I have a difficult time managing my schedule and tasks. What are some really good online tools to do this?

—Anonymous
Via E-mail

There are so many great tools, it’s difficult to narrow down. In the past, I have recommended the standbys—Apple’s iCal, Google Calendar, and Microsoft Outlook. We’ve also looked at Remember the Milk, which is also available for the iPhone; it’s simply one of the best tools out there. Keep in mind, too, that some new apps will integrate rather nicely with your standbys.

However, in the last few weeks, I have discovered two good free ones: Todo.ly and Task.fm. Todo.ly (in beta at press time), features a clean interface and lets you create and arrange tasks by projects. Don’t let the simple appearance fool you, though; it’s a pretty powerful application. A tool that’s in beta gives you the opportunity to test it out and put in your own two cents to help the developers create a product that’s right for you.

Task.fm is another nifty application. A free, ad-supported account gives you e-mail reminders, up to five SMS/phone call reminders, and lets you create reminders via Twitter. The Pro account ($3.99/month) is ad-free and lets you create reminders via text message. Task.fm gives you the ability to create reminders using your voice, send reminders to groups, and create unlimited to-do lists.

But if you want to take a break from the list madness, check out The Power of Slow: 101 Ways to Save Time in Our 24/7 World by Christine Louise Hohlbaum (St. Martin’s Press; $24.99), which offers fresh perspectives on time and use that could translate into greater efficiency and less stress.

Sonya A. Donaldson is an editor-at-large for Black Enterprise.

Time management and productivity expert Peggy Duncan.

Tanvier Lee says she moved from Washington, D.C., to New York City in early 2008 with high hopes. Leaving behind her job as a financial adviser, Lee looked to start an interior design company. It wasn’t long before she found herself overwhelmed.

Admittedly, she says New York City can be overwhelming by itself, but coupled with the added responsibilities in starting a new venture, the then-23-year-old Lee was quickly juggling more than she was used to. In order to pay her bills, Lee worked full-time as a kitchen and bath designer. Simultaneously, she functioned as an entrepreneur: Trying to bid on design contracts, market her services on several online job boards, and attend industry events.
“I was just too bogged down with working a nine-to-six and heading into the city to meet with prospective clients,” says Lee, who also volunteered weekly at the Junior League of New York City (www.nyjl.org). “It was a lot.” And although she felt drained, Lee says she pushed herself because she felt she needed to keep it all together—a common rationale. We often feel there aren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish tasks of work, home, and extracurricular.

However, Peggy Duncan, a time management and productivity expert and author of the book, The Time Management Memory Jogger (GOAL/QPC Inc; $12.95), says this unwillingness to stop may be one of the biggest reasons why we struggle.

“You have to stop long enough to figure out the best way to do things,” says Duncan. “Look at what’s on your plate and prioritize. Be selfish right now and focus on yourself. If you don’t, you won’t be a good parent, boss, or employee. If you feel like you’re getting overwhelmed, something has to go.”

After months of living out a frenzied schedule, Lee quit her full-time job, giving full attention to launching her design firm and creating a balanced, less besieged life.

Miss Manage
Time management and productivity expert Peggy Duncan helps clients get on track to effectively manage their responsibilities and lives. Here she offers these three helpful tips:

Get organized. If your eyes always see a mess, your mind becomes a mess. Get organized so you can think better. Even if it takes you two or three weekends, take the time to put your workspace in order. That goes for your time and calendar as well. Keep a time log so you can figure out how you’re spending your time.

Focus yourself and your efforts. Multitasking doesn’t work, so prioritize. What activities can you eliminate? What things can you put on hold while you sort yourself out? When you’re doing work that requires you to think, you can’t afford to multitask. Ignore the phone. Hide yourself until it’s done.

Barter when possible. You’ll either spend your time or your dime to get certain things done. When there is work you must do that requires expertise you don’t have, consider bartering a service you can perform in exchange for the expertise you need.

This article originally appeared in the February 2010 issue of Black Enterprise magazine.

Duncan

BlackEnterprise.com: As people move into the new year, what are some ways they can make 2009 more productive—both at work and in their home life?

Peggy Duncan: People waste hours a day always looking for something. At home, one of the best things you can do is organize your closet. Go through everything. If you didn’t wear it last year and don’t love it, donate it. If you love it, save it one more year, but if you don’t wear it in 2009, don’t let it see 2010. Put like items together in your closet and sort by color (e.g., suits, light to dark). You’ll start each day with less chaos and stress.

At home and work, prepare for the next day the day or night before.

At work, clear the mess off your desk and create a logical system for paperwork, much like your closet, by putting like subjects together. Then create that same logical system for your computer files. Go through every project you’re doing and develop smarter ways to get them done. Use the right technology to speed everything up.

You have a background in technology. What are some ways people can better use technology to help in their productivity?

[Many] aren’t aware of features in the software they use every day that’s been there for years. Very few take classes, and still use the computer like it’s a typewriter. They don’t click the buttons, nor do they wonder what the buttons do. They spend hours doing something [themselves] that the technology they already have can do in minutes, seconds, or nanoseconds. You can record a quick macro (a series of commands you can capture and run anytime you need to perform the task) that will handle mundane work with the click of a button. A formula in Microsoft Excel takes work you do by hand and figures it out before you can blink.

You can link the information in a spreadsheet with a graph in PowerPoint that gets updated every time Excel changes. You can manage your entire life in Microsoft Outlook: drag from the inbox to the calendar or tasks, save multiple signatures to quickly insert information you send often, view multiple calendars in the background to let you know when everyone can meet, and so much more.

What do you tell someone who is so used to disorganization that it is difficult for them to get into a more streamlined and organized way of living?

They have to want it. A lot of times they’re working like that because no one has ever shown them a different way. They don’t even realize there is a better way.

What is the best way people can learn to balance both what they feel is a necessity and what they feel is needed but is not a top priority – ie., maximizing work time versus making moves to stay healthy (visiting the gym or taking time out for a doctor’s visit)?

You have to have a vision for your life. In your wildest wishes, what would you like to see yourself doing or being? You’ll set short- and long-term goals to attain that vision. Your objectives outline what you need to reach your goals. And you have to put an action plan in place to reach the objectives. At this point, you’ll understand how you should spend your time based on your vision and your values. If you learn how to work smarter, you’ll have time to do everything you want–within reason.

What are some elements to stay away from when trying to become more productive?

Turn off the TV and get off the telephone. Spend your time doing things that will help you reach the goals you’ve set for yourself.

With so many companies cutting budgets, how can managers and top executives increase productivity while not at the expense of their workers?

There is so much wastage. People are spending too much time doing busy work and putting out fires instead of having time to focus on work that adds value. If you organize everything so you can think more clearly, you’ll plan and prioritize better. If you streamline all of your processes and procedures, you’ll make better decisions. If you incorporate technology the right way and with more training, you’ll finish everything quicker and with fewer errors.

To get a head start on organizing your life, use our checklists:

Home Maintenance Checklist

Home Insurance Checklist

Financial Fitness Checklist

Health & Wellness Checklist

Most would probably agree that “Don’t worry, be happy” is not the way to go. Comfort leads to contentment, which too often leads to complacency and inaction. Comfort is the disposition of the prey just before ambush by a predator. On the other hand, a state of constant alarm leads to stress, panic and exhaustion, resulting in poor decisions driven by impulse and anxiety, and eventually total dysfunction. People and organizations can turn on each other, or be literally paralyzed by fear.

When faced with crisis, the healthiest disposition is neither the comfort of complacency nor a constant state of alarm. To survive a high-stakes, competitive environment, whether in the wild, in sports or in business, the goal is to maintain a state of relaxed readiness—a posture lying somewhere between total relaxation and absolute rigidity.

In a dangerous economic environment, we must be on the alert for challenges and change, but not so stressed and intimidated by them that we can’t respond. We can’t be so focused on the dangers that we fail to see the opportunities within crisis. The most resilient companies and individuals will be those who can achieve and maintain a state of relaxed readiness.

What men call a crisis is merely God clearing the way for opportunity.

Alfred Edmond Jr. is the editor-in-chief of BlackEnterprise.com

I’ve had a passion for this specific kind of challenge long before I was aware of it, and I believe it is a gift from God (one of the talents the Master entrusted to me to manage, develop and invest until He returns). For example, I’ve always been a mediocre basketball player, even though I like to play. When I played pick-up basketball as a teen at my neighborhood playground in Long Branch, N.J., I developed a knack for choosing teammates who could compensate for my lack of skill—instinctively taking into consideration attitude as well as talent and ability. My teams could hold the court all day, despite a significant liability—namely me. I now remember that if I was on a losing team that was not of my choosing, I’d feel bad (I don’t like to lose). But if a team I personally selected lost, I’d be furious, more at myself than at my teammates. I did not recognize that pattern until I grew older, but I now recognize that I’ve always instinctively known that a team is far more than the sum of its members, and that if you could put the right people together and motivate them properly, they could do amazing things, despite apparent or perceived disadvantages.

Similarly, my lifelong love of pro football has never been about individual athletes. I’ve always been obsessed with the question of why, in a league of teams with the same access to talent, money and resources—with parity—certain teams consistently win (Giants, Patriots, Cowboys, Steelers), certain teams consistently lose (Lions, Raiders, Falcons, Cardinals, Saints), and certain teams are consistently inconsistent, winning a respectable number of games (Chargers, Browns, Bills, Chiefs), but rarely championships. It’s why I have few favorite players, but I am fascinated by the likes of Vince Lombardi, Tom Landry, Bill Parcells, Bill Walsh, Bill Belichick, Tony Dungy, etc.—people who know how to build winning organizations of winning people.

I see everything in these terms. Anyone who knows me knows that I love superhero comic books. My favorites are the ones about teams of superheroes working together (Justice League, Avengers, X-Men, Blood Syndicate, etc.), not individual heroes like Superman or Spiderman. In fact, it dawned on me the other day that leading the staff of Black Enterprise magazine (an honor I enjoyed for 13 years) was like leading The Avengers: a team of polished, experienced, exceptionally talented professionals operating as part of a long-established and esteemed tradition of excellence. My new team at BlackEnterprise.com is more like the X-Men: a group of gifted individualists of prodigious potential who are often in conflict with one another, and must be taught how to use their abilities productively and operate as a team. My challenge is to help them see past their differences by getting them focused on a common ideal and vision. (I’ve already identified, in my mind, a Wolverine, a Jean Grey, and a Rogue on my team.) I’ve taken to thinking of Derek Dingle, who succeeded me as editor-in-chief of our magazine in July of 2008, as Captain America, and seeing myself as Professor X.

The point of all this is: I passionately believe that organizations can win without exceptional talent, but talent—even extraordinary talent—cannot win outside of a winning organization. It’s my job to build that organization, to take that talented group of individuals and create and maintain a winning—and yes, heroic—team, one that will consistently do special, amazing, important things. Black Enterprise—the very definition of a winning organization—has always afforded me the opportunity to do this over my two-decades-plus tenure at the company. And that’s exactly what I love.

Alfred Edmond Jr. is the editor-in-chief of BlackEnterprise.com