If we owned less, we’d probably gain more of the thing we continually say we never have enough of – time. Do you agree?

Think about it for a minute.

If you have less stuff, say in your living room, then there’s less to dust.

…and less to fix when something breaks…

…to clean…

…less to organize…and put away…

…probably fewer unwanted critters (we all know how much they love stuff)…

Basically, this adds up to MORE time to do whatever you want to.

Like spending time with friends and family.

Like checking out that new restaurant.

Like reading your favorite magazine.

Like picking daisies. Or tulips. Or finding a few roses to smell.

Like scratching your head.

Like forcing your hubby to give you a back massage.

Like doing absolutely nothing at all.

Or even thinking about doing nothing.

I want to try every time management app there is! Are you like me? Looking for the right one for you? …the one that will stop you from goofing off?

I want that, too, but I’m a little fickle. I find one I love (like this one and this one and this one), then I start to think that some other app could be sweeter. Enter my wandering eye.

Don’t follow in my footsteps, though. You’ll have to spend some quality time with a few apps at first, you know, to get to know them. Make it a fruitful experience and ask yourself these simple questions:

1. Which is the easiest to use?
2. Which one’s the most intuitive?
3. Does it do all (or most) of what you need? *Sidebar: Do you know what you need? 

Ultimately, you’ll have to settle down with the one.

If you choose multiple apps, you’ll probably get confused. Or, worse – you’ll do double duty and have to enter data in several places. Not a good use of your time, right?

So, in my quest to “see what’s out there,” I came across a few articles about good time management apps. Check them out and let me know which one you decide to use. Or, if you’ve already found your true match, I hope you’ll kiss and tell.

• 5 Time Management Apps for the iPhone (HowStuffWorks.com)
• 15 Awesome Time Management Tools and Apps (DumbLittleMan.com)
• Time Management Apps for iPad (AppleSlut.com)
• 5 Great Time and Task Management Apps for Android (TechHamlet.com)

“Number one time waster, you guessed it, email addiction. People use e-mail to procrastinate when they need to do a difficult task.” ~Julie Morgenstern via Twitter

More From Julie Morgenstern

Raise your hand if you have lots to do and suffer from “not-enough-time-in-the-day” syndrome. Even if you just have one finger in the air, you should take a peek at the WADE formula. 

WADE has four simple steps and makes sense. I can’t take credit for this strategy, though. It comes courtesy of Julie Morgenstern, author of Time Management from the Inside Out.

Here it is in a nutshell:

Write it Down - This step is very straight forward. Simply put – get it all out of your head! Put all your to do’s on paper or in your smart phone.

Add it up - How long will it take you to finish all the tasks on your list?

Decide - This is often the step that can trip you up. You have to figure out which things you will actually work on. Julie says that if you’re feeling overwhelmed, you can use one of the four D’s:  (1) Delete, (2) Delay, (3) Delegate, or (4) Diminish your to do’s into smaller, more manageable tasks.

Execute Your Plan - Get to work! Cut out all distractions and kick procrastination to the curb so you can get stuff done.

If you have Julie’s book and want more details, flip to page 62. Already using WADE? Leave a comment with how it’s working for you.

Buy Time Management from the Inside Out

I’m still away on that mini-break for a little while longer, but in the meantime, have look at Skoach.com. I learned about it during a session at the annual NAPO conference in March. I think you’ll like it.

Have you heard of Skoach? It’s similar to other online calendars but what makes it unique is that it lets you choose your role (Student, Employee, Self-Employed, and Homemaker, to name a few) and pick time categories that apply to your life.

The other cool feature is that you have your very own Commitment Bar. It’s a visual tool that lets you see exactly what you have on your plate and if you need to put some things back.

.

Use the Auto Plan to schedule all your tasks at once…

.

…and simply reschedule tasks by dragging them to appropriate tab: Today, Tomorrow, This Week, or Next Week. 

Take the tour to see all the features and try it out. Then, come back and let me know what you think.

I’m slowly crawling back to a regular posting scheduling. Reluctant I am. Because I’m still swamped with my “project” and kinda need more time.

Anyhoo, enough about me. 

Last week’s guest writer, Julie Bestry, shared a few websites that can help you save some time when you’re on the phone. You know, like when you call some company’s customer service number and get put on hold.

But, what about when you call a specific person (or they call you)? Like someone you’re working on a project with. Or, your child’s teacher. Your “this-person-likes-to-talk-a-lot” friend.

How can you get to the point and, more importantly, get off the phone, so you have time to get on with the other important things on your list?

There are three steps you can take to wrap things up quickly…very easy things, so try them out on your next phone call.

1. Be up front. Don’t be afraid to say that you’re pressed for time. In fact, if you’re the caller, it should be the first thing you say. Let person you’re calling know that you won’t keep them long, especially since you have a full plate yourself. If you’re on the receiving end of the call, be clear that you only have a few minutes to chat. No need to go into a long explanation why. Just be sure you’re nice when you say that you’re on a tight deadline. Consider setting an alarm – a loud one. When it goes off, say: “Oh, my alarm just went off. I’ve got to go!”
2. Do some reconnaissance. If you’re the caller, find out if it’s a good time for the person you’re calling. How awesome will you feel after rattling off a long discourse about why you’re calling only to find out you’ve got bad timing? So, straight away, ask:  ”Do you have 10 minutes to talk?” If the answer is no, find out the best time to follow up.
3. Know your stuff. Do you even know what you want to talk about? You probably have a good idea but what you need to do is get specific. Write out your questions, comments, or talking points BEFORE you start dialing. This will make the call go a lot more quickly. 

Yep, I’m still on that mini-sabbatical, so while I’m gone, check out this post on how you can get minimize interruptions and control your time. 

I had no idea the tile of today’s post would rhyme. Kinda nice, yes? ;)

Anyhoo, what sign you ask? It’s not the supernatural type. It’s the paper and a Sharpie type. The one that says: “I’m not here.”

Seriously.

When you’re trying to work on that all important project and you know that you’ll get tapped on the shoulder often, put a sign on your back (or front) to remind everyone that you’re not available. So, unless it’s urgent and important, “Don’t come in my direction.”

It’s like a closed door. But, the good news is that you can open the door when your project time up by simply removing the sign. The kinda tricky news is that you have to be strong and not ignore the sign yourself. 

Give it a shot and see how it works. If you do this regularly, leave  a comment on how it works for you.

I’m still on that mini-sabbatical, so while I’m gone, check out this post about the battle between time and money.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know that I like short, sweet posts. Nothing wrong with longer articles at all (OTR has some of those, too). It’s just that I want to get right to the point. And, if there are too many words, sometimes some of you (and me, too) move on quickly to something else. You get distracted.

The words start to blur.

And, you say to yourself, Do I really have to read all that?

So, in honor of short posts everywhere, today’s will be pretty concise. It’s about time. The topic of time.

And money.

Have you ever gone out of your way, like say, 20 miles from your house to get the cheapest gas?

…or bought a bunch of tools from Home Depot to fix the leaky pipe? You know, to save some money because plumbers are ridiculously expensive.

Ask yourself…

1. Are you really saving money – or spending precious time – when you go to the opposite end of the earth to get something on sale?
2. Is the time you spend fumbling about the pipes under your sink worth the hassle? And, did you get the job done right?

And, then consider…

Are you really able to tell the difference between time and money?

That is all.

I’m taking a bit of a break from writing and will be re-sharing some of my favorite OTR articles, like this one, “You Really CAN Have it All,” by Dr. Marla Deibler.  Have you mastered the art of having it all? Do tell!

I’ve always been ambitious.  From the time I was a little girl, I imagined myself with the devoted husband, 2.5 precious children, white picket fence, and rewarding career. It seemed plausible, even realistic. 

These days, I am often asked, “how do you do it?”  Patients often comment on how “calm” and in control I seem. While it’s true that I feel incredibly fortunate in my life, when I’m asked this, I have to laugh, as “having it all” can be downright ridiculous at times.  Let me tell you a little bit about myself and the reality of my day-to-day.

I am a wife and a mother.  I am also a doctor, a clinical psychologist. I specialize in treating trichotillomania, anxiety, OCD, and compulsive hoarding. With two young children at home in 2009, I left the comfort of my employer to set up a part-time private practice in order to have some schedule flexibility; I wanted to spend more time at home with my children, have a more balanced home-work life.

All was going so well with two children and a business; why not have a third child?  Well, this child’s birth was very different for me. Now, I was a business owner from which I could not take family medical leave. Less than one hour after my cesarean section, I found myself checking my work voicemail and calling a patient who was waiting at my office for a therapist who was not scheduled to come in that day. I could not even feel my feet yet and I was making a professional call from my hospital bed!

And so this new balancing act began.  From calling employees while breastfeeding to submitting payroll through my iPhone (thank goodness for free hospital WiFi), I had it all.

Read The Rest of Dr. Deibler’s Story

.

Yep, I’m still on that mini-sabbatical, so while I’m gone, check out this post on how you can get a little more done every day. 

Have you noticed that sometimes you have a few extra minutes on hand that suddenly pop up? Ok, well, maybe that doesn’t happen often, but when it does, what do you do with it?

Put your feet up?

Look for stuff on Pinterest?

Call your mum?

Scratch your head?

Nothing wrong with these things, but why not create a list of “go to” things for when you have some down time? This way, you won’t have to guess or run around like a crazy person (unless you want to) trying to remember what little (or big) things you could work on. You could create a new list every week or have a standing list of things you want to focus on all the time.

Btw, this works well for kids, too. Have a list of things they can do when they’re finished doing homework or when TV time is over. Just be sure they can see it…often. =)

Anyhoo, here are some things on my “when I get some free time this week” list:

1. Continue writing thank you cards

2. Buy stamps

3. Continue working on my photo project

4. Throw laundry in the washer (I don’t have to start the washer, just put the clothes in)

5. Shred a couple handfuls of paper

6. Check my blog stats

7. Review this week’s flagged e-mail messages

8. Delete a few messages from my inbox

One last point – you don’t have to do anything with your down time except relax. But, if you want to up your productivity, get started on that list.

Already have a down time list? What’s on it?