When you’ve got a lot to juggle, you need a battle plan. Here’s what to do:

1. Write a List
   It’s impossible to focus when you’re constantly thinking “I mustn’t forget to send that email” or “I need to call John.” Write down everything that needs to get done today. Your list doesn’t have to be complex, and you don’t need to worry about sorting it at this stage.

   Some people like to keep their work and personal lists separate; it’s up to you how you do that. If something’s on your mind, though, make sure you record it somewhere — even little things like “buy milk on the way home” can drag down your mental energy.

2. Decide on Priorities
   Once you’ve got your list, it’s time to figure out what order to tackle your tasks in for today. First, look for anything that can be delegated or postponed: pare your list down as much as possible.

   Next, work out what you want to do first. It’s up to you how you prioritize; normally, it makes sense to tackle the more important and urgent tasks first, but you may prefer to go for a few quick wins in the first half-hour of the day to build up a sense of momentum.

   Put some sort of mark against your first, second, and third tasks. (I use one, two and three asterisks; you might prefer numbers, or colors.) That way, you can relax and get on with your tasks in order, knowing that you’re dealing with things efficiently, and that you’ll be able to get all the important stuff done.

3. Resist the Urge to Multi-Task
   However tempting it is to have your emails open in one window while you reply to Tweets in another and edit that document in a third … don’t. You can’t focus on several things all at the same time, and you’ll end up making silly mistakes or forgetting to finish part of a task.

   Tackle things one by one. That might mean:

   • Setting a timer while you work on the report for 30 minutes
   • Dealing with your emails as a batch, perhaps every few hours, not as they come in
   • Closing social media programs until your lunch break (if they’re part of your work, treat them like your emails)

   Any time you find yourself trying to tackle several things at once, stop. Remind yourself that you’ll work more effectively when you complete task A before moving onto task B.

4. Work Steadily, Take Breaks
   None of us can focus for hours at a time — but when we’re busy, we often try to. This just leads to slowed progress, mistakes, and procrastination. (You know the kind of thing; you tell yourself you’ll just check Facebook quickly while waiting for a file to download, then you end up clicking on links, leaving comments, sending happy birthday messages…)

   To stop yourself procrastinating, plan for regular breaks. Work for, say, 45 minutes on your report, then take a 5 or 10 minute break to stretch your legs and grab a glass of water. When you know you’ve got a break coming up, it’s a lot easier to stay focused.

   Hopefully, your too-busy-to-think days don’t come up too often. If you seem to be in a constant pattern of rushing around, juggling more tasks than you can manage, then look for ways to make changes. That might mean learning some better time management skills, or talking to your manager about your workload.

If you’ve got a great tip for staying focused when life is hectic, share it with us in the comments below.

If you don’t prioritize them, you will end up regretting the missed opportunities. To minimize regrets, take these steps:

1. Really Think Through Your Goals and Dreams
   Ask yourself what you want your life to be like 10 years, 5 years, 1 year, and 6 months from now. Do all these visions work together? These visions will probably change some as you live your life, but having a general idea of how you’d like to see yourself will give you the focus to move yourself in that direction.

   List out in detail what characteristics and skills you want to see in yourself. List out anything that you hope to accomplish. Use these to make a list of all of the things you would likely regret not doing.

   Here are some examples for inspiration:

   • Be able to bike 50 miles in one day (1 year)
   • Overcome fear of flying to travel more (1 year)
   • Master Italian and move to Italy (5 years)

2. Audit Your Current Life
   To get where you are going, you need to know where you are. Look at how you spend your time – both at work and in your personal time. What activities get in the way of your goals? If you really want no regrets, you may need to give up or limit non-forward moving
   activities, such as TV or games, in favor of practicing a new hobby or working on your goals.

   Also look at what you are doing right. Do you find that when you work in the morning, you concentrate better than in the evening? Use this to your advantage. It’s much easier to work with your natural rhythms instead of against them.




3. Get Help Where You Need It
   Some goals are hard to do on your own, but easier if you get professional help with them. For example, goals like “get in shape to run a marathon” or “overcome my fear of flying to visit Europe by next summer” would be easier with the help of a personal trainer and a
   psychologist respectively. Professional help can minimize time and effort when facing big goals that may seem daunting.

   The external help that you receive can also be a motivating factor in you putting in the work. A professional can hold you accountable when you would normally let things slide.




4. Find Ways to Remind Yourself
   It is really easy to become complacent and fall back into your comfort zone. By setting up motivational triggers in your life, you can regularly remind yourself of the you that you want to become and put the effort in to get there.

   You can use songs, images of your goals, notes to yourself in well placed locations, or really anything that can act as a reminder of your goal or dream. These can really help you experience the emotion tied to your goals, which will help keep you motivated.

5. Track Your Progress
   This step is a must if you want to reach your goals and have no regrets. Find some way to track progress on all of your active goals. I keep a daily log where I write down what I eat, how I feel, and any steps taken towards my goals.

   You can also use charts and graphs for visual tracking, if your goal can take advantage of them. The visual-ness of the chart can be very motivating.

Life is to be lived, not just coasted through. Take the steps needed to get what you want out of life. Think about 20 years from now. Which are you going to remember more: watching that TV show or reaching a goal you have always dreamed of?

But the good news is … you really can lose weight fast, with just a few minutes extra effort each day. It doesn’t cost you anything, either.

Here’s how.

1. Write Down Everything You Eat
   Studies have shown that you can lose twice as much weight just by keeping a record of what you eat – a food diary. That means writing down everything, including the quantity (not “chips” but “30g chips” or “multipack bag of chips”, for instance).

   You can create a simple chart in Word or Excel that you can fill in each day, or use online programs to track your food intake. There are dozens of apps for iPhones or other devices that will do just this.

   It doesn’t sound like such a little thing could make such a big difference – after all, it only takes a few minutes each day to write down what you’re eating. But people typically lose weight just from recording their food intake … without even being “on a diet”.

   Why does it work? Because you become instantly more conscious of what you’re consuming. Instead of dipping into the cookie jar as you walk past, you ask yourself “do I really want that?” Instead of succumbing to that impulse purchase of a candy bar, you think “do I want to record that?”

   A food diary alone will speed your weight loss, helping you lose a safe and sustainable 1-2lbs per week. But the humble pen and paper can be used in other ways, too…

2. Record Your Exercise Sessions
   How often have you skipped exercising, telling yourself that you’ll work out tomorrow? It’s easy to let one missed gym session turn into a week and then a month of inactivity.

   To keep yourself motivated and on track, record the exercise that you do (you could write it alongside your food diary, or jot down details in your calendar). Again, this might not sound like much of a change to your usual habits – but seeing your activity in black-and-white will encourage you to do more.

   Your exercise log can be as simple as a tick for each day that you exercise. Ideally, though, you’ll want to record a few details – like how far you jogged and for how long, or what weights you lifted. This lets you look back over past weeks to see the evidence that you’re progressing.

3. Keep a Journal
   Some people end up overweight just because they have poor eating habits, or love large portions. But for many dieters, food has become tangled up with emotions – they comfort-eat, or snack when bored, or turn to chocolate to combat stress.

   Keeping a journal lets you spot patterns. For instance, you might realize that your snacking tends to happen after dinner, because you’re bored and don’t have much to do. Some dieters like to write down how they were feeling in their food diary, every time they record eating – hungry? Bored? Upset?

   You can also use a journal to work through difficult feelings. Perhaps you’re stressed at work, or sleeping badly, or struggling with a particular relationship. Getting your thoughts out on paper is a really effective way to tackle them – the writing process helps you to work through your emotions, and get some objectivity about them.

Grab a blank notebook, or set up a document on your computer or online. Try keeping a food diary, exercise log and journal for just one week – and see what a difference it makes.

Wouldn’t it be great if there were a simple set of instructions for living a happy and fulfilled life? How about an instruction manual for life? Something along the lines of “Enjoy childhood, Explore young adulthood, Engage in a rewarding career, and Enjoy life.”

Unfortunately, things are not that easy. That doesn’t mean there aren’t techniques and tips you can use in your everyday life that can help you find happiness and fulfillment as you go through the journey of life. Here’s how:

1. Keep life simple.
   Far too many of us are always over analyzing and looking for the most complicated way of doing things in life. Sometimes life was meant to be simple – a walk through the park, a simple yes or no answer, or a quiet evening with the family. Don’t try and clutter your life with unnecessary decisions by making everything complicated and complex. Keep it simple!




2. Practice being satisfied.
   How many times have you heard someone say, “If only I had a few more dollars I’d…” or “If I just had another day off I could….”? Many people don’t know how to be satisfied with what life gives them. They are so busy wanting more that they squander what life has already given them.




3. Beware of indecision.
   Nobody said life is easy, and sometimes you have to make the tough choices. Never put off a decision that you can make today. You may miss some of the best and most exciting opportunities in the world because you were indecisive. Successful people didn’t get where they were at by prolonging or going back and forth on decisions!
4. Practice cheerfulness.
   You’ve heard it before, and you’ll hear it here again – it only takes a few muscles to smile! You would be surprised at how well being cheerful to others can spread like wildfire. We live in a society where it seems that glumness is the rule of order. A simple smile or kind word can spread through our culture like wildfire – not only will you feel better, but those who interact with you will feel better!




5. Learn to like people.
   You don’t have to love everyone you encounter, so learn to like people – especially those who are different than yourself. Often you won’t agree with everything they do, or maybe all of their beliefs, but by learning to get along with them you will open your mind up to change – a critical trait that is absolutely necessary in today’s world.
6. Live and let live.
   Is it really your concern what the guy across the street wants to do with his life or who he wants to share his life with? Learn to live your life to the fullest and let others live their life to the fullest. None of us is above anyone else, and none of us should think we should be allowed to dictate how another person should live their life.
7. Adversity teaches.
   Adversity can be one of the most powerful teachers we will ever have in our lives. You will learn so much about life by overcoming adversity and learning how to face it head on. Adversity often comes dressed in many different outfits, but you will change your life by learning how to deal with it and prosper from it.
8. Don’t take yourself so seriously.
   Here is a secret: it’s ok to be a little goofy now and then! You only get one shot at this life, so make the most of it. Have some fun and show your children and those around you that you know how to have fun. You aren’t the greatest gift to mankind this world has ever had – so don’t act like it! You may find you add years to your life, not to mention a ton of laughter!




9. Have a sense of humor.
   Laugh, joke, and now and then pick up a cream pie and throw it! Laughter has been shown to help people live longer, reduce their blood pressure, and help them relate to people from around the world.




10. Practice objectivity.
    Be objective in your decision-making and risk-taking. Know the facts and avoid letting racial, social, or any other type of bias influence your decisions. Great leaders perform their best when they act based on facts, not on emotion or prejudices. Become a great leader in your life.




11. Tolerate your own mistakes.
    You will make mistakes – in fact, you will make so many mistakes you will never be able to list them all. Learn that mistakes happen and the best thing you can do is to learn from them. Don’t spend your entire life dwelling on a mistake you made years ago – learn from it and move on. The world isn’t going to wait while you live in the past.
12. Forgive yourself.
    Stop beating yourself up over things that happened in the past – things you did or didn’t do, and mistakes you may have made with others.

    Forgiving yourself is a skill so few of us have the ability to accomplish. It’s such a shame that we spent a lifetime living in the past and never make it to our full potential in the future. Forgive yourself – and just as importantly, forgive others.

It may seem like a rather long list, but I encourage you to read it and then refer back to it every now and then. You’ll see each one ties into the others in some fashion and that these simple steps really do help you live a more meaningful, happy and fulfilled life.

Life happens. Be a part of it.

The cure is simple: cut down your list of goals to something much more manageable. But if you’re a bit of a goal-setting junkie, how do you even begin?

• Step #1: Write Down All Your Goals
  Record all the major goals that you’ve currently got on the go, or that you’re hoping to start. You might want to divide this list into “personal” and “professional” categories.

  It’s up to you what counts as a “goal”. I’d say that it should be something sizeable (if you can accomplish it in a day, it’s not really a goal) and that it should go beyond your regular daily routine (“go to work” and “pay bills” don’t count).

  Here are some common goals to help you think through yours:

  • Quit smoking (or drugs, alcohol, etc)
  • Lose weight
  • Exercise regularly
  • Change to a new career
  • Get a new qualification
  • Meditate / pray regularly
  • Gain a new skill
  • Volunteer
  • Strengthen your marriage (or another significant relationship)
  • Write a book
  • Redecorate a room (or the whole house!)

  Take enough time to do this properly: you may find that you have unfinished goals nagging at you from months or even years ago.

• Step #2: Choose a Good Method of Prioritization
  Do you feel a sinking sense in your stomach when you look at your list? If so, you’ve definitely got too many goals. It’s time to cut down and focus on one thing at a time.

  To do that, you need to know how you’re going to prioritize your list. There are several methods you could choose:

  • Most important goal first. This has the advantage of letting you tackle something truly worthwhile (perhaps even life-changing) – but it can also be a bit daunting, especially if you’re not always too good at follow-through.
  • Smallest goal first. This can act like the “snowball” effect when paying off debt – a small win at the start motivates you to go on to bigger and greater things. The drawback to tackling small goals, though, is that you might never get round to the big ones.
  • Big impact goal first. This isn’t necessarily the most important goal, but it’s the one that makes an immediate and large impact on your life. If you don’t have much energy and you’re unfit, regular exercise could be a big impact goal that empowers you for others – like a career change or new qualification.

  It’s completely up to you how you choose to prioritize, and you may want to consider all of the above three factors. A great first goal would be one that’s important and has a real impact, but that isn’t too big. You want to see results within a few weeks or months, not within years.

• Step #3: Write Down Your One Top Goal
  Using the method(s) you chose in Step #2, figure out your top goal. If you’re struggling, ask yourself:

  If I could only achieve ONE thing from my goals list over the next few months, which thing would I choose?

  Write down this goal and commit to it. This is your primary goal: you can work on others too if you want (see the next step) – but this goal needs to come first.

  You may want to set a deadline for this goal, if it’s smallish. If it’s a large goal, set milestones and dates. For instance, if you want to get a new qualification, you could set yourself the task of applying to a particular course by a particular date.

• Step #4: Optionally, Choose One – Two Other Goals
  You may want to pick a couple of other goals to pursue, using the same method of prioritization. (Ask yourself, if I could do one more thing… etc.)

  If you can, make these goals complementary to your top one. For instance, if your main goal is to lose weight, a second goal of “exercise regularly” would work well.

  Avoid having three big goals that all take up a lot of time, energy or money. If you want to learn the guitar and learn to drive and take an evening class, you’re likely to struggle to manage all three.

What goal are you going to pursue over the next few months? Let us know in the comments!

• Visuwords
  Visuwords is an awesome visual tool to find new words and improve your vocabulary. When you look up a word in this tool, it shows a neat graph which connects that word to various other words based on different relationships between them. You can hover over each word to get its definition and also zoom-in and zoom-out using your mouse wheel. It’s certainly an excellent dictionary plus thesaurus.
• Dictionary.com
  Dictionary.com is probably the most common and most comprehensive of all the dictionary tools available. Apart from giving the word meanings and pronunciation, it also provides various tools (like the dictionary.com toolbar), RSS feeds to improve vocabulary and word explorer podcasts.
  
  Thesaurus.com
• Thesaurus.com is a part of dictionary.com and gives an elaborate description of words, the part of speech they belong to and various synonyms and antonyms of that word.
  
  Definr
• Definr, as it says, is an incredibly fast dictionary. It starts suggesting the nearest possible word as you start typing a particular word. Most of the time you get the required word after typing 3 or 4 letters and then you can just click on the word to look up its meaning. Definr also provides some nice tools which make this service more useful.
• Merriam-Webster Online
  Merriam-Webster Online is a huge online resource for learning and improving your English. It provides dictionary and thesaurus which includes spanish-english and medical dictionaries. You can easily look up words and listen to their pronunciation. Further it provides other resources like crosswords and word games. It also has a visual dictionary which combines words with images.




• MetaGlossary
  MetaGlossary.com approaches the task of finding meanings of words in a different way. It aggregates various links on the web which provide an explanation to the term and shows the results. Hence it does the job of pulling definitions of the word from the entire web.
• Thsrs
  Thsrs helps you to get shorter synonyms of long words. Although it’s not dead accurate but still can be useful at times. It also provides a browser plug-in to easily look up shorter synonyms of words with a right click.
• Wordsmith
  Wordsmith is a nice resource for new words, especially its ‘ A Word A Day ‘ newsletter, which is immensely popular and delivers new words everyday to your email inbox.
• BBC Learning English
  BBC Learning English is another comprehensive resource of not only English grammar and vocabulary but on various aspects of this useful language. It includes stories, pictures, quizzes and various communication tools to improve your English vocabulary.
• ESL Quizzes
  ESL Quizzes is a part of englishclub.com, a website which is a prominent destination for those who want to learn the language from scratch. Its vocabulary quiz section has some nice quizzes to help you learn new words and phrases.
  
  Ninjawords
• Ninjawords, like Definr, claims to be a very fast dictionary. Although it doesn’t show words as you type like Definr but is certainly very fast in displaying the meanings and synonyms once you hit enter. It also has a random tab which can be used to play around and learn new words.
• About.com’s Quizzes
  About.com’s English Quizzes is a good place to find various quizzes related to grammar and vocabulary. It also provides listening quizzes for real time listening practice.
• Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus
  Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus is a free-to-try visual tool which shows related words in an interactive map and helps you to easily find their meanings and listen to their pronunciation.
• AskOxford
  AskOxford is the online version of the famous dictionary by the Oxford University press. It’s comprehensive without a doubt and includes various other vocabulary resources and a quotations dictionary.
• Urban Dictionary
  Urban Dictionary stands out from the herd. It’s a dictionary of slang words. So use this dictionary and don’t miss out on slang words either.
  
  
• Alpha DictionaryAlpha Dictionary doesn’t directly show you the meaning of a word. Instead it searches all the available online dictionaries (most of them) and displays the results in the form of links to the meaning of that word in those dictionaries. So choose your favorite dictionary (if at all you have one) and click on the corresponding link to view its meaning.Each of the aforementioned websites tries to accomplish the same task in a different manner and hence helps you to further refine your vocabulary and get a stronger grip on the world’s most cherished language.

Do you use any other websites to improve your English language skills ? Let’s hear about them in the comments.

After dozens of triathlons and a half ironman, here are 7 things I wish I knew about triathlon when I started:

• You Don’t Need A Wetsuit For Your First Race

  You don’t need a wetsuit for your first race. Not only is it an expensive piece of equipment that can take a while to get use to swimming in, a lot of times they’re not even allowed! If the water temperature is above 84 degrees Fahrenheit you won’t be allowed to wear the wetsuit and compete for awards. If you don’t have a wetsuit, don’t worry that much about it – lots of people race without one. Once you run one or two races and have them under your belt, you can look at renting or even buying a wetsuit – but it’s not a “must-have” for your first race.

• When You’re In The Water Just Relax

  Everyone is always nervous about the swim. When you’re in the water, waiting for the race gun to go off, it can be really, really tempting to get pumped up, overstressed spend all your energy thinking about the race. The swim is consistently the most feared leg for new triathletes without a swim background.

  It’s okay. Relax. Stay loose and don’t go too hard right out of the gate. If you have a lot of people around you kicking and splashing, breathe and go at your own pace – one that’s quick, but (more importantly) sustainable. It’s way too common for people to freeze up and panic during the swim. If you ever feel rushed, panicked or tired, simply stop, tread water, hold on to a buoy or a boat if you have to and take deep breaths until you calm down.

• Keep Your Nutrition Simple

  Nutrition for triathlon can get really complicated, really fast – if you let it. However, it doesn’t have to be that difficult. Simply eating well will cut out half the complexity of a nutrition regimen. Eliminating processed foods and choosing to eat real food and choosing water instead of sodas, and alcohol will help get your body get used to digesting real nutrients and utilizing your energy resources efficiently. It sounds really simple and it is. In fact, if you do this, you don’t have to worry about carbo-loading or any other nutrition hacks for your first sprint distance triathlon.

• Follow A Training Program

  A triathlon training program is immensely helpful to helping you get started doing your first race. Besides actually getting you physically ready for a race, a training program lays out a road map to show you where to start your training and how to finish based on your training level. It’s much easier to focus on a 30 minute workout you have to do today than it is to think about the triathlon you have to run in just 90 days. Not only does a training plan make things less intimidating but it also guides you from your current fitness level across the fitness line.

• Practice Brick Workouts

  If you’ve practiced swim, bike and run workouts and think that’s all there is to a triathlon, you’d be wrong. You’ll want to practice brick workouts before your first race.

  Brick workouts are when you practice two disciplines back to back. The most common brick is the bike and the run. you’ll do your bike workout and then get off, change shoes if you need to, and do your run

  The first time you’ll do this, your legs will feel like lead. That’s why they’re called brick workouts. After practicing this a couple times through, your legs will start to get the hang of it and your mind will get used to the fact that the first quarter or half mile of running is just going to be tough.

• Your Bike Doesn’t Matter Until It Matters

  You really don’t need a nice bike to get started racing. Too many new triathletes go out and buy a $ 5,000 bike, do one race with it and then let it collect dust in the garage. You can get a bike for $ 150 off Craigslist or borrow one to get started. It really doesn’t matter what type of bike you start out, with one exception. Don’t use a mountain bike. You might not realize it now, but a mountain bike is significantly slower and harder to pedal than a road bike. The frame of the bike is less comfortable for long distances, the overall bike is much heavier and the wheel is much smaller and wider, which means you go less distance every time you pedal and each of those pedal strokes harder. If you’re like me, you might not full grasp the difference of this until you race your first triathlon on a mountain bike. Never again. Beg, borrow or steal a road bike if you can.

• Start Now

  Triathlon season is coming up. You’ll see the bulk of triathlons happening from May to late September. If you can exercise for just 15 minutes right now, you can train to do a triathlon in about 3 months. If you start now, you’ll be ready for early summer races and (if you enjoy your first triathlon), you’ll have a couple of months to do your second as well.

The absolute hardest part of doing a triathlon is the act of deciding that you’re going to do it. Make that decision and everything else is just the legwork to make it happen.

On the fence, why not sign up for a triathlon today and run your first triathlon in 3 months.

The Hardest Part is Standing Up
In the earliest days of surfing, I struggled endlessly just to stand up on my surfboard. If I did manage to stand up, I would fall almost immediately because I had no sense of balance. But, then one day it suddenly clicked and I found myself catching my very first wave. The first big dent you make in any endeavor is going to be one of the most difficult parts of it. But once you’re standing up, you just have to keep showing up every day and let go of the need for visible progress.
I thought it might have been a fluke so I went for another wave. I stood up again. Over the course of the next hour I caught one wave after another and I was hooked. I didn’t want to get out of the water. This got me thinking about how true this is in every area of life.

Progress Occurs outside your Comfort Zone
Early in life – thanks to report cards and grades- we came to view failure as a bad thing. Rather than try to fail, we started to do nothing at all; we took the safe path. But failure is what causes growth. When you’re playing outside your comfort zone, you increase the likelihood of failing. Anytime I’ve surfed a bigger than average day I’ve had moments when I thought I was going to drown. But it’s also those days that push my skills to the next level.

Focus on the Process instead of the Outcome
This is easier said than done. But once you can do it, you’ll find that you’re ability to progress rapidly increases. When you hit a roadblock or setback, ask yourself what you can learn from it. Some of my greatest life lessons have been the result of failing miserably at things.

It really is never a bad idea to try really hard things even if you fail.

Written on 3/05/2012 by Srinivas Rao. Srinivas is the author of the Skool of Life, where he writes about surfing, personal development, and things you never learned in school but should have. If you’re ready to to become a student, check out his FREE course on the 7 most valuable lessons they never taught in school. You can follow him on twitter @skooloflife.

Photo Credit: mikebaird

Of course, none of us are perfect. I know I’ve had times when I had to reluctantly back out of a commitment, and I expect you have too. Stuff comes up. Problems happen. But you want to do everything you can to be a man or woman of your word.

Here’s how:

• Don’t Over-Commit

  The easiest way to avoid flaking out on commitments is to make sure you don’t take on too much in the first place.
  This means learning to say “no” – not just to other people, but also to yourself. Opportunities will come your way constantly, and you need to be choosy about which ones you latch onto. Think of these opportunities as items on a restaurant menu: sure, you might be keen on half a dozen of the entrees, but that doesn’t mean you’d order them all at once.

• Don’t Back Out at the Last Minute

  If you do end up over-committing, and you think you won’t be able to stick to what you’ve agreed to, then let people know as far in advance as possible.
  Let’s say you’ve said you’ll help your friend John to move his stuff to a new apartment one Saturday … and you’ve also agreed to take on overtime that week to help out in the office. You might realize that you’re going to be exhausted by Saturday, and that the last thing you’ll want to do is to help John.

  Don’t put off a decision until Saturday morning, then cry off. Instead, let John know in advance. You might want to change your commitment (“I can help in the afternoon, but not in the morning”) rather than backing out completely.

• Don’t Be Disorganized

  Sometimes, people have great intentions, but live in such a state of confusion and disorganization that there’s no hope of them ever following through.
  Mistakes do happen – but it’s hugely embarrassing to forget completely about a commitment that you’ve made, only to get a phone call asking if your colleagues (or fellow volunteers) should continue waiting for you before they start the meeting.

  Make sure your diary or calendar system is easy and intuitive for you to use, and that it flags up reminders at appropriate points. When you make new commitments, ensure you record them somewhere: don’t rely on your memory alone.

• Don’t Be Late

  It might seem like a small thing, but being punctual shows your respect for other people’s time.
  If you constantly seem to be running late, then look at what’s going wrong. Are you over-optimistic about travel times, only to get stuck in traffic? Are you prone to getting wrapped up in your work, to the point where you always leave late? Are you simply so busy that it seems impossible to keep on top of everything? Do other meetings always overrun, with a knock-on effect?

  When possible, arrive early for meetings, appointments, and similar. Take a book with you, so you’ve got something to read if you have to wait around. If you find that meetings keep overrunning, then build in extra buffer time between one meeting and the next.

Like I said before, none of us are perfect – we’ve all over-committed at times, or just plain forgotten to do something that we’d agreed to. And sometimes emergencies crop up. But if you make a sincere, consistent effort to do what you’ve said you’ll do, you’ll find that you’re seen as someone reliable and trustworthy – the sort of person who bosses love to promote and who clients love to work with.

If you’ve got any tips to share on this, just leave a comment below.