Action Plan in Time Management

Do you have an action plan in your time management scheme? Last night while writing these articles, I had to check myself. The last thing I want to do is tell the readers how to manage time and be a hypocrite. The writing of these articles is rewarding since I realized that managing your time includes using your intelligence and skills, as well as putting an action plan into play. Action plans are lists of responsibilities that instruct a person “to carry out to achieve an objective.” The list centers on the goals immediately needing achievement on demand. The list or action plan enables you to center your attention on the specific obligations required of you. 

 

The marketplace has several software programs that help those of us that have busy schedules and time management is a struggle. The software’s available provide tools for storing names, addresses, SS# and other important information in a secure filing cabinet. Many of the large companies are wise to invest in this type of software, since it is a source for managing time. 

 

However if you own a smaller company, the software programs are often expensive so you might want to resort to some of the software programs that offer similar tools for organizing, such as Microsoft Outlook, to manage your time. Microsoft Outlook has book organizers, address books, and other tools sufficient enough to help smaller businesses manage their business. 

 

If you are storing files on your computer, be sure to back up your data so nothing is lost. Backups are essential for protecting important documents, and if spares you headaches if your hard drive fails, and your data is lost. If you are, storing data on discs or other storage mediums be sure to include a file name that you will remember. 

 

For example, if you are storing birth certificates or identifications in a file, name the file accordingly. This will help you stay organized, and ahead of the game. File extensions are connecting files to a particular file. Therefore, if you have outdated files, you might want to add a few extensions and label the file accordingly. This will help you get right to the important documents, and have the piece of mind you need if the outdated documents require reopening. 

 

If you have documents, lying around or in your computer that you no longer need, make sure this is true and toss them in the garbage. Why hang on to something that you will not need again? Wasted documents take up time and space in the sense that if you are searching for a document and continue to stumble on papers you no longer need, it is a waste of time. Most business requires maximum speed on computers. Moreover, when you are storing outdated files, your action in time management plan is out of socket. Getting ahead is organizing and tossing what is wasting space. 

 

Getting the ball rolling is an action plan that results with time management. 

 

Basics in Time Management Questions

We all have to find what works best for our individuality, since each and every one of us is different. Accepting our own actions, behaviors and thoughts is not the beginning of learning who we really are. Rather, it is an attribute, which follows a connection between our past and our futures. You heard the nonsense “never look back?” Well, the people that are telling you this are in a big office basing their ideas, theories and guesses on experiences and lifetimes. Hypocrites need to pluck the needle from their own eyes and quite advising others, since obviously the plans they make rarely work. This acceptance starts with the basics in managing our time. The basics in time management are setting up goals and plans that are obtainable. When we set goals for ourselves we must ask…”Is this goal obtainable. Do I have the ability to achieve this goal? How do I plan to make this goal successful? Asking questions then is one basic element of diverting a time management scheme that works smoothly. Asking for help is another basic element in time management that leads to success. Success is the greatest reward that life has to offer us. 

 

No one knows it all, so sometimes we have to ask for help. When you are asking questions, you are letting others know that you have a goal and you are searching to obtain that goal by seeking out a solution. When we question ourselves, we are performing a therapeutic technique that helps us to find answers to unanswered questions. For example, if you are getting married in July and it is January, you may want to ask yourself is your timeframe suitable? Does the timeframe work with your schedule? Am I ready for this? Do I have the ability to manage a marriage? If you see where I am going, it is obvious. Many people commit to marriage, but often neglect elements of time management, that are essential for making the marriage work. Time and money is invested in this arrangement and often wasted, since the marriage leads to divorce. 

 

Likewise, if we are starting a new business, we have to ask questions. Questions are the root of establishing a time management scheme that leads to success. Don’t let pride get in the way of obtaining your goals. Pride is a root of evil and it does not bring forth good results when utilized inappropriately. Maintaining pride brings us to ‘keeping it simple,’ which is another basic rule in time management. 

 

Keeping it simple is smartest element in time management since it works to benefit our mind, body, and responsibilities. Simple does not mean to be simple minded, neglecting your responsibilities. Rather, simple means to put a plan in motion that works smoothly and effectively, while reaching for your goals. One example of a simple plan, is when problems arise it is often because someone made a mistake, unless nature is in the picture. If we are making plans to obtain goals, then we want to analyze carefully which strategies work best to reach that goal. We want a plan that is logical and simple; so that it informs us which steps to take next to reach our level of success intended, without feeling doubts or running into complications constantly along the way. 

No plan is flawless, so keep in mind when you are creating a plan for time management “role playing” can often decrease risks in plans. This means when you come up with an idea for your planning scheme, you would ask questions, play out the part, and focus on the results. If good results come from the actions or decisions, you know then that the plan will run smoothly. 

Life is too short to waste time, and time is wasting money, so learn the basics in time management so you can reach your goals. Time manages everything. No matter what we do in life, it all revolves around time. We can spend time wisely and get results from our efforts, or we can waste time and sit back wondering what happen to our lives? 

 

Controlling Time Management

Control is the power to manage. When we have control of our lives and self, we have the ability to manage anything that involves our self. Of course, no one has entire control over anything, but we all have a degree of control over most things that involve us. We must remember that all things in life affect us in some sort of way, and when we are strategizing a time management scheme, we need to factor in all details of life. You might think that time management is a quick process, but when you sit down and start your calculations, you will soon learn that the process takes time to complete. Team effort is great, but if you are in time management alone for yourself, then the road can be rockier. Now you know why man came up with the idea of Stop, Yield and Go lights. Time management has its own stop, go, and yield signs. In order to start a time management plan you need to calculate and analyze your plan carefully to weed out flaws, evaluating where your time is spent. 

 

Once you start your calculations you will see that time is an equal and subtract strategy. If you went to school wondering why they taught math, you will soon learn why since math is not only consisting of numbers, but it is consisting of calculations that lead to success. In order to add and subtract time, you must first calculate time with family, friends, work, self, and so on. You must also calculate ‘problem areas’ that may occur. For example, is your computer going to work continuously without problems? NO! Therefore, you need to calculate large and small disasters into the equation of time management. This is the beginning process of controlling time management, but it is nowhere near the full details of completing the process. 

The fact is there is no end to managing time as we all have areas that need thorough research to bring us to the point of perfection. When we calculate time management, we must include details such as, entertainment, lounging, relaxing, meals, dressing, and everything that makes us who we are. If you are spending too much time in one area, you can cut back time by spending more time in important areas. For example, if it takes you 45 minutes in the morning to get motivated, it is most likely a result of procrastination and lack of preparation. Now, to cut back time you will need to think! Thinking is the process of bringing forth results either negative or positively. Why is it taking me 45 minutes to get dressed in the morning? Are you searching through your closet trying to find a suit that works for your atmosphere? The solution then is taking a few minutes each night to pick your attire for the next day, so that when you get up in the morning you only need to dress. The fact is, any person can get up in the morning, put on make-up, clothes, and even style their hair in less than 45 minutes. Even models, actors, and actresses are limited to how much time they spend on dressing. If you think about it, when women go on stage for a beauty pageant, they are limited in how much time they spend on getting ready for the show. The producers or directors invested some of their time to make sure that their time management scheme was running smoothly, by controlling what their actors were doing with their time. When I modelled lingerie, I had five minutes most time to do my hair, make-up, and dress. Therefore, if you are spending 45 minutes dressing, there is no logical explanation needed, you are slacking. Now we can subtract at least 30 minutes from dressing and move forward to other areas in our life where our time is either spent well, or wasted. 

 

What are you doing at work? Are you standing around drinking a cup of coffee chatting online, with a co-worker, or on the phone? If you are, you are not only wasting company time, you are wasting your time. Time management includes you. Unless you don’t have a goal in mind, this is not a controlling method in time management. 

 

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Goals Require Work and Time Management

Any single goal requires hard work and properly constructed time management schemes to work in harmony in an effort to achieve our dreams. When you are diverting a plan to meet your goal then you need to work a time management solution that runs smoothly and consistently. I am going to include an example of a faulty time management scheme and an over-your-head goal agreement: 

 

According to Business Week Online: “SEP. 24 2:32 P.M. ET File bankruptcy now -- before the law changes! That's the message -- or exhortation -- that attorneys are making across the country, in TV commercials, print ads and mailings, urging Americans to seek bankruptcy court protection before a new law makes it harder for them to walk away from their debts.

 

Debtors are responding. Counting down toward the Oct. 17 effective date for the biggest reform in U.S. bankruptcy law in a generation, personal bankruptcy filings have jumped this month to the highest on record. Filings averaged more than 9,000 per day, up roughly 50 percent from last year's average daily volume, during the first two weeks of September.” The statistics says that this “number is climbing’ before the deadline.

 

Is this your goal in the next ten years? If not then you had better get to work committing yourself to the requirements (which include hard work) in order to achieve your goals. Time slips from our hands, and if we are not monitoring our time carefully, then time and money is lost. Today, it takes two people to meet one goal. However, if we are single, it is possible to move ahead with less effort than we realize. For example, you can cut back your time by doing your work on time. You can also make a wise decision and get a job that pays you the money that you deserve in sink with your skills. There are many decisions when it comes to managing time, and no decision should be left out. In the course of ten years, anything can happen. We can lay out a well-constructed plan that seems bullet proof, but suddenly everything changes when we did not calculate all aspects of life into that plan. Now, the percentage of bankruptcies is often a direct result of negligence in time management. Some of these people most likely failed to add and subtract disaster in their time management plan, while others may have took for granted their achievements and went on a spending binge. Whatever the reason, someone did not put work and time management in proper force. 

 

When we plan to achieve goals, we should look at ourselves foremost, and then move onto other requirements that support our goals reach. Knowing ourselves first can help us to see if we are lacking in one area, and which area of our being is the strongest. 

 

Time management schemes help us to reach goals, by keeping us motivated. If we are lacking motivation (it takes work to stay motivated during the process of reaching your goal), then we need a solution. 

 

Starting with knowing ourselves is the first step to setting goals, achieving goals, and setting up a time management scheme that works. Once we come over this obstacle, we next move to planning to reach our goals. We start with WORK and Critical THINKING! 

 

One of the best tools in our lives is education since it directs us in the right path to success. If you are lacking education and skills and your goal is out in left field, you know that you need to improve. Starting a business is never easy. It takes time, effort and money. If you do not have these three ingredients, your goal is cooked. 

 

Therefore, you need to set up a budget, savings, and monitor your time carefully to meet your goals expectations. There are many ways to make money and save money. All we need is the knowledge, skills and the willingness to achieve. Now, if you are looking at the picture in this article, in the next ten years if you don’t plan to struggle with the law to file bankruptcy, then you better get the ball rolling now and work hard every single day; while you carefully lay out a plan that helps you reach your goals. 

 

Managing Stress and Time

Managing stress and time is a rewarding achievement that all must maintain in order to reach success. Each day we wake up, we begin by stressing to meet deadlines, demands, and finding time to spend with our family, selves and friends. This seems virtually impossible since there are only 24-hours in a single day and at least of eight of those hours are consumed with sleep. The challenge of maintaining stress and time brings forth many obstacles, and most times, we find it difficult to maintain. 

 

In this article, we are going to work some techniques that help reduce stress and add more time to your management scheme. See, stress is a direct result of not handling your emotions in accordance to the many stressors that attack your life. The key then is finding a solution to get in touch with your emotions. When our emotions are in a sudden outburst, we often suffer tremendous and lack the ability to function to our fullest capacity. Emotions can also affect how we hear people talk, and how we talk to people. This is called irrational behavior since the mind is not thinking to its capacity. 

 

The key then is finding a “rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT),” that works best for your mind. REBT is an action process that requires the individual to approach his or her emotions, while providing them the support to stay in contact with who they are and at the same time find a resolve within self. The plan makes it a convenient method in approaching life’s problems in full light, while overcoming stress. The therapy technique requires only a few minutes of your time each day. We can start by telling our minds to think positive and believe in what we are telling ourselves. 

 

Emotions are a strong force we want to stop before they take control of our lives. If we have negative emotions, it affects our time management scheme since negative emotions puts fear and doubt into our heads.

 

Thinking Positive: 

 

We all must remember that we are responsible for decisions and behaviors, and that stress is the product of irrational thinking. By learning how to think reasonable and keeping a positive outlook on life, it is possible to manage stress and time. To learn we must practice. Practice makes perfect! This means that you will take a few minutes per day to tell yourself that you are responsible for you, and that you have full control of your mind and the decisions you make. You have control of your behavior and no one else. Once you have accepted responsibility of your actions and decisions you will soon find the rest an easy road to travel. In other words, you will soon follow a pattern of wise decisions, when you learn to trust self and accept that we all make mistakes.

 

Mistakes are common, but the key to success is learning from your mistakes. If you are stressed as a result of overloads in the workplace, home, and world, then you need to set up some space for yourself. This means that your time management scheme will need thoughtful planning so that you achieve a specific level of time to manage your stress. Putting off your responsibilities is the process of creating more problems. Therefore, it is important that you create a plan and carrying out the responsibilities as soon as possible. This is putting your plans into action. Action is the process of making something work. When you are working toward goals, things will run smoothly since your plan is in place. 

 

Once you reach your short-term goals, the next step is working to achieve your long-term goal, which requires more action on your part and follow the same golden rules. So take the time out each day to think positive, since motivation is essential for time management and reducing stress. Do not get caught up in self-punishment, which can only bring you down and stumble your time management scheme. Risks are fine as long as you do not have danger in your way. Remember taking risks is a part of life, and this article is geared to dare you to take the risk to become more productive in your everyday life. 

 

A Definition of Mentoring

When people say that “no man is an island,” they don’t only mean that no man or woman should live alone. That much-used phrase also refers to the fact that men and women are perpetually learning creatures: they need the help of someone to guide them through life, and to help them make wise decisions. Moreover, as these same men and women grow older, they also have the chance to be a guide for someone who is younger and less experienced than they. This need for people to feel connected, loved, and taught by someone better than they are has given rise to different concepts such as mentoring.

 

Mentoring, or the process of mentorship, is really a growing, strengthening bond that occurs between a mentor, who is more experienced, not necessarily older, but who is certainly wiser; and his or her protege, a mentee or someone who is less experienced and wise, and who therefore needs to be guided by the mentor. The concept of mentorship has long been known and tracked in history. In fact, it was Homer’s Odyssey that first gave rise to the term “mentor” through its character called Mentor, who, despite the fact that he is presented as a somewhat debilitated old man, is actually used by Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, to guide Odysseus’ son Telemachus through a difficult time in the young man’s life.

 

The concept of mentorship also takes various forms in different cultures and periods of history. The Ancient Greeks had the concept of pederasty, in which teachers could hone young men to greatness. The Hindu and Buddhist religions have the concept of the guru, where a wise, religious man serves as the spiritual guide of someone who is misguided or who needs to know the Truth. In Judaism and Christianity, the concept of discipleship forms both history and current practice, as clergy or deeply spiritual people guide their respective flocks or followers. Lastly, in the medieval guilds, an economic system was built in order for apprentices to learn from guild masters and thus ensure the longevity of their respective crafts.

 

There are many famous mentor-protege relationships in history. Take, for instance, the triplet of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, three great minds in philosophy who actually preceded each other. That is, Socrates was the mentor of Plato, and Plato was the mentor of Aristotle. Aristotle was even the mentor of Alexander the Great. The Christian faiths owe a good deal of their spread to the letters and preaching of St. Paul. In the music industry, the rapper Dr. Dre is mentor to younger rappers Eminem and Snoop Dogg. In the movie industry, the famous and late British actor Sir Laurence Olivier served as mentor for multi-awarded actor Sir Anthony Hopkins.

 

Even fiction has its own share of mentors and proteges. There are the Jedi knights of the famous Star Wars epics, where Qui-Gon Jinn mentors Obi-Wan Kenobi; when Qui-Gon Jinn dies, Obi-Wan Kenobi takes on Anakin Skywalker; Luke Skywalker, Anakin’s son, is mentored by Yoda. The master-padawan relationship in the Star Wars series is actually akin to that of a mentor and protege, not so much fighting or sparring partners.

 

In the employment arena, there are also mentoring programs to help employees do better. For instance, in new-hire mentorship, new employees are taken on by experienced persons in the company in order for them to work better and be accustomed to the company culture and climate. In high-potential mentorship on the other hand, existing employees that show promise are taken on by experienced persons who may be interested in seeing them progress higher through the company hierarchy. 

 

These are only a few facts that are associated with mentoring. There are many mentoring and mentorship programs available, and you can find out more about them through the Internet.

 

The Concepts of Mentoring, Coaching, and Directing

Being a guide for someone is definitely not an easy task. You have to be experienced and wise enough to be able to share knowledge and wisdom, and moreover, you need to be able to know how to share your knowledge and wisdom well enough in order to be completely understood. You also have to know how to approach people, how to empower and encourage them, and how to make them feel better about themselves without babying them. You also have to tread the fine line between cloistering people and keeping them away from the wrong path in life, while still giving them the chance to learn on their own by making a few mistakes on their way to greatness.

 

There are many different ways that you can be a guide to a potential follower, and it all depends on what you aim to do, as well as on how control you are willing to exert. There are three main paths that you may want to take as the guide, and you can do this through mentoring, coaching, or directing. Although these three different types of guidance are often mixed together or interchanged in both conversation and media, there are actually subtle differences amongst them that you need to understand and explore.

 

In mentoring or mentorship, you are dealing with a relationship between a mentor, who is more experienced, knowledgeable, and wise; and a protege, who is less experienced, probably (but not always) younger, and sometimes flighty and uncertain. A mentor will often be more prominent than the protege, or more skilled in a particular field. The mentor is then the teacher of the protege, and serves as the guide for the protege to do better in the field. Most often, a mentor will teach by example on the job itself: for instance, a mentor opera singer will have a protege who the opera singer will take on while the opera singer is at the peak of his or her career, and while the protege is just starting out. By emulating the opera singer, the protege will hopefully succeed one day as well.

 

On the other hand, coaching refers to a guidance process in which a person, acting as a leader, oversees a group of persons, or sometimes even a single person, with the aim of achieving a goal. Coaching differs from mentoring in that a coach will often be out of or done with his or her career already, and will therefore be teaching a younger generation based on his or her experiences. Another difference between coaching and mentoring is that coaching often has only a single goal in mind, while mentoring might be more abstract and widespread in its aims.

 

Coaching is most popularly seen in sports teams, where a person who has once been a good player is now helping other players to succeed in their game, and with the aim of as many victories as possible for the team. Another popular coaching technique is that of life coaching. In this case, a person is not necessarily dead done with life, and coming back to teach the living. Instead, a person is already successful enough and is probably ready for retirement, but is coaching other people in making their lives start to work. In a variant of life coaching, a person who has already faced all of his or her fears can also coach persons who are still living in fear, helping them to get over their anxieties and emerge as better people.

 

Lastly, the process of directing involves the instruction of a higher person to that of a lower person. In the mentor and protege relationship, the mentor acts as a guide, not as someone who makes orders; a guide will steer a student through to the right path, but not point it out directly. In the coach and team relationship, the coach acts as an encouraging person, and even as a trainer, but not as someone who directly tells the team what to do. In directing, a boss-employee relationship would be closer in definition, especially when the higher person is ordering the lower person on how exactly to live his or her life.

 

Effective Mentoring Relationships

The Mentor-Mentee Relationship

 

The role of a mentor is to aid the mentee in reaching his goals. While the mentor can certainly learn a lot from teaching and leading others, the relationship between the mentor and the mentee should be mentee-centered. So the mentor should listen, guide, and even challenge the mentee to do his best in his job. 

 

The mentorship program requires frequent contact between the mentor and the mentee for the communication line to remain open. Mentoring is an interactive relationship wherein both parties can contribute to each other’s grow as a person. You should take note that mentoring is far different from counseling and neither is it being buddies because mentoring is a tool that is used for personal and professional development.

 

Formal and Informal Mentoring 

 

Anyone can be a mentor or a mentee without joining any mentoring program. For example, just riding a bus and then conversing with a stranger can be a form of mentoring if you learn something important from him; this type of mentoring is known as informal mentoring. Informal mentoring usually just occurs even if you don’t plan it, this can be just as important as a formal mentoring program. 

 

On the other hand, formal mentoring is having an acknowledged relationship between the mentor and the mentee. Formal mentoring would require the commitment of time and effort between the two parties so that they can share and learn from each other. This type of mentoring program can be for a specific project or for a specified time period.

 

Finding a Mentor

 

Having the wrong mentor can be even worse than having no mentor at all. For this reason, everyone should take the time and effort to look for a mentor that will suit their needs, personality, and learning style. You need to look within yourself and the environment around you; then, ask yourself what you really want to learn. Oftentimes, you need to consider the following questions before deciding on a mentor:

 

•  Would the mentor provide me with good and accurate information?

•  Would he support me in reaching my goals and objectives?

•  Would he respect my dreams, my decisions, and my goal in life?

•  Would he challenge me when it is necessary?

•  Can the mentor actually be trusted?

•  Am I willing to listen to this mentor’s ideas and suggestions?

 

Asking these questions before you commit to a mentoring program is essential for you to reap the best possible benefit. It is also important to have a clear communication line between you and the mentor. Even at the start of the mentoring program, you already need to specify your expectations and your goal so that the mentor will know which direction to take. 

 

Ending the Mentoring Program

 

However, all good things must come to an end. You cannot continue with the mentoring program forever; sure, you can still communicate with your mentor from time to time but being in a commitment to be each other’s mentor and mentee can become more like a burden rather than a privilege after the mentoring program ends. 

 

Both parties should acknowledge what they have learned and thank each other for the time and effort that the person has spent for another’s well-being. Even after the mentoring program ends though, the mentor can still support the mentee and be there for the mentee when he is needed.

Tips on Successful Implementation of Mentoring

Mentoring, training and coaching programs for novice teachers are excellent ways to improve the quality of skills and knowledge of a new teacher, his job satisfaction, and his professional competence. These programs available for the new teacher are also effective means of enhancing the student’s abilities and the mentor’s skills as well. In many US schools, these mentoring programs are mandatory to ensure that the new teacher is fully capable of handing the classes.

 

In some schools, mentoring programs are instituted not only to prepare the new teacher for the job but also as a way of addressing the problem of teacher shortage. A recent news published on Contra Costa Times reveals that almost 25% of new teachers in California leave their job in their first four years of teaching because of lack of support from the administration and fellow teachers. Also, the mentoring program adds bureaucratic burden both for the novice teachers and their mentors. Apart from the additional responsibilities that are given to the teachers, there’s a lot of paperwork that needs to be accomplished. This includes preparing lesson plans, evaluations, and progress and accomplishment reports.

 

In order to ensure that mentoring programs are successfully implemented, here are some tips and pointers to remember:

 

• Eliminate unnecessary paperwork and requirements - this has been recommended by UC Riverside researchers after finding out that a lot of mentors and new teachers engaged in the program are complaining about the repetitive tasks and extra paperwork they need to accomplish. Aside from the fact that neophyte teachers are already overwhelmed by their new responsibilities, they are still burdened with lots of paperwork including preparing lesson plans, which usually consumes so much of their time. It is recommended that programs should focus on mentoring itself. The new and veteran teachers may engage in less taxing activities that would allow them to interact and share knowledge, skills and experiences freely. 

• New teachers must be matched with the right mentors - It is important for the new teacher and the mentor to interact without any inhibition. To be able to achieve this, the administrators must strive to match news teachers with mentors who share with them same qualities and interests. This would allow the new teacher to freely ask questions and ask for tips and advices from the mentor.

• Have separate evaluators - In order for the mentor and the new teacher to focus on their main tasks, they must be relieved from doing additional tasks such as evaluation of the program. A separate evaluator who shall meet the veteran and the new teachers to discuss the progress of the mentoring program may be assigned.

• Conduct regular assessment of the whole mentoring program - Campus-level administrators should not only evaluate progress of the newly hired teachers but as well as the whole mentoring, training and coaching program of the school, which includes the mentors capability to coach neophyte teachers, the process of mentoring, the students’ progress vis-a-vis to the new teachers’ progress during the program, and other forms of support and assistance given to the new teacher.

 

It is also important to determine the thoughts or opinions of other teachers about the program and its impact on their desire to stay or leave the school or the teaching profession. These things are vital to the implementation and improvement not only of the mentoring programs of the particular school but of others as well.