The Invisible Mentor

Posts Tagged ‘Time management’

You must be thinking, “Not another time management book.” Yes, I know how you feel.

A few months ago I received an email asking for permission to send me a copy of Make Every Second Count by Robert W. Bly. I said, “Sure” and gave my mailing address but did not pay any attention to who the author was. I shortly received the book and placed it in my stack of books to read, when I noticed that it was written by Robert W. Bly (Bob Bly). I know Bob Bly as a copywriter.

So what does Bob have to say in Make Every Second Count: Time Management Tips and Techniques for More Success With Less Stress ? A lot actually, more that what you would expect in a time management book.

One of the things I’ve noticed with Bob Bly is that he structures his books, at least the ones I have read, in such a way that you can start at any point, and this book has 14 clearly titled chapters.

• Chapter 1: Work Habits That Speed You Up
• Chapter 2: Do You Really Want to Be Productive
• Chapter 3: Goal-Setting
• Chapter 4: Save Time and Money When You Travel
• Chapter 5: The 10% Solution for Increased Personal Efficiency
• Chapter 6: Networking Online
• Chapter 7: Using Technology to Save Time
• Chapter 8: Going Mobile
• Chapter 9: Delegation and Outsourcing
• Chapter 10: Getting Organized
• Chapter 11: Planning Systems and Software to Increase Your Productivity
• Chapter 12: Maximizing Your Personal Energy
• Chapter 13: Managing Information Overload
• Chapter 14: Saving Time at Home

There were times while I was reading that I had adverse reactions to what Bly was saying, and had to take a step back, and remind myself that that’s okay. My responsibility as a reader is to take in information, evaluate it, then decide if the information makes sense for me. And that’s something that I recommend. I also have a responsibility to my readers to be honest in my feedback.

I’m sure that there are things that you will not like about the book, but the beauty is that because Bly has done such a great job in laying out the information, you can quickly find what you need.

What I liked about Make Every Second Count.

Bly uses a system where he has three to-do lists: Daily to-do, Projects to-do and Long-term to-do (This could be some personal projects that are important to you, but do not have a definite end date, so allocate a few hours a week working on them), which I think would be very helpful and allow you to carve out the time to do things that are meaningful to you, but will not necessarily earn money in the short term.

I found chapters 4, 5, 6, 7, 10 and 11 most useful. For instance, in Chapter 6, which is Networking Online there is a Networking Grid which would be a welcome to a social media strategy because it allows you to structure the actions you take. There are some helpful tips in the book on how increase personal efficiency, and I was delighted to see a section on how to think faster which uses the creativity model that we have discussed on this blog many times. And very timely, are great tips to deal with email overload.

He offered an example of setting up your folders on your computer, and though some may think that information is basic, I’m glad it was included because so much time can be wasted searching for files on a computer. There is also a very detailed chart, which includes productivity software so you can compare them and determine which is best suitable for your needs.

And for those who love to travel, Chapter 4 has some great tips. I discovered that in addition to Kayak.com, SideStep.com allows you to search multiple websites for deals on hotel, airline and car rental packages. CleverDude.com provides tips on how to get free airline upgrades.

Though I couldn’t figure out why some historical information on mobile technology, and other were included, I recommend Make Every Second Count: Time Management Tips and Techniques for More Success With Less Stress but I suggest that you read only the chapters that would be useful to you. Despite my adverse reaction (I think that some of the time saving tips for home are a bit extreme, and takes out some of the joy out of life for people) to some of the content, I’m happy that I read Make Every Second Count because I picked up some tips that will increase my personal efficiency.

How can you use this information? What do you have to add to the conversation? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

Book links are affiliate link.

Yesterday, I pulled together a collection of 10 book reviews for 2010, today, I have another 10 for you. These book reviews are designed to give you a sense of whether or not you need to read that book. In 2011, I will be delving more into, and exploring the idea of using yesterday’s ideas to solve today’s problems, as well as figure out how to more fully marry ancient and modern wisdom.

1. Review of the Skinny on Willpower
2. Review of Bunker Bean
3. Review of How to Build an Empire on an Orange Crate, Honest Ed Mirvish
4. Review of the Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
5. Review of Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played With Fire
6. Enchiridion by Epitectus: A Book Review
7. The Skinny on Success: A Book Review
8. The Skinny on Time Management: A Book Review
9. Review of The Little Engine That Could
10. Review: The Nordstrom Way to Customer Service Excellence

How can you use this information? What do you have to add to the conversation? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

All book links are affiliate links.

Today, I present 24-year old Nathalie Lussier. It’s the first time that I have interviewed someone so young, but I thought it important to bring you a diversity of voices. Open your mind, and see what you can learn from this young lady who is not only passionate about what she does, but is wise beyond her years. It was a pleasure to interview her because she is so thoughtful, and she was willing to answer questions which require the wisdom that comes with age. For instance, when asked, “If you had to start over from scratch, knowing what you know now, what would you do differently?” she responded, “I would have started earlier to try to understand what people wanted, see what they had trouble with and help them in that area.” In my opinion, that’s good advice because we often create products that we think people should want, instead of what they actually want.

Tell me a little bit about yourself.  

I am known as the raw foods witch, and I help people to eat more fruits and vegetables. I have a background in software engineering and all of my nutritional knowledge is self taught based on the experience of the results that I have had eating this way.

What’s a typical day like for you?

I wake up and drink a green smoothie, which is basically fruit and green leafy vegetables. After that I work on the computer, and sometimes I go for a swim during the day because I like to break things up. I do more work on my computer and in the evening I have a big salad with my boyfriend Robin, and later read a book.

How do you motivate yourself and stay motivated?

I like to get feedback so when I hear that others are enjoying my work or getting a lot of results from what I am teaching, that propels me forward and motivates me.

If you had to start over from scratch, knowing what you know now, what would you do differently?

I would have started earlier to try to understand what people wanted, see what they had trouble with, and help them in that area.

What’s the most important business (or other) discovery you’ve made in the past year?

Making relationships a priority is the new way of doing business today. You can really connect with people online with tools like email, Twitter and Facebook. You can really get to know people and build relationships over time, and give them what they need instead of just pushing stuff in their direction.

What’s one of the biggest advances in your industry over the past two years?

In terms of raw foods, things are shifting away from being very strict, and moving toward welcoming everyone to try eating this way a little bit more.

What are the three threats to your business, your success, and how are you handling them?

1. The first is time management. I would be reading email and responding to them then I click on a link in an email and all of sudden a lot of time has elapsed and I realize that I have not done any work. So what I do is frequently check the time and see how I am doing and ask myself if I have done what I said I was going to do by that time of the day and that is how I handle that threat.
2. Another threat I would say is misinformation. When people hear the term raw foods, they immediately think it’s all or nothing, but the way that I teach it is you can eat fresh fruits and vegetables and get the benefits from that. You do not have to be that strict with yourself.
3. And the third threat kind of relates to the first idea is that I have a lot of passion and am prone to go off on a tangent and do something new and different that does not necessarily relate to what I am doing right now. The way that I deal with this is to focus on what my goals are and where I am headed.

What’s unique about the service that you provide?

I like to make it fun, informal, down-to-earth and accessible to anyone who is remotely interested in getting healthier, and I like to deliver all my stuff online except for a few things that I deliver personally, which I enjoy. I love to do videos and recipes that are simple so everyone can get their hands dirty. And what’s really fun about the way that I teach things is that I am known as the witch so I like to bring in a special magic feeling to everything that I do.

What do you observe most people in your field doing badly that you think you do well?

Most people in my field do not have the type of technical background that I have so I am able to have interactive technologies and videos on my website and this may not be easy for them.

Describe a major business (or other) challenge you had and how you resolved it.

One of the challenges that I had in the beginning was getting people to visit my website and get interested in my services. I think that’s also a challenge that many people face. I resolved the challenge by writing something that really connected with my audience. In the beginning when I was writing articles, blog posts, I was really writing for myself. I was writing stuff that was useful for my colleagues and myself, but not useful to those who were new to raw foods. So just shifting to write about what raw foods is, and how you sprout your own nuts and seeds and dehydrate stuff has made a difference and my business took off.

What lessons did you learn in the process?

I learned to really listen to my people and when I had no readers to listen to I learned to use Google Keywords to identify what people were searching for in my field. I learned to shift my mindset to what my customers were thinking.

Tell me about your big break and who gave you.

My big break happened last October about Halloween time. I basically did a big launch, had done a speaking engagement, another audio interview and a couple of radio that same week. It was an accumulation of all these speaking events and giving talks about raw foods that pushed things over the edge and made the launch a big success for me. One talk was at The Big Carrot in Toronto, Canada and I did some online podcasts.

Describe one of your biggest failures. What lessons did you learn, and how did it contribute to a greater success?

Before the big launch that I did, I tried to do something similar to provide a program for people, and it really didn’t resonate with anyone. It didn’t connect with my audience and my offering wasn’t quite right, the timing wasn’t right either. It was a failure in that I launched a product that didn’t take off, but it was useful to me to see what it took to create a program like that, the time it took and what people really wanted. Learning from that helped me down the line to achieve success.

What has been your biggest disappointment in your life – and what are you doing to prevent its reoccurrence?

I always felt that I had this knowledge of what I was meant to do and it had something to do with health, but I became a programmer because I was very idealistic and thought that I could create software that would lead to finding the cure for cancer or something like that. I guess I was very disappointed that things didn’t turn out the way the way I expected. That has made me think about how I make decisions and my expectations of the world. These days I think about my decisions very differently from back then. I was pretty young when I made that decision.

What’s one of the toughest decisions you’ve had to make and how did it impact your life?

The toughest decision that I made was to turn down a job offer and go out on my own to start a business. I had a job offer to work on Wall Street in New York City and I also had it in my mind that I wanted to travel and visit China. My boyfriend Robin is from China and I wanted to visit his family. So I made the decision to turn down the job offer and figure out what I’d do when I returned from China. It was a very tough decision to make but it turned out very well.

What are three events that helped to shape your life?

1. I am a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and one of the events which shaped me was attending a big competition in the US and winning a medal there. And it was great to see what it was like outside of my tiny home town in Ontario. The experience built my self confidence.
2. Another event also occurred when I was younger. I participated in a forum for young Canadians. A bunch of high school students were brought to Ottawa, Canada and we talked about politics and how to change the world and it made me realize that we are all in this together and how we take action is how we differ.
3. I lived in California for four months for an internship and just being there, meeting people and attending a seminar was really life changing for me to be around people with different mindsets. Being there started bubbling some of my business ideas.

What’s an accomplishment that you are proudest of?

Being in business right now.

How did mentors influence your life?

Mentors influenced my life a lot! One of my mentors was my tae kwon do instructor and she was very influential in giving me self confidence. It was good to have someone who believed in me and wanted to see me go far. Other mentors were very instrumental, especially in business, and women I met online were very motivational to me and gave me the power and courage to step out and do this.

What’s one core message you received from your mentors?

Trust yourself, listen to your intuition, and take action.

Which resources (books, movies, training etc.) did your mentors recommend to you?

One of the ones I liked was a book called Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port. Other books recommended are all the books by Seth Godin and the Ultimate Sales Letter by Dan Kennedy.

As an Invisible Mentor, what is one piece of advice that you would give to readers?

Trust yourself that what you are doing is going to work, put yourself out there and show people that you care and build relationships. Stick to what you are doing and don’t give up when things aren’t going well.

What nuggets can you take away from Nathalie’s interview?

Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please let me know what you think about this.  Click on the comment link below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

For your research and writing needs, consider my firm Ambeck Enterprise for white papers, articles, fact sheets, anniversary booklets, you name it. Since I am the best kept secret you may not know this, but I have over 15 years research and writing experience. I KNOW content. And if you cannot figure out which books to read for professional development, I am your WOMAN. I can assist you with that too. Visit my sales page for resources such as The Invisible Mentor Toolkit to assist you in acquiring wisdom from a distance. For free white papers click here.

I received a complimentary copy of the Skinny on Success: why not you? If you are new to this blog, I reviewed a copy of The Skinny on Time Management on Monday (four days ago).

Reviewing the interview responses for my book Tales of People Who Get It, to become successful requires focus, passion and continuous learning. Most of us are looking for “the formula” for success, so we are always on the hunt.

The author of the Skinny on Success: why not you? Jim Randel states the goal for the Skinny On books as, “to do the reading for you, cull out what is important, distill the key points, and present in a book that is both instructive and fun to read.”

This book does not give you a formula for success, but gives you many explanations on why some people succeed and others don’t. It’s not going to tell you how to attain personal and professional success, so if that’s what you are looking for, this isn’t the book that will deliver.

The book is very inspirational, and if you do not know the stories of  many well known successful people, you’d be surprised to discover the hard work they put in to attain success. You seldom find overnight successes, you find more overnight successes, that were 10 years or more in the making. After you read about the deliberate practice and persistence of some of these people, you’ll realize that you too can achieve success if you’re willing to put in the hard work.

Randel looks closely at many books on success, and gives a bit more focus on Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers: The Story of Success, Geoff Colvin’s Talent is Overrated and Daniel Coyne’s The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Talent isn’t enough to become successful, persistent practice is essential. (Click here to see my article, “Creating Your Signature – Journey to Becoming a Master, which includes the steps to take to become an expert.”)

He mentions research by Professor K. Anders Ericsson referenced in Outliers that states that it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill, which equates to 10 years. To support that figure, Michael Masterson, an uber successful entrepreneur, internet marketer and copywriter suggests that, “To achieve mastery, you will have to continue to practice that skill for a total of 5,000 hours. Virtuosity is extremely rare. You can’t get it simply by practicing. You must also have a natural gift. Even then, you must practice at least 10,000 hours to achieve it.”

Five Great Ideas

1. The key to success is deliberate practice and repetition
2. The potential for greatness lives inside all of us
3. Every successful person has experienced setbacks
4. People, even the ones who love you, have their own dreams so you have to go after the life you want, with passion
5. The more you persist, the better you get

Characteristics of Successful People

1. Willingness to act
2. Prepare for adversity
3. Take steps to maximize probability of success
4. Take action
5. Combat fear of failure
6. Develop mental strength
7. Optimistic – see the glass as half full
8. Hardworking
9. Persistent
10. Believe in right and wrong

When I read the title of the book, The Skinny on Success: Why not you? I wasn’t sure of what to expect. Having written a book that includes information on success, I could relate to the information in the book. One of the questions that I asked the 34 interviewees for my book Tales of People Who Get It, was, “In your opinion, what is the formula for success?” And for the interviews for this blog I also ask for the definition of success.

I recommend The Skinny on Success: Why not you? and I suggest that you also review some of the interviews on this blog, and focus on the responses to the questions about success, including the one about the steps people took to arrive at success in their careers. How do the responses relate to the information in the book. Remember, do not ever read in a vacuum, connect what you’re reading to what you already know.

I also wanted to mention that I appreciated all the books that Jim Randel referenced to write this book because I learn about some books that I otherwise would not know about.

Books Mentioned

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Finding Your Own North Star: Claiming the Life You Were Meant to Live, Martha Beck

The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything, Ken Robinson

Now, Discover Your Strengths, Marcus Buckingham

The Road Less Traveled, 25th Anniversary Edition : A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth, Scott Peck

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Carol Dweck

Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell

Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else, Geoff Colvin

The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Here’s How., Daniel Coyne

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey

Losing My Virginity, Richard Branson

Life You Imagine: Life Lessons For Achieving Your Dreams, Derek Jeter

The Creative Habit, Twyla Tharp

The Principles of Psychology, William James

Wake Up and Live, Dorothea Brande

Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please comment. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

For your research and writing needs, consider my firm Ambeck Enterprise for white papers, articles, fact sheets, anniversary booklets, you name it. Since I am the best kept secret you may not know this, but I have over 15 years research and writing experience. I KNOW content. And if you cannot figure out which books to read for professional development, I am your WOMAN, I can assist you with that too.

Note: All book links are Amazon Affiliate

Photo Credit: via Apture

I received an advanced copy of The Skinny On Time Management: and other life challenges and a regular copy of  The Skinny On Success by Jim Randel in the mail to read and review. I had never heard about the Skinny On series until someone contacted me to find out if they could send me copies in the mail. Proper time management is critical for personal and professional success, and most of us are looking for that magic bullet that catapults us to success.

Today, I am reviewing The Skinny On Time Management, and on Friday,  The Skinny On Success. I have been keeping up with the interviews but have not done as many book reviews/summaries as I’d like, so this is an attempt to correct that. One of the objectives of The Invisible Mentor blog is to present interviews of highly successful people and to do book reviews/summaries.

The stated goal of the books in the Skinny On series “is to do the reading for you, identify what is important, distill the key points, and present them in a book that is both instructive and entertaining.” Randel’s definition of time management is simply, “how you use your time” and he adds, “if you are using your time to create the life you want, you are practicing effective time management.”

The author honored his commitment as stated in his goal for the book. In The Skinny on Time Management he conducted extensive research, distilled the key points and presented them, which is evident in the many books and other resources he mentioned and summarized. The book is structured as a one-hour presentation with slides that often look like comic strips to be entertaining. It is packed with tons of information that will assist you to manage your time and be more productive. He includes tips on how to stop procrastinating as well as tips on how to improve your memory. You get information that you wouldn’t expect in a time management book.

The book doesn’t have a Table of Contents, though it is divided into two parts which are essentially:

Part I: How You Spend Your Time
Part II: How to Effectively Use The Hours You Have for Maximum Benefit

He recommends that you keep a time journal for a week so that you can analyze it and see where you can make adjustments by spending less time on unproductive activities, therefore creating time for more important tasks. I appreciated the idea of Batching, where you combine or aggregate similar or complementary activities to save time. He did a good job of summarizing the salient points from many books that he thinks are germane to better time management. Two such summaries are important techniques for effective time management from Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress Free Productivity and  teach yourself to speed read from Triple Your Reading Speed.

Here is Jim Randel’s summary for improving what he calls your effectiveness and time potency:

1. Discard (practice decluttering and do not hold on to stuff unnecessarily)
2. Make immediate decisions
3. Create filing systems (when working on a project keep all resources related to that project in one place)
4. Select specific times to respond to calls/emails
5. Use a watch with a second hand display
6. Carry a note taker
7. Learn to scan
8. Ask for help
9. Finish a task in one sitting
10. Move on (let go) – what’s done is done

5 + 2 Great Ideas

1. Time is your most valuable commodity
2. Time management is about choices
3. Be aware of how you use your time, decide what you need to accomplish, choose the most important actions to take to achieve your goals, prioritize them and complete the most important activities first
4. Practice the 80/20 Rule: Figure out which 20 percent of your actions yield 80 percent of your results
5. When you try to do more than one task at a time, you do none well
6. Create routines so time is not wasted (Have a place for things so that time is not wasted looking for stuff, plan the menu for the week so time is not wasted everyday deciding what’s for dinner, have an exercise schedule so you do not have to decide each day if you are going to the gym)
7. Be proactive instead of reactive: take actions that move you closer to your goals instead of activities such as reading emails and checking voice messages.

Books Mentioned

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch

The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal, Jim Loehr & Tony Schwartz

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, David Allen

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey

How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life, Alan Lakein

Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time, Brian Tracy

The Power of Less: The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential…in Business and in Life, Leo Babauta

The 4-Hour Workweek, Tim Ferriss

Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long, David Rock

Triple Your Reading Speed, Wade E. Cutler

Jim Randel also recommends a YouTube video of Randy Pausch‘s presentation on time management. For those who may not know, Pausch is known for The Last Lecture, and he died from pancreatic cancer. To view the video click here.

Though I did not like the way The Skinny on Time Management was presented, I heartily recommend it for the reasons why I did  not like it. You can tell from the information provided that it is well thought out and researched. Jim Randel distills the information and presents what he thinks is important and holds the reader’s hand every step of the way. I felt like the author was spoon feeding and thinking for me. I am very detailed oriented and like to think for myself. Now having said that, I appreciated that he included the books that he used in his research so that I can go back and sink my teeth into them.

Hey what can I say, I am a square peg and have my share of quirks.

Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please comment. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

For your research and writing needs, consider my firm Ambeck Enterprise. Since I am the best kept secret you may not know this, but I have over 15 years research and writing experience. I KNOW content.

Note: All book links are affiliate links
Photo Credit: Yahoo via Apture

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