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This has been a hectic week. I’ve been finishing my software project Life Manager Pro and also getting my house ready for laminate flooring to be fitted.

Sometimes it seems that there is just too much to do each day. Do you lead a hectic busy life? What does it take to just slow down and relax whilst still getting things done?

The secret is to only concentrate on only what needs doing now. If you have a hundred things to attend to then break them down into smaller sections. The two main categories that actions fall into are those that need doing next and those that can be done later,  perhaps in a day or two.  You then divide your next actions into contexts. A context can be a location such as your home or office, or equipment such as the computer or your telephone.

If, for example, you decide to do call actions you then sit with your telephone and look at the list of people that you need to call and dial the number of person one on your list. As soon as you start dialing forget about everything else that needs doing. There is only one action that needs doing now.  Simply relax and make the call.

A great deal of stress can arise from a feeling of being overwhelmed. Remember, you are only ever able to do one action at a time and that is the only thing that need occupy your attention. The rest is on a list. When you have finished one action cross it off the list and move onto the next action. Forget about the 99 other actions that need doing.

Obviously you need to system to take care of all this. The simplest way to start is with a pen and a piece of paper where you write down all the things that you need to do. Then you divide them into next and later actions before allocating contexts to your next actions.

If you try this system and it works for you then you will find yourself under less stress. You can then expand the system and really find out how easier life can be. Life Manager Pro is a simple yet effective software solution to organising all the things that you need to get done. It’s not yet finished. Come back to this site for further news in a few days.

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Time is a funny thing. On the one hand it appears fixed. A minute on my watch equals a minute on your watch.

On the other hand the way you perceive time varies.

Time appears to runs slow when you:

• Are watching water boil
• Are waiting for a bus when you are running late
• Are watching the second finger of a watch rotate.

Time appears to run fast when you are:

• Watching a great movie
• Playing action video games
• Falling in love

I am in the middle of completing a software program – Life Manager Pro. This involves many hours of computer coding and requires lots of concentration. When I am absorbed in this task time goes very fast.

The conclusion that I have come to is that when you are completely absorbed in some activity without any external distractions then your perception of time is that it is travelling fast. The dilemma that I find is that I want  pleasurable activities such as watching an episode of my favourite TV series Lost or playing a great game, to last longer than they do?

So how do you slow down time and stop it flying?

The best way to slow down time is to practice mindfulness. This involves a mental technique of stepping back from an activity. For example, whilst watching that gripping episode of the TV series Lost, start to observe the colours of the trees, the sea, the beach. Watch the characters body language. Be aware of the area that surrounds the television. What you will find is that you are still enjoying yourself, but you have slowed down time.

Mindfulness is also great if you find yourself thinking too much or worrying about stuff. Stop and be aware of your senses, the sound you hear, the colours you see, the touch of your feet on the ground. As your focus of attention away from your thoughts, they will become less intense, less troubling.

There is a knack to mindfulness. You might not get it the first time that you try, but persevere and you will be rewarded.

I used to work in an office of a large company. I generally worked from 9 until 5.30 at night thinking that I had done a fair day’s work for my pay. I noticed that others on the floor where I worked were always there when I arrived and still there when I left. I was never sure what they were doing early morning and late at night. Perhaps they were not doing a lot, but believed their presence gave the impression that they were working long and productive hours.

Though there are days when I do work long hours I now realise that the number of hours that I work are not as important as what I actually do during those hours.

• Do you work long hours?
• Are you working at optimal efficiency during all those hours?
• Could you work less hours yet achieve more?

There used to be a lady manger who also had a busy family life. Although she had a board level job she claimed that she could get as much done in a 8 to 6 day as many of her colleagues did in a 60 to 80 hour week.

How is this possible?

One approach that I found to work is Getting Things Done, a perspective on organising your life formulated by David Allen.  His method promotes efficiency and, perhaps more importantly, eliminates stress due to feeling overwhelmed and out of control.

One of the principles of this  method is to write things down, either on paper of electronically on the computer.  What you write down is all the stuff that is in your head – things that need to be done, projects that need to be completed, people to call, things to buy…

Once you have written them down, you organise and clarify your lists. What this essentially means is working out what to do with things, when to do them and where.  You then forget about them. There is no need to keep any of this stuff in your head any more.

This simple process can take away so much stress from your life. You can get rid of all those nagging thoughts:

• Must ring my sister soon.
• Got to pay that tax bill
• We are nearly out of milk, must get another carton next time I’m out
• I’m sure there was a meeting today somewhere

Another part of this system is to look at things that need to be done in terms of context. A context is usually a physical location or object. One object that you use everyday is a telephone.  When you are organising your lists, make a list only for telephone calls. Then, when you are with your telephone, either in your office, or perhaps with your cell phone whilst waiting for a train, just start making those calls.