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Why is it that the Bill Gate’s of this world are rich and famous? What secret do they know that the rest of us don’t? If you study their lives closely, you’ll discover the rich and famous have certain habits that attribute to their success. Successful people are very careful about how they spend their time. No matter how you slice it, we all have 24 hours in a day, so the key lies in learning to use our time wisely. Below are some ways you can dramatically increase your productivity through more effective use of your time.

1. MONITOR HOW YOU CURRENTLY USE YOUR TIME: If it seems like your day slips by all too quickly, try creating a log of your daily activities. Once you see where you are spending your time, you can identify and focus on the activities that provide the greatest returns for you personally and financially. Start your log by writing down what time you wake up, get ready, and begin work. Calculate how much time you spend on individual activities such as email, phone calls, and client work.

=> FREE TIME TRACKING TOOL: Here’s a personal time survey to help you discover how much time you spend on various work activities: Personal Time Survey Tracker

2. CALCULATE HOW MUCH YOUR TIME IS WORTH: Time is money. Knowing how much your time is actually worth can help you make better decisions as to whether you should perform a task or outsource it. For instance, if your time is worth $200 an hour, you are far better off paying someone $30 an hour to edit your newsletter. You can “bank” the other $170 per hour by spending your time on profit making activities. Also take the time to determine how much time a day you need to spend on billable activities to make your desired profit. I try to spend 1.5 hours a day on money making projects.

=> FREE TIME COSTING TOOL: Here’s a time costing worksheet to help you determine how much you are actually when you subtract the expenses. Time Costing Sheet

3. CREATE A DAILY SCHEDULE: Don’t start your day without a to do list. Make a list of tasks and categorize them into business building activities, client activities, and personal items. Then break bigger unmanageable projects into smaller “doable” chunks so they less intimidating and are easier to accomplish.

=> FREE DAILY TO DO LIST: Try this free all inclusive WebMomz To Do List

4. PRIORITIZE: Have more to do than hours in the day? By prioritizing your tasks, you’ll make sure that you are tackling the items that matter most. Create a system that works for you. One standard way of prioritizing is to mark items with A, B, and C.

Ask yourself these key questions:

What items MUST be done today?
Which items can be rescheduled?
What can be delegated?
Which tasks most closely match my priorities and goals?
Which items can be eliminated?

5. LEARN TO SAY NO: Are you adding one more item to your never-ending TO DO list? You are in control of your time. Be strong and uphold your personal boundaries. When you are well rested and treat yourself and your family to the time off you deserve, you’ll feel happier and more productive when it’s time to go back to work. **

Before you say yes, ask yourself these questions:

Do you really have the time or energy to do that extra task?
Do I like this customer? Are they good for me?
Will it be profitable?
Does it invade on your personal time?
Does it involve doing something you enjoy?
Does it fit in with your list of priorities and goals?

6. REMOVE DISTRACTIONS AND TIME SUCKS: Time sucks are lurking everywhere like viruses. Think about which activities are eating up your time. For me personally, these items include email, social calls, and telemarketers. I “conquer” the email demon by shutting down my Outlook when I am working. When a family member calls during work time, I politely ask if I can call them back during the afternoon and remind them of my work hours. Caller ID valiantly saves me from the “would be” telemarketer time thieves. With one glance, I can quickly differentiate telemarketers from important client calls.

7. STICK TO THE PLAN: Try not to get sidetracked from your plan. One of my friends has a motto, “A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency for me”. It’s a smart one to live by. Unless it’s a true emergency, or you are being paid “rush” time, you probably don’t need to squeeze a last minute request in today. Also, by assigning yourself project deadlines, you can keep on top of projects and avoid those dreaded last minute emergencies.

8. CHOOSE AN INSPIRING PLACE AND TIME: We are all “built” differently. Do the tasks which take your most “brain power” when you are at your prime. Are you a morning person or do you work best burning the midnight oils? Create an ultimate work haven that is clean, distraction free, and inspiring. My office overlooks my flower garden and is right in the heart of family activity. As I glance to the right, our Angel fish “Spike” proudly parades across the fish tank. In front of me, Monet has a glorious display of peach poppies in a field. Above me, Monet is painting a vivid portrait of his flower garden. In the living room, my son is softly singing the Spiderman theme to himself – music to my ears!

9. BUNDLE LIKE TASKS TOGETHER: As you work through your daily list, try to chunk your tasks into like activities. By creating a separate “chunk” of time for answering email, invoicing, making return phone calls, you’ll save time and mental energy.

10. AVOID INTERRUPTIONS: Trying to do the same thing over and over again with interruptions can be maddening. Once you start a task, try to finish it to the end. If something comes up that you need to remember or do, unless it’s urgent, simply add it to your list and continue on with your current project.

11. BE ORGANIZED: When things are tidy, it saves you time and frees you to focus on the task at hand. Digging through a pile of papers and finding a squished Twinkie isn’t very conducive to the work experience. Follow your own organizational style. PHONE LISTS: For instance, I arrange my phone lists into groups according to how I use them: friends, family, doctors, my children’s playmates, etc. I also list people in my phone book that I talk to on a first name basis by their first name alphabetically. For instance, I list my mom under “M” and my brother under “T” for Troy. “D” has a list of all my doctors. This works for me, because it’s how I think.

EMAILS: Another time saving idea is to color code your emails. In my personal color scheme I use one color for clients, one for newsletters, and another for my coworkers. You can also group your emails using categories and folders.

ONE CALENDAR MEETS ALL: Keeping track of work appointments, Brownie meetings, and committee meetings can be very difficult. My secret to keeping on top of family and work appointments is to schedule them all on one calendar.

DAYTIMER SPECIAL SECTION: Create a special section of your Daytimer just for special interests, hobbies, or kids. My husband keeps one with all his stock info. I have a special kid section with phone numbers for Brownie leaders, playmates, doctors, school contacts, bus number and other items.

SUMMARY: Why wait for success when you can literally schedule it! By mastering your time, you can accomplish much more with less effort. Be choosey about how you spend your time. Focus on activities which most closely match your goals. By taking time to monitor, measure, and manage your time, you will enjoy an abundance of success and happiness.

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1. If you operate an office that receives visiting clients you probably have a reception area. Such an area can be used to great advantage. While your client is waiting to see you why not give them the opportunity to learn about you and the company? Large photographs of the factory or the products / services you provide help to make it clear what your company does or stands for. It also gives an insight into areas your visitor may not be able to access under normal circumstances. You may be surprised at how interested people are in you and what you do behind the scenes.

2. Alternatively you could take the opportunity to feature pictures of the key workers in your team. A head and shoulders photo and a name plate will enable first time visitors to recognise the person they are to meet and to determine their position within the management team. This is considerably comforting when you are about to meet someone for the first time. It also helps to make the staff feel valued and a real part of the organisation.

3. If you think that you need to be a little more creative why not feature your staff in poses that display their favourite pastime. If the M.D. is a keen angler, or the Sales Manager takes part in amateur dramatics, feature them in suitable attire. This makes the person appear “human” and not an office automaton thus making them easier to relate to.

4. If customers are to be required to wait a while, or even if waiting to make a complaint, consider carefully how you can entertain them while they are waiting. You need the area to be calming and friendly so avoid aggressive colours such as bright reds or solid blacks and consider featuring pastel colours in abstract designs of a gentle nature. You may even consider some humorous cartoons or caricatures of the senior management as a way to present yourselves as people of a good humour and friendly nature. Try to be general in subject so as to appeal to everyone. For example, avoid pictures of football clubs etc even if the M.D. is a big fan. If customers are entertained and relaxed by your choice of images and you come out to meet them with a big helpful smile on your face, they will find it harder to be angry with you when you first meet.

5. Similar rules apply when decorating the general admin areas of the office. It is likely that the work is constant and repetitive so make the staff comfortable by displaying bright and positive images they can enjoy. But avoid scenes of Far Eastern Beaches and Palm Trees, you might just find them drifting off on a mental holiday.

6. In your Marketing or Sales Area try and avoid the cliché pictures of Lions stating “The Customer is King” etc. While true, such messages are tired and lack impact these days. Instead, why not feature nicely framed letters from happy customers, certificates of achievement, employee of the month awards, pictures of staff outings that were earned as rewards against results. These will make it quite clear why everyone is there and reminders of the rewards they get for effort will spur them on to win future acknowledgements.

7. Make sure your art is modern, popular and right up to date. Framed calendar prints of Monet’s Water Lillie’s in tired frames against decrepit wall paper or wood wall panelling just will not do. They give out signals of being slow, old fashioned and behind the times. If you happen to like the classics it okay to hang them, just make sure you do so in a celebratory way. Big positive prints and good frames will make much more of a statement than something old and tired.

8. As with flowers and fish tanks it may be possible to hire art for your workplace. This has the advantage of regular refreshment as the supplier visits at allocated times to change the displays. It may also just give you the chance to see what you want to keep on a more permanent basis once you have a had a chance to live with them for a while.

9. If you would rather put your money to a good cause why not sponsor a local School or Hospital to provide paintings by pupils or patients. These are fun and different and show a caring side to your business. Framed well, even the poorest of efforts can look very interesting considering the source.

10. Whatever you choose, make an effort to frame it well. Cheap tatty frames do nothing for your image or your perceived attitude to quality. A tatty attitude to your décor could suggest to a client that you have a sloppy attitude to your business or the service you will give them. The presentation you make in your place of work says a great deal about you and what you stand for.

11. Try to discourage staff from littering the walls of their work area with personal effects such as pictures of Pop Stars, bawdy calendars, humorous verses about working here being made easier by being crazy etc. If these areas are encountered by your clients they will give the impression of a loosely run ship. By all means allow staff to personalise their area to an extent, pictures of the family can remind clients that after 5pm this person returns to being human again. If possible, keep the other trends exclusively for the staff room.

12. Try not to make the work environment too sterile. Make good use of plants, preferably synthetic as these do not take the oxygen out of the air, maybe a fish tank, theses done well can look very impressive and encourage tranquillity. Good use of lighting can make an enormous difference to the atmosphere of the place as can a TV screen permanently tuned to a news channel. Again, announcing to all who visit that you are in touch with the World beyond your own doors.

13. Strongly discourage staff from holding personal conversations within earshot of waiting clients. Not only is this immensely embarrassing for the person waiting, it suggests lack of discipline and attention to the job at hand. What Molly did with her boyfriend last night should remain the exclusive interest of ? Molly and her boyfriend.

14. Make sure reception staff speak well and convey elegance. Make sure they know your clients name and use it each time they address them to offer coffee or update on your availability. Only select individuals with a good spoken voice to greet clients in person or by phone or make announcements on the P.A. system. This is very important when aiming to establish the quality of your company to clients and staff alike.

15. The smart appearance of staff is essential to maintain standards. Clean shaven, well tied ties, smart haircut etc go a long way to making a great impression. In these days of increased casual attitudes it is not difficult to stand above the competition. You don’t have to go over the top but rolled up shirt sleeves still look much better than a Tee Shirt.

16. Washrooms for use by you and your clients are often over looked when it comes to setting standards. Simple things like making sure soap, tissue, toilet seats (believe it or not) are all there, along with a working extractor fan, hot water and hand dryers are the simple things that can be allowed to let slip. Cleanliness is paramount too of course. Why not go and check your facilities right now and see how much you can improve them.

17. If welcoming foreign visitors make the effort to ensure you are familiar with their customs when greeting. For example if greeting a guest from Malaysia it is customary not to shake hands (although they will as they are also aware of your culture) but to greet them by placing the palm of your right hand against your own left shoulder as you make a subtle bow towards them. It is also good manners for the majority of far eastern countries to intently study their business card for a few seconds when it is offered to you and to avoid pointing with your finger, instead gesturing direction with a gentle upturned hand.

18. When clients are leaving you after a meeting, make the effort to at least see them to the door of your building or, if appropriate, walk them to their vehicle. So many times I have been given excellent treatment by my host only to feel hurriedly ejected at the end of the meeting. Though this was never intentional, it is often the last few minutes of your meeting that you remember after leaving.

19. Go the extra mile to impress. Always send a short note or Email to thank your guest for coming and to suggest the next steps of your trading relationship. Any deal you are after is not in the bag until the contracts are concluded.

20. Constantly appraise your working environment and create a check list of points to maintain at all times. It’s easy to forget these important details but they can make all the difference to your image both within and outside the office walls.