January 2013

How2Block and Tackle

It’s the time of year for planning and strategizing. In your personal life, you may be figuring how to break bad eating habits or get into better exercise patterns. While you’re at it, consider some new approaches to continuing issues you face at work.

Block out time on your calendar to take care of those tasks that always seem to get pushed back. Then actually take the time you’ve set aside and tackle that project you have already prioritized. Everyone has their little tricks – mine is just one way. It works really well for me, and I am confident you’ll find it helpful if you apply it.

In the “old days” I used an index card box with days of the month and months of the year and handwritten notes to stay on top of client work or projects that had deadlines. Today Microsoft Outlook does most of the work for us. When I have something cluttering my mind, I just open an appointment in Outlook and write it down to ensure the task doesn’t “slip away”.

A Practical Example4You

Each month – for three years now - I have sent out this monthly e-newsletter. Some months ideas come quicker than others. Since it is a priority for me, but something I don’t always have the time for, I decided to block time in my calendar to ensure it gets done. In a way you are benefitting from this same technique I am presenting (at least I hope you are). My big shift for 2013 with the B2Seed is to remind myself on the 5th of the month instead of the 11th.

You can look for yourself and see whether I get it out earlier in the month. No matter when it comes, you’ll know it was because I blocked out the time to tackle something that is important for me.