Manage Your Time to Be Successful

Time management is essential to get things done and it is something that everyone should practice. Students, businessmen, working people, and just about everyone else should strive to manage their time well.

But how do you do it? Read on below for good suggestions.

1. Prioritize your time. Set your goals correctly. Determine the things that have to be accomplished first. Make an accurate projection of how long each project or event will take.

2. Make a schedule. List what you have to do including the time when you intend to do it. Do not put it off. Do not reschedule your tasks unless necessary.

3. Stick to your schedule. Follow your timetable strictly. Do all the things listed in your schedule in a swift and precise manner. Try not to rush your job even if you are behind schedule. Your work quality should still be of primary concern. Do not sacrifice that at any cost.

4. Be versatile. If, for some reason, an event in your schedule has to be put off, go on to the next job. Or substitute it with another one. Make your schedule versatile enough to accommodate some unforeseen changes.

5. Use your time wisely. You know what they all say. Time is gold. Once used, it cannot be recovered. If you have too much free time, try to spend some of it productively.

6. Add time in your schedule for relaxation. Believe me; you cannot work as fast if you are tired and wasted. You will be more useful if you are well rested and motivated to start the day.

7. Plan how you will accomplish each task. A task is performed much faster if adequate planning is put into it. Before starting to do anything, make an outline as to how the job is supposed to be completed. Try to imagine exactly how you will do the task. The main idea is to provide yourself a clear path towards your goal.

8. Concentrate while you work. If your mind is somewhere else when you do a particular job, chances are, completing it will take longer than you expected. Remember to work while you work and play while you play.

Every successful person will tell you that time management is of paramount importance. It is the key to success. Try it and watch your accomplishments grow.

Posted by Maureen | No Comments »

Learning to De-Stress Stress

Stress is an everyday part of life. Everyone experiences it so its perfectly normal to be stressed out. But taking into consideration, normal doesnt necessarily mean healthy for the body. Stress may bring about physical changes to ones stature and upbringing and may even lead to some illnesses, such as ulcers, high blood pressure, tension, burn out and so on.

According to psychologist Robert Sarmiento, Ph.D., The way I think of it, stress is a “false alarm”. What I mean is that it is the erroneous activation of the “danger alarm” system of the brain. I visualize it as a big red fire alarm inside the head. When the danger alarm is turned on, it produces a physiological response called the “fight or flight” reaction, which helps us to fight the danger or flee it.

Fortunately, stress can be cured. You just need to control stress and dont let stress control you.

So how do we manage stress? According to Dr. Sarmiento, there are two ways to manage stress.

With the basis of stress as being equated to an alarm system, he says that you need to control stress in two ways: 1. Learn how to turn off the alarm system through various relaxation methods. 2. Learn how to not turn it on inadvertently in the first place.

Learning to relax and try to take in one thing at a time makes you keep the pace at such a slow effort. By keeping the pace to a normal consistency in equilibrium, there is less chance of you being agitated and uptight.

Here are tips on how to take it one step at a time:

1) deep breathing take several slow and deep breaths rather than a fast-paced shallow breaths

2) muscle relaxation try to exercise muscles in your body that bring you to the most tension, especially the arms, neck, legs, and hands. Massage them if possible and relax them. You can also mix together deep breathing and this exercise so that it will less your heightened adrenalin

3) visualization use your brain and mind power. Imagine a pristine and scene beaches with calm and clear water. What things can you see there? What colors are present? What can you hear and feel? Can you taste the fresh aroma of the sea?

Learning to de-stress stress is actually a manageable thing. All it takes are some time and some conscious effort to really get rid of the thing that bothers you most. Once done, challenges and problems in life will just be a breeze.

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A strong habit of procrastination can leave a lot of destruction in its wake, so it can be helpful to be firm and unyielding with the techniques you use to conquer it. When it comes right down to it, you can analyze the reasons why you procrastinate as much as you like - but you won’t stop doing it until you decide that it’s time to take back control of your life.

Here are three powerful “no excuses” approaches that can help you to beat the procrastination habit:

1. Get Tough.

One reason you may procrastinate is because you feel intimidated or overwhelmed by the tasks or chores facing you. In order to overcome a tendency to avoid things that seem difficult or frightening, you may find it helpful to consciously toughen yourself up.

How exactly do you do that? Try sayings like this to yourself: “No problem! This will be a piece of cake! I’m stronger than any fear or discomfort. I can handle this. I thrive on challenges.” At first you won’t really believe what you’re saying, but you may be able to “fake it until you make it” and experience a rush of power that can you through the rough spots.

2. Get Determined.

Eventually you reach a point where you simply have to steel your determination to get things done, despite any excuses that may rise up to the contrary. If the tasks you’re working on are especially important, it may be easier than you think to talk yourself into a state of steely determination to get them done no matter what!

Try giving yourself a pep talk similar to this: “I am so sick of putting this off, and I want to be done with it! I’m just going to get moving on it right NOW, no matter how much I might want to keep avoiding it.” Just don’t allow yourself to put it off any longer, and you’ll be amazed at how effective such a tactic can be!

3. Get Angry.

Finally, anger can be a great motivator too! Allow yourself to feel angry about your procrastination habit. Take a good, hard look at your circumstances and speak strongly to yourself about it: “It’s terrible what procrastination has done to my life! I’m sick of being a victim of my own fears and weaknesses. NO more! I’m taking control of this ow and getting myself back on track. I’m not weak and I’m not a wimp, and I’m definitely not lazy - it’s time to stop acting like it.”

Taking a “no excuses” approach to procrastination may seem intimidating at first, but if you give it a fair chance you might learn to love the feelings of inner strength and empowerment it can create. Like any habit, the longer you do it the more comfortable you’ll get with it, and the easier it will be to keep it going!

Posted by Maureen | No Comments »