Meet Tim Paz, an industrial hygienist responsible for ensuring workplace exposures, such as chemicals, asbestos, noise, radiation, etc., are minimized, and a self-proclaimed Take Back Your Life!® (TBYL) Champion. He’s been an avid fan and using the productivity system since April 2008. How do we know? He recently stumbled across the original purchase receipt for his copy of the Take Back Your Life!® book.

Paz admits to having fallen off the “productivity-wagon” from time to time since ‘08, but for him TBYL has been a system that stays in place even when he’s let bad habits creep in. The basics are always there to help him get back on track!

Before TBYL, just like many of us, Paz worked for a firm where his goals were established early in the year. In his line of work, urgent field issues pop up frequently. Paz found himself dropping everything for 911’s and only working on his goals in the time in between. When it came time for performance reviews, he found himself sweating. Had he been working on what was most important to his managers?

To Paz, TBYL is all about control. Before, his life was chaotic, but after having implemented TBYL, he found a sense of control. He’s now more disciplined and monitors his projects on a continual basis. He is no longer sweating performance reviews and attends in a more powerful position. He knows where he’s at with his objectives and he’s been able to course correct when problems arise– because he has a system in place.

More importantly, Paz is also able to leave work and focus on his personal life when he’s at home. He has implemented TBYL in his personal life as well. Paz and his wife spend time reviewing their year every December. They open a bottle of wine and toast to all of their accomplishments before setting their goals for the next year. Paz shared; “You go through life and you’re so busy you forget about what you had wanted to accomplish and then time creeps up on you. A year goes by, two years. You don’t make progress on the things you had thought were important to you. TBYL makes a world of difference.”

One specific objective that was achieved through the use of TBYL was a personal goal Paz set a few years ago. He challenged himself to run 500 miles in a year. He used his system to track his progress and, although he was out running the last few miles on December 31st, he hit his goal, thanks to Take Back Your Life!

Paz is always willing to help others implement TBYL. He’s hosted lunch n’ learns for his colleagues and demonstrates his system whenever anyone asks about it. TBYL is a basic time management and productivity program incorporating Microsoft Outlook’s calendar and task system. So many of us have and use Outlook daily but don’t use it effectively. The program can be customized for each individual’s role and needs. Paz has taken that to heart and has made several customizations that have helped him more effectively get the right things done. We encourage all of our clients to make the customizations they need to make their system work for them. If you need ideas on how to start customizing, take a look below at some of Paz’ favorites, or reach out to schedule a consultation with one of our facilitators today!

Tim’s Tip #1: MPS suggests that our clients stick to a Weekly Review, but Paz takes it one step further. At the end of each day, he completes a daily review where he drags what was not completed on his calendar from the day to another day. He also keeps a running Outlook Task with celebrations from the day. When he needs encouragement and at the end of the year, he can look back and see all of his wins, both big and small.

Tim’s Tip #2: Each year, Paz ensures that his goals fall into his areas of focus both personally and professionally. He organizes his reference system by these areas of focus to ensure what he’s working on always reflects what’s most important, and to easily find information.

Are you a TBYL Champion as well? Shoot us a note as we’d love to hear ways you customized the program to meet your needs or how TBYL has changed your life for a chance to be featured!