Poor time management thinking and action can undermine your best efforts. If you want to manage your time more effectively, start thinking about time management differently. You can begin to change your time management mindset by dispelling these 5 common time management lies.

Time Management Lie One - Time Management

That’s right… time management itself. What a big fantasy. In reality you can’t manage time. Everyday you receive 24 hours. You can’t add more nor do you get any less time. Erase time management from your brain and start thinking outside the clock. You want to organize the clock to fit your needs.

Sometimes the words time management can create mental blocks especially if you tried some type of time management in the past. Look at the meaning of the word manage: handle, deal with, control, cope, get by, make do, survive and direct. Now look at the word organize: put in order, sort out, arrange and systematize.

Which you prefer to do? Organize and arrange your time or deal with and cope with it?

I know I use the word time management, but that’s how people find us on the search engines. They think they have a time management problem. In reality it’s an activity problem. One of the first things I do when working with a client is shift their mindset from time management to "Thinking Outside the Clock" with organizing their time.

Time Management Lie Two - Working Harder

There is a rumor going around that if just work harder you can get more done. This same rumor perpetrates that hard work leads to wealth. The truth of the matter, if working harder supplied the answer, why do so many of us remain constantly busy but get very little done?

Time management operates on the philosophy of trying to cram more and more stuff into your calendar. You end up working harder trying to get everything done.

When my mentor told me to start working less, I thought her brain left her body. Imagine my surprise to discover that I didn’t need to work harder, faster, and put in long hours. I actually got more done working fewer hours.

Learn to use your time wisely. You will become more efficient and accomplish more without working harder.

Time Management Lie Three - Planning Take Too Much Time

Since time management myth two encourages you to work hard, long hours to get things done, it seems logical that planning would waste time. Wouldn’t you save time and get finished sooner if you just dove in and got started?

Studies show you get finish faster when you plan ahead. Planning ahead will allow you to stay on top of the situation! The 20-30 minutes you used to plan will not only save you time but money, worry and aggravation.

When you make planning part of your time management strategy, you begin with a good start. You won’t find it necessary to stop in the middle to get what you need, you get a better sense of how long something will take to complete and you can block your time accordingly.

Time Management Lie Four - Keep a To Do List

A To Do List by itself doesn’t accomplish anything. It simply reminds you of what you still need to do. It never ends. It probably grows longer and longer each day. The To Do List often turns out to be nothing more than a list of random intentional tasks.

The To Do List doesn’t allow flexibility in dealing with interruptions or how long it will take to complete the task.

The To Do List can undermine your self-confidence. You feel guilty when you can’t cross everything off your list at the end of the day. Traditional Time Management provides a solution to that problem; just move everything you didn’t accomplish to the next day’s list. Like that really helps.

When used correctly, the dreaded "To Do" list can turn into a highly effective time management tool.

Time Management Lie Five - You Need a "Time Planner" to Manage Your Time.

I receive this question quite often "What’s the best planner to use to manage my time?" The answer: The one that works best with your personality. What a cop out right?

Let’s go back to Time Management lie One. Remember you can’t manage your time. You get 24 hours and the end of the day it’s gone. And if God decides to give you another day, you will wake up with another 24 hours.

A Time Planner is used to organize what you do with your time. You either waste it or wisely use it. The true purpose of a planner aids you in using your time more wisely by organizing your activities.

It doesn’t matter if you use Outlook®, Palm® Pilot, Day Runner®, Franklin-Covey®, Planner Pad® or any of the other numerous band names out there or a legal pad of paper.

Time organizing begins with altering your mindset about the way you view time in general. Put time to work for you by applying Thinking Outside the Clock™ techniques. A great place to start begins with dispelling these time management myths from your life is with our complimentary eCourse… 10 Time Management Strategies to Gain Control Over Your Day and Profits.

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Entrepreneurs wear so many hats… especially the solo business owner. Our days tend to be one endless task after another. We all start our businesses for a variety of reasons:

• Wanting to working from home,
• Set your own timetable
• Spend time with family and friends
• Knowing that the hard work you do is for your own company
• Quit climbing the so-called corporate ladder

It all comes down to lifestyle and often our jobs couldn’t or wouldn’t deliver the that lifestyle.

But somewhere along the line….you end up with a to-do list a mile long that never seems to get any shorter, no matter how many soccer games or nights-out-with-friends you miss No matter how hard you work, how many hours you put in, you never seen to get ahead.

Your business never seems to grow past a certain point and yet you can never quite seem to get a handle on that.

The reality hits you… your business is supposed to give you a life, not take it away and you are knee deep… neck deep or perhaps even over your head deep in the "Multiplicity of Stuff Syndrome."

If the above sounds like you, you’ll enjoy our new free eCourse "10 Time Strategies to Control Your Day and Profits."

There are 5 symptoms of being trapped in the "Multiplicity of Stuff Syndrome" and you’ll discover what they are and how to relieve them and get control back over your day. Sign up for the course at http://HowtoControlYourDay.com

When you sign up this fr~ee eCourse, you receive several bonuses:

• The 15 Minute Communique Weekly Digest delivered to your inbox on Friday sharing more strategies and tips on getting control over day.
• The Flip Your Time Personal Time Assessment to reveal your 3 biggest Time Challenges
• And you may even qualify for a free one-on-one strategy session with me… Ann Rusnak, The Time Diva

Take back control of your day with the "10 Time Strategies to Control Your Day and Profits" eCourse. http://HowtoControlYourDay.com

Most business people believe the philosophy that time = money. How often do you hear time = money?

Let me ask you a question… When did time ever write you a check or give you money?

I don’t know about you but I’m still waiting.

If time no longer = money, what does?

Relationships = Money

Relationships are the Key to Success in Business

The greater the number of relationships you build for your business, the more visibility it gains. Visibility in turn can generate a larger customer base. Don’t start you panicking and wonder how you will handle all those customers.

Just stay with me… no slipping into time management mentality right now.

All the checks I receive in my life come from relationships. It relationships that produce more results and with more results you can buy more time.

The Relationship Formula

When you apply a Thinking Outside the Clock mindset to your business you can use a R=M³ relationship formula.^TM

Relationships = More Clients = More Money = More Time

R=M ³

You can buy more delegation. You can buy new capabilities. You can buy what ever you need to take care of your expanding client base.

Social networking provides an excellent vehicle to make new relationships for your business. Everyday new social networking site open up giving you endless choices on where to network.

Relationships take a major time investment. They don’t happen overnight. It can take months to nurture a relationship that will give your business massive exposure.

Social networking can get overwhelming especially when trying to keep up the other stuff you need to do in your business… not to mention in your life too.

Right now you probably see a flood of information on to use social networking to market your business. Oodles and oodles of tips, strategies and methods you can use rake in social networking cash. If you already feel overwhelmed now, when do you think you will find the time to read and learn how to use them?

Social Network Formula to the Rescue

Social Network Formula puts you back in control of your social networking activities.

Truth… Not all relationships are created equal. Wouldn’t you like a way to identify the relationships that will continually marketing on your behalf?

You want to allocate more of your time to these the relationships. Relationships with a high R.O.T.I.^TM Return on Time Investment

These better relationships produce better results which allow you to buy even more time. When you reach this level you compounded the result of the R=M ³ relationship formula.

The time you invest in social networking to build relationships will eventually pay off with more money and more time.

The Social Network Formula show you how to create simple systematic 90 Day plan to help your identify the social networking sites and individuals worthy of your time investment. You use this timeless plan over and over again.

If want to avoid Social Networking Time Drain and Overwhelm, develop an action plan for your relationship building efforts.

Remember: You are just one relationship away from an incredible opportunity… a marketing buzz… major recognition for your business.

Side Note: Social Network Formula course launches tomorrow… for those who are early action takers, you can take a 60% discount while I finish adding the material to the site.

While eagerly waiting the arrival of my new computer, something my husband said got me thinking… switching over won’t be a big deal. I’ll only need about a half a day to install all software and then I’m up and running. All my files reside on an external hard drive. That’s what got me thinking.

If anything happens to that hard drive, I’m out of luck. Before I got the hard drive, I backed up everything on discs. I guess I could do that again but it’s an all day job and takes 80 bazillion cds to store all the data. Not the best use of time and resources.

Are you one of those people who doesn’t back up their data?

This is often one of those neglected.. "I don’t have time right now"… put it on the back burner things to do later.. Just imagine the time you would waste not to mention grief if you lost your data. Not sure what to store? This Microsoft article gives you a nice starter checklist.

Another thing my techie recommended I backup my Application Data folder. So once a week I back it up on the external drive… which brings me back to finding an effective way to back up the data on the external hard drive.

So I’m looking into using an online storage service.

Yesterday on Twitter @caroldeckert said she was still trying to restore her computer files since Sunday using Carbonite Online Backup System. I definitely want a service that won’t take days to restore data. My mentor and mastermind partner Kirt Christensen uses and recommended Mozy.com

Before I commit to Mozy, I like to hear your two cents on how you back up your data. What do you use? and how happy are you with it?

I’m going to reveal a secret from our Flip Your Time System…

The top money making activity you can do… develop relationships.

When you Focus on Relationships you increase your opportunities. Today the internet, through social networking, makes it easier to reach out and connect with people.

Yet so many entrepreneurs view social networking as a waste of time.

Bottom line…. Social Networking is a money making activity… when done correctly.

The days of building a huge list and blasting your followers relentlessly with one sales pitch after another are gone. Business are built on relationships. Always will be… When you focus on relationship first, you don’t need a huge list.

Social networking starts out slow because.relationships take time to develop. So you may become discourage when you don’t see immediate results . Once it kicks in, the opportunities and results explode.

When you learn to maximize your social networking time, you can build those relationships without it taking over your day.

All the checks I ever received in my life came from relationships. It relationships that produce more results and with more results you are able to buy more time. Ironic huh… you invest time in relationships to gain more time. Sounds like a time flip to me.

While you have more time… you develop even better relationships… better relationships produce better results which allow you to buy even more time.

Wednesday June 25, I’m hosting a special preview teleseminar where I’ll share 5 Secrets to Maximizing Your Social Networking Time to Increase Contacts and Cashflow which you can attend for free as my guest.

These secrets are from my upcoming "Social Network Formula Workshop"

You are just 1 relationship away from an incredible opportunity. But must willing to change your mindset about social networking is a money making activity and start focusing your attention on developing your very best relationships.

• Is social networking taking a big chunk out of your day?
• Not seeing the results for the time you put in?
• You learn great strategies but don’t have in your day to do them?

You are not alone…

I hear it often… Social Networking takes time. A lot of time. With all your other business activities, you find yourself feeling overwhelmed.

You hear about all these wonderful success stories, yet nothing seems to happen which leaves you feeling frustrated.

Every day it seems like a new network pops up on the radar

• You fill out profiles… more time out of your day. 
• You checking your friends’ updates… taking even more time (a lot of time you have a lot of friends). 
• Creating network presence takes time (uploading photographs, updating status, posting etc.

Staying active in a social network can turn into a full-time job…

How Would You Like To Get Control Over Your Social Network Time?

Social Networking is High Performance Marketing activity and one of the best things you can do to gain new customers and increase your cash flow.

Join me Wednesday June 25 at 7:00 pm EDT
(That’s 6:00 pm Central, 5:00 pm Mountain, 4:00pm Pacific.)

…Where I’ll share with you
"Five Secrets to Minimize Your Social Network Time"
from our upcoming Social Network Formula Workshop.

You can use these 5 secrets right away to increase your results without turning networking into a full time job.

Just fill out the form below to reserve your seat for this free Teleseminar… and don’t forget to share your biggest Social Network Challenge.

Looking forward to hearing you on the call

One time in your life you mastered this powerful word… in fact it was your job and remains the job of every two year old. Saying NO!

Going back to saying "No" establishes a boundary to keep other peoples agenda from interfering with yours. You take back control over what you want to do and when. So many of us already find our lives jammed full of stuff to do, you’d think it would be easy to say no.

That two year old soon learned that saying "No" produced a negative result while saying yes got positive results. Many of us grow up to be people pleasers, Saying yes just feels easier than saying no.

We want to avoid the confrontation and anxiety feelings we experienced at that young age

Manipulative people know this and use it to get their way.

"No," is a commendable response. Don’t equate No with rejection… saying ‘No’ doesn’t mean you don’t like the person; you’re just refusing their current request.

When you say, "Yes," when you want to say, "No" you will feel resentful throughout whatever you agreed to do. This causes stress that can show in many ways, lost energy, discomfort, headaches, shoulder tension and restless sleep. You could avoid these symptoms saying "No" in the first place. Life creates enough stress. Why add more?

5 Easy Ways to Say No

1. Start your sentence with the word, "No."

It’s easier to keep the commitment to say, "No," if it’s the first word out of your mouth.

No I’m sorry, my plate is full right now and I wouldn’t do a good job for you.

No, I’m not available (no need for details)

2. Think It Over.

Ask for time to think it over. It maybe something you want to do but need to do but you time to make sure it will fit in your schedule. Perhaps you’re not strong enough to say no right now… this gives you time to mentally prepare yourself to say No. Remind yourself that the decision is entirely up to you.

3. Just Say No.

That’s right just say it. "NO"… no explanation need. You can add "no thank you" if warranted.

If someone asks for information you don’t want to give. Say No. especially those annoying cashiers/clerks asking for phone number, email address while you’re checking out.

Say No to the telemarketer disturbing your dinner… better yet, don’t answer the phone.

A campaign in the 1980’s realized that saying No can keep off a destructive path… You probably know it as the "Just Say No to Drugs" campaign. You’d find big posters in school, subways, billboards, in fact all over. Start your own campaign. Make your own posters with the words "Just Say No" and put them up.

4. Blame it On…

We love to blame other people for our problems so why not blame saying "No" on somebody else…

No, my doctor said I need to start taking it easy (great one to for preserving your personal time).

No, my accountant said I did that one more time (great for unreasonable customer demands)

Don’t use a name, unless that person really said it… keep the "blame" person generic.

5. Act like a Parrot

Especially good for the "manipulator" attempting to guilt you into a yes and/or someone using the "wear them down" method

Example: Request to go for a cup of coffee

"No, I can’t have coffee with you"

We won’t be gone long

"No, I can’t have coffee with you"

You deserve it… you’ve been working hard

"No, I can’t have coffee with you"

Come on I’ll pay

"No, I can’t have coffee with you"

Learning to say "No" naturally takes practice. Start with saying "No" to something everyday.

Time management really is a problem for a lot of entrepreneurs. They have so much they do themselves — everything from the mundane to the important and it can simply overwhelm you.

Make the most of your business hours, using these 7 fast time management tips to help you manage your business day.

1. Create an action list that goes one step further.

Whether the night before or first thing in the morning, make a list of what you want to accomplish that day. But make the list useful by prioritizing it according to what has to be done and what can wait. Rank your actions by priority… when needs to completing first, second etc.

2. Bundle your tasks.

You can bundle certain chores together. for example set aside a time block to return and make all your calls That will help you avoid task jumping

3. Don’t forget the children.

If your children are home during the day, plan around them. With thoughtful planning, you can juggle children and a business in the same day.

4. Just do it.

Don’t procrastinate over something you need to do and stress out about it, just do it. Usually the time spent stewing and brewing is often longer and more stressful than just digging in and getting the job done.

5. Plan around you peak time.

Are you a morning person? Use that time for more creative duties, such as writing or business planning, product creation. Save your sluggish time for stuffing envelopes, emptying your email box, filing and other less brain-taxing tasks.

6. Carry work with you to take advantage of time gaps.

Bring materials with you. If you need to wait 10 minutes before an appointment, you can punch out a quick thank-you note to a customer on your laptop, or even just update the status of all your current projects.

7. Include relaxation or activity break.

Forget the superman syndrome of trying to function on all cylinders from daybreak to dusk. Make down time part of your overall time management strategy. Even a few minutes spent staring out the window can recharge your batteries.

You’re Wasting Your Life!

You are programmed to live, on average, 74.3 years.

Here, with the help of experts, we total the hours, weeks and years you’ll squander during your lifetime.

And that includes the time spent reading this article.

Seeing doctors 49 hours
Waiting to see doctors 64 hours
Blowing your nose 6 days,
In the bathroom 7 years
In the shower 3 months
Toweling off 14 days
Shaving 5 months,
Applying deodorant 3 days
In meetings 3 years
Due to interruptions 4 years
Due to pointless interruptions 3 years
Reading and disposing of e-mails 7 months
Making internal phone calls and sending internal e-mails 1 year
Opening junk mail 8 months
On hold 2 months
Staring at a computer screen 1 year (my computer is more like 3 years)
Waiting for a computer to boot up 16 days
Surfing the Internet 9 months
Waiting for elevators 3 weeks
Procrastinating 11 months
Cleaning the hourse 1 year ( I believe this is much longer)
Taking out the garbage 19 days
Watching commercials 2 years
Reading the paper 2 years
Doing laundry 3 months
Watching the news 10 months
Tying your tie 12 days
Looking for lost stuff 1 year
Time you’ll waste sitting in your car commuting to work 8 months
Stuck in traffic 4 months
At stoplights 6 months
Trying to find a good AM radio station An eternity
Miscellaneous Grocery shopping 10 months
Waiting in lines 5 years
Worrying 5 years
Speaking 2.5 years

Do you know any interesting stats? feel free to include them in the comment section

All your time management efforts will come to a screaming halt if don’t control interruptions. You need to get tough about your office space especially with summer around the corner. If you lay the ground rules now, maintaining them throughout the year will be easier.

First, you need to respect your time. Treat it like your most valuable asset. Until you respect your time, nobody else will either.

Establish set business hours. Those business hours create an "invisible" boundary between home space and office space.

Try to choose a room with a door for your office. Put your office hours on the door. Close the door when you work on your identified high profit actions. Not all homes offer the luxury of an extra room for the office.

When I first started my business, the office was in an open area that naturally invited interruptions. I printed a sign with my business hours and another with "Mom at Work." When the Mom at Work sign showed up on the desk, it meant "don’t even think about coming into the office space, talk to me etc". In other words, "Don’t Disturb" me.

Even though my office now has a door, sharing the space with hubby presents a new set of "interrupting" challenges. We came up with non-verbal ways of letting each other know not to disturb while working. I use the "brain" stress reliever toy. If my "brain" is sitting on the desk corner, it means don’t talk or ask questions etc.

You may need to hire a babysitter for a few hours to watch the children so you can devote a few "concentrated" hours on high profit activities. For older children, look into some type of day camp. Allyce plays cello and loved going to the Cleveland Music School Settlements’ summer music camp.

If you know another home office person with children, you can do a "swap" watch. Once a week, agree to watch each other’s children for a couple hours. This will give both of you at least a couple hours of total uninterrupted time each week.

Treat your business seriously. If you treat your business like a hobby, so will your family. Your family will take clues from you on how to react and behave about your home office business. It will take some training, but let your family know the consequence of the lost money they cause every time they interrupt you. And don’t forget to also let them know when they experience the benefits that resulted from the uninterrupted time.

	Ann Rusnak - The Time Diva Entrepreneur Time Strategist
Ann Rusnak, guides frazzles, frustrated solopreneurs to gain more control and confidence. Discover how you too can get control over the clock with her free tips and strategies at http://www.Just15Minutes.com Connect with me at: Twitter Facebook