Managing Multiple Projects, Objectives and Deadlines

This is the seminar for the busy manager, supervisor or administrative person who juggles deadlines, projects and multiple demands and has no time to waste. Learn organizational skills to help you get more accomplished faster and with better results than ever before!

What You Will Learn

• How to reap the benefits of better planning
• How to get organized and stay that way
• Why deadlines get missed—and how to make sure they won’t be
• How to make sure your real "top priorities" don’t get lost in the shuffle
• And much more

WORKSHOP AGENDA

Program time: 3 hours

Session 1: Gaining control of your workday

• The 10 "Golden Rules" of time management
• An eye-opening test to see just how out of control your workday really is
• How to eliminate the BIG THREE productivity killers: Procrastination, poor planning and personal disorganization
• Deadlines: How to tell the real from the phony
• How to turn chaos into momentum when everything happens at once
• 5 steps for improving your personal effectiveness that can have a dramatic impact on all parts of your life
• Small changes to make to your work area that’ll give a big boost to your productivity
• How to hit the ground running your first day back from a business trip or vacation
• Hidden time-wasters: Know how to spot them—and stop them—before they throw a wrench in your day

Session 2: Handling competing priorities like a pro

• A 6-step ACTION plan for turning priorities into attainable, measurable goals
• 8 foolproof principles for effectively managing competing priorities without sacrificing quality
• What you should delegate and what you should do yourself—a 9-point checklist
• 5 elements of positive self-regard that make you more successful in handling people and projects
• 3 proven methods for keeping interruptions from wreaking havoc on your priorities

Session 3: Getting organized—so you can get down to business

• How to use the "divide and conquer" strategy of organization
• 9 strategies for taking control of phone calls and voice mails
• Stem the tide of paperwork and electronic documents—"power filing" techniques that’ll automatically supercharge your day
• Multitasking without losing your mind—(myth or reality?)
• Enlist the help of others to stay organized—here’s how
• Creating a "get organized" toolkit that works for you
• Hire your e-mail program as your new "electronic assistant"
• Choose your weapon to fight disorganization: Day planners, calendars, PDAs, personal productivity software—how to decide what works best for you

Session 4: Project planning: An automatic way to increase your productivity

• The first 3 questions to ask when sorting priorities and setting deadlines
• The quick and easy rule for determining how much time to allow for planning
• When planning really is a waste of time
• Parkinson’s Law: How to apply it to cut the time required for any project
• Understanding every project’s "life cycle"
• Why prioritizing your project’s "Triple Constraints" is critical to success
• Project management tools the pros use: Work Breakdown Structures, Gantt charts and project management software

Session 5: Managing yourself, people (and even the boss!) for greater results

• Take this quiz to reveal your personality style—and learn how it can kick your productivity into high gear
• "Seek first to understand" your way to better results
• Why "excellence" and "perfection" aren’t synonymous
• 6 recommendations for coping with those who slow you down
• The secret of master diplomats—how and when to say "No"
• 4 discouraging words to eliminate from your vocabulary
• 6 remedies for "hurry sickness"
• What to do when your supervisor micromanages your productivity straight out the door!
• How to handle the challenge of working for multiple bosses—especially when they’re in different locations
• How to dramatically increase your value to your boss and your organization (and be recognized for it)

Session 6: Don’t let stress control you

• Know what triggers push your "stress buttons"
• Take the test: How vulnerable are you to the negative effects of stress?
• Type A or Type B: Are you letting your personality type "work" for you?
• Why it’s more harmful to avoid stress than to deal with it head-on
• Turning stress into a healthy motivator for getting things done
• The 12-step plan for controlling stress and avoiding burnout