[Time-Management] 100 Days Improvement Plan!

 

22nd July 2011

Day 22

Have you thought about the trait of `getting noticed'! In order to succeed in life, we have to get noticed by others. We live in a society and we have to be of some value to others.  We may have all the talents and we may be contributing, but we may not be noticed.

When you go a departmental store next time, notice how the products are displayed to catch your attention. Even if the product is very good, people should know in what way it is different from that of the competitors. This is what is projected by the marketing agency.

Check what is that you have to get noticed. How do you `package' yourself to others? What talent you have which is unique? Is your communication skill different from others? How is your image – both internal and external? Are you an inspiration to others? Is there something which you alone can offer which no one else can? If so how do you communicate this to the world?

Today ponder over the above and jot down a few points which come to your mind.

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

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[Time-Management] 100 Days Improvement Plan!

 

21st July 2011

Day 21

We cannot manage time as we have no `control' over time. But we should control the `productivity' of time by turning maximum quantifiable output within the time available.

Our time will be fragmented and dissipated by interruptions. We will take much more time to complete the task than what is required. Time is precious and should not be wasted on interruptions. Interruptions cannot be eliminated all together. A perfectly normal day will be full of interruptions like telephone calls, drop in visitors, meetings, people etc. If you are not at all disturbed, it means that you are not required.

We should manage the interruptions and keep them short by studying the nature of interruptions and work out a strategy. One way of doing it is to have an `interruptions log', in which you meticulously note down every interruption and study them to know who and what interrupted you and how long. Then we will know why we were interrupted. After this homework, we can work out a strategy to deal with that interruption which takes away a lot of your time.

Try this from today!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

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[Time-Management] 100 Days Improvement Plan!

 

20th July 2011

Day 20

Yesterday I wrote about remaining silent. Today I am going recommend that you learn to deliver a speech. Many people are afraid to speak in public next only to dying! Presentation skill is a very important skill you have to develop. As you go up in your life, you will have many occasions to make presentations to convince people. In some functional areas such as marketing and customer service, presentation skill will assume a very important dimension in career growth.

Many of us honestly believe that since we have been speaking right from the time we are born, speaking is a natural skill. For many it may not be true. Like you learnt cycling and typing, you can also learn to be a good public speaker.

Here's another simple exercise. Deliver a `one minute speech' to a tape recorder and listen to your own voice and evaluate. Recall to your mind your role model who is a good public speaker, and visualise how he will deliver the same speech. Try this exercise at periodic intervals and make continuous improvement.  Watch your presentation skill growing!

Start today!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

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[Time-Management] 100 Days Improvement Plan!

 

19th July 2011

Day 19

Have you heard the old adage `speech is silver and silence is gold'? Here's another very difficult exercise – keeping quiet! Set your timer and decide not to speak even one word during the next one hour. You will realise how difficult is this simple exercise.

The power of communication is a very unique gift which only human beings have. This skill distinguishes the human beings form other living things. But it is also the most misused and over used skill. When you develop an ability to remain silent, you will notice that it substantially enhances your energy. You may question how your energy and speaking are connected with each other, but it is true. In addition, this `self imposed silent hour' will also give you the gift of `thinking time'.

A journalist friend of mine will maintain complete silence every Wednesday and he says that it's his `writing day'.

There is another context where you can practice silence – when others speak. Some people cannot wait for others to complete their communication and will interrupt. From today notice if you also belong to this `club'!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

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[Time-Management] 100 Days Improvement Plan!

 

18th July 2011

Day 18

I come across people who do not like even small changes in their life. They sit in the same seat, eat the same food, meet the same people during lunch etc. There are some people who will be very inflexible even in very small things like the bed they sleep on, the route they take to office etc.

Flexibility is a very important trait. If there is life, there will be flexibility. A live plant or tree is flexible. If the tree is chopped and dried, it becomes inflexible. So is the case of a human body. As long as there is life, the human body is flexible.

Try this from today. Take a different route to your office. Sit in a table different from where you used to sit in the canteen. Dress differently. Eat in a different restaurant. Order a different food and enjoy. If you have a home office, change the direction of the table and notice how you feel. Do you feel shy to speak to new people, get yourself introduced to the first stranger you meet today!  

Do it today!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

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[Time-Management] 100 Days Improvement Plan!

 

15th July 2011

Day 17

There is a very powerful NLP Presupposition `there is no such thing as failure, only feedback'. Failures and mistakes teach us much more than success and correct actions could teach. As we carry on our various activities, we may commit mistakes and there could be slips. Error is human.

Like you carry an idea book, why not jot down at least one mistake you did every day. For example, `today, I shouted at my colleague unnecessarily', ` I forgot to charge my cell phone and went through a crisis and tension unnecessarily', ` I misplaced my air ticket and searched for it with hardly an hour left for the flight departure' etc.

The main advantage of this exercise is the fact that you will develop the attitude to notice small mistakes and this is a very important trait in great people. Not only that. Since you will become so sensitive to such mistakes, you will become very careful at a very unconscious level. This mindset is a good insulator of mistakes. You ability to get into the nitty-gritty details will improve.

Try this from today!

 N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

(PS: The next `IGNITE' open programme is on 16th July (Sat) @ Chennai. Please send your mail to thetimefoundation@gmail.com for details)

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[Time-Management] 100 Days Improvement Plan!

 

14th July 2011

Day 16

Some time back I wrote about an idea book which I suggested that you carry everywhere you go to jot down every idea that pops up in your mind.

How about a `learning book'? The other day I met a very important person, who showed me a book in which he writes every day what new thing he learnt that day. It's not a diary, which is different. A diary is a planner and a scheduler where you write down appointments. On the other hand a learning book registers something you learnt that day.

Supposing you miss a plane, write down one new thing you learnt while you went through the tension of missing the flight; if you meet with a minor accident, jot down what you learnt out of that experience; if you mess up something in the office and your boss shouts at you, jot down one learning point.

Once every month read all the learning points that you've registered and you will be stunned at the richness of the experience!

It's a simple, yet powerful self improvement plan.

Do it from today!

N C Sridharan

www.thetimefoundation.com

(PS: The next `IGNITE' open programme is on 16th July (Sat) @ Chennai. Please send your mail to thetimefoundation@gmail.com for details)

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