Hello, readers. Here’s hoping this post finds you well, as well as I felt on Sunday night. Most of the week has been an introspective one in that I have been thinking about how I could better organize my time. It’s more than just a planning process.  Time management, for me, is the very focus of Deb’s entire blog – organization resulting in revitalization.

For those of you who are familiar with The Odd Couple, the character Felix Unger is an obsessive compulsive neat freak. While I can’t claim such a personality, I can’t function efficiently in disorganization. I find that doing my daily planning in spaces that allow maximum focus and minimal interference works well for me.  While the environment doesn’t have to be library quiet, a clean, organized workspace is necessary to at least lay the foundation for the day’s activities.

My organized workspace – the most organized being my home recording studio – employs certain elements of feng shui that makes the process even more enjoyable. An integrated ability to manage time and resources requires skills not usually taught in the mainstream.  Are there many books and online resources that teach the foundations and methodologies of effective time management? Sure there are, however, I believe because everyone is different, cookbook approaches may not work for everyone. Once you understand your particular personality in areas of goal setting, planning, resource management, and the like, you can customize all that you learn to best work for you.

My first taste of organized time management came from my first job as an engineer over twenty years ago. I picked up tips that I still use to this day. They’re not ground breaking, but make sense to try.

1) Plan your next day the night before, just as you find that quiet time before retiring. Your mind is generally (keyword is generally) less active and can better assess what lies ahead without the daily distractions.

2) Find a quiet place to do so. Quiet, by definition, varies from one person to the next, but make it such that your thoughts flow freely. I usually like to have some chilled tracks playing as it relaxes me.

3) Have your calendar and contacts list handy, as well as any tech apps that you use to manage your time and schedule. If your email inbox is set up to filter important items you need to address, include that in the planning process.

4) Have your workspace as organized and clean as possible. I’m a sucker for workflow ergonomics with a ‘lil feng shui mixed in.  Many people often comment, “Wow, your recording studio is SO NEAT!” :-) A clean and organized space will help make the planning process go easier.

5) Visualize yourself accomplishing the goals you set for the time allotted (e.g., the next day, next few days, or week ahead).

6) Procrastination is a time management KILLER (I speak from great experience). Learning to conquer it is something that is forever on my plate. Start with the little things and watch them soon dissipate.

Lastly, I’ll leave you with a quote I often put at the top of my to-do list daily. NOTE: Pay particular attention to the very last part of it, for out of its entirety, the last part is key.

Failing to plan means planning to fail, so plan the work, and then work the plan.

Until the next time, wishing you increased productivity.

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