Proof that numbers don’t lie and managing those numbers is most reflected …….. in hours of your day….wasted. These can never be recovered and are the most valuable to you, in both the short and long term, in business and pleasure!
This was not a lesson taught in Business School in the ‘70’s and it should have been! The emphasis this deserves and why it is my first lesson, is the immense lifetime benefits you secure.
My first true VP of Marketing saved and shaped my life. He offered to cover the cost of any Time Management course of my choosing. While skeptical at first, it was not until after completing it, did the light go on and my life change forever.
After 5 years in advertising, a weekly Day Planner was an 
integral part of work, but I still felt out of control.
The value of a full page single day view that gave me back that control.
Features and Benefits:
- Having to do a handwritten daily task/project list (analog in a digital world holds many benefits)
- Re-written and re-sorted every day
- Providing an A, B, C priority while sorting in order
- Repetition singles out tasks which are too big
- So break them into smaller components
- Writing the list at the start of the day
- Immediate focus on the most important of tasks
- Avoids time wasting on low priority projects
- Significant satisfaction when striking a task off the list
- Re-written and re-sorted every day
- Accommodates your appointments for the day
- Allows for plenty of notes on the right
A compelling insight this VP Marketing provided when making the offer (in the day of acquisitions and takeovers), was also the importance this system encouraged was the taking of copious notes during a meeting. Not only did it provide hard copy of details communicated in these meetings, it trains one to be an effective listener.
Becoming a better listener (not just hearing, but processing and comprehending or clarifying), is the true art of listening and means nothing was missed. I could go back to my notes and make sure I was never caught out.
The second and most satisfying benefit was that this system allowed me to relax about all projects. I could go back and revisit key details and not having to rely on memory or the wasted energy that this requires. 
Copious notes not only allows you to be in the moment on the specific project or person and not wasting time on trying to wrack your memory. It also means a better family life, allowing you to shut down the minute you walk out the door freeing you to think about the bigger ideas. And should there be a dispute over what was said or communicated, who is going to be believed? The one with the memory, or the one who can point to specific notes taken in the meeting?
Thank you Rob Hawthorne!
marketing uncomplicated 