Welcome to #productivitychat! Let’s get started. You’re going to get tips & "how tos" to bring order to your day and week #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

If you apply what you get here in #productivitychat you can increase your productivity this week and stop the madness! #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

Now 4 quick intro-I am Sheila Hawkins owner of Third Eye Group aka @ThirdEyeGrp #productivitychat #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

Hello Sheila, thanks for inviting me. #productivitychatSylvia

@Gillian_Stephen Hi Gillian. how are you today? #productivitychatSylvia

Hello @Sylviabrowder! Thanks for coming #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

For those who don’t know me… #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

To get a feel for who’s "here" post 1 tweet to let us know who you are and what you do (if you like) #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

Grab your to-do list for this coming week and join live #productivitychat in progress now http://bit.ly/PuuS6SSheila Hawkins

@sylviabrowder Fine thanks trying out tweetchat on my blackberry, should be interesting. How are you? #productivitychatGillian Stephen

I’m fine @Gillian_Stephen. Hope you are too. Hopeefully your BB will get you through this, Mine usually does #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@Gillian_Stephen Great thanks. Cooking and watching the chat. 🙂 #productivitychatSylvia

Tell us about what you do @Gillian_Stephen #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@thirdeyegrp I’m a Fitness & Nutrition coach supporting individuals to eat healthy & fit exercise into their schedules #productivitychatGillian Stephen

@Gillian_Stephen, that is a much needed service! #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

So now, let me ask a question. FYI I’ll be labeling questions to make it easy for responses & to follow. Answers too #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

Q1: What tools and systems do you use to help you manage your time? #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

I use outlook calendar, Iphone, and TimeTrade to help me manage and stay on track both personally and professionally #productivitychatSylvia

@sylviabrowder do you find that those tools work well for you? #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@ThirdEyeGrp A1: I use my phone calendar & trying to utilise an editorial calendar to schedule blog posts, newsletters etc #productivitychatGillian Stephen

Just clicked in thanks #productivitychatMoney Wisdom for WM

@moneywisdomwomen welcome! #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@monewisdomwomen Welcome onboard #productivitychatGillian Stephen

@moneywisdomwomen, what tools do you use to support your time management? #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

A1: Using tools & systems that are personalized can help you tremendously when it comes to managing your day #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@Gillian_Stephen what format are you using for your editorial calendar? #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@ThirdEyeGrp what is the ‘editorial calendar’? Gillian mentioned it as well. #productivitychatSylvia

@sylviabrowder An editorial calendar is something I use for my ezine articles. I plan the upcoming year in Sep/Oct #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@ThirdEyeGrp Excel sheet, I got the template from @Blog_Trends it’s great but I’m not maximising on it yet #productivitychatGillian Stephen

@Gillian_Stephen That’s usually the challenge most have when it comes to tools #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@Gillian_Stephen max out your tools. Be sure they’re a fit for you and use every feature they afford you. #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@Gillian_Stephen If you find something’s not working, re-evaluate to see why. #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@ThirdEyeGrp What do you use Sheila? #productivitychatSylvia

@Sylviabrowder I use my BlackBerry tools and have templates for editorial calendar, blog posts, events, etc #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@ThirdEyeGrp How does the blog post template work ?@Sylviabrowder #productivitychatGillian Stephen

@Gillian_Stephen The one I have is actually a calendar I print that allows me to plan #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@Gillian_Stephen The one I use came from http://BlogEnergizer.com #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@Gillian_Stephen I like it because I like to write things out by hand when I plan #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

The http://BlogEnergizer.com calendar has notes as to special days/weeks, etc so that you can relate your posts #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@Gillian_Stephen Is there anything that’s not working for you now? #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@thirdeyegrp I schedule a certain post then as wk progresses other things come to mind or are more current causing havoc #productivitychatGillian Stephen

@Gilllian_Stephen How far out do you schedule? #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@ThirdEyeGrp about a fortnight, I know it should be longer, I think! #productivitychatGillian Stephen

@Gillian_Stephen You might try planning further out and do a "brain dump" that way you can get more ideas out #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@Gilllian_Stephen This will let you plan farther out. you can also try choosing a theme or topic and plan multiple posts #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@ThirdEyeGrp Thanks for tips, things I’ve learnt in my former corporate life but didn’t think to apply them now #productivitychatGillian Stephen

@Gillian_Stephen You’re welcome! #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@Gillian_Stephen I connected my blog posts to my NING post so every post is on a timeline in my community. #productivitychatSylvia

@sylviabrowder Smart move! Saves you time and expands your reach. #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

I also use Hootsuite to manage tweets between twitter, FB fan, FB personal, Linkedin #productivitychatSylvia

@sylviabrowder Hoot Suite is a nifty little tool. Tools are really important when it comes to saving time w/social media #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@ThirdEyeGrp Yes, i agree. #productivitychatSylvia

So tell me…Q2: How many items are on your to-do list and calendar for tomorrow? #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@ThirdEyeGrp actually, I have about 8 items that need some attention. I will prioritize in the AM #productivitychatSylvia

@sylviabrowder prioritizing is the key! #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@ThirdEyeGrp A2: 7 things, 2 of which I should have started but couldn’t resist this chat. A3: 3 realistic as time’s ltd #productivitychatGillian Stephen

Q3: How many of those things are realistic given the time that you need to complete them? #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

Step 1: Be sure your tasks have priorities based upon your values-based goals so that you know their importance #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

That step helps keep you from overloading and to stay focused on what’s important #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@ThirdEyeGrp yes it is. One point… dont be frustrated or stressed if you cant get everything done on your to do list. #productivitychatSylvia

@sylviabrowder Great point. We have to remember that and also not to overload our days #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@ThirdEyeGrp Definitely sometimes life just gets in the way 🙂 #productivitychatGillian Stephen

@Gillian_Stephen Life has a way of doing that, for sure #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@Gillian_Stephen its good to take a break though. Those things on our list will always be there. #productivitychatSylvia

@ThirdEyeGrp It seems everything is important #productivitychatMoney Wisdom for WM

@monewisdomwomen I see that a lot. Focus on prioritizing-go back to your goals and start there. Then move forward #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

Prioritizing goals takes the guess work out of your daily focus and helps weed out the unimportant things. #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@ThirdEyeGrp So do you set your goals for the week and then run through list and prioritise them? #productivitychatGillian Stephen

@Gillian_Stephen I set them for the month, then space them through each week #productivitychatMoney Wisdom for WM

@monewisdomwomen That process will give you clarity and help decipher the level of importance. #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@ThirdEyeGrp good point #productivitychatMoney Wisdom for WM

@monewisdomwomen Guide for prioritizing: Things that have serious negative consequences if not completed=Priority A tasks #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

…Things not as important as an “A” task w/only minor negative consequences for not completing it=Priority B #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@monewisdomwomen …“C” tasks are nice to do not as important & have no negative consequences for not completing them. #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@monewisdomwomen Others fall under D=Delegate or E=eliminate. Build your prioritizing muscle to support productivity #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@ThirdEyeGrp Great #productivitychatMoney Wisdom for WM

@ThirdEyeGrp music to my ears…….D and E! LOL!!! #productivitychatSylvia

@sylviabrowder LOL. I love D and E priority tasks!! #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@monewisdomwomen Use these as general rules when prioritizing and you should get some clarity #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@ThirdEyeGrp Great advice #productivitychatGillian Stephen

Step 2: Remove the things that you don’t have time to do. Keep priority things on your list and calendar #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@monewisdomwomen Thks. I tried quarterly approach, then drilled down to monthly but didn’t drill down further to the week #productivitychatGillian Stephen

@Gillian_Stephen great idea as well #productivitychatMoney Wisdom for WM

@Gillian_Stephen That’s usually where people stop. Schedule weekly planning time to break it down further #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@monewisdomwomen Quarterly approach works well. I start w/annual, then set times for quarterly, monthly, weekly #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@monewisdomwomen That process gives time to make changes and adjust what you’re created already #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

Not everything is deserving of your precious time. If not related to the master plan don’t give it your time #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

Step 3: Place any task that will take more than 15 minutes in your calendar. This avoids over-scheduling #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

Action Step: Rearrange your day based upon the above 3 steps. Remember your focus is on top priority tasks #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@ThirdEyeGrp Will do #productivitychatGillian Stephen

It’s time to wind down the chat ladies, one more question for you… #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

Q7: What challenges are you having right now while taking these steps to restructure your day and bring order to it? #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@ThirdEyeGrp A7: You’ve all given me more than enough to put in place to help me move forward, so a very big thank you #productivitychatGillian Stephen

@Gillian_Stephen Glad to know that #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@ThirdEyeGrp This has been great Sheila. I enjoyed this chat. #productivitychatSylvia

@sylviabrowder Thanks Sylvia! So glad that you could make it. #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@ThirdEyeGrp Well of course. I knew this would be ‘productive’ information that I can use. Always looking for good tips #productivitychatSylvia

I’ll be announcing the date for the next #productivitychat this week #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

This entire chat will be a post on my blog. I will let everyone know when it’s up #productivitychatSheila Hawkins

@ThirdEyeGrp You’re welcome. @sylviabrowder @monewisdomwoman ladies it’s been great, I’m on GMT so signing out, goodnight #productivitychatGillian Stephen

Great Twitter chat tonight. Thanks @sylviabrowder @Gillian_Stephen @monewisdomwomen #productivitychatSheila Hawkins