If you are anything like me (God help you) then you know how difficult it can be to manage your time.  Regardless your occupation, finding those extra few minutes a day is like the quest for the Holy Grail; there are always a million different things to do and a million other things that pull your attention away.  Though this problem is certainly not unique to our arena, for the genealogist, this can be doubly difficult since genealogy research is often juggled into an otherwise already busy life, complete with a job and a family and friends to keep up with.  This blog series will attempt to help you understand at least some of the reasons behind the apparent chaos, and provide some insightful ways to work through the distractions, balance life and work and create a more peaceful working situation for yourself while increasing your productivity and decreasing your stress.

In this series I will explore the different problems that we face when managing our time, diving into each issue specifically and then providing tips as well as exercises for working through them to help hone your time managing skills.

Issues the blog will address:

• Objectives and Goals
• Using a schedule
• Integrating your PDA or PC
• Work Space Organization
• Setting Priorities
• Saying NO
• Dealing with interruptions – in their many forms
• Periods of inactivity
• Multitasking
• Stress and fatigue (Burn-out)
• Procrastination
• DOWN-TIME and taking breaks
• Self Discipline 

What are some of the issues YOU face when it comes to getting things done?  What techniques have you used to overcome these obstacles?

Next Issue:  Having Clear Objectives and Setting Incremental Achievable Goals