Recently I was asked how do I do it? How do I manage my time so well, stay organized and take good notes? I really didn’t know how to answer other than I just do. I have been using the same process for so long that it is second nature or a habit and so when asked it caught me off guard.
Forming good habits for time management with good organization including good note taking are essential for success. After stepping back to think it through it led me to see how I could help others with my approach.
Quote from Jim Rohn, “Either run the day or the day runs you.” This quote is very meaningful to time management as you should be ‘running the day’ in an organized manner.
I have five simple areas that I focus on to help me with the daily grind. Most of this is common sense and easy to follow.
Here are the five areas to focus:

1. Know what you want to achieve for the day
• Break it down into two categories to help with prioritization.
i. What do you WANT to achieve today?
ii. What MUST you achieve today?
• Prioritization is the key.
• Ask for help & delegate where possible and trust in another to report back because sometimes you cannot do it all.

2. Work from an action list
• There is power in having a prioritized and actionable list.
• Looking at this list through-out your day is also key.
• Focus on the high value activities.
i. What is most of important?
ii. What dos my client or team need from me now?
• Know the risks and impacts of items if not completed.

3. Manage the interruptions
• People will always come and ask of you and you will want to help but you need to maintain a balance.
• Interruptions will come and the more there are the less effective you become.
• Pay attention in discussions & meetings by listening and taking notes.
i. Avoid checking emails
ii. Know social media boundaries
• Schedule and facilitate effective meetings.
• Do not attend meetings just because you were invited.

4. Be Proactive – tackle the hardest activity first
• Stop procrastinating – it is a killer to productivity.
• Ask for help and leverage it.
• Know your own limits with multi-tasking.
• Structure your day to align with your action plan.
• Remember if you split or delay your focus, you may
compromise quality.

5. Reflect on the day – how’d you do?
• Celebrate the wins – big or small.
• What you would do differently now? In the next meeting?
Tomorrow?
• Know the impacts and apply the changes to proceed with
success.

The key to all of this is knowing yourself, turning these nuggets into habits so
that it becomes second nature and you ‘just do it’. Set an example for others
with good habits.
The same old thinking will give the same old results until you break the loop.
Time plus behavior equals change. How are you going to change to break the
loop?
I would like to hear about your time management technique that works for
you. Please email me at Denise@TheSecretForWinning.com and share more
about it.

More Nuggets from Denise:
• Effective Meeting Tips
o Keep to the time agreed/scheduled for the meeting.
o Know your stakeholders.
o Define and make sure everyone knows the ‘rules of
engagement’
▪ Do not read your email or social media
▪ Listen and be engaged in the discussion as
appropriate
▪ Take notes
o Stick to the agenda and make sure you have enough time to
cover your topics.
o Encourage follow-up conversations outside of the meeting
and report outcome back at a future meeting.
o Eliminate tourists – those that attend and offer no value or
have any skin in the discussion.

• Effective Note Taking Tips
o Use a technique that works for you.
o Make sure you review your notes shortly after your meeting
while fresh in your mind.
o If you are presenting –
▪ Ask someone else to take notes of
• Discussion topics
• Questions asked/discussed
• Action items with assignments
▪ Jot down notes that trigger your memory to write
your notes shortly following the meeting.
▪ Write notes immediately following the meeting while
fresh in your mind.
o Notes are only as good as the person writing and the person
using.

Click HERE to Download the Show Notes

Additional Reference(s):
i. Jim Rohn is a philosopher who has left an indelible legacy of timeproven
principles and wisdom.
ii. I continue using Alpha Brain and enjoying the results. If interested
explore through Onnit or Amazon .