Improve your effectiveness

What do you want to be noted on your tombstone ?

2010-02-04T10:30:00.000-08:00

Why is this exercise in personal objectives setting important ?
Having a clear vision of what trace you want to leave on earth can be beneficial to reach your objectives

Instructions for the exercise

1. Select a scope of time you are comfortable with.
At the end of your life, at the end of this year, at the end of your current project or mission,....

2. Select a life that is important to you.
Your tombstone as a manager of this company, as an incumbent of this position, as a member of this club,...

3. Be precise
Use less than 20 works to note down what you hope your boss / friend /partner /... will say about you, at the end of your collaboration with them.

The last task of your day ?

2010-01-23T02:11:00.000-08:00

Prepare the first task of the next day

What are your lists ?

2010-01-23T01:56:00.000-08:00

Lists are used to calm down your stress by increasing your control on things

Most professionals use many lists of tasks, objects, contacts, documents, events, ideas,....

Answer the following question: Except from your contacts list, what are your favorite lists ?

Adapt this 6-figure model of personal quarterly scoreboard to your own situation

2010-01-21T08:26:00.000-08:00

Saved for investment this month ( Target at ___ Euros)
Asset collected and invested up to know ( Target at ___ M)
Increase of my time facing my internal or external customers
New things acquired this quarter: Competency, client, relation, asset,…
Key project status: delay, flaws,…
Gain from processing: tasks delegated, automated,…this quarter

How to retrieve your information faster ?

2010-01-21T08:07:00.000-08:00

Smart ways to organize your information

A. For files and documents

1. Create your personal keywords list of 100.
Allocate 3 key works to all your documents.
Search with Google

2. Create your 10 lists of 10 documents. Examples

Frequent documents
Important documents
Contract / legal documents
Send to a person documents
To be published documents
Confidential documents
Template, reusable documents

3. By subjects tree

4. Calendar located files links per objective, project,…

B. For elements

List of my 100 most important figures and numbers
List of my 20 most important contacts

C. Per expertise

List your 10 most frequently requested expertise: Financial, Medical, Managerial, Scientific, Travel,
For each of them: Human expert address + reference site / book address

Are you performing well in your environment ?

2010-01-16T22:49:00.000-08:00

It's a major definition of intelligence. The ability to apply knowledge to perform better in an environment

Did you ever achieve great goals ?

2010-01-16T22:43:00.000-08:00

It's a major definition fo intelligence.
The capacity to reach the highest goals by rapid changes, overcoming major obstacles, using a minimum of resources.

Are you "intelligent" ?

Do you adapt very rapidly to a variety of new situations ?

2010-01-16T22:39:00.000-08:00

Its a major definition of human intelligence.

Check your stress and work overloading "red lamps"

2010-01-15T01:16:00.000-08:00

Stage I: Quick mood variations

Stage II: Change in sleep pattern
II A Can't get asleep when going to bed
II B Early wake up
II C Night wake up

Stage III Medical
III A Anxiety
III B Depression

Place a notebook by your bedside.

2009-12-26T01:28:00.000-08:00

Write down your needs, your intentions, your worries and you will sleep better!

Drink less coffee

2009-12-23T02:15:00.001-08:00

Cafeine amplifes the effect of the cortisol produced in stress.

Do you suffer from EDS like 20 % of people at work ?

2009-12-23T00:38:00.000-08:00

If you pick up the phone systematically when it rings, if you leave your door constantly open, if you must say something to a person whom you cross, if you attend all the meetings simply because you are invited, if you read your mails as soon as they arrive,… you suffer from the neurologic "Environment Dependancy Syndrom"

Your brain's frontal lobe is weak. It fails to protect you from your environment. You tend to imitate, to use things just because they are available.

The treatment is to protect yourself from your environement: Switch on your phone voice recorder, close your door,...

Only one or two mail reading sessions per day.

2009-12-20T08:40:00.000-08:00

Maximum one hour. Your inbox should be empty at the end of the session.

Sleep before deciding and sending your mails.

2009-12-19T00:41:00.000-08:00

Night brings good counsel: it’s your grandmother’s advice with scientific backup.

Read and listen to messages when you decide to, not when they arrive.

2009-12-18T00:40:00.000-08:00

Record and read them during the time you have set aside..

Calculate your productivity by checking off the items on your To Do list.

2009-12-17T00:39:00.000-08:00

Start with the most important tasks and leave on time. You will never be done anyway.

Calculate your productivity by checking off the items on your To Do list.

2009-12-14T23:51:00.001-08:00

Start with the most important tasks and leave on time. You will never be done anyway.

Use a main list

2009-12-13T22:30:00.000-08:00

Don’t leave your desk without a notepad. Don’t clutter your memory with intentions; it only remembers the stress.

After the age of 45, shift from oral to written communication

2009-12-13T00:39:00.000-08:00

With age, neurons are dying. The brain processes information slower. The slower written communication permits older people to keep pace.

Use your main list.

2009-12-12T00:28:00.000-08:00

Don’t drive without a voice recorder. Don’t clutter your memory with intentions; it only remembers the stress.

Use a logbook, like captains do.

2009-12-10T22:23:00.001-08:00

Fill-out your logbook every Saturday morning. Write down all the important things you accomplished during the week.

Improve your memory by better note taking

2009-12-09T03:45:00.000-08:00

Tree-like note taking is proved to help memory

Download a free note taking software Note taking software

Thanks to Anne Denayer

Select your concern of the day when you wake up each morning

2009-12-09T03:29:00.000-08:00

Choose your “Concern of the Day” when you get up in the morning. Decide to complete one important thing before evening.

No morning meeting

2009-12-07T23:18:00.000-08:00

No meetings before 11:00 a.m. Your morning intelligence is powerful but easily disturbed by others.

Shift to off-line communication to improve your decisions

2009-12-07T00:11:00.000-08:00

Answer important questions more slowly. Less than three seconds between question and answer: error guaranteed.

1. Detect important issues / questions during on-line communication like convesations or phone calls
2. Gain time for answering. Ask to shift to written communication as notes, memos, mails

Our mind activates fast but low quality systems, when a quick answer is requested

Use your voice mail more often

2009-12-05T00:27:00.000-08:00

Never pick up your phone when it rings. You will be more intelligent if you gain time between the question and the answer.

Your intelligence selects the fast, low quality decision system or the slow, high quality decision system, depending on the speed of the conversation.

Listen first to the question, then decide on the time to allocate for your answer. Call back when you, not others, are ready.

Protect yourself from interruptions

2009-11-30T22:42:00.000-08:00

Protect yourself from interruptions two hours a day ! One interruption is twenty minutes of lost time for you.

Start your day with demanding tasks

2009-11-30T00:17:00.000-08:00

Start your day with difficult tasks and end it with exciting ones. First work alone then work with others

Never start your day reading your mails

2009-11-29T06:18:00.000-08:00

Do not educate your brain to start its day caring for OPPs, Other People Problems