Tips for the Time Conscious
- Keep on task. Do one thing at a time. Whenever possible, complete a job before going on to the next. Reward yourself for accomplished assignments. Save easy little jobs for last.
- Speed read. Learn how to skim text for the essentials. Discard junk mail immediately.
- Handle materials and documents once. Act on it when it's in your hand. File it once and forever.
- Practice systematic decision making. Weigh and itemize the benefits and liabilities of each option. Take enough time to be sure of your choice, then stick with it.
- Be organized. Have a place for everything and keep it there. Use lots of shelving, table surfaces, drawers and labeled bins. You should be able to locate anything in your office instantly. The most work conducive environments are clean, uncluttered and ergonomically laid out. A wrap around desk and rolling office chair enhance your economy of movement. Also important are good lighting and privacy.
- Outside of your office seek early appointments (they're less likely to run late) and group appointments when you can. Offer to meet nearby people in their offices so you can better control the length of the visit.
- Practice the fine art of creative waiting. When someone puts you on hold, when you're waiting for a meeting, standing in line at ticket counters or held up in traffic, use these opportunities to read, write, plan and mentally rehearse. Don't kill time, fill it! Do portable work at hotels, in lobbies and at airports. Make commuting and flying time productive with instructional or motivational tapes.
- Skip lunch. Unless it's an important positive reward, try working right through lunch time occasionally. Have some fruit juice or yogurt at your desk and just keep going. Most of us eat far more than we need for nourishment in the course of a day. Overeating slows you down. You may be pleasantly surprised at how much energy you acquire from emptying and resting your digestive organs.
- Make the most of time saving technologies. Fax broad casting, automated e mail and software key stroke short cuts (called macros and boilerplates) are time savers. If you're on the road much of the time, consider a portable electronic PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) with phone book, calendar, spreadsheet, editor, and so on. Some models include pagers, cellular fax and other special communications features.
- Enlist your right brain. Balance the analytical and intellectual side with artistic and holistic approaches. Your imagination, intuition, senses of humor even your dreams can be valuable allies. Integrate work and play. Practice meditation. You'll be happier, healthier and more effective.
- Have a day's end ritual. Tidy up. Throw away as much as possible. Put away everything else. Make tomorrow's "to do" and "call" lists. Take pride in a day's work well done, and mentally and physically release all leftover tension. Leave your work and all business concerns in the office, and deliberately shift to family, recreation and personal living modes.
Consider how much of your day is spent on the phone and you'll know where you can become much more efficient. For example, ask yourself before each call, "Is this call really necessary?" Many aren't. Don't let yourself become too lazy to realize you could skip the next call without harm.
When a call is necessary, prepare for it. Decide what you want to cover and how long you plan to talk. Then you'll know when to end it.
Screen your calls. Using voice mail allows you to determine who to talk with and when. Keep your conversations focused on business.
Make and return calls in groups. Then you can move on to another project with fewer interruptions. Dial on the speaker phone until you get through, and have something to do in case you get put on hold, such as opening and reading mail or skimming magazines.
Leave action messages. Instead of saying simply, "Call me back," see if you can leave a message that tells the person the step to take next, perhaps avoiding the need for a callback.
Finally, practice what I call "preventive dialing" a great way to manage your time as well as maximize your impact. That is, call first. (Isn't it always the painfully fundamental stuff that ends up being so important?) As you take inventory of your "to dos" at each day's outset, ask yourself the question, "What calls, if any, am I worried about receiving today? Look over your list of works in progress and think about who might be wondering what you're up to. Call the person immediately. It works like magic. Something about the simple act of calling first improves the likelihood that the other person will say, "You know, I'm glad you called, because I've been thinking about an even easier and better way we could get that accomplished."
At worst, you've chased a cloud that was quietly hanging out near your day. You can rest assured that person won't be calling to lay any sort of guilt on you. At best, you've earned a break or a bonus. And either way, you've reinforced the impression that you're alert, responsive and well organized, which is worth more in marketing value than money can buy.
