| Did you know that "time termites" eat up as much as | | | | achieving business owners and professionals. In my |
| 25 - 50% of your time? It's true, and in this article I'll | | | | experience, only a very energetic, intelligent and |
| discuss what a time termite is, as well as what the | | | | vigilant approach will work to protect your |
| top 10 time termites are, and - most importantly! - | | | | time.Extermination tactics:1. Values & vision: Get |
| how you can exterminate them and take back a | | | | crystal clear on your personal values and vision. You |
| huge amount of your time and your life.Time | | | | must know what matters most to you and where |
| termites are activities and people that "eat up" your | | | | you are going in order to be able to make choices |
| time and destroy the beautiful design of your life. In | | | | that support the best use of your time.2. Planning: |
| my Time Architect (TM) model of time management, | | | | When you create annual, monthly, weekly and daily |
| we design a life that is grounded solidly in the four | | | | goals, plan with your values and vision clearly in mind. |
| cornerstones - physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. | | | | This way, you will focus in on your highest value |
| We protect these areas by understanding and | | | | activities.3. Systems: Get good systems in place. Be |
| applying the storm proofing principles.Just like you | | | | able to find immediately any information or tools you |
| design your home to withstand intruders (such as | | | | need in your business or organization. These systems |
| termites), you must design your life to strongly | | | | are highly individual. Feel free to contact me for |
| protect against the situations and people that will run | | | | information on resources to help you get organized.4. |
| right over you and eat up your life - if you let | | | | Boundaries: Erect strong barriers around yourself - |
| them.Let's look at the top ten time termites, based | | | | you can think of this as a sturdy fence with an |
| on my unscientific experience with hundreds of | | | | electronic gate around your house (and life) that only |
| clients.1. Wasting time on trivial items - computer | | | | grants access to those people and activities that fit |
| games, gossip, etc. | | | | in with your priorities. This is a challenge to anyone |
| 2. Waiting around to talk with the boss or manager | | | | who likes to think of themselves as a "nice person," |
| 3. Meetings without a good agenda and/or good | | | | which is many of us. It takes some practice to |
| facilitation | | | | regroove our neural pathways to hold a new belief |
| 4. Too many unnecessary reports to write | | | | that having boundaries is not only OK, but downright |
| 5. Problems in locating documents or other needed | | | | healthy. (For more on strong boundaries, contact me |
| items | | | | for an article that goes into more depth on that |
| 6. Answering unimportant phone calls & email | | | | topic.)So get crystal clear on your values and vision, |
| 7. People with a negative attitude - complainers and | | | | create a good plan, install excellent systems, and |
| whiners | | | | erect strong boundaries. When you implement just |
| 8. Inability to say "No." That is, saying "Yes" to too | | | | one of these suggestions each month, in a year you |
| many people | | | | will have 12 awesome new habits that will help you |
| 9. Interruptions | | | | take back 25-50% of your time...and your life. |
| 10. Add your own: What's your biggest time | | | | Congratulations: your time termites will have been |
| termite?Time termites vary depending on whether | | | | exterminated.Copyright 2005 Anne AlexanderReady |
| you work in a huge Fortune 500 type business, or a | | | | to be a power professional? Get business coach |
| small company or organization, or are a solo | | | | Anne Alexander's free 8 part e-course "Maximize |
| entrepreneur, but these are a representation of what | | | | Your Professional Success," at .Warning! For real |
| steals most people's time.As a business and | | | | people only. No fakers, please. |
| executive coach I work with hundreds of high | | | | |