Logging into and navigating voice mail. Of course, you have to check your voice mail; but there are some things you can do to keep it from interrupting your day. Personally, I find that navigating voicemail menus is a huge waste of time. I have set my voice mail system to send me an email with the message attached as a .wav file whenever someone leaves me a message. This centralizes all my messages to the same place (my email box) and doesn't require that I navigate using the phone keypad. Reading emails. Here are several tips for streamlining your email reading: Make all your emails come to one place. If you have to log into several different accounts to read email you … [Read more...] about Five Time-savers
efficiency
Reading More
Most people agree that reading is very beneficial and lament the fact that they don't have time to read more. Here are five simple tips to help you fit more reading into your busy schedule. Keep a book with you. Keeping a book with you gives you a productive way to fill in those little 10- to 20-minute pockets of time where you are waiting on someone or something. Not every book is good to read in short bursts, so choose something that works well with the time spans to which you plan to commit. Stop reading something if you don't like it. Just because you started a book doesn't mean you have to finish it--no matter how many awards it has won. I started reading The Sound and the Fury … [Read more...] about Reading More
9 Tips for Effective Meetings
Meetings can be one of the biggest time drains for you as an individual and for a business. A meeting with 7 people all making $20 per hour costs a business $140 per hour. If it is a once-per-week meeting and there are 15 minutes wasted at each meeting, the total yearly waste comes to over $1,800. I don't know about you, but a one hour meeting with only 15 minutes wasted is actually a pretty good meeting, in my experience. Half of a meeting being wasted is more par for the course, and entire meetings that are unproductive is fairly common. Here are some ways you can facilitate more effective meetings and hopefully get more done in less time. 1. Make people show up on time If people … [Read more...] about 9 Tips for Effective Meetings
The most important part of Mobile Email
Many people overlook the most important part of a mobile email solution. It is easy to get caught up in the idea that it is going to be so wonderful to have access to your email where every you are. The fact is, if you can't delete emails from your mobile device in a way that will delete them from your desktop computer, your mobile solution is probably going to cost you more time than it saves. If every email you read and then delete requires that you "touch" it again on your desktop, you are doing a lot of extra work. In the paper world, you get the most efficiency by minimizing the number of times you have to physically handle an item. The digital world is no different. Every … [Read more...] about The most important part of Mobile Email
Top 5 Time Wasters
Here is my top 5 list of items that can waste my time without achieving anything of real value. These aren't necessarily bad things, they are just areas where it is easy to lose precious time without realizing it. Everyone has their own top 5 list of time wasters. If you would like to share yours, please do so in the comments below. Television - It is very easy to lose a few hours mindlessly flipping through channels on the remote. For many people, a subscription in something like NetFlicks will provide a ready source of entertainment without dealing with commercials. Also, with watching a specific movie, you have a definite end point, unlike channel surfing that can go on for … [Read more...] about Top 5 Time Wasters
Skill & Focus
Personal productivity is something that is fairly difficult to quantify. Most people tend to just assume if they are doing better than the average person, then they are doing well. For people who really want to achieve their full potential, simply comparing themselves with others isn't particularly rewarding because it doesn't say anything about their true capabilities. If most of your work is repetitive or easily quantifiable, it is easy to measure your productivity against yourself. You just consider how many of units of work you accomplished in a given amount of time. Unfortunately, most work doesn't lend itself to this type of measurement. If we could measure both our … [Read more...] about Skill & Focus
Fewer Choices Result in Better Efficiency
There was a study published in 2003 by the Journal of Psychology that attempted to measure how helpful time management training was for employees. They sent a group of employees to a 1 and 1/2 day seminar on time management and then compared their self-assessment one month later with a control group. The study showed that individuals who had been through time management training believed that they significantly decreased their avoidance behavior and worry. They also reported that they had an increased ability to manage time. (Notice that the study wasn't trying to measure their actual skill level, only their perception of their skill.) This is, of course, a great study for all … [Read more...] about Fewer Choices Result in Better Efficiency
Getting the Most Out of Magazines
I subscribe to a number of magazines and newspapers. Here are some of the strategies I use to get the most out of them while keeping the time commitment to a reasonable level. Skim - I'm not looking to fully read every article. Much of the time, the first few paragraphs and a quick glance over any charts will tell me what I need to know. TOC - The table of contents is another useful item for skimming. I usually prefer to skim the actual articles as well, but the TOC gives you a good feel for what might be interesting. Cut - I have a handy little paper cutter that slides down the page right next to the bound edge. I cut out any articles that look like they might be worth more … [Read more...] about Getting the Most Out of Magazines
The Power of Paper
Everyone has their favorite and least favorite tools. For example, I love my computer, but tend to despise fax machines. Today, I had a bunch of work to do that would have been much easier with a fax machine. I managed to do everything I needed using a scanner and email, but I was finally forced to admit that there is still room for a fax machine in my tool set. I still don't really like fax machines, but sometimes it is the perfect tool for the job. Today, I felt like I was using a screwdriver to drive nails--sure, the nail will go in eventually, but a hammer is really what you need. It would be silly to decide that I don't like hammers, so I'm going to use a screwdriver, but I've … [Read more...] about The Power of Paper
Focus for Results
Computers are a great tool, but they can tend to make it hard to focus when you are trying to do planning. I've heard it said that the people who get the most done spend the first half of their day planning and the second half executing the plan. However, when I'm sitting at my computer trying to do planning and research simultaneously, it is easy to get distracted--especially when I'm trying to research something on the web. I've found a simple solution for this. By sitting down with a paper and pen away from a computer, I can better focus on my plan. In many cases, my plan will involve answering several questions that require using the internet. If I can stay focused on my planning … [Read more...] about Focus for Results
Procrastinating in Sheeps Clothing
Most of the time, procrastination is easy to spot. However, there is a subtle and very dangerous type of procrastination everyone should be on the lookout for. It looks like productive work, but the result is the same...it keeps you from accomplishing the things you need to accomplish. This type of procrastination can take several forms, but in the most dangerous one, the victim appears to be involved in good habits of organizing and planning their work. In reality, they are being lured into doing nothing that will actually move them closer to their goals. To avoid this type of procrastination, you must be alert. When you get the urge to suddenly rearrange your office from … [Read more...] about Procrastinating in Sheeps Clothing
Streamlining your business
Owners of small businesses are particularly concerned about productivity. For a small company the difference between being highly efficient and moderately efficient can be the difference between profit and going out of business. Most efficient practices are also applicable to personal productivity as well. However, with businesses, small productivity gains can be replicated over many people multiplying the gains well beyond the benefits you'd get just for yourself. A focus on productivity can let you cut your costs so you can make a profit even when your competitors are losing money. Here are eight key points to consider when establishing productive practices for your … [Read more...] about Streamlining your business
Work Less, Accomplish More
In the United States, most people are paid for their time instead of for their work. In many other cultures this is unheard of. A young man from Africa was going to college in the U.S. and his land lady hired him to dig a ditch. She was going to pay him a reasonable amount per hour. He was horrified! Why would she pay him per hour? Time didn't represent the amount of work that was actually accomplished. Having a finished ditch was a much better measurement of work. If he went slow it would be easier and he'd make more money. If he worked quickly, it would be harder and he'd make less. They eventually reached an agreement, he dug the ditch and was paid a fair rate. This young … [Read more...] about Work Less, Accomplish More