Expanding time is not about increasing the number of seconds
in a day, it is about how you spend or more importantly invest those precious
86,400 seconds.

To be more organised, I would highly recommend that you read
David Allen’s book ‘Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity’.

The thing I love about the book is that he provides simple solutions through
the use of both paper and technology based solutions.

In my journey to be more organised and expand time, I have
tried lots of different solutions with varying degrees of success. But I have
now found my Holy Grail, in the form of a technology solution called, Evernote.

The developers of Evernote refer to their product as an external brain, where you can dump all sorts of stuff
and know with confidence that you will always be able to find it.

It is a free software application (there is also a premium
version available) that I have downloaded to my iPhone, iPad, desktop and
laptop computers and these devices all synchronise with each other. The benefit
to me is that with Evernote, I feel in control and less stressed knowing that I can find things very quickly,anywhere, anytime on any device including the web.

I use Evernote every day for lots of different things including task management, to do lists,
research, remembering pass words, saving reference material, sharing documents……the
uses are unlimited.

I could spend hours talking about Evernote, but that is not
going to get you started on your journey to save more of your precious 86,400
seconds.

Recently, I found an amazing web site called The Secret Weapon that shows
you, through the use of videos and their ‘Secret Weapon Manifesto’, how to integrate
David Allen’s Getting Things Done ideas with Evernote.

Go take a look for yourself and let me know your thoughts on how it can work to
help you expand time and be more effective.

In business, to be prepared, we need to be organised and to be organised, we
need to focus on 3 areas;

• Organise the clutter
• Review on a regular basis
• Document all systems procedures and checklists

Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night thinking of something
that you either meant to do or need to do? It creates all sorts of stress and
anxiety in our lives. We need a system to take care of this. Your brain is not
a filing cabinet, it is a creativity tool.

In this blog I want to focus on ‘Organising the Clutter’, in particular
the clutter of our minds. I often refer to this as tidying the pantry of our
minds.

One of my favourite books in this area is David Allens ‘Getting Things
Done’ it is crammed full of good ideas to help us ‘Be more Organised’

He suggests we ask some very simple questions when it comes to
organising all the stuff that comes at us on a daily basis;

Is it actionable, YES or NO?

If NO?

• Dump it
• File for future reference

If YES what is the next action?

• Do It – If it takes less than 2 minutes
• Delegate It
• Defer It

You need to believe you can be more organised, make the commitment and
then have the discipline to follow through with the action steps required.

In my next blog I will share with you a tool that will help you organise the clutter and expand your time.

Back in 2000, I joined Business Network International (BNI) and was President of the first chapter started in Christchurch. Several years later I started a new chapter of which I am still a member.   BNI has been invaluable in teaching me about growing a business through word of mouth and referral marketing.

Because I am so passionate about business, in 2005, I became a professional speaker.  I saw speaking as a way of sharing knowledge, particularly to help educate business owners  to  optimise the profitability, cashflow and value of their businesses.

I am a Professional Member of the National Speakers Association of New Zealand (NSANZ) and have served on the  national executive for the past 2 years and  I am also the current President of the local Christchurch chapter.

Recently, I watched a You Tube video, which featured Tom Peters & Seth Godin where they discussed the benefits of having a blog

Click here to view the embedded video.

I was convinced there and then to start my blog ‘ExpandingTime’

Through both my business experience and having been an instructor in the Dale Carnegie ‘Human Relations and Effective Speaking’ course, I personally believe, the two greatest factors for success in business are;

• ATTITUDE and
• MANAGING TIME.

My ‘ExpandingTime’ blog is all about helping you:

• Be more organised
• Know what you want
• To get what you want

This video shows me in action recently.

Click here to view the embedded video.

To contact me please email mark@expandingtime.co.nz

Recorded at the SHARE NZ National conference in Queenstown in 2010.

This short clip is one of three short videos from Mark’s Presentation on Improving Business Effectiveness by Expanding Time.

Recorded at the SHARE NZ National conference in Queenstown in 2010.

This short clip is one of three short videos from Mark’s Presentation on Improving Business Effectiveness by Expanding Time.

Recorded at the SHARE NZ National conference in Queenstown in 2010.

This short clip is one of three short videos from Mark’s Presentation on Improving Business Effectiveness by Expanding Time.