20 Time-Management Lessons Everyone Should Learn In Their 20s

RICHARD FELONI 
Posted on MAY 8, 2014, 12:04 PM
Article from http://www.businessinsider.com

When you're just starting your career, you need all the help you can get managing your time. Even when you're working hard, you could be wasting a tremendous amount of time either by trying to multitask or by focusing too much on minute details.

Montreal-based designer Étienne Garbugli has struggled with all of that. But as he's gotten older, he's learned how to manage his time and workload more effectively. Today, he's a consultant and entrepreneur, and recently published his first book, "Lean B2B: Build Products Businesses Want."

Last year, he collected some of his favorite lessons in the SlideShare presentation "26 Time Management Hacks I Wish I'd Known At 20." In December, SlideShare named it the "Most Liked" presentation of 2013.

Below, we've explained some of Garbugli's best time-management tips everyone should learn in their 20s.

1. There's always time. Time is priorities.

You never "run out of time." If you didn't finish something by the time it was due, it's because you didn't consider it urgent or enjoyable enough to prioritize ahead of whatever else you were doing.

2. Days always fill up faster than you'd expect.

Build in some buffer time. As the founder of Ruby on Rails and Basecamp, David Heinemeier Hansson said, "Only plan on four to five hours of real work per day."

3. Work more when you're in the zone. Relax when you're not.

Some days you'll be off your game, and other times you'll be able to maintain your focus for 12 hours straight. Take advantage of those days.

4. Stop multitasking. It kills your focus.

There have been academic studies that found the brain expends energy as it readjusts its focus from one item to the next. If you're spending your day multitasking, you're exhausting your brain.

5. We're always more focused and productive with limited time.

Work always seems to find a way of filling the space allotted for it, so set shorter time limits for each task.

6. Work is the best way to get working. Start with small tasks to get the ball rolling.

The business plan you need to finish may be intimidating at 8 in the morning. Get your mind on the right path with easy tasks, such as answering important work emails.

7. Work iteratively. Expectations to do things perfectly are stifling.

Gen. George S. Patton once said, "A good plan executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week."

8. More work hours doesn't mean more productivity. Use constraints as opportunities.

Don't kid yourself into thinking that sitting at your desk will somehow extract work from you. Do whatever you can to finish your current task by the end of regular work hours instead of working into the night.

9. Separate brainless and strategic tasks to become more productive.

Ideally, you can brainstorm your ideas and then execute them. If you're constantly stopping your flow of work to rethink something, you're slowing yourself down.

10. Organize important meetings early in the day. Time leading up to an event is often wasted.

If you have an important meeting scheduled for 4 p.m., it's easy for anxiety to set in and keep that meeting at the front of your mind. Try to get them over with early so you can work without worrying about them.

11. Schedule meetings and communication by email or phone back-to-back to create blocks of uninterrupted work.

You'll disrupt your flow if you're reaching out to people throughout the day.

12. Work around procrastination. Procrastinate between intense sprints of work.

Try Francesco Cirillo's "Pomodoro Technique." "Pomodoro" is Italian for "tomato," and it refers to the tomato-shaped cooking timer Cirillo used to break his work into 25-minute increments with 5-minute breaks in between. You can use the same idea with your own increments, as long as they inspire bursts of hard work.

13. Break down a massive task into manageable blocks.

Alabama football coach Nick Saban follows a similar philosophy he calls the Process. Instead of having his players focus on winning the championship, he trains them to focus only on what is directly in front of them — each block, pass, and field goal.

14. No two tasks ever hold the same importance. Always prioritize. Be really careful with to-do lists.

Daily to-do lists are effective ways of scheduling your day. Just do what you can to keep bullet points from making "clean desk" on par with "file taxes."

15. Always know the one thing you really need to get done during the day.

To help prioritize, determine what task in front of you is most important, and focus your energy into getting that done as soon as possible.

16. Delegate, and learn to make use of other people.

To be truly efficient, get over the fear of handing work off to someone else. "If something can be done 80% as well by someone else, delegate!" says John C. Maxwell, author of "How Successful People Think: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life."

17. Turn the page on yesterday. Only ever think about today and tomorrow.

Don't distract yourself with either the successes or failures of the past. Focus instead on what's in front of you.

18. Set deadlines for everything. Don't let tasks go on indefinitely.

Spending too much time on a project or keeping it on the backburner for too long will lead to stagnation. Get things done and move on.

19. Always take notes.

Don't assume you'll remember every good idea that comes into your head during the day. It doesn't matter if it's a notebook, whiteboard, or an app like Evernote — just write stuff down.

20. Write down any unrelated thoughts that pop up when you're in the zone, so that they don't linger as distractions.

You'll get them out of the way without losing them.

RICHARD FELONI 
Posted on MAY 8, 2014, 12:04 PM
Article from http://www.businessinsider.com

Five golden rules of time management

Both entrepreneurs and their staff should consider a few key areas, to help them become more productive than ever

Jon Card   

Guardian Professional, Thursday 1 May 2014 09.28 BST   

Posted from http://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/

Successful time managers usually have to-do lists to keep them on track. Photograph: Alamy

Time management is a contentious subject. Many of the prescriptions of experts and consultants can be both counter-intuitive and critical of how workplaces are actually governed. Its maxims tend to take issue with micro-management and call for people to take control of their own time, work and personal lives. Ultimately, time management is a personal goal process, but there are a few key areas which everyone should consider. These five golden rules are designed for both entrepreneurs and their staff and should help you to become more productive than ever.

The to-do list

Every successful time manager has a to-do list of some sort and entrepreneurs are no exception. Sir Richard Branson believes in lists so much that he adorned the inner sleeves of his biography with them. To-do lists are typically done daily and are meant to help us focus on what's urgent and important. Time management expert and business consultant Mike Gardner recommends writing a to-do list at the same time every day. "It's generally agreed that they should be done at the same time every day, for me it's the night before," he says. To-do lists are great for left-brain logical types, but for some they can be a problem. However, an action list of three things, which can only be done by the individual, should work for most people, he says. "I recommend that people write down three things they want to achieve and focus on those first. Take it as far as you can and then move on to the next thing."

One task at a time

Concentration works best when it is focused on a task in hand. Constant interruptions break our train of thought and increase the time it takes to do tasks. It's not always possible to prevent every interruption, but don't float between tasks. Also, try to limit distractions and persuade others to leave you alone when you're busy. "A two minute phone call takes away about 15 minutes of productivity if it interrupts an important task, similarly emails are very distracting," says Gardner. "I recommend only checking emails three times per day, in the morning, midday and evening. Also, I let calls go to voicemail if I am busy. In truth most people can do this. We wouldn't respond if we were in a meeting or at the hospital, so it is doable. Often it's about training others as to how you work and taking control," says Gardner.

Automate where possible

With online tools emerging all the time, our existing working practices quickly become old-fashioned. A regular review of your current methods might well reveal ways of improving efficiency through automation. "If you've done it more than three times then create a system to do it for you," advises Nicola Bird, CEO and founder of online coaching company Jigsawbox. Bird built up her company while also raising a family and is a strong advocate of simplifying life wherever possible. Her company uses a range of easy to operate systems to handle emails, follow up on sales and handle admin. All systems must also undergo the 'Tilly Test' (named after Bird's young daughter), which means they must be so simple that even a child could understand them. "If you automate your income streams you can focus on the important things in life," she says.

Parkinson's law

"Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion," declared British civil servant Cyril Parkinson. It's a point which many have taken exception to over the years, but there does seem to be some truth in it. It's remarkable how much we can all achieve when pushed, so cut down on your workload by slashing the time spent doing it. Gardner reckons that if we really enjoy a task we tend to stretch out the time it takes to complete it and there's a great deal of procrastination in the workplace. "Sometimes we should say: 'that's good enough'. It's not that we should not do good work, but that often we achieve 80 % of the task in 20% of the time we spend doing it. The rest of the time is spent attempting to perfect it, when really we should stick to time limits and complete the task."

Take a break

The final rule of time management is the most paradoxical of them all - do nothing. If we work around the clock, we become less productive, creative and prone to making costly mistakes. Everyone needs sleep, some time off and a little time to step back and think about things. Angela Muir, head of leadership and people practice at Ashridge Business School, says all business owners need to take breaks, although the exact amount of time required is a personal decision. "There's no 'one size fits all' approach for holidays, the key things are about autonomy and control," she says. Muir also says that business owners that get too sucked into the world of work can dramatically reduce their effectiveness. A lack of sleep can reduce productivity by as much as 80% and mistakes are bound to follow.

Entrepreneurs are liable to burning out and should step back before they do so. "There's something about stepping away from the dance floor and going up to the balcony to look down on things for a while - stepping back and recharging your batteries is a good idea," Muir says.

For Nicola Bird, this has a special resonance, and she is now determined not to overwork, as she has done in the past. "I used to be really goal driven. I was striving to get everything, the seven-figure company, the house, the car, etc. But when I achieved it all I didn't feel any happier and I also became really ill," she says. The illness became a watershed moment in Bird's life and she has since embarked on her Simplicity Project. "It's about taking things off my to-do list and focusing on what's important. We need to be more aware of how we are feeling and how this affects our ability to work."

Similarly, Gardner says he's seen many middle and senior managers burn out and advises against burning the candle at both ends. "No-one says 'I wish I spent more time in the office' when they're on their deathbed," he says.

Jon Card   
Guardian Professional, Thursday 1 May 2014 09.28 BST   
Posted from http://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/

Time Management Skills Are Stupid. Here’s What Works.

By Eric Barker
March 28, 2014
http://time.com/

Put the schedule down for a second.

Consider something I read in The Power of Full Engagement: Maybe it’s not about time. It’s about energy.

Via The Power of Full Engagement:

Energy, not time, is the fundamental currency of high performance.

It’s a qualitative lens instead of a quantitative one. Focusing on your time management skills sounds great but all hours are not created equal.

We’re not machines and the time model is a machine model. Our job isn’t to be a machine — it’s to give the machines something brilliant to do.

Do you accomplish more in three hours when you’re sleep-deprived or in one hour when you feel energetic, optimistic and engaged?

This may sound fluffy but it’s an important perspective to take: 10 hours of work when you’re exhausted, cranky and distracted might be far less productive than 3 hours when you’re “in the zone.”

So why not focus less on hours and more on doing what it takes to make sure you’re at your best?

Work Like An Athlete

For most people, good work happens in sprints, not marathons. Time management skills don’t address that.

Use the analogy of an athlete. They might train for long periods of time but the focus is not on monotonous hours of uninspired grind.

For athletes, it’s a focused explosion of effort followed by rest and planning before another all-out push.

Via The Power of Full Engagement:

Their entire lives are designed around expanding, sustaining and renewing the energy they need to compete for short, focused periods of time. At a practical level, they build very precise routines for managing energy in all spheres of their lives–eating and sleeping; working out and resting; summoning the appropriate emotions; mentally preparing and staying focused; and connecting regularly to the mission they have set for themselves. Although most of us spend little or no time systematically training in any of these dimensions, we are expected to perform at our best for eight, ten, and even twelve hours a day.

Forget the stereotype of the dumb jock. The athlete metaphor is actually quite good for the modern day worker.

Who is more concerned with results over theory than athletes? Who looks at metrics more than they do?

Via The Power of Full Engagement:

They aren’t satisfied with inspirational messages or clever theories about performance. They seek measurable, enduring results. They care about batting averages, free-throw percentages, tournament victories and year-end rankings. They want to be able to sink the putt on the eighteenth hole in the final round, hit the free throw when the game is on the line, catch the pass in a crowd with a minute to go on the clock. Anything else is just talk.

The Research Agrees

A lot of research on self-control and willpower aligns with what The Power of Full Engagement says about focusing on the proper use and renewal of energy.

In my interview with Roy Baumeister, author of the New York Times bestseller Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength, he made clear that every decision you make depletes your self-control:

Making choices depletes willpower and afterward your self-control is impaired. If you have people exert self-control and deplete their willpower and later on have them make decisions, then their decision-making is of poor quality.

President Barack Obama makes deliberate efforts to limit decision fatigue so he can devote his mental energy to things that matter:

“I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing,” he told Michael Lewis. “Because I have too many other decisions to make.”

So when you perform different types of work is key.

Do you wake up fresh and renewed — only to respond to thirty depleting emails solving someone else’s problems?

Jealously hoard your prime hours for important work. Respond to email when your brain is already taxed.

It’s Not Just Physical

It’s not merely an issue of physical energy. The book also discusses softer things like relationships, optimism and meaning that bring energy to our work days.

Work metrics get measured and analyzed but we’re terrible about being as accountable in our personal lives — even though the latter can make a huge qualitative difference in performance.

Via The Power of Full Engagement:

“It’s great to know how to recharge your batteries, but it’s even more important that you actually do it,” Vinod Khosla, a partner at the venture capital firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caulfield and Byers told Fast Company. “I track how many times I get home in time to have dinner with my family. My assistant reports the exact number to me each month. Your company measures its priorities. People also need to place metrics around their priorities…”

Personally, if I don’t schedule significant social time into my weekend, Monday hits me twice as hard. It feels like I never really “got away.”

A 40-hour week after a weekend getaway is quite different from a 40 (or 50) hour week without it.

Research shows vacations increase productivity at work for up to a month afterward. All hours are not the same.

What To Do Next

If you want to work like an athlete, here are things to take into consideration:

•     Get enough sleep: Nobody is at their best when exhausted.

•     Know your prime hours and use them strategically.

•     Time meals and snacks to make sure you have the energy to do solid work and you’re not  hungry    or sluggish when you need to perform.

•     Strategically use rituals that keep you positive and energized. Does social time rejuvenate you? Does a video game session help you relax?

•     Schedule evening and weekend activities that recharge you.

No doubt, time management skills are necessary. But just as with your relationships, “quality time” matters and right now there’s little focus on that.

By Eric Barker
March 28, 2014
http://time.com/

The Skinny on Time Management: How To Maximize Your 24-Hour Gift

By JIM RANDEL
Reviewed by MARGARITA TARTAKOVSKY, M.S.
Article from http://psychcentral.com/lib/2010/

Time management is no doubt a universal topic. Especially in today’s productivity-focused society, most — if not all — people want to know the secret to managing their time more effectively. The Skinny on Time Management: How To Maximize Your 24-Hour Gift aims to do just that: provide the best of the best of time management advice in a slim, CliffsNotes-style book.

This book is one of many in the Skinny On… series, which was founded by attorney and entrepreneur Jim Randel. The concept is that Randel reads through tons of writings on a topic, handpicks the important points and highlights them in mini-book form. When it comes to time management, according to Randel, after reading 100 articles and books on the topic, he noticed that “all the writings say pretty much the same thing.” Thereby, The Skinny on Time Management strives to condense all this information, and lays out the 50 principles you need to know.

The book is presented as a cartoon with a series of drawings, large text and bullet points, so it’s easy to breeze through. Randel is portrayed as a stick figure instructor who guides readers on an hour-long lesson — he promises that you’ll read the book in one hour, but it seems to take a bit longer than that.

The Skinny on Time Management is divided into two parts. Part 1 helps you better understand how you spend your time. Specifically, Randel discusses the importance of being aware of time. He shows readers how to keep a time journal so you become “aware of your own theory of relativity,” as Randel calls it. Next, he talks about setting and defining goals, and illustrates how to conduct a goals-steps-time analysis, so you can identify not only your goals but the steps you need to take and how much time they’ll take. The last section in part 1 discusses making choices. Here, Randel briefly talks about making the right decisions, which will need to be in line with your goals.

Part 2 is essentially the meat-and-potatoes of the book, as it gives readers specific tips on time management. It discusses everything from minimizing wasted time to beating procrastination to creating effective to-do lists to increasing focus. Throughout the book, you’ll find humorous tidbits, anonymous quotes and, most importantly, the tips and wise words from experts in the field. It ends with 10 points to remember about time management.

The tone is friendly and the book delivers on its goal of being clear-cut and straightforward. Remember that Randel isn’t presenting any new or revolutionary information on time management. Rather, he’s summarizing what he feels are the most effective techniques and insights from experts. Overall, I think readers will get motivated by this book and find nuggets of wisdom — if they’re unfamiliar with the topic of time management, want an introduction into useful practices (and would like to get it fast) or are bogged down by the various productivity systems out there. Obviously, you won’t find deep discussions of theories here because that’s simply not the nature of this book.

As a whole, I think The Skinny on Time Management: How To Maximize Your 24-Hour Gift accomplishes what it sets out to do: provide a quick-and-dirty look at time management tips that work, and serve as a motivational tool.

The Skinny on Time Management: How To Maximize Your 24-Hour Gift

By Jim Randel

Rand Media Co.: January 2010

134 pages

Paperback, $14.95

JIM RANDEL
Reviewed by MARGARITA TARTAKOVSKY, M.S.
Article from http://psychcentral.com/lib/2010/

Skills that make successful managers

BY: Ruth Steyn
Published on 14 May 2013
Article from http://www.destinyman.com/article/

Successful managers can be hard to find, as not everyone has the right balance of skills, experience and knowledge. Here’s how to build your management know-how.

Often, employees are promoted to managerial positions before they are equipped with the right skillset, and are then left with little support to face their team. In situations like this, there can be many landmines to negotiate: young teams in need of strong leadership; older and more established teams that resist new management; “difficult” or resentful team members – the list goes on. So what does it take to get it right? What do you need to know if you’re a new or aspiring manager? There’s no formula for perfection, but there are some good practises that apply to all fields and industries.

Understand motivation and group dynamics

For many people, it is not enough to hear: “You can do it”. Motivation is not based purely on confidence and self-belief. In fact, there are a multitude of factors that can affect an individual or team’s motivation. Some common reasons include poor stress management skills, difficulty in coping with change, personal concerns that are affecting performance at work, exclusionary behaviour of other team members, feelings of inadequacy, and a sense of purposelessness. These are all issues that can be addressed, but first it is necessary to identify the root of the problem. Depending on the size of your team, it may not be feasible to assess each individual. In this case, it is often wise to identify key players as well as influencers – often, one or two individuals’ behaviour can have a profound effect on the group as a whole. Understanding the dynamics behind behaviour is paramount in finding ways to create a constructive and thriving team environment.

Learn what makes communication work, and what doesn’t

Not everybody communicates in the same way, and not all communication techniques are effective in any given situation. Familiarise yourself with various ways of breaking bad news, negotiating with difficult parties, eliciting responses and feedback, and mediating. The more strategies you are familiar with, the easier it is to change tack if a particular approach is not working. This doesn’t mean you’ll always get it right, but it certainly increases the odds.

Find effective ways to manage your time

To say that the phrase, “there are just too few hours in a day” is overused is an understatement. There are as many hours in the day as there have always been, and trying to pack in an unreasonable to-do list is can be detrimental to your overall wellbeing as well as your ability to do your job effectively. Hold yourself to realistic standards, prioritise activities, and ask for help if you need it. Time management is an essential skill for good management, so trade in the time spent on complaints and excuses for the more productive exercise of finding ways of managing your time that work for you.

Develop healthy coping mechanisms

There will be days when everything seems to be going wrong, and you may feel that you are not cut out for management. Learn to understand what triggers this feeling and ask yourself (or someone whose opinion you respect) whether there is something constructive you can do to remedy the situation. However, nobody expects you to be perfect, only to do your best, so don’t let yourself down by wallowing in self-doubt. Coping mechanisms can be a saving grace, but be sure to cultivate healthy habits: venting your frustrations in the office lunch room or snapping at a colleague may seem fairly harmless at the time, but you can quickly develop a reputation for unprofessional conduct. Whether it’s excusing yourself to call a friend, taking a few deep breaths outside or making yourself a strong cup of coffee, try to develop coping mechanisms that neither alienate others nor create further problems.

Advance your skills

It is vital to take care of your own professional development if you wish to advance your career. Whether this means learning from colleagues, participating in training programmes or signing up for part-time courses to expand your skills and knowledge, prioritising growth and development is the biggest gift you can give yourself. There is no such thing as being “too highly skilled” – perhaps for a particular job, but all this means is that you are ready for a more senior position or a change of path.

Learn to be an effective manager with the University of Cape Town Effective People Management short course. The course is presented part-time and entirely online throughout South Africa by the University of Cape Town in partnership with online education company, GetSmarter. For more information, contact Dominic on 021 447 7565 or on dominic@getsmarter.co.za. Alternatively, visit www.getsmarter.co.za and choose from over 30 online short courses designed for working professionals seeking to advance their career.

Ruth Steyn
Published on 14 May 2013
Article from http://www.destinyman.com/article/

Navarrette: It's time to limit what we try to fit into our daily lives

Ruben Navarrette Jr. says in today's multimedia and multitasking world, Americans would do better to focus on fewer activities and juggle less.

By Ruben Navarrette Jr. | May 11, 2013 | Updated: May 11, 2013 3:16pm
Article from http://www.chron.com/opinion/outlook/article/

How are your time management skills? Or, like me, do you think that the whole thing is a non-starter because you don't have much free time to manage?

It's the modern American paradox. We value our time above all else, even money. And why not? With time, you can make more money. But at the end of your days, money can't buy you more time.

We now have all these portable electronic devices that are supposed to help us save or better manage our time, and yet many of us still complain about not having enough time to do what we really want - like spend more time with our families. What's worse, and rarely talked about, is that we're trying to squeeze too many activities, hobbies and tasks into the time we have. From homemakers to hedge-fund managers, we're spreading ourselves too thin, and so we're doing too many things halfway.

Several years ago, my wife gave me what turned out to be very valuable advice. She had come home one day to find me multitasking. Actually, it was more like juggling. I was trying to care for my infant daughter while dashing back and forth to my home office to try to finish a column. She put a stop to that. Pick one, she demanded.

"When you're going to be with the baby, be with the baby," she said. "And when you're working, work. Don't try to do both, because both will suffer."

Wise words. The kind that might have been useful to one of America's best known media critics.

Howard Kurtz is formerly of The Washington Post and, after a recent parting of ways, now formerly of The Daily Beast. He also hosts "Reliable Sources" on CNN, a Sunday media criticism show that the network says is under review.

Kurtz's career seems to be suffering because he made a serious error in a story about pro basketball player Jason Collins, who recently announced that he is gay.

During an extraordinary segment of "Reliable Sources" where CNN invited two other media critics - Dylan Byers, media reporter for Politico, and David Folkenflik, media correspondent for NPR News - to grill the host, here's how Kurtz explained what went wrong:

"I read the 'Sports Illustrated' article by Jason Collins, the first pro male team athlete to come out publicly as gay. I read it too fast and carelessly missed that Jason Collins said he was engaged previously to a woman, and then wrote and commented that he was wrong to keep that from readers when, in fact, I was the one who was wrong."

At first glance, this is a story about a media critic who is now under the same microscope that - for more than two decades - he has put many of his colleagues. It's about making mistakes, which we all do. And being willing to correct them publicly, which many of us are not always eager to do.

But for me, this story is about something bigger, something that goes far beyond the Beltway and should resonate with millions of Americans.

That's because, when Folkenflik asked about what had been Kurtz's "multiple roles" - media critic and Washington bureau chief of The Daily Beast, author, CNN host, contributor to a new media website, etc. - and whether the journalist had been "distracted," Kurtz said this:

"I'll leave it to others to judge whether I have taken on too much. I have always done both print and TV. I shouldn't say always, but for a long time. My kids tell me I work too hard. It's hardly unusual in the multimedia world for people to take on multiple responsibilities."

Kurtz is right. It is a multimedia world and it is customary for those of us who participate in it to juggle several jobs at once. I myself worry about doing too much. For me, it is a process of continual self-evaluation.

But this is also a cautionary tale, and not just for journalists. All Americans should take note. We can't possibly do everything. So we should focus on doing just a few of what we consider the most important things, and doing them well. Otherwise, we may wind up accomplishing nothing at all.

Navarrette’s email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com
Ruben Navarrette Jr. | May 11, 2013 | Updated: May 11, 2013 3:16pm
Article from http://www.chron.com/opinion/outlook

Five College Skills You Can Use To Boost Your Career

May 06, 2013 by William Frierson
Article from http://www.collegerecruiter.com/blog/2013/05/06/five-college-skills-you-can-use-to-boost-your-career/

The word “skills” on a chalkboard. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

You have a degree. Now what?

For many college grads, looking back at the time spent feverishly studying for term papers and putting together presentations can be nostalgic. It can also reveal some crucial life lessons learned throughout your time in college.

Although some lessons learned will not apply to all types of jobs, the career path you choose will benefit from the skills you acquired during your education. Here are the top five college skills you can use to build up your career and get you started in the real world on the right foot.

1.    Communication – First and foremost, you need to be able to properly and effectively communicate with others. In college, you meet a lot of people. When you do, you learn how to connect with a variety of communication styles. This lesson can be applied to any job that you may begin. Whether you are a doctor needing to communicate with your patients, or a web developer needing to communicate with clients, communication skills are crucial.

2.    Problem Solving – Throughout your college career, you work hard to solve problems in your class, social life, and schedule. These problem-solving skills prove beneficial in a career, regardless of which field you enter. To be exceptional at problem solving, you must think analytically and creatively. You must have an exceptional ability to use reason and initiative to come up with solutions. Your creative side will help you to think outside the box to come up with innovative ideas that will help bring you to the next level in your career.

3.    Time Management – Organization is a crucial life lesson to have. From juggling work and family, you must be able to know your limits and manage your time effectively so that you can accomplish everything on your plate. In college, you are focused on multiple courses and internships at one time. Out in your job, you will focus on a variety of tasks in each workday. Using your time management skills learned in college can help you to prioritize tasks and get your projects completed on time, every time.

4.    Integrity – Ethics in the workplace, whether you go into healthcare or the corporate world, are vital to your career success. While not always talked about in job interviews or cover letters, having integrity to stay true to your values and do what is right in every situation will help you be successful now and in the future.

5.    Self-Motivation – Going to college, waking up for class, and holding a steady job requires you to be motivated. Just showing up takes initiative and drive. In your career, you can take this passion to be the best person you can be to another level by exceeding expectations each and every time. Show your employer that you are goal-oriented and your drive to make it to the top and you will impress the right people to help you get ahead.

As you head out into the workforce, holding onto these intrinsic values will help you get ahead. You will become a better person for having developed these life skills, and your career will benefit from it.

About the Author:

Joyce Del Rosario is a career and education blogger and she is a  part of the team behind Open Colleges and InformED, one of Australia’s leading providers of Open Learning and distance education.

William Frierson

Article from http://www.collegerecruiter.com/blog/2013/05/06/five-college-skills-you-can-use-to-boost-your-career/

Better life

Written by Armando O. Bartolome
Published on Tuesday, 07 May 2013 18:59  
From: http://businessmirror.com.ph/index.php/business/entrepreneur/13129-better-life

THIS column is dedicated to those are searching for a better life. Many of us are almost always faced with stresses and challenges daily. Recent reports about the young in particular easily giving up disturbed me, as you should also be.

Time management binds our life. The Pareto Principle also known as the 80:20 Rule states that 80 percent of efforts that are not managed or unfocused generate only 20 percent of desired output, but that 80 percent of the desired output can be generated using only 20 percent of well-managed efforts. Although the ratio 80:20 is only arbitrary, it is used to emphasize how much is lost or gained through judicious  or wasteful time management.

Some people view time management as a list of rules that involves scheduling appointments or setting goals or priorities through thorough planning. But there are more skills involved in time management than the core basics of making it to meetings or achieving targets, among them, learning to make  decisions and developing inherent abilities, such as critical thinking.

Personal time management involves everything big and small that you do. Every bit of knowledge you acquire, each new advice you consider and each new skill you develop should be considered in managing your time well.

Getting results, not being busy, is what personal time management  should be all about. To get the results, you first have to improve your physical, intellectual, social, career, emotional and spiritual aspects, key areas to achieving a better life.

The physical aspect involves having a healthy body and lessening stress and fatigue.

The intellectual aspect involves learning and other mental-growth activities.

The social aspect involves developing personal or intimate relations and being an active contributor to society.

The career aspect involves school and work.

The emotional aspect involves manifesting feelings and desires.

The spiritual aspect involves a personal quest for meaning.

Thoroughly planning and preparing a to-do list for each of the key areas may not be very practical, but determining which area in your life is not being given enough attention is part of time management. Each area creates the whole you. If you are ignoring one area, then you are ignoring an important part of yourself.

Personal time management need not be so daunting a task. It is a very sensible and reasonable approach to solving problems big or small. Practice it and enjoy self-fulfillment and other benefits.

Through the following, learn time management and improve your personal life:

o   Review your goals whether short term or long term.

o   Make good on the review by keeping a list of such goals. You should always have access to the list.

o   Always determine which task is necessary or not in achieving your goals and which activities are helping you maintain a balanced lifestyle.

o   Do the difficult tasks when you  are at your sharpest.

o   Learn to say “No.” You actually hear this advice often. Heed it even if it involves saying the word to family or friends.

o   Pat yourself on the back or just reward yourself in any manner for effective time-management results.

o   Try to get the cooperation of people around you who are actually benefiting from your efforts to manage your time well.

o   Don’t procrastinate.

o   Adopt a positive attitude and set yourself up for success but be realistic in your approach in achieving your goals.

o   Have a record or journal of all your activities. This will help you put things in their proper perspective.

Personal time management is the art and science of building a better life. In acquiring time-management skills, you are presented options on how to grow personally and doors for opportunities to knock on. A happy life to all.

Feel free to visit my web site http://www.gmb.com.ph

Written by Armando O. Bartolome
Published on Tuesday, 07 May 2013 18:59  
From: http://businessmirror.com.ph/index.php/business/entrepreneur/13129-better-life

10 Time Management Tips That Work

Are you working on clock time or 'real' time? Learn how to manage your day by understanding the difference with these 10 time management tips.

BY JOE MATHEWS, DON DEBOLT AND DEB PERCIVAL

From: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/219553

Chances are good that, at some time in your life, you've taken a time management class, read about it in books, and tried to use an electronic or paper-based day planner to organize, prioritize and schedule your day. "Why, with this knowledge and these gadgets," you may ask, "do I still feel like I can't get everything done I need to?"

The answer is simple. Everything you ever learned about managing time is a complete waste of time because it doesn't work.

Before you can even begin to manage time, you must learn what time is. A dictionary defines time as "the point or period at which things occur." Put simply, time is when stuff happens.

There are two types of time: clock time and real time. In clock time, there are 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day and 365 days in a year. All time passes equally. When someone turns 50, they are exactly 50 years old, no more or no less.

In real time, all time is relative. Time flies or drags depending on what you're doing. Two hours at the department of motor vehicles can feel like 12 years. And yet our 12-year-old children seem to have grown up in only two hours.

Which time describes the world in which you really live, real time or clock time?

The reason time management gadgets and systems don't work is that these systems are designed to manage clock time. Clock time is irrelevant. You don't live in or even have access to clock time. You live in real time, a world in which all time flies when you are having fun or drags when you are doing your taxes.

The good news is that real time is mental. It exists between your ears. You create it. Anything you create, you can manage. It's time to remove any self-sabotage or self-limitation you have around "not having enough time," or today not being "the right time" to start a business or manage your current business properly.

There are only three ways to spend time: thoughts, conversations and actions. Regardless of the type of business you own, your work will be composed of those three items.

As an entrepreneur, you may be frequently interrupted or pulled in different directions. While you cannot eliminate interruptions, you do get a say on how much time you will spend on them and how much time you will spend on the thoughts, conversations and actions that will lead you to success. 

Practice the following techniques to become the master of your own time:

Carry a schedule and record all your thoughts, conversations and activities for a week. This will help you understand how much you can get done during the course of a day and where your precious moments are going. You'll see how much time is actually spent producing results and how much time is wasted on unproductive thoughts, conversations and actions.

Any activity or conversation that's important to your success should have a time assigned to it. To-do lists get longer and longer to the point where they're unworkable. 

Appointment books work. Schedule appointments with yourself and create time blocks for high-priority thoughts, conversations, and actions. Schedule when they will begin and end. Have the discipline to keep these appointments.

Plan to spend at least 50 percent of your time engaged in the thoughts, activities and conversations that produce most of your results.

Schedule time for interruptions. Plan time to be pulled away from what you're doing. Take, for instance, the concept of having "office hours." Isn't "office hours" another way of saying "planned interruptions?"

Take the first 30 minutes of every day to plan your day. Don't start your day until you complete your time plan. The most important time of your day is the time you schedule to schedule time.

Take five minutes before every call and task to decide what result you want to attain. This will help you know what success looks like before you start. And it will also slow time down. Take five minutes after each call and activity to determine whether your desired result was achieved. If not, what was missing? How do you put what's missing in your next call or activity?

Put up a "Do not disturb" sign when you absolutely have to get work done.

Practice not answering the phone just because it's ringing and e-mails just because they show up. Disconnect instant messaging. Don't instantly give people your attention unless it's absolutely crucial in your business to offer an immediate human response. Instead, schedule a time to answer email and return phone calls.

Block out other distractions like Facebook and other forms of social media unless you use these tools to generate business.

Remember that it's impossible to get everything done. Also remember that odds are good that 20 percent of your thoughts, conversations and activities produce 80 percent of your results.

Matthews has held management roles with Subway, Blimpie, Motophoto and The Entrepreneur’s Source. DeBolt is a former president of the International Franchise Association. Percival works in franchise development. They are co-authors of Street Smart Franchising from Entrepreneur Press. 

BY JOE MATHEWS, DON DEBOLT AND DEB PERCIVAL

From: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/219553

7 Steps for Keeping Physicians On Time at ASCs

Written by Laura Miller | April 11, 2012

Article from ASC Reviews

There are several ways to maintain efficiency at surgery centers, but ASCs can't be efficient unless surgeons have good time management skills. 

"In my view, time management is one of the single most important things for ASCs," says Larry Teuber, MD, chief medical officer and president of Medical Facilities Corporation and founder and physician executive of Black Hills Surgery Center. "When I look at the efficiency of the facility, I look at what it costs to perform operations. The cost of a facility includes drugs and supplies, implants, payroll and general overhead. One of the largest wastes is payroll, meaning that surgical start times, turnover times and surgeon tardiness are probably one of the most expensive costs in the center, and the hardest to track."

Dr. Teuber discusses how surgery centers can make sure physicians start on time and maintain their schedules throughout the day.

1. Define "start time." Different specialists within the surgery center often have a different interpretation of what start times are. Anesthesiologists will have a different idea than perioperative nurses and OR technicians about when the actual "start time" begins. Dr. Teuber recommends defining start times; his group defined "start time" as the moment when the surgeon walks into the pre-op room and sees the patient.

"The fact is, everything depends on the surgeon coming to talk to the patient, sign the extremity, autograph pre-op consent and make sure the patient is ready to go," says Dr. Teuber. "There is a huge amount of wasted time if you think of the number of people who are lined up waiting for surgery — pre-op nurses, anesthesiologists, circulators, surgical assistants, postoperative specialists and recovery specialists — all dependent on when the surgeon is present in the morning. The costs on payroll are huge even if the surgeon is 15 minutes late."

Once the "start time" is defined, preoperative staff can prepare the patient before that time and everyone else will manage their schedule based on the surgeon entering the patient's room on time.

2. Shorten turnover times. Facilities must have a realistic vision of their turnover times and always work to make that time shorter. If there isn't enough time planned between patients to turnover the room, the next case will start late and both patient and physician time will be wasted. This also means staff will stay longer and place a burden on the payroll.

"The single most expensive waste in the facility comes from wasting time, and waste means inefficiency," says Dr. Teuber. There will be some unforeseeable delays, such as difficult intubations, problems during induction, problems because the patient is obese or technical challenges during surgery that could make the procedure run over schedule.

When delays are unpredictable, the center can roll with the punches; however, when delays occur due to physician tardiness or inappropriately scheduled OR times, there are ways the surgery center can eliminate them.

3. Track procedure times and make sure surgeons follow them. When surgeons schedule cases for an hour, but they are constantly taking one hour and 40 minutes to perform their cases, you must be prepared for delays. 

"Continually track the time it takes surgeons to perform procedures," says Dr. Teuber. "Typically it takes a certain length of time and if the surgeon schedules it for less, that's inefficient. Surgeons will seldom schedule their cases for longer than it typically takes, but you have to make sure the schedule reflects the actual time it takes them to do the procedure."

For example, if an ACL repair usually takes 45 minutes, surgeons might schedule a case for 30 minutes because they are optimistic. Most surgeons predict they will need less time for a procedure because they don't foresee complications; however, statistics say complications occur. 

4. Schedule cases efficiently. When cases have a low chance of running long or over schedule, it makes sense to schedule them earlier in the morning; cases that are less predictable should be scheduled later in the day so fewer cases run the risk of starting late. 

"Procedures like knee surgery and carpal tunnel release can be done at the beginning of the day," says Dr. Teuber. "Spinal fusions, revision joint replacements and other spinal procedures should be scheduled at the end of the day."

5. Monitor when surgeons are late and modify the schedule. When surgeons are chronically late for their start times, schedule their cases for later in the day. If they are usually 15 minutes late for a 7:30am start time because they have a hard time getting out of bed earlier, the scheduler can move their start times from 7:30am to 8:00am. 

"It's terribly inconsiderate for surgeons to be habitually late," says Dr. Teuber. "We monitor that and if we have a surgeon who's habitually late, we move back their start times. In a partnership, you should respect your partners, staff, patients and patients' families."

6. Assess penalties to chronically late surgeons. If moving the start times doesn't fix the problem, the center could fine surgeons for the wasted time. "If tardiness becomes a continual problem, we assess surgeons a fine for being late," says Dr. Teuber. "When a surgeon is late, the patient and families blame the facility, not the surgeon, so it reflects poorly on us. Surgeons could be late for several reasons during the day, such as their clinic running late or they were working at the hospital, but we have to deal with it."

Dr. Teuber's team compiles every minute chronically late surgeons waste and converts those numbers into financial statements. For example, if every 15 minutes of wasted time costs the center $525 — and adding up all the late time for three months equals 15 hours — the surgeon has wasted $31,000, or around $10,000 per month, just by being late.

"When you show people the economics of the situation, it starts to make sense," says Dr. Teuber. "Then the other partners in the group start wondering why one surgeon is always late and costing the center so much money. We present this information to the partners and they want to make sure everyone runs on schedule."

Sometimes the transition from the hospital to a surgery center setting is difficult because surgery centers are built for efficiency while hospitals are bigger organizations where it takes longer to move through the processes. Make this transition smoother by imparting a strong culture of efficiency in the ASC.

7. Reinvent the culture like a well-run business. If surgeons are used to hospitals where things run on a slower and less efficient clock, you'll need to reinvent their attitudes for the outpatient surgery center setting. "The most important thing is to understand and define what is efficiency and inefficiency," says Dr. Teuber. "Efficiency is really the amount of input it takes for an output. Inefficiency means something isn't as good, for a reason."

Consider how much time is spent in the operating room and how much waiting time is necessary. In a hospital, in the big economic picture, there is very little material waste but huge amounts of money are spent on implants and wasted time. In a surgery center, the goal is to cut the time between cases as much as possible.

"The staff has to make sure everything is done so the surgeon isn't waiting on them," says Dr. Teuber. "Everything must be ready and everyone must be in position when the surgeon comes in — on time — ready to operate."

Article from ASC Reviews

Put Time Back on Your Side

Our quiz will show you if time is controlling you. Next month, learn the steps that will get your time back in your control.

BY SUZY GIRARD-RUTTENBERG | January 30, 2009| 

Article from The Entrepreneur

Part I

Time and again, you've made all the right moves to master time--to put a firm harness around what's surely the most elusive but powerful asset in your life and business.

You bought the latest and greatest BlackBerry, iPhone or PDA. You attended time-management seminars. You juggle, multitask and mind map. You delegate, prioritize and project.

At the end of the day, you confront a frustrating reality--you've still been robbed. Robbed of time and, in turn, opportunities.

The hours flew by, thwarting intentions to advance your most important plans. Your greatest goals sit on paper--instead of in motion--deferred for yet another day, week, month or year.

You wonder why there's never enough time, and you daydream about having more hours in a day.

"I am organized and a great planner," one business owner told me. "But everything changes when my plans intersect with what comes up in a given day. . . . I can never seem to run my day. Instead it's always running me."

Another business owner and friend of mine once complained, "It seems I spend my days in a frenzy of activity but achieve very little; so much time is wasted with insignificant tasks, rather than concentrating on the things that matter most. If I step back and look at my day, I'm very busy--but I feel like I don't get anything done."

Both are bright, successful businesswomen, but they sense they're squandering valuable time, rather than working smarter and taking control of their time. If time doesn't feel like it's on your side, you need to uncover your time bandits, those productivity-robbing patterns that deny your life and your business of realizing their full potential.

Take the following self-evaluation to discover whether your relationship with time is powerful or dysfunctional. The results may surprise you:

I'm more comfortable using paper than an electronic calendar.

Tasks or activities often take longer than the time I allot for them.

I spend a great deal of time in meetings.

I spend a lot of time waiting for other people.

My calendar usually fills up with things I need to respond to, instead of reflecting my priorities.

I worry a lot about things that will or could happen.

I spend a lot of time pursuing outstanding receivables.

I have a difficult time saying "no."

I pride myself on being a perfectionist.

I have a lengthy to-do list.

How did you do? If you sailed through the checklist and answered yes to only one or two items, you're a pretty effective time manager. Still, there are things you can do to tweak your relationship with time to make things even better.

If you answered yes to more than three questions, you're good at many things but still have some challenges when it comes to managing your time. With a little guidance, you can take powerful steps to move to a higher level of productivity and goal attainment, in business and life.

Of course, if you answered yes to five or more questions, it's time you took steps to regain mastery over your precious time.

So where do you start? How do you go about regaining control over time so that you're not busily working here, there and everywhere (and not getting much done anywhere)?

Next month, in "Put Time Back on Your Side: Part 2," I'll identify aspects of time management that will help you work more efficiently and become the master of your time.

Part II

Mick Jagger famously declared his mastery over time. "Time," he has sung for more than half a century, "is on my side, yes it is!"

Maybe so for a Rolling Stone, but most of us regular folks feel about time the same way as author William Penn, who once lamented, "Time is what we want most, but... what we use worst."

Awkward English aside, wasted time is also fixable. Time management is a skill that can be learned. Everyone has tools at her disposal to regain mastery over time--at work and in life. It just takes a little effort.

In my previous column, Put Time Back on Your Side: Part I, I offered tips on how to evaluate your relationship with time and determine whether you're a minor or egregious misspender of time, or somewhere in between.

Here are the promised tips to help you be more like Jagger and get time back on your side:

Tip No. 1: If you're attached to your paper calendar, go electronic. Your reliance on paper is doing you (not to mention your environment) more harm than good. You won't have a backup if your trusty paper planner is misplaced, and it's hard to use as a long-term planning platform.

Electronic calendars allow you to map out your entire year strategically, scheduling recurring commitments and activities months ahead of time, all with a few simple keystrokes. Strategic scheduling is critical to implementing long-term plans and accomplishing larger projects by breaking them up into smaller, scheduled activities. It's also easier to implement and tweak when it's in electronic format.

Tip No. 2: If activities often take longer than the time you allotted, build a schedule around your life priorities before scheduling work priorities. Once sleep, vacations, personal and family commitments and self-care are scheduled, there's limited time left for work. This should lead to ruthless prioritization of the activities necessary to accomplish work goals. Also, be realistic--build transition, travel and break time into all of your activities.

Tip No. 3: If you seem to spend a great deal of time in meetings, ask others to agree on at least one outcome--in advance. Before your next meeting, request that attendees agree on at least one significant result from getting together (e.g., "create a framework for at least one new revenue-generating vehicle that will serve our clients' recessionary sensitive needs" or "select the candidate we will make the final offer to"). If your group can't commit in advance to creating at least one result, the meeting is likely to be a waste of time. Designing an outcome before a meeting focuses attendees' efforts and cooperation, ensuring that time spent together is a wise investment.

Tip No. 4: If you spend a lot of time waiting for other people, plan ahead for downtime. No excuses here. Be prepared for inevitable delays in your day; have what you need at your fingertips to turn what could be wasted time into time well-spent. Whether it's a book you enjoy reading or a meditation tape on your iPod, having a plan for downtime will increase your productivity and prevent frustration. The average person spends 45 to 62 minutes a day waiting--so use this time wisely.

Tip No. 5: If you worry a lot about things that will happen or could happen, stop it. Confront your concern(s) head-on. Most mental "movies" are negative, formed out of fear. They waste time and tend to be woefully inaccurate. If you can't turn it off, check it out. Get on the phone, send an e-mail--share your concerns and determine whether your worries are valid. If not, relax. If they're valid, seize the opportunity to re-engage and get it right before you waste any more time worrying.

Tip No. 6: If you spend a lot of time pursuing outstanding receivables, set up automatic billing and bill-payment systems. Chasing after receivables can be a costly use of your time. Opt for credit card pre-authorization. Set up automatic billing agreements. By utilizing credit cards to bill and receive payment for services and products, you can process payments instead of chase after them.

Tip No. 7: If you have a difficult time saying no, know what a yes is worth to you.

You may need to determine what commitment is worthy of a yes before responding to your next request. Knowing what a yes is worth will help you have the discipline and courage to say no to anything that doesn't fit into that commitment.

Tip No. 8: If you pride yourself on being a perfectionist, set a time goal to complete a project, and stick to it. Much time is wasted polishing something that reached the "good enough" stage long ago. Instead, give yourself a specified time frame to complete a task, rather than pursue an unreachable standard of perfection. Then watch how much more time you'll have for other things in your day.

Tip No. 9: If you have a lengthy to-do list, tackle those projects in an allotted time frame. Allotting time to complete your to "dos" instead of having them exist as a separate "hope I get to them" list forces you to prioritize and resolve them instead of having them compete with your scheduled activities for your time and attention. 

Final word: By applying these time management tips and skills, you'll be able to concentrate as much of your time and energy as possible on the high-payoff tasks. That way you can achieve more with the limited amount of time you have.

Just like Mick...

Ready to achieve mastery over your time? Columnist, business and life-coach Suzy Girard-Ruttenberg is now offering "90 days to Complete Time Mastery," an exclusive phone-coaching workshop guaranteed to change your life and grow your business by redesigning your usage of time. For details, email Suzy at suzy@girard-associates.com or call 561-883-6006.

Article from The Entrepreneur

8 ways parenthood can make you better at your job

April 3, 2012 7:00 AM

By Amy Levin-Epstein

Article from CBS News

(MoneyWatch) People always say that becoming a parent changes everything. Does that include affecting your work? I asked dozens of parents how raising kids has made them better at their jobs. Below are eight stories I heard about how the compassion, patience, and even conflict-resolution skill parents had to summon up on the home front changed their approach to work. Have one to add? Please share it in the comments section.

I have better time management skills. When I became a mother, I found that my time management skills were perfected. I began to organize things the night before and would be awake earlier in the mornings to get things done. I also learned to multi-task more efficiently, which has made me better at my job managing my clients. -- Kate Shamon, PR consultant

Parents: Would you quit your job to save on childcare?

Motherhood and work: 6 surprising facts

The gender pay gap: one way to solve the issue

I have better advice for my clients. I'm a restructuring advisor for troubled businesses, and my specialization is crisis management. I have a 15-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son. Many of my clients waste an enormous amount of resources being concerned with their image within their own industry -- not the target market, but their competitors. Seeing the parallel with my daughter [and her peers], I appreciate what this behavior might mean to the client and how it effects their decisions. -- Nat Wasserstein, Lindenwood Associates

It gave me thicker skin. Most PR professionals recognize that a thick skin shields our "Energizer Bunny" spirits from the rejection of reporters, the red-pen edits, or a client's reaction to what we thought was a brilliant idea. In the world of parenting, you quickly learn that your child's rejection of your cooking is not personal. When they scream at you for turning off the TV or tell you they hate you for grounding them, you know it's because you are actually doing something right. In both PR and parenting, having a thick skin, a sense of humor -- and the occasional large glass of wine -- help us keep our blood pressure down and things in perspective. -- Samantha McGarry, vice president, InkHouse

I'm more compassionate. I'm much more patient, and think that my ability to train and mentor has also been enhanced as a parent. I am more aware of nonverbal communication, and I find that I'm a great motivator to my staff. The same way I motivate and praise my kids for a job well done, I transfer this to the workplace and demonstrate to my team how much I value their commitment to doing a great job. -- Linda Woody, communications manager

I'm more savvy at resolving conflicts. With three boys, there's a lot of competing interests and headbutting. Often, getting them to articulate in words what they are thinking is the key to finding ways for them to come to mutually agreeable solutions. I do this with my team members, as well. The are often acting out of something they are not saying, instead of what they are actually complaining about. So getting them to talk through it in a non-adversarial environment can bring these things out and then help them to help me respond to their needs and resolve their issues. -- Michelle Colucci, CEO of MyLawsuit.com.

I understand people's unique values. I know better how to utilize employees and coworkers for their strengths, and either support them in their weaknesses or work around them. I have gained this skill because my two kids are very different from each other. My daughter is outgoing and athletic, and my son is autistic and very socially awkward. What I say most often when someone complains about a mutual coworker, "That person has many strengths, however, (patience, writing skills, leaderships, etc.) is not one of those strengths." -- Anne M. Woods, public relations director, Hope For The Warriors

I can spot a back-stabbing whiner. I've always held that parenting made me a better manager. Bill Cosby said you can't be a parent until you have two or more children. He said when you walk in the living room and the lamp is broken, each kid pointing to the other, that's when you become a parent. Same thing with management. I've learned to fire the back-stabber. Don't come to me complaining about another worker without discussing your grievance with them, or coming up with a solution. -- Richard Kelleher, marketing sociologist

They keep me on my toes in terms of technology. As my young children became young teenagers, the Internet opened up to them. Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and social-media secrets were quickly discovered and shared with me, as only teenagers can do. In the past 12 years, I have truly learned so much about social media that I have become better at my job. -- Sherry Gavanditti, PR media specialist, Menorah Park Center for Senior Living

Amy Levin-Epstein

Amy Levin-Epstein is a freelance writer who has been published in dozens of magazines (including Glamour, Self and Redbook), websites (including AOLHealth.com, Babble.com and Details.com) and newspapers (including The New York Post and the Boston Globe). To read more of her writing, visit AmyLevinEpstein.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MWOnTheJob.

Article from CBS News

Effective office management skills

Article from Women24

We've rounded up the 4 essential skills to keep your office running smoothly.

There is a need for people with strong administrative skills in any business. With business processes, equipment, documentation and communication becoming increasingly complicated, managers and professional administrators need a wide range of skills to run the office effectively. Often these skills are neglected or ignored, which results in ineffective office management.

If you are unsure of the abilities you need to keep up with administrative tasks, here are 4 important skills for efficient office management.

1. Business documentation 

As an office manager, you will mostly likely need business writing skills, as you will be required to write up a number of business documents. Some documents may include: 

•    business letters, 

•    reports, 

•    proposals, 

•    quotations, 

•    statements, and 

•    invoices. 

It is imperative to understand what these documents are used for, and to know how to format, write and administer these documents.  

2. Communication strategy

In the current business environment, communication is handled almost exclusively through computers. It is important for office administrators to feel comfortable communicating through various platforms, such as email, Skype or MSN, as it is mostly likely that you will communicate with employees or customers via these platforms. 

You will need to learn to communicate appropriately depending on the platform used. Office managers are also required to communicate with employees and customers on the phone, so an appropriate telephone manner is essential. 

3. Office administration

General office administration is part-and-parcel of the day-to-day running of any business. As an office manager, you may be responsible for petty cash, managing the switchboard, dealing with delivery services, the administration of basic office facilities, and general management. 

The latter is vital, as staff rely heavily on office management in order to complete their tasks successfully. 

4. Information management

We are now consuming more raw data than in any other time in history. Information needs to be housed somewhere, and it is often kept in files so that you can make reference to specific documents at a later stage. 

As an office manager, it is important to manage the filing and indexing for both digital and hard copy documents. Arrange your digital folders effectively so that you are able to find certain documents with ease. Hard copies should be filed away and clearly marked so you can retrieve these documents at any time. 

To learn more about office management consider the University of Cape Town Professional Communication and Management course, which starts on 16 April 2012. Please contact Tamsin on 021 447 7565 or tamsin@getsmarter.co.za for more information. Alternatively visit www.GetSmarter.co.za. 

Article from Women24