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Conquer Easter Season time stress, part one

6 March, 2012 By grhilligoss@gmail.com Leave a Comment

Gayle Hilligoss Picture
Article by Gayle Hilligoss
Ed. note: In the coming weeks before Easter we all feel have far more to do than minutes in the day to get it done. Gayle provides some wonderful help in managing your work and I must admit, helps me feel less guilty for the many articles, ideas, and projects I'm sending your way in the coming weeks.

Everyone says it at one time or another: Help! I need more time to get all my work done.

Bad news. There is no more time. We have all there is; no one can give us more than the 24 hours we already have every day.

A good first step to being more productive is to understand this important principle and begin to see time as the precious resource it is—a resource that cannot be saved up, manipulated or controlled, but can only be used. The goal then is to use it wisely and well. We cannot truly manage time itself, but we can manage our own work habits and behaviors.

• See time as a blessing.
Attitude plays an enormous role in productivity. Start each day thanking God in advance for what the day will bring, for the opportunities it affords, the blessings it holds. Use each minute as a gift; what if you didn’t have this day?

• Plan. Then do.
Unplanned days seldom reach their potential for productivity. Use a few minutes of the last hour of each day to identify your priorities for the next day. After your plans are on paper (or on screen) assemble materials you will need for your most important tasks. Having them ready gives you a jump on the new day.

• Maximize your mornings.
Research suggests that in most offices the first hour of the day is the least productive. How do you start your day? With meaningless rituals or with meaningful tasks?

Track your mornings for the next few days. Don’t make an effort to change anything (yet) but pay particular attention to how you use this most important time. Once you have a true picture of your usual routine, take steps to turn your first hours into more productive ones.

• Follow your plan.
Your written plan is your map for the day. A detour or two can be expected, but do not allow yourself to be pulled off track by nonessentials. Unless you take control over interruptions and distractions you will feel constantly under time pressures. Stay focused. Learn not to interrupt yourself; this practice is epidemic in church offices. Make each day’s journey a pleasant trip, not a survival course.

• Claim your power.
Productive people “own” their time. They do not allow others to fritter their time away. This does not mean the assistant ignores needs or instructions. Far from it. The quality of work increases as she takes responsibility for her time and overcomes any feelings that others have control over how her workday hours will be spent.

• Analyze your day.
No one knows your office and your routine like you do. Scrutinize your schedule: what are the bottlenecks? Where are the timewasters? Who presents what obstacles? What careless habits have cropped up? What patterns emerge?

This objective look at how things are will help you create new and more productive techniques for how things will be. Consider changing the hour of day certain tasks are done. Look for short cuts. Omit any unnecessary tasks; there will be some!

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Filed Under: Columnist Gayle Hilligoss, Contributors Tagged With: church office time management, Easter time, time management

Timely Fundamentals, part two

22 February, 2012 By grhilligoss@gmail.com Leave a Comment

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Article by Gayle Hilligoss

Ed. notes: last week we shared the first of Gayle's great tips for using our time wisely.  Here is the second part of these very practical little nuggets of wisdom on a topic that we can always learn more about and apply better. 

For the first part of this series, CLICK HERE.

Timely Fundamentals, part two

Looking for a novel technique, an insider secret, a magic solution to create more time? Try these basics for personal effectiveness instead. They are not new, but they do work. You may have heard them before, but do you use them?

  • set priorities
  • stick to your priorities
  • delegate when possible
  • vary routines occasionally
  • arrive on time; leave on time
  • respect and appreciate others
  • respect and appreciate yourself
  • ask for help when needed
  • be willing to help
  • create shortcuts
  • eliminate  what you can
  • unclutter your space
  • see all time as God’s gift

for Part One, CLICK HERE

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Filed Under: Church Office Skills, Columnist Gayle Hilligoss, Contributors Tagged With: church office skills, time management, wise useof time

Timely Fundamentals, part one

8 February, 2012 By grhilligoss@gmail.com Leave a Comment

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Article by Gayle Hilligoss

Ed. comments: After reading this list of tips, I thought they are like little chocolates. . . . . real treasures to savor bit by bit. Take time and think about each one--I guarantee they'll make a difference and you won't gain an ounce!

Timely Fundamentals, part one

Looking for a novel technique, an insider secret, a magic solution to create more time? Try these basics for personal effectiveness instead. They are not new, but they do work.

You may have heard them before, but do you use them?

  • eat healthy
  • exercise appropriately
  • get sufficient sleep
  • set realistic goals
  • plan before doing
  • organize your space
  • alternate kinds of work
  • avoid distractions
  • take breaks
  • avoid excess chit chat
  • stay out of office politics
  • communicate intelligently
  • use assertive behaviors
  • don’t try to do everything
  • slim down files
  • forget about pleasing everyone

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Filed Under: Church Office Skills, Columnist Gayle Hilligoss Tagged With: church office management, time management, use time wisely

Church offices: How to get ready for Fall 2011

26 August, 2011 By grhilligoss@gmail.com Leave a Comment

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Article by Gayle Hilligoss

Ed. note: another school year is about to start and 2011 is almost three-quarters gone. It's easy to panic about all the things we have to do and all that is ahead in the many church demands of the fall. Gayle's wonderful article will give you the encouragement you need to make the most of it.

Fall and the start of a new school year is a good time both to reflect and to project—a time to look back and consider what you’ve experienced and learned, a time to look ahead to where you will go next. One sure sign of personal progress is the realization that you not only know smart things, but that you do those smart things. You will know, feel, when it happens. The difference is beyond measure.

• Put first things first. Sometimes we stay so busy doing the good that we neglect the best. Pray for wisdom to know what is truly important to you. Then give your time, energy, and love to those things first. Unless you make a deliberate effort to set priorities and to stick with them, your days will be filled 
with other people’s priorities and not your own.

• Respect time.
Understand that time is the most precious resource you have; without it you have nothing. Spend your hours and your minutes wisely. Plan your days rather than just letting them happen.

• Stay calm.
Know what matters—and be passionate about those things. Know what doesn’t matter—and don’t let those things get you down. You know you are becoming more mature when you control your emotions instead of allowing them to control you.

• Take care of yourself.
Your body is a gift from God; being as fit as you can be is a testimony in itself. Eat wisely, exercise, get sufficient rest, schedule regular checkups. Don’t allow lesser activities to keep you from a daily walk. Commit to some healthy extras: swimming, biking, whatever you like. Few of us do all we could or should. But we can!

• Nourish your mind.
God’s world is a wondrous place. Learn something new every single day. Today, look at a flower and be amazed. Tonight, go outside and gaze at the stars. Tomorrow, visit the library and check out books on a subject you know nothing about. Or use the Internet to travel a new part of the world. Talk with someone—and not on a cell phone. Think new thoughts. Grow wise.

Now you know smart things. And you can do them!

 

 

 

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Filed Under: Church Office Skills, Columnist Gayle Hilligoss Tagged With: church office encouragement, church office skills, Columnist Gayle Hilligoss, Fall preparation, time management

Don’t just be efficient, be effective, part three of The Number One Time Management Technique

29 June, 2011 By grhilligoss@gmail.com Leave a Comment

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Article by Gayle Hilligoss

Ed note: I have been greatly challenged from this series of articles and on my list for today is "Publish Part Three of Time Management Article." I almost hate to end this series of tips, but I must finish my checklist!  Links to the first two parts of this series are at the end of the article:

To recap some of the invaluable Time Management Techniques in the two earlier parts of this series, Gayle Hilligoss has advised us to:

• In the afternoon, make your list for the next day.

• Include both long and short-term goals.

• Include thinking and planning time.

• Break large jobs into small ones.

• Allow for lunch and break times.

• Keep your list visible.

• Give each item on the list a priority.


Now for Part 3:

• Group similar tasks.

Studies show that doing like tasks together may cut the time required by as much as 30 percent. As you schedule your day try to arrange some blocks of time. Your goal is to move from scattered to scheduled, from random to routine.

When tasks or appointments can be scheduled at your discretion, choose timing most convenient to you. If your office generally has a least busy time of day, schedule work that demands high concentration then.

As you plan when to do things, consider what they will demand of you. Use your high energy times to do your most difficult work. Be flexible in your habits. Perhaps you’ve always done a certain routine job in the morning, your high energy time. Would it be more effective to reschedule that “not so challenging” job at a low energy time?

• Understand the Pareto Principle.

Vilfredo Pareto was a nineteenth century Italian economist. Studying the distribution of his country’s resources, he determined that 80 percent of the wealth was held by 20 percent of the people.

Researchers have discovered Pareto’s 80/20 rule applies in countless circumstances. For instance, 80 percent of your church’s offerings are likely given by 20 percent of the membership, 80 percent of the leadership provided by 20 percent of the people. And, probably 80 percent of your problems are generated by 20 percent of the congregation.

On your to-do list, 80 percent of your productivity is in the 20 percent of your list designated as As. If you do only the As, the most important 20 percent of your list, you will have accomplished 80 percent of your productivity. But, if you work from the bottom of the list and do eight things, all the Bs and Cs, you do 80 percent of your list but accomplish only 20 percent of your productivity. The 80/20 rule graphically illustrates why it is so important to stick to your priorities.

Efficiency is doing the job right. Effectiveness is doing the right job right. Your goal is to be effective, not just efficient. Keep those As crossing your desk until all are completed. The temptation to do Bs and Cs first is understandable. Usually these tasks are easier or take less time, and everybody likes to check things off. If you need help sticking to priorities, write your As on one list and your Bs and Cs on a second sheet underneath. Raising the sheet is a reminder that you’re straying from your priorities.

Work on one project at a time, seeing it through before moving on to the next. Obviously, this is not always possible. But often we interrupt ourselves. Make sure your only interruptions are the ones over which you have no control.

• Finally, keep your lists as a reference.

File your weekly to-do lists with the most current week to the front. This creates an accurate record of work done, calls made, materials ordered—any information you want may need to refer to later.

Using these steps allows you to tap into the number one time management technique effectively. The guarantee is not that you get every task on you list done, but that the most important tasks are accomplished.

Rather than fret about the unchecked tasks, as you leave the office thank God for all you did get done. Congratulate yourself for your accomplishments and keep your undone tasks on tomorrow’s to-do list where you’ve parked them. Leaving the office feeling good about the day prepares your spirit to face tomorrow with enthusiasm.

__________________________________

Link to Part One of this Article

Link to Part Two of this Article

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Filed Under: Church Office Skills, Columnist Gayle Hilligoss Tagged With: church office skills, Columnist Gayle Hilligoss, time management

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