Articles
& Advice:
Time Management Basics Continued…
Take Control and Create More Time
Arrive early for appointments
- Relieve unnecessary stress
- Use this time to plan and strategize
- Increase the likelihood that you will get what you need from meeting
- Increase respect from clients, peers and management
When you regularly arrive early for appointments, you appear
more organized and professional and also automatically become more
organized and professional. The time you spend waiting before a meeting
begins can be very valuable. Use this time to determine in advance, what
you wish to accomplish during that meeting. Jot a few notes with
questions to ask and outcomes to aspire towards. Your meetings will then
become shorter, more effective and require less energy for all parties
concerned.
Create ‘To Do’ Lists
Prioritize your ‘to do's' every week and record them consistently into one place.
- Palm /Blackberry
- Day Timer
- Outlook
Complete the 3 most important tasks first each day and you will be on your way to fulfilling your dreams and reaching your goals!
Control Your Email
- Avoid the time vortex
- Never check email or voicemail first thing in the morning
- Schedule regular times to check emails
- Read it, respond to it, folder it or delete it
- Read most recent emails first
- Create email signature
Manage Your Voice Mail
- Do not check voicemail before you plan your day
- Check voicemail at regular times, not every time it beeps
- When responding, state your response clearly along with the best time and venue for response
- Keep your voicemail box updated
- best times to reach you
- request specific information from caller
Learn to say NO
- Pause before you make a new commitment
- If new task is mandated
- Make sure the person knows how much time you will spend on it
- If anything else will loose it’s priority on your schedule
- Do not let someone else’s mistake become your fire alarm
Manage Your Paper Flow
- Develop a system for paper flowing
- in and out of your office
- A System = A Structured Protocol
- Designated areas for:
- Incoming In-Process Outbound
Control the Paper Deluge
- Check it to determine action needed
- Move it into the appropriate place to wait for action
- Handle it only once before you work on it.
- Get rid of it! Toss, file or forward
Create an Exit Strategy
- Create a consistent holding area for all things that need to leave your office
- Use an area on your desk or credenza that is positioned towards the door
- Place articles there as you find or finish them
- Do not get up to take only 1 item away
Keys To Mastering Your Time
- Knowing what you want to accomplish and why
- Sticking to the timelines you create
Thought, Word, Deed, think it, speak it, do it
- Set your intention for each week before you begin that week
- Schedule your appointments and tasks in advance, not as you go
- Tell others about your time management strategy if interrupted
- Reality Check: The average employee is interrupted every 10 minutes or 6 times per hour. Keep your focus and don't let this happen to you!
- Stick to the schedule you have created, don't let it create you
by Kathi Burns - addSpace To Your Life!™,
a Professional Organizing and Image Consulting Agency
Want to get better organized and look your best?
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Please direct a courtesy copy of your publication to:
advice@addspacetoyourlife.com or snail mail it to:
Kathi Burns
AddSpace To Your Life!™
259 B Hillcrest Drive
Encinitas, CA 92024
