Rosemary Tator

Rosemary’s Story

For most of my life I have been taking on more and more projects, events, and things to do than there are hours in the day to accomplish. As soon as I get into a project, I see all these resources and people that could enhance the project, and I add that to my already bulging schedule. I come by this honestly. I consider myself a “professional multitasker,” and have been at it since my childhood. As the oldest of seven children, I learned from the best of the best, how to find one child’s mittens, while sending the other one out the door, while telling my mother that “Everything is all set.” And, it continued into my career. I hate to admit it but I actually hired people and trained people to hire people based on how well they could multitask.

Another characteristic that has added to my “condition” is my high energy, upbeat, “I can do it” attitude. At first blush this may sound like a great blessing and a great benefit in accomplishing things in life. Perhaps it would be if I were in control of it. You see it affects not only me but it spills over onto other people, too. At times it can look like everyone around me is spinning with me at the speed of light. As exciting as this may be in the moment, and as great as the “high” may be for pulling it off once again, as my husband says, “Dear, this is a totally unsustainable.” You can just about predict the forgotten messages, the missed thank-you notes, and the settling for less than what would have been possible, if I had been more realistic with my time. My inability to deal with 24 hours in a day and 168 hours in a week has been a major cause of angst throughout my life and career.

The processes and practices that Alesia and I share in this book are a direct result of our own experiences, struggles, and triumphs. We not only write about these practices and coach and train people in them, we live by them. Working with the practices in the system “grounds me” and has me face the reality of the time available to me as never before. It supports me in remembering I truly can only do one thing well at a time. Making choices has become a natural part of my day now, and my reliability has greatly increased. I have the time to focus on what I say is most important. I’m still an optimistic person but now a much more realistic one also.

As you make your way through the book, try the practices on, make them your own. This is your one life.

Alesia’s Story

The bane of my existence has always been the management of time or in my case the mismanagement of time. I watched my mother who worked full time, with three children, husband, pets, and was very involved in the lives her of parents, grandparents, siblings, neighbors and friends be challenged by the demands of family and work life. She would exclaim, “I hate when we’re late!” as we arrived predictably fifteen minutes late to many events. I, too, have struggled with finding time to “do it all.” In college, I was notorious for pulling all-nighters to study or write papers (a habit I have not grown out of). When I started my career, I was often the last to leave the office. As a consultant, the challenge of travel, facilitating workshops, project work, addressing client needs, prospecting for new clients, and writing is daunting. In addition to nurturing my marriage and caring for my family, there is all the stuff of life: friends, holidays, parties, errands, bills, exercising, piano practice, classes, reading, theater, vacation, thank-you notes, email, tax prep, and so on. For me, it all can get daunting. I’m embarrassed to tell you how many flights, trains, appointments, and opportunities that I’ve missed. How many times I’ve ran out of gas. How many birthdays, anniversaries, and events that I wanted to attend that I’ve forgotten. How many books and articles that I haven’t read, movies and plays that I haven’t seen, classes that I haven’t taken, or trips and sporting events that I haven’t enjoyed – not because I didn’t have the time, (trust me, I’ve had plenty of time to do these things) but because I didn’t appropriate the time. I wasn’t consciously designing my days and creating my life purposefully. This proven system to organize your work and get things done that Rosemary and I share in this book is a result from our own experience and exploration into finding a way to manage our lives to be fulfilling – not just full, satisfying, rewarding, productive and as an expression of our values and deeply held convictions.

Is my life perfect? No, far from it. Am I late for the occasional meeting or appointment? Yes. Do I do everything I want to do? Not always. Do I have a great life? Yes! Not because I get everything done that I want to do in a day, week, month or year, but because I’ve designed it to be full of the stuff of life that means the most to me. And that couldn’t happen without the system that we’ll be introducing to you in this book. So settle in, buckle up, it’s going to be a great ride!

Rosemary Tator's bio

Rosemary Meehan Tator, principal partner of 2beffective™ LLC, provides her clients with the keys to increasing their effectiveness while reducing their stress. As a management consultant, serial entrepreneur, coach, and motivational speaker for more than 25 years, she provides leadership development programs as well as productivity, effectiveness, and sales training programs throughout the United States and Europe. Her clients include AT&T, IHS, Bright Horizons, SolidWorks, and major financial services companies. Her unique approach very quickly moves individuals and groups to higher levels of performance; providing them with insights and the tools to recognize their unique talents and realize their full potential.

Some of the firms she has launched include:

• GreenPages, Inc., a corporate computer value-added reseller; as Co-Founder and Vice President of Sales & Marketing, she was responsible for building the team that grew the company at >100%/year for 5 years in a row, to $100 million in sales and reaching #36 on the INC 500 list.

• Avalon Solutions, Inc. a computer solutions provider, as President & CEO, she grew the company to >$8 million in sales in two years, reaching #62 on the Dun & Bradstreet/Entrepreneur Magazine’s “Hot 100 Companies” list.

As a consultant and trainer, she designs and delivers productivity and effectiveness programs, including web-based modules. Rosemary is a certified professional in many disciplines including: Mission Control Productivity, the Birkman Assessment Method, Spiral Dynamics, Aditzes Institute Management & Leadership, Miller Heisman’s Strategic Selling. She lives with her husband, Wes, in Dover, New Hampshire and invites readers to contact her at info@2beffetive.com.

Alesia Latons's bio

Alesia Latson, as principal of the Latson Leadership Group, has been studying and practicing the art and science of leadership and organizational development for over 20 years. She has held management and organizational development roles in Fortune 100 financial services organizations and healthcare. Through expert facilitation and personal coaching, she has developed hundreds of leaders at all levels to expand their productivity, management and leadership impact. She is appreciated for her insight, creativity, and her exceptional skills as a consultant, executive coach and speaker.

Ms. Latson received her M.A. in Training and Organizational Development from Lesley University and her B.A. in psychology from the University of Illinois. She is formerly an adjunct faculty member of Lesley University and Bentley College. Ms. Latson is a frequent guest speaker at Babson Executive Education, MIT Sloan School of Business and the University of Michigan’s Ross Business School. She lives with her husband, Brian in Sharon, MA. Alesia invites you to contact her at info@2beffective.com.

Alesia and Rosemary develop an deliver workshops, provide group and individual coaching, presentations and motivational speaking engagements that enhance individual, team, and organizational effectiveness. Their programs are delivered in-person and online. They are both known for their insightful and engaging presentations to audiences from 20 to 5,000 in the areas of productivity and effectiveness, leadership development, sales and sales management, personal branding, and building effective teams and organizations.

We encourage and invite your feedback on our book, as well as your questions, thoughts, ideas. The best way to reach us is via our website www.moretimeforyou.2beffective.com