It was great to introduce our two job-share receptionists to Robyn’s Getting a Grip on The Paper War text. It became a catalyst for us to improve our administration proce..."
Marie Collins,
Business Manager, The NZ Institute of Plastic & Cosmetic Surgery
Thank you for all the tips and words of advice you and your team have sent through.I have been constantly reading it and it does wonders to my line of work and also being a wife and mot..."
Anaseini Liku,
Communication & Media Coordinator, Ministry of Education, Cook Islands
I have just finished reading 'Getting a Grip on Time' and 'Getting a Grip on the Paper War'. Particularly your book on 'Time' got me back on track, and during the day I catc..."
Ingrid Geerlings,
Owner, www.houseofmilk.com
‘I’ve just been reading ‘Getting a grip on Leadership’. It is very good and has had an impact on me. I realised I’d lost my way a bit re who I am ..."
Heather Millar,
Manager, Professional Practice, Central North Island Kindergarten Association, New Zealand
I have personally known Robyn Pearce for around 16 years.
From time to time my firm has contracted Robyn on a project basis to work with our professional staff as well as partners in the fi..."
John Hackett,
Partner, A J Park, New Zealand
The kick-start that I needed was delivered by a velvet glove, but make no mistake the iron hand within the glove ensured that the message was received and understood. If you are going to spend some..."
Heather Jenks,
Associate University Librarian (Research and Learning Services), University of Canterbury
Having worked already very successfully with our NZ Team, Robyn's support of the Australian Team over a 12-month period was fundamental to helping us cope with increased day to day workload - espec..."
Julia Braun,
General Manager - Marketing, Beiersdorf Australia
I have used Robyn as an Executive Coach for key Senior Staff for a number of years now and couldn't recommend her more highly. I've found as people step up in the organisation they often struggle t..."
Merilyn Havler,
Then General Manager, Beiersdorf New Zealand
When we reviewed the progress made as a result of your concepts, a staggering number of them had become an integral part of our day to day business, collectively making a huge difference to our eff..."
Wayne & Lisa Hughes,
Occupational Therapy Helping Children, NSW, Australia
I'd like to highlight the benefits felt both by the staff members attending your sessions, and the motivational flow-on effects experienced throughout the Hotel.In the developmental sta..."
Human Resources Manager,
Wentworth Hotel (part of the Rydges chain)
Thank you for your interesting and indeed challenging speech. I could see all the people who've ..."
Australian Institute of Credit Managers,
Sydney Branch
On behalf of the team at Strategic Lifestyle Management and our client Lend Lease I would..."
SLM Conference and Incentive Manager,
for client Lend Lease
"Thank you for the practical and informative Time Management seminar you recently gave to our senior m..."
HR Manager,
ANA Hotel, Sydney
The response to the program was extremely positive, with an average rating of 4.4 out of ..."
Noel Cook,
GM, Outdoor Network, Australia
Your time management seminars are one of the best things we've ever done. Weeks l..."
Centrelink,
Dubbo, New South Wales
Now several months later and my productivity has increased between 30% and 50%. I'm seeing more and bette..."
Senior financial planner,
IPAC, Australia
A wonderful surprise to learn how much I had improved since the first programme with you nine months a..."
National Sales Manager,
Personal Insurance, GIO Australia
Feedback from the staff was very positive... all felt they had gained a great deal of control and di..."
MD,
C.Y. O'Connor College of TAFE, Northam, WA
A lot of great new ideas and some very good new tools that I shall start implementing immediately.
Group Services Trainer,
Adecco
"Many practical hints which helped me reorganise my office, to operate efficiently." ..."
Senior Partner,
Baldwins (Patent Attorneys)
I would like to take this opportunity to commend you on the flexibility of your approach, and..."
Human Resources Manager,
Professional Services Review, Canberra
You presented a most informative and challenging training session. Your ability to gain q..."
Human Resources Manager,
Independent Pricing & Regulatory Tribunal of NSW
Once again you combine an enthusiastic presentation style with useful tips and techniques. Succinct and fun ..."
Manager - Training & Development,
Real Estate Institute of NSW
Your presentation was brilliant, and your thoughts on how to make time management beneficial to eve..."
Barbara McCarthy,
President, Chatswood Chamber of Commerce, Sydney
We could not have chosen better. Your contribution was just what we wanted and needed, and I was t..."
Raewyn James,
Tamaki Teachers' Conference
Robyn, you gave a fantastic speech, and I am still having positive feedback about your talk to this day..."
Sales and Marketing Co-ordinator,
Swiss Grand Hotel, Bondi, and co-ordinator of Eastern Suburbs Women's Breakfast
I know everyone who attended was fascinated by all your planning tips and I know many have put t..."
Solo Home Business Network,
Sydney
We were very impressed... everyone gained considerable insight to effective ..."
MD,
IT software company, Auckland
Following a number of very positive reference checks we invited Robyn Pe..."
Godfrey Pembroke National Conference,
Hobart, Tasmania
"Thank you! I'm sure you could tell from everyone's enthusiasm that they enjoyed your presenta..."
Programme Director,
Pioneer SWAP
Robyn gave much more than the professional information imparted in this kind of session...."
Principal Heritage Officer,
Heritage Council NSW
Thanks for your wonderful presentation. I've had a lot of positive feedback from our staff, and they c..."
GM's assistant,
Austereo, Australia
Your down-to-earth common sense certainly hit home to a lot of people, and the feedba..."
Lyn McDermott,
Ass. Director, Marketing and Communication, L.J. Hooker Ltd
Robyn, in light of this morning's session (and comments about short emails!) I could leave it the..."
Wilf Marley,
Principal, Marley Loft Systems (Accountants)
We've had great feedback since your last session with the NZ Institute of Charte..."
Denise Bovaird,
Past President, New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants
Since your time management course our managers have found that they ca..."
John Moore,
Then-HR Manager, International Cricket Council, Dubai
Robyn spoke to four of my Academy groups in the space of 11 days. I wa..."
Barrie Barrett,
Chairman, Academy for Chief Executives, United Kingdom
I just thought I'd spend a few minutes in the Proactive/Value-adding quadrant and let you know ho..."
Law Clerk,
Bell Gully, New Zealand
I would like to extend a huge thank you for making your valuable time av..."
David Greenslade,
Managing Director, Strategi, New Zealand
Since we worked with Robyn 5 months ago our team of 12 underwriters and support staf..."
Senior Underwriter,
QBE Insurance, New Zealand
Thanks very much for the Time Management programme you have conducted over the ..."
Gareth McCulloch,
National Sales Manager, Southern Hospitality Limited
Tip 1: When you have washed sheets, duvet covers etc, if you are not putting them straight back on the beds, fold them all up and put them into one pillow case. This way, all you need to grab out of the linen cupboard is the full pillowcase.
Tip 2: Lunchbox stuff. Make a double batch of muffins, quiches, etc. Use some of them while fresh, but take 5 minutes to wrap the remainder individually with gladwrap and throw them in the freezer. Then just grab them out in the morning for lunches, and they’ll be defrosted by lunchtime.
Tip 3: Obviously, buy in bulk when it’s on special and make double sized meals. Freeze half for another day.
Tip 4: Leave the sandwich bread frozen and put them into lunch boxes frozen. This way you’re only using the bread you need (no wastage) and especially in summer, keeping lunch meats and so on cooler.
Tip 5: Consider using a laundromat rather than a domestic drier over winter. You can dry 8-10 loads in 40 minutes in a commercial drier, it costs about $6, is much easier on your clothes and is far quicker. You can then just have one giant folding session a week, your power costs are kept down and you don’t have the dampness in your home from running the drier.
Tip 6: Maintain a “family diary” in a visible spot. If anyone has a commitment – homework, a costume, after school commitments and so on, it must be written in the diary. Try and find something which does a week at a glance, but which you can flip the pages over to see upcoming weeks. The second you get a school notice, have swimming or music lessons or sports or practices, write it in. Ensure that on a Sunday night, you flip over to the upcoming week and review your commitments.
Tip 7: Network. Build up a network of people with whom you can carpool to the inevitable practices, games etc. This saves time and money.
Tip 8: Make sure you have enough cans in your cupboard, meat in your freezer or so on, to be able to produce a meal at a moment’s notice without having to shop. If my canned tomatoes get below 6 in the cupboard, I start to get nervous.
Tip 9: Do one large grocery shop every fortnight, and just top up fruit and veges as you need to.
Tip 10: If you have the freezer space, freeze spare bottles of milk rather than having to buy more during the week.
If I think of more, I’ll email you Robyn!
As the owner of a home-based business, and working with many home and small businesses, blurring the lines between work and home can make time management a real issue.
Being organised and having a routine is invaluable, as is being realistic about your expectations of yourself and everyone else.
Here are just a few more ideas, mainly from the perspective of someone who works from home (and my kids are mostly grown now so I have to think back for some of these):
1. Get everyone to pack bags, lay out what they will wear the next day, pack (and freeze if suitable) lunches, etc. the night before.
2. Cellphones and other tech tools can be time-gobblers for distracted children. They’ll be ready faster in the morning if they get the toys once they are finished whatever else they need to do.
3. I add a buffer into my day between having to drop kids at school and having my first meeting if at all possible to allow for delays and avoid turning up harried or late.
4. I triage unexpected problems and daily tasks into the ones which can be knocked off quickly but are not so important, those which are important but need time and concentration, and those which need to be ditched or delegated (family, friends, etc.) because they are time-consuming but not important to our immediate needs.
5. Family meals – once a day we all sit down to eat together. There are so many benefits but we also use a bit of this time to update family members on activities, who is in or out on certain days, things which we’ve achieved, etc. The older the kids have got the more valuable this has become. We eat later as a consequence, by the way, so I allow a small, healthy snack in the evening. The benefit definitely outweighs the inconvenience.
Robyn
As an aunt I find one of the best tips for bathrooms: have a different colour set of towels for each person in the family. Also once children are old enough (4-5) let them sort their washing into three baskets (white, blacks, coloured) to assist with laundry day. Once they are older teach them to load the washing machine.
another tip for children being organised each day is a plastic folder thing from the stationery shop that hangs from the edge of the table or over the door. label each pocket with a day and they can put finished things in there each day. they then only have one place to look for books, etc that they need for school, practices, etc.
Along with this if you have space in your entry way is a plastic box for each child – this holds htere backpack and school stuff – you can put things you find in the house in it as well.
another idea that i have read about especially with children who bring home lots of paintings, worksheets, etc is to post them once a month to grandparents, godparents, relations for them to view. keep one thing a month in a clearfile for each year of school and you will have nice record without too much. the child needs to choose the picture each month.
Diane
1. (BIG time saver!) Use the internet for grocery shopping. You will get very quick at this.
2. Have a “No Junk Mail” sign on your letterbox.
3. Build a filing system for your paperwork.
4. Forget big toy boxes. Have a bunch of smaller boxes. Get one out at a time. Less to pick up and the kids appreciate getting a ‘fresh’ bunch of toys when you choose a different box.
5. Flannels and bibs don’t need to be folded – throw them all together into a drawer or a bin in a cupboard.
6. Find ways to get the kids to help!
7. Cook enough for two nights – have the same thing two nights running. My family don’t complain, and I love the “night off” cooking! Works well with nutritious meals like casseroles, meatballs with vege sauces etc. Have it with rice one night and pasta the next.
8. Limit the kids’ activities to two each. They need time to just be kids… and you all need time to be a family.
Forget being perfect…happy is more important than tidy.
Have a menu for the week and have a kid a night to help cook if possible.
Family’s help each other and contribute so jobs suitable for the age is good.
Use a program to sort what tv you want to watch so it is regulated in a positive way.
Don’t sweat the small stuff…ask will this matter in 5 years…
A sock box…if you want to match your socks then do it yourself. Why do we have to wear matching stuff anyway??
Be Human! I have a sign at my entrance door to our home: :This house is clean enough to be healthy, and dirty enough to be happy”. I stick to that; no home needs to be clinical.
Focus! Your toddler asking for attention by clinging to you? Give them straight away 5-10 minutes full attention (no more) – it works a treat and you can walk away and focus your own stuff, while they are satisfied and carry on with theirs.
Dayly Schedule! Make yourself a day-plan; schedule your tasks and stick to that list as close as possible. If anything crosses your plan, don’t try to still squeeze everything in! Think about the plan (list) and simply cross out, postpone/cancel the least important task.
Deligate! No household should be run/operated by a single person (unless dedicated). A lot of tasks can be done by the kids and the partner, and who ever else contributes to the workload.
I have made a 1 A4 page shopping list for our local Pak and Save. The items are listed roughly in the order I come to them as I go around the supermarket so it allows me to whizz around the supermarket quicker than most people. The list also has a column for an estimated price so as items are put on the shopping list, an estimated price & running total is also written down. This a huge help with sticking to our budget. I print the sheets out in bulk and keep them in my recipe book. Each week I place one shopping list on the fridge and as grocery items run out the list is filled in accordingly. Then, when I plan my weekly menu I add the rest of the items that are required for the week.
As I go around the supermarket I’ve had numerous people comment on my list and I’ve even had people ask for a copy of it, which I’ve always happily emailed to them. It doesn’t have all the items at the supermarket but it has the ones that our family uses the most. Every now and then as the family requirements change I modify the list, but I’ve only done that a few times in the past 5- 6 years. If items aren’t put on the shopping list then the family usually misses out until the next week so they’ve had to take responsibility for putting things on the list as they run out. I’ve been using this for many years now and it definitely saves time and money!
Once a week, before shopping, clean out the vege bin of your frig. Anything that looks a bit limp and unappetising, put in the food processor to make vegetable soup. Make a big brew in the crock pot (add a cereal soup mix if you like). Use some right away and put the rest in meal-sized portions in the freezer. Alternatively, any glass jars with sealable lids can be used as preserving jars. Just put the soup in hot, and check that the seal clicks down as they cool. And there you are; clean fridge, less waste, and there’s always a quick and healthy meal in your freezer or pantry.
Some people are neat and organised by nature (left-brainer learning style), others thrive in chaos (right-brainer learning style). Understanding your family’s learning style will help you deal with the stress of a messy room and reach a compromise, for example, your teen is allowed a messy room as long as there’s no food to attract pests and no dirty laundry… and in exchange for your respecting their style, they respect yours by keeping the family room free of their stuff.
Your own learning style is also responsible for your optimal working conditions: the time of day, whether you want to cook while listening to the music or while reveling in the silence, whether you prefer making school lunches late at night or early in the morning.
Finding out how you tick makes you tick more efficiently. :-)