How to progress from backlog?

When I have been back from my forced break for 2 weeks now and I am taking it very slow. But my biggest problem is how to get through all the stuff that has piled up over the week I was off line. For days it felt like one step forward and 3 steps back.

I would read heaps of emails and then my inbox would fill up again. So I had to get tough. I have decided that I need to unsubscribe from lists. I do this about every 6 months or so. You might need to do it more frequently.

1. First decide with category emails are coming in:

• friends
• family
• works
• information
• learning
• fun.

2. Set up rules in your emails

• Friend and Family go to a selected folders
• Works can be diverted to dedicated folders.
• newsletters and blog posting can diverted to other folders.

3. Make a list of your most frequent emails. I usually work on 10 at a time.

4. Every time you receive an email from this list read it and decide if this was useful. Tick if it was or Cross if it was not.

5. At the end of a week look at the number of ticks and cross - if you had more crosses than ticks - unsubscribed from this newsletter. It is taking up more time than you need.

Remember some item or programs you download automatically add you to their email lists e.g. itunes. Decide if you really find this useful.

Some emails are from products that have been free. Great marketing tool but does the extra information really serve you now.

Sometimes you have subscribe to 2 or 3 lists to decided which is the best one. If the lists give you the same information but at different times. Focus on what have the best information or the extra information.

There are a lot of decision to be made. Make the time to make the decision and yes it will have to made regularly because our tastes change. What was important to you a year ago may not be relevant today.

At the moment I seems to be unsubscribed from a lot of stuff. And it is taking a bit of time but I am looking forward to next week when my downloaded unread emails no longer reach 3 digits.

If you feel that you still need all newsletters from months and years ago - I suggest that they are either all excellent and constantly change to meet you interests (tell me about them) or you have not changed in your thoughts and ideas. I would suggest to live a little and step out of your comfort zone. Try something different.

Now back to my emails

Leona

What's my efficient work plan?

When is your most efficient time of day? How do you management to get all the thing done that you should, have to and have got to get done. Add more people to you household (children and partners) or your life (friends clients and networking) and your jobs and to do lists just grows expediently.

So I have a long history of trying to figure out how to get the most out of my day and get the most done. I am constantly re-juggling the schedule. New activities always intervene - like sons drama classes or school holidays or relatives visiting.

I remember when I had a toddlers and a new baby (who feed every 2 - 3 hours), I felt that I had accomplished something for the day if my bed was made. And each week when that go to be a routine then I would add something else into the mix.

A couple of years again I felt that done the clothes washing when there were no dirty clothes, no clothes on the line and nothing wanting to be put away - that has not stopped by the way. My family wears too many clothes.

So how can I chuck, a very technical term, my day and get things done. I have tried different systems and read lots of books. But each stage of my life has brought different challenges and planning solutions.

So the current planning problem is when school goes back, how can I get my work done. There are activities I can do when the kids are around or they can help me with - Housework.

But starting my own home business between school hours of 9.15 to 2.40 (the hours I am actually home after dropping the kids at school) has been stumped. 5 hours for 5 days a week providing I don't do the housework or gardening or socialising or helping in the classroom. and get ALL the things done - emails, blogs, newsletters, accounts telephone calls etc.

I know I work best in the afternoon but smack bang in the middle of that, I have to pick up the kids from school. That that is a big way to upset the flow.

I have tried to schedule 1 hour of emails, 1 hour of writing, 1 hour of accounts but for me it doesn't work. When I have started something I want to finish it and I don't like flitting from one thing to the next. Basically I like project work. I like getting my teeth into something and feel as I have accomplished something, anything.

So I am Trying a new system of 2 hour blocks of work. I even have a timer to tell me when 2 hours are up and then I can have a drink and something to eat.

It's a good theory. At the moment in the middle of typing this - the timer has finished, my kids have returned and told me about their day and we should have afternoon tea, Oh I better do the washing up.

So tell me, what techniques do you use to get things done in your day?

Keeping smiling - I saw the sun today.

Leona