Category: Time Management

No, I don’t hate calendars. But there is something I hate about calendars and I’m wondering if you’re the same?

It you often find it hard to get yourself or others motivated to get stuff done, then I want to share with you The 15 Minute blitz! It’s a favourite in our house, and I also use it for my work. f you’re looking for some extra support around home, and perhaps need  bit longer than […]

Amidst the worldwide Covid-19 crisis, many people are now working from home. This may be very new for many of you, so I have pulled together a list of resources for you. As I learn about more options, I will update, so if you know of a tool that should be on this list, please […]

This post has been republished with permission from Ruth Hovsepian of Modern Day Ruth We all do it: Texting while walking, sending emails during meetings, chatting on the phone while cooking dinner. In today’s society, doing just one thing at a time seems downright luxurious, even wasteful.  What you call multitasking is really task-switching, says […]

One of our clients sent us the following message. I thought it was such a great question, I wanted to turn my response into a blog post for all of you to read. Hi Abbie, I’m serving a few different masters at the moment and I need a sensible way to track my time as […]

An article on Mind Body Green caught my attention over the weekend. It was titled “The People Pleaser’s Guide to Saying No”. I have always been a people pleaser and not very good at saying “No, I can’t do that.” I was very interested to see what little tips and tricks lay hidden in this […]

I came across an article a week ago that seemed crazy to me at first. The author, Michelle L Bryant, stated that the key to success and effectively managing your time is to only ever spend 10 minutes on every task that you undertake. My first reaction was to scoff and close the browser window. […]

[vc_column_text pb_margin_bottom=”no” pb_border_bottom=”no” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [/vc_column_text] [vc_column_text pb_margin_bottom=”no” pb_border_bottom=”no” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] “So, how have you been?” “Flat out!” I know I do it. I’m sure you’ve found yourself doing it too, at least once in a while. When someone asks you how you are, you’re almost bursting to tell them how busy you […]

by Oliver Burkeman, (The Guardian ) It surely can’t be a coincidence that Peter Drucker, who died in 2005, was (a) one of the few management thinkers to talk almost unbroken good sense. Drucker, who spent several decades as a consultant and sat in on countless corporate meetings, left with this impression – “one either meets or […]

This morning I was at a Business Chicks breakfast with the amazing Sir Richard Branson. He regaled us with stories of getting a “bloody bum” when jumping off a roof in Las Vegas, and how the movie The Hangover is almost certainly based on a night he partied after the Melbourne Grand Prix! One line […]

If you find that you’re stressed out and overwhelmed at work, now may be the time to brush up on your organisational skills. Getting and staying organised can help you know what you’re supposed to do and when you’re supposed to do it. The best way to get organised and stay organised is to stick […]

Apps have become a huge part of my business.  I use all sorts of apps for various aspects of my daily routine and I’m not sure I could survive without them.  I am able to have apps on various mobile devices and even on my desktop and they all save me time and allow me to work […]

In the workplace, a total of 3.2 days per worker are lost each year through workplace stress*, so it’s important that business leaders are mindful of work/life balance for the optimum mental wellbeing of their employees, and the creation of a healthy workplace. Mental wellbeing in the workplace continues to be a major issue for […]

Perhaps you’ve heard this story. Imagine you’re sitting in a class. It’s one of those big classrooms, with tiered seating, able to accommodate hundreds of students. The class is assembled in eager expectation; what will the professor do today? At exactly 8 o’clock, he strides in and without acknowledging the classes’ presence, reaches under the lectern and produces a […]

How to play with time, and make time work for us! There are only 24 hours in any given day for everyone. It is how we choose to use those hours, which draws the line between the procrastinators and those who manage their time wisely.  Instead of stressing yourself out, there are some simple ways […]

Over a coffee recently, a group of my friends was discussing a new “what the heck am I doing?” trend emerging among our cohort of working parents. The topic was sparked by one super busy-professional-mother-of-young-children friend who was continually interrupted by her not-so-subtle vibrating iPhone. Did I mention that she, like the rest of us […]

Let’s get honest here, most of us treat our family and friends better than we do ourselves and many of us spend most of our day beating ourselves up with a big stick and flood our minds with negative thoughts about how we feel not good enough or feel we ‘ should have’ done better. […]

Wouldn’t that be great? Here are some of my favourite tips to maximise your time for best results (so that you have more time to enjoy doing the things you love!)  1. Delegate more. No matter how multi-skilled and efficient you know yourself to be, there are some things that you’re doing that someone else around […]

Ok, so that title makes me sound a little bit like a shopping addict, which I’m not. I don’t shop all that much online but when I do I love it! Why do I love online shopping? It goes hand in hand which what I love about being a personal concierge – saving time! Online […]

For my birthday Tim treated us to dinner and a night at the movies. We decided to go and see The Hunger Games, even though I had really wanted to read the book by Suzanne Collins beforehand – it’s just a general life policy I have to try to read the book before the film! However, this wasn’t […]

I sit at my desk, iPad to my left, laptop in front of me, and a large monitor to my right. My iPhone is also at the ready, next to my physical notebook. Yes, I’m a bit of a gadget geek. I love testing out new software, having the latest Microsoft Office suite or trying […]

As the guest blogger for Lifestyle Elements today I wanted to touch on time management with an etiquette spin and under this umbrella there is one of the most commonly asked questions I get: What time is on time to arrive for a meeting? There is a saying I love “On time is late” and […]

We all have them. Or, if we don’t, we should get busy getting some. Yes, those crazy life goals where, on the one hand, you don’t believe will ever come true, and on the other hand, secretly can’t wait for! Yes, you know, those goals. I have them. Do you? My first goal is to […]

I recently read a great post and video blog, ‘Why Setting Boundaries Is Key On The Road To Job Happiness’  by Jenn Korducki Krenn of the website Dream Champs. It immediately resonated with me and reminded me of my earlier working life. How many of you have experienced the situation of sitting at your desk until 6, […]

Take this test to see how much of a Pro you are at juggling: Could you cook dinner, supervise homework, do a set of squats, clean the kitchen benches and have a phone conversation? Could you drive, listen to a business webinar, put your makeup on at traffic lights and do your pelvic floor exercises? […]

Everyone has had one of those days – where you feel like you didn’t get anything accomplished at work.  I’ve been there myself.  You went to work, you talked to people, you wrote emails but you didn’t really get anything finished.   Why? Here’s a list of ways to rethink your workday so you’re more productive: […]

It’s about now that your new year’s resolution to be healthy is wearing off and the realisation hits that you can’t maintain this healthy lifestyle and do all the other things you want or need to do.  This whole idea of becoming healthy, losing weight, looking nicely tight and toned, eating right and quitting various […]

Some of my concierge colleagues recently shared an article from the Sunday Herald Sun entitled ‘Experts warn of the perils of outsourcing your life’. “The perils of outsourcing? Really?” (For those of you who are Modern Family fans, picture Cam saying “Really Mitchell? Really?”). I ask you to please refer below for the definition of […]

“If you want to be an effective leader, start leading the way with regular breaks. “ This quote comes from the blog post ‘Take A Break! Bad Things Rarely Happen” by Tristan White, CEO of the Physio Co. which also happens to be one of Australia’s Top 20 Places to Work. It’s the final line in the […]

Do you Procrastinate? Based on some figures, it is estimated that as much as 95 % of the people are prone to procrastination. Amongst them, 20 % of them are chronic procrastinators. How is procrastination affecting your rewards and profits? Your plans for the Year, quarter? Procrastination is about putting off a task which we […]

Welcome to our latest ‘Balance Beam’ work life balance profile, brought to you by Kailah Shannon from Coffee Secrets. Once again we provide you with a fabulous insight into an organisation implementing work life balance initiatives. Our aim is to inspire you to seek greater work life balance inside and outside your business. I hope you enjoy […]

How do you feel when you hear the word DELEGATION? Does it make you chest tighten? Did you clench your hands just a little? I bet that many of you thought to yourself, “yes, that’s all well and good for small tasks and admin tasks, but there are just some tasks that only I can […]

The number of organisations utilising the services of a Corporate Concierge is still relatively low in Australia. In fact it is quite difficult to get real data on organisations who have implemented a concierge service. “That’s because we don’t need corporate concierge services!” I hear you say. In America however, many organisations are starting to realise […]

I’ve been making to-do lists for as long as I can remember.  Work stuff, personal stuff, blog stuff…you name it…I’ve made a to-do list about it.  But I understand that not everyone does this and it may not come as easily to others.  So I’m going to give you some of my list-making secrets. It’s […]

Frantic?  Can’t possibly take anything out of your schedule? Modern life is flat out, and that’s that. Or is it? Have a look through the following ‘types’ of busy (adapted from Soul Sisters Empowerment  Groups), and see if you can identify your own style. ‘Badge-of-honour’ Busy Being busy equals being significant.  Keeping your schedule jam-packed […]

I was inspired to write this post after reading Gretchen Rubin’s interview with Rachel Bertsche on her blog The Happiness Project. In the post Gretchen asks Rachel a number of questions around happiness, one being ‘Is there a happiness mantra or motto that you’ve found very helpful?’ Rachel’s answer was the inspiration for this post today – “These […]

Stuff We’re increasingly surrounded by the stuff. Stuff to be sorted in the kitchen cupboards, in the wardrobes, on the desk, stuff to be done tomorrow, next week, by the end of the year, ad infinitum. And if truth were told, a great deal of this stuff in our lives is not absolutely essential and could in […]

Prior to 1969, an impossible thought was landing on the moon and mankind achieved that feat. So with the utmost respect achieving balance in your life in 2011 is absolutely possible. And the good news is that you don’t need to be a NASA rocket scientist, you just need to have a plan and remain […]

This week the focus of my collection is thanks. It was purely coincidental for the most part, but seems appropriate at this time of year. I hope you enjoy them! Spread A Little Joy Today – by Emma Isaacs of Business Chicks, and someone whom I have had the pleasure of meeting personally and keeping in touch […]

Something’s puzzling me and I can’t quite work it out. Today, we have more time-saving, convenience creating, effort reducing resources than ever before and yet we seem to be busier, more stressed and time poor. I just don’t get it. There’s now an app for everything and you can DIY or outsource pretty much anything […]

The internet is a treasure trove of information, but sometimes it can be a little overwhelming. On occasion I’m going to pull together some of the interesting, funny, quirky or poignant items that I come across and share them here with you. If you discover anything you think our readers would enjoy, please feel free to […]

I grew up in a home where being late was not an option. If we had to be at a certain place at 3:00 p.m., then we were at that certain place at 3:00 p.m. For a short time, I believed that everyone was like that. I believed that no one was late, that everyone […]

Don’t to forget to share this post with your followers and friends! [twitter style=”horizontal” text=”Share on Twitter!” float=”left”] [fbshare type=”button” float=”left”][hr] It seems like the harder we try to achieve it, the busier, more stressed and exhausted we become. You only have to Google ‘Work Life Balance’ (over 32 million results) to know it’s something […]

Prior to 1969, an impossible thought was  landing on the moon and mankind achieved that feat. So with the utmost respect achieving balance in your life in 2011 is absolutely possible. And the good news is that you don’t need to be a NASA rocket scientist, you just need to  have a plan and remain disciplined. […]

Welcome to our latest ‘Balance Beam’ work life balance profile, brought to you by Kathyrn Williams from Youth Off The Streets. Already our Balance Beam profiles have provided inspiration and ideas to our readers seeking to improve work life balance in their organisations and every day lives. I hope you enjoy this latest ‘Balance Beam’ profile, and […]

I am a regular reader of Red Balloon CEO Naomi Simson’s blog. She provides wonderful insights into the world of an entrepreneur, as well as offering interesting commentary on relevant workplace issues. One of her recent blog posts Free Childcare for all Australians particularly struck a chord with me. As many of you know, I am […]

Welcome to our latest ‘Balance Beam’ work life balance profile, brought to you by Max Australia & Spectrum Communications from Max Australia & Spectrum Communications. We will be regularly placing our focus on organisations from Australia, New Zealand and around the globe who are implementing work life balance initiatives into their organisation. Our aim is […]

Welcome to our latest ‘Balance Beam’ work life balance profile, brought to you by Angie “Speedy” Spiteri from Time Equals Money. Lifestyle Elements is passionate about showcasing organisations from Australia, New Zealand and around the globe who are implementing work life balance initiatives into their organisation. Our aim is to inspire you to seek greater work […]

According to various sources, the majority of people would like better work life balance. However, have you ever taken the time to clearly describe what that would mean for you? What would be your ideal balanced day? It was Nigel Marsh, the Regional Group CEO of Young and Rubicam Brands for Australia & New Zealand, who got me thinking about […]

One of the problems with being a personal concierge is that, as we are able to help with so many things, often people just don’t know where to start! Hopefully the list below will help with some ideas, get the juices flowing, and you can knock a few things off your ‘to do’ list by […]

Or outsource the small stuff first! We all know about spring cleaning our house (whether we do it is another matter) but have you ever tried to spring clean your to do list? Yes, I realise it isn’t spring, but winter is actually the perfect time to spring clean (not sure if winter clean is […]

I have previously written a post about ‘workaholics’ in response to the book Rework by 37Signals – you can read that post here. It was therefore interesting to read this article on the Sydney Morning Herald website entitled ‘The Workaholic Nation’ by Judith Ireland. The article is focused on the sense of pride many of […]

Last year I was a guest speaker at a conference where I spoke about time management. In the Q&A session towards the end as I answered various questions, I had a spark of realisation, or, as Oprah would call it, “an aha moment”. I am passionate about time management and giving people tips and tricks to […]

I recently read (ok, I actually listened to it on my iPod) a book called Rework. The book is by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson who are the founders of 37Signals. I particularly enjoyed the book and found their take on work and entrepreneurism refreshing, logical and, personally, quite freeing. My take on it is, just because […]

Well, almost anything! Sometimes, one of the biggest stumbling blocks when delegating work to someone else is worrying about what they’ll think. We find this a lot in our role as a personal concierge. “Won’t they wonder why I don’t do it myself?” “Won’t they think this is a waste of time?” “Isn’t this a […]

A few years ago one of our clients recounted a women’s networking lunch she had recently been to. The women on her table were all very successful in business and had achieved highly in their various areas of expertise. What our client couldn’t get over were the comments they were making, such as “….and I still […]

Yes, offering flexible working hours is a fantastic initiative for those organisations and job roles where it is an option. I am particularly passionate about organisations ensuring that staff work hours are managed appropriately, to avoid the inevitable burn out. However, what about those organisations or job roles where flexible working hours just don’t work. […]

Do you find that with all the tasks we have to get done each day, looking at your task list can become quite overwhelming? We’ve all heard of prioritising, but it is easy to get confused when we have numerous competing demands. How often have you had your day all planned out, only to have it thrown […]

Lifestyle Elements was recently featured in an article for Body & Soul. The question they were asking was “Are we more stressed than in the 60’s?”. What do you think? As mentioned in the article “we have appliances to do our chores, more leisure time than ever before and the technology to do almost anything […]

By Abbie Allen If would like to use the following article in your publication please contact Abbie Allen As featured in ‘Inner West BEC – Small Business Matters – Volume 1 No. 10 May 2004’ It’s the choice entrepreneurs make when they start their own business. We give up free time, leisure time and family […]