Time Management Expert, Event Speaker: Mark Lamendola
 

Time Tips: Kitting

In manufacturing, distributors of electrical supplies have a process they call "kitting." What they do is they put related items together into a kit, which then has its own part number. This saves time and money, because people don't keep ordering the same individual components. It's similar to "assembling"--a process in which components are put together as a larger assembly and sold that way. Think of "handcleaner and rags" vs. "chair and cushion."

What are some kits you can make, to save yourself time? I'll give you a list of some of my kits, and you can get ideas from those:

  • Map and magnifier. You can get a slim plastic magnifying sheet for about $1. Keep this with the street map you have in your car. Keep on in your "plane" luggage, also.
     
  • Pen and paper. Why keep these in different places, when you always use them together?
     
  • Toiletries kit. How can you possibly forget to pack a toothbrush? Have a complete toiletries kit devoted to travel. You can buy the toiletry bags just about anywhere, but get a good one from a luggage shop.
     
  • Electronics travel kit #1. I have a plastic bag in which I put a DC/AC converter (to power my laptop in a car), cell phone car charger (bought just for this kit--I leave another one in my car), and single-to-dual convenience receptacle expander. This goes in my regular luggage. When I pick up the rental car, out comes the plastic bag and I have mobile power.
     
  • Electronics travel kit #2. I carry a briefcase with an AC extension cord, wall charger for cell phone, brick and cords for laptop (bought just for this kit), and cable for using my cell phone as a 115k modem. When I travel, I never have to worry that I might have left a charging device at home--it's always in this kit.
     
  • Garden kit. Make up a box or tray of the same garden implements you always use. This way, you aren't running back and forth to get a tool you should have had with you. You could still store individual implements in a central tool chest or cabinet, but put make up a kit before tackling the work. Pruning shears, small saw, dandelion digger, spade--whatever.
     
  • Bathroom cleaning kit. Window cleaner, bowl cleaner, rags, small brushes--whatever you use to clean in your bathroom(s)--get all of this together, so you aren't making trips back and forth to get what you need.
     
  • Networking kit. If you go to business functions, bring your networking kit. What is this? A small notebook, pen, and business cards.
     
  • Shooting kit. Keep a bag with canvas safety glasses, ammo, hearing protection, etc., so this is all together. At 2AM when some coked out lunatic is breaking down your door, you don't want to be trying to find this stuff.

     Note: putting all of your firearms in a gun locker every night defeats the purpose of having firearms to begin with. But so does careless storage or use. If you have children, contact the NRA www.nra.org about the Eddie Eagle program--which teaches kids not to touch unattended firearms, but to tell an adult.
     
  • Climbing kit. This one is just an example--do a similar thing for the sport(s) of your choice. I keep a very nice bag just for climbing. In it, I keep chalk, shoes, harness, bandaids, and padlock. I know to "recharge" the kit before I go--with food bars (this sport burns calories like you wouldn't believe), gym shorts, and a tank top. If it's an outside climb, sunscreen goes in there also.

You can come up with other kits. As the climbing and gardening examples show, it's not necessary to always have every one of these kits made up. Sometimes, a list is just as good. Before you do X, check your list to make sure you have all the stuff you need.

 

 
A great way many businesses are managing time is using software. There are many forms of time and attendance software which allows managers to track and monitor employees time usage.
 

More thoughts on time management

The phrase "time management" is an unfortunate language quirk. You can't really manage time. It just is. You can't gain time, create time, or even lose time. Time is what it is, regardless of what we do.

It would be better to say "time allocation" or "activity management" "time usage" or some other phraseology to indicate that it's not time itself you're managing but how you use the time that exists. But we'll use the common terminology here to avoid confusion.

Some things time management is not:

  • Being more efficient. Suppose you become very efficient at making buggy whips. Does this fact mean you are managing your time well?
  • Getting more done in a given amount of time. Getting more done of what? And to what degree of quality? If you rake the leaves on a lawn from one side to the other all day long, does that mean you are a good time manager?
  • Being able to juggle multiple priorities. Instead of juggling priorities, assign priorities. First tend to the urgent things, then the most important things.
  • Mastering multi-tasking. This concept conflicts with what we know about the human brain. If you buy into this self-defeating, time-wasting, quality-killing ideology, you might also be interested in practicing solo flight by flapping your arms frantically.
  • Working faster. No, this mode is how you make mistakes that you subsequently have to spend more time fixing.

Some things good time management involves:

  • Deciding what to do. This is trickier than it sounds. Which is why there are time management experts.
  • Deciding what not to do. This is even trickier than deciding what to do. Which is why there are time managers and why discipline is a huge, huge factor in accomplishing this.
  • Deciding what to do when, and in what order. In essence, prioritization.
  • Determining the scope, goals, and metrics for each activity you undertake. In this area, we the find most room for improvement. Precision here allows you to avoid waste on the one hand, and falling short on the other.
  • Planning out the work, task, project, or activity such that you determine the necessary steps to quality completion. That is, what must you do to meet the intended goal and quality metrics?
  • Identifying unnecessary steps. Get this right, and you can cut your wasted hours significantly.
  • Figuring out what resources to use. Not all resources applicable to a task are equal. Picking the right tool for the job saves time, improves quality, and makes life less stressful.

We've highlighted only some of the factors involved in good time management. We actually teach extreme time management, which is a methodology that allows you to make effective use of your time almost second nature. You don't need a complicated system. Our system puts many of the variables on autopilot, so you have more time to do what you need to do. Our system goes way beyond most other systems in results, yet is far simpler.

Contact us for a presentation to your organization: comments @ mindconnection.com (remove the spaces after pasting into your e-mail client's "to" box.