The Time Diet

What is Parkinson’s Law?

emilyschwartzspeaks@gmail.com Leave a comment

This summer, Parkinson’s Law has had an interesting effect on my time management.

Parkinson’s Law:
“Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”

Basically, the more time you have available to do something, the longer it’s going to take. Oh so true!

I went into this summer expecting to be very productive, and I was! However, if I take a serious look into how much concrete work I accomplished, it isn’t too much more than what I would have accomplished during the school year. This of course, is because of Parkinson’s Law. I have more time to work in the summer, so the work takes longer.

However, there is something to be said for how much more enjoyable and less stressful my work has been this summer. During the school year, I’m up at 5 to get to school. I try to cram in some work over my lunch break, then squeeze in a few more hours between when school gets out and ASU evening class begins. It’s rather exhausting, but it works.

In the summer, I don’t have to get up that early. I can work much more leisurely. I can take frequent breaks and I also have the flexibility to take a mid-week day off if I need to. Sure, I may not be completing triple the workload that it may seem like I’d be able to, but I’m enjoying my work much more. As long as I’m not flat out wasting time, I’m willing to sacrifice a few productivity hours to make my summer a little more relaxing.

What Counts as Wasting Time?

The key difference between working leisurely and wasting time is your use of Time Killers (or as Lifehack calls them: Cockroaches of Time Management. Ha!) As long as you aren’t getting lost in those little things that waste your time without your permission, there is nothing wrong with choosing to let yourself work a little slower once in a while if your schedule allows it.

Focused work is always better than unfocused work, but staying “focused” doesn’t mean having your nose to the grindstone 24/7. Finding that balance is the ultimate time management secret to success.

Did you enjoy today’s blog? Click Here to join The Time Diet mailing list and have weekly blog updates delivered straight to your inbox!

“Like” The Time Diet on Facebook and follow it on Twitter

Stumble It!

Check out other blogs similar to this on Technorati
Time Management, Efficiency,

How To Manage Your Time Like a Genius

emilyschwartzspeaks@gmail.com Leave a comment

You could be the next genius in your field if you learn to manage your time like one!
I’m of the opinion that being a “genius” or “talented” are traits only partially gained at birth and that excellent time management skills play a big part in most very successful people. Let’s look at their secret.

Time Management From Amadeus to Zuckerberg

On my trip to Salzburg, Austria I had the opportunity to tour the birth place of one of classical music’s greatest talents- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. On display are many letters that Mozart wrote back and forth to his sister, including one in which he described in detail what his typical work day entailed. Here is an excerpt of what he wrote:

“My hair is always done by 6 in the morning and by 7 I am fully dressed. I then compose until 9. Then I give lessons from 9-1…I can never work before 5 or 6. I am often prevented by a concert. If not, I compose until 9…..When I come home early I will often lose myself in writing until 1 o’clock and then wake up again.”

I was amazed at his work ethic. Having been told my whole life that Mozart was a musical genius, it’s easy to think that this brilliant music just poured out of his head with ease. I’m not suggesting that if I too spent the majority of every day composing that I could also produce music of Mozart’s quality. There is definitely something to be said for sheer talent. However, Mozart devoted hours upon hours to writing his music. He ate, breathed and slept music. It was his life. This wasn’t just dedication, it was obsession.

Fast forward about 250 years and you’ll find the same obsession in today’s great minds. The movie The Social Network depicts the tireless energy Mark Zuckerberg put into creating Facebook. We can sit around and debate the movie’s gross inaccuracies of the “real” story, but one thing seems to be clear- this man ate, breathed and slept Facebook. He too was obsessed and used this obsession to push his idea into existence.

Both of these men were obsessed with their craft and their time management plan seemed to be “work whenever possible.” My question is, is this the kind of dedication it takes to do great things? Is the quest for a healthy, balanced life unrealistic?

I don’t think so. In his book Outliers, Malcom Gladwell popularized the idea of the 10,000 Hour Rule; that you need to do something for 10,000 hours to be truly great. I don’t believe that those 10,000 hours need to necessarily be all in a row. The key is persistence. You’ll never reach those 10,000 hours if you consistently get off track, let Time Killers steal your focus and give in to procrastination. However, you’ll also never reach those 10,000 hours if you try to do them all at once and burn out too quickly. Seth Godin describes this as getting past The Dip.

The lesson to take from these great minds is not their obsessive use of their time, but their obsessive belief in their work. Their time management secret is actually a motivation management secret. Work with fierce determination toward your goal and you’re on track to greatness.

Did you enjoy today’s blog? Click Here to join The Time Diet mailing list and have weekly blog updates delivered straight to your inbox!

“Like” The Time Diet on Facebook and follow it on Twitter

Stumble It!

Check out other blogs similar to this on Technorati
Time Management, Motivation, Mark Zuckerberg,

Surviving My Facebook Break

emilyschwartzspeaks@gmail.com Leave a comment

For the past week, I decided to take a break from Facebook for the sake of my time management. I’m not against the social networking site at all. In fact, I think it is extremely important to have little distractions like this that allow us to zone out for a few minutes and give our brains a rest. However, my Facebook usage was getting out of hand and starting to affect my productivity. I decided that we needed a break in our relationship. Here is how my week went:

Day 1: Realized that no Facebook meant I would have to wait to post the pictures of the wedding I went to last weekend. Received upset email from my sister-in-law that I wasn’t posting pictures (she couldn’t be at the wedding.) This was going to be harder than I thought.

Day 2: Felt antsy and almost snuck a peak at my phone over breakfast. Instead, nosed around on the Internet and found some awesome SEO articles to peruse and then went to Starbucks for a work session. Productivity increase of at least 300%.

Day 3: Husband tells me that he saw on Facebook that my sister’s boyfriend got into a bicycle accident. Realized that Facebook is one of my major sources of news. Made a brief and supervised exception to my Facebook fast to look at the picture of him smiling in his hospital bed donning a bike helmet. Husband quickly shoos me off his account and tells me to stick to my rule as I vow to call my sister first thing in the morning and discuss with her proper ways of sharing breaking news with family members.

Day 4: Worked on the syllabus for the class I’m teaching in the fall. Felt the temptation to click over to my browser and scroll through Facebook land. Resisted the temptation and went for a walk around the block to get the mail instead. Felt re-energized and finished 45 more minutes of work. Win.

Day 5: Wanted very badly to tell everyone how well my productive week was going in a Facebook status update. Briefly contemplated the hypocrisy that would entail. Met new friends in person and realized that Facebook has replaced email as my go-to digital address book. Social networking sites do have useful purposes other than wasting time.

Day 6: Found myself going on Twitter a lot more in place of Facebook. Wondered if this was somehow cheating because Twitter is also a social networking site. Realized that it wasn’t cheating because everything I do on Twitter is to build my business. I don’t use a personal Twitter account.

Day 7: First day I could honestly say I didn’t miss Facebook. While working on a paper for grad school I didn’t once click over to my browser. Finished my work much more quickly and rewarded myself with a Happy Hour with friends. Annoying Facebook habit= broken.

So what did I learn through all of this? Facebook, as well other Time Killers, has a time and a place. Time Killers are like the cookies of your Time Diet. They are fine to have once in a while, but you shouldn’t eat them for breakfast. I am now confident that I can use Facebook as a way to keep in touch with people, share pictures and send messages without letting it interfere with my work and productivity.

Final Score: Emily: 1 Facebook: 0

Did you enjoy today’s blog? Click Here to join The Time Diet mailing list and have weekly blog updates delivered straight to your inbox!

“Like” The Time Diet on Facebook and follow it on Twitter

Check out other blogs similar to this on Technorati
Time Management, Facebook, Social Networking

My Facebook Challenge

emilyschwartzspeaks@gmail.com 3 Comments

This summer, a time management battle of epic proportions is being fought on a quiet little street in Phoenix Arizona. The stand off is between my productivity and my most addictive Time Killer: Facebook.

During the school year, I have a fairly healthy relationship with my Time Killers. I am able to focus on my work for a good chunk of time and then take a break to check my email, grab a snack and check out what’s going on in Facebook Land.

Now that summer is here, I’m having an extremely difficult time not letting my social network distract me. Whereas normally I could easily sit down at my computer for an hour of focused work, I now find myself checking Facebook every 5 minutes. The constant interruption of focus is starting to really annoy me and I know it’s affecting my productivity.

I have a theory as to why my ability to be distracted has suddenly surged. During the school year, I spend the first 8 hours of my day surrounded by people at work. I also spend about 6 hours a week surrounded by my ASU classmates. Now, in the summer, I spend most of my day working in my home office…by myself. I know that my summer Facebook addiction is due to my craving of social interaction!

A Week Without Facebook

To win my Time Killer battle, I am going to go without Facebook for the next week. I will not check it on my phone, I will not have it open on my computer and I won’t even ask my husband to update my status for me. (“Emily is really missing Facebook right now…”) All “Desserts” are fine in moderation, but I have let this Time Killer have too much power. My challenge this week is to give Facebook a break and find another way to find some social interaction without constantly interrupting my work.

Be sure to check back next Sunday to read about how I did with my challenge!

Did you enjoy today’s blog? Click Here to join The Time Diet mailing list and have weekly blog updates delivered straight to your inbox!

“Like” The Time Diet on Facebook and follow it on Twitter

Check out other blogs similar to this on Technorati
Time Management, Facebook

The Last 5 Percent

emilyschwartzspeaks@gmail.com Leave a comment

Why is it that we’ll spend all day working on something, and then stop right before it’s actually finished? We’ll finish 95% of the work involved, and then leave that last 5% until later. Oh “later”….that infamous black hole of time home to so many unwanted tasks!

The problem, of course, is that “later” gets here and we don’t feel any more like finishing up that work. In fact, we feel even less like doing it than we did before! We aren’t in the zone anymore. You create a lot of momentum when you’re working on that first 95% that carries you through to the finish. However, if you stop and try to come back to it later, you won’t have all of that built up momentum to carry you through. It’s like taking a roller coaster car off its track right before that last little hill, then putting it back later and wondering why it isn’t moving.

Time Management Solution

This isn’t to say you should never take breaks. No, you need breaks in your work to keep you going. I’m saying the worst time to take a break is when you are almost finished. Rather than spend the time and energy to get back into the project later, the temptation to say, “You know, this is probably good enough” is too great.

Last week, my husband and I finally admitted to ourselves that our TV was broken and bought a new one. We spent all day picking one out, buying a stand for it and setting it up. The last thing we needed to do was move the old TV into the garage (not an easy task considering it is one of those old TVs that weighs about 200 pounds.) However, I didn’t want to! I had a brand new TV sitting in front of me and I wanted to watch it! We could move the old one later. My fabulous husband talked some sense into me and said, “No, we should just move it now and be done with it.”

I was so glad we did! There was no way we’d feel like moving that thing later and now we didn’t have to worry about it. Don’t let yourself leave that last 5% until later. It’ll just loom over your schedule like a giant bulky television in the middle of your living room.

Did you enjoy today’s blog? Click Here to join The Time Diet mailing list and have weekly blog updates delivered straight to your inbox!

“Like” The Time Diet on Facebook and follow it on Twitter

Stop Being Busy

emilyschwartzspeaks@gmail.com Leave a comment

One of the single biggest time management mistakes people make is to confuse being busy with being productive. When you are busy, all you are doing is filling time. You are working, so it gives the temporary illusion that you are getting something done, but you’re not.  If you want to actually make progress on a goal you have to be productive.

(Check out my video about being busy and productive Here)

When school let out last week, several of my colleagues asked me how I planned to keep busy this summer. I don’t plan to “keep busy” this summer. I plan to be productive.

This summer, I have many goals but my biggest one is to prepare my book for publication. My manuscript is finished but as I’m quickly finding out, writing the book is one of the easier parts of the publishing process! I’ve decided that the only way I’m going to finish this summer is to find time every day to devote to the book. I could spend this time reformatting all of my headings and playing with the cover font. I am technically “working” on the book, but I’m only being busy. I’m not taking concrete steps to move toward my goal. Sure, the cover font needs to be dealt with at some point, but the more pressing issue is finding an editor and researching publishing outlets. If I want to be productive on my book right now, I need to work toward those goals. (On that note, if you know of a trusted editor, let me know!)

Busy is Easy, Productive is Hard

The problem we have is that being busy is easy. Being productive is hard.   Here are three simple steps to make sure your work sessions are productive:

1)      Have a Goal- Without a goal, our work has no purpose. Have a concrete goal that you are working toward.

2)      Have a Plan- Your goal is worthless if you don’t have a plan to get there. What small thing can you do each day that will move you toward your goal?

3)      Re-assess Your Plan – After you create your plan, you can’t blindly continue down your path. If something isn’t working, re-assess and change your approach.

Remember, sometimes your plan won’t always work and it might feel like you are taking a step backwards, but that’s OK. A step backward means you’re learning from your mistakes and sometimes that’s part of being productive. When you’re busy, you’re only taking steps sideways. You’re still moving, but you’re not going anywhere. Only productivity actually moves you toward your goals.

Did you enjoy today’s blog? Click Here to join The Time Diet mailing list and have weekly blog updates delivered straight to your inbox!

“Like” The Time Diet on Facebook and follow it on Twitter

Making Time

emilyschwartzspeaks@gmail.com 1 Comment

The gym and I have not been as good a friends this year as we have been in the past. By the time I’m done with work and school for the day I’m so tired that I’ve been letting my workouts fall by the wayside. Because of my recent fitness slacking, I was particularly proud of myself the other day when I took my gym bag to work with me and vowed to put in at least 30 minutes of cardio before coming home. I was so proud of myself that I even called my health-nut sister to tell her I was going to exercise!

Let me tell you about my amazing sister. She is smart, gorgeous, eats better than Jillian Michaels and works out 5-6 times a week. I told her that I wish I could get to the gym more often but I just never have the energy. Then she said something that has inspired my time management all week. She said, “Well, I mean, I never have the energy to work out either, but I just do it.”

Just Do It. Wow, someone should use that as a company slogan.

I have been thinking about my sister’s comment all week. Don’t we all have things we want to do but never seem to have the time or energy for? What if we stopped making excuses and made time for the things that are important to us? I can count on one hand the number of times I have bounded out of bed at 5am with the energy to go to work, but I go anyways, putting on a smile and faking energy until I have my morning cup of coffee and the adrenaline of the day kicks in.

A Challenge

This week, I challenge you to make time for something meaningful that you never think you have the time or energy for. Since talking to my sister, I have found the energy to go to the gym two more times and I feel so empowered. Remember- you control your schedule, no one else and you decide if something is worth your time. Stop making excuses and start making time for things that are important to you.

Did you enjoy today’s blog? Click Here to join The Time Diet mailing list and have weekly blog updates delivered straight to your inbox!

“Like” The Time Diet on Facebook and follow it on Twitter

47R9FUDURV4Y

Organizing Your Life

emilyschwartzspeaks@gmail.com 1 Comment

Has this ever happened to you? You’ve perfectly planned out your afternoon to finish several pressing tasks. As you sit down to work, you’re feeling extremely proud of your time management skills. Nothing is going to stop you today! Then, you actually try to begin your work and you can’t find that one form, spreadsheet or piece of paper you need to get started. Pretty soon you’re spending your afternoon tearing your desk and filing cabinet apart instead of working.

Time management and organization go hand in hand. If you want to get your work done as efficiently as possible, you have to be able to find it quickly. That’s not to say that in order to be organized you must maintain a perfectly manicured filing system. Everyone’s system will look different and the most important thing is that it works for you.

This year, I started teaching at 3 different schools during the week and I quickly discovered that my old system of organization was no longer going to work. It was difficult to predict which piece of paper I’d need at which school. I’d find myself wasting an afternoon at one school because I’d left my work at the previous school. I decided the only way to combat this problem was to have a mobile filing cabinet. I bought a rolling cart and put three large files in it- one for each school.  Whenever I received an important piece of paper, I’d put it in the rolling cart. I periodically clean out the files and put them in my desk at their corresponding school. My poor rolling cart ended up being a little cluttered, but this system works for me and I rarely have trouble finding what I need.

When creating your own system of organization, remember:

1) Not every scrap of paper is important

Often, the papers that cause clutter are not the important ones, they are the ones you’ve already used and don’t need anymore. Frequently go through your papers and throw out things you don’t need.

2) Alphabetical filing cabinets aren’t everything

If you can’t force yourself to maintain a filing cabinet, then don’t use one as your primary system of organization. Instead, use bins, trays, notebooks, or whatever else works for you. Filing cabinets that aren’t used properly can become the worst black holes for lost things. If that isn’t your style, use something else.

3) Keep things close that you use frequently

If you use something everyday, there is no sense in keeping it in a notebook on the other side of the room. I keep my most-used contact sheets pinned to my wall by my phone.   Save yourself time by keeping the things you use most frequently in a place that is easily accessible.

4) Get organized in your down time

Your system of organization is most important during your busy times, but it needs to be in place before then. It’s too late to build a life boat when the ship is already sinking. Use a less-stressful time to re-vamp your organization so you’ll be prepared when your hectic time hits.

Did you enjoy today’s blog? Click Here to join The Time Diet mailing list and have weekly blog updates delivered straight to your inbox!

“Like” The Time Diet on Facebook and follow it on Twitter

When Perfection is a Waste of Time

emilyschwartzspeaks@gmail.com 1 Comment

Even those of us who don’t label ourselves a “perfectionist” have our moments of obsession with getting something just right. We generally think that being a perfectionist is an admirable quality. However, in The Time Diet, it can also lead to massive amounts of unnecessary wasted time. There are times when perfection matters and there are also times when “good enough” truly is good enough. Knowing the difference is important in time management.

This week I have a research paper due for one of my grad school classes. Completing an entire original research study in one semester is generally considered to be an impossibility so my professor has asked for a rough draft to grade us on. She has stressed that this paper does not have to be close to final form yet, she just wants to see our progress. The perfectionist in me has had a difficult time with those instructions. I have declared myself  “done” with this draft no less than 8 times over the past week. I have saved the document, opened up an email to send it to my professor, and then decided I want to add one more quote or change one more word.

No Such Thing As Perfection

The problem is that this kind of perfectionism is a giant waste of time. In this case, my work does not have to be perfect and the relentless pursuit to make it so is not worth it. My time is far better spent finishing up other work. While I made countless edits to my draft, my other equally important work sat on my desk untouched.

No work will ever be perfect. There will always be something you can change, something you can add, or something you can fix. At some point, you have to just say enough is enough and move on. As I’m posting this blog, my draft is sitting in my professor’s inbox waiting to be read. It is not perfect. Even when I fix it up and submit it to a journal, it will still not be perfect. However, it is “good enough”, and right now that’s good enough for me.

Did you enjoy today’s blog? Click Here to join The Time Diet mailing list and have weekly blog updates delivered straight to your inbox!

“Like” The Time Diet on Facebook and follow it on Twitter

Top 5 Reasons We Procrastinate

emilyschwartzspeaks@gmail.com 2 Comments

“I’ll do it later” is the enemy of time management and eliminates our control over our Time Diets. Why do we procrastinate? Here are the 5 most common reasons and what we can do to stop!

1) We Don’t Want to Do the Task

The biggest reason people put something off is because they don’t want to do whatever it is they have to do. When we don’t want to do something we become really good at convincing ourselves that we’ll want to do it tomorrow instead. In fact, we come up with fabulous excuses such as, “I’ll feel more inspired tomorrow” or “Tomorrow, I’ll feel more well rested and it will be easier” or “This will be first on my list tomorrow.” However, when tomorrow finally gets here, we don’t feel any more like doing the task than we did the day before. Don’t let yourself fall for these excuses.

2) We Like the Pressure of a Deadline

We’ve all felt that intense stress and pressure when we’re working up against a deadline. The problem is, some people thrive on it. How do those of us who work best against a deadline fight procrastination? Make your own deadlines! If you make your own deadline a few days before the real one, you still get the feeling of working under pressure without being in danger of actually missing your deadline! Afraid you won’t stick to a self-created deadline? Tell as many people as possible about it to help hold you accountable.

3) We Focus on Due Dates, Not Start Dates

When someone asks us to do something, the first question we ask is, “When would you like it to be finished?” The second follow up question we often forget to ask ourselves is, “When am I going to start this?” Without a definite start date in mind, we run the risk of putting a task out of our minds until the due date is staring us in the face. Saying you’re going to do something is not the same as planning when you’re going to do it. Never write a due date in your calendar without also writing a start date.

4) We Don’t Have an Idea

We’ll often procrastinate on creative tasks because we haven’t thought of the perfect idea yet. Here is the problem: You could spend a lifetime waiting for the perfect idea to pop into your head. Sometimes you need to just start writing. Your first idea doesn’t have to be perfect but at least it’s something! It’s easier to revise a mediocre idea than continue to stare at a blank page.

5) It’s a Habit

If you’ve been a procrastinator your whole life, it can be extremely difficult to break yourself of this bad habit. I’ve even heard people justify their procrastination by saying, “I’ve always procrastinated and I’ve never been late with anything.” That’s like saying that you don’t need to buy car insurance because you’ve never been in a car accident. If you consistently wait until the last minute to do things, you will miss deadlines. It’s only a matter of time. Not to mention the fact that procrastinating triples your stress level when “crunch time” comes around and you’re more likely to have a productivity crash afterwards from sheer exhaustion. Stop making excuses and start doing things now.

Did you enjoy today’s blog? Click Here to join The Time Diet mailing list and have weekly blog updates delivered straight to your inbox!

“Like” The Time Diet on Facebook and follow it on Twitter