Mona's Timely Tips for Efficiency

There is no more time to be made. Everyone is allotted twenty-four hours in a day. At one time or another, everyone has felt like the Egyptian mummy - pressed for time. How you invest in time is up to you. Here are a few suggestions for making the most of your time.


1. Find the freedom of a schedule. "Finding" time produces anxiety and guilt; making time results in success,relaxation and fulfillment. What is important is scheduled; what is scheduled, gets done.

2. Keep a calendar. Before going to bed write down "The Six Most Important Things I Must Do Tomorrow"

3. Write it down - in a planner, not on scraps of paper to be lost. The faintest ink is worth more than the most retentive memory.

4. Record ideas. Everything that has ever been accomplished was once an idea. If not written down, it will be forgotten and therefore, not done.

5. Use wait time productively. Book, pad, pencil, calendar - don't leave home without them.

6. Organize your work area and keep it neat. Have proper equipment within your reach.

7. Handle it once.

8. Do one job at a time and give it your full attention. This one thing I do...

9. Say "No" without feeling guilty. Never say "Yes" just to be liked.

10. Develop your listening skills. Ask pertinent questions. Think about and picture the results.

11. Bunch tasks together.

12. Can you give it fifteen minutes?

13. Effectively use "think" time.

14. Work on your dream every day without exception. "What did I do today to make my dreams come true?"

15. Set limits on how long a task will take.

16. Learn the joy of a job well done. Give up perfectionism.

17. TNT - today not tomorrow

18. Do it right the first time. If you are expending energy on a project, do it with excellence.

19. Cooperate with others. Work together.

20. Know the limits of "your job".

21. Determine the difference between urgent and important. "What would happen if I don't do this?"

22. Focus on priorities daily, weekly, monthly and yearly.

23. Do not become involved in problems others can handle without your input. Determine who owns the problem.

24. Make a commitment to someone else of what you are going to do.

25. The best minute spent is the one invested in people. People are our greatest assets.

Mess Makers and Care Takers

One of the ironies of life is when neat-nixs and slobs are paired together as life partners, at work or on committees. How do you live/work peaceably with a slob? Here are a few suggestions if you find yourself in that situation.

1. Don’t stuff it state it. Rather than stuff your frustration, state your position in a positive manner and with a pleasant attitude. Use “I” statements and know your reason for complaining. Focus on things that can be changed and do not stack attack. Have a suggestion for resolve in mind before gripping. Be specific and communicate with the person in a way that he/she understands. Be open and honest. Don’t beat around the busy or use illusive innuendoes.

2. Ask for change without demanding change. Even though you may have a resolve suggestion in mind, you cannot control another’s ambition or lack of ambition. Do not respond negatively to negativity.

3.Make suggestions to eliminate, delegate or simplify. To eliminate - box it up, put it in drawers or behind cabinet doors, throw it away, give it away or recycle. To delegate – give it away, ask for help, hire resources, or outsource it. To simplify – reduce the amount of times an activity is done and see how much can be pared off.

4. Everything needs a home. If it doesn’t have a home, it becomes clutter and you cannot organize clutter. A lady come to me out of frustrated with her husband and children because they threw things down and the home was constantly cluttered. After assessing the situation, we purchased a variety of sizes of baskets and organizational items. We labeled the baskets and placed them in strategic locations. A large basket by the den door and a coat-hanger strip became home to sports equipment. Baskets on the kitchen counter became homes for mail, coupons, pens/scissors, keys and pocket change. A basket was placed on the fireplace with each child’s name. As the room became cluttered with shoes, books or toys, the wayward items were temporarily placed in the child’s box for him/her to return to its original home. Even though the husband had previously been a major contributor to the clutter, he told his wife, “I am so glad you did this. All that junk made me nervous.”

But what if they will not cooperate? How do you continue to be nice when things stay messy?

It’s more about you than them. Keep your area neat and do not obsess over their messes. Be more concerned with developing a relationship with the offender and he/she may be more willing to follow your example of organization. I love the Catholic prayer, “For the sake of Your passion, grant us grace.” Grace received is enough for you to become a gracious giver.

“Oh, Lord, You’re Beautiful. Your face is all I seek.

And when your eyes are on this child, your grace bounds to me.” -song

DON'T COPE - OVERCOME: Here is a round-robin for you: We choose the emotions we experience and we experience emotions through the thoughts we think. To change emotions, change thoughts. Just like the front wheels of a car point in the direction we travel and the back wheels automatically and dutifully follow, so too, are our emotions hard-wired to our thoughts. Change your mind and change your emotions.

Holiday Priorities and Organization

Sunrise. Sunset. Life is a continuous, on-going process. Planting, weeding, harvesting and canning. As much as we accomplish, there is always more to do. As much as we know, there is always more to learn. Here are a few thoughts on prioritizing and organizing.

Identify the most important. Write down all the needs for the day, arrange in order of priority and tackle number one. Stay with number one until completed. Continually assess, “What am I doing now?” Weigh the current activity against what you have identified as the most important.

Make it a part of your routine. Remember the hare and the turtle? It is better to consistently devote one-hour a day to planning and implementation than hours of stressful catch-up. Habits form character and determine destiny.

Practice the One to Four Ratios. Time management experts say that for every one of planning reduces execution by four to ten times. One hour of advance preparation can take up to ten hours off the finished project. One day of concentrated planning can reduce the job by four to ten days. One week of deliberate groundwork can knock off ten weeks from the completed task.

Preto’s 80/20 Law of Predictable Imbalance. This principle ascertains that 20% effort produces 80% results. Using this predictable imbalance, 20% of your outfits are worn 80% of the time, leaving 80% of the items in your closet as clutter. Busy-ness does not mean business. In a given workday, 20% of your activities produce 80% results, leaving 80% as non-productive bustle. Twenty-percent of your social interaction will produce 80% of your leads. By eliminating 10% public commitments, you will gain time to develop better customer service.

Simplify through elimination. Be realistic about what you can do, what you cannot do and what you do not intend to do. Rather than delaying and denying, let yourself know your conclusion. Schedule in and pursue the can do’s and will do’s. Obtain help where needed and discard the rest.

Be an investigative reporter. Budget your time by asking pertinent questions, such as who? what? when? where? and how? Who needs to be involved in this task? Who will benefit from my completing this chore? What resources are needed for efficiency? What results are anticipated? What benchmarks point to accomplishment? When will supplies be available? Where do we eliminate fluff? How does this element compliment that component? Keep these qualifiers and quantifiers in sight to help you stay on track.

Find balance. Live one day-at-a-time while planning for the future. Plan around your entire life; being diligent to include family.

Much of the business of life is repeated over and over. Michael Gerber states that the “solution is in the system.” Developing a smooth running system reduces frustration, increases productivity and is easily taught to new workers.

Can You Give It Fifteen Minutes?

Fifteen minutes might not be time to accomplish a lot, but fifteen minutes here and there adds up to great productivity. It’s the little things that count. Just as you can nickel-and-dime yourself broke, so you can second-and minute yourself unsuccessful.

Seconds are attached to minutes; minutes are attached to hours; hours are attached to years, years are attached to a lifetime; a lifetime is attached to eternity. Time matters. Make it count. Everyone is allotted 24 hours in a day. How you spend it is up to you.

Everyone is pressed for time. When I feel overwhelmed with a lot of projects and looming time constraints, I ask myself “Can you give it fifteen minutes?”

Fifteen Minute Organization – Question: How do you eat an elephant? Answer: One bite at a time. The office, the files, the closet may seem totally out of control but can be organized into manageable bites in only fifteen minutes. Work for fifteen minutes on one section today, and another tomorrow, and another the next day, and “Walla”, the job is done – in your spare time.

Fifteen Minute Planning According to My-Time Organizing System, “for every minute you spend planning, you can save from four to ten times that amount of time in execution”. Wow, what a trade-off; organization for more time. Devote fifteen minutes every afternoon before leaving the office to plan the next days events. Make a list of scheduled appointments, determine what you need for each and do advance preparation. Make a written list of important projects.

Spend fifteen minutes at home, before retiring, so tomorrow will go smoother from the get-go. Decide what you will wear and have it front and center in the closet. Include shoes and accessories. Refill your brief case and have it, keys and purse, by the door ready to leave. Place errand items by the door or in the car (returns, laundry for cleaners, books to the library, etc.).

Fifteen Minute Reading – So much to read, so little time. Our world is filled with information overload. Allocate a few minutes daily to sort through reading materials; clip, label, and keep legitimate articles and recycle the rest. Break your reading down into reasonable time frames.

A tome like the Bible can be read through in one year by spending fifteen minutes a day. Let me show you how simple it is. There are 365 days in a year. Subtract 100 days off for all those unplanned reasons. The Bible contains 1,186 pages. Divide 1,186 pages into 265 days, gives you 4.48 pages a day, or fifteen minutes for mind and soul nourishment.

Fifteen Minute Refreshing – When you are too busy to take a break is when you need it most.
After a short respite you returned relaxed, refreshed, and with renewed creative ideas. The benefits far outweigh the small amount of time given.

Fifteen Minute Energizer – What is worse, the task or the dread? Dread and procrastination are energy wasters. It takes more energy to begin a task than to keep it going. Overcome the Law of Inertia by asking yourself, “Can you give it fifteen minutes?” This gentle nudge is often all that is needed to get the ball rolling.

All have been allotted 24 hours per day; how you spend it is up to you. Redeem the time by manageable fifteen-minute increments

Clutter Cures

Do you want your surroundings functional and pleasant but are not yet up the Gold Standard of Organization? Not to worry, here's how to conquer the clutter monster forever.

Define Clutter. Clutter is that stuff you hang on to that might be needed when that illusive “someday” arrives. Clutter accumulates awaiting a decision to be made. In other words, disorganization is a result of procrastination.

Know this: You can never organize clutter.

Start small but do start. An overwhelming job becomes easier to accomplish when divided into digestible bites. Instead of looking at the entire project, select one area in which to begin. Within that one area, choose one spot to sort through – perhaps the junk drawer or one file cabinet or one section of the closet.

Commit to fifteen minutes. You will be amaze- and inspired - at what you can accomplish in such a short time. This flurry of productivity will motivate you to continue, either now or the next time.

Add some red! Researchers that study the effects of colors on our psyche have discovered that red invigorates us. It seems that people exposed to red are more successful at competing tasks that require concentration and memory. So, wear red, use red files/boxes, display red flowers, hang a red picture – something to put you into high gear to tackle the task at hand.

POST IT! Have you ever reorganized and then forgotten its new hiding place? Red Post-It notes to the rescue. Use bold post-it notes to indicate where you moved it and display your red-reminder in the old spot.

Take a power break. When tackling a difficult task, especially one not in your routine, it can quickly become overwhelming. If you feel beleaguered, step away for a few minutes to clear your head. A small respite can re-energize you and give perspective needed to problem solve.

It’s Niki Time. Just do it. Research shows that in the face of a challenge accepted – and you have to let yourself know that you are stepping up to bat - the brain will reorganize thinking skills to accomplish and the endocrine system will release chemicals to enhance self-control, willpower and stamina. The mind and body conspire to give you a second wind.

Don't Cope. Overcome. Curing yourself of being a clutter has a snowball effect. Organizational skills go hand-in-hand with time management and stress reduction.

Need a speaker? Contact Mona at mona@solutionprinciples.com.

Perspectives on Time

Seems we all want "more time".  So, does daylight savings time give the false impression that we actually do have more time?  Regardless of the season, we must be awake to see the sunrise or to witness awakening. 

Here, in no particular order are some of my personal observations regarding time interspersed with thought provoking quotes.

 

Either you choose to control your own time, or someone else will control it for you.

 

“Lives are made up of millions of choices.  Some are made for you, but

it’s the choices you make that counts the most.”  Fish! Tale 

 

The one who complains the most about lack of time is the one who mismanages it most. 

 

“I love having ten times as much stuff to do as I can possibly find time to do. 

That way, I can pick the one-tenth that I want to do most. 

But if I only have enough to just occupy all my time, I’m stuck doing all of

whatever stuff it happens to be.”    Marilyn VosSavant

 

When I feel the time crunch, I realize my priorities may be out of order.

 

“Those who force time are pushed back by time;

those who yield to time find time on their side.” The Talmud

 

Busy-ness does not mean business.  Activity does not mean productivity. 

 

“Indeed, rest and work may involve similar activities done in a different spirit. 

The question is not about the activity itself but about the orientation of our hearts.”

Paul Marshall 

 

“When you don’t have time for a few minutes relaxation, that is when you need it most.

 

“If you don’t know the important, you become enslaved in the urgent.”  Don Schwieters

 

The pressures of the time crunch is a spiritual indication that we are eternal beings.

 

“We were not made for time… We were made for eternity, and even death

in its intrusive horror, merely functions as a transit point to

our ultimate destination,”  Dr. Ramesh Richard

 

The more in touch I am with the vastness of the universe, the more content I am to minister in my

       little corner of the world. 

 

“No, my child.  All our work is like a drop of water in the ocean.”  Mother Theresa

 

An ounce of pre-planning (organization) is worth a pound of extension time.  What gets scheduled, gets done.                      

“For every minute you spend planning, you can save from four to

ten times that amount of time in execution.”  My-Tyme 

 

Act on the wise words of Benjamin Franklin and make today count: “One today is worth two tomorrows.” 

Life Plans

According to Success Motivation Institution, most people put more planning into a two-week vacation than into their lives. How sad. Yet, planning is vital to success in all areas.

We are self-determining and do not have to just take whatever comes our way. We can be pro-active in the say of which direction our lives will take.

Many times wonderful opportunities come to us and we do not recognize them, for we did not know what we wanted.

If you don't know where you're headed...
If you do not know where you are going, any old road will do.
If you do not know where you are going you may wind up somewhere you do not wish to go.
If you do not know where you are going you will become weary on the journey.
If you do not know where you are going, you will not know when you get there.

Life is in session. Are you present?

There are two important elements of making a plan. The "What" and the "When".

"What" is the actual planning - to decide what you want and what you are going to do, and guidelines for getting there. The quality of your decision making is an essential factor in determining your success.

"When" is the scheduling - putting in on the calendar so you know when to suit up and show up. Whatever is scheduled gets done. You will never rise above your clendar.

Elements of a good Life Plan:
1. Simple and easy to remember. Not complicated.
2. Accomplishable yet challenging.
3. Specific: defined and detailed. Is it something you picture yourself doing?
4. Reasonable: must make sense to you. What value do you see in doing it?
5. Positive: a doing plan, not a stopping plan.
6. Independent; not dependent on what someone else does or does not do.
7. Repetitive; something you can do each day or fairly often (80% success rate)
8. Reinforcing; pleasure producing - makes you feel good about doing it
9. Evaluate: you do not have to go back to not square one!
10. Make a commitment and keep it. In order to accomplish something, you must be willing to do whatever it takes to do so, and the first step is planning.

Don't Cope. Overcome. Life is in session. Be present.

Being Overwhelmed

Do you relate?

A major factor behind feeling overwhelmed is allowing yourself to be besieged by today’s fast-paced multi-tasking society. One becomes inundated with so many things to do that mismanagement holds sway. Priorities are neglected. Goals are abandoned. One becomes filled with guilt over broken promises and overdue deadlines. Fear and frustration reign.


Stop. Take a deep breath.

There, didn’t that one simple suggestion help?

The act of stopping allows you to catch up with you. Stopping permits the tornadic whirlwind to settle. One deep meaningful breath calms emotions and engages rational thinking.

Observe. Once you are off the fast-track you are better able to see your surrounds. It is not so much what is going on around you as what is going on inside you. As the fevered tension subsides, purposely monitor your self-destructive patterns.

The body’s cells operate in one of two positions: closed for survival or open for growth. Frustration is the chaotic combination of distorted mental pictures, critical self-talk and the physical cells closing down (in order to keep you alive!). With the release of pent-up frustration, energy flows for accomplishment.

Assess. Examine your to-do-list in order to judge or evaluate its validity.

• Quickly write down all the pressing thoughts in your head. Do not judge the need or organize the outcome. Just write from the largest to the minutest; have to’s and want to’s.
• Once your random thoughts are on paper, distinguish between a project and the tasks that aide in the completion of the project. Example: The project is organization; associated tasks are: sort out (closets, shelves, files) systematize reading materials, de-clutter desk, scrub floors, take off recycle, donate to Salvation Army, hold garage sale. Projects dwarf once you see how details to be accomplishment are one and the same.
• Independently calculate the weight of each project. On a scale of 1-10, with ten being the heaviest, assign power to each project. Although all are important, give due diligence to the one of greatest weight over those that appears urgent. Even if two of the lesser weights are marked-off, your loan will not be lightened because the heaviest is still waiting in the wings.
• Set a time and date. Today, tomorrow, this week, this month, this year; long term, short term. You cannot rise above your calendar. Once tasks are given a time frame in which to be accomplished, energy is directed to the outcome more than the minutia.
• Ask and answer self-evaluation questions. Is it really important? How so? Is it really that urgent? Why? Have I given it more power than it warrants? What if I saw it as a choice rather than a command? Is the fate of the world dependent upon my doing this? Or my family? Who do I need to help me? How can I delegate?

Who would have thought that moving forward starts with stopping? Rather ironic, huh? Don’t just imagine what three or five deep breaths would do; experience it. Live it. Keep your cells open for growth.

Please share your insights below.

Taking Responsibility for Change

A key concept is to be willing to take responsibility for change. Knowledge is not enough. All I or any one else can do is give information, what you do with it is entirely up to you. Knowledge without application is as crippling as not knowing.

Another key word is responsibility. I define responsibility as,” Respond-ability, Meaning I have the ability to, control I how I will respond,” How will I respond to the information received? How will I respond to the action taken? How will I respond to set backs and frustrations? How will I respond to success?

In a Cathy cartoon a few years back, she was lamenting to her mother about woes of life. To each problem, Mom had the definitive answer.

Cathy’s problem: The Need to lost weight. The need to be more productive. Financial concerns.

Mom’s solution Eat less. Exercise more. Get up early. Prioritize time. Organize. Spend less. Budget. Save more

Cathy left in huff.

Confused Mom stated, “If only I weren’t so brilliant.”

Why was Cathy so upset with Mom? Could it have been because Cathy already knew the answers but was not willing to be responsible for the actions needed. Thus she became frustrated with the one who directed her to the solutions, that- in the reality - pointed out the flaws she refused to see.

Every person has a conscience. Conscience is defined as “an inward knowing of right from wrong, with a compulsion to do right.” The answers are within. It takes time, not only to discover them, but also to receive the strength to be responsible.

The tension of change is to acknowledge,” I won’t know unless I try,” but then only trying the new concept once or twice and declaring it ineffective. The tension of change is discounting the need for continued effort with a trite, ” I tried that once and it didn’t work!” A key word is ”tried” Trying is lying. Trying is giving a two-cent effort, while sabotaging self, thus justifying that the solution was wrong. Quit trying and start doing, sometimes again and again until it takes.

Do pro athletes say,” I’ll try?” No, their language, attitude, and actions are “I will” Later, their language, attitude and actions become: I did it!”

Please share your thoughts.

Time Takers, Time Wasters and Time Makers

At one time or another, everyone has felt like an Egyptian mummy – pressed for time. Through observation we can determine those things that are time takers (and learn to be more proficient), be aware of those things that are time wasters (and commit to better management), and weigh those things that lend themselves to being time makers (an incorporate them freely).

Time management is more about personal management than the number of minutes in a day. It is not just the way you spend the hours, but also how you relate to every aspect of life: physical and emotional, tangible and intangible.

Determine some possible culprits that contribute to your lack of enough time? What about: being overworked; inability to say “No”; lack of planning; lack of delegation, meetings, phone calls, texts, and e-mails; internet surfing; social networking; disorganization; spontaneity; routine and trivia; visitors; indecision; paperwork; mistakes; reading; boredom; not listening; gossip; complaining; laziness; priorities out of order…. What can be eliminated? What can be shortened? What can be delegated? What has lost its relevance but is hard to give up?

What are your greatest time takers? They may be necessary things that must be done, not only once but again and again. Things like payroll, reports, cleaning, maintenance, lawn work, laundry. Rather than be stressfully surprised by payroll every two weeks, recognize it as a pattern. Be pro-active rather than reactive. Stay ahead of the game rather than lag behind.

Business guru Michael Gerber says the solution is in the system. Examine your system. What needs to be eliminted for better flow? What needs to be incorporated for greater flow. What system(s) will be time makers?

· An A-Z filing system. Retrieval files are much more effective than the search and hope method. Piles of files are time wasters as well as clutter producers.
· Look at things rationally, rather than ideally. If you have not read the 2002 magazines, are you going to? If the display case is collecting dust and junk, utilize the space productively.
· Handle it once. Take care of it while it is in your hand or place it immediately in the appropriate place so you can bunch handle it at a scheduled time. The small job you put before other job bring everything to a halt.
· Employ the magic of scheduling. You will never rise above your calendar.
· Hire help! Train an apprentice. Duplicate yourself in someone else.

Prepare ahead of time for the shop to run smoothly in your absence or to expand to another location. Good managers work themselves out of a job by teaching others to do what they do. Then, they can move on up the ladder themselves.

Seconds are attached to minutes; minutes are attached to hours; hours are attached to years, years are attached to a lifetime; a lifetime is attached to eternity. Time matters. Make it count.

P.S. Don’t forget to connect with me.

We welcome reprinting of articles in your newsletter or magazine, providing credit is given as follows: “This article was written by Mona Dunkin, Motivational Speaker and Personal Success Coach, www.monadunkin.blogspot.com or www.monadunkin.com.”

The 20/80 Principle of Unequal Distributin

In 1906, Italian economist Vilfredo Praeto discovered an interesting concept that has become known as Praeto’s Law. He observed that twenty percent of Italy’s population accounted for eighty percent of the country’s wealth. From this he created a mathematical formula to describe predictable unequal distribution.

This 20/80 Principle can be a very effective management tool. Praeto’s Law states that 80% of results come from 20% of effort. Imagine that!

In other (more) words:

Twenty percent of - work, tasks, contacts, exertion, duties, responsibilities, phone calls, dealings, networking, goal setting, effort, struggles, meetings, undertakings

Produce eighty percent of – results, income, productivity, notoriety, wealth, accomplishment, meaning, importance, worth, significance

And it’s predictable.
· 20% of the committee members do 80% of the work
· 20% of employees account for 80% of the companies productivity

Think about your closet crammed full of clothing. Out of 100% of the garments you own, 20% of them will be worn 80% of the time.

The same is true of other accumulations both at work and at home. Of all the tools one has - garage or garden instruments, kitchen appliances – 20% of the items are employed to complete 80% of the chores. Of all of the bulging files and mounds of papers or magazines, 20% of the articles account for 80% of interest/relevance.
And it’s unbalanced.

Picture 100% of the above mentioned items. If (predictably) only 20% are used, by default what does the other 80% become? Clutter? Junk? Time wasters? Space takers? Dust collectors? Maybe it’s time to reduce, reuse, recycle.

It’s predictable. Check your own accounting. How are you unequally distributing your efforts? Here are suggestions for putting the biggest bang into your 20% of effort.

· “Do first things first.” Steven Covey
· Shorten work time by limiting tasks to the important
· Identify time wasters and eliminate, delegate or simplify
· Use one time management system only. Massage until it fits and stay with it.
· Review goals daily, weekly, monthly and adjust accordingly
· Keep running lists of “to do’s”, liberally mark off and cautiously add to
· Do it or dump it. Refuse to keep unfinished tasks in your energy field.
· Meditate. Spend time in the secret place and become wholly integrated.

How have you found the 20/80 principle predictable?

Please let me know anytime I can be of service to you or someone you know.

Goal Setting and Results

Nothing worthwhile is accomplished without goals and planning. An occasionally wish may comes true and one erroneously think a goal has been set and attained. Here are strategies to move you beyond hoping and wishing to a plan with results.

Be all-inclusive. We are a composite whole and cannot separate ourselves from ourselves. Since one’s core foundation is all encompassing, focus on your whole life rather than a specific area. Include family, career, social, financial, intellectual, spiritual and recreational.

Set goals that are clear and concise. Make them specific rather than general. General “I will set aside some money each payday.” Specific: “I consistently set aside four percent of each pay check.”

State each goal in positive, present tense verbiage. Adding to the above example, “I enjoy consistently setting aside four percent of each pay check.”
Re-read often. Under gird your habit mind. Nurture your ability to dream, explore, reach and grow.

Catch yourself doing right. Pay attention to your behavior that it matches your goals. To reinforce continued success, stop and literally give yourself an “atta boy” or “atta girl”. Bask in your accomplishments. Positive feelings propel forward.
Stay the course. Set benchmarks along the way. There will always be course corrections.

Do not dwell on past successes or failures; both paralyze. Reveling in past success lends to current procrastination. Wallowing in failures lends to paranoia and being your own worst enemy. Today is a new day; make it count. Succeed again and again and again, each time in different and better ways.

Visualize. Practice what great achievers; see and feel yourself accomplishing the putt or closing the sale in your imagination. Productive daydreaming allows you to growing to meet the challenges of the goal. Get excited; words and images create energy.

Continually evaluate. Look at goals set and follow through and honestly ask, “Does my behavior match my goals?” Resolve those things you have put off and get back on track. Relish the journey and the personal growth.

Refuse to plateau by continually setting newer, more far-reaching goals. Moving forward necessitates courage and focus. There will be moments of fear and doubt, but recognize this as a natural process of growth. Hold on to your excitement and determination until the feeling sticks.

Saying “Yes” to one thing sometimes does means saying “No” to another, but that is not an absolute. Sometimes the “Yes” or the “No” advances endless possibilities.

We welcome reprinting of articles in your newsletter or magazine, providing credit is given as follows: “This article was written by Mona Dunkin, Motivational Speaker and Personal Success Coach, www.monadunkin.blogspot.com or www.monadunkin.com.”

Fall Renewal

I love fall. Football games and frost in the air. Changing colors, festivals and cooler days. Even though it is preparation for winter, after a long hot summer, it is a great time for renewal. At the beginning of the year, goal setting is a big focus. As the year is winding down now is good time to review those commitments. It is not too late to make those dreams a reality. Here are some thought for the completion.

Continually re-evaluate. Maria Bartiromo is the voice of CNBC’s Closing Bell and a regular contributor to The Reader’s Digest. She says, “I constantly prioritize and reprioritize my daily schedule, which is broken into 10-minute intervals (emphasis mine). This exercise reminds me what’s important and what I still have left to do.”

Reprioritizes every ten minutes! That seems extreme to me. But then maybe I want to put a negative spin on those disciplines I am not willing to do. To make your 2009 goals a reality, first things must come first. Always.

Disturb the undisturbed. In January I mentioned my long-term strategy to de-clutter. I affixed markers that would indicate non-use, such as clothes hangers turned backward, safety pins attached to linens, post-it notes in files and duct tape reminders on select items. The goal was that if the marker was undisturbed after a set season, it indicated the item was no longer a viable space taker. I am boxing and pricing for an end-of-the month garage sale. What do you need to get rid of to free your energy field for productivity?

Be the best you possible. Within reason, go with you personal style. If your organization is piles of files, at least label and put in alphabetical ordered for easy retrieval. If you go for piles of piles, use decorative container as storage. Have a neat mess. A pleasant workspace pays great psychological dividends. When things are scattered it is messy; when in place it is neat and easily accessible that contributes to accomplishment.

Get emotionally honest. Are there things on your goals chart that you keep thinking about yet fail to do anything to bring it into fruition? And then you feel guilty about not doing it? There is true guilt and false guilt. True guilt is when you have harmed someone for your own selfish gain. False guilt is the failure to live up to expectations. Maybe it is time to determine what “I don’t intend to do” and remove the self-imposed drain.

Determine what you have done and feel good about it. In the fall of 2006 I lamented to my daughter of still unaccomplished yearly goals. She lovingly said, “But Mom, you really have done a lot.” And she was right. I had published my first book and was learning about Internet marketing. What a welcome relief that much had been completed and was acknowledged. With renewed vigor I embraced that winning feeling and preceded full steam ahead. Whether another notices or not, look at what all you really have done and embrace that feeling of accomplishment.

The holiday season is upon us: a time for family, friends and fun; a time to reflect on what is really important; a time to release old hurts and find humor in idiocy; a time of project completion and spiritual renewal. Enjoy.


We welcome reprinting of articles in your newsletter or magazine, providing credit is given as follows: “This article was written by Mona Dunkin, Motivational Speaker and Personal Success Coach, www.monadunkin.blogspot.com or www.monadunkin.com.” Contact her at mdunkin@flash.net. 30

Handling a Slob

At an Organization Seminars, a lady who had established a home business with her husband asked, “How do you live and work peaceably with a slob?” Although a Felix Unger and Oscar Madison combination is difficult, following are a few thoughts that may contribute to harmony.

State it, don’t stuff it. Rather than stuff your frustration, state your position in a positive manner and with a pleasant attitude. Use “I” statements. Focus on things that can be changed and do not stack attack. Have a resolve suggestion in mind before addressing.

Do not respond negatively to negativity. Relationship has a lot to do with maturity and a mark of maturity is emotional stability. See love as an action rather than an emotion. Responding pleasantly to another’s reaction lessens the impact of their actions on you.

Ask for change without demanding change. Demands engender defensiveness whereas asking lends to cooperation. Be specific. Do not beat around the bush and do not hint. Openly communicate. You cannot control another’s ambition nor lack thereof.

Assess the situation. Is the mess a character flaw or lack of resources? Is there a need for file cabinets, or storage bins? Could a closet be added? In tight quarters, utilize wall space for shelves over existing furniture. Has the time come to move to a larger space? Do you need to hire office assistance or cleaning help?

Eliminate, simplify or be neat. Some have a knack for organization and others do not. Rather than berate his/her weakness, offer non-threatening ideas. Stack it neatly. Box it up. Put it in drawers or behind cabinet doors. Throw or give it away or recycle. Offer to help in the tidiness project.

Everything needs a home. If it doesn’t have a home, it is clutter. A lady come to me out of frustrated with her husband and children because they threw things down and the home was constantly cluttered. After assessing the situation, we purchased baskets and organization items. We labeled the baskets and placed them in strategically. A large basket by the den door and a coat-hanger strip became home to sports equipment. Baskets on the kitchen counter became home for mail, coupons, pens/scissors, keys and pocket change. A basket was placed on the fireplace with each child’s name. As the room became cluttered with shoes, books, or toys, the wayward items were temporarily placed in the child’s box for him/her to return to its original home. Even though the husband had been a major contributor to the clutter, he told his wife, “I am so glad you did this. All that junk made me nervous.” Go figure.

What if they will not cooperate? First, assess your options. Is the mess unbearable or just not up to your standards? Is the disorderly situation new, or have you failed to set boundaries and now have had your fill? What is more important, neatness or the relationship? Is the clutter contributing to lost sales? Secondly, assess the locos of control. Being pleasant in a difficult situation is more about you than them. I love the Catholic prayer, “For the sake of Your passion, grant us grace.” Grace is giving undeserved leniency. As an aside, being a peacemaker sometimes involves making waves.

Relationships are difficult. Handle with love.

We welcome reprinting of articles in your newsletter or magazine, providing credit is given as follows: “This article was written by Mona Dunkin, Motivational Speaker and Personal Success Coach, www.monadunkin.blogspot.com or www.monadunkin.com.” Contact her at mdunkin@flash.net.

Taking the Mystery Out of Scheduling

To the uninitiated, scheduling may seem like a daunting task. Truth is, what gets scheduled gets done. It is that simple. What seemed like a mystery becomes magical as the secrets are discovered and applied.

Finish the day off right. Plan tomorrow before leaving the office and before going to bed at night. Prepare for the next day today, then set everything aside and get a good night’s rest. Awake refreshed and raring to go.

The seven most important things. Seven is considered a complete number; it cannot be divided. There are seven major aspects of life that encompass our whole being. Each area should be considered and joyfully incorporated into your daily living. In a nutshell, they are:

Survival – health, rest, exercise, nutrition, protection, relationships
Spirituality – appreciation of the sacred, connectedness with God, morality and ethics
Purpose – drive, calling on your life, the reason for being on planet earth
Family – relations, descendants, ancestors, lineage
Financial – means of exchange, career choice, spending habits and attitude toward money
Community – the public, society, neighborhood, co-workers, the world
Mental – attitude, education, interests, outlook

Tame a racing mind. People frequently say, “I have a million things to do”.

No, you do not.

Do not exaggerate. You may have a lot of demands, but not a million. A million is not doable; six to ten are. Take all the scattered thoughts running through your head and put them on paper. Just write them down. Organize this random list by separating the main tasks from elements needed to accomplish the main task. This makes things more manageable.

Teach others to cooperate. To teach is to stimulate the appetite for. If you are telling, demanding or coercing others, I suggest the wish to please you has not yet been kindled. Work on relationship by being a good finder – notice and comment on positives. Be sincere, not coercive.

A word about deadlines. Some people declare that deadlines motivate because they work better under pressure. I suggest it is not the pressure but rather the limited time frame forces focused attention. Choose to devote focused attention at the beginning and revel in the flow of completing the project before deadline. A missed deadline is probably not fatal so cut yourself some slack and commit to improved time management. Feel good about what you have accomplished so far and recommit to the goal.

You will never rise above your calendar. Get more accomplished by scheduling in the task and outlining steps. Take the pressure off by going for 80% completion.

We welcome reprinting of articles in your newsletter or magazine, providing credit is given as follows: “This article was written by Mona Dunkin, Motivational Speaker and Personal Success Coach, www.monadunkin.blogspot.com or www.monadunkin.com.”

What Is Your Goal?

What is your goal for a successful life? Or for a fruitful marriage? For effective parenting? For job fulfillment? For financial security? For wellness? Although most people say they have goals, the truth is, what they have is a vague ‘I-want-this-or-that” mentality. Because the object is not specific, you wind up multi-tasking and getting very little accomplished.

In the 60’s Harvard University conducted a student survey as to how many had life goals. All answered in the affirmative. “Yes.” After all, they were in Harvard, what would you expect? Then they were asked how many had written these goals down. The responses fell sharply.

Only 3% of the student body of Harvard had a written goal for their life.

Harvard did a follow-up study thirty years later. The results were staggering. The 3% that had written down their goals had accomplished more and had a greater market value than the other 97% combined. Wow. And what had made the difference? It was the power of written down and clarifying the goals.

As long as your objectives remain vaguely stuck in your head, you run the risk of them remaining a fantasy rather than becoming a reality. It is imperative that you put your goals into writing. Writing down goals pin-points intent, makes the illusive concrete and energizes you to accomplishment.

If you have never written goals before the concept can seem overwhelming. Here is my KISS plan – keep it simple, sweetie.

One: Get a legal pad and randomly write down everything you want to accomplish in your lifetime. Do not put a time limit on it, a proficiency boundary, financial abilities or the need to receive permission.

Two: Group all of these “want to’s” into the following categories: family, financial, career, health, spirituality, community.

Three: Pick one category to work on for the next two weeks. Ferret through your general “to do” list and select those items that directly apply to the one category you have chosen. Now, for the next fourteen days, focus exclusively on those things. As other issues may need to be addressed, spend minimum time and then get back quickly to your focal points.

You feel more organized now than you did at the start of this article because order has been brought to your thinking. You are more focused about what you want and where to start and what to do. As you begin to write down what you want and plans to achieve it, it mysteriously becomes real and attainable. Get busy. Make your “yes” answer to “Do you have goals” a reality.

Mona Dunkin is a Motivational Speaker, Corporate Trainer and Personal Success Coach. Read past articles at www.monadunkin.blogspot.com. Contact her at mdunkin@flash.net. -30-

More on Being Effective and Efficient

Here are more helpful suggestions to make the most of your organization and time management. And a wonderful by-product is reduced stress and more life enjoyment.

16. Set limits on how long a task will take. Murphy’s law of work expanding to the allotted time is true. Be realistic in the time assigned, but do set a limit.

17. Learn the joy of a job well done. Give up the stress of perfectionism; it stifles fun and creativity.

18. TNT – today not tomorrow.

19. Do it right the first time. We lie to ourselves with the promise to do it over and better later. Anytime you are expending energy on a project, do it with excellence and be done with it. If it is not up to your standards, promise yourself to learn from your mistakes and make every effort to do better the next time.

20. Cooperate with others. Work together. Get your family involved, from the youngest to the oldest, including your mate.

21. Know the limits of “your job”. Are you taking on too much by trying to do yours and everyone else’s job also?

22. Determine the difference between urgent and important. What would happen if you don’t do this?

23. Focus on priorities - daily, weekly, monthly and yearly. Get in touch and stay in touch.

24. Trust others. Do not become involved in problems others can handle without your input. Determine who owns the problem and let him/her work it out for himself/herself.

25. Make a commitment to someone else of what you are going to do. Let him/her share in your accomplishment. This is a great way of holding yourself accountable to your goals.

26. The best minute spent is the one invested in people. People are our greatest assets. Never lose sight of the importance of relationships.

27. The value of relationship. Since people are our greatest assets, see family members, customers and fellow workers as investments, not as time wasters.

28. Carpe Diem – Seize the moment.

29. Seconds count. Know that seconds are attached to minutes, minutes are attached to hours, hours are attached to days, days are attached to weeks, weeks are attached to years, years are attached to a lifetime, a lifetime is attached to eternity.

Time is important. Manage it well. May this paraphrase of Scriptures speak to your spirit.

Wake up! Live life, and Christ will make the day to dawn upon you and give you light.

Watch your step; walk in wisdom and not foolishness.

Redeem the time – make the most of each second - for the days

are evil and fast approaching the end. So do not be unwise

(waste your time and energy pursuing things that do not count)

but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Ephesians 5:14-17 MD paraphrase

Soon I will revisit these topics and write more extensively on each one. Let me hear from you regarding any topic you would like to see addressed. mdunkin@flash.net

Being Efficient and Effective

In the Time Management game, here are a few more ideas for becoming more efficient and effective.

1. Find the freedom of a schedule. “Finding” time produces anxiety and guilt; making time results in success, relaxation and fulfillment. What is important is scheduled. What is scheduled gets done.

2. Keep a calendar. The faintest ink is better than the most retentive memory. Check your calendar each night before leaving the office and again first thing in the morning.

3. At the end of each day, schedule out tomorrow’s activities and six high priority items you need to accomplish. First thing in the AM, start with priority #1, proceed to 2, etc., stopping only for the scheduled activity such as an appointment. Proceed until all six items are checked off. If anything is left over, transfer to tomorrow’s list and begin again.

4. Write it down! And write it down on your calendar or in your planner, not on scraps of paper to be lost.

5. Record ideas immediately. Thoughts are fleeting. Everything that has ever been accomplished was first an idea. If not written down, it will be forgotten. If not written down, it will not be done.

6. Use "wait time" productively. Book, pad, pencil, calendar – don’t leave home without them.

7. Organize your work area and keep it neat. Have proper equipment and keep it within your reach. Keep things filed or in their place.

8. Handle it once. While it is in your hand, take care of it or place it in an appropriate place to be done as a “batch item” - i.e. mail, orders to fill, errands to run, phone calls to make.

9. Bunch tasks together. Pay bills twice a month. Use one day for correspondence. Go through publications once a month. Run errands once a week. Buy office supplies once a month. Do other shopping once a month.

10. Do one job at a time and give it your full attention. “This one thing I do.”

11. Learn to say “No” and feel good about it. Just because you are good at something, does not mean you have to do it. Never say, “Yes” just to be liked. People like you for your personality, not for your accomplishments.

12. Develop listening skills. Ask pertinent questions. Think about and picture the results.

13. Can you give it fifteen minutes? It is amazing how much stuff you can knock out in 15 minutes of concentrated work. You will not be able to organize the entire office in one fifteen-minute segment, but you can start with one drawer or one file.

14. Use “think” time effectively. Schedule in time for refreshment and reflection.. Genuinely think about your goals, values and decisions. Ask yourself these questions. “Is what I am doing helping or hurting? What can I do to improve the situation?”

15. Work on your dream every day. No exceptions. The longest journey is made one step at a time. What seems like not much today, adds up to the collective whole. “What did you do today to make your dreams come true?”

Begin working on these and let me know your results. mdunkin@flash.net

Time Management Tips

There is no more time to be made. Everyone is allotted 24 hours a day, how we use it is up to us. Effective is doing things in order of priority that results in production and fulfillment.

Efficient is getting the job done without expending undue energy or resources, or engaging in stress. I would like to help you be both effective and efficient. This is done through personal management, not just of time but also of every aspect of your life: physical and emotional, tangible and intangible.

Read the definitions below.

Effective – doing the right things in order of priority which results in production and fulfillment

Efficient – doing things right the first time without expending undue energy or resources

Personal Management – accepting personal responsibility for my personal actions, attitudes and results

Pro-Active – acting before a crises arrives; pre-planning

Values – measure of desire; worthwhile, treasure, important

Planning – what you need to do or want to do to make your life more meaningful Scheduling - when to do the things you have planned

Vision – having a clear sense of what is possible

Commitment – the method of transforming potential into reality

As you learn to be both effective and efficient, remember planning is what and scheduling is when. First determine what. Get a legal pad and divide a page into several sections, i.e. kid’s activities, organizing my home, me-time, my schooling needs, chores, errands, etc. As you go through the day and things come to mind, write down what you want or need to do in each area. Right now all you are doing is writing it down.

Look at the things you have written down and get a calendar and begin to consider when these things will be done. Some are scheduled for you, such as doctor’s appointments or ball games. Other things you need to schedule in between those already mandated. Spread the items on your legal pad over a month.

It is also effective to have a Family Command Center where you can see at a glance the activities provided and plan the ones you can attend. Here's how:

FAMILY COMMAND CENTER

Place a month-at-a-glance appointment calendar in a central location

Train each family member to write in appointments or activities as scheduled

In a convenient location, have a box or basket labeled with each family member’s name. Place mail or found stray-items in the box for the individual to take care of.

Train each individual to audit his box frequently, a minimum of once a day.

Use an initial reward system for compliance. Have a tough-love method of truth or consequences.

In a convenient location, keep an on-going categorized list of items needed or errands to run.

Train each individual to be pro-active to keep a well-stocked pantry by adding to the list when something needs to be purchased or replaced (i.e. the cereal is getting low).

Following these ideas can add hours to your day and enjoyment to your life. Let me know how they are working for you. Also share your time management tricks with me. Let me hear from you. mdunkin@flash.net

Getting Control of Your Time

Do you feel guilty about not fulfilling requests made of you? All of us have demands on our time and energy. If you are not in effective control of your time, someone else will rule it for you. Following are some simple techniques to prioritize and organize daily routines.

Reverse the “tomorrow” syndrome. Tomorrow is the busiest day of the week because one puts off what you have time, resources and ability to do today. Instead of pushing current tasks into the mythical “someday”, become a member of the DIN-DIN Club – “Do It Now, Do It Now, Do It Now!”

Quit stewing, start doing. Dread can keep you mired in inertia. Remember the physics principle of “an object in motion remains in motion.” Energy produces energy, so get moving and allow the creative juices to flow.

Understand time management. Everyone is given the same amount of hours each day. Time management is really personal management by knowing that life is about choices and taking control over what you will do next. The ability to choose between the important and the unimportant is a major factor in success and relationships.

Understand the unspoken message of clutter. The English Thesaurus definition of clutter as: (n) mess, litter, disorder, confusion, untidiness and muddle; (v) encumber, strew, cover; with antonyms being space and free. The surplus of litter binds one to a poverty mentality. Unfinished projects haunt of past failures. Clutter keeps you entangled in yesterday and hampers moving into the future. How can anything new come in when there is no space? Tame your time by having less stuff to muddle through.

Set Clutter Boundaries. Decide in advance how long something will be kept, such as: magazines will be recycled after six months and newspapers after three days. Establish a one-in-one-out rule; when something new comes in, an older, like object has to go. This applies to activities as well as tangible items. Determine, “Do I absolutely love it?” If so, make room; if not, it’s a goner.

Get Emotionally Honest. Yes, you have gifts and talents to bless the universe, and, yes, there are certain things needed for success. However, how much is reality and how much is addictive? How much is helpful and how much is ego-boosting? How many shoes can you wear? How many committees can you chair? How much money do you need? How are you spending frivolously? Do you know the difference in idle time and leisure time? How often do you play with your kids? How frequently do you listen to your spouse? How much do you need to do vs. want to do? How many of your obligations are self-imposed?

A helpful tool in getting control of your time is to develop a personal mantra such as “Not helpful”, “Not needed”, or “Just say ‘No’”. Use this rhythm as needed when scheduling or shopping. My personal one is, “I’m tired of cute.” It works.

Let's start a dialogue. Give me input on how these ideas are helping you and/or share your favorite way to get control of your time.