Home Improvement tips : J-Tips

• Try to invite people on two to three different occasions to ensure their attendance;
• Make a formal invitation, usually in person or by telephone at least two weeks in advance.
• Send a follow-up confirmation note and agenda after attendance has been confirmed.
• Try for a reminder. Have an assistant call to remind attendees about the meeting, or mention it to them yourself, in conversation.
• As the chairman, preparing an agenda in advance helps you to;

• Determine what items you want to cover;
• Communicate to participants what is to be considered and what is expected of them;
• Create order and control at the meeting;
• Establish standards by which the success of the meeting can be measured.

• Circulate your agenda in advance. If you can’t, write it on a flip chart or white board before participants arrive. The agenda should include:

• The purpose of the meeting, stated in one succinct sentence;
  e.g. “To review and agree details of the annual budget”;
• The start time and finish time;
• Meeting location, including street address, floor, room number and map if necessary;
• A list of who will be attending, and their titles;
• Individual items to be covered, and action items on each

• Put simple announcements at the beginning of the meeting, to warm up the group.
• Start and finish the meeting with positive items.
• If someone else is preparing the agenda, approach them beforehand to make sure your items are on the list for discussion.
• Consider starting meetings at oddball times, such as 10:08 am.
• Schedule a meeting for late in the day if you want it to be short. Business has a tendency to move quickly as it approaches five o’clock.

• Visualize your long term picture of success and put it in writing. Review your goal frequently. Your goal should be specific, measurable, achievable and compatible with where you are now. There should be an end date as well. Steven Covey calls this “Begin with the end in mind.”
• Try to do your planning at the same time every day. Use this time to review past accomplishments as well as future things to do.
• Use only one planner to keep track of your appointments. Keeping a separate business and personal planner creates confusion.
• Write out a To Do list every day. Include items that can be completed, such as “Prepare exhibits for monthly report”, rather than just “Work on report.”
• Separate your To Do list into A, B and C priorities. “A” items are important to your long term success, “B” may be urgent but not as important and “C” are those that would be nice to do if you get the time.
• Start with the A items. Don’t work on a C just because it’s easy to do. Also, break your A items into small manageable chunks, so they’re easy to accomplish.
• Check off items as you complete them to give yourself a sense of accomplishment.
• Block off time in your planner for major activities. This might include a block of time for working alone on major tasks. If someone wants to meet you during that time, say “I’m sorry, I already have an appointment.”
• Don’t jam your day full of activities. Leave time for emergencies, special opportunities and thinking time.
• Be your own manager. Ask yourself if you have met your goals, and what changes you plan to make to achieve them.
• Do it now. People will often say “Call me next week, and we’ll book an appointment then.” Respond by saying, “Let’s save ourselves a call and do it now.”
• Always plan time for balance; include family, fitness, recreation, social and spiritual activities.
• Conduct a time study to see how you’re doing and where the opportunities for improvement lie. Many people are only able to spend one quarter of their time on top priority activities. Moving this up to one third of the week means almost 4 more hours per week on key activities.