Keep Track Of Appointments Following These Hints
I know we are just getting through with Christmas and now I expect you to start working on organizing things for 2007.
However this is the time of year that all of the new calendars come out you get the best variety and you can purchase them for gift giving for family friends and teachers. Everyone uses a calendar and if you are like me you have three of them. It is the simplest way of keeping track of events for the entire family.
Calendars are for more than just keeping track of the days months and years we need calendars in our hectic schedules to keep track of life itself. ‘Time flies’ is truer than most people think. How many times have you said “I just run out of time”? I bet if you would keep track you would probably shock yourself.
A calendar helps to eliminate some of the stress and for me that is of the utmost importance. Where do I go who do I have to see what time do I have to be there did I forget anything?
Some prefer paper calendars whether they are the little put in your purse type or the large hang on the wall type and then there are pocket calendars and electronic organizers and of course our precious computers that have the built in software. I use them all depending on where I am. I also give pocket calendars to all of my clients every Christmas and have received tons of ‘thank you’s’ for the thought.
I have one for everyday this holds dates such as; doctor appointments birthdays anniversaries children’s events and appointments. It also lists my business appointments time and address so everyone can keep track of my whereabouts. This calendar is the biggest calendar that I own mainly because it holds the information for everyone and everything. This calendar is hung on the inside of the pantry door where everyone can see it. There isn’t any reason to ask what time something is or where something is happening because all of the information is there for everyone to read.
Then I have a second calendar that is for business only it has all of my appointments and who to contact and phone numbers. This calendar I prefer in the electronic version because it holds more information. It can also hold events that are happening at home so that I don’t over book and I know where everyone is at a given time. It has all of my addresses and phone numbers including cell phone numbers and contact information in it.
My special third calendar is for chores and things that I would like to have accomplished by a certain time. I know this might seem dumb to some of you but by writing this down and giving myself a timeline I can rearrange my schedule to help me take the stress out of life by setting my goals. For an example: I want to have the bedroom painted by the 22nd of the month so I know that I have to fit it in someplace. By looking at the calendar I know what my goal is and I find that on the 10th I have extra time to get the job done; so goal accomplished and no stress.
Now is the time to purchase these and to get them set up for the New Year so you are totally organized and ready to go. What better time to add the birthdays anniversaries family picnics etc. At this time my husband also goes through the new calendar and jots down when he would like to be able to take his vacations. This way we can plan around it make reservations early and have something to look forward to.
About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Jan Hayner is creator of Easy Home Organizing atJan Hayner is creator of Easy Home Organizing at http://www.organizingyourlifetheeasyway.com Get free tips shortcuts hints and printables. Order your free pamphlets 50 Things To Do In 10 Minutes or Less and Guiltbusters for Working Moms.
Keeping A Handle On Stress
You may have always had problems with stress. Think back to your years in school even elementary school. Did you get a little queasy and nervous the first time you faced a test which was graded? Perhaps you got tense and it was nearly impossible to concentrate on the task at hand. It only got worse when you received a poor grade on that test you began to see yourself as a failure!
It didn’t get much better as school went on although by then you’d taken plenty of tests. This went on right up to your SAT tests. You couldn’t focus on the questions your mind went blank at crucial moments. You found yourself taking and retaking your SAT’s with stress knocking you down every time.
Certainly taking a test can be a very stressful experience. Whether you are a very young student or are in college a test can be nerve wracking. Tests decide whether not you advance and whether or not you’ll graduate! Education is vital to success in your professional life. A test can really be a stumbling block if you have a problem handling the stress of these important events.
There will always be some stress involved in taking any test. You can take measures to minimize the amount of stress that you experience and reduce its disruptive effect. One good step is to take a prep course for taking any important tests you have coming up. Test preparation courses for the SAT and ACT tests are widely available and can help you keep your cool when it comes time for the real thing. You’ll learn some useful strategies in these courses such as answering the easiest questions first pacing and most importantly not panicking. These are the tools you’ll need to take any test.
Practice tests are of great help to many students preparing for a big exam. The questions on a practice test won’t be the same as one the real test but should be similar enough that you’ll be prepared and know what to expect when you actually take the exam.
Getting adequate sleep the night before a test is important. Being tired can make it even more difficult to concentrate. Being fatigued may also make you feel frustrated during the exam which means a lower score for you. Arriving for an exam well rested will help you to do your best.
Nutrition is also key to doing well on exams and keeping your stress levels low. Sugar is not the friend of a student. It leads to a “crash” which will make it difficult to concentrate. A diet rich in fruit vegetables and whole grains is the way to go to prepare your body and mind for taking a test.
Having a tutor can be helpful as well. A tutor will help you to stay focused while you study; this will improve your study skills all around and will offer you support on being prepared for that upcoming exam. Having someone to help you prepare can give you the confidence you need to keep stress at bay when taking a big test.
Similarly a mentor may be something you want to seek out. A mentor is something like a coach working to buildup your confidence. You can learn by your mentor’s example he or she can tell you how they became successful. With a mentor in your corner you may find your stress level about this test greatly reduced.
Test taking is a skill. Since it is a skill this means that it can be learned; something which should put your mind at ease. You can take some time to study test taking in general and thereby become much better at taking any test. Keep in mind that you’re not going to ace every test you ever take. You’re going to need determination and patience to get through this and become a better test taker. Eventually test taking will be a skill which you have a solid grasp of and then your test taking stress will melt away.
About the writer: Kevin Sinclair is the publisher and editor of MyPersonalGrowth.com a site that provides information and articles for self improvement and personal growth and development.
How To Super Charge Your Productivity
The biggest barrier to productivity is not a lack of time like most think. When you dig deep down to the core of the problem a lack of productivity comes from a lack of integrity. Most people will say one thing and then do another. When youre not integral to your word you create more work for yourself and that leads to a lack of productivity.
Heres one way to look at it. Lets say I ask you out for dinner. I phone up and say hey would you be interested in going out to dinner with me this Friday? and you say Sure Ill meet at 7:00 pm. At this point Ive committed my time to go to dinner with you. Ive declared an action. Friday comes along and its getting close to 7:00 pm no Steve. Now its past 7:00pm! Still no Steve. Its 8:00 pm and you get a phone call from me. Hey I wanted to let you know I wont be able to make it tonight. I hope you understand. Do you want to reschedule for next Friday? You give it some thought and then accept.
The following Friday comes along and I miss dinner again! This time youre really pissed and I call you to reschedule for a third time. Hey sorry bout that. Do you want to meet next Friday?
Big Question: Do you want to meet with me?
Im going to guess that chances are pretty slim. Youve had enough at this point. You dont believe that Im going to show up next time because you dont believe what I say. The reason you dont believe what I say is because you dont trust me. Most people would cut me some slack for missing dinner the first time but after that theyre probably thinking Im full of it. You really cant take me for my word.
Not a big deal right? WRONG. It is a big deal. If you dont trust me then who else doesnt trust me? ME. Thats right. If you dont trust me then I dont trust ME either. It works both ways. This is a problem.
A lack of trust leads to low self confidence. Your view of yourself diminishes greatly when you cant trust yourself. If you have a low opinion of your self how effective do you think youll be?
What Not To Do
This is a big one. Never commit to do something that you know you wont do. Stop yourself from committing to things that you arent going to do. If someone asks you to do something and you dont want to tell them that. Save yourself the trouble and only commit to actions that will move you forward and inspire you to become the bigger you.
This has been a real problem for me in the past. I used to over commit myself so that I could look good and impress others. The biggest mistake I made was trying to impress. The reason I was trying to impress is so I could feed my ego and boost my low self confidence. This doesnt really work. Its like covering up a piece of crap by putting ice cream on it. That fact still remains that crap is sitting under the ice cream. You cant get rid of crap by putting ice cream over it. You get rid of the crap by taking inspired actions and committing to the actions that are important to the REAL you.
Deliberate Creation
So lets look at this from the other side of the coin. Lets say youre ready to move to the next step and take some inspired actions.
You may start by telling someone youre going to go to the gym this week three times. The week goes by and you manage to hit the gym three times. You said you would go to the gym three times and you did. You start to feel good about yourself and build your confidence. You start thinking about committing to something bigger something a little more risky.
This time you commit to earning 500 by the end of the month with your online business. The month goes by and you are 500 richer. You say to yourself Wow this is really working. I said something and it happened. This elevates your confidence even more. You begin to build trust in yourself. You declare a commitment and it happens. It became a reality for you. You declare a result and you got it. This process reinforces your power as a deliberate creator. You SAY it and therefore it IS. Every time you say something and it comes true you reinforce yourself as a deliberate creator. How many of you would be interested in that?
If youre going to be productive then you will need to trust yourself. You do this by being your word. Not only does this mean following through on what you declare to others it also means following through on what you declare to yourself.
Productivity Test
If there is no integrity then youre wasting your efforts. It takes a whole lot more energy and action to get results when youre out of integrity. Save yourself time and energy by completing the things you SAID you would do to others and to yourself. One way to gauge your integrity is with this productivity test.
The test is simple:
1 Write out your commitments for the day.
2 At the end of the day check your list of commitments and see how many youve completed.
Most people will never completely follow through on all of their daily commitments whether theyre written or verbal. Some people will get distracted and loose interest in whats most important to them. This behaviour is the quickest way to increase your workload.
On the other hand you may be one of the very few who complete all their daily commitments. This is a sign that youre leading a life of deliberate creation. You may want to look at bigger commitments that will take you out of your comfort zone and get you where you want to be.
Get Back Into Integrity
The best way that I know to get back into integrity is to follow through with your completions. Start small and build. Start by choosing small commitments that you know you can complete and do them. Each day begin to increase the size and number of your commitments. As you start to complete the items on your list youll notice increased self confidence. Increased self confidence will help you to reestablish trust with yourself. Once you trust yourself youll be able to get more done and that will lead to increased productivity.
About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Stephen Martile
Want to learn more? Check out my personal development blog at www.stephenmartile.com