Time-management tips for working smarter, not harder

As a hard-working professional, you’re so busy you probably don’t even have time to read this post. But here’s why you should:

With some tweaks to your time-management tactics, you can stop feeling overworked and overwhelmed and start gaining some much-needed control in the office.

Let’s take a few minutes (just a few!) to explore some valuable tips and tricks:

Did you know … 43% of Americans consider themselves disorganized, and 21% have missed vital work deadlines? Nearly half say disorganization forces them to work late at least two times a week.

What you can do:

• Write everything down. Don’t keep your to-do list bottled up inside. Write everything down and post your list in a highly visible place on your desk.

• Prioritize your tasks. Put your to-do list in order, with the most important tasks at the top of the list. Knowing your priorities will help you focus more on what matters and less on what could wait until later.

• Group like tasks together. It’s easier and faster to do similar jobs while you’re in that particular mental mode. Read and answer email in batches; make several phone calls at one sitting; allocate part of the day for writing and editing reports.

• Just do it. If something on your to-do list can be completed within two minutes, do it right then and there. Completing the easiest tasks first will quickly eliminate tasks from your list and make you feel like there’s less on your plate.

• Find your best time to work. Everyone has a part of the day where they get the most done in the least amount of time. Work on the most important tasks during the time of the day when you are most productive. You’ll produce better work, faster.

• Take a break. Give yourself a break from time to time. When you start feeling stressed or tired, get up and take a walk. Whether it’s to the break room or around the building, a quick walk will help clear your mind and improve your personal productivity back at your desk. 

Did you know … On a typical day, office workers are interrupted about seven times an hour (or 56 interruptions day), 80% of which are considered trivial?

What you can do:

• Guard yourself. Avoid distractions at all cost. Shut the door to your office, schedule a meeting with yourself or put on headphones to block out any unnecessary distractions. 

• Build in some “buffer time.” Inserting a few minutes of buffer time between scheduled meetings and tasks helps you deal with emergencies and interruptions without falling too far behind.

• Anticipate and avoid time-wasting encounters. This means, for example, holding stand-up meetings that discourage people from hanging out afterward; meeting with colleagues in their work area, which makes it easier to depart; setting up a prearranged signal to have an assistant interrupt a long-winded visitor or telephone caller; and using a vacant office or other space to do important work without being interrupted.

• Manage the email onslaught. Consider turning off the email notification feature, check email only when you’re ready (and at set times of the day) and manage client and coworker expectations regarding your response (a 24-hour turnaround time is acceptable in most cases.) In more demanding situations, simply let the emailer know you got the message and are working on an answer/response.

• Be aware. Do your best to focus on one task at a time and to fully engage in the activity. The more “centered” and less distracted you are, the more you will be able to accomplish.

Time-management tips for working smarter, not harder

When the bride-to-be is busy planning her wedding on work time

I ran across an article on msnbc.msn.com that I found particularly interesting. First, because summer is a busy season for weddings and second, because I’ve known a few women who became a tad obsessed planning their walk down the aisle.

According to a survey of 1,000 women by TheKnot.com, WeddingChannel.com and ForbesWoman.com, brides-to-be spend about 10 hours a week planning their wedding – and nearly 30 percent of it is done at work.

But apparently it’s all in the name of multi-tasking. While nine out of 10 women who participated in the survey admitted to making wedding plans on company time, only a third felt their work was negatively affected.

Carley Roney, editor-in-chief of TheKnot.com, says that lunch time and Mondays are particularly busy times on her wedding planning website.

Cause for concern … or let it go?

OK, so what’s an employer or manager to do when Megan is more concerned about the bridesmaids’ dresses, guest list and floral arrangements than the latest workplace project or report?

If you feel the same way as Carley Roney, the answer may be to “not sweat it” because the productivity will come back that much stronger after the nuptials.

"Post wedding, people become much more serious and focused. They are saving for
homes, so they're not in the mind of changing jobs as much because they're very
focused on what their goals are ahead," says Roney.

So what do you think? Have you ever had to intervene because an employee was more concerned about her wedding than her work? Are weddings an inevitable productivity drainer – or can the bride-to-be strike a healthy balance and stay on task?

When the bride-to-be is busy planning her wedding on work time

You've got mail? Save it for later!

So how many e-mails do you receive in a day? And how much time do you devote to these and other electronic intrusions?

According to an msnbc.com article, "Blunt the e-mail interruption assault", the average desk-bound worker loses 2.1 hours of productivity every day to interruptions and distractions, largely in the form of e-mail alerts, instant messages, buzzing BlackBerrys and cell phones. And the intrusions are nearly constant. Based on research by RescueTime, a firm that develops time-management software, a typical office employee checks e-mail 50 times a day and uses instant messaging 70 times.

And you know the next part: Time is money. Some experts estimate that e-mail overload can cost large companies up to $1 billion a year in lost productivity. The interruptions pull employees from the task at hand, chipping away at their attention spans, increasing stress and diminishing job satisfaction and creativity.

Then there’s the myth of multitasking. It’s not always the sign of a hard-working, hyper-efficient employee. Rather, science tells us that trying to tackle two or more thinking tasks at once (such as reading e-mail while on the phone with a client) taxes the brain, causes mistakes and can lead to burnout.

So what can you do to slow down the electronic onslaught and encourage employees to step out of their electronic bubble? Here are some suggestions:

=> A high-tech software company created Quiet Time, where the engineers work alone for four hours in the morning, with no message and phone contact allowed.

=> Companies like U.S. Cellular and Deloitte & Touche promote less e-mail use, encourage more face-to-face contact and have developed programs like “no e-mail Friday”

=> Put yourself on an electronic diet, only checking e-mails manually at your desktop and only three or four times a day at prescribed hours

=> Ask your staff to communicate with you by phone and to think twice before sending e-mail unless it’s important that the information be in writing (if you’re only checking e-mail a few times a day, your staff will learn not to expect an instant reply)

You've got mail? Save it for later!

Until there are more hours in a day ...

This Sunday, March 14, Daylight Saving Time begins. Every year, as I’m adjusting the clocks scattered throughout my home (in the hall, by my bed, on the microwave, on my cell phone, on my laptop, etc. etc. etc.), I’m struck at how easily we can manipulate time. Yesterday, it was dark when I was leaving work; today, by the turn of the hour hand, it’s still light!

Which makes me think: On those days when the items on your to-do list are in the double digits, wouldn’t it be nice to just add an hour or two to the daily 24? There, I got all my work done AND I still have time for me, my family and a full night’s rest.

But until we can bend time (or freeze it so we can get “caught up”), we’re left to manage it. Like the clock-adjusting scramble every spring, it requires tweaks and changes that will help you stay one step ahead of your to-do list while keeping your sanity intact.

From an article on workplace productivity in G.Neil’s HR Library here are some tips:

Put it in writing. Write everything down and post it in a highly visible place to help clear your mind and allow more creativity to flow.

Prioritize. Organize your to-do list in order, with the most important tasks at the top of the list and those that can wait toward the bottom.

Just do it. If something on your to-do list can be completed within two minutes, do it right then and there for an immediate sense of accomplishment.

Be aware. Do your best to focus on one task at a time and be fully conscious in whatever you’re working on.

Find your best time to work. Tackle the most important tasks during the time of the day when you are most productive.

Guard yourself. Shut the door to your office, schedule a meeting with yourself or put on headphones to block out any unnecessary distractions.

Take a break. When you start feeling stressed or tired, step away from your desk or workspace and go for a walk.

Work with what you have. Accept the fact that there will always be something left on your to-do list at the end of the day. Go home, relax and deal with that task tomorrow.

Enjoy your time off. Use your days off to regroup and refresh. Time away from work is healthy and will improve your productivity when you return to the office. (See earlier post, Take your vacation days – you need ‘em! )

Until there are more hours in a day ...