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Posts Tagged ‘time management’
5 cool ideas to avoid information overload
Tuesday, November 29th, 20115 Cool Ideas for Avoiding Information Overload
From www.MichaelAngeloCaruso.com
The good news is that we live in an information age. The bad news is that there seems to be way too much information. Here are 5 Cool Ideas for avoiding information overload.
1. Writing things down relieves stress.
Humans experience stress when they have to remember too much. Putting things on paper allows you to focus on more immediate concerns, like whether your zipper is down. Record the information into a time management system, rather than on scraps of paper.
2. Keep one calendar and put everything in it.
Maintain one calendar and keep it with you at all times. This calendar should include social events, work appointments and the kids’ soccer games. Keeping one calendar will help integrate your business and personal life.
3. Use your planner as a diary.
Almost every time management system allows for daily journal entries. At the end of the month, these pages can be inserted into a binder that automatically becomes the easiest diary you can ever keep. A Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) can also help document your life.
4. Use e-mail to document your life.
Save important e-mail to topic folders labeled “Family” and “School.” These time-stamped messages will serve as an official record of past events. At my company, Edison House, we use e-mail messages as contracts, invoices, and receipts. This cuts down on the amount of paper that needs to be filed and stored. Be sure to have a data backup in case your computer crashes.
5. You are what you read.
People who gossip, read junk magazines and watch bad TV will have richer lives when they choose not to process useless information. Try substituting magazine time with book reading. Instead of watching sitcoms, take in quality films. Remember, if you read good books and watch good movies and eat good food and drink good wine and think good thoughts and have good friends, you will have a good life.
Hard ass, Steve Jobs, softens us up
Saturday, October 8th, 2011
Steve Jobs was not known as a sentimental softie, yet his passing is still a tender memory for people all over the world. Clearly, his death has gotten a lot of us to think about how we spend our lives and what we do with our time.
Humans are creatures of habit. We are more likely to do things we’ve done before than to try something new. We drive the same route to work every day, park in the same spot when we get there, and eat the same types of lunches from week to week.
This “routine-groove-rut” is exactly the kind of patterned behavior that prevents us from making new memories. Here are 5 Cool Ideas on how to create new memories.
5 Cool Ideas for Creating Memories
From www.MichaelAngeloCaruso.com
1. Living in the past doesn’t create memories.
People who dwell on the past often develop a victim mentality about life. Victims perceive life to be a series of negative occurrences because of things that have happened to them.
Their attitude seems to be “People have always taken advantage of me, so I’m not interested in meeting new people.” Old scripts can be keeping you from enjoying new material.
2. Invite new memories by rewriting your slate.
Imprinting is a series of repetitive life lessons that help us determine our view of the world, including our self-concept. Most of us are indelibly imprinted early in life. Philosopher, John Locke wrote that, as youngsters, our minds are “tabula rasa” or a blank slate. Early on, people write on our slates, helping us create memories.
Some of us have trouble writing over those old memories. When you can rewrite your slate, you can easily add new memories. Computer experts might describe rewriting your slate as overwriting your disk.
3. Accept that new invitation.
A female friend of mine was jogging when she encountered a group of strange men. The men identified themselves as secret service agents traveling with then President George Herbert Walker Bush. My friend told me that the agents invited her to run with the President and his entourage the next morning.
She passed on the offer. I asked her why she declined such a unique opportunity and my friend said, “I guess I didn’t feel like it.” Doing new things avails us to new memories, so make it a habit to step out of your routine.
Memories are generated by a process behavioral psychologists refer to as “experiential learning.” New experiences, of course, are a form of imprinting, which helps us to create memories. Routines do not promote newness.
4. The present is sometimes too predictable.
People who only think about the present condition are so caught up in routines that they cannot seem to try new things. In their determined effort to maintain status quo, they resist new opportunities, thus stifling the creation of new memories.
5. Live as if you don’t have much time left.
Impresario, Steve Jobs, urged us to not live other people’s lives. Do what you want to do. Do it now. Sociologists have discovered that people near death have an overwhelmingly common regret about their life. They usually regret not trying more new things like traveling to foreign countries and meeting more people.
What have you always wanted to do? What would you do this year if you knew it would be your last year? Use the answers to these questions as incentive to generate new memories.
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More from Michael on his great blog.
“Multi-tasking” is a misnomer
Wednesday, April 13th, 2011
Yep, multi-tasking is a misnomer.
Cognitive scientists have proven that we never truly multi-task. Instead, we change tasks very quickly. Unfortunately, information between each change gets dropped, overlooked or under-valued.
This is a person cannot safely drive and text at the same time. On a more subtle level, task switching also explains a person cannot safely drive and talk to the person in the passenger seat.
Being busy is not the same as being productive
The relationship between productivity and time is not a linear function. Many people think that multi-tasking guarantees that we get more done, but this time management model is old school.
During the Industrial Revolution over 100 years ago, efficiency experts claimed that if you can make 10 widgets in an hour, you can make 100 in 10 hours.
We now know that this formula doesn’t always work because over time, other factors come into play. For example, a ten hour shift might cause you to become tired and make mistakes, which would introduce a quality control problem.
Be more productive–take a break
As we get tired, we lose the ability to discriminate and discern. Creativity works best when we have there is a balance between work and rest.
That’s why so many people claim they get there best ideas while they are in the shower or driving home–two other things you shouldn’t do at the same time
College ain’t what’s it’s cracked up to be?
Sunday, September 12th, 2010Perhaps watching the kids go back to school has got you thinking about your own brand of learning.
Here are some “back-to-school” specials followed by a surprising assessment of what a college education means these days.
This is a fantastic opportunity to take advantage of a concept called “lifelong learning.” For the next 48 hours, you’ll get half-off the following topics (only $19.95 instead of $39). I’ll send you a 60-minute audio CD and a 30-page e-book for each product ordered.
I’ll bet they didn’t offer you these classes in school:
Dealing With Difficult People and Challenging Situations
How to Give Remarkable Customer Service
As always, my information products are covered by an unconditional, money-back guarantee.
Remind me why we keep telling everyone to go to college?
For decades, we’ve been taught to believe that college makes people better off, but this is getting more difficult to prove. As Richard Vedder points out in his fascinating article in the August issue of Forbes magazine, a college liberal arts degree isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
For starters, tuition in the last decade has risen an average of nearly 5% a year beyond inflation, according to the College Board.
The U.S. Department of Education reports that two in five students who start college, don’t get a bachelor’s degree withing six years.
Vedder informs us that 2.3 million people with bachelor degrees are looking for work. The average starting salary offer to 2010 graduates was only $48,700, down 1.3% from the year before, according to the National Association of Colleges & Employers.
So, why has this highly-coveted educational achievement been devalued? The fact is that most new jobs don’t require a college degree. According to Forbes, of the 30 occupations with the highest expected growth, only eight require a bachelor’s degree or higher. Most of the top ten, which include home health aides, customer service representatives and office clerks) require only “short-term, on-the-job training.”
Perhaps Vedder is correct when he suggests “credential inflation” is the reason people still inexplicably pursue a college education, even in the face of long-term debt and a dismal job market.
A college education may be portrayed as the Holy Grail, but remember this: at no time in our nation’s history have more than 28% of adults attained a college degree.
Whatever you decide, continue with a lifelong learning program. Always keep a professional development book on your night stand and a self-help audio program in your car.
New Year’s resolutions that pay big dividends
Tuesday, December 29th, 2009
If you’re like me, you’re looking for ways to have a better year starting January 1.
Below are nine easy ways you can become an even better person in 2010. Call them New Year’s Resolutions, goals or whatever, they offer a great return on investment.
Many of these improvements offer a double dip. If you become a better leader at work, for example, you are likely to become a better leader at home or for your condo association.
I’ve created easy-to-read e-books on the following topics and they will be instantly sent to you, when you place your order. You’ll receive tips you can use right away and the information is very affordable at less than $10 per e-book.
If, from now on, you want to:
The secret to improved customer service is more focused dialog with the customer. Unfortunately, auto-responders, Web site forms, reduced staffing and a faster speed of life tend to reduce the amount of focused dialog . . .
Freud–and Aristotle before him–noted that two things motivate most humans. Effective leaders know how to leverage what Freud called the Pain/Pleasure Principle. I’m referring to the anticipation of pleasure (which isn’t usually money) and the avoidance of pain . . .
Time, of course, is a limited commodity, but almost all of us can manage time by using systems. A system, for example, will keep you from losing things, which ultimately saves time . . .
Let’s be clear–stress is not natural. Sure, there’s good such a thing as good stress, but it is not normal to always be edgy. Many people are surprised to learn that stress is actually a choice–or more likely, a series of choices . . .
I teach how to deal with a dozen types of difficult people. The first step in dealing with them is to realize that the resulting conflict is because of you, not because of them. With a couple of easy techniques, your situation can be much better . . .
One of the easiest ways to become a better presenter is to deliver a unique message. A simple way to be different than other speakers is to not use PowerPoint. If you must use a projector, only use it during the middle third of your program because . . .
The best negotiations result in both parties wanting to do business again, but the Survivor mentality of modern businesspeople usually a conquer and destroy mentality . . .
There’s never been a better time to start a business. Digital products cost practically nothing to produce. Marketing programs are as inexpensive as ever, thanks to the clever use of social media and video marketing . . .
9 Become known as an industry expert
There are two ways to become an industry expert FAST. The first is to become known as a speaker in your area of expertise. The second method is to become a published author. Self-publishing makes this much easier than you think . . .
As always, you will be completely satisfied with my info products or I will make things right.
“Michael Angelo Caruso is a leader in the field of human development. An inspirational writer, Michael draws from a wide variety of teachings to help create positive growth for individuals and their companies.”
-Jerry Nehr, President, Creative Discoveries Training and Consulting
Here’s wishing you a safe, happy and prosperous New Year!
Sincerely,
Michael Angelo Caruso
P.S. For more on the power of New Year’s resolutions at work and at home, read my blog for DBusiness magazine.
