Are you using your diary effectively?

"He who every morning plans the transactions of the day and follows out that plan, carries a thread that will guide him through the labyrinth of the most busy life." -Victor Hugo

It is the start of a new year and your journey with your new diary starts…but are you using your diary effectivelyl?

A diary is one of your most important organising tools. It is the only way of keeping track of what you need and want to do, scheduling your time effectively to do it and to balance your life. If you use your diary effectively it will become your professional and business guide, goal achiever, priority highlighter, life balancer, record keeper, financial freedom and abundance enabler, family scheduler, stress reliever, productivity enhancer and life companion. It will free your mind and enable you to concentrate on your tasks at hand. It will give you the back up to say ‘no’ when you can’t fit in yet another commitment. It will prevent you from over promising and then under delivering.

So how do you use your diary effectively? Follow these simple steps.
§ Have ONE master diary which you are able to carry with you. You’re less likely to forget a meeting if you record your business and personal appointments in one place. If you use an electronic diary like Outlook at work, make sure you transfer all your appointments to you master diary which you carry with you at all times.
§ Enter all your appointments and add extra time for getting ready and travel time. Try and schedule your appointments and errands geographically. Record the details required for the appointment, like the address, phone number and directions.
§ Check your diary every morning before you start your day in order to be prepared for what lies ahead.
§ Don’t schedule 100% of your day. You have to allow for unplanned events like interruptions and perceived emergencies.
§ Block out time for lunch, picking up the children, school plays, etc.
§ Plan time for yourself and your family and book it in
§ Allocate time each day for administrative and daily tasks like email, phone calls, etc.
§ If you promise to do something for someone, write a note in your diary on the day you intend to do it.
§ Schedule today, yesterday. Create your to-do list at the end of each day for the next day and block schedule time blocks in your diary for you critical and high priority tasks – ensure that this will be uninterrupted time.
§ Be careful not to fill your entire day with appointments and meetings otherwise you will never be able to get to your critical tasks for the day.
§ Remember to carry over tasks that you did not manage to complete.
§ Use Friday afternoons to plan for the week ahead.
§ Record follow up tasks in your diary.
§ If you have a family or partner who needs to share diary information, it is a good idea to have a wall calendar in a central place where you can share important information. Copy this information from your master diary and transfer any updates on this calendar onto your master diary.
§ Write all your great ideas, dreams and goals in your diary.
§ Keep track of your daily spending – most people spend more per day than they realise
§ Keep track of your potential and projected income and your ideal spending plan and then your actual income and spending – It is your blueprint for abundance.

Selecting a Diary
Your ideal diary should be able to record:
§ Your appointments
§ To Do List
§ Daily Spending
§ Income Sheet
§ Ideal Spending Plan
§ Goals, Notes and Ideas

Beorganised searched high and low and found the ideal diary for 2010. It is Linda’s Abundance Diary. We now have it in stock and you can order it via email (info@beorganised.co.za) or via our website www.beorganised.co.za. We stock the hard cover, soft cover and Filo Fax Inner Pages.

A happy and productive 2010!

BEORGANISED THIS 2010 (and we deliver)
If your new year’s resolution is to be more organised, we have the perfect products to support you in your quest .You can order these via www.beorganised.co.za or via info@beorganised.co.za (We will send you a brochure). We have a range of organising E-Books and fantastic Organising Products. The products include clear storage boxes, handbag organisers, Warrantee/Document Organisers and other great NEW products!