The Posh Blog

  I was listening to a teleclass the other day on the topic of time management.  It was an excellent call and I wanted to share one big thing that really struck me.   

Time Management expert and former Franklin Covey Coach Bill Zipp, talked about having a hypothetical “Stop Doing List”.  He said that many people spend too much time doing too many low priority tasks.  What we should be doing is eliminating the low priority tasks all together and focus on the high priorities.  Bill also said that many people “confuse activity for accomplishment”, meaning that people feel like they are getting more accomplished simply because they are busy.   

I have talked to many clients who say that they feel a sense of accomplishment when they check something off their “to do” list.  I’ve said the same thing myself!  But, I think we need to translate that to our Stop Doing list.  We should feel a huge sense of accomplishment when we remove something from our to do list and not just when we check one more thing off our list.   

I know this is a difficult concept for many people to embrace.  I have been using a similar method for over a year now and I still find it difficult to decide what item is getting “kicked to the curb”.  But I do it each week and I have found that it makes me feel better because I can let go of any guilt associated with not completing a certain task.   

The week is almost over, it’s the perfect time to think about what is really important for this week and what you can banish from your list.  Just typing the words “banish from my list” makes me feel better already!   What is one thing you can strike from your to do list today?   

A smaller to do list, that’s the good life!

Enjoy!

Copyright (C) 2008 Angela Ploetz, POSH Space  www.theposhspace.com. 

I received an e-mail this morning that didn’t look quite right.  Here is what the message said:   

Subject: [RE] UPS Tracking Number 7779321199 

Unfortunately we were not able to deliver postal package you sent on July the 1st in time because the recipient_s address is not correct.  Please print out the invoice copy attached and collect the package at our office 

Your UPS 

What you see above is exactly as the message appeared in my inbox.  So what tipped me off that this was a scam?  My first clue that this was a scam was that I had just read about an almost identical e-mail by Rich Brooks on www.flyteblog.com.  The second clue was that I had not sent a UPS package (duh).  Clue number three was that there was no additional contact information for UPS, typically in an e-mail of this nature the company will give you many ways to contact them including web-site, e-mail address, phone number, etc.  The final clue was revealed when I hit the reply button and the e-mail address displayed was United Parcel Services and then included the name of a person at a software company.   

If you receive an e-mail like this simply delete it.  If you did happen to mail a package around this time contact UPS directly.  Do not open the attachment. 

Does anyone else know of any other e-mail scams we should be on the look out for? 

A day with out the unnecessary stress of a scam, priceless! 

Enjoy the good life! 

Angela Ploetz 

   Don’t forget this weekend we will turn our clocks forward because of Daylight Saving Time.  The change happens on Sunday, March 9^th and at 1:59 a.m. you should move your clock to 3:00 a.m.  If you are not planning on partying like it’s 1999, then you should just move your clocks forward one hour Saturday night when you go to bed.   

You can also visit Time and Date to find the current time anywhere in the world!  

Enjoy the good life,

Angela   

Copyright (C) 2008 Angela Ploetz, POSH Space  www.theposhspace.com. 

    Have you ever looked at your watch, your cell phone, and your computer to find that each one is showing a different time?  This is especially frustrating if you are trying to be on time for a meeting or conference call.   

Next time this happens you can go to www.time.gov and get the exact time with a 0.2 second accuracy.  Now that’s good!  You can also check the time for each of the time zones in the US, which I find to be extremely helpful because I have many telephone conferences with people in different time zones.  Everyone always gets confused, “do I add two hours or subtract an hour?” and this web-site helps us keep it straight.   

Knowing I can rely on something to give me the right time when I need it, now that’s a relief.   

Enjoy the good life,

Angela   

Copyright (C) 2008 Angela Ploetz, POSH Space  www.theposhspace.com. 

 Greetings to everyone during this last week of January.  As the first month of 2008 has already gone by like a high speed train I want to take a moment to talk about my personal choice for a planner this year.  Choosing the right planner or calendaring system is not always an easy decision.  I like to try different ones so I can let you know what I think about them.  I have tried the paper and electronic systems from Franklin Covey, the Levenger Circa system, Microsoft Outlook, and a few different Microsoft based PDA’s. 

This year I decided to try the Planner Pad.  This unique product works like a funnel capturing your weekly “to do list” for each project or area of your life in the top section, your daily to do list in the next section, followed by your daily schedule in the bottom section.  This system helps you see everything that needs to get done and then integrates the high priority items into your day (calendar). 

I really like the way the Planner Pad breaks down your tasks into groups.  This has helped me so much.  Sometimes personal items can get lost among the work items and with this system you can create any section you want and you can change it by the week or as you complete a project.

The Planner Pad is available in three sizes, spiral bound or for a three ring binder, and multiple covers are available.  I am using the medium, or Executive size and would recommend that size.  I think the smaller size may be limiting in the amount you can write for each task.  I also like the spiral bound system because it is still slim enough to carry along with me just about anywhere.

For me I like to see things on paper and so this system has really been easy to use and a great motivator.  Are you are using a planner or calendaring system that you love?  I’d love to hear about it. 

Checking a task off your to do list…now that’s the good life!

Enjoy the good life,

Angela

Photo from Planner Pad.

 Copyright (C) 2008 Angela Ploetz, POSH Space  www.theposhspace.com.