What are your best time management tips?

[Janiece Young]

What are your best time management tips?  I need all the help I can get.

[StenoMiss]

I struggle with time management every single day.  When the kids were younger, I could get more done than I can now.  There is just too much to do, kid activities, kid homework, kid meals, kid doctor's appointments.  It's always something kid-related.  Do not get me wrong, I'd rather be doing these kid activities than perched at the computer, but time just doesn't allow me to get done what I want to get done, when I want to.  I wish the answer for me would be to get a scopist.  I had one before, and it made life so much easier.  I just can't afford a scopist.  I do have a proofreader, but would love a scopist.  Long and short of it is, I struggle with getting things done also.  So after I finish this transcript that is due tomorrow, I'm going to scroll down and read what you all have to say.  I definitely need help.

[Alice Clark]

I have a small three-ring binder with all my job sheets in it so I can flip the pages around to reflect the order I want to finish them in.  In busy periods, I also put everything on my wall calendar as I take the job with the number of pages next to it so I can assess how many pages I actually have waiting to be processed.  On those days when I feel unfocused about what to do next, I just sit down and start working on the most pressing job, and other things seem to sort themselves out.  David Allen has an article in the NYT right now.  He has written many books on organization and productivity, not all of which would apply to our work, but you can always take away something. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/business/when-office-technology-...

If it's your overall life that needs organizing, this excerpt might be of interest:

• Capture everything that has your attention, in your work and your personal life, in writing. Maybe it’s your departmental budget, a meeting with the new boss, an overdue vacation, or just the need to buy new tires and a jar of mayonnaise. For the typical professional, it can take one to six hours to "empty the attic" of your head. It may seem daunting, but this exercise invariably leads to greater focus and control.

• Clarify what each item means to you. Decide what results you want and what actions — if any — are required. If you simply make a list and stop there, without putting the items in context, you’ll be stuck in the territory of compulsive list-making, which ultimately won’t relieve the pressure. What’s the next action when it comes to your budget? The next step in arranging your vacation? Applying this simple but rigorous model puts you in the driver’s seat; otherwise, your lists will hold your psyche hostage. And keep in mind that much progress can be made and stress relieved by applying the magic two-minute rule — that any action that can be finished in two minutes should be done in the moment.

• Organize reminders of your resulting to-do lists — for the e-mails you need to send, the phone calls you need to make, the meetings you need to arrange, the at-home tasks you need to complete. Park the inventory of all your projects in a convenient place.

• Regularly review and reflect on the whole inventory of your commitments and interests, and bring it up to date. As your needs change, what can move to the front burner, and what can go further back? Make these decisions while considering your overall principles, goals and accountabilities. Schedule a two-hour, weekly operational review, allowing space to clean up, catch up and do some reflective overseeing of the landscape, for all work and personal goals, commitments and activities.

• Finally, deploy your attention and resources appropriately.