It’s the end of the academic year. Papers are due, final exams are being given, and students are stressed out with the sudden influx of work. However, it’s not as though any of the assignments and papers were unexpected. They knew what was coming at them and could have been adequately prepared in advance. Unfortunately, nothing is done about these assignments until the deadline becomes pressing. As a post-grad student, my colleagues and I are all too familiar with this cycle and very well versed in the fine arts of procrastination. I also know that procrastination can be a huge problem for anyone from students to CEOs. I’m going to share with you six tips that I have found to be helpful in giving me the necessary motivation and confidence to manage my projects and tasks.

1. Assess your values. Clearly identify what the task or project is you are working on and why you are doing it. What are you working towards? What will you get out of it? How is this connected to your passions and governing values? What’s driving you?

Perhaps you’re working on a report for a course. You may initially tell yourself that you are are doing it only because it was assigned by the teacher or professor. But why are you in school or college? Is it because you believe it will lead you to a better life? Is it because you genuinely enjoy your course of study but this once class is just not your forte? Instead of focusing on doing the report because your professor assigned it, you can look at it in ways of supporting your higher value of staying in school or college. Finishing the report will allow you to continue studying those courses you genuinely enjoy.

2. Reframe Should/Must/Have/Need to Want/Get. Telling yourself the you should/must/have to/need to do something takes the task out of your hands. It does not leave you in a place of choice or power. If you tell yourself that you want to or get to do this project because you’re excited about it or because it is in alignment with your passions and values, then you will be much more motivated.

3. Set Boundaries with Others and Yourself. Tell people that you are busy and can not be social until you have the goal completed. Turn off your phone. Make sure your workspace is clear, comfortable and as free of distraction as possible. Set up regular times to do your work and stick to them.

The computer can be our most useful tool and our worst enemy. Set boundaries for yourself with it as well. Disable things like instant messaging, new email notifications, and the web browser. Use these only during break times.

4. Actions/Tasks vs Projects. The lack of clarity between actions and projects can be one of the biggest causes of procrastination. If you don’t narrow your projects down into action steps, then your tasks remain amorphous and overpowering. I explained more about actions and projects in my article Basic GTD.

5. Work with Positive Associations. Surround yourself with things you find pleasing but aren’t distracting. Incorporate your 5 senses and use things that you positively associate with your work.

6. Breaks. Be sure to take regular breaks. This will keep you from getting tired or burnt out, and give you time to clear your mind to think of fresh ideas and new approaches.

One of the most pervasive menaces in the home is clutter. It makes the house feel cramped, uninviting, stagnant, and dirty. It stresses us out. It causes us to feel trapped by possessions. It’s ugly and unappealing.

In our capitalist buy, buy, buy culture, the tentacles of clutter slowly seep into our environments. One day our house is bright, sparkly, and new. Before we know it, we take a look around the living room and think “Wow! I don’t have a single clear surface in this place.” Then we go to put some things away in the bedroom or kitchen only to find that the cupboards and closets are already overflowing with belongings, some of which we’ve neither seen nor used in years. When it reaches this point, the presence and the prospect of getting rid of the clutter can be quite overwhelming. However, all is not lost.

Here are some useful tips for getting rid of and preventing the accumulation of clutter:

1. Have a regular “spring clean” or de-cluttering party. Every six months to a year, go through all of your cupboards, closets, surfaces, bookshelves, and anywhere else you might collect clutter. Donate old books to the local library. Give old clothes, nick knacks, and anything else you’re not using to charity, a friend, or a family member who could get use out of it. If the item is broken throw it out. My general rule is that if I’ve not used something for a year or more, I get rid of it. If I’ve gone that long without needing it, I clearly can live without it and I don’t want it taking up space in my mind or environment.

2. Your possessions are not your emotions. Many people hold on to things for emotional significance. This is fine if it’s an item you genuinely love, use, and brings you happiness to have around. However, if you’re just keeping it because you feel like you “should” or “have to” due to the emotions surrounding it, it’s just an energy block that’s not benefitting you. You don’t need it. Memories are not held in physical objects. If you need something to remember an event, then that event probably isn’t that important. Let it go. If you have issues about this address it with your therapist or life coach.

3. Collections. Collecting certain items is fine as long as they’re not running you out of your home. If you’ve come to the point that your precious dolls are just sitting around collecting dust and you no longer have room in your house to place a cup of tea, then it’s time to stop and assess the situation. Thin down the collection to a healthy level in which you can tastefully display the collected items. You could even find some fun in having a cyclic display of your collection where whenever you get a new item, you donate an old one. This could add life to the collection while making it more interesting. Don’t let your collectibles consume and control you. Your mental clarity is worth more than that and your value as a human being is not contingent on having physical objects around you.

4. Stay away from the “Unitasker”. The unitasker is a “gadget,” usually, but not exclusively, found in the kitchen. The unitasker serves only one limited function. Examples of these are hot dog warmers, waffle makers, and pasta machines. Typically, we use these items once or twice a year and they otherwise sit around and take up space. We don’t need them.
There are times when unitaskers can be useful and worthwhile. For example, I have an iced tea maker. All it does is make iced tea, but it does it much more quickly and conveniently than I could otherwise. However, I love iced tea and drink it all the time, just about every day. So, if you really do use your unitasker regularly and find it makes your life easier, then hold on to it. If you can count the number of times you use the object per year on one hand, then you can probably live without it and would be better off doing so.

Be brave and pick a day and go through your house and just get rid of “stuff” you no longer use or like. I promise that you’ll find it extremely liberating and you’ll be much happier and vibrant for doing so!

Reccommended Reading
Living with Less: The Upside to Downsizing Your Life, by Mark Tabb

All that we are is a result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think, we become. -Buddha Sakyamuni, Dhammapada.

My professor, Steven Goodman, once declared to the class, “No matter how many billions of years you have been in a coma, you can always wake up!” Many of us are enslaved in unconscious lives. Our moods and thoughts shift from moment to moment. Our energy levels and mental clarity are in constant flux. Ultimately, our lives, our well being, and our happiness are helplessly floating between waves of conscious and unconscious deliberation. We are miserable victims of a reality of fleeting thoughts.

Fortunately, as Steven said, we can wake up. We can heed the Buddha’s advice and create a reality in which we are happy, content, and conscious beings. We can do this simply by thinking and thereby changing what we hold in our minds to be real.

Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) is one of the many methods that can serve as a catalyst in transforming our minds. NLP is the study of our thoughts and actions. It makes us, as subjective interpreters of what we see, responsible for our thoughts and moods (states). With this responsibility comes consciousness and choice wherein we are given the ability to change how we think and behave.

According to the NLP communication model, our senses are introduced to millions of pieces of information each second. We are conscious of only a fraction of what our senses perceive. Once our senses apprehend something, that information is filtered by our brain and nervous system where it is deleted, distorted, or generalized. This creates what NLP calls Internal Representations, or pictures, thoughts, sounds, or feelings that are completely subjective to our internal filtering process of external stimuli. An example of a positive internal representation would be having internal pictures and thoughts of successfully accomplishing a goal.

Our internal representations and physiology influence our state and our state influences our behavior. To have a positive physiology we want to have positive internal representations and take care of our bodies with proper diet, exercise, sleep, etc. This positive state will produce positive behavior which, in turn, produces positive outcomes. So, if we have positive internal representations, our physiology will match this by smiling (granting we are healthy and taking care of our bodies), we are likely to be in a positive state, and our behavior will be more resourceful. These principles apply to negative states, internal representations, physiology, behavior, and outcomes as well.

This information can be powerfully used to our advantage. When we find ourselves experiencing a negative state such as procrastination we are creating negative internal representations that reflect procrastination (e.g. internal pictures and thoughts of not carrying through with a task). Our physiology matches this. Our breathing is shallow, are facial expressions are less vivid, and our voices aren’t as strong. In order to reverse this, we can create internal representations of confidence and motivation. We invoke memories and feelings of confidence and motivation, recall and re-experience what it was like when we were motivated and productive. We can change our physiology as well by breathing more deeply, smiling, and standing up straight. Consequently, in a matter of seconds, we find ourselves in a state where we are genuinely confident and motivated.

Whenever we find ourselves in a state that we do not deem optimal for ourselves, we can access positive internal representations and physiology to put ourselves in a favorable state. The mind can not abide in two disparate feelings or emotions. As we continually practice putting ourselves in positive states, the mind will be more accustomed to these states, making it easier to access and remain in them. We will have resourceful actions and interactions to the current situation. We will shift from unconscious agents to conscious creators of our realities wherein we experience joy, clarity, and contentment.

Recommended Reading

Dhammapada, by Buddha
Unlimited Power, by Anthony Robbins

My personal time management system is a combination of GTD and Franklin Covey and involves a weekly review, inbox, planner, and email. For a time management system to be optimally beneficial, it must be personal. I have taken the aspects from Allen and Covey that work for me and implemented them to play off of each other’s strengths. Here’s how I keep myself organized:

Weekly Review

Once a week, I go through my physical inbox, my planner, my action lists, my goals, and my projects to see how I am progressing and what I need to focus on that week. This is known as the weekly review and is one of the most important tools in the GTD system.

When I have a task that I wanted to complete the previous weeks doesn’t get done, I will take a look as to why it was not done and see what I can do to fulfill that task or project in the new week. I also plan the coming week by checking which tasks from my action lists and projects I can and want to get completed, while being mindful of my schedule. If I have a time sensitive task, I will write it on the task list on the day it must be completed. Things that I need to do that week, but are not time sensitive are written on my “Weekly Compass” so that I will be reminded of them each day when I compose my daily task list.

Physical Inbox

This is a capture tool for papers, bills, reference items, and various actions I need to take. Whenever I have something that I can’t immediately deal with, such as a form that needs to be filled out, mail, or information that must be processed, I put it here. During my weekly review, I decide what needs to be done with the item and process it. (If my inbox saw more traffic, it would need to be dealt with more regularly. At this point, once a week is often enough). If there is a piece of reference material that I will need in the future, I put it in my alphabetized filing system. Items that will not serve me as reference and do not need to be acted upon are thrown away. Paper work and other actions that must be completed are processed and I add a task in my planner to complete them.

The Planner

My Franklin Covey planner is my primary organizational tool and I use it regularly throughout the day. The planner contains monthly calendars, daily schedules, daily tasks, a section for goals, and five personalizable blank tabs.

Each monthly calendar tab has a master task list for personal and business goals that are to be met that month. During the last weekly review of the month, I go through all of my projects, goals, and tasks and decide which ones I want to do in the next month and place them on this list. In my regular weekly reviews, I check this list and see which of these goals I can get done that week. Ultimately, I end up getting all of them done.

The “Prioritized Daily Task List” is located on the daily calendar next to the appointment schedule. It’s pretty clear what this is for — daily tasks. I design this list every evening before bed or each morning after waking. I refer to the list and check off things that I have completed during the day. The feeling of accomplishment that is accompanied by checking off a task in my list is one of my favorite rewards.

I have made a slight modification to my “Prioritized Daily Task List”, a sort of GTDification, if you will. Instead of prioritizing my tasks ABC and 123, as recommended by Stephen Covey, I leave them all un-prioritized. David Allen believes that if you have a task to do that day, you want to do it and you want to get it done as soon as you can. Priorities are not needed. Just get the task list done. I’ve found this to be a more effective method to completing my tasks than prioritizing.

While writing about the Weekly Review, I mentioned the “Weekly Compass”. You may be asking yourself “What the heck is that?” Each Franklin Covey planner contains a page finder. This is a clear, pocketed bookmark that tracks the current day. The Weekly Compass is placed inside the page finder and is used to list my bigger to-dos for the week that are not time sensitive (this is another GTD modification on my part).

As I stated before, there are five tabs that can be used in whichever way you wish. I use my first tab for notes. The second is my action list. When something that I need to do pops in my head I write down here. During my weekly review, I decide when I’ll do it. My projects and their various tasks are kept behind my third tab. Someday/Maybes, such a travel destinations and reading lists, are organized in the fourth tab. My fifth tab is devoted to uplifting and thoughtful quotes that I have collected from various books and lectures.

E-mail

E-mail can be a very messy business if left unorganized. Of course, there are many ways you could order your system, but this is how I do mine and it works quite well. I believe I got this idea, based on GTD, from Merlin Mann of 43 Folders.

It is best to keep the inbox empty and to process it as often as possible. Most time management folks recommend that you set your e-mail client to check for new mail every hour, not every 10-15 minutes, so as not to distract you from your work and to avoid e-overwhelm. David Allen believes if you have something that needs to be acted on that can be done in two minutes or less, do it. Otherwise, file it accordingly and process frequently.

Here are my e-mail files:

Action: Items that involve work or an action outside of email.
Respond: Emails that need to a response on my part.
Waiting on: Delegated tasks or other items such as amazon.com orders that don’t directly involve me, but I am waiting for.
Reference: Important information that I will need to reference later. I have this further subdivided into Home, Coaching, and School.

That is the basics of my personal organization system. It sounds much more complex that it really is. Once you implement something of your own, it quickly becomes effortless and automatic. The key is to make your time management system something that will cater to your needs while retaining the optimization benefits taught by the masters such as David Allen and Stephen Covey.

Recommended Reading

• The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, by Stephen Covey
• The Eighth Habit, by Stephen Covey
• Getting Things Done, by David Allen

I must confess that I am a Franklin Covey poster boy. I started using the system in 1997 when I began my undergraduate studies and have used it since. Throughout the years I have experimented with other time management systems such as PDAs, computer programs, and smart phones, but I always come back to the simple pen and paper system of Stephen Covey.

What I love about the Franklin Covey system is that everything I need is in one place. Unlike PDAs or smart phones, it’s not necessary to click on a program to see my calendar, another to view my task list, or another to make important notes. It’s all there in my binder.

The planner is my ubiquitous capture tool containing both monthly and daily calendars with a daily task list next to the daily schedule of appointments. This allows me to take into account what my schedule will be like for the day when creating a task list. When my schedule is busy I’ll obviously make fewer and less time consuming tasks than I will on the days when I have a freer schedule. Alongside the daily schedule and task list is a section for notes and information that may be needed as reference that day. For example, if I have a task to make a business call, then I might make a note of the phone number and the important points that I want to discuss while on that call.

The system is highly customizable and contains five tabs that can be used however you desire. Mine are set up in a GTD like fashion (in my next time management article I will talk about my personal time management system and how I combine GTD and Franklin Covey). The planner includes other tabs where I can easily keep track of my daily, monthly, and yearly finances and make detailed action plans for my various goals and projects.

My favorite aspect is the cornerstone of the system wherein personal values and mission are emphasized. Covey’s philosophy is that our values determine how we live. Unclear and poorly defined values are reflected in our daily actions. Clearly defined values lead to less stress and more success and clarity. Stephen Covey includes in the planner a number of powerful exercises that assist in defining values and creating personal mission statements. I do these exercises every year when I get a new planning system and review them monthly. This is both empowering and liberating and serves to keep me focused throughout the year on what I value most.

Ultimately, I can’t give Franklin Covey enough accolades. It’s a powerful, convenient, easy to use, and diverse time management tool that keeps my personal, academic, and professional roles in such order that I don’t even want to imagine what my life would be without it.

Recommended Reading

• The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, by Stephen Covey
• The Eighth Habit, by Stephen Covey

Getting Things Done, better known as GTD, can be effectively used with a simple notebook and files, or, if you’re more technologically inclined, it can easily be used with PDAs, smart phones, and computers. Personally, I use the system in my computer for electronic tasks, organization, and email. I also have it implemented in my daily planner and file system for all the other things that come my way. As long as you implement the basic principles of GTD and faithfully make time to process, file, and fulfill your tasks, the system will work for you regardless of your medium of implementation.

David Allen, the creator of GTD, has outlined six primary categories in which to organize the actions that we need to do, the ideas we have, and the information that comes our way. This method is extremely efficient and one of the most optimal ways in which to stay on track. Below, I will give a brief outline of each and explain how to implement them. However, to get the full benefits of GTD, I highly recommend reading David’s book, Getting Things Done.

1. Inbox/Notes: This is where all work and information is collected. Did you have a brilliant idea for a project just pop in your head? Write it down and put it in here. Did you just remember that you need to pick up milk from the grocery store on your way home from work? Write it down on a post-it and put it in your Inbox/Notes file. Mail? It goes here, too. Voicemail, various tasks that come to mind, any kind of information that must be dealt with goes in here to be processed. Any kind, that is, except for tasks that take two minutes or less to complete. Get those done immediately. This will create less stress and a clearer mind in order to tackle the bigger projects. Don’t put them off. Fire off that two second response to that email that you just got in your inbox.

2. Actions: This is a list of the actions/tasks that you need to complete and will work on throughout the day. You may also find it helpful to divide your action list into subcategories. You may make a list for “Work”, “On the Phone”, “At The Computer”, “Errands”, etc., whatever categories are going to be helpful for you. When you get home you check your home list and can easily see what it is you wanted to work on here. The same goes for any other subcategory you’ve made.

Tasks that are time and date sensitive are written on the calendar. If it is something that you need to get started on before it’s due date, write the day/time it is due as well as a reminder as many days in advance that it will take you to complete the task.

3. Projects: A project is anything that consists of two or more actions. The distinction between actions and projects is one of the most common mistakes people have in time management. For example, someone may put “Write Paper” on their task list for Wednesday. The problem here is that you can’t do a project because a project is a set of actions. Rather than placing some amorphous project on an action list, make a separate section for your projects and under each project write down all the actions necessary to complete the project. Once you have done that, you can write those actions in your action list, complete those actions, and effectively complete the project. This will make your projects much more manageable, less daunting, and help you get them done faster.

4. Waiting On: Any action in which you are invested but not directly involved with falls into this category. Some great examples are projects or tasks that you have delegated. Write them in this section of your notebook or file so that you can be reminded to check in regularly with those completing the task in order to see if you can be of any assistance and to make sure that progress is being made.

5. Someday/Maybe: Reading lists, vacation ideas, seminars, classes, and other things that you would like to do at some point but are not time sensitive go here. A great side effect of writing these types of things down and reviewing them regularly is that you are frequently reminded of them, you are more likely to make time for them, and you are actually doing things that you’d thought you’d never get around to!

6. Reference: Any kind of information that you don’t need to take action on but do need to hold on to for future reference would be placed here. Don’t just put anything here, however. We don’t want clutter and unnecessary papers hanging around. Make sure it is something that you will really need to refer to. Current tax and medical information are good examples of things you may want to hold on to. An invitation to a customer appreciation party at a shop you’ve not been to in 2 1/2 years is likely something that you do not need to hold on to.

It is important to have what David calls “ubiquitous capture tools.” He recommends that we keep pads and paper anywhere we work or think, and take one with us everywhere we go in which we can quickly write notes, tasks, projects, or anything that comes to mind. This is something that you take with you wherever you go in which you can quickly write notes, tasks, projects, and ideas that come to mind. For this purpose a Hacked Moleskine, FranklinCovey, or PDA works great. The reason for having a ubiquitous capture tool is that you want to write something that you must take action on as soon as it comes to mind. When you write something down in a place that you review regularly (i.e. your ubiquitous capture tool), your mind will let it go, knowing that you will take care of it. When we don’t write these things down, the mind will constantly return to this task or idea, regardless if you can actually do anything about it at that particular time. Any task, action, or project that we must perform goes into one of these capture tools as soon as possible. According to David, we want to have has few of these capture tools as possible but as many as needed.

As I said before, we need to be constantly reviewing our capture tools. The information and tasks that was collected must be processed and sorted regularly, ideally, several times a day. If the thing in our Inbox is not actionable, say, its a piece of junkmail, then throw it away. If it is actionable is it a single action that you have to do? If you can do it in under two minutes, do it right now. If it will take more than two minutes, put it on the calendar if it is day specific, if not, put it on your Next Action list. If it is a part of a project, put it with your projects. Is it something that you need to delegate? Then delegate it and put it with your “Waiting On” file. If it is reference, then put it in your reference folders.

Review all of your action lists daily to keep current on your progress. Weekly reviews are also extremely important. Once a week, go through all of your notes, inbox, actions, waiting ons, etc and see how everything is coming. What is falling through the cracks? Are there delegated projects that you need to check in on this week? Are there projects that need your attention this week? Add their tasks to your task list. Are there tasks that didn’t get done that need to be? Put them on your list this week and make a concerted effort to fulfill all of your tasks. Make sure when putting something on your task list that you will have time to do it. Make sure it is something you can get done. Writing a task on a to do list is making a commitment to your self. When it goes unfilled we feel it, consciously and subconsciously and it does harm to our psyche.

That’s the basics of GTD. If you personalize it to fit your needs and work with it faithfully, you will find, like myself and many others, that it is an extremely beneficial and effective system. Have fun with it, make it yours, read David’s book, and you’ll be a GTD expert in no time!

Time management is one of today’s most vital skills. Without it, people easily become victims of time, stress levels increase, productivity languishes, and motivation quickly turns to desperation or apathy. A good time management system will keep you organized, provide peace of mind, increase productivity, decrease stress, and prevent the embarrassment caused by missed appointments, meetings, and various other obligations.

There are several time management systems available. My two favorites are Getting Things Done (GTD) by David Allen and FranklinCovey from Stephen Covey. I highly recommend that everyone read Getting Things Done and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Allen and Covey, respectively. In my opinion, these are indispensable resources stuffed with oodles of helpful information; they’re so good that I practically consider them scripture.

I am unusual in that I prefer to use a mixture of both of these systems. I find that each has its strengths and weaknesses, which are overcome when the two are intermingled. The optimal system for you will be the one that makes the most sense and can be adequately adapted to meet your needs. Keep in mind that time management is extremely personal and must conform to your individual requirements in order for it to be of assistance.

Another important consideration is that of paper planning versus electronic planning. Both GTD and FranklinCovey are easily adaptable to paper. I know that there are several great computer programs that implement or can be used for GTD, such as iGTD and Things. FranklinCovey is less ubiquitous in the electronic world but it does have computer based versions of its system. Unfortunately, I can’t say how helpful these may be as they are only available for PC and I am a Mac user.

Ultimately, you’ve got to decide which system is best for you and follow it with religious fervor. In order to give people a clearer idea about time management, I will give introductions to the GTD and FranklinCovey systems, and also explain how I use them together. From there, I hope you will have a stronger sense about which system would work best for you. You can then look into that system more deeply so that you can make it a vital and productive part of your life.