US auto union makes concessions
The main car workers' union said that it would suspend a contentious practice that allows so-called 'idled' car workers to collect virtually full pay and benefits without working
Gulf facing a liquidity drought
As a global recession sets in, oil prices tumble and credit tightens, the good times are coming to an end
Nippon Oil, Nippon Mining to merge
Japan's top refiner Nippon Oil Corp and sixth-ranked Nippon Mining Holdings said they are considering a merger to create the world's eighth-largest oil major to better compete amid sliding prices and slower demand
Another Goldman unit hit by decline
Goldman Sachs' plans to expand its wealth management operations have been dealt a potential setback by a dramatic decline in the value of another of its funds
Carlyle to cut 10% of staff as downturn bites
Private equity firm Carlyle is cutting 10 per cent of its staff in the latest indication that buy-out firms will not be immune to the meltdown in the markets
Harvard endowment loses $8bn in four months
The world's wealthiest university placed the decline at 22%, bringing the figure to $28.7bn and underscoring how higher education has been hard hit by the global financial crisis
Chinese group sues Vale Inco
A large Chinese battery manufacturer is suing two units of Vale, one of the world's largest mining companies, in a patent infringement case that highlights the growing number of Chinese companies using local courts to protect their interests
Adobe slashes revenue forecast
The US software group lowers its outlook for the November quarter to $912-$915m and announces job cuts, the latest indication of how the crisis has hit the technology sector
Fortress suspends Drawbridge redemptions
The listed private equity group has suspended redemptions at its flagship fund in order to maintain assets after investors sought to withdraw more than $3.5bn in funds
Vodafone to appeal against India tax ruling
The Mumbai High Court dismissed a landmark challenge by Vodafone against a $2bn tax case in a blow to the UK group and a potential setback for other companies looking to make major investments in India
EDF tries to scupper Buffett's energy bid
The French state-controlled utility launched a direct challenge to billionaire Warren Buffett with a $4.5bn bid for 50 per cent of the nuclear fleet owned by its US partner Constellation Energy
Discounts drive 15% sales jump on 'Cyber Monday'
US online retailers saw an annualised 15 per cent jump in sales on the Monday following the Thanksgiving weekend, according to early estimates, as aggressive bargains boosted traffic on the day the industry has dubbed 'Cyber Monday'
New Star agrees £240m rescue with banks
One of the UK's best known fund managers has agreed to a debt-for-equity swap deal that will leave a group of four banks, including HBOS, Lloyds TSB, HSBC and RBS, in control of the group
Iberia gives BA merger ultimatum
The chief executive of the Spanish carrier said it would be 'too complex' for BA to pursue deals with both it and Qantas of Australia
Merckle at risk of losing empire
German billionaire who lost large sums by betting on falling share prices may have to hand over control of large parts of his industrial empire to his banks.


minutes answering email, jot that down. If you spent 2 hours at lunch, jot that down. If you spend 30 minutes on the phone talking to someone who’s trying to sell you toner ink, jot it down. Account for every minute you spent working for the entire week.

At the end of the week list out all the tasks and the times spent on them. I think you’ll be amazed at how much time you’re spending on things that really aren’t the best use of your time. Now divide the list into tasks that you yourself must absolutely, positively handle and tasks that you could hand off to someone else. Yes, I said hand off to someone else. You’re about to learn to delegate, Heaven help you.

Here’s the whole point of this exercise: if you’re wasting time on tasks that can be done by someone else, then you need to stop doing them. Even making small changes in the way you use email or answer the phone can save you hours every day.

In my opinion email is the greatest killer of focus and productivity on the planet. It’s a terrific communications medium and if used wisely can be a highly productive business tool, but more often than not email is used to share funny pictures of animals in compromising positions and videos of Britney Spears. If you keep up with how much time you’re spending every day on non-essential email I think you’ll get my point.

Many of us have become so addicted to email that we check it every 2 minutes whether we need to or not. If you’re like me you spend more time plowing through spam than actually reading email of importance. So unless your business hinges on every email that comes in, I suggest you turn off the email program completely and only check it two to three times a day. Better still, farm out the email checking to someone else and instruct them to only forward email to you that requires your personal attention. You’ll be amazed at how many hours a day you’ll save.

I’d bet that you also get dozens of calls every week from people that you don’t really need to talk to. I’ve stopped answering the phone at my office altogether and I highly recommend you do the same. I let someone else answer the phone and they have implicit instructions not to bother me unless the call is from someone they know I’ll want to speak to, like my Mama. Otherwise, they take a message and if the call merits my attention, I’ll return it personally or assign it to someone else to handle.

If you’re new in business you may not yet have the luxury of farming out every task that is eating up your precious time, but once you’re in a position to do so outsourcing these tasks will free you up to work on more important things, like building your business and increasing revenue.

Article Source: http://www.articles-galore.com

Tim KnoxEntrepreneur, Author, Speaker, Radio Host"Check Out Tim's New Radio Show!"www.timknoxshow.comPreorder Tim’s New Book:Everything I Know About Business I Learned From My Mamawww.timknox.com/amazon/

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