[Time-Management] 100 Days Improvement Plan!

 

Day 76

  6th October 2011

 `The inevitable consequence of poverty is dependence'

Samuel Johnson

We need the help of others to succeed in life. But we should not become over dependent on people. We should not become paralysed if there is no help. There may be some special helps from professionals such as doctors, lawyers, coaches etc, which we cannot avoid. We should become independent for doing simple things. 

Consider the following:

·         Can you drive your car without your driver?

·         Can you make your own coffee if someone is not available to do it for you?

·         Can you clean your house or car yourself?

·         Washing and ironing your clothes?

·         Trimming and maintaining your garden yourself without anyone's help?

·         Typing your project report without the help of your typist or secretary?

·         Can you make some basic food items without help? 

Over the next two weeks, identify at least ten areas for which you totally depend on someone. Every week choose two things and do it on your own and check if you could do it.  Do this sincerely. Two things will happen. One, you will become self dependent. Two, your self-confidence will go up!

N C Sridharan

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[Time-Management] 100 Days Improvement Plan!

 

Day 75

 5th October 2011

Most achievers I know are people who have made a strong and deep dedication to pursuing a particular goal. That dedication took a tremendous amount of effort.
Donald Johanson

`A man only learns in two ways, one by reading and the other by association with smarter people'

Will Rogers

Have you watched profile interviews on the television channels? People who have achieved great things in life will be interviewed and asked what they did and how they achieved greatness. We have a lot to learn from successful people.

Here is a project for you. Identify fifty people whom you admire and who are available to you to meet. Imagine you are working for a popular TV channel and prepare a questionnaire for the interview session! Fix an appointment and interview them. Sincerely do this project and you will learn so much from them. You can learn great things even from ordinary people around you. One need not be national or international personalities. Even a successful restaurant owner will have something useful to tell you. Some basic success rules are common to all whether a celebrity or a local person.

In this process you will be achieving two objectives. One, you will become an expert in asking relevant questions and understanding people. Two, you will learn some powerful life lessons which you can apply in your life!

Sincerely do this project and notice your personality grow!

N C Sridharan

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[Time-Management] 100 Days Improvement Plan!

 

Day 74

4th October 2011

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.
Henry Ford

Recall the days you first learnt cycling, typing, playing a guitar, a new language etc! Wasn't it exciting? It would have given you some anxiety or tension. But you would have liked it and it would have kept you busy. Over a period of time life becomes very mechanical. If we don't engage our mind regularly, we will become lazy. There should be something exciting for the mind and brain every day.

Our brain and mind are an amazing gift of God. The more we use, the more it will be fit for even more exciting work. Like a knife or scissor, our mind and brain will become blunt and useless if not used regularly. What is used less becomes useless.

Consider the following options:

  • Start learning a new language, music or instrument or skill.
  • Every week or month, start doing something completely new which you've not done at all.
  • Meet new people and get to know them.
  • Develop a new habit, of course, a good habit!

Do this for six months and watch your excitement in life once again going up!

N C Sridharan

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[Time-Management] 100 Days Improvement Plan!

 

Day 73

3rd October 2011

You will never "find" time for anything. If you want time, you must make it.
Charles Bruxton

Are you a `Jack of all trades, but master of none'?

Today we live in a world of specialization and you have to be specialist in one specific field. You should identify your special talent and become an expert in that area. You should focus all your efforts to develop that talent. This is called `core competency'. Many organizations focus all their attention on their core competence and even stop manufacturing products which do not fit into this strategy.

Over this weekend, introspect and reflect to find out your core competency. Analyze and evaluate if you are spending adequate time on this area. Check if your time is dissipated on activities which may be interesting, but does not relate to your core competency. Prepare a `not to do list' in which you list at least five activities which do not belong to your core specialization area to release your time to pursue the most important activities.

Unless you say `no' to unimportant, but interesting trivial things, you will not find time to do the most important and critical things which will add value to your life.

N C Sridharan

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[Time-Management] 100 Days Improvement Plan!

 

Day 72

30th September 2011

Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences.

Norman Cousins

It is ideal to wish that everything will go as we want. But, the reality is that certain things may not be in our control. Some unanticipated events may throw our plans haywire. Someone may not be as effective and efficient as he should be. Some assumptions could go wrong. You have to anticipate such eventualities.

You can ask the following questions as you are about to get out of your bed:

  • What is the most important task that I have to complete today?
  • Do I have all the resources lined up, including time?
  • What could go wrong and what is my countermeasure?
  • What critical assumptions could go wrong and what is my countermeasure?
  • Am I realistic about my expectations of others? I am too optimistic?

I am not sounding pessimistic. While we should be optimistic, we should also plan for unexpected events. Perhaps we should be `optimistically pessimistic'!

Human beings are unique from other living beings in their ability to anticipate and plan and this has made us to survive millions of years where other living beings are becoming extinct.

N C Sridharan

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[Time-Management] 100 Days Improvement Plan!

 

Day 71

29th September 2011

`Whenever you're in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude'

William James

There is an excitement in building something. There is an even more excitement in rebuilding something! An entrepreneur will be very excited to build an organisation from the scratch. When the organisation is lost and destroyed for any reason such as obsolescence of technology or competition, he will be even more excited to build the same organisation once again.

The same thing applies to rebuilding relationship. I have seen this quality in successful people. They can fight with people and part friendship. But they can also rebuild the same relationship once again. It is an important leadership quality. In the past you may have quarrelled with someone and parted friendship. Both of you may not like it.

Over this weekend, list all those people with whom you have quarrelled and work out a strategy to rebuild the relationship. It may be difficult to overcome your ego. You may not have the attitude and the ability to communicate your feelings. You may be afraid or embarrassed to speak to that person. But still do it. It builds your personality and you will evolve as a complete person!

N C Sridharan

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[Time-Management] 100 Days Improvement Plan!

 

Day 70

28th September 2011

`He isn't a real boss until he has trained subordinates to shoulder most of his responsibilities'

William Father

Time is a limited resource and we have to intelligently invest it. It is not how long you work. What is more important is what the `productivity' of your time is. Our aim should be to work less and produce more.

One key factor which will decide your effectiveness is the competency of your people. In your own interest you have to develop and train them. Let us compare this with the automobile metaphor. If you are the engine, your people are the subassemblies such as the wheels, the gear box, the transmission, the brake, the accelerator etc. No matter how good and powerful is the engine, if the subassemblies are not maintained properly, the vehicle will not arrive the destination at the right time!

Today, you list the people who work with you for your project and evaluate their knowledge and skill to assess the gap which will affect their competency. Discuss with them and evolve a strategy to develop them. Take pride as a people developer. When you develop you people, both you and your people will be empowered!

Do this honestly and sincerely!

N C Sridharan

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[Time-Management] 100 Days Improvement Plan!

 

Day 69

27th September 2011

Concentrate; put all your eggs in one basket, and watch that basket...  

Andrew Carnegie

What's your longest span of concentration and focus on one single selected task without mind wandering? Great success calls for great efforts and a disciplined mind. By nature, mind is not disciplined and will drift. We have to train the mind to `one pointedness' by deliberate exercise and practice. When we were children, we were able to concentrate on one thing. But as we grew older we lost this important quality, like we forgot diaphragmatic breathing!

Every day set aside one hour to concentrate on the most important task on hand like writing, portfolio management, reading, thinking etc. Switch off your mobile, shut down your television set, tell your people that you are not available. If necessary lock yourself for one hour in a room. Just disappear from the crowd! If you find it difficult to concentrate for one full hour to start with, begin with fifteen minutes and gradually improve. Treat this as a very important self development portfolio exercise, like jogging and workout.

Sincerely do this for a month and notice your self confidence going up, of course also the quality of your work!

N C Sridharan

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[Time-Management] 100 Days Improvement Plan!

 

Day 68

26th September 2011

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.

Sir Richard Steele

Fine tune and improve the quality of your `reading portfolio'. In an era of infinite and exciting opportunities we can realise even a very `wild' dream through an effective strategy. Focused knowledge acquisition is an integral part of our competitive strategy. Compared to ten years ago, our competition has also grown several times and we have to be smart to survive competition.

The cutting edge which will decide our success is our knowledge base which will assume great importance in the era of perfect competition. Consider the following:

  • Focus your reading. Don't read everything of anything.
  • Read with a purpose. Before reading decide how it will be useful.
  • Set aside specific time and place to read. Even if your skip eating, don't skip reading!
  • Use technology to improve your reading. Use internet, e book, audio books, iPods, etc.
  • Target your reading topic wise, form a discussion group and study group.

Honestly audit your reading portfolio to check if it is adequate given your responsibility and ambitions in life. Remember: knowledge acquisition is an important survival strategy and not a luxury anymore!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

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[Time-Management] “Disciplining People Assertively”

 

Dear Reader,

 

You are aware that I conduct open programmes on various life skills.  Our three open programmes on "IGNITE" were received very well.  Organizations which cannot release 20 to 30 executives at the same time for an in-house training programme, make use of our open programmes by nominating 3 to 5 participants per batch.

We are happy to announce our next open programme on "Disciplining People Assertively" You will appreciate that there is an imminent need for implementing strict mental and physical discipline at the workplace.  Indiscipline will seriously affect the productivity of our time. 

Our next open programme on disciplining is scheduled to be held at Chennai as per the details given below:

 

Date:   15th October 2011 (Saturday)

 

Venue: Hindustan Chamber of Commerce,

Greams Dugar, 5th Floor, South Wing,

149, Greams Road, Chennai 600 006.

 

Timing: 9 00 am to 5 30 pm

 

To know more about this programme, please send an e-mail to the following e-mail ids with full postal address and we will mail you the details:

 

vanameellai@gmail.com

or

timeline@vsnl.com

 

 

 N C SRIDHARAN

www.thetimefoundation/com

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