About time

Could engaging in an extreme sport change your life?

2015-06-01T12:01:00.000+02:00

In today’s hustle and bustle world, why would we want to add more stress to the equation? Yet it seems that certain ‘stressful’ activities, such as engaging in an extreme sport, might be just what the doctor ordered!

In a study conducted by Brymer, Eric & Schweitzer, Robert (2013) of Queensland University the following positive conclusions were reached after studying a number of participants engaging in a variety of extreme sports:

“Participation in the face of the fear offers considerable benefits as participants note how the experience changes their life. Participants equated the feelings of fear as instigating deep positive feelings and changes in behaviour….Whereas fear is generally considered as a barrier to do things participants in the current study describe experiences during which they not only work through fear but fear opens a doorway to transcendence….Working through fear in an extreme situation empowers everyday life…Fear has been interpreted as a positive contribution to personal growth and the development of authenticity (Arnould & Price, 1993).”

What options are available to us as city dwellers though?

We decided to take a look at Acrobranch, an innovative concept that is causing both corporates and families to literally ‘take to the trees’ in South African city suburbs. Acrobranch’s outdoor parks consist of ‘obstacle courses’ in the treetops up to 14 metres above the ground, during which time you will be securely harnessed in order to navigate the various courses consisting of walkways, Tarzan swings, crossings, bridges, acro-bungee and zip lines.

This treetop experience originated in France where they have over 600 “parks” already and has been brought to South Africa by French expats, as a unique way for South Africans to experience the outdoors, get some exercise and at the same time, overcome their fears!

We asked Valerie of Acrobranch how do people benefit from participating in an extreme activity such as navigating tree top obstacle courses? “It’s great for families or for companies who are looking for a team-builder with a difference. It teaches people that stress doesn’t help you achieve things, it actually impedes you. These courses also require mental focus, which really takes your mind off everything else. In order to move forward, teamwork is often required which requires trust. “Some people are afraid to fall and for them, the best way to overcome their fear might very well be to miss a step and realise that they’ll just end up sitting comfortably in their harness if they do! It’s about facing your fears, and the sense of accomplishment once you have do.”

Acrobranch use special ‘clamping’ technology to ensure that no trees are damaged by the courses, and from time to time will readjust the clamps as the trees grow. They currently have courses in Melrose Johannesburg, Centurion, Pretoria, Constantia and on the Garden Route.

The good news is whilst you will get some great exercise, you don’t have to be super fit. In fact they recently had a 90 year old who competently navigated the entire course without a moment’s hesitation. They have a one hundred percent safety rating and there is no chance that you will fall as you are securely harnessed throughout the course.

Participating in activities such as these are hugely beneficial to us to manage our stress. It has been proven that we need sunlight to produce serotonin, our feel good depression fighting hormone. British scientists recently released data that indicates that we need to spend time in nature to boost our mental wellbeing. Titled ‘eco-therapy’, the research has indicated not only mood lifting benefits but cancer and heart disease reductions too!

So whether you are going to take to the trees or pursue something less extreme such as go for a brisk walk, getting active in nature really does hold the key to reducing your stress. Besides, being chased around the block by a neighbour’s dog can regarded as an extreme sport after all!

Less is more when it comes to overtime

2015-05-04T11:09:00.000+02:00

In an economy that just demands more and more of us, maintaining a work life balance is becoming harder as the time we spend working increases.

But how healthy is it to work long hours, and how much more can we give of ourselves until we become ineffective?

There really is a point at which we are working too much in a week, and at that point, the quality of our work becomes so poor that we may as well quit and go get some rest. This is a real issue for workers that are working with dangerous machinery, healthcare workers or even anyone who is dealing with any data where mistakes are an issue. And regardless of our occupations, our physical, mental and spiritual health also will suffer so there really is a point at which we need to say, “enough!”

Stanford economist Professor John Pencavel conducted research on production records from British armament factories during World War II and was able to conclude that after forty-nine hours, marginal productivity began to decline sharply. "The results are even starker when we are talking about very long working hours. Output at 70 hours of work differed little from output at 56 hours. That extra 14 hours was a waste of time."[1]

So stop doing this to yourself, and if you are a manager, give your subordinates a break. Go home, rest and come back refreshed, rejuvenated and ready to face tomorrow replenished. When it comes to a good day’s work, quality is better than quantity so rather put in those quality hours and look after your health and wellbeing, it’s really not benefiting your health or your job by putting in those long hours.

To find out more about achieving a healthy work life balance in the workplace, contact us at The Time Clinic now.

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[1] http://bigthink.com/ideafeed/after-fifty-hours-a-week-worker-productivity-flatlines

How to stop being distracted

2014-09-20T22:43:00.002+02:00

Distractions prevent us from focussing on the important things. They come in all shapes and sizes, pulling us away and causing us to feel as though we are losing control. They may be trivial items such as internet browsing, or more ‘serious’ items such as emails and other work, but not the work that we really need to get to. We beat ourselves up and blame ourselves for lacking self-discipline and organisational skills, but we can’t seem to break the cycle, why is this?

Let us examine what a distraction really is. The clue is contained in the very definition of the word. A distraction is “an interruption; an obstacle to concentration”, in other words an obstacle that is blocking you or preventing you from ‘seeing’ the item upon which you should be focussing.

Now distractions are not sent our way by a host of mischievous elves with nothing better to do than create turmoil in our work or personal lives. The truth of the matter is that distractions are mechanisms that we are guilty of putting in place in order to avoid that which we should be targeting. And the avoidance has become so habitual that we don’t even notice we are doing it anymore.

The hard truth is this: the important thing you really should be doing, you are actually avoiding by allowing your brain to be entertained with other things. The reasons for task avoidance vary depending on the situation, but they all boil down to the feelings you have attached to the task that you are avoiding. And it is these feelings that you are really avoiding, not the task itself.

Being honest with yourself and identifying the emotions that you have surrounding the task you are avoiding will enable you to rationally approach the task with a clearer perspective.

But how do you prevent yourself being distracted?

Learn to categorise the sources of your distractions. Some may be purely pleasurable and you may be craving some ‘me-time’. You should allow yourself this, but only once you have made a dent in the work that you need to accomplish. Some may be other work-related items which you can better prioritise for another time of your day. And then there are trivial distractions which do not offer any benefit; these should simply be eliminated.

Awareness of the real cause of distraction is the secret to regaining control.

For more information on overcoming distractions and procrastination, contact us at The Time Clinic on www.timeclinic.co.za

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The power of the onion – in business and personal life!

2014-02-25T20:37:00.000+02:00

Being successful in both our work and personal lives can be immensely challenging. And when faced with these challenges alone, it is human to feel overwhelmed and alone at times. Yet there is so much we can learn from one another, so much we can benefit from personal influences, and so much we can benefit from the support of the right networks.

The creation of the onion is a technique that was taught to me many years ago by an amazing counsellor, and is receiving more media attention these days in popular psychology. An onion is an analogy to describe how one should view the relationships we form. As an onion has many layers, so our relationships can be placed within the perspective of ‘layers’. Your inner layer is your closest and most trusted relationships, whilst the further layers from your core tend to be the more superficial relationships that you may still value, but will spend less time on and which offer you less intrinsic value.

The truth is we all use the onion model intuitively to some extent or another. However, it is possible that your onion at certain times of your life can quite literally stink! The quality of your innermost layers are paramount to your health and wellbeing. Sometimes our inner layers contain people who really belong in the external layers and are demanding too much of our time. Who have you chosen to keep closest to you? We need to assess if we are getting support from these people we hold closest. We need to evaluate if these relationships are offering us opportunities for personal growth. And we must not neglect our role in maintaining and nurturing these relationships to ensure our inner core remains healthy.

The onion is first and foremost a useful way to effectively time manage your relationships– by evaluating the relationships that are most important to you, you are better able to prioritise those relationships that you should be spending more time on.

We should also be creating separate onions for both our business and personal lives.

Yet very few people consider this model when viewing their business relationships, and constructing an onion for your work life is important and advantageous to your personal development. Your business network should include relationships that inspire and challenge you. There is a lot to be said for the company we keep! Find opportunities to surround yourself with people that are successful, inspirational and role models or mentors. Place these people in your onion!

Also include people that you would select if you had to employ your own personal ‘board of directors’. Keep these people around you, try to lean on them, but always make sure the relationships are reciprocal, to the extent that the layer of your onion warrants!

And finally include people in your ‘business onion’ that are influential, contacts who have great networks that you can leverage off. These networks will soon feed into one another and soon you will become an influential networker yourself!

Robert Kiyosaki has to say, “The richest people look for and build networks, everyone else looks for work.” Relationships are truly key to your effectiveness, therefore consider prioritising your relationships using the onion for dramatic effect in both your personal and business life.

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How to get the most out of your relaxation time

2013-11-30T10:36:00.001+02:00

In order to be effective and maintain a healthy work-life balance, we need to ensure we make the most of our personal rest and relaxation opportunities in order to return to our respective careers refreshed, revitalised and with a handle on our stress management. But how many of us are getting the proper rest we need? The types of recreational activities that you indulge in can have a major impact upon your mental and physical wellbeing impacting not only your time management, but your stress management and overall vitality.

How many of us are guilty of regarding television as a ‘well earned’ treat after a hard day or a hard week of work? Yet research indicates that television not only causes us to be more depressed, but results in diminished IQ, reduced vitality and satisfaction with life, reduced libido, increased obesity and risk of heart attack/ stroke, increased consumerism and desire to spend money and a definite negative impact upon relationships and communication!

Now this does not mean that you must throw your television set in the trash can. However, be conscious of how distracting this device is and how easily it is to spend hours of your life consumed by mindless material that you did not even plan to watch.

So instead of spending our rest and relaxation time on a pursuit that is not going to bring us satisfaction, what are the alternatives?

Active relaxation is shown to provide far greater rewards. Active relaxation includes activities such as outdoor activities including hiking, picnics, sports and participating in hobbies and social events. At the end of your evening or weekend, chances are that you not only have a tan to show off, but might have lost a kilo or two and spent some really quality time with friends and family. Active relaxation enables you to release stress and enjoy the important things in life. To live your life, rather than the lives of synthetic creations on a television screen.

The more opportunities we can create to engage in active relaxation, the better our stress levels and the more renewed and revitalised we will feel enabling us to handle life’s everyday challenges. Ironically, in order to rest and relax, getting active is often the best choice!

For more information on achieving a healthy work-life balance contact us at The Time Clinic on www.timeclinic.co.za

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What can you do about late employees?

2013-08-09T11:29:00.000+02:00

Many managers struggle with this common complaint. A talented and dedicated employee starts to become repeatedly late for work. Disciplinary action seems a harsh measure when the employee is valued, yet the manager is torn as to not take action would mean applying double standards! But is disciplinary action really the solution? Perhaps a psychological approach needs to be applied to this problem of time management.

The first thing we need to examine is why is that the employee is late for work? Contrary to popular belief, lateness is not a personality trait, but rather a behaviour. And behaviour is something that arises from our attitudes, emotions and habits. So let us examine what is going on with the employee’s attitudes, emotions and habits.

A very common attitude that we encounter on The Time Clinic is the following. “I put in so many hours overtime, and then the one day I am five minutes late for work, I am in the dogbox!” If we examine this statement, there are two things going on here; firstly a distinct sense of being taken for granted, not being noticed, being unappreciated and secondly an increasing sense of resentment.

It makes sense that an employee who feels that they are dedicating so much of their personal time and committing so much of themselves to further the goals of the organisation would feel a sense of resentment when they are not being noticed or appreciated. It makes even more sense that this feeling would escalate to boiling point when the very same employee is criticised for being late for work, when, in their eyes, they should be able to ‘cash in’ some of the time they have put in after hours. Although this does not work in reality, the sense of resentment will mount. So instead of disciplining a dedicated and committed employee, the very first step is to start by having some empathy for them. But then what? Surely we cannot allow for special circumstances and allow special cases to arrive for work whenever it suits them?

Indeed! Unless your organisation is practising flexitime, there are rules that are stipulated and need to be adhered to lest the balance of your employees begins to practice resentment too! So how do we turn this situation around?

We need to start by addressing the source of the resentment which is the employee’s feeling of being taken for granted and not being recognised. Every human being wants to be heard, appreciated and noticed – especially an employee who is going the extra mile! Start by scheduling regular sessions with your staff member to discuss their workload, commend them on their achievements and acknowledge their commitments. Acknowledge, inspire and provide guidance. This is true leadership!

As soon as the channels of communication have been re-established, you are now in a better position to raise the issue of punctuality. You may even find the behaviour corrects itself! But if not, it is time to have a discussion highlighting the fact that despite the challenges the staff member may have, it is important to acknowledge the rules of the organisation and make an effort to be on time for work as this behaviour has negative consequences for not only the staff member but also the morale of the department.

Attitudes affect emotions and emotions affect behaviour. Behaviour eventually becomes habit. This is crucial to understand. Your late employee may have already developed a ‘late’ habit. Tolerance may be required as your staff member may need to practice to correct their behaviour. Perhaps they need to work at finding the ideal time to leave home, find new routes to work or wake up earlier. We need to allow people opportunities to make mistakes and change our wording so when we make mistakes we are not ‘failing’ but rather ‘practicing’ until competence is achieved. Discuss the reasons your staff member is late and find solutions together. A supportive environment will motivate your employee to exceed your expectations whereas a stick approach will always result in resentment and ultimately rebellion.

Always incorporate the human element it into your management style for dramatic results and remember that time management is about more than managing one’s time – there is always deeper stuff going on! For more information about time management training contact info@timeclinic.co.za

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Is time slipping away?

2013-07-16T20:11:00.000+02:00

An often overlooked factor that affects our time management is our perception of time which, when off balance, will ultimately affect our time management!

Our minds certainly do play tricks on us. Consider for a moment: are you able to gauge how much time has passed while working on a task? Or do you find yourself getting a fright when you look at the clock? It makes sense that our perception of time needs to be examined as a factor that influences our time management! An incorrect perception of time can result in lateness, bad planning and ‘time simply slipping away’ without us even noticing it!

So what are the factors that can skew our perception of time?

Acclaimed BBC broadcaster and psychology writer Claudia Hammond explores this very topic in her book Time Warped: Unlocking the Mysteries of Time Perception. She says,“We construct the experience of time in our minds, so it follows that we are able to change the elements we find troubling — whether it’s trying to stop the years racing past, or speeding up time when we’re stuck in a queue, trying to live more in the present, or working out how long ago we last saw our old friends. Time can be a friend, but it can also be an enemy. The trick is to harness it, whether at home, at work, or even in social policy, and to work in line with our conception of time. Time perception matters because it is the experience of time that roots us in our mental reality. Time is not only at the heart of the way we organize life, but the way we experience it.”

Hammond uses the following examples of how our time perception can play tricks on us. Have you ever been in a car accident and felt time literally stand still? Or noticed as you grow older, the decades seem to simply fly by? According to Hammond, time seems to speed up when we are getting older.

When we are cold, we also experience time as going by faster. If you find this hard to believe, just think about how time drags on a hot afternoon. Consider how time doesn't go fast enough when you are bored or uninterested in whatever it is that you are doing. And then think for a moment about how time literally flies when you are completely absorbed and enjoying a specific activity!

The truth is time does not speed up or slow down. Our perceptions of time passing are simply warped.

If we can accept that we have this inherent flaw in our make-up, we can work to compensate accordingly. Use a timer to ensure that you do not exceed your allocated time limit when engaging in an activity that you expect will captivate your attention. Keep clocks in clear visibility – and no, a cellphone does not count! How many times do we look at our cellphone to tell the time only to be distracted by an incoming message or notification?

Although our perceptions of time can make time feel like it is liquid and forever changing, if we remember that this is simply a psychological phenomenon to be conscious of, we can be better time managers and ultimately suffer less stress.

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Will Smith’s After Earth contains a lesson for us all

2013-06-20T13:33:00.001+02:00

Now you may or may not be a sci-fi fan. At the Time Clinic, we’re certainly a huge Will Smith fan. We loved his Pursuit of Happyness in which his son Jaden Smith first appeared. His most recent movie, After Earth, sees this talented father and son combo in action yet again in a sci-fi extravaganza. But why, you may be asking yourself, is a time management specialist blog so excited about a science fiction film?

Well, there’s a very important scene in this film that is very much aligned with our teachings at The Time Clinic. We’d like to share this quote from Will Smith’s character, General Cipher Rage:

“Fear is not real. The only place that fear can exist is in our thoughts of the future, it is a product of our imagination causing us to fear things that do not at present and may not ever exist. That is near insanity, Kitai. Now do not misunderstand me, danger is very real, but fear is a choice. We are all telling ourselves a story, and that day mine changed.”

Powerful stuff! We couldn’t agree more. Fear, worries, stress – so many of our negative emotions that weigh us down exist in the future, but are they really real? How much time do we spend invested in these negative thoughts and emotions?

But what about the past? We can also get stuck there! The past also holds thoughts and emotions – guilt, regret, sadness. How much time and emotional energy are you investing in the past?

A moving message to remind us to remember to be ‘present’, for in the present moment, everything really is just fine! So choose to change YOUR story.
As for the movie? We think it’s a goodie! Go see it, it’s on circuit now! Here’s the official trailer, enjoy!

Everything you ever wanted to know about coffee!

2013-06-10T15:20:00.001+02:00

It gets you up in the morning. It tastes great – well to some of us at least. But how good is coffee for you exactly? Does it really make us more effective?

Coffee is the most widely used and accepted psychoactive drug on the planet! Yes it is a drug, it certainly has psychoactive properties – like cocaine, coffee is a stimulant, but is far more acceptable! How did coffee become so acceptable? Is it really safe? And could it even have health benefits?

Let’s start with the health benefits. Research is indicating that coffee is beneficial in reducing Alzheimers, Diabetes, Parkinsons and risk of gallstones. Women who drink three cups a day may live longer whilst cirrhosis of the liver, oral, oesophageal, and pharyngeal cancer might be reduced. Coffee can even benefit your heart – but make sure you are drinking instant coffee as the freeze drying process removes the lipids in coffee which can actually be detrimental to your cardio health. Coffee also acts as a laxative and a diuretic, but because of the diuretic effect we should be drinking one glass of water for every cup of coffee we consume to avoid dehydration. Coffee is also a powerful antioxidant. If you rub coffee on to those problem cellulite areas, it can even reduce cellulite, but drinking it may not be so good for the problem in the first place.

Green coffee beans are the new craze, what’s that all about? While most of the beneficial chemicals that we absorb in roasted coffee cannot be absorbed by our bodies when the beans are still green, green coffee beans have their own benefits. Green coffee beans score as high as 2500 on the ORAC scale Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity – a measurement of the potential for a substance to reduce oxidative stress. This is pretty impressive when one considers blueberries only scores 10 and oranges about 3. Green coffee doesn’t taste very good, but is believed to assist weight loss whilst lowering blood pressure.

Does coffee really increase our performance? One or two cups do enhance cognitive function and short term memory, increasing alertness. Should we drink more than that? How much caffeine can the body really absorb and are there alternatives?

So far the benefits of drinking coffee are sounding pretty fantastic, but there is a darkside. So before you increase your daily quota, please do read on.

Homocysteine is a naturally occurring amino acid found in the blood and tissues. If one suffers from common folic acid deficiency – or more seriously the genetic mutation causing elevated levels of homocysteine, the health risks include heart attack, stroke, cancer, diabetes, parkinsons.. the list goes on. And coffee is one of the main culprits for increasing homocysteine levels in the blood. Do not exceed one cup a day unless you know your homocysteine is in the clear!

Consumption of coffee has been linked to ulcers and insomnia. Its effectiveness as a stimulant might also be overrated, after your second cup, your body tends to discard the excess caffeine and it’s more likely to cause problems sleeping than improve your afternoon performance.

Excessive consumption of coffee and energy drinks containing caffeine has been linked to adrenal fatigue and possibly even chronic fatigue syndrome. For a healthier alternative, try some green tea which contains far less caffeine, but includes the calming amino acid L-Theanine which simultaneously calms the nervous system and enhances concentration abilities.

Coffee may be great for that initial boost, but we recommend you limit your intake to one to two cups a day and switch to green tea thereafter for sustained energy with a calming effect. It seems coffee is here to stay, and it’s not all bad, so in moderation, you have our full permission to enjoy that morning cuppa!

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Manage your energy to manage your time: Mental energy part 2

2013-05-15T17:01:00.000+02:00

In the second part of our series on energy levels relating to time management, we shall discuss how mental energy needs to be seriously considered when we look at time management.

Just as our physical energy levels are depleted when we are hungry, our mental energy levels also tend to have peaks and lows throughout the day. It is important to understand the factors that influence your mental energy in order to be able to manage your peaks and lows and to be able to plan your high level tasks in accordance with your peak mental energy periods.

What exactly is mental energy? Mental energy is our ability to concentrate and focus upon high level tasks. Our ability to make good decisions is also dependent upon our mental energy which is rapidly depleted as the day progresses.

Signs of mental fatigue include poor concentration, clumsiness, finding normal tasks more complicated than they need to be, procrastination and making unnecessary mistakes. Your ability to think and reason clearly is jeopardised. Severe exhaustion often results in burnout and depression.

At The Time Clinic, we assist employees and individuals in establishing balance in order to optimise productivity and wellness. As you can see, if your relationship to time is unbalanced, effectiveness in all areas is compromised.

Do emotions affect mental energy? Emotions we will examine in our next module, emotional energy, but it is important to mention here that yes, emotions do impact upon our energy levels. Just as positive emotions can increase our feelings of motivation and enthusiasm, so to can negative emotions add to our ‘allostatic’ or stress load, and result in increased feelings of tiredness and depletion. For this reason, we will examine all three aspects of a human being’s energy in this series, but for the purposes of this article, let us focus on mental energy.

Now that we understand how mental energy is crucial to our performance for intellectual and high level tasks including in both the workplace and while studying, how can we manage this energy and, if need be, boost it when required?

The first thing we need to understand is that each and every human being has their own unique peaks and lows. Some of us are more inclined to function better first thing in the morning, whilst others take a while to ‘warm up’ and others still prefer to burn the ‘midnight oil’. You need to ask yourself when do you find your best times of the day are for working on high level tasks? Can you rearrange your schedule in order to move these tasks to these times?

What can we do to boost or increase our mental energy? Taking supplements such as Gingko Biloba and Peruvian superfood ‘Maca’ can increase energy and concentration. High doses of vitamin B6 and B12 and Omega 3 oils also assist brain functioning. Avoid caffeinated beverages as the initial boost may be appealing, but adrenal burn-out tends to result in the afternoon. Stick to green tea for a healthier dose of a more natural type of caffeine.

Eating a low GI or high protein diet can also dramatically improve mental energy levels. Have you ever noticed how after a big meal or a sugary treat how all you want to do is sleep? High blood sugar and insulin are major culprits for depleted energy levels. Eating a low GI or high protein diet will also ensure you get the extra B vitamins and essential fats that will feed your brain to aid concentration levels whilst keeping your sugar levels even.

Aside from diet and supplements, what else can be done? Well, a change is as good as a holiday so they say! Think of your energy levels as batteries that need to be recharged. Sitting at your desk all day without a break is going to result in depletion. A five to fifteen minute break every forty minutes is important to recharge your batteries and help you stay motivated. Go for a walk, get some sunshine, stretch! If your working environment does not enable this type of movement, then rather move to a less high level task to give yourself a break for a while. Try to reward yourself with incentives throughout your day.

Try to spend more time on activities that are challenging. We call these ‘flow’ opportunities. Sometimes the biggest reward lies not in the outcome of the task, but in the way we feel when we are being stretched! Have you ever noticed how time flies when you are working on a challenging task, and how you resent being interrupted? Plan your day to allow yourself stretch opportunities when you can work for periods without interruptions on these challenging tasks. If you can’t think of any at work, then find a hobby at home! Stretch opportunities recharge your mental batteries!

In our final article in this series, we will examine emotional energy, an aspect that must not be ignored in order to complete the time management picture. We hope you enjoyed our article and remember to follow our blog to stay updated or 'like' our facebook page for more updates.

For more information on time management and time management training visit www.timeclinic.co.za

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Ten tips that make life easier - yay!

2013-04-29T16:46:00.003+02:00

We found this short, fun gem of a talk by Tech columnist David Pogue. He shares 10 simple, clever tips for computer, web, smartphone and camera users and we certainly learnt a few that will make life easier. We are pretty certain you will too.

Enjoy friends!

Manage your energy to manage your time: Part One – Physical Energy

2013-04-22T15:39:00.000+02:00

A critical and often overlooked aspect of time management is energy management.

If we take a look at our average working day, our energy levels fluctuate throughout. These energy fluctuations are different for each and every individual and it is essential to monitor and understand your peaks and lows in order to prioritise your workload accordingly.

As human beings, we have different types of energy that we need to be aware of. The first and most obvious category is physical energy. The second category, mental energy, is linked to, but not always dependent on physical energy levels. Have you ever gone to bed physically exhausted, but found yourself unable to sleep due to an overactive mind?

Sometimes our bodies are tired, but our minds are still capable of high priority tasks. The third category is emotional energy – our very psychology and source of motivation.

At The Time Clinic we believe time management isn’t about managing the hours in the day, it is about managing yourself; a complex organism with various facets in response to the numerous tasks that you are required to perform and objectives you wish to achieve. Understanding the three different types of energy and how to renew each resource is critical to your success.

How healthy are you? Increasing your physical fitness not only increases your stamina, but counters stress and improves overall vitality. Taking measures to increase your physical fitness may initially take more time out of your day, but the increased benefits will soon outweigh the sacrifice.

Eating a low GI diet will improve your physical stamina. And the grains, seeds and good fats characteristic of a low GI diet will also feed your brain at the same time, assisting your mental function and mood.

So often we chastise ourselves for being different to others in terms of the hours we are inclined to keep. Have you ever wondered if this thinking is serving you, and if there is a way you can rather rearrange your day to correspond with your energy levels? For example, by exercising at the correct time of day for your specific genotype, you will obtain better results. One of the things we do at The Time Clinic is identify individual genotypes and assist people in optimising, and adjusting their personal biorhythms.

Once you have made every effort to optimise your physical energy, analyse your typical day. What tasks require more physical resources? Perhaps you function better when you arrive at work earlier rather than later? Could you schedule a walk at lunch time to get some exercise whilst refreshing your other energy resources? How can you rearrange your schedule to optimise your physical energy?

We will continue this discussion and include mental and emotional energy management in our follow-up articles, but we challenge you to consider these questions in the meantime and wish you all the best on your journey to vitality and optimal personal and time management!

Find out more about our training courses at www.timeclinic.co.za

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Beat stress once and for all!

2013-03-19T15:11:00.000+02:00

Need to manage the stress in your life? In order to do so, you need to manage your allostatic load. This may sound like a mouthful, but is a concept that is useful to explain the load that is upon your shoulders including the worries that prevent you from sleeping at night. Allostatic load is a negative form of stress that literally ‘weighs us down’ and eventually causes us to become ill.

This toxic negative stress also leads to inflammation of the brain which prevents us from forming new neural connections – in other words we become unable to learn, develop and grow. So what can you do to lighten your allostatic load and combat stress?

The first thing we need to accept is the lifestyles that we are living in today’s modern age are not healthy, nor are they natural. Every delegate who attends our course complains that their ‘work life balance’ is a big problem, and wish they had more ‘me’ time. We are living a life that is out of balance and in crisis. As a result we lose sight of the very things that help us cope and stay healthy; the aspects of our lives and ourselves that keep us in balance.

The human body was not designed to be sedentary, sitting behind a desk from nine to five (or seven to seven!). Exercise has been proven to not only the reduce stress hormones in the body, but also causes neural pathways to grow and form: in other words, exercise keeps you young! Dramatic results have been found in seniors who simply start walking for an hour every day. Exercise is crucial to helping you rediscover your balance, however neuro-scientist Bruce McEwen has revealed that exercise can be more effective in a social environment.

Social support is a dimension that is necessary to balance the human being. In times of crisis, many people withdraw from their friends and loved ones. Being lonely can also add to your allostatic load. We must attempt to increase our social contact and nourish our important relationships rather than neglect them during times of crisis.

The human being has a spiritual dimension. We are not referring to religion or new age philosophy, but simply the aspect of each and every one of us that seeks to find meaning. Viktor Frankl, famous psychologist and holocaust survivor, pioneered the idea that the strongest motivational force we can tap into is the meaning we are able to create for ourselves. A concentration camp survivor, Frankl noticed that the prisoners who had a sense of meaning in their lives survived, whilst those who couldn’t not find it sadly perished under the dreadful circumstances.

So how does one find meaning when one feels out of balance? When we neglect ourselves during times of toxic stress, we forget the things in life that bring us joy. So many of our clients arrive for training and have lost the ability to desire things on a personal level. This is purely a result of chronic toxic stress and the loss of connection with self. To restore the balance, we need to find and make time for the things that bring us joy on a daily basis. We need to make time for ourselves once again.

Living with the world resting upon your shoulders is neither a healthy nor a sustainable option. The good news is change really is possible if we simply focus on the restoration of balance by making time to appreciate ourselves as individuals – physically, emotionally and spiritually.

For more information on stress management and making time for the important things contact info@timeclinic.co.za.

To find out more about the toxic effects of stress read this article: http://healthland.time.com/2013/02/20/how-stress-gets-under-the-skin-qa-with-neuroscientist-bruce-mcewen/

Image by Stuart Miles www.freedigitalphotos.net

If you don’t know where you are going, any road will do!

2013-02-27T17:58:00.000+02:00

Goals. So many of us hear that word and cringe. Perhaps you relate goals to New Year’s resolutions, and have had about the same measure of success? Or perhaps you have this nagging feeling that you really need to create some goals, but when you think about it you find it really hard to want things for yourself? Sound familiar?

Did you know that only 3% of us actually write down our goals. The sad reality is if we are not writing down our goals, we may as well not bother with them, as they remain a ‘nice to have’. When we put pen to paper, we are far more committed psychologically to attaining them.

Think of goals as arriving at the train station. If you have no goal – or destination – you may as well climb on an unmarked train and wonder where it will take you. One thing I have become very convinced of is that what we expect out of life, we will receive. And this is not a new-agey spiritual concept, it’s common sense that we play a hand in creating that reality for ourselves! If you have no goals, you will tend to regard yourself as a victim of circumstance. However, by setting our destination and deciding what it is that we really do want from life, chances are we will receive it.

It makes sense to have goals, no one can dispute this. Yet one of the hardest parts is creating these goals for ourselves. Some of you may find it much easier to create career and money goals, but will struggle with spiritual and personal goals because it is much easier to think of other people than to think about yourself. Others will find the opposite – personal goals are easier, but career and money goals are more difficult. If this is the case, you are probably not feeling fulfilled in your current worklife, and need to evaluate your direction in order to set some goals that will enable you to create a fulfilled career.

There is a concept known as ‘locus of control’. If you have an internalised locus of control, you believe that you are the master of your own destiny and that you can create the life that you desire. A person with an externalised ‘locus of control’ believes the opposite – that they are a victim of circumstance; that fate decides their path and that no matter what they do, external circumstances will override their intentions. An externalised locus of control does not cause us to be happy or healthy. Yet we can really turn this around by creating goals and taking back the reins of our own lives. As little by little we achieve success, our mindsets will automatically shift into a healthier space, one where we accept and practice self mastery over our own lives.

Goals will involve some introspection; we need to spend quiet time with ourselves and decide what it is we want from life. Do not think this is selfish behaviour, rather it is crucial for your personal development, mental and physical health!

Commit to discovering and writing down your goals today, and take back your power and control so that you can create the life you really want to lead.

If you would like to attend a goal actualisation workshop where you can discover how to overcome the obstacles to attaining your goals, contact info@timeclinic.co.za.

Image by Tony Curtis Freedigitalphotos.net

Why do we procrastinate?

2013-02-08T12:53:00.000+02:00

You know you should be doing that important task, but you find yourself creating other things to do that are either more pleasurable or more ‘important’ instead. Well, they are not really more important, who are we kidding! But we will go to extreme lengths to find tasks to distract us from the very things we are avoiding in order to justify the guilty that we are feeling. Some of us even help others to avoid the issues in our own lives. Sound familiar?

Have you ever wondered why we do this to ourselves? And is there ever a legitimate reason to procrastinate?

Procrastination was built into us as a biological defence mechanism. There really is a legitimate reason we procrastinate. Let us imagine that I was to ask you to invest in a new business proposition that you were unsure of. Or perhaps I ask you to do something that initially appeared ‘above board’, but the more you thought about it, the more unsure you became? Can you relate that uncertainty to a ‘gut feeling’? Well your gut is correct in some cases! That feeling of uncertainty is there to caution you, to warn you of potential danger in situations where you might be at risk, or where you could be potentially compromised. A useful mechanism, agreed?

This legitimate reason to procrastinate somehow got corrupted along the way when our brains realised the benefits of procrastinating over ordinary things. At a subconscious level, this biological mechanism has gotten confused when in today’s world we are faced with tasks that we do not feel like doing. We beat ourselves up over the fact that we are procrastinators, but to procrastinate is a human response. However, it is a habit that is not productive, and a habit that does not need to control us and can indeed be overcome with the right set of tools.

The good news is that no human being was born a procrastinator. Every single human being has developed their own pattern of procrastination along the way. You are not alone. And you really can shed the shackles of procrastination.

For more information on procrastination and how to overcome procrastination email info@timeclinic.co.za This information is copyright of The Time Clinic and unauthorised distribution is prohibited.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles www.freedigitalphotos.net

The Puzzle of Motivation

2013-01-17T19:42:00.001+02:00

I'd like to share this really interesting TED Talk with you that is turning what we think in business regarding motivation upside down. An important talk for us to better understand ourselves, and an important talk to watch for us to better understand our working environments. Dan Pink was Al Gore's speechwriter and is a career analyst who incorporates social psychology. Enjoy!

Nose pickers, muscle men, and chandeliers

2012-11-14T23:35:00.000+02:00


We present our most entertaining guest author to date, Leslie Longueira, Director of Ignition Health!

“I don't have time to go to the gym!”

We have all used this excuse, even me.

And if you think about it, it is a fairly reasonable excuse, as far as excuses go. After all just by getting to the gym after work, you would have to set aside 30 minutes to drive next to someone who thinks it’s okay to pick their nose because "no one will see them". Next you find yourself on a highway that resembles a parking lot, whilst being nearly pushed off the road by some very important driver who insists on squeezing in front of you, despite the fact that wasn't enough space between you and the car in front to fit a tictac!

By the time you have reached the gym, you have already had a long day at work, and perhaps you are reflecting on the nature of management in a somewhat less than positive manner. So you procrastinate a little, and finally, manage to get out the car, secretly wishing you were rather at home having a beer.

Finally you make your way inside to get changed, ready to get that body into shape. However, the truth is you have already wasted 45 minutes stuck in traffic, just getting there and getting ready! The next challenge is waiting for a piece of equipment because some people on the treadmill are afraid to catch a speed wobble lest they smudge their make-up and fail to impress the muscle men, who are busy grunting away in the free weights section!

So that would be at least an hour of your day gone by - without being overly productive. Can we really afford to waste precious time like this?

The good news is you do NOT have to put up with this time wasting routine in order to stay healthy and exercise. Studies show that the minimum exercise requirement is 30 minutes, 4 times a week of elevated heart rate exercise!

So if you really are pushed for time, go for a walk during your lunch break, or when you get home with your family. Now we are not talking about a Sunday stroll, rather a fairly brisk walk. You want to get that heart rate up. After all, if you are going to be swinging off the chandeliers and getting the heart rate up in other ways (if you know what I mean), make sure you are completing your 30 minute sessions to enhance your stamina!

Oh and make sure you stretch after as well, you wouldn't want to pull a muscle or injure yourself.

“I don't have time,” should never be an excuse. All you have to do is set 30 minutes aside each day and you WILL be able to live a healthier and more productive life.

Leslie Longueira is the Director of Ignition Health, a dynamic team of personal trainers and a 702 Small business awards finalist. Ignition Health's trainers provide personal training at your home or at their intimate setting in Melville, and also assist corporates in fitness and wellbeing at work. The Time Clinic recognises Ignition Health as a true time generator and agrees that physical fitness is key to personal effectiveness. All Time Clinic clients qualify for a special introductory offer with Ignition Health.

How to create successful change

2012-11-05T11:12:00.000+02:00

It’s approaching that time of year again when most of us will be creating ‘New Year’s Resolutions’ for 2013. Perhaps you want to exercise more, weigh less, spend more time with your loved ones and find a healthier work life balance? Perhaps you want to start something new or break a bad habit? How wise exactly are we in creating New Year’s resolutions? And what can we do to ensure we succeed this time?

Firstly, there is a lot to be said about ‘turning over a new leaf.’ Those of us wishing to break a bad habit, or create a new one, are likely to benefit from the psychological motivation that has been observed as highly beneficial when giving a person a ‘fresh start’. If we can create a date – and this does not need to be New Years Day! - from which we shall begin anew, the psychological impact does indeed work in our favour. We are more likely to get it right if we believe we are making a fresh start.

But a fresh start is not enough for all of us. Many of us are still likely to ‘relapse’, become impatient with ourselves and give up. What can we do to ensure that the change we wish to implement ‘sticks’.

The secrets lie in perseverance, even when you perceive failure, and in understand the nature of change and patterns. Change involves changing behaviour, and for behaviour to become automatic, it needs to become a habit. So how do we create (or break) a habit?

Charles Duhigg, the author of The Power of Habit, says we should examine the location, time of day, other people and any other triggers that are responsible for activating your habit if you wish to break it. What are the cues, routines and rewards sustaining the habit in your life? Alternatively, create rewards in order to incentivise yourself to maintain a new positive habit!

In order to learn to hit a ball, we have to miss, in order to colour in, we start by drawing outside the lines. Yet as adults, we become extremely intolerant of our perceived failings. We forget that the learning process consists of failure until such point as we succeed. Thomas Edison tested over 3000 filaments before he found the right filament for a lightbulb. How many of us would conduct 3000 tests, or would we give up in the face of perceived failure?

The creation of a habit involves practice. A new habit will take at least 21 – 30 days to implement, during which time you can expect to fail a number of times. Once the habit is entrenched, it becomes automatic, and you will find yourself wondering how on earth you got through your week without those six gym sessions before!

New Year’s resolutions can be very positive, but remember, we don’t have to wait until New Year to make the change that will improve our circumstances now! And remember that every step, forward or backwards, is a step in the right direction as it is an opportunity to learn! With a little determination, we will succeed as long as we remember to be patient with ourselves.

Recommended reading: Charles Duhigg’s “The Power of Habit”

Wisdom in art - Time, as narrated by Sir Laurence Olivier

2012-10-31T17:24:00.000+02:00

My dear colleague, a very wise Mr. Des Squire, introduced me to this inspirational recording narrated by the late Sir Laurence Olivier. The lyrics are so profound and inspirational, and very much aligned with the fundamental teachings of The Time Clinic, that I decided to share them with you. I believe Stephen Covey must have had these lyrics in mind when he stated, 'time management is a misnomer, the real challenge is in managing ourselves."

May these powerful words that follow inspire and uplift you on your journey of self mastery over time and ultimately the self!
Read the lyrics below or listen to the lyrics as narrated by Sir Laurence in the video clip here:

Time – performed by Sir Laurence Olivier

Stand before me on the sign of infinity,
all you of the earth.
With the granting of the law of probenation
comes the application of change. I will give you the key.
And with this knowledge, please realise,
comes the responsibility of sharing it.
I will show you the way. It’s very simple. Throughout the universe
there is order.In the movement of the planets, in nature
and in the functioning of the human mind.
A mind that is in its natural state of order,
is in harmony with the universe
and such a mind is timeless. Your life is an expression of your mind.
You are the creator of your own Universe -
For as a human being, you are free to will whatever
state of being you desire through the use of your
thoughts and words.There is great power there. It can be a blessing or a curse -
It’s entirely up to you.
For the quality of your life is brought about
by the quality of your thinking -
think about that. Thoughts produce actions -
look at what you’re thinking. See the pettiness and the envy and the greed and the
fear and all the other attitudes that cause
you pain and discomfort. Realize that the one thing you have absolute
control over is your attitude. See the effect that it has on those around you.
For each life is linked to all life
and your words carry with them chain reactions
like a stone that is thrown into a pond.If your thinking is in order,
your words will flow directly from the heart
creating ripples of love.If you truly want to change your world, my friends,
you must change your thinking. Reason is your greatest tool,
it creates an atmosphere of understanding,
which leads to caring which is love. Choose your words with care.
Go forth … with love.

The original Time was a musical with a book and lyrics by Dave Clark and David Soames, music by Jeff Daniels, and additional songs by David Pomeranz.

The dangers of inadequate future orientation

2012-09-28T16:10:00.000+02:00

Temporal myopia - 'future' shortsightedness

Time management isn’t just about being more organised. The science is evolving to understand that time management involves managing ourselves in relation to time, and is in fact the heart of personal management and effectiveness. Yet this terminology sounds fluffy and devoid of meaning due to overuse. Practical solutions are therefore required to assist us in attaining what can appear to be overwhelming ideals and goals.

One of the most defining characteristics of successful individuals is their high future orientation. In fact, it is believed that a well developed future orientation could be the single greatest determinant of success. Future orientation is the vision to embrace the big picture. It is the ability to forego the short term temptations and rewards in favour of the long term goal. A future orientated person has long term goals, saves for retirement, has plans that span a lifetime, is environmentally conscious and understands that their actions today determine their fate tomorrow.

To demonstrate future orientation the Chinese have a proverb that states, “When planning for a year, plant corn. When planning for a decade, plant trees. When planning for life, train and educate people.” The realm of truly future oriented people consists of lifetime goals, not goals that result in instant gratification.

Most of us are trapped in the present, some of us are even trapped in the past. The failure to be able to look ahead and plan for the future is termed ‘temporal myopia’ in psychology. Myopia, or short-sightedness, is a fitting description, and without vision we will fumble around blindly without direction if we fail to plan ahead.

It is said that the great Abraham Lincoln once said, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will do.” There are many roads that we certainly do not want to travel down, as there are many outcomes for our own lives, our futures and the future of our planet that we would rather not realise!

The good news is we have control and choices, and this is exactly the knowledge that future orientated people use to their advantage. Take the time out to slow down and adjust your focus. And consider these words. “"Destiny is not a matter of chance; but a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for. It is a thing to be achieved.” - William Jennings Bryant

Image courtesy of sippakorn freedigitalphotos.net

Parkinson's law says less is more.. no really!

2012-08-18T20:37:00.000+02:00

Parkinson’s law sounds like something out of a medical dictionary, but in time management terms, this adage was made famous by Cyril Northcote Parkinson in an article in the Economist magazine in 1995. Simply put, Cyril stated that “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion,” in other words, the longer you allow yourself to work on a specific task, the longer you will spend working on that specific task. Another way of stating the same principle is.,“The amount of time which one has to perform a task is the amount of time it will take to complete the task.”

Parkinson’s advice to us is to create our own mini deadlines within the real deadlines in order to ensure we do not make a mountain out of a molehill. This is great advice for perfectionists who love to get stuck and over-perform. Procrastinators must also take heed as believe it or not procrastinators even use tasks to avoid other tasks, and can spend far too much time working on ‘important’ things to avoid the really important things!

It has even been proven that if we allow less time to work on a project, we often produce better results. The longer we ‘mess around’, we tend to second guess ourselves and start to suffer from that deadly condition that The Time Clinic likes to call ‘overanalysis paralysis’.

So, the next time you have a large or medium sized project in front of you, create your own mini deadline within the actual deadline. What is the worst that could happen? Exactly! It’s a win-win situation, chances are you will finish sooner than expected, and even have time over to address the really Important stuff.

Did you know that Cyril derived his conclusion after his extensive work experience in the British civil service? Enough said.

The Time Clinic interviews Online Marketing Guru Lechelle De Vries!

2012-08-06T22:23:00.001+02:00

The Time Clinic recently interviewed Online Marketing Guru Lechelle De Vries, Marketing and Sales Manager of SAbest, to get some really great brand advice for our clients and secondly to find out more about Lechelle’s time management strategies now that she has experienced The Time Clinic!

SAbest is one of South Africa’s premier online marketing specialists that assist companies with online marketing from websites, SEO, social media, online reputation management and even infographic marketing – basically taking a company and creating online visibility for the organisation. (Check them out at www.sabest.biz)

We asked Lechelle more about her role. “My role involves making decisions. And I get challenged on these decisions by management in order to stretch me, and this has really helped me grow.” The Time Clinic assists delegates with determining when to make strategic decisions. We asked Lechelle if she found this module helpful? “Yes, in two different ways. From a sales point of view and from a marketing perspective, it has been about moving time around, and being cognisant of the fact that there are times of the day when other people are aware of my vulnerabilities and tend to prey on me; it’s been a huge growth curve. What has also really helped is understanding biorhythms – my own and others – and planning meetings around these times to get maximum results with this knowledge”.

We asked Lechelle what the greatest time management challenges in her industry are? She says, “it is important to realise this industry consists of a lot of technically orientated people”, and she has observed that under stress, technical types tend to react by calling meetings. The Time Clinic likes to call this ‘overanalysis paralysis’ and meetings can be a way to disguise procrastination. Lechelle finds the best way to manage these situations is to allow meetings, but within limits, and to communicate deadlines clearly.

Brand oriented and creative companies also consist of a large amount of creative staff. These industries have been rated as amongst the top three most stressful professions, comparable to air traffic control. We asked Lechelle where the incredible stress and pressure in the creative industry originates? “The industry is definitely deadline driven, especially when we are dealing with website optimisation issues. However, a lot of stress in the industry does come from little respect for creatives in South Africa as subject matter experts, and sometimes the client does not always know best, however the industry is definitely client centred and clients tend to dictate creative direction. ” Lechelle further explained that South Africa has taken six years to reach the same level of online maturity that most other countries would reach within five due to our distrusting nature.

We asked Lechelle about her predictions for the future trends in the industry and what advice she can offer clients? She says things are changing, and in the last few months, she has seen South Africans become far more proactive and trusting with their online purchases. The future of commerce is definitely electronic, following trends of countries like the UK where 95% of people’s purchases takes place online. Her advice for businesses? “It doesn’t help having a brand and not being seen. And if you’re going to be seen, you need to be seen by the same person at least three times. Cutting marketing budgets will negatively affect the bottom line. Familiarity results in affiliation, and affiliation results in sales. Everything works in threes. The brain processes things in threes. Make sure you get seen three times, even if you have to use the same media three times to get noticed.”

Thank you for that great advice Lechelle. In closing, we would just like to say, Time Clinic, Time Clinic, Time Clinic. And now that you have seen that three times, we look forward to seeing you all on our next course!

Creating positive change by appealing to your hedonist

2012-07-19T17:03:00.000+02:00

To implement the positive changes we would like to see in order to make ourselves better time managers, we often revert to the ‘stick’ as opposed to the ‘carrot’ approach. And yet, behavioural research indicates that change does not take place when punishment is the motivation! In order for us to be effective and motivated human beings, positive lasting change needs to come from intrinsic or internal motivation. So how do we manage this?


Your inner hedonist needn't be a monster

As human beings we are naturally pain avoiding, pleasure seeking creatures. Anyone who doubts this, needs to merely observe a small baby. As we get older, we develop emotions of guilt concerning self reward based on philosophical and religious upbringings, and yet self reward is an incredible motivating tool if used appropriately.

We all have inner hedonists. If we deny our hedonists, the old adage “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” not only becomes a reality, but makes us depressed, stressed and unhappy individuals. Life is hard enough as it is, we need to create opportunities for play and joy wherever possible – even at work. By creating mini milestones and opportunities for guilt free, well deserved self reward, we can make any project rewarding, including those in which we are implementing changes in our lives.

Your inner hedonist is here to stay. You can fight it and suppress it, or you can use it as a tool to motivate. Research has indicated that self esteem improves when one learns to reward and value the self, and I really do believe that if we create meaningful opportunities to nurture our inner hedonist we will not only feel better about ourselves as individuals, but we will be happier, healthier and more successful as well.

As for me, I’m off to have a nice relaxing walk with my dog as my ‘reward’ for writing this article. What will yours be today?

Book review - The 4 hour workweek, will it really change your life?

2012-05-03T19:31:00.001+02:00

Probably the most popular 'time management' book released (and re-released) these last two years, The 4 hour workweek by Timothy Ferriss has acquired its own cult following.

Find out what we really think about this popular book and whether we believe it will change your life or the way you manage your time in our rather honest review here:

www.timeclinic.co.za/bookreviews.html

A fantastic time saving gadget for meetings

2012-05-03T12:24:00.000+02:00

Let’s face it, meetings take up far too much time in today’s modern age. And a real time waster is struggling to type up minutes or interpret our poorly scrawled notes after the meeting in order to complete our tasks and projects.

I hate meetings so much that I have decided to make a point of sharing with you any strategies that I stumble upon that can make meetings more time efficient and productive.

So some of you are required to take minutes of meetings, others prefer (or are required) to take your own notes, correct? If you are like me, you end up leaving with hard to interpret scribbles, doodles and pages of writing and often miss many important sections of the meeting for the simple reason that a human being is simply not designed to concentrate for periods longer than forty minutes at a time.

I stumbled upon this fantastic device that some of my clients are using and I believe will make just about anyone’s life easier. There are a few options available, but I have had personal recommendations regarding the Livescribe Echo Intellipen. If you haven’t heard about this amazing little invention, prepare to be stunned and amazed! And I promise I have no financial incentive in sharing this information with you, I have also just been blown away with the ingenuity and usefulness of this time saving invention.

The version I am familiar with is the top-of-the-range Livescribe Echo intellipen, but there are a number of more affordable versions available with various other features. So how can a pen help you in a meeting? Well firstly, these pens come with a recording device that records between 200 and 800 hours of audio that can be uploaded to your pc. Firstly, no need for a Dictaphone in a meeting. Now this may not sound that impressive yet, until one realises that the pen comes with functionality to click on any point within your notes and to play the audio recording from that exact point of the meeting. Let’s say for example you feel a certain section is very important (or difficult to minute), simply make a mark on your ‘Dot-paper’ and the pen will replay the audio file from that very point.

There is also handwriting to text recognition. So you don’t have to retype your notes. I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the software in this regard as I have not met anyone who has used this functionality, but as soon as I get my grubby little paws on one of these pens I most certainly will try it out and let you know.

The only downside is the notebooks you have to use can be a bit pricey, and you have to use these notebooks for your pen to playback correctly.

I think this is a great invention that makes life so much easier! The Time Clinic recommends this product and according to my research, we have found that it is available from South African stockists such as certain Incredible Connection branches or Digital Planet online. International clients can obtain details of suppliers via their site on www.livescribe.com. Let us know if you get one and how it helps you!