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Kids: Planning
 These ideas came from a 13 year old who had a few hectic weeks leading up to his bar-mitzvah.
1. Planner - Your child should use his/her planner to write down all assignments and time obligations (including activities, lessons and team practices.)
2. Estimate - Each day after school, have your child list everything he/she needs to accomplish and estimate the time it will take for each task. At the beginning, encourage him/her to overestimate how long things will take.
3. Schedule - Create time slots for getting each task done with scheduled short breaks (not TV watching, computer use or IMing!)
4. Advanced - Once your child gets used to the idea of estimating how long tasks will take, he/she should write the time estimate next to the assignment at the time it is given; writing it in the planner. This will make planning simpler and take a step out of the process.
Creating a schedule enables your child to realize that there will be more free time if he/she focuses on getting one task done at a time. It will also become clear when he/she has time to work on long-term projects and study for exams.
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Time: Time Saving Habits
 Whether at home or at work, taking 10 minutes at the end of your day to plan will save you time.
Here are some end of day planning tips:
1. Confirm tomorrow's appointments
2. Send out e-mail reminders
3. Review to-do list; schedule time to complete tasks
4. Review in-box papers
5. Put items by door that need to go with you
6. Plan dinner
7. Update your grocery list
8. Print the next day's calendar (if electronic)
Although not difficult to do, spending 10 minutes to plan for the next day clears your head and helps you sleep better!
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Home & Office: E-Mail In-Box
 Are you overwhelmed by the number of e-mails in your in-box?
An e-mail in-box should not be used as a filing cabinet, calendar or to-do list. Your in-box should only contain items that require action.
What should you do with the rest?
1. File - Most e-mail services offer filing systems. Create folders with the same names as your paper files and 'file' e-mails that you may need to refer to later.
2. Delete - Delete old e-mails that are included in more recent versions (often the reply function will attach prior correspondence; you don't need duplicate copies.)
3. Do it Gradually - If your e-mail in-box has thousands of e-mails, be realistic in your plan of attack. Set a goal for the number of e-mails you will have by the end of each week. Post the number on your computer screen. Setting lower and lower numbers will get you to your goal without you spending an entire weekend sorting and filing your e-mails.
E-mails are not tangible but they do create clutter. If you get a knot in your stomach every time you see the 10,000+ e-mails in your in-box, you are having a negative reaction to the 'visual' clutter on your screen. Slowly attack the e-mails by sorting, deleting and filing them and you'll feel better!
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