Blog – Page 63 – 2Time Labs

December 28, 2007

The Dead-End of Most Time Management Systems

I have been doing some research into other systems of “time management” ideas, and once again I am thinking that most of them (indeed, all I have ever seen) get themselves into all sorts of trouble.

Here is the common sequence of events:

1) A Bright Person invents a method of personal productivity that works for them, and does so powerfully.

2) The same Bright Person, being productive, packages their method into a system that they then sell in programmes. Continue reading “The Dead-End of Most Time Management Systems”

December 26, 2007

Psychology… But After the Fundamentals

I was listening to a time management audio-book today with some interest, as the author was delving into the frame of mind a good time manager must have to be effective, at the very beginning of the book.

I wondered about that.

In sports, while I know there is a place for “sports psychology”, in the most effective athletes, it is never a replacement for practice in the fundamentals.

However, in the practice of time management, it seems as if professionals are left without a proper starting point, because they have no idea what the fundamentals are. Continue reading “Psychology… But After the Fundamentals”

December 24, 2007

Thoughts Flying Around

Part of what humans are unable to control is the sheer volume of thoughts that travel through the average person’s head on a given day. We cannot stem the torrent of useful and useless ideas, bits of conversation, idle fantasies and the like that don’t seem to stop even when we are asleep.

The challenge that we have is to develop habits to deal with at least some of them effectively, and especially when they create time demands.

Part of the trouble I have with some of the language Steven Covey uses in his 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is that the things he talks about are not really habits at all, because they are not actionable, observable physical movements. Continue reading “Thoughts Flying Around”

December 21, 2007

TaskBin.com

As an aside, I have found an interesting new web-service that’s called Taskbin.com that I think is quite interesting.

It’s offered to groups that need to coordinate project actions in a transparent way, and to keep a single point of reference for who is doing what. It seems quite easy to use and I am looking for the right project to give it a shot.

December 19, 2007

Coaching Using 2Time

One benefit of the 2Time system is that it’s an effective tool for coaching, and even self-coaching.

Using the components to look at a professional’s time management system is a little like using a cheat sheet, or diagnostic tool to figure out what the underlying problem is.

For example, a user who is a White Belt in Capturing is going to experience a predictable set of challenges -they are going to complain of “forgetting a whole bunch of stuff”.

A White Belt in Scheduling would say that their To-Do list rolls from one day to the next, without ever changing, making them feel that they are accomplishing little as it grows infinitely long.

A coach who understands the underlying components can easily understand why a user’s system is not working the way they want it to, and why the gaps are being experienced the way they are.

In like manner, someone who is rigorous can coach themselves using the components of 2Time, and decide for themselves which habits they want to change, and at what pace.

December 17, 2007

Protecting the First Few Hours

Recently, I have been more and more careful to protect the first few hours of each working day. In a prior post, I mentioned that I had fallen into some bad habits, and fallen into the trap of checking email at every spare moment.

What I have also noticed is that my energy is very different at 8:00 a.m. than it is at 2:00 p.m. I am a real morning person, and being an energetic type, I usually work out for 1-2 hours each morning (6 days a week with one for rest). Continue reading “Protecting the First Few Hours”

December 14, 2007

Monetizing this Blog

I have been wondering if there is a company or individual who is interested in helping me to monetize this blog.

Or better yet, how can such a person be found? Would they be willing to work on commission?

Do let me know of any ideas you might have in this regard.

December 12, 2007

Task Tracking

As a consulting professional, I have tracked the way I use my time for years.

One of the greatest innovations I have come across in the past year is a program called SnapLogger, which takes screen-shots every few minutes as long as the user is active in Windows. It is an excellent program.

Now, if only Outlook would cooperate and allow a user to record the actual history of an appointment or task. Continue reading “Task Tracking”

December 10, 2007

Another 2Time Analogy

I recently got an email from someone who read my blog and came away with the idea that he SHOULD be moving towards become a Black Belt. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Being a Black Belt certainly is an option for those who want it, but it is no better or worse than any other belt. It just depends on what one wants to use it for.

In this sense, the 2Time philosophy is that a time management system is like an orchestra, made up of 11 possible instruments (if there is such a thing). At any given time, anywhere from zero to 11 positions can be filled, and each has its own kind of music. Continue reading “Another 2Time Analogy”

December 7, 2007

A Hard Habit to Break

One of the more difficult habits to break when using Outlook is hard to change because of how the program is designed.

Here is the typical scenario:

Several pieces of email come into the Outlook in-box
Each of them share a single characteristic, in that they require about ten minutes of work
They have nothing else in common

Here is what I would really want to do, that as far as I can tell is not programmed into the latest version of Outlook. Continue reading “A Hard Habit to Break”