleep and another 10 hours for personal care, that doesn’t leave a whole lot of time to get done what needs to be done. Delegation permits you to leverage your time through others and thereby increase your own results. The hardest part of delegation though, is simply letting go. We take great pride in doing things ourselves. “If you want a job done well, you better do it yourself”. Every night in Daily Planning, look at all that you have to do and want to do the next day and with each item ask yourself, “Is this the best use of my time?” If it is, do it. If it isn’t, try to arrange a way to delegate it to someone else. There is a lot of difference between “I do it” and “It gets done”.
3. Manage Meetings A meeting is when two or more people get together to exchange common information. What could be simpler? Yet, it can one of the biggest time wasters we must endure. Before a meeting ask, “Is it necessary?” and “Am I necessary?” If the answers to either are “no”, consider not having the meeting or excusing yourself from attending. Then prepare a written agenda for the meeting with times assigned for each item along with a starting time and ending time. Circulate the written agenda among those who will be attending. There is no sense in holding a meeting by ambush. Let people know in advance what is to be discussed.
4. Handle Paper It’s easy to get buried today in the blizzard of paperwork around us. The average person receives around 150 communications each day via email, telephone, hard mail, memos, circulars, faxes, etc. A lot of time is wasted going through the same pile of paper day after day and correcting mistakes when things slip through the cracks. Try to handle the paper once and be done with it. If it is something that can be done in a minute or two, do it and be done. If it is not the best use of your time, delegate it. If it is going to take some time to complete, schedule ahead in your day calendar on the day you think you might get to it and then put it away.
5. Run a Time Log If you want to manage it, you have to measure it. A Time Log is a simple yet powerful tool to create a photo album sort of overview of how your time is actually being spent during the day. Simply make an ongoing record of your time as you spend it. Record the activity, the time spent on it, and then the rating using A, B, C, and D as described in #1 above. Some examples of how your time might be spent: Made telephone calls, 35 minutes, A; Answered emails, 48 minutes, B; Attended staff meeting, 55 minutes, C. Run this for a few days to get a good picture of how your time is being spent. Then analyze the information. Add up all the A, B, C, and D time. Most discover a lot of their time is being spent on C and D items that have little or no value. Finally, take action steps to reduce the C and D items to give you more time for the really important things in your life.

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore, a full-time Professional Speaker, is one of the foremost experts on Time Management and the author of “Beat the Clock”, “Organizing Your Life” and “The Productivity Handbook”. If you would like to receive a no cost copy of his humorous article, “You Just Might be a Workaholic”, email your request now for “might” to: mailto:ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive more Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe”. We welcome you to our list!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association since 1989

Copyright 2001 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication or newsletter. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: mailto:ctsem@msn.com

Three Steps for Positive Goal Setting

2007-06-12T12:36:00.001-07:00

Three Steps for Positive Goal Setting

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

As I conduct my Time Management Seminars all over, my audiences consistently tell me they want more out of life. Almost everyone I speak with has a yearning for improving several aspects of their lives. They have dreams and goals about their futures that are as yet unrealized.

Many come to the end in life with those visions unrealized, pictures in their minds only.

Achieving goals helps us to get the “want to’s” in our lives. Life ought to be more than just achieving the “have to’s”.

I offer three important tips to help increase the probability of achieving your dreams, getting more of what you want in your life.

Put your goals into writing. There is something powerful about writing out what you want, getting your dream out of your head and on to a piece of paper. It then seems more realizable. It’s a stonger affirmation of what you are working towards rather than having a vague, wispy notion floating around in your head.

An even stronger tool is to prepare a goal scrapbook. Nothing fancy. Get a three-ring binder and fill it with notebook paper. Then get a picture of each your goals and paste them into your new goal scrapbook. You can go to the car dealer and get a brochure of the new car you want. Visit a travel agent and pick up brochures of your ideal vacation’s destination and add that. Clip a picture of your dream house out of the newspaper’s real estate section and add this as well.

Then, each night, review your goal scrapbook and see a picture of what will surely be coming to you. It’s like viewing a crystal ball and seeing your future.

Quantify your goals. Many do not get what they truly want in their lives because they are too vague about what they want. It is not enough to say, “I want more money” or “I want to be rich”. Instead, if you write, “I want $10,000”, you now have a clear target to shoot for.

Set a deadline. Did you ever set a New Year’s resolution and never achieve it? Most people have. And most people fail to achieve their dreams because they did not include a deadline with their goal. Deadlines move us to action.

When we fail to include a deadline for our goal, when we commit to achieving it “as soon as possible”, the goal winds up in our “as soon as possible” pile of things I will do another day, which is probably never. Why? Because we all too much to do and not enough time to get it all done. The items that have deadlines for completion tend to bubble up in priority and importance so that we take action and achieve them.

Having written out the goal, placed a picture in our goal scrapbook, quantified it, and set a deadline, we can now break that goal down into its little component pieces so that achievement becomes realistic and manageable.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. No goal achievement is a leap across some huge canyon. Many are intimidated and driven away from going after what they really want in their lives for fear they will have to take a giant leap across that canyon and, hey, what if I don’t leap far enough? Disaster.

Let’s say you have a goal to get an additional $10,000 in savings two years from today. Make up a picture of your new bank statement two years from now showing the additional $10,000 in your account. The goal is in writing. It is quantified and a deadline has been set. Now you can break that goal into its little steps for achievement.

To get $10,000 over the next two years requires getting an additional $5,000 per year. A year is made up of twelve months, so that means you need to get approximately $400 per month. A month is made up of four weeks, so that’s $100 per week. And a week is made of, let’s say, five business days. That’s $20 per day. (I have not added in interest to these calculations just for simplicity.)

I don’t know about you, but the notion of going out in the world tomorrow and getting an extra $20 is a whole lot more realistic and certainly a whole more doable than getting $10,000. Getting the entire $10,000 is the leap across the canyon. It scares me. $20 is the single step. That’s something I can handle. Now the goal seems realistic and is realizable.

But until you write out your goal, quantify it, and set a deadline so that you break it down to its small steps, it will forever appear to be too big a stretch and therefore unattainable. But every time you follow these three steps and break the goal down, you will always find that you have within your control what it takes to accomplish that next step. And once you begin, you are on your way!

Help your group to set and achieve their goals with our dynamic “Beat the Clock” seminar at your location, for groups of any size, from one hour up to three full days. For more information, send your request for “in house” to: ctsem@msn.com

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 2001 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

The Time Thieves

2007-06-12T12:35:00.002-07:00

The Time Thieves

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

You have 24 hours in every day, seven days a week for a total of 168 hours to accomplish what needs to be done in your life. And every day, eleven time thieves gang up on you and work to take some of that precious time away from productive use. Let me introduce you to this inconsiderate troupe.

Poor planning. People don’t plan to fail but a lot of people fail to plan. Without a plan of action set up before your day begins you are likely to get caught up in “stuff”, responding the loudest voice that gets your time and attention. Will you have been productive for the day? Sure, but not as productive as you might have been.
Crisis management. When a deadline sneaks up on you it robs you of all choice and you are controlled by the clock. Crisis management, for the most part, is poor time management because you’re rushed and stressed, letting things slip through the cracks and often having to go back and redo what was not done well in the first place. Most of what puts you into crisis management is within your control, you could have seen it coming.
Procrastination. All the planning in the world does not substitute for the doing. Many find that they just can’t get going on the things that will make a big difference in their success. They have “permanent potential”. First thing in your day, get going on the most difficult tasks and get them out of the way.
Interruptions. Unanticipated events coming your way, in person or electronically, can steal your time away. Many interruptions are necessary and part of what you get paid for. However, most are unnecessary thieves of your time. Be less willing to automatically give away your time just because they demand it. Rather, determine whether or not they deserve it.
Not delegating. “If you want a job done well you better do it yourself.” What a thief! Look at everything you have to do and ask, “Is this the best use of my time?” If it is, do it. If not, delegate it. There’s a world of difference between “I do it” and “It gets done.” Leverage your time through others and don’t allow the things that can be delegated to steal your time.
Unnecessary meetings. If two or more people get together and nothing productive comes of the time spent together, that meeting was unnecessary and, sadly, most meetings are time thieves. Before meeting ask, “Is it really necessary?” If it is, then meet but take action as a result of the meeting and not let it be a time bandit.
The “shuffling blues”. Many people manage their time through piles. Piles of appear on their desk. Piles of “to be read” emails on their computer and lots of “to be heard” voicemails stored away. The piles require frequent review creating the shuffling blues which surrenders valuable time. Keep a clean work environment. When encountering something new, schedule it to your day planner under the day you plan to tackle it and then put it away so you are out of the shuffling blues.
Poor physical setup. Not having the things you need the most often within arm’s reach and having a lot of the things you rarely need close by causes you to waste a lot of time wearing out the carpet retrieving what you frequently need. And of course, as you pass others they will often pull you aside to steal some of your time. Have the most needed stuff near by, within arm’s reach and save that stolen time.
Poor networking. Quality relationships with others can be a huge time saver as they open doors for you with all kinds of opportunities. Failing to develop a good network base will cause you to waste time creating what you might have had through your network. Be a good networker. Help them whenever possible. You want a friend? You have to be a friend.
Bad attitude. Nothing sinks a day more effectively than having a poor attitude. It causes you to dwell on the problems and not the solutions and makes it possible to throw the day away. When you are burdening others with your problems and complaints you are stealing your time and theirs. And the truth is that when you complain to others, 85% of them really don’t care and the other 15% are actually glad it’s happening to you.
Negative people. Some people are the life of the party and some people are the death of the party. The problem with having negative people around you is you wind up spending a lot of your time listening to their complaints rather than focusing on your success.

Arrest each of these time thieves. Sentence them to solitary confinement and re-claim your productive time. You deserve it.

Want help eliminating the time thieves from your day? You can easily get more of the important things done, in less time, with less stress. Invite Don to conduct his dynamic Time Management Seminar at your location, from one hour up to three full days, for groups of any size. For details, email your request now for “in house” to: ctsem@msn.com

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com
Professional Member-National Speakers Association since 1989

Copyright 2005 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication or newsletter. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Ten Time Savers

2007-06-12T12:35:00.001-07:00

TEN TIME SAVERS

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

In my Time Management seminars which I have conducted for more than 100,000 people from around the globe, I show people how to get more done in less time, with less stress; to help them have more time for the things they want to do in their work and business lives.

If you can recapture a wasted hour here and there and redirect it to a more productive use, you can make great increases in your daily productivity.

Here are ten of the techniques I share in our Time Management seminars, each one of which will help you to get at least one more hour out of your day of additional productive time.

1. Maintain Balance. Your life consists of Seven Vital Areas: Health, Family, Financial, Intellectual, Social, Professional, and Spiritual. You will not spend equal amounts of time in each area or time every day in each area. But, if in the long run, you are spending a sufficient quantity and quality of time in each area, then your life will be balanced. But ignore any one of your areas, (never mind two or three!) and you will get out of balance and potentially sabotage your success. Fail to take time now for your health and you will have to take time for illness later on. Ignore your family and they may leave you and cost you a lot of time to re-establish relationships. It is especially challenging for self-employed people to maintain balance, isn’t it?

2. Get the Power of the Pen. A faint pen has more power than the keenest mind. Get into the habit of writing things to do down using one tool (a Day-Timer, pad of paper, Palm Pilot, etc.) Your mind is best used for the big picture rather than all the details. The details are important, but manage them with the pen. If you want to manage it you have to measure it first. Writing all things down, not just incoming orders, helps you to more easily remember all that you need to accomplish.

3. Do Daily Planning. It is said that people do not plan to fail but a lot of people fail to plan. Take the time each night to take control of the most precious resource at your command, the next twenty-four hours. Plan your work and then work your plan each day. Write up a To Do list with all you “have to’s” and all of your “want to’s” for your next day. Without a plan for the day, you can easily get distracted, spending your time serving the loudest voice, the noisiest customer, rather than attending to the most important things for your day that will enhance your productivity.

4. Prioritize It. Your To Do list will have crucial and not crucial items on it. Despite the fact most people want to be productive, when given the choice between crucial and not crucial items, we will most often end up doing the not crucial items. They are generally easier and quicker than crucial items. Prioritize your To Do list each night. Put the #1 next to the most important item on your list. Place the #2 next to the second most important item on your list, etc. Then tackle the items on your list in order of their importance. You may not get everything done on your list, but you will get the most important things done. This is working smarter, not harder, and getting more done in less time.

5. Control Procrastination. The most effective planning in the world does not substitute for doing what needs to be done. We procrastinate and put off important things because we don’t sense enough pain for not doing it or enough pleasure to do it. To get going on something you have been putting off, create in your mind enough pain for not doing it or enough pleasure to do it. I prefer the pleasure approach. Take a procrastinated item and turn it into to a game. Work with one thing in front of you at a time so other things won’t distract you. (“Out of sight, out of mind.”) Break it down to little bite-sized, manageable pieces. Get it started, take the first step and you will likely continue it to completion.

6. Run an Interruptions Log. The average person gets 50 interruptions a day. The average interruption takes five minutes. Some four hours each day, on average, are spent dealing with interruptions. Many are crucial and important, like new orders, and are what we get paid to do but many have little or no value. Run an Interruptions Log to identify and eliminate the wasteful interruptions. Just use a pad of paper and label it “Interruptions Log”. Create six columns: Date, Time, Who, What, Length, Rating. After each interruption is dealt with, log in the date and time it occurred, who brought it to you, a word or two about what it related to, the length of time it took, and finally the rating of its importance: A=crucial, B=important, C=little value, and D=no value. Run it for a week or more to get a good measure of what is happening in your life. Then evaluate the results and take action to eliminate some of the C and D interruptions that have little or no value.

7. Delegate It. We all have 168 hours each week and when you subtract 56 hours for sleep and another 10 hours for personal care, that doesn’t leave a whole lot of time to get done what needs to be done. Delegation permits you to leverage your time through others and thereby increase your own results. The hardest part of delegation though, is simply letting go. We take great pride in doing things ourselves. “If you want a job done well, you better do it yourself”. Every night in Daily Planning, look at all that you have to do and want to do the next day and with each item ask yourself, “Is this the best use of my time?” If it is, do it. If it isn’t, try to arrange a way to delegate it to someone else. There is a lot of difference between “I do it” and “It gets done”.

8. Manage Meeting Time. A meeting is when two or more people get together to exchange common information. What could be simpler? Yet, it can be one of the biggest time wasters we must endure. Before a meeting ask, “Is it necessary?” and “Am I necessary?” If the answers to either are “no”, consider not having the meeting or excusing yourself from attending. Then prepare a written agenda for the meeting with times assigned for each item along with a starting time and ending time. Circulate the written agenda among those who will be attending. There is no sense in holding a meeting by ambush. Let people know in advance what is to be discussed.

9. Handle Paper. It’s easy to get buried today in the blizzard of paperwork around us. The average person receives around 150 communications each day via email, telephone, hard mail, memos, circulars, faxes, etc. A lot of time is wasted going through the same pile of paper day after day and correcting mistakes when things slip through the cracks. Try to handle the paper once and be done with it. If it is something that can be done in a minute or two, do it and be done. If it is not the best use of your time, delegate it. If it is going to take some time to complete, schedule ahead in your day calendar on the day you think you might get to it and then put it away.

10. Run a Time Log. If you want to manage it, you have to measure it. A Time Log is a simple yet powerful tool to create a photo album sort of overview of how your time is actually being spent during the day. Simply make an ongoing record of your time as you spend it. Record the activity, the time spent on it, and then the rating using A, B, C, and D as described in #1 above. Some examples of how your time might be spent: Made telephone calls, 35 minutes, A; Made baskets, 48 minutes, A; Attended meeting, 55 minutes, C: Telephone call from Janis, 7 minutes, D. Run this for a few days to get a good picture of how your time is being spent. Then analyze the information. Add up all the A, B, C, and D time. Most discover a lot of their time is being spent on C and D items that have little or no value. Finally, take action steps to reduce the C and D items to give you more time for the really important things in your life.

Time Management Seminars available on-site, at your location, from one hour to three full days for groups of any size. Get more done in less time. For information, email your request for “on-site” to: ctsem@msn.com

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association since 1989

Copyright 2004 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication or newsletter. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: mailto:ctsem@msn.com

Conquer Telephone Tag

2007-06-12T12:34:00.001-07:00

Conquer Telephone Tag

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

I love technology. I am not a technical person but I admire the techno-things that have helped my business, productivity and profitability. Things like laptops, the Internet, and email have cut costs and boosted productivity and profits dramatically during the last decade.

With almost all new technological breakthroughs, there is a period that is heralded as the answer to all our problems followed quickly by a learning period during which we figure out how to best capitalize on this new way of working.

Voicemail fits this paradigm. Voicemail-the culprit that heightened “telephone tag” to an art form.

Ten years ago, I had to pay the salary of a receptionist or acquire the services of an answering service to handle incoming telephone calls. Or I might use an answering machine with a limited recording limit. I opted for the live receptionist. More personal, more real, I thought.

Then along came voicemail, a way of accepting incoming phone calls at a low cost with more options than an answering machine and a way of more effectively handling phone calls than before, giving the caller the opportunity to receive answers to their inquiries without talking to a real person.

Multiple menu options surfaced (if you would like sales, press 2, if you press 2 and would like to receive a copy of our catalog, press 4, if you press 4 and would like our winter catalog, press 5, but if you would like our spring catalog, press 6…..). I actually timed a menu option thing recently and it took over a minute and a half to get to the option that I wanted to get to the information I needed.

Voicemail also creates a new opportunity for people to duck your calls. Many people rarely answer a phone when it rings waiting until you have slogged through their voicemail menu, then to play your message and decide whether or not to call you back. Of course, when they call you back, they get your voicemail system and then you have to listen to their message and decide whether or not to return their call. Hmmm. Telephone tag and you’re it!

We need a better system. Here are a few suggestions to better deal with voicemail and avoid telephone tag.

Use an alternative to telephone. Look, people you call are going to duck your call via voicemail so use a different mode of communication that might have a better rate of success of getting through. Fax your message or email it or even use a first class letter. Some of those “old” methods are better than the new technology.
Don’t spill the beans. Want someone to call you back? Don’t give them the entire speal in your voicemail. Less is more. A little intrigue. Teasers. “Debbie. Please give me a call to talk about how to make your job easier” v “ Debbie. I found a new online course for only $259 that will show us how to get a lot more done in less time with a lot less stress. The problem is I can’t afford to buy it on my own. Would you be willing to kick in half of this and we could share the program? Let me know if you want to do this.”
Be specific. If you want a return call, don’t end with “Call me as soon as possible” or “Call me soon” or “Call me when you can”. Everyone has “too much to do”. You are then just one more thing to do. Those vague requests wind up in the “as soon as possible” pile of Never Never Land that rarely gets acted upon. Instead, give a specific day and time to call back. Don’t give two or more choices because that will necessitate a call back from that person to confirm which date and time is best to return the call.

For example: “Joe, this is Don. I need to speak to you about how to make the Anderson research run more smoothly. Give me a call back on Tuesday, the fifth at 9:00 a.m. I blocked that time for you. If this doesn’t work for you, please give me a call to reschedule and leave a message on my voicemail with at least two alternate dates and times for us to talk. Gutsy? Offensive? Well, 95% of the time you will not hear back from this person to change the date and time you have selected and you will accomplish what you intended to do on the date and time you have selected.

Get more done in less time, with less stress! Don is available to conduct his dynamic Time Management Seminar, on site, at your location for groups of any size from one hour up to three days. For full information, email your request for “on-site” to: ctsem@msn.com

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com
Professional Member-National Speakers Association since 1989

Copyright 2002 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication or newsletter. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Systematize and Simplify

2007-06-12T12:33:00.002-07:00

SYSTEMATIZE AND SIMPLIFY

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

During thirty years as a Time Management speaker and consultant, I have learned and shared a lot of simple practices that help my audiences to increase their daily results. A lot of time is wasted because we don’t have a system in place for many of the repetitive tasks we do so that we have to pay over and over again, with our time, for the same results.

So here’s one neat tip: systematize. (I don’t think this is really a word, but hey, if no one invents new words, how will our language grow?) Systematize is the simple procedure of creating a routine way of responding to a myriad of tasks that will open our time for more important things. We can systematize in all areas of our life. Here are a few places you may wish to begin.

1. Standard text documents. I have dozens of documents in “My Documents” section of my computer. These include a lot of the articles that people request through our website and standard letters I send out for business and personal contacts, standard information documents (like directions to our office). Most of the information I need to send to respond to my emails is there or easily modified and tailored so that I don’t have to type out a lot of repetitive information.

2. A single calendaring system. Some people use as many as a dozen ways of tracking their appointments and scheduled events and their “To Do” list items. There’s a calendar for work and one for personal things. There’s stuff lying out on the desk reminding us what needs to be done. The dentist appointment card is on the bathroom mirror and the dry cleaner claim slip is hanging from the visor in the car. The softball schedule is on the refrigerator and we have several other commitments in our heads. Boil this all down to a single system. I use Daytimer products, but whatever product you feel comfortable with is fine. Just make it a simple, singular, master system from which you take control of appointments and scheduled events and your “To Do” list items.

3. Clean up the messy desk or work area. Studies have shown that the person who works with a messy desk spends, on average, one and a half hours per day looking for things or being distracted by things. That’s seven and a half hours per week! (“Out of sight, out of mind.” And the reverse of that is true too, “In sight, in mind”.) And, it’s not a solid block of an hour and a half, but a minute here and a minute there, and like a leaky hot water faucet, drip, drip, drip, it doesn’t seem like a major loss, but at the end the day, we’re dumping gallons of hot water down the drain that we are paying to heat. If you have ever visited the office of a top manager, typically, that person is working with a clean desk environment. Many would attribute this result to that person’s access to other staff members. While there may be some truth in that conclusion, in most cases, if we went back some years in that person’s career, they probably were working with a clean desk back then which gave them the focus they needed to become promoted to where they are today.

4. Have adequate supplies. Some people spend a lot of their productive time looking for a pen or a pad of paper or staples for their stapler. Have enough pens, pencils, yellow markers, “sticky notes”, writing pads, fax paper, printer cartridges, updated telephone directories, staples, “Wite Out”, report forms, index cards, paper clips, rolls of adding machine tapes, etc., etc.

5. Make your physical surroundings workable. Move the fax machine closer (or further away!) from your desk. Have the most frequently used and needed files within arm’s reach and the less frequently required items further out. Have adequate space at your desk to do what you need to do. Remove some unnecessary items, if necessary, to make room.

6. Set up a functional briefcase. I travel a lot and am out of my office at seminars or meetings with clients requiring that I tote along a briefcase. In addition to the stuff I need for where I am going, I have my briefcase stocked with a lot of neat things like a calculator, a pocket map of the United States, basic office supplies (writing pads, pens, yellow markers, small stapler, paper clips, stamps and a few envelopes), blank checks, a few deposit slips, a paperback book I have been intending to read, and at least one project I can work on if I get stuck in traffic or am waiting for the meeting to begin. It gives me more choices.

7. Schedule maintenance. The equipment you use, your car, stuff around the house, and oh yeah, you. You know your car needs to be serviced. Why wait for a breakdown to get it done and spend more time on what could have been accomplished in less time. (You still need a tune-up, but now you have to wait for the tow truck to arrive.) Regular medical and dental checkups save huge amounts of time in our future by fixing small conditions before they become major costly issues.

8. Catalog contacts. Develop and maintain your contacts list so that networking can enhance your future with the contacts you make. A computer-based program such as ACT is excellent, but even a simple 3x5 card system will work. Keep track of a growing list of contacts, help them at every turn and they will be there to help you.

Need some help getting systematized? Our Executive Coaching service might be the answer. For information now, email your request for “coach” to: ctsem@msn.com

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 2000 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Ten Super Marketing Ideas for the Professional Speaker

2007-06-12T12:33:00.001-07:00

TEN SUPER MARKETING IDEAS FOR THE PROFESSIONAL SPEAKER

By Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

During the past eighteen years as a full-time Professional Speaker, I have learned a lot about what to and, more importantly, what not to do to market Professional Speaking Services. Below are ten SUPER marketing ideas that have worked for me. They all have two things in common. They are all low cost/no cost and they have all produced great results for me.

1. Get a non-profit sponsor. Work out an arrangement with a non-profit organization (Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, etc.) to co-sponsor your event as a fundraiser for them. They are responsible for all marketing, filling the room. Expenses are taken off the top and the balance is split 50/50. For example, let’s say you co-sponsor an event, the non-profit signs up 30 people at $200. Total revenues are $6,000 less expenses of $1,000 or a net of $5,000. Your share is $2,500 and the non-profit has had a successful fundraiser.

2. Introductory breakfast. Target the audience you want to reach (sales managers, human resources professional, finance managers, etc) and invite them to a no charge Preview breakfast. Give a short overview of your talk and follow-up with each to secure paid engagements.

3. Radio promotion for barter. Many local radio stations will trade advertising time for your services. They may not sell it anyway and it’s a way to get some value out of lost airtime. In return, you conduct an engagement for their staff.

4. Trade shows. Almost all local Chambers of Commerce sponsor mini trade shows. They provide a flow of traffic where you can meet qualified decision makers for your services. This never fails to generate business for us.

5. Sell products at every engagement. Develop your own materials, manuals, audio tapes, etc. If you have nothing developed, sell someone else’s related materials. As you speak, your audiences will almost always want more information. For example, if you are speaking to a group of 60 people, and 20 purchase your manual at $30, that’s an additional $600 in revenue.

6. Set up direct, face-to-face meetings with decision makers. Compared to direct mail and telephone it is very effective because it is harder to say “no” to someone face-to-face then to a piece of mail or over the phone. Have a purpose in mind when asking for the meeting that is valuable to that person. Everyone needs to know, “what’s in it for me?”

7. Give pro bono speeches. Rotary Clubs, Kiwanis Clubs, Chambers of Commerce are always looking for speakers for their meetings. As a condition of your no cost service, ask that you be provided with a list of attendees to follow-up with your marketing efforts. This was how I started off, when I knew no one and no one knew me. To this day, I still get business as a result of those speeches.

8. Use the fax machine. Gather fax numbers of decision makers you need to market to. Send them something of value, tips, etc. We send out 2,000 per month (about 100 per day). The payoff has always been about $2 per fax in new business, or $4,000 per month.

9. Create an “In-House” mailing list. Add people to it as you make contacts at business events, people contact you, hear your no cost speeches, or attend your paid engagements. Mail to them 3-4 times per year. These are people who at least have some familiarity with you versus a cold list you can purchase. We derive about $2 in new business per piece mailed.

10. Create and maintain a webpage. I am not a computer geek. Five years ago, I couldn’t turn on a computer. (Small exaggeration-but close to the truth.) Today, 50% of our revenues are coming from the web. It is important to create a useable site and, just as important, to constantly promote it on the web listing it everywhere on search engines, classified ads, directories, etc. It’s all yours to promote, but requires the discipline of your time. I spend about an hour per day promoting my site but the payoff is extraordinary.

Do have an interest in developing or improving your own Professional Speaking business? I offer a consulting service for selected individuals, working with them one-on-one, helping them to develop their Speaking Businesses in the areas of topic(s) development, presentation skills, and creating a relevant marketing program to secure paying clients. For more information, send your request for “career” to: ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive your Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe”. We welcome you!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association
Copyright 1999 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Lucky Sue

2007-06-12T12:32:00.002-07:00

LUCKY SUE
By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

Sue got her raise but it’s to her credit because she did get her promotion because she did get all of her work done on time because they gave her lots to do to help her to show off her “stuff” because she was not late yesterday because she stopped earlier for gas because she was not late coming home because she was working late but got home early because she came in early that morning because she ironed her blouse the night before even though she had plenty of other clothes to wear because she remembered to pick up her clothes from the cleaners on her way home the day before because she was not rushing to get to her softball game and she had time to stop and get air in her leaky tire because she reminded herself last weekend because she had time as she watched the game on Sunday because she liked talking about it on Monday and she would not feel uncomfortable because others missed the game or laugh at them because they didn’t know about it and that whole day she could get her tasks done at work because she felt satisfied from her weekend and she would not have to spend the whole day complaining to her co-workers asking them if she was really being treated unfairly by life because while she likes to please other people she knows she has to manage her life first because their opinions of what she should be doing are not nearly as important or as accurate as her own because she has the tools and techniques to better control and manage her time and life and while they are sometimes uncomfortable to use they help her to get done more of what is important in her life so she can serve others better even though it is so much easier to drift and spend the day responding rather than take the initiative and think, after all, “What would THEY say?” if she tried to achieve new goals that she never reached before because a lot of what Sue really wants is what she is entitled to and can qualify for because, like all of us, she has what it takes to succeed because while others get their lucky breaks in their lives and hit it just at the right time, so Sue gets her share of lucky breaks when she is prepared for them when they arrive because that’s what’s true for her family and always has been and always will be because, like all of us, she can change who she is and not let where she came from keep her from her current fair share of good luck and good fortune because she cannot just accept what life gives to her and ask for no more or believe that it is impolite and selfish to ask for what she desire because Sue already succeeded so many time times like when she went to her boss and asked for a raise and the boss said that, “You do qualify for a raise because you have shown me that you do understand that you have to do more now than what you are already being paid for to qualify for a raise. To ask for what you do deserve and for what you have earned is not to be selfish and impolite” and Sue liked what she heard and looked forward into her future to a time real soon when she would get yet another raise. And it happened. Why?

Sue got her raise but it’s to her credit because…

Don Wetmore is a full-time Professional Speaker having made over 2,000 presentations worldwide, helping people to realize their full potential. He conducts a public Time Management Seminar each month and is available to conduct his tailored presentations from one hour up to three full days for your group, on-site, and for one-on-one coaching. To find out more about how Don can help you, contact him directly at: ctsem@msn.com or call him directly at: (203) 386-8062.

Would you like to receive your Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you aboard!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 1999 & 2004

You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Stop Wasting Time

2007-06-12T12:32:00.001-07:00

Stop Wasting Time

By Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

Life is often what happens to you along the way when you have planned otherwise because there are time wasters out there to throw you off the track. Your performance may not always match your intentions. To help you to increase your productivity each and every day, both on and off the job, here are five easy tips to overcome the major time wasters to help you to stop wasting time.

Plan your day. Set aside time each night for Daily Planning, a time for you to take control of your most important asset, the next twenty-four hours. Create a To Do list with all the things you “have to” do and, more importantly, all the things you “want to” do. Don’t be afraid of putting down too much. A project tends to expand with the time available for it. If you give yourself one thing to do, it will take you all day. If you give yourself two things to do, you will get them both done. If you give yourself twelve things to do, you may not get all twelve done, but you’ll get eight or nine done. Having a lot to do creates a healthy sense of pressure on us to get things done. Prioritize this list. Put the number “1” next to the most important item, “2” beside the next most important item, the number “3” beside the third most important item, etc. People ask me a lot, “Do you do Daily Planning every day?” I reply, ”Only if I want to have a good day.”
Control procrastination. The easiest way to avoid procrastination in your day is to do the Daily Planning each day. Without a plan of action to direct you, you are often drawn to the things that are easier or to the most urgent items that may not be the most important use of your time. You can easily get caught up in “stuff”, wasting time majoring in the minor things, spending your day wheel spinning in the unimportant areas while the important things get put off.
Avoid interruptions. A problem that is well defined is mostly solved. To define your interruptions situation to permit you to take some preventive actions, run an Interruptions Log. On a pad of paper, log in interruptions as they occur over a few days. Put down who brings them to you, how long each interruption lasts, and whether or not they were valuable or of no value. Once you accumulate your data, get the most frequent interrupters who bring the interruptions with no value to change their actions and agree to not bring as many low value interruptions to you in the future.
Delegate it. If you had unlimited amounts of time, you could do everything yourself, but you don’t. Each week has but 168 hours to get all you need and want to do. I review every item on my To Do list each night in Daily Planning and ask, “Is this the best use of my time?” If it is, I will plan to do it myself and if it’s not, I will try to find a way to delegate it to open up my time for something more valuable. There is a lot of difference between, “I do it”, and “It gets done”. Sure, it’s great to do a variety of things but you have to be sure that your scarce resource is always being spent in the most productive way.
Manage meetings. Before you commit to attend a meeting with another or with a group, ask yourself two questions. First, “Is it necessary?” Sometimes we go to a meeting solely because we have been invited or because we have always gone out of habit without ascertaining whether or not it truly is necessary. Second, ask yourself, “Am I necessary?” Perhaps the meeting is important but if you don’t contribute anything to it or if you don’t get anything from it, try to find a way to excuse yourself from attending all or a portion of the meeting.

I have five easy tips to help you to more easily plan your day in my short article, “Planning Principles”. Get yours now. Email your request for: “principles” to: mailto:ctsem@msn.com

Receive your no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com.

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 2001 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: mailto:ctsem@msn.com

How to Make New Year's Resolutions Stick

2007-06-12T12:31:00.001-07:00

HOW TO MAKE NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS STICK

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

At the beginning of each year so many of us commit to changes and worthy goals to be accomplished in the next twelve months only to be disappointed come next December 31 when we discover we are no closer to achieving those resolutions than we were on January 1. The noble resolutions we made early on became unstuck. So I looked at this dilemma and created four useful suggestions to increase the probability that your New Year’s resolutions will stick this year.

1. Quantify it. Sometimes we are just too vague about what we want. Therefore, a resolution such as, “I want to lose weight this year” will probably fail. It is too vague. How much weight? Be specific. What would your ideal weight be, less what do you weigh now, is what you are going after. It is not enough to resolve that; “I want enough money in the bank this year”. Quantify. What specific amount would soothe your soul?

2. Set a deadline. Resolutions that are to be achieved “as soon as possible” wind up in the heap of “Someday I’ll”. Deadlines are commitments. Without a deadline as a self-imposed pressure point, getting started is easily postponed. You see, deadlines put us on the line and define when failure occurs. Deadlines also help us to break the resolution down into little bite-sized pieces. For example, if your goal is to lose 25 pounds by June 30, that translates into approximately 4 pounds per month, one pound per week, or a daily reduction of caloric intake (or an increase in daily caloric burn) of just 500 calories per day. Now that’s manageable. 500 calories a day is easy to achieve. 25 pounds seems like a leap across the Grand Canyon. Until we quantify our goal, set a deadline, then break it down to its daily requirements, the resolution will forever seem unattainable.

3. Change one or two things at a time. We generally do not like change in the first place. We seek the familiar and avoid the strange. The more change you put yourself through, the higher the probability your campaign will collapse. Focus in on one or two of the more important resolutions you seek to accomplish this year. When you achieve one or the other, start on the next one. Don’t overwhelm yourself with too much change all at once.

4. Be realistic. There’s just something about the start of a new year that gets us all wound up for changes in our lives, sometimes extraordinary and unrealistic changes. We become much like the child in the candy store whose eyes are bigger than his stomach. Be realistic. You can only accomplish a certain amount within a period of time. Don’t saddle yourself with unrealistic resolutions that will only spell failure later on.

Get more done in less time, with less stress. Have more time for you. Invite Don to conduct his dynamic Time Management Seminar, on-site, at your loocation for groups of any size. For details send your request for “on-site ctsem@msn.com .

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 1999 & 2005 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Five Steps to a Productive Meeting

2007-06-12T12:30:00.001-07:00

FIVE STEPS TO A PRODUCTIVE MEETING

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

It is said that on an average day in the United States, there will be 17 million meetings. (It makes you wonder how anything ever gets done!) A meeting is two or more people getting together to exchange information. What could be simpler? Yet, it is one of the biggest institutional time wasters that we suffer.

An informative exercise is to calculate the hourly cost of the meeting. A person earning $50,000 per year represents an hourly salary cost to the organization of $25 (without adding in benefits, overhead, and profit potential). If ten people at this salary level meet for one hour, the cost is $250 for the hour. Then look at what was accomplished. Was it worth $250? Sometimes “yes”. A lot of the times, “no”.

I have created five steps that will help you to improve the productivity of your meetings. Even if you are not responsible for running the meeting, bring these suggestions to the person who is responsible.

1. Ask, “Is it necessary?” We always hold the meeting because we have always held the meeting. What would happen if it did not take place? What if we did not meet quite so often? How about if we met once a month instead of every week?

2. Ask the question, “Am I necessary?” Now I do not mean this in the deep philosophical sense, but, rather, “do I get anything out of the meeting?” and “do I contribute anything to the meeting?” If the answers to those two questions are both “no”, try to avoid attending the meeting. Or, perhaps just the first half of the meeting is relevant to you. In this case, see if there is a way to get excused from the second half of the meeting.

3. Prepare an agenda. Just as it is a good practice to prepare a daily “to do list” to help us get focused each day, we ought to have a written agenda for our meeting. Circulate it in advance to those who will be attending. Let them know what is to be discussed. Give them a chance to prepare. Do not hold meetings by “ambush”.

4. Set the times. Have a starting time and stick to it. Set time for each item to be discussed so that one item does not dominate the entire meeting leaving no time to discuss the other items. Have an ending time and stick to it.

5. Commit to action. Meetings ought to produce results. Resolve to a course of action. We have discussed the issue, so now what? Assign responsibility for the tasks to specific individuals with deadlines and hold them accountable.

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore, a full-time Professional Speaker, is one of the foremost and entertaining experts on Time Management and Personal Productivity and the author of “Beat the Clock” and “Organizing Your Life”. He is available to conduct his seminars, keynotes, and one-on-one coaching on-site, at your location. For more information, you may contact him directly at: ctsem@msn.com or call (800) 969-3773 or (203) 386-8062.

Would you like to receive your Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for our no cost “TIME MANAGEMENT LIST”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you aboard!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 1999 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Time Management Statistics

2007-06-12T12:25:00.000-07:00

TIME MANAGEMENT STATISTICS

By Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

During the last twenty years, after making over 2,000 presentations around the world, I have gathered some interesting facts and figures about Time Management and Personal Productivity for your use and enjoyment.

-There will be 2.2 million deaths in this country this year. 75% are from causes that are largely preventable.

-There will be 2 million marriages in this country this year and 1 million divorces.

-95% of divorces are caused by a “lack of communication”

-The average working person spends less than 2 minutes per day in meaningful communication with their spouse or “significant other”.

-The average working person spends less than 30 seconds a day in meaningful communication with their children.

-80% of employees do not want to go to work on Monday morning. By Friday, the rate only drops to 60%.

-31% of working Americans do not use all their vacation time that they have earned. On average three out of twelve vacation days go unused.

-The average person uses 13 different methods to control and manage their time.

-The average person gets 1 interruption every 8 minutes, or approximately 7 an hour, or 50-60 per day. The average interruption takes 5 minutes, totaling about 4 hours or 50% of the average workday. 80% of those interruptions are typically rated as “little value” or “no value” creating approximately 3 hours of wasted time per day.

-On an average day, there are 17 million meetings in America.

-By taking 1 hour per day for independent study, 7 hours per week, 365 hours in a year, one can learn at the rate of a full-time student. In 3-5 years, the average person can become an expert in the topic of their choice, by spending only one hour per day.

-95% of the books in this country are purchased by 5% of the population. 95% of self-improvement books, audio tapes, and video tapes purchased are not used.

-97% of workers, if they became financially independent, would not continue with their current employer or in their current occupation.

-20% of the average workday is spent on “crucial” and “important” things, while 80% of the average workday is spent on things that have “little value” or “no value”.

-In the last 20 years, working time has increased by 15% and leisure time has decreased by 33%.

-A person who works with a “messy” or cluttered desk spends, on average, 1 1/2 hours per day looking for things or being distracted by things or approximately 7 1/2 per workweek. “Out of sight; out of mind.” When it’s in sight, it’s in mind.

-The average reading speed is approximately 200 words per minute. The average working person reads 2 hours per day. A Speed Reading course that will improve the reading rate to 400 words per minute will save an hour per day.

-90% of those who join health and fitness clubs will stop going within the first 90 days.

-9 out of 10 people daydream in meetings.

-60% of meeting attendees take notes to appear as if they are listening.

-40% of working people skip breakfast. 39% skip lunch. Of those who take a lunch break, 50% allow only 15 minutes of less.

-It takes approximately 30 days to establish a new physical or emotional habit.

-The average worker sends and receives 190 messages per day.

-The average American watches 28 hours of television per week.

-78% of workers in America wish they had more time to “smell the roses”.

-49% of workers in America complain that they are on a treadmill.

-Angry people are twice as likely to suffer a heart attack as a person in better control of their emotions.

-75% of heart attacks occur between the hours of 5:00 a.m.-8:00 a.m., local time.

-More heart attacks occur on Monday than on any other day of the week.

-25% of sick days are taken for illness. 75% of sick days are taken for other reasons.

-95% of the things we fear will occur, do not occur.

-Taking 5 minutes per day, 5 days per week to improve one’s job will create 1,200 little improvements to a job over a 5 year period.

-1 out of 3 workers changes jobs every year.

-1 out of 5 people moves every year.

-70% of American workers desire to own their own business.

-75% of American workers complain that they are tired.

-The average worker gets a 6 hours and 57 minutes of sleep per night.

-80% of “Crisis Management” events are preventable.

-The average worker spends 35 minutes per day commuting.

-When someone is asking for our time for a meeting, 80% of the time, there is an alternate date and time that will be acceptable.

-Good Time Managers do not allocate their time to those who “demand” it, but rather, to those who “deserve” it.

-The most powerful word in our Time Management vocabulary is “no”.

-70% of business and professional people use a “to do” list on a regular basis to administer their “have to’s”.

-5% of business and professional people use a “to do” list on a regular basis to administer not only their “have to’s”, but also their “want to’s”.

-“If you want to get something done, give it to a busy person.”

-It almost always takes twice as long to complete a task as what we originally thought it would take.

-”A project tends to expand with the time allocated for it.” If you give yourself one thing to do, it will take all day. If you give yourself two things to do, you get them both done. If you give yourself a dozen things to do, you may not get 12 done, but you’ll get 9 completed.

-Delegation is an unlimited method to multiply time for achieving results.

-The hardest part about delegation is simply letting go. “If you want a job done right, you have to do it yourself.”

-1 hour of planning will save 10 hours of doing.

-Hiring a college student to do routine tasks (grocery shopping, yard work, household chores, etc.) will create as much as 20 hours per week for the average person to devote to more productive uses.

-The average person today (1999) receives more information on a daily basis, than the average person received in a lifetime in 1900.

-The “20/80 Rule” tells us we will typically accomplish 80% of our results through 20% of our effort. The other 20% of additional results comes from about 80% of additional effort.

-”Stressed” spelled backwards is ”desserts”.

-We retain 10% of what we read. We retain 20% of what we hear. We retain 30% of what we see. We retain 50% of what we hear and see. We retain 70% of what we say. We retain 90% of what we do.

-Half of what is known today, we did not know 10 years ago. The amount of knowledge in the world has doubled in the last 10 years. And it is said to be doubling again every 18 months.

-Time Management is not doing the wrong things quicker. That just gets us nowhere faster. Time Management is doing the right things.

-”If you always do what you’ve always done, you always get what you’ve always got.” To change our output, we must change our input.

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore, a full-time Professional Speaker, is one of the foremost experts on Time Management and Personal Productivity and the author of “Beat the Clock”, “Organizing Your Life” and “The Productivity Handbook”. He available top conduct his dynamic Time Management Seminar at your location for groups of any size. For more information, email your request for “on site” to: ctsem@msn.com

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association since 1989

Copyright 1999 & 2005 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Stabilize Stress

2007-06-12T12:24:00.002-07:00

STABILIZE STRESS

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

Stress is a killer.

There are some who would say, “there’s good stress and then there’s bad stress”. That’s sort of like saying, “there are good heart attacks and then there are bad heart attacks”.

Maybe there is some positive benefit to the stresses that will enhance our performance, but, for the most part, stress is a negative, keeping us from performing at peak levels, damaging our daily productivity, and decreasing the chances of our longevity.

Many blame stress on external forces. “We are living in stressful times.” “This is a stressful job.” “My boss (husband, wife, co-worker, customer, client, kid, etc.) is really stressing me out.”

The world is not really a stressful place and these are not really stressful times. There really are no stressful jobs. If any of these were true, then everyone in that community, job, relationship, etc. would be stressed. Some are. Maybe most are. But some are not.

There are many “stress reduction” programs, seminars, and courses out there. Most are effective. But, rather than treat the symptoms, what if we treated the disease and rid ourselves of the causes of the stress?

Most stress is internal, caused by the ways in which we relate to the world and events and people around ourselves. Stress is caused when there is a disconnect between our expectation and our reality. When reality falls short of an expectation, it creates a disappointment and that causes stress.

For example, let us say you drove your car to work today, your car was parked in the nearby parking lot, and you will leave work today at 5:00 p.m. You probably have an expectation that your car will be right where you left it when you got to the parking lot this afternoon. Well, what if you were to discover at 5:00 p.m. that your car has been stolen? I would imagine most of us would feel some stress from finding out about our stolen car!

But, what if you return to the parking lot this afternoon and there is your car exactly where you left it this morning? You insert the key and drive away. Do you experience stress over finding your car where you left it? No, because expectation and reality match up.

While most of us will experience those larger disappointments in life, they are typically few and far between so that our bodies have a chance to cope and recover. Rather, it is all the little disappointments, which seem inconsequential individually, but when added together throughout a day, will really build up the stress. (Dealing with the morning rush hour, not getting things done on time, tasks piling up, personal errands not attended to, etc.)

The solution? Bring your reality up to your expectations. Through effective daily planning make sure that you plan to do the little things you expect should be done in addition to all the things you “have to” do during the day.

We will never eliminate stress completely but, with more effective planning, we can stabilize stress.

Another useful article for you and to share with your friends is “Top 5 Time Management Mistakes”. To get your copy now, email your request for “mistakes” to: ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com

Don Wetmore is a full-time Professional Speaker who specializes exclusively in the topics of Time Management and Personal Productivity. He conducts his nationally acclaimed Time Management Seminars throughout the world for people who want more out of life, in less time, with less stress, with more time and balance for their personal lives. His in-house seminars are always entertaining, fast-paced, and filled with practical, common sense ideas and tools. One of the country’s leading experts on the topic, he is the author of “Beat the Clock”. You may contact him directly at:

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association
Copyright 1999 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Spring Fever

2007-06-12T12:24:00.001-07:00

SPRING FEVER

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

You develop your jam packed “to do” list the night before. You awake to the new day ready to conquer the world. But the sun is shining after a long winter. It warms your soul. The birds are singing and the fresh scent of new flowers breaking ground is all around you.

Ouch! You just got bit by the spring fever bug and all the ambition of your plans from the night before go out the window as you proceed to fill your day with unimportant stuff like shuffling piles of paper and dusting your desk again and again. Sound familiar? It should because it happens to all of us from time to time.

When you get bit by the spring fever bug, one of two things will happen.

First, you may give in to it, blow off the day and then feel guilty about it. Or second, you will give in to it, blow off the day and feel good about it. Either way, you’re going to give in to it.

What to do, then? Give into it, blow off the day and feel good about it. The spring fever bug bites you for a reason. You are not some robot or machine. You need an occasional break from the stresses of high performance. Give in to it. Blow off the day.

Now, if you have made commitments to others about getting something done today then you have to honor that obligation and let the spring fever bug come back another day. But most of the things you have to do can probably be pushed off to another day. Give into it. Blow off the day.

Think about this. Will your overall productive output for the year be greatly diminished because you took a goof off day in April? One day lost out of 365? Probably not.

When you get the bite, give in to it. Use the day to recharge your batteries while taking time out to literally smell the flowers around you.

But what if every day you get bit by the spring fever bug? Then you’ve got a problem. But every now and again? Take advantage of it. Your overall productivity will be enhanced in the long run.

Time Management Seminars available worldwide, at your location, for groups of any size to help you get more done in less time, with less stress. For full details, send your request for”on-site” to: ctsem@msn.com

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 2005 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Some Time Savers #3

2007-06-12T12:07:00.002-07:00

SOME TIME SAVERS #3

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

In over 2,000 Time Management seminars, which I have conducted for more than 100,000 people from around the globe during the last 20 years, I have shown people how to get more done in less time, with less stress; to help them have more time for the things they want to do in their work and personal lives.

If you can recapture a wasted hour here and there and redirect it to a more productive use, you can make great increases in your daily productivity and the quality of your life.

Here is part three of a three part series of time savers, with five more of the many techniques I share in our Time Management seminars, each one of which will help you to get at least one more hour out of your day for additional productive time to do the things you really want to do.

1. Systematize Stop reinventing the wheel and recreating the same things over and again. Create systems to handle repetitive tasks. For example, I have standard letters all created and saved in my computer along with standard documents such as directions to my office and various articles I share with others. Be sure to have adequate supplies you can readily access. Use one calendar to keep track of appointments. Work with a clean desk and have most frequently used items within arm’s reach. Schedule maintenance for your equipment and yourself.

2. Plan Adequate Sleep You can have a great to do list for your next day but if you are tired, your productivity will be adversely impacted. Schedule a sufficient amount of sleep. The amount is different for each of us. Some need eight hours, some more, and some less. Your body knows the answer.

3. Attend a Speed Reading Class The average person reads at about 200 words per minute and spends a couple of hours each day reading. What if you could double your reading speed? What takes two hours can now be done in one hour or you can continue to spend the same amount of time reading, but read twice as much. Sign up for a speed-reading class. I teach one. It’s a six-hour seminar and at the end of the day everyone in the class will at least double their reading speed and significantly increase their comprehension.

4. Develop Your Communication Skills A lot of your personal success in the future will be in direct relationship to your ability to competently and confidently communicate what you know both orally and in writing. Make it an ongoing commitment to continue to improve your speaking and writing skills. You’ll save time and have a more successful career.

5. Develop Your People Network Personal productivity in large amounts has to do with the good cooperation of other people. Someone who does not enjoy the good cooperation of others can surely be productive but not as productive as one who enjoys that cooperation. On an on-going basis, develop your list of personal contacts, your networking list. Always offer to help everyone on your list whenever you can. (“To have a friend, first be a friend.”) Do it right and your network will be there for you when you need it.

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore, a full-time Professional Speaker, is one of the foremost experts on Time Management and the author of “Beat the Clock” and “Organizing Your Life”. If you would like to receive a no cost copy of his article, “Getting Out of Balance”, which outlines seven pitfalls to avoid, email your request now for “balance” to: mailto:ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive more Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe”. We welcome you to our list!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore-Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute-Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St., Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
email: ctsem@msn.com
No cost Timely Time Management Tips:
Visit our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com/

Professional Member-National Speakers Association since 1989

Copyright 2001 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication or newsletter. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

5 Things to Make a Keynote Sizzle

2007-06-12T12:07:00.001-07:00

5 THINGS TO MAKE A KEYNOTE SIZZLE

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

A keynote presentation is a wonderful opportunity to communicate an impactful message to a large group in a short period of time. It can set the tone for the programs and events that follow and it can end an event with a bang….all, if done correctly.

Having made hundreds of keynote addresses over the years, I have created a list of five things we need to do to make a keynote sizzle. These are not the only things to do, but they will increase the odds for a successful presentation.

1. PREPARE . This starts with learning who your audience will be, what they know, and what they need and want to know as a result of your presentation. This research is vital so that you can tailor your presentation to this unique audience, and, all audiences are unique. Practice, practice, practice. Become comfortable enough to deliver the address with just some notes as reminders so that you can tailor the talk as you deliver it.

2. ARRIVE EARLY. The success of your talk has a lot to do with the quality of your presentation but also the environment where it is delivered. Arrive early to make sure the room is set the way you desire, the temperature is at 68 degrees, the lighting is appropriate, all of the AV equipment is working, and all of your materials are there. Stand where you will give your speech and practice for a few minutes. Get comfortable with the setting and the environment.

3. MEET AND GREET. I try to have only one access door open to the room so that as people arrive, I have the opportunity to shake their hands, look them in the eyes, and introduce myself. I will do this even with a very large audience. Some will sneak by, others may not be impressed, but most enjoy the greeting and a bond is established before I talk. When I finally get to the podium, I see familiar faces and they see a person they have touched. It’s a nice way to begin.

4. TALK TO THEIR LEVEL. I shouldn’t have to add this to the list, but I must. Speakers occasionally try to impress rather than address. Communication is more than my speaking and your hearing my words. Communication is speaking and having the listener hear, understand, internalize, and act upon my message. If I don’t speak at the level of the audience, I will not communicate effectively. They may leave impressed, but their issues may not have been addressed. “He was smart.” “He sure was.” “What did he say?” “I don’t know.”

5. STAY AFTER. Plan your schedule so that you can remain after your talk to mix and mingle with your audience. Your presence post-speech will reinforce your message and your relatability. Answer their questions. Listen to their concerns. Swap anecdotes. Be a regular guy or gal.

Are you planning an event that requires a Keynote Presentation with Sizzle? Don Wetmore, a full-time Professional Speaker for the last eighteen years, will open or close your event on the highest plateau. Want more information? Contact Don directly now to discuss your meeting plans at (203) 386-8062 or email at: ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT tips”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association
Copyright 1999 & 2004 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Time Management Secrets

2007-06-12T12:06:00.001-07:00

TIME MANAGEMENT SECRETS

By Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

I have spent most of the last twenty years researching, studying, writing and speaking about Time Management and Personal Productivity. I have learned a whole lot and my full-time mission now is to share that knowledge through my writings, seminars, consulting and keynotes with people who want to get more done in less time in their business and personal lives.

One important lesson I learned is that there are three simple, yet powerful Time Management Secrets. Knowing these will go a long way to helping you to better manage your time each and every day and get more done in less time and with less stress.

1. We all have too much to do. Almost everyone I speak with tells me they have more to do than time permits. This says a lot of good things about you. That you have too much to do means many have entrusted a lot to you. People who seldom have enough to keep them busy and are always looking for things to do may not have earned this level of confidence from others.
2. There is never enough time for everything. If you have too much to do, by definition, you will not have enough time for everything. In fact you will only accomplish but a tiny fraction of what you will want to accomplish in your lifetime. You will leave undone far more than you ever get done in this world. Your life is going to be like a sandy beach. Take one grain of sand and let that represent all that you accomplish in your lifetime. The other billions of grains of sand will represent all of the other things you might have done.
3. While there’s never enough time for everything, there’s always enough time for the important things.

Early in our marriage, my wife and I were both working, our social life was packed and we didn’t seem to have a spare five-minute block of time in our days. Soon we were to receive our first daughter and a few weeks before she came to us my wife and I were agonizing over how to find the time to take care of this new addition to our family. Babies, they take a lot of time!

But what happened? Jennifer came along and we made the time for her. Did we still have a social life? Sure, but it was different.

Three years later, our second child Pam arrived, and once again, we found the time to attend to this new responsibility and still have time for other things.

While there is never time for everything, there always seems to be time for the most important things in life. “Necessity is the mother of invention.”

But you don’t have to wait until circumstances come upon you forcing you to attend to the most important things in your life. You can do it now. Each day in Daily Planning, identify the most important things you want to get done in your day. Place a high priority of those items and leave undone the less important things.

You won’t get it all done but you will get the most important things done.

The secret’s finally out.

Want four easy tips to help you to more easily manage your day? Get your copy now of “Managing Multiple Priorities”. Email your request now for “multiple” to: mailto:ctsem@msn.com

Receive your no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com.

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 2001 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: mailto:ctsem@msn.com

Some Time Savers

2007-06-12T12:05:00.000-07:00

SOME TIME SAVERS
By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

In my Time Management seminars which I have conducted for more than 100,000 people from around the globe, I show people how to get more done in less time, with less stress; to help them have more time for the things they want to do in their work and business lives.

If you can recapture a wasted hour here and there and redirect it to a more productive use, you can make great increases in your daily productivity.

Here are five of the techniques I share in our Time Management seminars, each one of which will help you to get at least one more hour out of your day of additional productive time.

1. Maintain Balance. Your life consists of Seven Vital Areas: Health, Family, Financial, Intellectual, Social, Professional, and Spiritual. You will not spend equal amounts of time in each area or time every day in each area. But, if in the long run, you are spending a sufficient quantity and quality of time in each area, then your life will be balanced. But ignore any one of your areas, (never mind two or three!) and you will get out of balance and potentially sabotage your success. Fail to take time now for your health and you will have to take time for illness later on. Ignore your family and they may leave you and cost you a lot of time to re-establish relationships.

2. Get the Power of the Pen. A faint pen has more power than the keenest mind. Get into the habit of writing things to do down using one tool (a Day-Timer, pad of paper, Palm Pilot, etc.) Your mind is best used for the big picture rather than all the details. The details are important, but manage them with the pen. If you want to manage it you have to measure it first. Writing things down helps you to more easily remember all that you need to accomplish.

3. Do Daily Planning. It is said that people do not plan to fail but a lot of people fail to plan. Take the time each night to take control of the most precious resource at your command, the next twenty-four hours. Plan your work and then work your plan each day. Write up a To Do list with all you have to’s and all of your want to’s for your next day. Without a plan for the day, you can easily get distracted, spending your time serving the loudest voice rather than attending to the most important things for your day that will enhance your productivity.

4. Prioritize It. Your To Do list will have crucial and not crucial items on it. Despite the fact most people want to be productive, when given the choice between crucial and not crucial items, we will most often end up doing the not crucial items. They are generally easier and quicker than crucial items. Prioritize your To Do list each night. Put the #1 next to the most important item on your list. Place the #2 next to the second most important item on your list, etc. Then tackle the items on your list in order of their importance. You may not get everything done on your list, but you will get the most important things done. This is working smarter, not harder, and getting more done in less time.

5. Control Procrastination. The most effective planning in the world does not substitute for doing what needs to be done. We procrastinate and put off important things because we don’t sense enough pain for not doing it or enough pleasure to do it. To get going on something you have been putting off, create in your mind enough pain for not doing it or enough pleasure to do it. I prefer the pleasure approach. Take a procrastinated project and turn it into to a game. Work with one thing in front of you at a time so other things won’t distract you. (“Out of sight, out of mind.”) Break it down to little bite-sized, manageable pieces. Get it started, take the first step and you will likely continue it to completion.

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore, a full-time Professional Speaker, is one of the foremost experts on Time Management and the author of “Beat the Clock” and “Organizing Your Life”. If you would like to receive your copy of his humorous article, “Poor John”, who wastes hours in his days, email your request now for “John” to: ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive more Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe”. We welcome you to our list!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
ctsem@msn.com
http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association since 1989

Copyright 2001 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication or newsletter. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Work Rules

2007-06-12T12:04:00.002-07:00

WORK RULES

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

When I was teaching Business Law full-time at Mercy College, I would have seniors in my classes who were getting serious about their futures and starting the interview process. I would let them know that I had identified three important work rules to help them shoot up the ladder of success in record time and with great enthusiasm, they would ask that I share these little pearls.

Here are the three work rules that not only college seniors, but also any of us in the workplace can benefit from.

1. Show up. Well, certainly “show up”. If you don’t show up they don’t pay you! But beyond that, always display an attitude that gives confidence to management that you probably are going to be around for the long term. Some people complain and grouse as a natural part of their personality and may mean nothing by it. But if that sends out a message that maybe you won’t be here in a few months, it will adversely affect your future.

2. Show up on time. There is a “lateness acceptability factor” in our culture that says if you are late some of the time because of the weather, because of the traffic and then construction, or because of personal reasons, then it is “OK”. We are all late some of the time. But, if you show up late “some of the time”, it seems to me, you make yourself look “average”, just like everyone else. What if you are someone who is on time, all the time? (There are a few of them out there! They’re like Swiss watches, always on time, no matter what is going on.)

3. Show up prepared. The people you are competing with for your raise, for your promotion, typically grouse and complain about their job, the company, the people, etc., show up late some of the time, and show up unprepared. Start your day the night before by doing Daily Planning during which you make up a list of all the things you “have to” do but, more importantly, all the things you “want to” do. Prioritize those items in order of their importance. (A simple numeric system will work; put a “1” next to the most important item, a “2” next to the second most important item, etc.). Do it the night before so that when you go to bed, you go with a sense of certainty and control you would not ordinarily experience and a sense of anticipation about your day coming up. Then, the next morning, while others around you are trying to figure out what they are going to do for the day, not you, you planned it out the night before so that you can hit the deck on both feet running and moving forward.

If these ideas were helpful, you will want to receive your copy of, “Five Best Time Management Habits”, to help leverage your daily results. It’s . To get your copy, email your request for “habits” to: ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you aboard!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 2000 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

The Time Management Reality

2007-06-12T12:04:00.001-07:00

THE TIME MANAGEMENT REALITY

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

I typically conduct 150 training days per year, sharing with my audiences tools and techniques to help them to increase their daily personal productivity and get more time and balance in their personal lives.

Wherever I am asked to speak, I find people typically have “too much” to do. Most have more to do than time allows for completion. We will never get it “all done”.

But here is the reality. While there is never enough time to do it all, there is always enough time to do the important things.

In the early 1970’s, my wife and I were both working, our schedules were full, we did not have a minute to spare, or so it seemed. Then, in the winter of 1973 our first child was about to be born and a few weeks before she arrived, my wife and I were agonizing over how we would find the time for this new responsibility because, you know, babies, they take time. They cry, you have to feed them. They need to be held, loved, and tickled.

So what happened? Our daughter was born and we found the time. Did we still have a social life? Yes, not like it was before her birth, but yes, we still had a social life. Did we still have time for our other family members? Sure, perhaps not as before, but still we made it happen.

I am always amazed at the busy business executive who is so consumed by their responsibilities that they cannot seem to find the time for the things they truly would like to do. They are at work first thing in the morning before anyone arrives and they are the last to leave in the evening. They never seem to have the time to enjoy a game of golf or watch their daughter perform at the school play or read a novel or otherwise take time for themselves to enjoy.

They believe if they were not present all the time that “this place would fall apart”. (A funeral director friend once told me that in 20 years in his profession, he never once met the widow who complained that her husband spent “too little time” at the job.)

Now here is the irony. That same person, who can never seem to get the time for anything beyond the job, gets a phone call one mid-afternoon. Their mother has passed away unexpectedly. They drop everything and four hours later they are on an airplane, gone for the next week, attending to this important family matter.

When they return a week later, do they have anything to come back to? Of course. Did things go wrong? Probably. But that can be fixed.

Why does it take a death, a threat of a divorce, or a looming health crisis to do what we know we ought to be doing now?

I often ask my audiences to answer two questions.

1. “What would you do differently in your life today if you knew you only had six more months to live?” (The responses, typically, are “get closer to my family”, “spend more time with friends”, “travel”, “read the books I’ve been meaning to read”, etc.)

2. “What are you waiting for?” That’s question #2. Why are you waiting to find that you only have six months left to do the things that you know you would do if you only had six more months to live?

Why can’t you be closer and more attentive to your family now? Why can’t you spend more time with friends, travel, read the books, etc.? The answer? You can. There is never enough time for everything but there is always enough time for the important things.

When is that time for you? It can always be found somewhere in the next twenty-four hours. Sure, we want to do a great job of the things we “have to” do. Exceed expectations, do more than you are being paid for, and spend some of those twenty-fours satisfying those responsibilities. But also be sure to take some of those twenty-four hours to do what you know is truly important.

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore, a full-time Professional Speaker, is one of the foremost experts on Time Management and Personal Productivity and the author of “Beat the Clock”. He conducts a monthly public Time Management Seminar, is available to present his exciting seminar on-site, at your location, from one hour up to three full days, or deliver a keynote address at your next function. For more details please contact Don directly at: (203) 386-8062 or you may send an email to Don at: ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association since 1989

Copyright 1999 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication or newsletter. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

The Product of Your Performance

2007-06-12T12:03:00.001-07:00

The Product of Your Performance

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

Your personal productivity cannot be measured simply by what you are doing. If what you are doing is not getting you to where you want to go your time is not being spent productively. Rather, personal productivity is measured by what is produced from that performance, the product of your performance.

For example, I work with a laptop. I write articles, develop spreadsheets and update my database about as fast and efficiently as anyone I know. During the first six months I owned the laptop I loaded it with an incredible amount of data, pounding away at the keyboard like it was a fine piano. On a scale of one to ten, I would initially rate my personal productivity with respect to this task, as a nine or a ten. I was a super achiever.

Well, except for one small detail. I did not back up my work. I don’t know why I neglected this task because I have always backed up my work. The hard drive on the laptop crashed, burned and died and I lost everything I had put into it for six months.

Now, what was my productivity on a scale of 1-10? Zero. Nothing. See my performance was a nine or a ten but neglecting to do a key step, backing up the work, resulted in the product of my performance being a zero, as if I had not done it at all.

If you are working at a job that is not fulfilling for you, you are doing it because of the paycheck only, then you are not operating at a high level of personal productivity. 80% of those who go to work on Monday morning would rather be somewhere else. You are a cog that makes money. You may be able do that dreaded job quicker, faster and better than anyone else but if it’s a job that doesn’t excite you and fulfill you, you’re not at a high level of personal productivity.

If you are on a path where your marriage may end in divorce, (and 50% of all marriages end up in divorce), through which you may have to give up a significant percentage of everything you have ever worked for in your adult life, you are not being very productive. Making all that money over the years only to give much of it away to a person you have learned to hate is not an example of high personal productivity. The performance was making all that money in the first place. But the product of the performance was to create a property settlement fund in your divorce.

Examine everything you are doing. Is it getting you to where you want to go in your life? Is your performance creating the product you want to achieve? If not, fix it. Change your performance to deliver the right product to you and truly operate at high productivity levels.

Want to get better focus and increase your productivity now? You can easily get more of the important things done, in less time, with less stress. Invite Don to conduct his dynamic Time Management Seminar at your location for groups of any size. For details, email your request now for “in house” to: ctsem@msn.com

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association since 1989

Copyright 2004 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication or newsletter. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

The Price of (Not) Training

2007-06-12T12:02:00.000-07:00

THE PRICE OF (NOT) TRAINING

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

As a full-time Professional Speaker for the last twenty years, I have been asked so many times, “How much does your training cost?” I have learned to reply, “Would no charge be too much?”

Training is not a cost. It’s an investment. It really doesn’t matter what we pay for an investment. What’s relevant is what we get in return. One of the best ways to jeopardize an organization’s future in today’s world and increase the probability of troubled times is to look at training as a cost and pay the price of not training or provide substandard training that operates only as a Band-Aid for the training requirements.

It’s a simple principle. An organization’s staff is where they are currently, in terms of competence and success, in direct relationship to what they know and how well they apply what they know. We all come into this world the same way, broke and naked. (And we all leave the same way, broke; they give us some clothes.) We knew how to do nothing when we arrived but then we learned. The more we learned and the more we applied what we knew, the greater our success and thereby, the organization’s success has been.

Some like to quantify the results from training. Here’s a good example. A person being paid $50,000 per year who is wasting just one hour per day is costing the organization $6,250 per year (excluding benefits, overhead, opportunity costs, etc.). If, for example, through one of our Time Management Seminars, that person can learn how to re-capture just one hour per day, that translates into a payback to the organization of $6,250 per year. If there is a group of 25 people involved in the same training and they all receive a similar benefit, the return to the organization is $156,250 per year. (And this does not include other benefits to the organization such as profitability, reduced turnover, improved morale, enhanced teamwork, better customer service, greater creativity, etc.) Over five years, the payback is $781,250. What should an organization invest to achieve that return and payback?

Many find it difficult to get the time for training. This is another false economy. (They are so busy doing it the wrong way that they cannot take out a little time to figure out how to do it the right way.) When someone says they cannot afford to take three days out of their next week for training, I know they are looking at training as an “expense”, and not as an “investment”. Three days out of five is 60% of that week and that would be a big expense. But three days out 365 is a drop in the bucket and if that investment provides just one idea that saves one hour per day, every day, the payback on the investment of three days is over 250 hours just in the next year.

Not so many years ago training, beyond showing employees the basics of doing the job, was an option for most organizations. Today it is no longer an option. If any of us continues to do what we do the same way, within five years most of us and our organizations will become obsolete. Why? Because our competitors are helping their people to become more effective through training. If we look closely at companies that are doing well in the long run, they almost always have in place a well thought out and executed training program for their people. They understand that the price for not training is the real expense of training.

Don Wetmore is available to conduct his effective, exciting Time Management Seminar on-site, at your location, from one hour up to three full days. Help your group get more done in less time. For details on how to arrange this dynamic seminar at your location, email your request for “in-house” to: mailto:ctsem@msn.com

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association
Copyright 2000 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Five Practices to Get a Promotion

2007-06-12T12:01:00.002-07:00

FIVE PRACTICES TO GET A PROMOTTION

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

“Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to work I go;
From 7-3 it’s helping me;
Hi ho, hi ho.”

“If you always do what you’ve always done, you always get what you’ve always got.”

I have a rule that I follow. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” We ought not to make changes just for the sake of change. If everything about your career path is fine and you are satisfied where you are and where you are going (or not going!), then leave it alone.

But, if your goal is to enjoy more rapid promotions and raises in your career, I have learned five practices to help increase your chances of realizing that reasonable goal.

1. Relate your position to your life’s long-term goals. We all have Seven Vital Areas in our lives: Health, Family, Financial, Intellectual, Social, Professional, and Spiritual. Where do you want to wind up on the last day of your life in each of those Seven Vital Areas? The answer to that question begins to help us focus on what our lifetime goals are. Then look at your current position as just that, a “position”, a platform to help you to get to where you want to go. How can your current position be utilized to get you to where you want to go in life? How can it enhance your Health life? Your Social life? Your Intellectual life? When you understand how your work becomes a vehicle to get you to where you want to go you move out of a “job”, where you just trade your time for money, and into a “position”.

2. Plan your day the night before. Don’t live life by accident, by chance. Live life on purpose. Plan out in writing each night what you “have to” do and what you “want to” do the next day and prioritize that list in the order of importance of each to you in light of your commitments and responsibilities but also in light of the goals you wish to achieve. Yes, much of your day will be controlled by doing what you “have to” do, but in the “down” time, when you have choices on how to spend your time, you will have a plan of action to direct you to using that time more effectively.

3. Exceed expectations. Promise a lot, but deliver a whole lot more. If we want more money in the world, more responsibility, then we have to do more now than what we are already being paid for. “Any job worth doing is worth doing well.” Not only is this a benefit for enhancing our career potential, but a way of enhancing our own self-esteem and personal pride.

4. Invest time regularly for learning. Don’t rely solely on what you know now. That is what is getting you by, for now. Ask yourself, “what do I need to learn today that will help solidify my success five years from today?” Is it computer skills, management techniques, or a foreign language? I do not have any better crystal ball than anyone else but I do spend some of my time, (about two days per month), re-investing in my future, learning skills and concepts that will help me to prepare for this changing world. Our employers sometimes make training available to us. Take advantage of it. But beyond that, we have to supplement and manage our own education program.

5. Ask the “Boss Question”. Companies are always polling their customers, “how do you know when we are doing a good job for you?” Your biggest customer in the work-world is your boss. Your boss often has control over the money you may receive and the promotions you may get (or not get). Be in sync with the boss. A lot of promotions are lost because we were on a path that we thought the boss wanted, only to find out, at the annual review, that we were going in the wrong direction. Periodically ask the boss “how do you know when I am doing a good job for you?”

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore, a full-time Professional Speaker, is one of the foremost experts and speakers on Time Management and Personal Productivity and the author of “Beat the Clock” and “Organizing Your Life” and over 100 published articles. He has made over 2,000 presentations to audiences around the world helping people to get more out of each day and create more balance in their lives. His presentations are fun, entertaining and typically rated as “the best I have ever attended”. If you would like to consider Don as a speaker at your next event or have him conduct his exciting Time Management Learning Seminars on-site, at your location, contact him directly at: ctsem@msn.com or via telephone at: (203) 386-8062.

Would you like to receive your Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for our no cost “TIME MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION LIST”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association since 1989
Copyright 1999 & 2004 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication or newsletter. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Prioritizing Power

2007-06-12T12:01:00.001-07:00

Prioritizing Power

By Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

I recommend taking time each evening to do Daily Planning for the next day. Prepare a list of all the things you “Have To” do, but, more importantly, the things you “Want To” do. This begins the process of taking control of the most precious resource at your command, the next twenty-four hours.
If you were to review that list, it is likely you would find some items are “Crucial” while others are, well, “Not Crucial.” The Crucial items give you the best use of your time, but often we get caught up in the Not Crucial items because they are typically quicker and maybe a bit easier to complete than the Crucial items.
We need Prioritizing Power, a tool to help us to get over to the Crucial side of our daily ledger.
I have that tool for you through our Prioritizing System:
A = Crucial
B = Important
C = Little Value
D = No Value
* = Quickie
“A” is for the Crucial items on your list and you are the only one who can determine whether something is Crucial or not. Now you will determine that in light of your commitments and responsibilities to others but also in light of your long-term goals and “Want To’s”. (It ought to be our goal each and every day to work our “A’s” off.)
“B” means Important. If you had a choice between an “A” and a “B”, obviously, you would want to work on the “A”. (You may find you have two “B’s” or not two “B’s”; that is the question.)
“C” means Little Value. Chances are you will not get to your “C’s” today but that is fine because everything else will have a higher value.
“D” means No Value. What do you do if you find you have a “D” on your list? Get rid of it because by definition it has no value. If you have not been through this process before of writing everything down that you “Have To” and “Want To” do, no doubt you will find you have been carrying around some “D’s” in your head and it is a welcome relief to scratch them off your list.
Finally, the “*” is for a Quickie item. Any item that takes less than a minute or two to complete ought to be identified as a Quickie because in the time it would take to figure out its priority, you could have it done. I typically have a handful of Quickie items each day and I complete them first to give my day a jump-start.
To further refine your focus, go back to each category of items and sub-prioritize each using the numeric system. For example, let’s say I have five “A” items to accomplish on my To Do list. I cannot do them all at the same time but I can do them one at a time. I will look then at all five and ask, “If I could work on only one “A” item today, which one would it be?” That item becomes my “A-1“. Then if I have time to work on an additional item, which item would I do? That item becomes my “A-2”. Continue sub-prioritizing the “A’s” and then apply the same technique to the “B’s” and the “C’s” creating a prioritized action list of all the things you “Have To” do and “Want To” do, listed in the order of their importance helping to keep your focus on the most important items in your day thereby increasing your productivity.
Arrange for Don to conduct his dynamic, entertaining and content-rich Time Management Seminar at your location, from one hour up to three full days for groups of any size, helping you to get more done in less time now! For information, send your email now to: ctsem@msn.com and put “on site” in the subject line and we will send the details back to you.
Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 2001 & 2005 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Positive Goal Setting

2007-06-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

Positive Goal Setting

By Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

Did you know that most people who try to attain their personal goals fail? This is especially true of behavior changing goals such as weight loss, smoking cessation, alcohol and drug abuse programs. When I discovered this, I was intrigued and wanted to find out why.

For example, the majority of people who start a weight control program and achieve their weight loss goal (so we exclude those who attempt, go part way, and then fail) will be at or in excess of their previous weight level one year later. There are similar failure rates for other programs designed to control smoking, drugs and alcohol.

As I looked further into this, what was puzzling to me was that most of these programs are technically correct. For example, if you follow what most weight control programs suggest you will lose weight. The addiction control programs methods are sound. So why do these goal setting programs fail so broadly? Certainly it is not due to lack of desire on the part of those who try these programs to achieve their personal goals.

I found at least part of the answer.

If I am in involved in weight control, I say that I want to “lose” weight. If smoking is a problem, I will want to “quit” smoking. I may want to “stop” drinking. What are “lose”, “quit”, and “stop”? All negative goals. And that’s the problem.

We naturally move towards positive goals and intuitively away from negative goals. We are pleasure-seeking organisms who seek pleasure and avoid pain. Lose, quit, and stop are all negative goals. (The first three letters of a diet are “die”.)

So why do we ever get involved in these negative goal programs in the first place? Typically, it is a negative emotion such as fear or anger. We fear what is happening to our health or are angry with ourselves for what we have done and, based on that emotion, we now submit ourselves to do these negative things such as lose, quit, and stop, much like we would punish a child.

Then one of two things occurs. We fail and nothing more really matters. Or we succeed. As we succeed, we start to get confident and somewhat cocky. “I haven’t had a cigarette in three days!” As we gain that confidence, the negative emotions that brought us into the negative control program in the first place start to weaken. And when those negative emotions, the anger and the fear disappear, we go right back to our previous behavior.

Sound familiar?

To increase our chances for achieving any goal, we need to frame it as a positive goal with a positive outcome. Don’t tell yourself you are going to “lose” weight. Say, “I am going to get into a size 8 dress by next summer “. Instead of “quitting” smoking, how about, “I am going to get fresh, pink new lungs and more money in my pocket”. Rather than “stop” drinking, instead see yourself waking up with a clear head, without a frequent hangover.

We will move more naturally and comfortably toward the achievement of a positive goal. The mind will more readily accept a positive goal and not automatically try to find ways and rationalizations to sabotage us as with a negative goal.

Get the “Three Steps for Positive Goal Setting” that outlines for you three simple steps to dramatically increase your goal achievement success. To get your no cost copy now, email your request now for “three” to: ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you to our list!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 2001 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Procrastination Pointers

2007-06-10T17:59:00.004-07:00

PROCRASTINATION POINTERS

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

Procrastination is one of the biggest enemies we have to our Personal Productivity. Thinking about doing something and planning to do it are fine, but what if we fail to move ahead?

Procrastinating the unimportant items in our day is a useful talent. The problem for many, however, is that we are procrastinating the important and crucial items in our day, reducing our personal productivity and increasing our stress levels.

Here are five pointers to help you to better overcome procrastination. (You can implement them now or perhaps tomorrow…or better yet, next week.)

1. Daily planning the night before. “People don’t plan to fail but they sometimes fail to plan”. Without a plan of action in place before you arrive for work it is real easy to get caught up in “stuff”. The phone rings, someone drops by and you direct your time responding to the loudest voices demanding your attention rather than to the most important priorities on your plate. A plan of action, prepared the night before is like a roadmap for the next day. You know what your next step ought to be to get you into productive action and away from procrastination.

2. Work with a clean desk. “Out of sight, out of mind.” The reverse of that is just as true. When it’s in sight, it’s in mind and most of us cannot help but be distracted and our time is then directed to the less important and easier tasks causing us to put off the more important tasks. Working with a clean desk or clean work environment permits us to have only the most important task before us so that we can focus all of our attention on that task without other visual distractions.

3. Reduce large projects to bite-sized pieces. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Tomorrow you plan to work on a three-hour project. The problem is, many of us do not get three hours to work on any one item. We have to contend with interruptions, meetings, etc. (I don’t know that I even have an attention span that lasts for three hours!) And we often wind up procrastinating working on this task because “there’s not enough time to get this done”. So, instead of scheduling the entire three-hour project for tomorrow, schedule a small bite, a step or two that might take 20 or 30 minutes. Then put the next step on the next day’s To Do list and the next step after that on that next day’s list, etc. It may take several days, but you will get that elephant eaten up, one bite at a time.

4. Plan around interruptions. Interruptions tend to occur in identifiable patterns. I get most of my interruptions early in the day versus later in the day. I get most of my interruptions early in the week versus later in the week. So, if I plan a big project first thing Monday morning, I’m creating stress because as soon as I begin, interruptions arrive and re-focus my attention causing me to procrastinate what I really wanted to do. It is so much easier swimming downstream with the current rather than bucking the tide. Therefore, I plan those larger projects for later in the day and later in the week when I tend to get fewer interruptions.

5. Assign deadlines. Have you ever failed to achieve a New Year’s resolution? If so, that probably happened because you did not set a deadline. Deadlines move us to action. Without a deadline, things wind up in our “as soon as possible” pile, a “Never Never Land” where items will get attended to “someday”, “when I get the time”. Create a deadline and you will be moved to action.

If this article was helpful, get your no cost copy of the “Top Five Time Management Mistakes”. To get yours, email your request for “mistakes” to: ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips via email on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you aboard!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association
Copyright 2000 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request to: ctsem@msn.com

How to Plug the Big Hole in Your Day

2007-06-10T17:59:00.003-07:00

HOW TO PLUG THE BIG HOLE IN YOUR DAY

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

In a companion piece, I discussed how most people experience a big hole in their workday, losing some 3 hours a day being consumed with interruptions that have “Little” or “No Value” to their productive workday. An interruption is an “unanticipated event”; some are “good”, some are “bad”.

Maybe that number is high for you (or worse, it’s low), but the point is we all surrender valuable time each day to unproductive interruptions.

The solution? “If you want to manage it, you have to measure it.”

I would recommend you run an “Interruptions Log”. Nothing fancy about it. Just take a pad of paper and place “Interruptions Log” across the top then just below, create six columns for: Date, Time, Who, What, Length, and Rating.

Now, during your day, immediately after each interruption occurs, log it in. Record the Date and Time it occurred, Who brought it to you, a word or two about What it dealt with, the Length of time it took, and most important, your Rating of its importance to you (“A” = Crucial, “B” = Important, “C” = Little value, and “D” =No Value).

Plan to record this information for about a week to get a fair measure of what is really happening as a shorter time period may give you a distorted sense of what is happening. (It is a nuisance to log this information in after each interruption, but it does provide valuable information. And, if you wait until the end of the day to fill it out, it probably will not be accurate.)

And be brutally candid as you log in the information, especially the Rating. No one but you has to see it.

After accumulating this data for a week, go back and total up the A’s, B’s, C’s, and D’s. Most people will discover that approximately 20% of their interruptions were A’s and B’s, things that were Crucial and Important, and that 80% of their interruptions were C’s and D’s, things that were not worth the time spent.

Finally, go to each C and D interruption and ask yourself, “How could this one have been avoided?” and start to take proactive steps to insure that it will not repeat itself in the future. Do this especially with those who bring you repetitive interruptions.

For example, perhaps someone comes to you two or three times a day asking for information that they could have located on their own, just as easily. Unless there is an intervention on your part, helping this person to find the information for himself or herself, they will continue to interrupt you to get it. It is the path of least resistance. Help them to help themselves, teaching them how to get what they need on their own, releasing your future from having to spend time on what you know will be additional lower valued interruptions from this person.

All C and D interruptions will not be eliminated, but if you can head off, short circuit, and stop just a few and that buys back an extra hour per day, (that’s 250 hours over the next year or the equivalent of over 6 work weeks) then you have carved out some additional time for projects and other responsibilities that are currently being pushed back, thereby reducing some of the stress and frustration in your day.

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore, a full-time Professional Speaker, is one of the foremost experts on Time Management and Personal Productivity and the author of “Beat the Clock” and ‘Organizing Your Life”. He is available to conduct his seminars, keynotes, and on-on-one coaching on-site, at your location. For more information, you may contact him directly at: ctsem@msn.com or call (800) 969-3773 or (203) 386-8062.

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you aboard!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association since 1989
Copyright 1999 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication or newsletter. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Planning Principles

2007-06-10T17:58:00.000-07:00

PLANNING PRINCIPLES

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

The old adage reminds us that “People don’t plan to fail but a lot of people do fail to plan.” During a war, we find a tank operator and a general. Which function is more important? It is probably the general, at least in this sense. One can be the best tank operator on the line, get out there everyday and shoot off more rounds of ammunition and shoot them more accurately than anyone else on the line, but if he is not shooting at a target that makes any sense, then his whole day is wasted. The general, through advanced planning, decides where the tank operator ought to go and thereby increases his “productivity”.

A lot of people run their days like a tank operator without a general. Awake in the morning, get dressed, off to work, grab the first fire hose someone throws their way, get caught up addressing the demands coming from the loudest voices shouting in their direction, come home at night, sometimes beat and exhausted, get rested, get up the next morning and repeat the cycle. That is living life by accident. I encourage people to live their lives on purpose.

I want each of us to be a general. And there’s a war out there in that either you are in control of your time or someone else is. And the best way for us to be a general and in control of our own time is doing effective Daily Planning every day.

Here’s five nifty Planning Principles to help maximize your Daily Planning

1. Do your planning the night before. I try to set aside time each night for Daily Planning. I’ve wound down from the workday and I am less pressured. The major benefit, however, it that by having a plan of action completed the night before, we go to bed with a sense of certainty and control about our next day and with a sense of anticipation we would not ordinarily have. After getting into the habit of accomplishing our Daily Planning each night, the quality of our sleep will be enhanced because we have established a plan each night that gives us the roadmap or game plan for the next day eliminating the need to wrestle with all the loose ends in our heads during our sleeping hours, interfering with the quality of our sleep.

2. Put the plan into writing. There is extraordinary power in the pen. Putting our plan into writing helps us to increase our feelings of control and, indeed, the reality of control. When we try to keep track of everything in our heads, things tend to slip through the cracks.

3. “Have to’s” and “Want to’s”. Good planning involves more than just properly administering our “Have To’s”. Sure we ought to better handle our “Have To’s”, but we also need to do a good job taking care of our “Want To’s”. Plan out not only the things you “have to” do, but, more importantly, the things you “want to” do.

4. Over plan your day. “If you want to get something done, give it to a busy person.” The more you plan to do, the more you can get done because you take advantage of Parkinson’s Law which says, in part, that a project tends to expand with the time allocated for it. If you have one thing to do for the day, it will take all day. If you have three things to do for the day, you’ll get all three done. If you have twelve things to get done for the day, you might not get all twelve done, but probably will get nine completed. See, having a lot to do creates a healthy sense of pressure on us and we almost automatically become better time managers.

5. Prioritize your list. Our list will almost always include “crucial” as well as “not crucial” items. Some items are more important, others less so. Without some direction, we tend to gravitate towards the “not crucial” items because they are typically easier to do, take less time, and may even be more fun than many of our “crucial” items. A simple numerical listing will suffice. Put a “1” next the most important item on your list, the one item you would want done if you could only accomplish one item. Then place a “2” next to the second most important item, continuing the process until all the items on your list are prioritized in order of their importance.

Get your copy of “Top Five Time Management Mistakes”. To get yours, email your request for “mistakes” to: ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for our no cost “TIME MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION LIST”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com.

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 2000 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

5 Payback Strategies

2007-06-10T17:56:00.000-07:00

5 PAYBACK STRATEGIES

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

In my 20 years as a Professional Speaker, I have observed that one of the secrets to increasing personal productivity is to increase the ratio between “time spent” and “time invested”.

Those who enjoy ever- increasing results in their lives have methodically invested more of their time currently for future payback.

Here are five “investment strategies” that will help you to seed for your future.

1. DO DAILY PLANNING. “People don’t plan to fail but a lot of people fail to plan”. If we do not plan our day in advance, we tend to get caught up in “stuff”. I recommend taking one hour each night to build an action list of not only the things you “have to” do, but include the things you “want to” do. Your list should include items to help better balance your life and help you to achieve lifetime goals. When you have a clear direction for your life over the next twenty-four hours, all of the resources you come in contact with will be pulling in the same direction. For every hour of planning, you will get back ten hours by avoiding a lot of unproductive activities and better focusing on and accomplishing more of the critical items that will enhance your success.

2. CREATE ONE HOUR A DAY OF “ME TIME”. Give twenty-three hours each day to the world, but reserve one hour per day just for you, an hour of “Me Time”. Make it an hour of self-study in a topic area of your choice. One hour per day, seven hours per week, and 350 hours per year, and you are the equivalent of a full-time student. By investing one hour per day in focused self-study, we can become a world-class expert in a topic of our choice in three to five years.

3. REDUCE INTERRUPUPTIONS. Invest some time tracking interruptions in your day. Identify and reduce the sources of the unproductive interruptions. A repetitive daily interruption of just 12 minutes per day is 60 minutes per week or 50 hours of wasted time over the next year. If it takes an hour of your time to correct just this one unproductive interruption, you receive a 50:1 payback on your time.

4. INCREASE YOUR READING SPEED. Most people spend two hours per day, on average, reading. A Speed Reading Course will help you to double your reading speed and comprehension rate saving you an hour per day. Over the next work year, that totals 250 hours. Or, better yet, you will be able to read twice as much within the same time frame.

5. ENROLL IN THE “UNIVERSITY ON WHEELS”. The average person spends thirty minutes per day going to work and another thirty minutes coming home. Get a library of audiotapes on topics that are relevant to your future. There are high quality audio programs out there on almost any imaginable topic. You can learn Spanish, enhance your management skills, and listen to the latest and best books on tape while traveling to and from work.

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore is a full-time Professional Speaker and one of the country’s leading experts on Time Management having made over 2,000 presentations worldwide. His public and on-site seminars show his audiences how to double their personal productivity both on and off the job, in less time, and with less stress. To discuss how your organization can achieve enhanced staff productivity with on of Don’s exciting programs, contact him directly at (203) 386-8062 or email Don at: ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for our no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you aboard!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 1999 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Procrastination Paula

2007-06-10T17:55:00.003-07:00

PROCRASTINATION PAULA

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

It’s Monday, and oh, how Paula hates Mondays. “Blue Monday”. “It’s a jungle out there and a rat race”, she reminds herself. In fact, she has a bumper sticker on her car that reads, “I just had a whole week’s worth of Mondays”.

As Paula arrives at her desk, she notes the other slogan she has pasted on the wall that best articulates here motto, “Today is the first day of the rest of my life”. That helps her to feel okay that she didn’t have time last night to plan her day for Monday.

Friday afternoon when she left work and all throughout her weekend, she reminded herself that this was the week when she would tackle and complete that client report that has been hanging over her head for the last three weeks. “How kind this client has been allowing me to extend the due date so many times. I wish others were as patient."

Paula has other important things to work on this week as well, like those phone calls she meant to make last week and the job description her boss asked for two weeks ago, not to mention starting the term paper for her night class that is due on Thursday of this week.

As she looks at her desk, she is reminded of a lot of other things that need to be done because they are all right there in front of her, spread out over the top of her desk, some stacked next to the desk on the floor, and the rest on a table behind her desk. “I’ve got too much to do”, she concludes.

“Actually, the boss didn’t say when he wanted that job description, so maybe I can get to that tomorrow”, she reasons as she sets that file on top of the magazines she’s been meaning to read.

Just then, Bill drops by. “Coffee, Paula?” he asks. “Sure”, she replies. Both proceed to the coffee service area and Paula discovers she is fascinated hearing about every detail of Bill’s weekend, asking him to repeat certain parts, and asking pointed questions to fill in the gaps to his story.

Back at her desk, Paula stares at the client report folder. “This is going to take forever to complete”, she says as those feelings of dread well up inside of her. “I can’t get this done on a Monday, there’s just too much to do today. I’ll just work on this tomorrow”, she assures herself as she places the client folder on top of the job description file, which is on top of the magazines she’s been meaning to read.

To her left is a stack of some junk mail that arrived on her desk over the last week. There are many catalogs for office products, one for motivational audiotapes, and another for decorative curtains. “I can’t work with this hanging over my head. I’ll just go through these and get them off my desk so I can get a better focus.” So diligent is her focus that over the next two hours she ignores three incoming phone calls that go directly to her voicemail. “I’ll finish these catalogs later”, she says as she re-directs her time to catching up on her voicemail.

The first voicemail is from Sarah who works down the hall. She needs to know if Paula is going to Rosita’s retirement party on Thursday, and, if so, what she will be wearing. The second call is from her boss who is looking for the job description and the third call is from Sarah again asking Paula if she would care to share a ride with Sarah to the party on Thursday. “I better call Sarah”, Paula decides. “She did call twice.”

After going to an early lunch with Sarah, Paula is feeling spent. “Mondays are tough”. And while she knows she ought to get going on some of the things that have been hanging over her head for sometime, “Today really is the first day of the rest of my life and I really do have the rest of this week to do those things”.

And so it’s back to the catalog pile and Paula can’t help noticing that her desk is a little dusty. “Tomorrow, I’ve got to get this desk cleaned. I’ll never get done what I need to get done working with this mess.”

Want to get a better control of your procrastination? I have prepared five simple ideas to help you, in an article entitled, “Procrastination Pointers”. To get your copy, email your request for “pointers” to: ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com.
We welcome you aboard!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore-Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association
Copyright 2000 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

The Paper Blizzard

2007-06-10T17:55:00.001-07:00

The Paper Blizzard

By Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

Have you ever felt you were getting buried under a blizzard of paperwork? You should. Memos, junk mail, emails, letters, pamphlets, books, and faxes are coming at you at an ever-increasing rate. You get more information thrown at you in one day than your great-grandparents received in a lifetime.

The problem then is you may not be able to deal with it as it comes your way each day, so you handle some of it and the rest sits in a pile at your desk or workplace. The next day, you get some more paper, you deal with some of it and put the rest in the pile that you go through and do a few of the things that you did not do yesterday. The pile is now bigger. The third day, you repeat the process, dealing with some of the new paper, some of the paper from days before and maybe a deadline or two is slipping through the cracks. The mere site of all the paper creates stress for many.

Sound familiar?

“The best way to deal with a problem is to never have it.” A lot of the flow of paper to you can be eliminated by getting off memo distribution lists, mailing lists, and the like. Look at what comes your way and ask yourself if you really need to be receiving it and do what you can to stop getting any more of it in the future.

Here are three tips to help you tame the blizzard of paperwork. As you encounter each new piece of paper, do one of the following:

1. Delegate it. Ask yourself, “Is this the best use of my time?” If it is, plan on handling it, but if not, try to figure out a way to delegate to another. There is a big difference between “I do it” and “It gets done”.

2. If it’s quick, do it. If it can be done in a minute or two, do it then and be done with it. You can discharge twenty items in twenty minutes and be done with them.

3. Schedule it. If it will take some time to complete, decide when you will get to it, put it on your to do list for that and then put it away.

You can get Don Wetmore’s article, “Positive Goal Setting” to help you get what you truly want. To get your no cost copy now, email your request for: “positive” to: mailto:ctsem@msn.com

Receive your no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com.

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 2001 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Just Say "No"

2007-06-10T17:54:00.003-07:00

Just Say “No”

By Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

I used to put everyone else’s requests and needs first and if there was any time left over at the end of the day for what I needed and wanted to do, that was acceptable. That is until I began to realize that if you and I are going to be effective time managers, we have to stay away from allocating our time solely on the basis of those who demand it. Instead, if you and I are going to be effective time managers, we have to allocate our time on the basis of those who deserve it.

I don’t mean this in any negative or arrogant way. It’s just you have limits to the amount of time you have to spend and so one of the most powerful words in your Time Management vocabulary is the word, “no”. Almost everyone you encounter will think they have a better idea about how you should be spending your time. It doesn’t make others bad. It’s just the way the world works. If there is a void in your Time Management life, someone, or many for that matter, will jump in to fill that spot. The problem is that they do not have the full understanding of where you are taking your life and if you keep saying “yes”, they will continue to take up your time, possibly keeping you from accomplishing what you really want to do.

“No” is sometimes difficult to say because you have been taught differently. You have been taught to say, “yes”, to please, to serve, and to accommodate. There is nothing wrong with saying “yes” most of the time, but occasionally there is a line you choose not to cross, when saying “yes” is really not the best use of your time to get you to where you need and want to be.

If you had unlimited amounts of time, you could “yes” all the time to everyone. But you don’t. You have 24 hours each day, 7 days a week for a total of 168 hours. And you get to spend that time only once, so you have to spend it wisely.

I have listed seventeen ways here to say “no”. Don’t let me put the words in your mouth. Take the ones you like, change them around and you use the words that are comfortable for you. The point is, if you are ever in a position when you can never say “no”, then you are always saying “yes”, and like the song says, “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for everything”.

Try these:

“I’m sorry. That’s not a priority for me right now.”

“I can’t help you on this now, but I can get to it next week. Would that be okay?”

“I have so much on my plate now I don’t know when I can get to it. But I do know someone over here who can help you now.”

“Before I take this on for you, let me show you a few things so that you might be able to do it yourself.”

“I have made so many commitments to others, it would be unfair to them and you if I took on anything more at this point.”

“If I can’t give you a ride to the school dance on Friday, how else would you get there safely?”

“I don’t know how soon I can help you on this, but I will get back to you as soon as I am able to help you.”

“I’m sure we’re close enough that when I say “no” you’ll understand it’s for a good reason.”

“Sure I can help you with your request as long as we both agree and understand that the item I agreed to do for you yesterday is going to have to wait.”

“Before I take this over from you, what do you think we ought to do about it?”

“I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is, I sure can do that for you. The bad news is, I’m so overloaded with everything else, I’ve become delirious and have been lying about my commitments.”

“When I get overwhelmed like I am now, I remove every third person who asks me for something, from my “Good Friends List” and the second person just left.”

“No.”

“Thanks for thinking to ask me, but, no thanks.”

“I would like to help you out on this but you understand I don’t have the resources available to do the right job for you.”

“Now that’s the type of thing I would love to help you on if only I had the time.”

“Just like you, I get overloaded sometimes and have to tell some very special people, “no”. This is one of those times.”

And as you speak, smile.

Want some easy tips to help you to get more from your boss without having to say “no”? Get your no cost copy now of “The Boss Question”. Email your request for “boss” to: mailto:ctsem@msn.com

Receive your no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com.

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 2001 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: mailto:ctsem@msn.com

Neat Networking

2007-06-10T17:54:00.001-07:00

NEAT NETWORKING

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

So you want to significantly increase your personal productivity and success in all areas of your life? You can go it alone or enjoy the help of others.

Networking is a major Time Management tool helping us to learn from others, getting introductions more easily, and saving precious resources of time and money in the process. I have accumulated five “Neat Networking” suggestions that might help.

1. Make the list. There is power in writing things down rather than trying to remember everyone you know. I use a software contacts program to help. Who do you include? Everyone. Everyone you know, everyone you have met. Don’t just copy the white pages from your local telephone directory. “Contact” means you have had “contact”. Add everyone to the database. Leave no one out. Include name, address, and contacting information. The average person can easily come up with an initial list of over 1,000 contacts. Sounds unlikely? Start with your family, then your neighbors, and co-workers. How about the co-workers from your last job(s)? Your high school and college graduating classes and the teachers you had. You belong to a professional association, a club, a church? The bank teller, your dentist, your bookie, they all go on the list.

2. Categorize the list. This is when a contacts software program is really useful. Identify those who are friends, those who are acquaintances, customers, suppliers, politicians, professionals, or those who enjoy golf or tennis. The more categories you can place people in, the quicker you can access the right contacts. Through my database, there is not a problem I cannot get answered for myself and those whom I want to help.

3. Feed the list. Once you create the list you have to continue to feed it. Update, correct, and add more and more people as you meet them. We probably meet dozens of new people every week. My database has grown to over 4,000 now. I spend about an hour every Friday to feed my list. It’s a chore. It’s not convenient but it’s worth it.

4. To have a friend, be a friend. Here’s how you make all this data work for you. Networking is not a selfish technique. If you want this tool to work, you have to be like a good Congressman. You do things for people. You help them first. I’m always clipping articles I come across and sending them to people I know. I send a lot of birthday cards. I call the majority of the people in my database at least once a year to talk about them, how they are doing, what they may need that I can provide for them. Then when it comes around “election time”, when I need something, I feel no hesitation to ask for a return favor.

5. Use it. Whenever I start anything, a new marketing program, a career move, buying a house or a car, I think of my network first and talk to those in my database who may be able to give me some answers. I have saved tons of time and money and advanced my success in so many ways by tapping into my Network database first.

Be sure to get your copy of “The Top Five Time Management Mistakes”. To gets yours, email your request for “mistakes” to: ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you aboard!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 1999 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

The Time Management Myth

2007-06-10T17:53:00.001-07:00

THE TIME MANAGEMENT MYTH

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

Having made more than 2,000 presentations on Time Management and Personal Productivity during the last twenty years, I have had the good fortune of counseling with thousands in their quest for increased results in their daily business and personal lives.

I frequently ask two questions during my presentations and they are posed to you now.

1. “How many would like to say that each and every night, when they are going home from work that they “got it all done”?”

2. “How many can actually say that each and every night, when they are going home from work, that they “got it all done”?”

Typically, the answer to question #1 is unanimous. The silence to question #2 is most often deafening. Almost everyone says they “want to get it all done”, but when pressed, all but a handful reply that, in truth, they “don’t get it all done”.

Stress is caused in large part by differences between our expectations on the one level and reality at a lower level. This incongruity causes a disappointment and that disappointment breeds stress.

As a simple example, you have parked your car in the company lot at 8:00 a.m. You probably have an expectation that the car will still be there when the workday ends at 5:00 p.m. What if, at 5:00 p.m., you discover that your car has been “permanently borrowed” (stolen)? Might you be stressed at finding that your car missing? I should think so, because you had an expectation that the car would be there at 5:00 p.m., and reality fell short (it was not there) of that expectation and created a “mega-disappointment”.

Now, if at 5:00 p.m. you journey to the parking lot and locate your car exactly where you left it at 9:00 a.m., put the key in the ignition, and depart, you experience no stress over the event because expectation and reality are in line with one another, there is no disappointment.

Accordingly, most of us have an expectation that we are going to “get it all done” and a reality that we “don’t get it all done”. The result? “Industrial-strength” stress over these two competing assumptions. And it is a serious and pervasive condition. People everywhere are stressed out because they want to “get it all done”, when the truth is, they “don’t get it all done”.

The myth? It is the notion that we are going to “get it all done”. We never “get it all done” and even if somehow we could, there are 10,000 other things we could take on. You and I will leave undone far more than we ever do get done. We will only accomplish only a tiny fraction of what we “could have” done.

Our productive lives are like a sandy beach. Take one grain of sand and place it in the palm of your hand. Let that represent all that you accomplish in this life and let all the other billions of grains of sand represent what you “could have done”. You “could have” read a chapter in that book last night, you “could have” made those additional phone calls earlier this morning, you “could have” had pizza for lunch today, etc.

Our productivity is never measured by what we have left undone. We will always leave undone far more than we ever accomplish. Our productivity is measured only by what we do accomplish. But when the goal is to “get it all done”, we have a tendency to focus on the “quantity” to the loss of the “quality” and our productivity suffers.

It is instructive that when we go to the funeral home to pay our respects to a dear departed friend, the focus is always on what that person did in their lives, not what they did not do. We celebrate one another’s achievements and do not bemoan what they did not do. Yet, in our own lives many task themselves over what they are not doing, what they have not accomplished.

Shatter the myth. Stop focusing on what is not getting done. Direct your time each day to what is truly the most valuable use of your time to you in light of your commitments and responsibilities and life goals. Delight in and savor what you do accomplish, not what is left undone. The measurement of the success in your life depends on it.

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore, a full-time Professional Speaker, is one of the foremost experts on Time Management and Personal Productivity and the author of “Beat the Clock”, “Organizing Your Life” and “The Productivity Handbook”. Invite Don to conduct his dynamic Time Management Seminar on-site, at your location. Get more done in less time with less stress. For details, email your request for “on-site” to: ctsem@msn.com

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com
Professional Member-National Speakers Association since 1989

Copyright 1999 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication or newsletter. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

5 Things You Must Do to Succeed as a Professional Speaker

2007-06-10T17:52:00.001-07:00

5 Things You Must Do to Succeed as a Professional Speaker

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

The Professional Speaking Business is one the fastest growing industries in the world. It is a great business to begin part-time and grow into a full-time opportunity, sharing your ideas and touching other peoples’ lives. It is hard work but the rewards can be enormous. I have been a Professional Speaker for the last 18 years. I have made hundreds of presentations to thousands of people from all over the world. I have found that there are five ingredients to developing your own Professional Speaking business.

1. Select your topic(s). The fewer the better. The marketplace pays a higher premium for the specialist and less for the generalist who “speaks on anything”.

2. Decide on your venue. Professional speaking can be delivered as seminars, keynotes, or one-on-one consulting. You may want to choose one, two, or all three venues.

3. Prepare your program, teaching aids, and materials. Research your material well and give it a unique twist that separates you from the rest.

4. Refine your presentation skills. Practice, practice, practice. The more you do, the better you get.

5. Develop a marketing plan to secure clients. You can be the greatest speaker in the world, but if you don’t have an audience, you’re not a speaker.

Want more information? I have prepared “Ten Super Marketing Ideas for the Professional Speaker”. It’s yours for the asking. E-mail your request for “Super” to: ctsem@msn.com.

Would you like to receive free Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your free “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you aboard!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 1999 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Multiplying with Networking

2007-06-10T17:51:00.002-07:00

MULTIPLYING WITH NETWORKING

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

In over twenty years as a Public Speaker, time and time again, I realize that better than half of the average person’s personal productivity and success in life is through the good cooperation of other people. I do not mean to suggest that if one does not have the good cooperation of other people that he or she cannot be productive and successful, but rather, that one cannot be “AS” productive and successful.

And the sad thing about those who do not enjoy the good cooperation of other people is that they will never know what they did not receive. They will never know the business connections that they did not get, the social invitations they could have had, or the helpful advice they might have been presented with to make their lives easier.

Networking is as old as time. It is the idea that we need not do everything ourselves and re-invent the wheel over and again. We can all mutually benefit from the experiences and knowledge of others. It is not a new practice to any of us. We network all the time. They question is, “how far do you want to go with it?” Time management and personal productivity are significantly enhanced when we use the concept seriously and methodically practice the concept.

With six billion people now on the planet it is said that all of are related to within six levels, the “Six Degrees of Separation”. To get to the answers, the help, and the information you need to make your life better is never far away.

My own success in the Professional Speaking Business has come to me largely through networking and the good cooperation of other people, although, like the cobbler’s son who had no shoes, I sometimes fail to follow my own advice. When I started my business twenty years ago I thought I was a marketing genius. After all, I had an MBA with a concentration in marketing. I then proceeded to do every bone-headed thing imaginable, wasting precious resources of time and money until I began to practice what I preached and reached out to others who were already successful.

And I got the help that I needed because the number one topic of conversation that most people enjoy is themselves. And when people talk about themselves, they like to talk about their successes, don’t they?

I learned how to market and promote my business and how to manage it effectively as well. Through the generous help of others, I stopped spinning my wheels learning the errors that others had already learned. I now spend a good amount of my time helping new speakers to succeed sharing the information that I have received, adding in my own successes.

And that is the essence of networking because networking is not a selfish technique, just drawing from the well. It is consistently helping to fill the well. Not only taking but giving back. The more help you offer others, the more you get in return.

I have prepared a companion article entitled, “Neat Networking” that contains five specific steps to help you to network more effectively and increase your personal productivity. To get your copy email your request for “neat” to: ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you aboard!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 1999 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Managing Multiple Priorities

2007-06-10T17:51:00.001-07:00

MANAGING MULTIPLE PRIORITIES

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

We all have “too much to do”. As a professional speaker, I hear that all the time from my audiences. And that says a lot of good things about you, if you have “too much to do” because, obviously, a lot of people have entrusted many things to your care and have confidence in you.

Every priority claims itself as the most urgent and crucial thing in the world screaming for your immediate attention. The problem is, we can only do one thing at a time. So, here are four nifty ideas to help you to Manage Multiple Priorities.

1. Keep the focus on personal balance first. Our lives are made up of Seven Vital Areas: Health, Family, Financial, Intellectual, Social, Professional, and Spiritual. We will not necessarily spend time every day in each area or equal amounts of time in each area. But, if, in the long run, we spend a sufficient quantity and quality of time in each area, our lives will be in balance. But if we neglect any one area, never mind two or three, we will eventually sabotage our success. Much like a table, if one leg is longer than the rest, it will make the entire table wobbly. If we don’t take time for health, our family life and social life are hurt. If our financial area is out of balance, we will not be able to focus adequately on our professional goals, etc. As in the medical profession, it is said that you cannot be sick and make other people well. In Time Management, then, we have to keep ourselves healthy first, in balance first, or it won’t matter how many or how important our priorities are, we will not be able to properly handle them.

2. Schedule Daily Planning. I set aside at least 30 minutes each night for Daily Planning, a time to have a Board of Directors meeting in the most important corporation in the world, Me, Inc. I make up a list of things for the next day that includes not only all the items I “have to” do, but, more importantly, the items I “want to” do. Putting it all down in writing is vital because if you want to manage it, you have to measure it. This will tend to overload your next day, which is useful because it permits us to take advantage of Parkinson’s Law, which says, in part, that a project tends to take as long as the time allocated for it. If you give yourself one thing to do, it will take all day to do it. If you give yourself three things to do, you get them all done. If you give yourself twelve things to do, you may not get all twelve done, but may well accomplish nine. Having a lot to do, being a bit overloaded, creates a healthy sense of pressure on us to get through our list.

3. Review each item and ask, “Is this the best use of my time?” There is a lot of difference between “I do it” and “It gets done”. Which is more important? “It gets done”. Sure, it’s great to accomplish things ourselves but we only have 168 hours per week to accomplish results. (And if we take away 56 hours per week for sleep, that only leaves 112 hours!) So, each night during Daily Planning, I review each item on my list and ask, “Is this the best use of my time?” If it is, I will plan to work on it and if it is not, I will try to find a way to delegate it to someone so that it gets done.

4. Prioritize the list. Typically, our “To Do” lists will contain “crucial” and “not crucial” items. Some items will be more important, some not so important. Typically, the “not crucial” items are quicker and often more fun than the “crucial” items, which tend to take longer and are generally less fun. So what happens for many is that without prioritizing our list, we have a tendency to do the “not crucial” items first, substituting the quantity for the quality. Identify the most important “crucial” item on your list, the one you would want to tackle if you could only work on one item tomorrow and then label that as “#1”. Next, identify the second item you would work on, if time permits, and label that as “#2”. Continue prioritizing the entire list in that fashion and tomorrow start with #1.

These four steps will help you to more effectively Manage Multiple Priorities and increase your daily results and that is a good thing.

If these ideas were helpful, we have prepared an additional article entitled, “The Time Management Myth” to help increase your daily success. It’s your’s. If you would like a copy, email your request for “myth” to: ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for our no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you to our list!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 2000 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

More Time

2007-06-10T17:49:00.002-07:00

MORE TIME

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

Time is the great equalizer for all of us. We all have 24 hours in a day, 7 days a week, yielding 168 hours per week. Take out 56 hours for sleep (we do spend about a third of our week dead) and we are down to 112 hours to achieve all the results we desire. We cannot save time (ever have any time left over on a Sunday night that you could lop over to the next week?), it can only be spent. And there’s only two ways to spend our time: we can spend it wisely, or, not so wisely.

We can effectively increase the amount of time available to us each week by working “smarter” rather than working “harder”. In my twenty years as a full-time Professional Speaker on the topic of Time Management, I have noted five sure fire ways to make an immediate impact on increasing our available time each week.

Engage an intern Most high schools and community colleges offer intern programs for their students. The student is assigned to a real-life organization for 10-20 hours per week. They are typically unpaid but do earn academic credit and make great contacts and the organization gets an “extra pair of hands”. The person who is assigned the intern can now delegate any number of things to the intern to release their time for more productive matters. It’s a “Win-Win” deal for both.

Run an Interruptions Log It would be great if we could plan our day the night before and then make that plan happen as scheduled. The real world is different. We have to deal with interruptions. Interruptions are unanticipated events that come to us via the telephone (any of the electronic stuff: beepers, pagers, email, etc.) or in person. Many interruptions are important and are what we may be paid to handle. However, many interruptions have little or no value to our responsibilities. Run an Interruptions Log for about a week. List every interruption as it occurs and rate its value to you. A=Crucial, B=Important, C=Little value, D= No value. After the week of logging them in, review the list and take action to eliminate the repetitive C and D interruptions and re-capture some wasted time.

Run a Crisis Management Log Crisis management for the most part is when the deadline has snuck up upon you and robbed you of choice, you have to respond and you are a slave to the clock. Crisis management is generally poor time management because you’re rushing, the quality of your performance suffers, your stress level is elevated, and, most important, you are often having to go back and re-do what was done in the first place. “If you want to manage it, measure it.” Run a Crisis Management Log for a week. After encountering every crisis, log it in on a piece of paper. After a week of accumulating the data, go back through every crisis that occurred and ask yourself, “Which one of these could have been avoided?” and start to take corrective steps to stop their reoccurrence and buy back some “smarter” time for your weeks ahead.

Become a Speed Reader The average person reads about two hours per day at a rate of about 200 words per minute. (We get more information exposures in one day today than people in the year 1900 received in a lifetime.) Speed-reading is a simple skill that is easy to learn and improves with consistent practice. The average person can easily double their reading rate and thereby cut their reading time in half or double the volume of reading material they can go through in the same amount of time.

Do Daily Planning “A stitch in time saves 9.” Every grandmother knows this. Every minute of planning will save you nine minutes in execution. Walt Whitman, the poet, said it best, “The most powerful time is when we are alone, thinking about what we are to do.” Daily Planning helps us to focus on what is really crucial and important in our day to come and permits us to identify time wasters in advance to avoid them and use that time more productively.

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore has been a full-time Professional Speaker for the last 20 years having made over 2,000 presentations to audiences from around the Globe. He is available to conduct his dynamic Time Management Seminar at your location helping your people get more done in less time, with less stress. (Why pay for eight hours and get only six?) Don’s programs are entertaining, fast paced, and filled with practical, common sense ideas. His seminars are typically rated as “the best I have ever attended”. For more information, contact Don via email at: ctsem@msn.com or call him at: (203) 386-8062 or (800) 969-3773.

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you aboard!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 2000 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Top Five Time Management Mistakes

2007-06-10T17:49:00.001-07:00

TOP FIVE TIME MANAGEMENT MISTAKES

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

In my thirty years as a Time Management speaker and consultant, I have observed a lot of what we can and should not do to increase our daily results. Time management is not necessarily working “harder”, but rather, “smarter”.

And to accomplish significantly more in our days, we need not increase our efforts. As an example, in a horserace, the first horse may earn a $50,000 purse and the second horse may earn a $25,000 purse. The first horse gets twice as much money as the second horse, not because it ran twice as far or twice as fast. It was only a “nose ahead” of the competition.

So it is with our daily results. We need not run twice as fast or put in twice the effort to significantly increase our daily success. We only need to be a “nose ahead” of where we already are. We are all productive in our days. We would not survive the demands of this world if we were not. The real challenge is how much more productive can we become?

A lot of our Time Management has to do more with what we are not doing rather than what we are doing. Sometimes our mistakes and omissions will keep us from running at a full pace.

Here are the Top Five Time Management Mistakes we should all avoid to help us to increase our daily success both on and off the job, in less time and with less stress.

1. Start your day without a plan of action. You will begin your day by responding to the loudest voice (the squeaky wheel gets the grease) and spend it in a defensive mode, responding to other people’s and events’ demands. The tail will wag the dog. If there is a void of leadership in your Time Management life, someone will fill that void, not that others are bad people, but others will take all of your time if you let them. You will have worked hard but may not have done enough of right things. Time Management is not doing the wrong things quicker. That just gets us nowhere faster. Time Management is doing the right things.

2. Get out of balance in your life. Our lives are made up of Seven Vital Areas: Health, Family, Financial, Intellectual, Social, Professional, and Spiritual. We will not necessarily spend time every day in each area or equal amounts of time in each area. But, if in the long run, we spend a sufficient quantity and quality of time in each area, our lives will be in balance. But if we neglect any one area, never mind two or three, we will eventually sabotage our success. Much like a table, if one leg is longer than the rest, it will make the entire table wobbly. If we don’t take time for health, our family life and social life are hurt. If our financial area is out of balance, we will not be able to focus adequately on our professional goals, etc.

3. Work with a messy desk or work area. Studies have shown that the person who works with a messy desk spends, on average, one and a half hours per day looking for things or being distracted by things. That’s seven and a half hours per week. (“Out of sight-out of mind.” And the reverse of that is true too, “In sight, in mind”). And, it’s not a solid block of an hour and a half, but a minute here and a minute there, and like a leaky hot water faucet, drip, drip, drip, it doesn’t seem like a major loss, but at the end the day, we’re dumping gallons of hot water down the drain that we are paying to heat. If you have ever visited the office of a top manager, typically, that person is working with a clean desk environment. Many would attribute this practice to that person’s access to other staff members. While there may be some truth in that conclusion, in most cases, if we went back some years in that person’s career, they probably were working with a clean desk back then which gave them the focus they needed to become promoted to where they are today.

4. Don’t get enough sleep. Studies show that nearly 75% of us complain on a regular basis, all throughout our days, that we are flat-out tired. For most people, they get the quantity of sleep, but they lack the quality of sleep. Their days are filled with so much stress, they are out of control, working harder but maybe not smarter, that it’s difficult to get a full night’s sleep. (For some, they simply do not allow for a sufficient quantity of sleep.) If you will plan your day, then work your plan, you will get more done, feel a higher sense of accomplishment, and experience less stress and enjoy a more restful night’s sleep.

5. Don’t take a lunch break. Many do not take a lunch break, working through that time period in the hope that it will give them more time to produce results. Studies have shown it may work just the opposite. After doing what we do for several hours, we start to “dull out”. Sure, we can work through lunch and be productive, but that is not the issue. The issue is “how much more” productive we can be. A lunch break, even a short fifteen-minute break, gives us a chance to get our batteries all charged up again to more effectively handle the afternoon’s challenges. We are then less likely to procrastinate a few of those difficult tasks that, in the long run, will make a positive difference in our personal productivity.

If these ideas were helpful, we have prepared an additional article entitled, “Top Five Best Time Management Practices”. It’s no cost. If you would like a copy, email your request for “top five” to: ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you aboard!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 1999 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

You Just Might Be a Workaholic

2007-06-10T17:47:00.000-07:00

YOU JUST MIGHT BE A WORKAHOLIC

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

Many wonder what it takes to be a workaholic. Now I’m not suggesting that being a workaholic is either a good thing or a bad thing but maybe it’s useful to determine if we are. There is really no one thing that would make one automatically qualify but after twenty years as a full-time Professional Speaker I have been able to unearth some of the symptoms.

If it frustrates you that they don’t allow laptops on a Ferris wheel, you may be a workaholic.

If you are looking forward to Christmas this year because you’ll decide to take that afternoon off, you might be a workaholic.

If you don’t drink any beverages during the day because you’ll lose time having to go to the bathroom, you might be a workaholic.

If a Pay-Per-View movie is your idea of a vacation, then you just might be a workaholic.

If twenty minutes is too long for a lunch “hour”, you might be a workaholic.

If hobbies are something you will get into when you “get the time”, you may be a workaholic.

If the only time you’ve had off in the last three years was to attend your favorite uncle’s funeral, you might be a workaholic.

If you wish you weren’t so stressed but know that you will feel better as soon as you “get over the hump”, you might be a workaholic.

If the color of one side of your golf bag has faded and is different from the other side of the bag, you might be a workaholic.

If you promised your spouse “this is the only Sunday I’ll work” more than three times in the last year, you might just be a workaholic.

If you bring your spreadsheets to your son’s football game, you may be a workaholic.

If you sense that the smiles from those around you are somewhat synthetic, you might be a workaholic.

If you’ve told yourself, “I can cut back of my hours anytime, if I wanted to” more than three times in the last six months, you might be a workaholic.

If you use your cell phone in the shower to return business calls in the morning before work, you might just be a workaholic.

If you don’t have a tan by July 15 each year, you may be a workaholic.

If it’s difficult to remember the last time you heard background music at a restaurant, you might be a workaholic.

If you set your alarm for 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. so you can check your voicemail, well, you just might be a workaholic.

If it bothers you that you are always at work before and after everyone else, you might be a workaholic.

If you can’t name your daughter’s favorite rock band, you just might be a workaholic.

If elderly people tend to make you impatient, you might just be a workaholic.

If people at cocktail parties seem to want to leave your conversation and “get another glass of wine” just when you were really getting into telling them about your job, well, you just might be a workaholic.

If it’s been a while since you felt guilty about missing yet another family dinner, you might be a workaholic.

If you carry family pictures in your wallet only to remind you what they look like, you might be a workaholic.

If you’re drinking your coffee in a dirty cup from yesterday, you just might be a workaholic.

If you haven’t gone home early in the last six months, you might be a workaholic.

If your idea of an intimate anniversary celebration is to take your spouse to a formal business dinner, you might be a workaholic.

If a clown is not so funny, an owl is not so wise, and you think that Peter Pan cannot really fly, you might be a workaholic.

If the last outrageous thing you did was over ten years ago, you might be a workaholic.

If a three-year-old girl holding a fluffy bunny under her arm doesn’t cause you to stop and watch, well, you just might be a workaholic.

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore, a full-time Professional Speaker, is one of the foremost experts and speakers on Time Management and Personal Productivity and the author of “Beat the Clock”. You may wish to invite him to conduct one of his dynamic in-house programs from one hour to three days at your location.

If you would like to receive a no cost copy of his article, “5 Time Management Errors Executives Should Avoid”, email your request for “errors” to: ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for our no cost “TIME MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION LIST”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you aboard!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association since 1989
Copyright 1999

You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication or newsletter. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Meeting Madness

2007-06-10T17:46:00.000-07:00

MEETING MADNESS

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

“I can’t help you now!” shouted Sarah as she raced past her boss. “I’m going to a meeting!”

“Look at all this email from our customers!” exclaimed Alan. “They’ll have to wait because I’m going to a meeting!”

Willy was feeling stressed. He should finish correcting the travel report for his boss, but he has to set it aside because he has to go to the meeting.

It’s now 2:05 p.m. Sarah, Alan, and Willy are in the conference room ready to meet. They’re always on time for the meeting, well just a few minutes late. Martha, Chuck, Fred, and Tom are not there yet. (They’re always late for everything except for their flights at the airport.) They feel that few people truly understand their unique set of responsibilities. Sarah, Alan, and Willy appreciate their time together to get caught up on the office gossip while waiting for the others to arrive.

2:17 p.m. and Tom has arrived. Sarah leaves for “just a minute” to check her voicemail. Willy leaves to go to the bathroom. Martha arrives, and sees that everyone is not there yet and returns to her desk to check her email.

At 2:28 p.m. Willy is back and Chuck and Fred drift in. Fred wants to know why we are always running out of coffee filters. Chuck suggests that a meeting be set up to appoint a committee to look into and discuss the matter. Alan leaves to round up Sarah and Martha.

2:33 p.m., Alan returns with Sarah and Martha but Tom is in the hallway talking with Jan. Jan just got out of a horrible meeting and wanted to share with Alan. Jan senses that she may be wasting a lot of her time in meetings. Alan points out that they are important and “how would it look if you weren’t there?” he asks. “True.”, replies Jan.

Chuck says, “Let’s get started. Alan will join us in a minute. Sarah, bring us up to date on the status of getting our new telephone extension numbers.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you wanted me to talk about that today. I, uh, really don’t have too much on that.” remarked Sarah as she turned away from her crossword puzzle.

“Why do we need new telephone extension numbers anyway?” asked Willy.

“We decided that last month although if you have some input on this, we should like to hear it.” Chuck explained. “Weren’t you here at the last meeting?”

“Willy’s never here.” scolded Martha.

“Am so.”, defended Willy.

It’s 2:42. Alan sticks his head in the door. “Sorry. Something just came up. I’ll have to skip the meeting.”

“But Alan, you were going to review the sales figures.” implored Chuck.

“I know”, added Alan, “but I’ve got to go to another meeting. It’s very important.”

For the next ten minutes the group discusses Alan’s apparent lack of focus and how he is really hurting the team.

Around 2:53 p.m., a new discussion begins and the group agrees that they all have “too much to do”, that this is unfair, and that something has to be done about it.

At 2:59 p.m., a new group is milling about in the hallway. It is their time to meet in the conference room. Kate runs that meeting. It is very important because they have reserved two full hours for their meeting. She pokes her head in the meeting room. “You guys almost done? We have to have our meeting.”

Chuck replies, “Oh, ok, thanks. I have another meeting to go to myself. We’ll be done in just a minute. We just have to set the date for our next meeting.”

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore, a full-time Professional Speaker, is one of the foremost experts and speakers on Time Management and Personal Productivity and the author of Beat the Clock, Organizing Your Life and The Productivity Handbook. Invite Don to conduct his dynamic Time Management Seminar on-site, at your location, from one hour up to three full days for groups of any size. For more information, email your request for “on site” to: ctsem@msn.com

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Copyright 1999 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication or newsletter. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Maintaining Daily Balance

2007-06-10T17:45:00.002-07:00

MAINTAINING DAILY BALANCE

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

The underlying core of my more than 2,000 Time Management presentations during the last twenty years has been the concept of “balance”. Success in managing our time has less to do with the tools available to us, such as “to do lists” and techniques for delegation, as it has to do with achieving daily balance in our lives. If we are not in balance to begin with, we are likely to sabotage our success. Successful Time Management then has a lot to do with what we are not doing.

Here’s my list of the seven best ways for “Maintaining Daily Balance”.

1. Take Time for Your Health. There are many programs available to maintain your personal health. Select the ones that are appropriate for you. Whatever you chose, they will all have one common ingredient: Time. Take the time to care for yourself. Schedule exercise and give it the same priority you would give to a business meeting or a social engagement. Plan to eat correctly. Listen to music and enjoy a laugh. If we don’t take time for health and fitness today, we have to take time for sickness and illness tomorrow. It’s not a question of “whether or not” we will spend time in this area. The question is “where”.

2. Give Your Family What They Deserve. A Funeral Director friend of mine told me that never met a widow who complained that her late husband spent too little time at work. Schedule “special time” with your children. Bring home a surprise rose. Leave a note under someone’s pillow. Send a recent snapshot of you to a long distance relative. Plan regular phone contact with those you don’t see so often. Be a proactive family leader as good as you are a proactive business leader. The actions we take today form the memories we will re-live and enjoy tomorrow.

3. Take Control of Your Financial life. If you take one hour per day of independent study, in less than four years, you can become a world-class expert in the topic of your choice or develop a successful home-based business, or create an investment plan that will give you financial independence so that work is no longer a “have to” but a “want to” and is no longer a necessity for your personal financial survival. Maybe take the time from some of that TV time that doesn’t enhance our future all that much and re-direct it as an investment in our future.

4. Develop Your Intellectual Area. Half of what is known today, we did not know fifteen years ago. If you and I continue to do what we do, the same way, in five years, most of us will become obsolete. I work with many “downsized” employees who lost their employment not because they were not working “hard enough”, but because they failed to take some of their current time to improve their skills and talents in this fluid world and soon their employer and the world did not need what they did so well.

5. Enjoy a Quality Social Life. Seek out and make friends with the people who will have positive effects in your life. Don’t just settle for who is around you. Now, I believe everyone deserves our love and respect but our friendship and time belong to those whom we choose.

6. Maximize Your Professional Life. Don’t just do the job for a paycheck, as a way of trading your time for money. Make whatever you do personally fulfilling and satisfying, no matter where you are and what you do. One very successful businessperson told me he never held a “job”, he had always held a “position”. He understood right from the beginning of his career, when he was parking cars, then waiting on tables that these were always opportunities to advance to the next level if through every assignment he sought to make the world a little bit better.

7. Enjoy Your Spiritual Area. This area involves not only formal religious practice but also our relationships to one another, our communities, and our environment. It would be sad to believe we were put here only to survive and then die. What is your special role in this Universe?

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore, a full-time Professional Speaker, is one of the foremost experts on Time Management and Personal Productivity and the author of “Beat the Clock”. His presentations are always fast-paced, entertaining, and filled with practical, common sense tools to help his audiences get more done in less time. If you would like to discuss how he can help your organization to achieve more in less time through his on-site and public seminars and keynotes, email Don at: ctsem@msn.com or call him directly at: (203) 386-8062.

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you aboard!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore-Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com
Professional Member-National Speakers Association since 1989

Copyright 1999 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication or newsletter. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

The Eleven Biggest Lies

2007-06-10T17:45:00.001-07:00

The Eleven Biggest Lies

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

In the world of Time Management there are things said to us that we accept as truth and we act accordingly. The problem is sometimes they are not truths. They are lies and as we believe them, they waste our time.

Those who speak these lies to us are not bad people at all because you and I are among them. We all speak these untruths to one another from time to time. So let's not wish harm and doom to the liars. Let's avoid the time traps their lying may cause us.

Here are the eleven biggest lies to shield yourself from.

1. "This will just take a minute." Has anyone grabbed you with that line? Does it ever "just take a minute"? Rarely. What typically "just takes a minute", generally consumes several minutes and more.

Next time, when someone asks for your time and assures you,” This will just take a minute", tell them, "You're lying. You may not realize you're lying, but you are. I'll give you five minutes. You may begin now."

2. "I need this as soon as possible." No you don't. That's a lie too. You need it by a certain date and time because you are going to do something with what I provide for you. And if you're not going to do anything with what I provide for you, why am I doing it for you in the first place?

Don't lie to me. Tell me when I have to get it to you. Be specific. You and I probably have two difference dates in mind when we think in terms of "as soon as possible".

3. "I want this now." I doubt it. In this 24/7/365 world, everyone is under a sense of artificial pressure to get it done "now" or worse,” yesterday".

Things are generally not that urgent. Don't get caught up in someone else's urgent trivialities.

Call the liar to task. "I'm not sure I can get that done now. What if I got it to you one week from today?" Use an outside deadline to give yourself ample time to prevent getting into crisis management.

Oh, and if they reject that alternative, try three better dates for you. Why? Because they may keep lying to you.

4. "It's not about the money." When it's not about the money, it's about the money.

5. "This is the best (investment, business opportunity, book, movie, restaurant, boss, job, etc.) you'll ever find." Not true. There's always something better. The best is yet to come.

6. "I can get this done in an hour." It's a fib. Ever notice how it almost always takes twice as long to get something done as what you thought it would? That's because few of us have a very accurate internal clock to estimate the time required to complete most tasks.

7. "He's a’ late' person." Most people who are "late" have a consistency about their behavior. My friend Dwayne is 20 minutes late all the time. If we need to meet for lunch tomorrow, it will take him 24 hours and twenty minutes to get there.

Dwayne is not "late". He's "On-time; 20 minutes later".

8."No Cost." You don't get “nothing for nothing”. Everything has a cost. It may not cost you your money but more often it will be your time and more of it than what you are getting in return for “no cost”.

9. "I'll prove you're wrong if it's the last thing I do." And it may well be. No one wants to be proven wrong. Everyone likes to be caught doing things "right". Most, however, don't mind being shown how to do things better.

10. "By the time I show him how to do it I could just as quickly have done it myself." If it's a one-time proposition this may be true. It doesn't make a lot of sense to spend an hour to show someone how to do a task that takes only10 minutes.

But if it's a repetitive task, it's a lie. If that one hour investment will save you 10 minutes every day, then in about a week you have your investment back and now you have a dividend of 10 extra minutes a day. What if you do that six different times? You get an extra hour in your day and 365 hours over the next year.

11. "This is going to be really hard." Not true. Going through whatever you have to go through is almost never as difficult as you imagined it to be.

Mr. Smith, my high school principal, taught me that 95% of what we fear coming at us will never hit us. It will ditch itself before it ever reaches us. And as to the remaining 5%, God has given us the tools to deal with it.

If these ideas were helpful, visit our Time Management Super Site now at: http://www.balancetime.com for information about our Time Management Seminars, on-site, at your location, to help you get more done in less time with less stress!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 2003 & 2006 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

What Not to Do When Making a Keynote Presentation

2007-06-10T17:44:00.000-07:00

WHAT NOT TO DO WHEN MAKING A KEYNOTE PRESENTATION

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

“keynote n: an address designed to present the issues of primary interest to an assembly and often to arouse unity and enthusiasm.”

A wonderful communication device, that keynote presentation is. Did you ever have to sit through a bad one? It happens. If you would like to give a “snoozer” yourself, here are a few sure-fire ways to give your audience the sleep they may have been lacking.

1. TRY TO FOOL THE AUDIENCE. It probably won’t work. Audiences are very perceptive. They know when the speaker in congruent and “walks the talk”. They also know when the presenter is just giving a book report, having spent a little time in preparation to learn about the high points of the topic presented. When you are the keynoter, your audience ought to sense that you are not just a gallon of water, but, rather, a fountain of knowledge.

2. READ IT FROM YOUR TEXT. We liked hearing stories read to us as children. But our audiences are adults. They want to experience what is in your heart and in your mind. Notes to guide you through the important points are fine, but if you are reading from a text, you may as well hire a professional actor who is trained to bring a script to life. Know your material cold. Tailor it as you deliver it. As your audience reacts to a particular point, expand on it. Feed them what they hunger for.

3. USE INSIDE STORIES. Be sure to mention some event or some anecdote about someone that most of your audience will know nothing about. Isolate the majority of your audience. Keep them in the dark. Make them feel that they are not among the chosen few. Use their time to have a private, inside dialogue with someone. They will be riveted.

4. MAKE YOUR AUIDIENCE THE BUTT OF A JOKE. Humor is a wonderful communication tool (if you are funny). Self-deprecating humor that reveals your own vulnerabilities and foibles works. Stories about people and events, other than your audience, if done in good taste, will set the tone for a positive learning environment. But if you direct the barbs of your humor directly to your audience, you set up an “us versus him/her” climate that will interfere with your message getting out. Attacking an audience, even if not meant to offend, will tend to make them defensive and distrustful of the speaker.

5. GO OVER THE TIME LIMIT. You have a contract with your audience. Their obligation is to be attentive. Yours is to deliver the material that was promised and to do it within the announced time frame. If you are given twenty minutes, finish in twenty minutes. If no time frame is announced, tell the audience up front how much of their time you will take. (“We are going to be together for the next 50 minutes and during this brief time…”). I frequently tell my audiences at the outset of my presentation, “I will be your speaker and you will be my audience. If you get done before I do, please let me know.”

Want more easy tips? I have prepared the “5 THINGS TO MAKE A KEYNOTE SIZZLE”. It’s your’s for the asking. E-mail your request now for “sizzle” to: ctsem@msn.com.

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you aboard!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 1999 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Poor John

2007-06-10T17:43:00.002-07:00

POOR JOHN

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

John did not get his raise but it’s not his fault because he did not get his promotion because he did not get all his work done on time because they gave him too much to do and because he was late yesterday because he had to stop for gas because he didn't stop for gas the night before because he was late coming home because he was working late because he came in late that morning because he had to iron a shirt because he had nothing clean to wear because he forgot to pick up his shirts from the cleaners on his way home the day before because he was rushing to get to his softball game and he had to stop and get air in his leaky tire because he forgot to get it fixed last weekend because he had to answer the phone all day and watch the game on Sunday because the guys would all be talking about it on Monday and he did not want to feel left out because that happened before when he missed a game and the guys laughed at him because he didn’t know about it and that whole day he could not get anything done at work because he felt so badly and he spent the entire day speaking with his co-workers asking them if he was really being treated fairly because he always tries to please other people first because their opinions of what he should be doing are more important than his own because even though he has the tools and techniques to better control and manage his time and life they are uncomfortable to use because it is so much easier to drift and spend the day responding rather than take the initiative because, after all, “What would THEY say?” if he tried to achieve new goals that he never reached before because a lot of what John really wants is not what he is entitled to and can qualify for because others have what it takes to succeed rather than John because they got the lucky breaks in their lives and hit it just at the right time while for John, without having bad luck he would have no luck at all because that’s what’s true for his family and always has been and always will be because we cannot change who we are or where we came from or the luck and bad fortune we have because we have to learn to accept what life gives to us and ask for no more because that would be impolite and selfish because John already tried that route once when he went to his boss and asked for a raise and the boss said that, “You have to do more now than what you are already being paid for to qualify for a raise. To ask for what you do not deserve and for what you have not earned is to be selfish and impolite”, but John did not like what he heard and looked for another reason why he did get his raise and he found it.

John did not get his raise but it’s not his fault because…

Poor John. The good news is Sue had a better day. Want to find out why? Get a copy of “Lucky Sue”. It’s no cost. To get yours, email your request for “Sue” to: ctsem@msn.com
Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for our no cost “TIME MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION LIST”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you aboard!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 1999 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

How to Get a Job in Half the Time

2007-06-10T17:43:00.001-07:00

HOW TO GET A JOB IN HALF THE TIME

By Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

When I received my degree in accounting in 1970, our graduation speaker told us we ought to plan on three or four jobs in our careers. When my daughter graduated from college just a few years ago, her graduation speaker predicted that they ought to plan on three or four different careers in their work lives.

Today, the average person changes jobs every three years. Job change is one of the less desirable tasks we must perform in life, right up there with a root canal, for many. Why? We don’t like rejection. We don’t like to be judged. And as if we only played golf once every three years or so we wouldn’t be too good at it, so if we go through the job seeking task every three years or so, we probably are not going to be comfortable with our skills.

There are lots of resources to help in networking, sending resumes, and interview preparation. Let’s discuss here how to do all that in half the time.

First, if you were out of work tomorrow, voluntarily or by choice, how long would you estimate it will take you to secure your next employment? We never know for sure, but it is important to form an educated guess so that we know what we are up against. To find out, talk with 5-10 people who have recently gone through the same type of job search you are about to do. Ask them how long it took to secure their new positions. You will quickly get a sense of an average length of time it is likely to take. Let’s assume that for your objective, in your industry, at your skill level, and desired geography, it takes about 90 days to successfully complete the new employment campaign. Certainly you may beat those averages or maybe take considerably longer, but it is useful to know a range of probability.

Next, analyze the three building blocks for getting a new job. It starts with resumes, targeted to specific recipients. This leads to interviews done well. Get enough good interviews completed and you will receive offers.

Let’s assume you would like to have three offers to consider. How many interviews does it take, in your area, to get one offer? Few really know. How do you find out? Talk with 5-10 people who have recently secured the type of job you want and ask how many interviews they conducted and how many offers resulted. Talk with hiring authorities for your type of position and ask how many interviews do they typically conduct to generate one offer. Let’s assume you have ascertained that it takes, on average, five interviews to get one job offer. If your goal is three job offers, you need to create fifteen interviews.

How many resumes does it take, on average, to generate one interview at your job objective level? Don’t know? Most don’t. How do you find out? Ask. Who? Talk with 5-10 people who have recently secured the type of job you want and ask how many resumes they had to send out to secure one interview. Talk with hiring authorities for your type of position and ask how many resumes do they typically generate for your type of job and how many interviews do they extend? Let’s assume you have ascertained that it requires ten resumes to generate one interview. If your goal in fifteen interviews, you need to send out 150 resumes during your campaign.

Why go through all this? Job-hunting is a sales operation. Like good sales people you need to know your “numbers”. If you don’t know your numbers, the temptation is to “work hard”, in the blind, not really knowing how far along you truly are on the path to that new position. And when you just don’t know, it builds in stress, fatigue and fosters discouragement.

Now having determined that it takes, on average, three months to complete the job search campaign, knowing that you need to circulate 150 well placed resumes, you now have a monthly goal of 50 resumes or approximately two per business day. So what’s your goal tomorrow? Get out two targeted resumes. Does that get the new job for you? No. But when you go to bed tomorrow night, you know you have taken the right first step on this journey. A week later, you have sent out ten resumes, received three rejection letters, and no interviews. Are you discouraged? No, you’re on target. You’re developing the quantity to get to the quality. You understand your numbers.

So, how do you get a job in half the time? Double the daily output of targeted resumes sent from two per day to four per day. You will “expose” yourself in the quantity necessary in half the time and increase the probability of getting the required quantity of interviews and resulting job offers in significantly less time.

Get more done every day. Reduce your stress. Have more time for your personal life. Take our dynamic Time Management Seminar right at your computer, at your convenience and at your pace. Get the details about this special program. Email your request now for “special” to: mailto:ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you aboard!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com
Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 2000 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Interrupt Interruptions

2007-06-10T17:42:00.000-07:00

INTERRUPT INTERRUPTIONS!

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

A lot of our daily responsibilities require us to deal with interruptions, unanticipated events. These are not the problem. It is the unwanted, unnecessary interruptions that keep us from focusing on what really needs to get done. One strategy that I share in my Time Management seminars is the notion that “a problem well defined is 95% solved.” We need to interrupt the interruptions!

Many of the interruptions we deal with can be eliminated. (“The best way to deal with a problem is to never have it.”) To gain better control, I recommend the use of an “Interruptions Log.” Nothing fancy, just a pad of paper headed with six columns: Date, Time, Who, What, Length, and Rating. After every interruption occurs, log it in! Record the Date and Time it occurred, Who brought it to you, a word or two about What it dealt with, how Long it took, and most important, your Rating of its importance (A=crucial, B=important, C=little value, and D=no value). Plan to record this information for about a week to get a fair measure of what is really happening. (It is a nuisance to log this information in, but it does provide valuable insights!)

After accumulating this data for a week, go back and total up the A’s, B’s, C’s, and D’s. Most people discover that more than 50% of their interruptions were C’s and D’s, things that were not worth the time spent. Finally, go to each C and D interruption and ask yourself, “How could this one have been avoided?” and start to take proactive steps to insure that it will not repeat itself in the future. Do this especially for the repetitive interruptions.

For example, perhaps someone comes to you two or three times a day asking for information that they could have located themselves, just as easily. Unless there is an intervention, helping this person to find the information for himself or herself, they will continue to interrupt you to get it. It is the path of least resistance. Help them to help themselves, teaching them how to get what they need on their own, no costing your future from having to spend time on what you know will be additional interruptions from this person.

All C and D interruptions will not be eliminated, but if you can head off, short circuit, and stop just a few and that buys back an extra hour per day, then you have carved out some additional time for long term projects that are being pushed back, thereby reducing some of the stress and frustration.

Want more no cost tips for better Time Management? Get your copy of, “The Five Top Time Management Mistakes”. To receive your copy, send your request for “mistakes” to: ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive no cost “Timely Time Management Tips” on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you aboard!

Don Wetmore is a full-time professional speaker who specializes exclusively in the topics of Time Management and Personal Productivity. He conducts his nationally acclaimed Time Management Seminars from one hour up to three full days, on-site, at your location for people who want more out of life in less time, for both their work life and personal life and with less stress. His seminars are witty, fast paced and filled with practical, common sense ideas and tools. One of the country’s leading experts on this topic, he is the author of “Beat the Clock!”

You may contact him directly:

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 1999 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Importance of Time Management

2007-06-10T17:41:00.000-07:00

Importance of Time Management

By Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

What would you do to get a few more hours in your day? How much more could you accomplish and enjoy at work and at home? What about being able to spend more time with your family, friends and hobbies?

I don’t really believe in time management. Time goes on whether you manage it or not. I think what you can do is manage yourself in relation to time and that’s a whole different concept, isn’t it?

And I’ll tell you what time management is not. It’s not doing the wrong things quicker because that just gets you nowhere faster. During my twenty years of studying this topic, I have learned that time management is doing more of the right things in your life each day in both your work and personal life.

You probably have more to do than time allows and that says a lot of good things about you. Obviously, many have entrusted much to you. But that means you will never get it all done. You will only accomplish but a tiny fraction of what you have been asked to do and what you want to do. So, use time management as a tool to get more of the important things done.

Why? Because you will serve others more effectively, enjoy greater results and you probably will live longer. Productive people generally live longer and more satisfying lives and why would you want to compromise the gift of your life for anything less than that?

Time management tools then are used for getting more done in your work life and your personal life and that begins by creating solid work/life balance in your life every day.

Your life operates within the Seven Vital Areas of Life. They include your health, your family and your financial dimensions. And they also include your intellectual, social, professional and spiritual categories as well.

While you won’t spend equal amounts of time in each area or time every day in each area, if , in the long run, you spend a sufficient quantity and quality of your time in each of the Seven Vital Areas, then your life will be balanced, building a solid foundation for your permanent success.

But look what happens if you short-change any one of those Seven Vital Areas, never mind two or three. Take your health dimension, for example, and the simple need to get a good night’s sleep. 75% of people complain that they are flat-out tired during most of their days. If you are flat-out tired, that impacts on your family life and impacts on your social life. And if things aren’t going the right way in your financial life it will hurt your mental health, your family and your ability to focus on your professional responsibilities.

So effective time management is more than just making up a “to do” list. Effective time management is really the art, the science and the practice of gaining better control, not absolute control, over the entire twenty-four hours in every day because the simple truth is, if you’re not in control of your time, they are. Your job will take all of your time if you let it. Your friends and family will take all your time if you let them.

It doesn’t make any of those influences bad, it’s just that, if there is a void of leadership in your time management day, lots of outside influences will step up to lead where you fail and that will not create the balanced, productive life you so richly deserve.

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore, a full-time Professional Speaker, is one of the foremost and entertaining speakers on Time Management and the author of “Beat the Clock” and “Organizing Your Life”, and “The Productivity Handbook”. Invite Don to conduct his dynamic Time Management Seminar on site, at your location from one hour up to three full days for groups of any size helping them to get more done, in less time. For details, mailto:ctsem@msn.com and put “on site” in the subject line.

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore-Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute-Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St., Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
email: ctsem@msn.com
Timely Time Management Tips:
Visit our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com/

Professional Member-National Speakers Association since 1989

Copyright 2006 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication or newsletter. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Five Ideas to Improve a Marriage

2007-06-10T17:32:00.002-07:00

FIVE IDEAS TO IMPROVE A MARRIAGE

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

In my twenty years as a Professional Speaker giving over 2,000 presentations on Time Management and Personal Productivity and nearing our 30 year wedding anniversary, I have observed some techniques that help Nancy and I to spend more quantity and a greater quality of time as we seek to enhance the communication in our relationship.

Our marriage is not perfect. We have experienced the ups and downs like most. The point is, if we are having trouble at home, it will keep us from fully focusing on what we have to do at work. Try some of these:

1. Daily phone call. I travel a lot, and when I’m not traveling, I’m in my office. But wherever I am, I schedule a daily phone call to my wife. Nothing special, just checking in and tell her that I love her and it’s always nice to hear her return the sentiment.

2. Weekend Getaway. This was especially valuable when we had our four growing kids at home. Twice per year, Nancy and I would schedule a weekend getaway, ship the kids off to Grandma, and spend Friday night to Sunday afternoon together in a hotel. Maybe go to New York City, see a show, take in a movie, and enjoy a quiet dinner or two. And no agenda and no arguing (we’ve always done our fair share of arguing), just time together to enjoy each other the way we did before we got married.

3. Date night. As best we can, we set aside Friday night or Saturday night for just “us”. No parties or “double dating”. We enjoy movies, the golf range, and seafood. As I travel a lot and am away on weekends at times, we will reserve a weeknight for our “date night”. There’s only one way to make it happen. You have to make it happen.

4. Surprise roses. I send or bring home flowers for Nancy from time to time, when there is no real occasion to commemorate and when she least expects it. I might even send some flowers to her at work. She enjoys them. I do too.

5. Love note. Under her pillow or often on the dashboard of her car before she goes to work, I leave one of my originally authored poems (“Roses are red; Violets are blue; You’re terrific; But so am I too.”) (I really do better than that!) I know Nancy appreciates the thought but it is also a regular helpful reminder to me of who she is and what she means to me.

If these suggestions are helpful, let me invite you to attend one of our monthly public Time Management Seminars. “The best seminar I have ever attended!” During the course of our 2 ½ day Time Management Seminar, we will show you how to get more done in less time, with less stress, and how to create more time and balance for their personal life and enjoy richer relationships. Our sessions are always fun, entertaining, content rich, and filled with practical common sense ideas to help you to get more done in less time, in both your workday and personal life. Our monthly schedule for Public Seminars can be found at our webpages: http://www.balancetime.com. Or better yet, Don is available to tailor and personally conduct his learning programs, in-house, at your location for groups of eight or more from one-hour up to three days. Contact Don now for details at: ctsem@msn.com or call him directly at: (800) 969-3773 or (203) 386-8062.

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you aboard!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 1999 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

One More Hour Per Day

2007-06-10T17:32:00.001-07:00

ONE MORE HOUR PER DAY

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

We all have 24 hours in our day, 7 days per week. And if you multiply that out, and my math is correct (I think it is because I’ve done the calculation a few times before!), that totals 168 hours per week.

No more. No less.

And the truth about time is that it can only be spent. It cannot be saved. (Did you ever have any time left over on a Sunday that you were able to use the following week?) And there’s only two ways to spend our time; wisely, or, not so wisely.

Our time is spent on “have to’s” and “want to’s”. Our time, like our money, can either be “spent” and it’s gone, or “invested”, and like seeds in the ground, will return abundance back to us in the future. Good Time Management is budgeting some of our time for “investing”, learning how to do it better and more effectively. “If you always do what you’ve always done, you always get what you’ve always got.”

It’s a good goal to improve on the entire twenty-four hours in our day, but just for now, think about improving on just one hour per day. If we can gain one additional hour per day either by doing what we already do, but do it more effectively or do something new, the payback will be enormous as we enjoy the “multiplier effect” of that savings.

A person making $50,000 per year who is wasting just one hour per day, five hours per week, or 250 hours per year, is creating a minimum loss of productivity valued at $6,250 per year. To be able to recapture that time and use it more effectively creates an annual return of 250 more productive hours or over 6 additional workweeks during the next year.

“A problem well defined is 95% solved.” To recover some of your lost time, you need to know where your time is going. I recommend preparing a Time Log. Nothing fancy about this, just take a pad of paper and make a heading, “Time Log”. As you complete each major task or spend a chunk of time, log it in on your list. Note the date and time, what you did, the length of time it took, and the rating: A=Crucial, B=Important, C=Little Value and D=No Value.

Run this for 3-5 days, as a shorter period may give you a distorted sense of what is really happening. Then analyze the results and almost always we will find chucks of time wasters that you can control and reduce. Your savings may come from reducing meetings, delegating more effectively, reducing interruptions, planning better, etc.

One immediate, major improvement most people can realize in their day is to improve their reading speed. The average person spends 2 hours per day reading. By learning the simple skill of speed reading, that reading time can be cut in half or you can read twice as much within the same amount of time.

For most, the skills can be acquired in one day. Our Dynamic Reading Seminar is six hours and our students typically double their reading speed and double their comprehension rate by the end of day.

To learn more about how speed-reading can immediately save you at least an hour per day and enhance your career success, I have prepared “Speed Reading Facts” It’s no cost. To get yours, email your request for “facts” to: ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you aboard!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 1999 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Time Management Horse Sense

2007-06-10T16:42:00.000-07:00

TIME MANAGEMENT HORSE SENSE

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

Every horse race has a first place winner and a runner-up, second place contender. It is not uncommon for the first place horse to earn twice the prize as the second place finisher. Curiously, the number one horse did not have to run twice as fast or go twice as far as the competition to get twice the money. It only had to be a nose ahead of the competition to reap twice the rewards.

Time management, personal productivity, and success in life are a lot like the horse race metaphor. To get twice as much in life, in any of our 7 Vital Areas of Life, health, family, financial, intellectual, professional, social, and spiritual, we do not have to double our effort and input. We only need to get a nose ahead of where we are now to realize significant increases in our results.

Five suggestions, when applied, can help us to get a “nose ahead.”

First, plan your day, every day, preferably, the night before. Then, when arriving at work, there is a plan of action to direct us forward. Without a plan, temptations may draw us into unproductive avenues where we may serve the loudest voice that demands our time rather than dealing with the most productive opportunity.

A simple plan consists of a list of all the items we ideally might want to accomplish during the next day. Prioritize those items in order of their importance. (#1 for most important, #2 for next most important, etc.) Begin the most important item first, and then go to the next most important item, etc. Typically, it is unlikely that all items on the list will be completed, but that is fine. Success has little to do with how much was left undone at the end of the day but, rather, what was actually accomplished. We will always leave undone more than we do get done simply because we all have more to do than time permits which says a lot of good things about how good we really are, to have so much entrusted to us by so many!

Second, overplan your day to take advantage of “Parkinson’s Law” which teaches that, “A project tends to expand with the time allocated for it.” If you give yourself one thing to do during the day, it will likely take all day to complete it. If you give yourself two things to do during the day, you will likely accomplish both. If you give yourself twelve things to do during the day, you may not get all twelve done, but you may complete seven or eight items. Having a lot to do creates a healthy sense of pressure on us to naturally become better time managers. With a lot on our plate, we tend to be more focused, we tend to suffer interruptions less, and we delegate better.

Third, work with a clean desk and work environment. There is truth in the saying, “Out of sight; out of mind.” Equally true is the reverse, “In sight; in mind.” When items are in our field of vision, we cannot help but be distracted and pulled in the wrong direction where we may “major in the minors”, busy all day long, but accomplishing little of significance.

Fourth, restrict meetings. During any typical business day, there are reportedly 17 million meetings being conducted in the United States. A meeting is two or more people getting together to exchange common information. Simple enough, but it is probably one of the top institutional time wasters. Always ask, “Is this meeting necessary?” “Do I contribute anything to this meeting?” “Do I get anything of value from this meeting?” If the answer to these questions is “no,” try to find a way out of attending the meeting.

Finally, handle paper just once. Get out of the “shuffling blues” when paper is looked at and relooked at again and again while deadlines slip through the cracks as we get buried under a blizzard of paperwork. As you encounter each new piece of paper, physical paper or emails, if it can be responded to quickly, in a minute or less, respond then and there. If it will require a longer amount of time, schedule it for the time when you will get to it and then put it away.

Common sense ideas. That’s what horse sense is, yes? Enjoy the race.

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore, a full-time Professional Speaker, is one of the foremost experts on Time Management and Personal Productivity and the author of “Beat the Clock”. If you would like to receive a no cost copy of his article, “The Five Top Time Management Mistakes”, email your request for “mistakes” to: ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you aboard!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association since 1989

Copyright 1999 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication or newsletter. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

The Big Hole in Your Day

2007-06-10T16:41:00.000-07:00

THE BIG HOLE IN YOUR DAY

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

We all have 24 hours in a day and 7 days in a week. And if you multiply that out and my math is correct (I assume it is because I’ve done this a few times), that gives us a total of 168 hours per week. And the thing about time is that it can only be spent, it cannot be saved. (Did you ever have any time left over on Sunday night that you could lop on over to the following week?)

And there are only two ways to spend time, spend it wisely, or, well, not so wisely.

The average person is working in excess of 40 hours per week and I have found that most people lose about 3 hours per day or 15 hours per week in a Black Hole that sucks away and consumes better than a third of the quantity of time we have available to be productive in our work.

The Hole? Needless interruptions.

Now an interruption is nothing more than an “unanticipated event”. (That’s what makes it an interruption.) They come to us in two ways, either in-person or via the telephone. (Telephone would include all the electronic devices such as fax, email, beepers, pagers, etc.)

Like everything we encounter, interruptions are both good and bad. A lot of what you and I do on a daily basis is to address the “good” interruptions, those that are “crucial” and “important”. Indeed, a lot of what we are paid for is to handle those “good” interruptions. Those are not the concern.

What takes away from achieving higher levels of productivity are the “bad” interruptions, those that have “little” or “no” value”.

Examples of “good” interruptions are when a client or customer calls you to place an order, your boss stops by to inform you that you will be getting the raise, or a co-worker interrupts you at your desk to show you how to complete a project in less time. These are all interruptions but they will lead to enhanced results. They are “good”, so very good.

Examples of “bad” interruptions are when a co-worker drops by to complain about the price of hay in Denmark (assuming that you are not in that business) or some irrelevant, uninteresting topic or a telephone solicitor reaches you at work to try to sell you something you do not need or want.

Here are some interesting statistics. (Your actual mileage may vary, but if you need something to compare yourself to…). On average, we experience one interruption every 8 minutes or approximately 6-7 per hour. In an 8-hour day, that totals around 50-60 interruptions in the day. The average interruption takes approximately 5 minutes. (Some may take several hours or days; others may only take a few seconds.) If you are receiving 50 interruptions in the day and each takes 5 minutes, that totals 250 minutes, or just over 4 hours out of 8, or about 50% of the workday.

Now, if you we were to track and rate each interruption we experience during the day, (let “A” = Crucial; “B” = Important; “C” = Little Value; and “D” = “No Value”), most people will discover that only about 20% of their interruptions are of the “A” and “B” variety and 80% are of the “C” and “D” variety. (Maybe you will come out better; I hope so.)

Finally, if you experience 250 minutes of interruptions in your day and 80% are of the “C” and “D” variety, having “Little” or “No Value”, 80% of 250 is 200 minutes or just over 3 hours per day going down the drain being consumed by interruptions that are not worthy of your time.

For most, there is a hole so big in their productive day that they could drive a truck through it.

If you would like to receive a no cost copy of our companion article, “How to Plug up the Hole”, to help reduce the interruptions in your day that have “Little” or “No Value”, email your request for “plug” to: ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you aboard!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore-Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association since 1989
Copyright 1999 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication or newsletter. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

A Higher Rate of Return

2007-06-06T17:23:00.002-07:00

A HIGHER RATE OF RETURN

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

My friend Willy was complaining to me the other day that he does not think he will have enough money for retirement. He has a decent income, a good standard of living, and a lot of creature comforts that are supported by his current income. He would like to continue enjoying that life style when the current income stream ends upon his retirement. He wondered aloud, “How do I get more for my retirement?”

Now I’m no financial wizard for sure, but I responded with what most would suggest, “invest more and more wisely.”

If we want a nice nest egg later on, we cannot spend all that we earn. We have to save a little and invest it wisely so that our “Golden Years” are truly golden. Everyone seems to understand this basic financial principle. Most people are investing some of their money for the future.

What many do not seem to understand is that the same principle applies to an equally precious resource, our time.

You want more productivity out of your time in the future? You have to shift the ratio from “expense” to “investment”. And, why should we be concerned about the future? Because that’s where we will be spending the rest of our lives.

In fact, our time is a more precious resource than our money. Where does money come from? For most of us, money comes to us as a direct result of how we spend our time.

If you spend all of your time in your bedroom, with the door slammed shut, the shades pulled down, and the covers over your head, no money comes into your life. You have to use your time to create money.

How do we use it? We get an education, we interview, we network and develop relationships. We acquire skills. And to the extent that we mix all of that together, we get the money we earn in this world. If you want more money from this world, don’t spend any more time. Just use it differently.

And, we all invest some of our time already. We would not be where we are in life now if we did not. The issue is how much more of our time are we willing to consciously invest? The problem for many of us is that we find our days and weeks are taken by “expensing” our time.

When we spend our time, it’s gone. We enjoy a current benefit but get no real significant payback in the future. You and I spend most of our time doing this. We watch a program on TV, we clean the house, we go to work, and do the job. (Arguably, there may be some future benefits from these activities, but they are minimal.)

When we invest our time, like a farmer planting the seeds in the ground, we get little current benefit, but a long-term payoff.

A case in point. Arnie is a plant manager. He goes to work every day like his co-worker, Eddie. Both do their jobs well. Both are getting along. They expense much of their time in similar ways. But there is one difference. Arnie takes out one hour per day each evening to work on an Internet business he has created. In the beginning, Arnie knew nothing about how to go about doing it, but he searched for and found the answers. Typically, it is from 7-8 p.m. each evening while Eddie is watching “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune”.

After four years, Arnie has a business that earns more than his salary at the plant. Arnie will have more money to enjoy over the years and a more “Golden” retirement. Not only that, but when Arnie goes to work, he no longer “has to”, to get a paycheck. He goes because he “wants to”. His attitude on the job is a little sharper and because of this, Arnie was offered the promotion to Senior Vice-President. Eddie believes you get in life what life gives you. Arnie believes you make of life what you want.

With a financial budget, we allocate our scarce financial resources between expense and investment. We ought to do the same with our time. Over the next week, we will all have 168 hours. How much of your time will you allocate toward the investment side? The answer is in your control. To get a higher rate of return in our future, we need to consciously invest more of our time. The higher the ratio of time “invested” versus time “spent” today, the higher the payback tomorrow.

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore, a full-time Professional Speaker, is one of the foremost experts and speakers on Time Management and Personal Productivity and the author of “Beat the Clock”. If you would like to receive a no cost copy of his companion article, “5 Payback Strategies”, that discusses 5 specific time investment ideas to increase your productivity and success in the future, email your request for “payback” to: ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for our no cost “TIME MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION LIST”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you aboard!

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Fax: (203) 386-8064
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association since 1989
Copyright 1999 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication or newsletter. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Time Management and Improved Health

2007-06-06T17:23:00.001-07:00

Time Management and Improved Health

By Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

In the United States alone there are approximately 2.4 million deaths each year and 75% of those deaths are from causes within your control. You know what you should be doing to enhance your health and live longer and more productively but a lot of things come along to crowd out what you know you ought to be doing.

Did you know that 90% of the people who sign up at health and fitness clubs today will stop going in the next 90 days? See, what happens is, with all the good intentions, they sign up for the health club and during the first few weeks they attend regularly, feeling better in the process. Then not long after that something comes along keeping them from going, thinking to themselves, “I’ll get back into it next week”. But then something else comes along and they abandon the routine all together.

Could you benefit from a better night’s sleep? 75% of people complain on a regular basis that they are flat-out tired. If you are tired today, your productivity will suffer.
Now, some people have challenges that medical professionals can help with but many are tired because they simply do not get the quantity of sleep that they need. They are overwhelmed with responsibilities and they meet those obligations by spending more time, staying up later, sacrificing sleep time.

Others may get the quantity of sleep but fail to get the quality of sleep their bodies require because their time is not being controlled and their days are filled with stress and crisis keeping them from getting that deep nutritious sleep.

Good time management then is not doing the wrong things faster. That just gets you no where quicker. Good time management is doing the right things, the important things first and nothing could be more important than your health. If you use practical time management tools and techniques to manage your time to keep yourself in peak physical and mental health, you probably are going to live longer and therefore have more time to manage.

So here are some tips to manage your time more wisely to improve your health.

Schedule exercise time. Create an appointment for yourself. Appointments do not always have to be with other people.

Plan good, nutritious meals so when you rush home you do not default to eating junk food.

Plan goof-off/fun time. This is just as vital as the work you do. The most powerful time of your day can be when you give yourself nothing to do but watch the clouds drift by.

Schedule maintenance time with your health professionals for your annual physical.

And finally, schedule time to read and study health issues and become better informed.

Good time management will help you to
Reduce your stress
Improve your sleep
Improve your attitude
Improve your stamina
And, extend your life and improve your personal productivity.

Remember, you have to take time for health and fitness today or you will have to take time for sickness and illness tomorrow.

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore, a full-time Professional Speaker, is one of the foremost and entertaining speakers on Time Management and the author of “Beat the Clock” and “Organizing Your Life”, and “The Productivity Handbook”. Invite Don to conduct his dynamic Time Management Seminar on site, at your location from one hour up to three full days for groups of any size, helping them to get more done in less time. For details, mailto:ctsem@msn.com and put “on site” in the subject line.

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore-Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute-Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St., Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
email: ctsem@msn.com
Timely Time Management Tips:
Visit our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com/

Professional Member-National Speakers Association since 1989

Copyright 2006 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication or newsletter. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

My Hands Were Busy

2007-06-06T17:22:00.001-07:00

MY HANDS WERE BUSY

My hands were busy through the day.
I didn’t have much time to play.
The little games you asked to do,
I didn’t have much time for you.
I’d wash your clothes. I’d sew and cook.
You’d ask and I’d read from your book.
I’d tuck you in all safe at night,
And hear your prayers; turn out the light.

Then tiptoe softly by your door,
I wish I’d stayed a minute more.
For life was short, the years rushed past,
A little boy grows up so fast.
No longer is he at my side,
His precious secrets to confide.
The picture books are put away.
There are no longer games to play.

No Teddy Bears or misplaced toys
No sleepovers with lots of boys.
No goodnight kiss, no prayers to hear.
That all belongs to yesteryear.
My hands, once busy, now are still.
The days are long and hard to fill.
I wish I could go back and do
The little things you asked me to do.

Anonymous

I have seven, simple tips to help to better balance your life and have more time for your family. Get your no cost copy now of “Maintaining Balance”. Email your request now for “maintaining” to: mailto:ctsem@msn.com

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for your no cost “TIMELY TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you aboard!
Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Fax: (203) 386-8064
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association
Copyright 2001 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

5 Best Time Management Habits Executives Should Practice

2007-06-06T17:21:00.002-07:00

5 BEST TIME MANAGEMENT HABITS EXECUTIVES SHOULD PRACTICE

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

For the last eighteen years, I have traveled all around sharing my Time Management and Personal Productivity principles in seminars, keynotes, and through executive coaching. There are dozens of things we all ought to do to enhance our daily success and I have included what I think are five of the more important habits. I find that most people know what it is they should be doing. A reminder list such as this may help us to better accomplish those good intentions.

1. USE THE 20/80 RULE. 20% of an effort generally accomplishes 80% of the result. To achieve an additional 20% of the result, it will take an additional 80% of the effort. We cannot create any more time, but we can leverage our time by focusing on those things that give us “the biggest bang for the buck”. Avoid getting bogged down in “majoring in minors”. Direct your attention to 20% of your customers/clients who will give you 80% of your success. Give special attention to that group of 20% of the people you deal with who have the potential for delivering 80% of what you need.

2. NETWORK YOUR WAY TO SUCCESS. Identify and target those who you need to get to know. This is not an exploitive technique of “bleeding them for all they are worth”. In fact, it works just the opposite. Help these people with what they need first. “To have a friend, be a friend.” “What goes around, comes around”. If you give generously to them first, they will give to you what you need and want.

3. GET A GOPHER. We all have 10-20 hours per week of minutia, like getting the car gassed up, running errands, mowing the lawn, etc. It’s all stuff that makes our lives work. There’s nothing wrong with doing it ourselves, but if you are saying, “I don’t have enough time to do the things that really count”, and you are spending 10-20 hours per week on the routine items, you have a choice. Hire a high school or college kid, a “Gopher”, who will “go for this and go for that”, then re-allocate those hours to tasks that will enhance your career success.

4. WORK WITH A CLEAN WORK ENVIRONMENT. “Out of sight, out of mind.” The reverse of that is true, too, “When it’s in sight, it’s in mind” and we cannot help but be distracted and drawn to the “quick” and “fun” things while the important career enhancing tasks are left undone. By working with a clean desk and work environment, not only do you allow yourself to be more focused, but you also model an important work skill that others around you will tend to follow, helping them to get more focused.

5. RADIATE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE. “Fish rots from the head on down.” If you display a negative attitude, if you are angry, frustrated, anxious, overwhelmed, etc., you will send out that message and negatively infect those around you. If those who support you in your quest for career success do not have a positive attitude, your progress will be impeded.

Would you like to receive no cost Timely Time Management Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now for our no cost “TIME MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION LIST”. Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement and select “subscribe” or send email to: timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com. We welcome you aboard!

Do have an interest in improving your own Personal Productivity skills to advance your career, to get more done in less time giving your more time and balance for your personal life? In addition to our public and on-site Time Management Seminars, I offer a consulting service for selected individuals, working with them one-on-one, helping them to develop their own Personal Productivity skills. For information, visit our webpage at: http://www.balancetime.com

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 1999 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com

Top Four Time Management Issues

2007-06-06T17:21:00.001-07:00

TOP FOUR TIME MANAGEMENT ISSUES

By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

Talk with most anyone and ask them what they think are the top issues in time management and you will get answers such as, “Having a well prepared “to do” list”, “Managing multiple priorities”, “Managing Meeting time”, “Handling the flood of paperwork and emails”. All are good responses but overlook the top four time management issues that, in combination with one another, can do more to keep you from having, doing or being what you want and deserve.

They are: ineffective relationships, a poor attitude, being flat out tired, and the weather.

1. Ineffective relationships. Probably more than 50% of your personal productivity success has to do with effective relationships with other people. Friends and allies will open doors for you that would take a considerable amount of your effort. They can give you words of encouragement that lift your spirits during down, unproductive times. They can teach you lessons that would take too much time otherwise to learn.

I’m not suggesting that one who does not have the good cooperation of other people can not be productive. They can, but not as productive as those who enjoy positive, effective relationships with others.

2. A poor attitude. It has been said that your attitude will determine your altitude in life’s successes. With a poor attitude you become discouraged and demoralized and your performance goes down. Moreover, a negative person tends to repel positive people, whom you need to boost you up, and they tend to attract other negative people who will bring you down with their stories of misery and failure. “You got a flat tire? Well I got two flat tires! You think you have it bad? I have it worse!” Imagine. Two people having a debate about who has the worse life.

3. Being flat out tired. Three out of four people claim that they are flat out tired all throughout their days. Test this. Ask anyone, any time of the day these questions: “Are you rested?” “Did you get a good night’s sleep?” “Are you at the top of your game today?” Most will reply, “Oh, I’m so tired!”

Some do not get a sufficient quantity of sleep. They simply stay up too late and get up to early, burning the candle at both ends. Some have medical issues that can be treated. And many may be getting a sufficient quantity of sleep but not the quality. Their days are filled with so much stress and distress. Why? Because they do not have the tools or refuse to the tools to take control over their days so as they try to sleep, that little voice in the back of their heads is reminding them of all the unfinished items of the day and about a string of future uncontrolled events and they wind up tossing and turning, not getting the deep nutritious sleep that their bodies need every day to be as productive as they might be.

4. The weather. The city in the United States that has they highest incidence of suicide is Seattle, Washington. I understand they have fewer sunny days and more cloudy and rainy days than most other places. If you take your own life, is that considered poor time management? That’s not meant to be a poor joke, but guess what? People all over the world are committing “productivity suicide” each day fussing over the weather and using it as a reason to reduce their productivity. “It’s too cold!” “It’s too hot!” “It’s so rainy!” “It’s so dry!” When, all of the time, the weather is just perfect, just the way it is.

If you were a visitor from another planet listening to the media, you would think we on earth just invented snow storms, cold and heavy downpours when they have been with us since the beginning of time.

Being aware of the weather is important, of course. If locally it is to be icy you may choose to stay indoors and a threatening hurricane may persuade you to evacuate to a safer place. But to be obsessed with the normal ranges of weather conditions is to only steal away from the opportunity to have a good and productive day.

You and your group can get more done, in less time, with less stress. Invite Don to conduct his exciting Time Management Seminar, on-site, at your location, for groups of any size, from one hour up to three full days. For complete details, email your request for “on-site” to: ctsem@msn.com

Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
127 Jefferson St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 386-8062 (800) 969-3773
Fax: (203) 386-8064
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit Our Time Management Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com

Professional Member-National Speakers Association

Copyright 2006 You may re-print the above information in its entirety in your publication, newsletter, or on your webpage. For permission, please email your request for “reprint” to: ctsem@msn.com