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Today’s employers seem to want more of your time than ever. In the U.S., the average worker puts in 55 hours a week. Meanwhile, text messaging, cell phones, and Blackberries can keep you tethered to the office even when you’re technically “off-duty.”

How can you keep up with your always-on career and still find time to do what you need to do at home, spend time with your family, enjoy some kind of social life, and just plain relax?

1. Attitude is Everything 

No matter how much you love your job, no matter how big a part of your life it is, ultimately you need to be able to “turn it off” and spend some time not working. This is hard for many people, because their work is an important part of who they are as people. This can be admirable, but an always-on-the-job attitude can be harmful in the long run.

2. Keep a Rational Schedule 

The more you’re trying to juggle, the more important it is to make a good schedule and keep to it. Block out all your work and non-work commitments and make sure to allow plenty of downtime and non-work time.

3. Learn to Say “No” 

If you’re having trouble keeping on top of everything going on in your life, it may be that you’ve committed more time than you have. Make a point of seriously considering any request that comes your way, and double-check your schedule before taking anything else on. When it’s too much, don’t be afraid to refuse.

4. Enjoy List-Free Time 

Stop making lists of things to do in your off-time. When your non-work time feels like just so much more work, then stop. Drop the list for a day or two, and take things as they come.

5. Keep it Organized 

There’s nothing worse than finding yourself faced with overtime or extra working days because you didn’t get enough done at work.

6. Batch it

Batching tasks can be a great way to get more done in less time. You’ll work faster and better because your mind is only on one thing, and when it’s done, you can forget it.

7. Clear Your Mind 

Do whatever it takes to confine all the things you’d be liable to worry about to a trusted system where you know they’ll get taken care of, so you can spend the rest of your time without worrying.

8. Get it Wrong the First Time 

Give yourself a set amount of time -- say, an hour -- to do the job, no matter how poorly. Let go of your perfectionism and just do as well as you can in the set time. You may have to go back and fix it, but you’ll be charged up by knowing the “heavy lifting” is already done.

9. Keep the Lines of Communication Open 

Let the people closest to you know what’s going on in your work life when things get hectic, so they don’t feel like your lowest priority or worse, suddenly abandoned. And keep your ears open to hear what they tell you, too.

10. Be Honest With Yourself 

This is the hardest one, but also the most necessary. Part of your weekly review should be to ask yourself “Am I happy with all this?” And follow up by looking at how well you’re doing of balancing everything.

Sources:Lifehack.org September 3, 2008

Multitasking May Not Help You

In modern times, hurry, bustle, and agitation have become a regular way of life for many people. A new word has even been coined to describe your efforts to respond to the many pressing demands on your time: multitasking.

  

Used for decades to describe the parallel processing abilities of computers, multitasking is now shorthand for the human attempt to do simultaneously as many things as possible, as quickly as possible.

  

In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, there was a kind of exuberance about the possibilities of multitasking. Advertisements for new electronic gadgets celebrated the notion of using technology to accomplish several things at once.

  

But more recently, challenges to the ethos of multitasking have begun to emerge.

  

Numerous studies have shown the sometimes-fatal danger of using cell phones and other electronic devices while driving. Several states have now made that particular form of multitasking illegal.

  

In the business world, where concerns about time-management are perennial, warnings about workplace distractions spawned by a multitasking culture are on the rise. In 2005, a research study found that, “Workers distracted by e-mail and phone calls suffer a fall in IQ more than twice that found in marijuana smokers.”

  

For the younger generation of multitaskers, the great electronic din is an expected part of everyday life. But this state of constant intentional self-distraction could well be of profound detriment to individual and cultural well-being. When people do their work with crumbs of attention rationed out among many competing tasks, their culture may gain in information, but it will surely weaken in wisdom.

  

If you haven’t read Tim Ferriss’ book The Four Hour Work Week, where in addition to priceless gems on how to work less and achieve more, he discusses the benefits of “single-tasking,” I highly recommend it.

Sources: The New Atlantis Spring 2008

Never Forget Anything Again

The human brain is a wonderful thing, but it’s a bit faulty as a tool for remembering things. But with the proper habits and the right tools, you and your brain won’t have to remember a thing again. There are a host of high-tech tools that can help with taking notes, managing projects and to-dos, and managing your email and calendar needs.

To really never have to remember a thing again, you have to combine a few tools in smart and comprehensive fashion, and even more importantly, you have to develop specific habits that will ensure that things don’t slip between the cracks.

A Comprehensive System

A comprehensive system will handle many types of data, from phone numbers and emails to tasks and projects, from follow-ups to status reports, and from errands and appointments to websites and photos. One such set-up might include Evernote, Gmail, Gcal, Anxiety and Jott:

1.Evernote: This is a great app for storing just about any information you want. In fact, if you wanted to simplify your setup, you could almost just use Evernote to remember everything. It can hold notes, clip web pages, store photos and audio notes, and more.

2.Gmail: Gmail uses archive and search (along with labels if you like) to quickly store and retrieve any information you need.

3.Gcal: Also known as Google Calendar, Gcal is accessible from anywhere. Need to remember to follow up on something? Set a reminder in Gcal for one week from now, and it will send you a message.

4.Anxiety: Anxiety is a to-do app. It’s very lightweight and very simple.

5.Jott: This handy app ties everything together, and is very valuable for when you’re on the go. Just call Jott from your cell phone and leave a message, and it’ll be sent to your email, or to another service you specify.

4 Critical Habits

If you want such a system to work, you’ve also got to develop the habits to make it work. Focus on developing these habits for one month. If you can do that, the habits should stick.

1. Make a note, immediately. This is perhaps the most important habit. If you can teach yourself to make a note of things right away, immediately, without putting it off, you’re halfway there.
2. Use your lists and tools, consistently. No program is worth anything if you don’t use it on a consistent basis.
3. Make it quick and painless. If it’s difficult to add a note or save information, you’ll put it off. You want it fast and easy, or it won’t work.
4. Archive and search, don’t file. It’s better to use a quick search function than to have to remember where you saved something.

ALTERNATIVE TOOLS AND SETUPS

Here are some other good apps:

Note-taking Tools

1. OneNote: This is the default note-taking tool for anyone who uses Microsoft Office, and it’s very powerful.

2. Yojimbo: A Mac-only program, Yojimbo is beloved by its many users for its power, flexibility, and easy of use.

3. Backpack and Packrat: One of the best of many web apps for collecting info, Backpack is versatile and easy to use. For Mac OSX users, there’s also a desktop application, Packrat, that works well with Backpack for off-line needs.

 Email Apps1. Mail.app: Mail.app comes with Macs and that has some very powerful filters for manipulating emails and to-do items.

2. Outlook: Outlook is the default mail program for PCs, and it’s actually a pretty good program for capturing most of your data, including calendar and to-do items.

 Calendars1. iCal: Free, simple calendar program for Mac users.2. 30 Boxes: Good online program.

3. Sunbird: Open-source, cross-platform calendar app from Mozilla, the creator of Firefox.

 To-do Apps1. Things: A Getting Things Done app for the Mac. Simple and easy to use.2. Omnifocus: Another GTD program for the Mac, maybe the most powerful there is.3. iGTD: Yet another great GTD program for the Mac.

4. RTM: Remember the Milk is probably the most popular online to-do app, and it’s extremely flexible-- you can integrate it with Gmail, Twitter, Jott, text messages, email and more.

 On-the-go Tools1. Mobile devices: the iPhone, Blackberry and various PDAs are all good choices for capturing tasks and information on the go.

2. Pocket notebook: You can also use a small notebook (or index cards) for capturing data, and enter the data into your computer when you get home.

Sources :Four Hour Work Week September 17, 2008   

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