As soon as you end a phone call, email, meeting or conversation, identify your next action to push that particular matter forward. Do you need to make another call or email? Are you now waiting for someone else to act? If you can’t take the action immediately, write it down.

As soon as you end a phone call, email, meeting or conversation, identify your next action to push that particular matter forward. Do you need to make another call or email? Are you now waiting for someone else to act? If you can’t take the action immediately, write it down. One task at a time, you bring your projects to completion. (This eTip brought to you by your Task/Project Management link.)

Forget categorizing tasks or projects with A, B, C or D importance. Instead, keep it simple and apply the following phrase from novelist Shirley Conran: “First things first, second things never.”

Take a few minutes today to begin scheduling your holiday activities. Block time on your calendar and make project lists for…
* shopping (it takes time, even online)
* parties and events
* baking
* traveling
An ounce of planning prevents a ton of stress.

Here’s a strategy for those with ADD that can help anyone. Today’s interruption-rich workplace inevitably fragments attention, however long it naturally is. Special timers and clocks can focus your attention, grounding you in the reality of time. They help you ”manage” what you normally can’t see, touch or feel. Products like the Time Timer (http://www.timetimer.com/) make time more tangible, re-calibrating your inner clock, enabling you to make better decisions about how you spend your time.