Laura Stack - The Productivity Pro, Time Management, Getting Things Done, How to Be More Productive

The Paperless Office? What a Joke!

No matter how technologically savvy we become, we can't seem to eliminate paper. In fact, studies estimate that we generate up to ten times more paper than we did before the advent of the computer! How much of that paper is sitting in stacks on multiple surfaces all over your home and office?  To tame those mountains of paper, try throwing these ideas at them.

1. Consistently purge your files without fear. Before you embark on an overhaul of your filing systems, purge all the old junk first. Why spend time dealing with paper you're just going to toss anyway?

2. Create and maintain a filing system that allows you to find papers easily. If you can't find a particular piece of paperwork when you need it, it might as well not exist. Pick a logical filing scheme and follow it religiously.

3. Follow a daily processing system for staying on top of mail and paperwork. Keep track of your incoming mail and other paperwork every day, and use the 6-D system to deal with it: discard, do, delegate, date, drawer, or deter.

4. Handle bills in a timely fashion and keep up with bookkeeping. Limit the number of credit cards and checking accounts you have, and learn to file everything effectively so you know when bills are due. Online payments can help.

5. Know where you put every piece of paper you receive. Keep different types of paperwork in separate files, and think before you put something into a file: is it really worth my time and effort? For example, most store coupons aren't.

6. Handle phone calls and voice mail productively. Avoid phone tag, which does little but add to your daily paper deluge. Answering the phone when it rings can be much more effective. Also, start a phone log to keep track of who you've called and who's called you.

7. Use technology to reduce paper and complete tasks quickly. Utilize computers and related devices to automate what would ordinarily be paper-based tasks: e.g., holiday lists, contact management, word processing, and mass-mailings.

8. Keep important papers up to date and easy to locate. It's especially important to keep track of insurance, medical documents, and wills, and to keep them current at all times. Make a list of all your passwords and bank account numbers too, and make sure your loved ones know where to find that list.

9. Use a calendar system to track family members' schedules. Use ONE calendar that contains ALL your personal, family, and work commitments, so you can track and sync other people's schedules with your own.

10. Organize and keep up with my reading. If you've got too little time to keep up with your reading, cut back on your commitments, and try listening to audio books. Even better, ditch the stuff that's so dull it puts you to sleep.

It pays to spend a little time every day making your bill paying, filing, reading, tracking, and scheduling more manageable. If you don't get control of the paper monster, it'll get control of you. If that happens, you're likely to find yourself drowning in a sea of paper -- not exactly the most dignified way to go!

© 2008 Laura Stack.  Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, professional speaker, and author who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier® with Maximum Results in Minimum Time™. She is the president of The Productivity Pro®, Inc., a time management training company in Denver, Colorado, that caters to high-stress industries. Laura’s newest productivity book, The Exhaustion Cure (Broadway Books), hits bookstores in May 2008.  Laura is a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, and Day-Timers®, Inc and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, CNN, and the New York Times. Her clients include Cisco, Sunoco, KPMG, Nationwide, and MolsonCoors.  Contact her at www.TheProductivityPro.com. 

Who’s in Charge: You or Your “Stuff”?

Do you own your possessions, or do your possessions own you? It's easy to get overwhelmed by all the stuff you've accumulated -- everything from toys and clothing, to tools and all the stuff you regularly use that still counts as clutter. If you're tired of all your stuff weighing you down, here are some ideas that may help you regain control.

1. Have a systematic plan to get and stay organized. The key to getting organized is FOCUS. Focus on getting one thing completed before moving to the next area. Act like a postage stamp: stick to one thing until you get there.

2. Eliminate clutter and resist adding more. Don't let your belongings control you. For a start, get rid of unhappy reminders from the past, stop keeping old magazines and newspapers, and don't buy things just because they're on sale.

3. Keep your briefcase, tote, or purse organized and clutter-free. Don't carry stuff around just because you might need it someday: all you'll end up with is a cluttered mess and a backache. Carry only what you need on a daily basis, keep everything tucked into its own slot, and always put things back after using them.

4. Maintain clutter-free drawers and closets. Don't just toss things in drawers and forget them. Make liberal use of file folders, trays, and dividers, and use baby food jars as handy paperclip holders and junk catchers. Closets should be subjected to a thorough cleaning at least twice a year.

5. Organize memorabilia such as photos and keepsakes. Before taking the time to organize an item, determine if it's something you should be keeping in the first place. Don't keep stuff that doesn't have any specific meaning or use to you.

6. Keep kids' toys, clothes, and books organized. Any family with children inevitably fights the battle of the messy monster. Having toys, clothes, and books around is inevitable, but clutter is not. Keep what's used, and get rid of the rest.

7. Set up and maintain your kitchen in an organized fashion. We spend so much time in the kitchen putting groceries away, preparing meals, and doing dishes, it's important to maintain an organized space. Be picky about what you keep, and always have frequently-used items close at hand.

8. Keep your car organized and clean. You don't want to have a two-ton trashcan on wheels. Organize the clutter that stays in the car, and never let anyone get out empty-handed -- make sure your trash leaves the car whenever you do. 

9. Set up an effective "office" space in your home. A home office isn't a luxury these days; it's just about a requirement. Offices can serve as the family computer center, a place to do paperwork, and the occasional work-at-home office.

10. Keep your house neat, and tidy up daily. Cleaning up doesn't require anything fancy. Just make sure everything's in or near when it should be, and regularly put things away so it's easier to maintain a peaceful, productive frame of mind.

If owning too much is a problem for you, get serious about de-cluttering your life. Otherwise all the clutter will weigh you down, putting pressure on your other pillars of productivity. Start organizing and thinning out your possessions a little bit at a time, and eventually you'll get there. You'll be amazed at how good you feel, and how much easier life will be, when all the junk's gone!

© 2008 Laura Stack.  Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, professional speaker, and author who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier® with Maximum Results in Minimum Time™. She is the president of The Productivity Pro®, Inc., a time management training company in Denver, Colorado, that caters to high-stress industries. Laura’s newest productivity book, The Exhaustion Cure (Broadway Books), hits bookstores in May 2008.  Laura is a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, and Day-Timers®, Inc and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, CNN, and the New York Times. Her clients include Cisco, Sunoco, KPMG, Nationwide, and MolsonCoors.  Contact her at www.TheProductivityPro.com. 

Time management is dead: The new reality of productivity

We’ve all been there. There’s mail piled up on the corner of your desk. You have 37 unread e-mails. The phone is ringing (not that phone – the other phone). And you’ll be lucky if you can get through three of the fifteen items on your to-do list.

Oh – and you have four hours of meetings ahead of you.

It didn’t used to be this way. The world has changed in the last decade or so. Has your approach to time management changed with it?

If you find yourself stressed out and frustrated every time you try to hunker down and take control of your time, there’s a good chance that’s because you need a new way to think about time management. Don’t fall into the trap of trying to force yourself to work within a system that just isn’t compatible with the pace of your day or the nature of your work. Just like electronic organizers are perfect for some and others swear by paper planners, even the best time management system will fail if it doesn’t jive with the way you get through each day.

If you’re looking for a productivity system that is compatible with real life, consider 4-A Time Management. By focusing on four key elements of productivity you can create a flexible, customized productivity strategy that is compatible with the fast paced demands of today.

Activity. When there are 117 things that could be done next, how are we supposed to prioritize? In this new era of productivity, it is pretty much impossible to successfully schedule your day in advance. You might set out a clear list of objectives and a bulletproof timetable, but we all know that one unexpected phone call can cause the whole plan to collapse in on itself – priorities change, a crisis pops up, a deadline is moved up a week; these things happen.

Since you can’t plan for everything, it is important that you have a crystal clear understanding of what your priorities are. If something happens that is beyond your control and these priorities need to be adjusted – fine – but until then, you should have a game plan.

Evaluate your to-do list to see which tasks will yield the greatest benefit. The old A-B-C method probably won’t work if the flow of your day changes often. You need a new method of deciding where to spend your valuable time.

Think about the average amount of time that you can work uninterrupted. Which of your tasks will benefit most from that undivided attention? Which require a lot more or much less? Make a plan to work on the bigger, more time-intensive projects when you know you’re least likely to be disturbed. Save the little ones for those windows between meetings and phone calls when you won’t get much else done.

If one of your important projects is just too intimidating for you to ever make any headway, break it down into smaller, manageable steps. I guarantee that nine times out of ten, once you get started you’ll forget why you put it off for so long to begin with.

Availability. The best laid plans won’t stand a chance if you don’t find a way to control your availability. Your time is your most valuable asset. Don’t just give it away to anyone who asks! You’ll never have complete control over your availability, but it’s important to know how to carve out blocks of distraction-free time that is conducive to productivity.

Meetings are notorious for eating up massive blocks of time. Learn to say “no.” It’s pretty likely that you don’t need to be at all of the meetings that you’re attending. Can you send someone in your place? Ask for the minutes to be forwarded? Address the situation with a quick phone call? Evaluate whether the meetings you attend are really necessary.

When you’re not in those meetings, schedule time to work. In some jobs this is easier to do than others. It might just be a matter of shutting your office door and setting your phone to voicemail. Or working from home or heading to Starbucks with your laptop. You might need a clear signal for your co-workers, like using a do-not-disturb sign or putting on head phones when you need to work uninterrupted.

Whatever your solution – don’t abuse it. If you try to make yourself constantly unavailable, you will quickly find that others lose respect for your “I’m busy” signal.

Then you’re right back where you started, whether you’re up against an important deadline or not.

Accessibility. You’ve already decided that you aren’t going to give everyone around constant access to your time. The next step is to make sure that you have easy access to the information, tools, and resources you need to be productive.

Invest the time necessary to make sure the things you need on a regular basis are at your fingertips. Things you access frequently should be filed on your desktop in an organizer or in a drawer that’s at arm’s reach. Put the files you only use occasionally where they are accessible at your desk, but give the easiest access to those things that you reference regularly. Archive files you rarely need in the bottom drawers or in files away from your desk.

Perhaps the most important and overlooked thing you can do to get organized is to structure your electronic files. In an age where most files are electronic, it’s easy to lose them to the vacuum of cyber storage. File electronic documents similar to the way you would paper ones. Don’t just plop everything in “My Documents” or on your desktop and leave it for lost. Set up folders and sub folders that have intuitive titles that you’ll easily navigate. Use dates and enough detail in file names that you won’t have to open multiple documents when you’re looking for something specific. In short, do the initial work of saving the files in an organized manner to make referencing them an easy task.

Stopping to hunt for what you need not only wastes time, but it destroys your rhythm and forces you to break your concentration. It’s well worth it to organize as you go.

Attention. The most effective time management system in the world won’t do a thing to improve your productivity if you don’t focus on the task at hand. For many of us, the problem isn’t a lack of willpower; it’s having the restraint to refuse distractions.

This means closing Outlook when you’re not working on e-mail and trying to check it only a few times a day. Resist the urge to open messages as they come in. This also means letting the voicemail light stay on until you’ve finished what you’re doing. Treat your project time like an appointment with a coworker. Ignore the phone, the e-mail, and the urge to go get a cup of coffee.

Of course, avoiding email and the phone might be much easier than avoiding the distractions that come from coworkers. If you’ve already put your “do not disturb” signal in place, be it headphones or a closed office door, and you’re still being interrupted, it’s time to tactfully redirect the person distracting you.

Acknowledge the issue and let them know you’re in the thick of an important project. Ask if you may give them a call in an hour when they may have your undivided attention.

Just remember – it’s better to be like a postage stamp and stick with something all the way to the end than it is to be a butterfly that flits from task to task!

So forget managing your time – it can’t be managed. Manage yourself with these 4 A’s and you’ll increase the likelihood you’ll have a productive day.

Make it a productive day! ™

www.TheProductivityPro.com

Catalog Choice Lets You Decide What You Want to Receive

I like a new service by Catalog Choice, in which you decide which catalogs you want to receive.  When you receive a catalog you don't want, you enter it on your account and select "Decline Catalog."  They contact the merchant on your behalf and request that they no longer send you their catalog. Reduce the number of catalogs you receive in the mail!  One-stop-shop method keeps you from having to unsubscribe to each one individually---a real time saver!

How to Concentrate: Act Like a Postage Stamp and Stick To It!

Nowadays, so many things compete for your attention in the workplace that it can be hard to concentrate on what's important. If you need to improve your ability to stay on target and focus on the task at hand, implement the tips outlined below.

1. Set up your office for maximum productivity and minimum distractions. You need privacy to concentrate and discuss sensitive issues. Don't just take what you're given; reorganize it into a configuration that works best for you.

2. Avoid wasting time by daydreaming. Daydreaming can be a real productivity bandit -- but as long as you don't use it to procrastinate, it can be very helpful. Harness its creative powers, and use it for thinking time that can lead to productive ideas.

3. Remember things more easily. Busy people need good memory skills to help them remember details. Sharpening your memory can be as simple as using good memory tools: always writing things down, keeping running lists, leaving yourself voicemails, etc.

4. Focus on priority projects without getting distracted. Be like a postage stamp: stick to one thing until it gets to its intended destination. Learn to juggle multiple tasks and projects effectively, but don't flit around from one item to another without completing anything.

5. Focus on one thing at a time. Don't "multi-task" or attempt to do too many things at once. Start by focusing one on item instead. Don't interrupt yourself, and prioritize your tasks so you know what needs to be done first.

6. Make lists and record everything you need to do. To keep from dropping the ball, capture every thought using either paper or electronic methods. This pulls what you need to do out of your memory and relieves your brain of the burden of repeatedly thinking about everything you need to remember.

7. Read quickly and maintain concentration. Learn to benefit from new reading techniques designed to boost productivity, and toss whatever's boring or useless to you. Getting through your reading more quickly frees up time for other priorities.

8. Recognize signs of brain overload. If you have no idea what to do first or where to begin, learn how to get your mind focused again. For example, create structure and deadlines for your work, jealously guard your attention from distractions, or try some deep breathing exercises.

9. Get absorbed in a task. Become fully present-focused. Learn to "get in the zone" and achieve a state of momentum where time seems to fly. Start by mastering your job, ensure no interruptions, and always strive to be in the moment.

10. Concentrate on a task that bores you or doesn't really interest you. Even tedious tasks must be completed. Get them done early so the rest of the day is more enjoyable, reward yourself for getting the job done, and vary your activities.

You can't get your work done if you're distracted. Learn to trim away all the minor things competing for your attention, and fine-tune your concentration to a laser-like focus. You'll be surprised at how much you get done -- and how much time you'll have to spend on what's really important.

© 2008 Laura Stack.  Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, professional speaker, and author who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier® with Maximum Results in Minimum Time™. She is the president of The Productivity Pro®, Inc., a time management training company in Denver, Colorado, that caters to high-stress industries. Laura’s newest productivity book, The Exhaustion Cure (Broadway Books), hits bookstores in May 2008.  Laura is a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, and Day-Timers®, Inc and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, CNN, and the New York Times. Her clients include Cisco, Sunoco, KPMG, Nationwide, and MolsonCoors.  Contact her at www.TheProductivityPro.com. 

Taming the Messy Monster: Bringing Order to Your World

Order relates to your level of organization: your ability to sort, filter, and process information effectively. It also involves your ability to find what you want when you want it, and how tidy your work area looks -- especially to the people who matter.  Here are a few ideas to help you control the paper, email, reading material, and inputs that flow into your office.

1. Realize that some people aren't born more organized than others. Understand that organization is a skill that can be learned, just like riding a bike. Getting organized is a process of trial, error and persistence, but you can master it if you're serious about it.

2. Keep a clutter-free work surface. You don't have to be creative and disorganized, if you're willing to learn and the pain is bad enough. No matter what you've seen on coffee cups, a clean desk is NOT a sign of an empty mind.

3. Know how to organize "pending" items requiring future action. Create a tickler file, an indispensable system that will remind you which papers require your action today, and allow you to forget the rest until their time has come.

4. Maintain orderly and organized files, so you can find essential information when you need it. If you've ever taken more than three minutes to find anything you need, then it's high time to reorganize.

5. Sort, process, and store incoming information quickly and easily. Every piece of paper, email, voicemail, and fax that you get is simply a piece of information. There are only six things that you can do with any piece of information: discard, delegate, do, date, drawer or delete (the 6-D system).

6. Discard information quickly and easily. Don't be a packrat. If you doubt you'll ever use or read something, don't be afraid to toss it.

7. Touch paper only once. Be very decisive, and have a home for each type of information. Sort it using the 6-D System, decide immediately where each item belongs, and put it away.

8. Avoid using sticky notes or scraps of paper to record messages or tasks. Temporary notes should be for temporary things, like writing down a number you'll use only once, or marking comments in a document. Consolidate your system using phone logs and organizers.

9. Know the contents of every cabinet, drawer, and storage space in your home and office. The only way to do this is to go through every item you own and give away, put away, toss, or store it. This is an effective way to "poison the packrat" and complete projects that have gone undone for too long.

10. Have a systematic plan to stay organized. Staying organized requires ongoing practice and planning. The most effective way to control clutter is to say no -- to new tasks, belongings, magazine subscriptions, whatever.

It's critical that you learn to organize everything associated with your work. Not only does a messy office make it more difficult to find what you need when you need it, it's a career deterrent: people with messy work areas are less likely to get promoted. Remember, perception is reality these days. Leave your office messy all the time, and your career may stall. And you still won't be able to find what you're looking for!

© 2008 Laura Stack.  Laura Stack is a personal productivity expert, professional speaker, and author who helps busy workers Leave the Office Earlier® with Maximum Results in Minimum Time™. She is the president of The Productivity Pro®, Inc., a time management training company in Denver, Colorado, that caters to high-stress industries. Laura’s newest productivity book, The Exhaustion Cure (Broadway Books), hits bookstores in May 2008.  Laura is a spokesperson for Microsoft, 3M, and Day-Timers®, Inc and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, CNN, and the New York Times. Her clients include Cisco, Sunoco, KPMG, Nationwide, and MolsonCoors.  Contact her at www.TheProductivityPro.com. 

It's About Time

Its About Time

Pareto is very busy in the sales world.  You know the 80-20 rule.  In this case, it means that only 20% of salespeople spend 80% of their time on selling activities.  Are you in this group?  See if you recognize yourself.  If not, here’s how you can join the group.      

Put your fingers on it fast.  Laura Stack is a professional speaker and author of Leave the Office Earlier® and Find More Time.  She sees several time wasters that cost salespeople valuable selling time.  One of the biggest time wasters is lacking a system to track client history.  The system should include notes on conversations that took place, with whom, and when they took place.  Stack says, “To be truly organized you should be able to have a prospect call you out of the blue and you should be able to immediately refer back to a conversation that took place years ago.”  Without the system, you can’t be effective. You may even frustrate clients who have to repeat themselves and might have to rely on facts that aren’t correct.   Stack uses ACT! to take notes while talking with clients on the phone.  Many salespeople are unaware that Outlook can be used to track history.  The journal feature allows you to take notes and attach those notes to the contact.  Stack adds that you can use a manual folder system if you prefer. What is essential is to have a system to aggregate and retrieve client history. 

There’s an unexpected time waster—the BlackBerry.  It’s hard to use one for taking notes because you can’t type that fast.  Stack sees salespeople taking notes on scraps of paper, place mats and even their hands. That haphazard system makes them more disorganized.  She suggests, “Understand the features and benefits and decide if it’s for you.”  It’s important once you do take notes to enter them into your system as soon as possible so they don’t pile up.

Get to work fast.  Another time waster is when salespeople lack a plan or poorly plan their daily activities.  It starts by having a system to schedule follow up tasks like telephone calls.  If you tell a customer you will call in two weeks, you must follow through.  Some salespeople think they can remember everything they promise. That’s far too taxing. Instead, a technology supplied or manual system works well to keep your promises.  She says, “People will work with someone who is reliable more than someone they like.”  Some inefficient salespeople begin each day thinking, “Who am I supposed to call today?”  Stack says that when you come to work each day you should already know whom you’re supposed to call and what you’re supposed to do.  If you work in inside sales, your planning can be the last task of the previous day.  If you do a lot of driving, a week out is sufficient and more time is required for air travelers.  In addition, at the beginning of each month Stack recommends reviewing activities for the coming month.

Work on selling.  Stack sees many salespeople wasting time on activities that take them away from selling. One activity is constant email checking which she suggests reducing to once per day. She sees salespeople who take notes on spiral notebooks only to waste time flipping back through the notebooks to locate a particular piece of customer information.  She often hears complaints about completing reports that are time wasters. Yet when she asks, “What have you done about it?” she often gets the response, “Nothing.”  Stack reports, “If leadership knew, they would care as it’s directly impacting the profitability of the sales force.” 

You may think you don’t have time to plan your selling.  You really do.  Stack says, “Organization is an enabler. Once it’s in place, it allows you to make more sales. It’s a launching pad to reach more sales revenue.”  Sounds like it’s time to take the leap and join the 20% that are selling more effectively. 

Maura Schreier-Fleming works with business and sales professionals on skills and strategies so they can sell more and be more productive at work.  She is the author of Real-World Selling for Out-of-this-World Results which is available at www.BestatSelling.com.  She founded her company Best@Selling in 1997.  You can reach her at 972.380.0200 or info@Bestatsellling.com. 

Lean and Mean in 2008: Go on a Low-Information Diet

Pretty much anybody you ask will tell you they’re pressed for time. There just aren’t enough hours to get it all done, yadda yadda yadda.  So we prioritize, streamline, and simplify.  You can improve your efficiency until you’re blue in the face, not to mention very tightly wound, but you still aren’t addressing one of the biggest time and energy wasters in your day: incoming information.  As my 12-year-old daughter, Meagan, would text on her phone: “TMI” (translation: Too Much Information).

If the 21st century has brought us anything, it is WAY too much information. You can watch several channels full of cable news 24 hours a day. You can surf the internet on any topic until you can’t see straight. Most people could heat their home with the amount of junk mail they receive on a continuous basis.  Imagine the time and productivity lost just sorting though it all!

So why not join me in 2008 and put yourself on a low-information diet? Make this the year that you say “NO MORE!” to the endless onslaught of time-wasting, productivity-eating, stress-inducing STUFF coming at you.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Skip the news. I haven’t regularly watched the news or read a newspaper in fifteen years. Some people are shocked when they hear me say that.  But I’m shocked when people confess how much time they waste each day reading their latest blog postings.  Think about what you really gain by being a news junkie.  To be honest, most of the news out there just isn’t the kind of thing that really impacts my family, my business, or me. And quite frankly, a big chunk of what gets reported will do little more than make me feel angry or even depressed.  So if your job or your natural sense of curiosity don’t prohibit it, consider a very low-news diet. Believe me: my selective ignorance has never caused me a single problem and allows me to focus my energy and attention.

Never meet in person to give information. What’s the number one complaint most people have when it comes to office productivity? Meetings!  Why do we do it to ourselves?  Do we really leave with the decisions that made spending the time worthwhile?  Or are we just regurgitating information that’s already been provided elsewhere?  Does the speaker stand there and read the PowerPoint slides he just emailed to you?  Hello?  If you already have the slides—you could have just read them yourself.  Phone conferences are even worse: they take much longer than an in-person meeting, because participants are checking email and fiddling with their computers.  Create a pact with your team members or department mates to never again have an in-person meeting or phone conference where you are simply conveying information.  Put it on the intranet or compile it into a single email that goes out once a week.  Keep the high cost of the in-person meeting at ebay when the purpose is a simple transfer of low-value information.

Use the phone strategically.  What about meetings with people outside of your office—vendors and clients, for example?  How many times have you spent weeks trying to set up an appointment, only to have it rescheduled at the last minute? Once the meeting actually happens, it costs you a huge piece of your day. If you have a thirty minute meeting that requires an hour’s worth of driving, decide if the time would be better spent with a phone call. Are you really getting better information in person?  Nine times out of ten these meetings could be handled in a tiny fraction of the time, if only they were replaced with a quick phone call. Skip the commute, keep the gas money, and save yourself a ton of time. You may even find that your clients view your respect for THEIR time as refreshing and will appreciate it to no end.

The Mailman Knocks One Hundred Times. The U.S Postal Service does not come running to your home, ring your bell, and hand you one piece of mail at a time, multiple times a day.  It’s batched and delivered once.  If only we could follow the same principle with electronic mail.  I’m not recommending you only check your in-box once a day—I believe that’s unrealistic—but you should still try to cut down.  You can’t focus on a task requiring concentration with your in-box open.  I process my e-mail just a handful of times each day. It’s easy to be in the habit of checking the instant you hear that little ding, but think about what you’re doing to yourself.  What percentage of incoming email is important?  10 percent?  25 percent?  Two percent?  If the majority of incoming email is unimportant and represents information you don’t need (there are donuts in the cafeteria), why would you stop working on the most important task of the day to see if one makes the cut?  You’re letting everyone else dictate your day to you by immediately stopping your productive work and redirecting your attention to an e-mail that is probably not that important anyway.  Then you need to refocus your attention and try to get back on track with whatever you were doing.  After the 50-200 emails you receive each day, just think how many times per hour your productive activities must come to a grinding halt.  Maybe—just maybe—you’re doing it, on purpose, as an excuse to NOT to have to do the hard work you should be doing.

Make the decision NOW.  Many decisions are put off because people are waiting for more information.  How much do you need?  Sometimes enough is good enough.  You will never be able to analyze all the in’s and out’s of every decision, and there will always be more information out there you didn’t consider.  Gather enough information and make the best decision you can with the information you have.  Things can always change.  My father always told me to take initiative and ask forgiveness, not permission.  In the early days of my career, I just handled things for my managers without asking.  If they were gone, I answered for them.  Sometimes it was the wrong answer to be sure, but I’ve always been praised for trying to save my boss some time and force some movement, rather than being berated for the wrong action.  I wish more people would just get some brass and DECIDE.  Stop getting approvals from a million people to cover your backside.  You’re making everyone around you crazy.  Sometimes it is much more efficient to go with the information you have, make the WRONG decision, and make adjustments if necessary, than to waste time being indecisive.

Empower your people. Eric Hoffer, the late American social philosopher, once said, “Far more crucial than what we know or do not know is what we do not want to know.” My husband and COO, John, has asked me several times if I’d like to learn to use the postage machine in our office.  I’ve always staunchly declined.  I have absolutely no desire to learn how to use it.  I enjoy being purposefully ignorant about that machine, since I have no business running it.  When my assistant, Lisa (who sits near me by design), casually asks me a question on the postal machine, I can honestly say, “I have no idea.  You’ll have to get with someone else.”  My staff needs to learn to be problem solving people and handle challenges they experience in the areas they’ve been charged to run, just as I do.  They can’t handle my areas of responsibility, and I refuse to handle theirs—and I unabashedly hold them accountable for their own results.  I’m happy to get them training or pay for assistance, but you should never do those things personally that can be done by someone else at a lower pay level.  You’ll kill yourself.  Give your people the authority they need to make decisions and get things done. If you don’t, you’ll find they consistently create more work for you, not less.

Cut, cut, cut.  Don’t lose your focus as the year goes on.  Cut, streamline, and reduce.  Cancel magazine subscriptions.  Get rid of the junk you haven’t used in a year.  Let all calls you don’t recognize go to voicemail.  Unsubscribe from all newsletters you haven’t specifically requested.  Go out and find things you determine you need to buy, rather than having salespeople feed you information about more things you’ll buy but won’t use.  If your clients keep asking you for the same information over and over again, put it on your website and let new clients know in advance where to find it.  These are just a few examples about how you can deal with less information.  Hope you lose lots of weight on your low-information diet and make 2008…GREAT!

Make it a productive day! ™

How to systematically organize and declutter any area

It always amuses me how many people get inspired to get organized come the New Year.  It's as if 1/1 somehow had a magical connotation.  What was wrong with 4/16 or 11/8?  For whatever reason—POOF all of a sudden you're ready.  But, hey, at least it's getting done, so bring it on.

What you don't want to happen, however, is a massive shopping trip to buy bins, baskets, gadgets, etc., if you have no plan on how to use them and implement your system.  Your new organizational tools can now create more piles and even more clutter.  Clutter is not always a problem that can be solved by bins.  That can make it even worse.

Here's how I would systematically declutter an area.  Get five sturdy boxes.  Label them:

1.     Put Away—items that are out of place and should be put away

2.     Give Away—items that are in good repair that you no longer want, need, or use.  Give to charity, sell, or swap items

3.     Store—items that are going to be used again in a reasonable amount of time, but you don’t use on a regular basis

4.     Toss—items that are broken, old, worn, or in bad repair

5.     Belongs here—will go back into the room, drawer, closet, or cabinet you’re organizing

THEN (and only then) determine your storage solutions for item 3.

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Then take one item out at a time and put it into the appropriate box.  If you’re going to organize for 1 hour, set an egg timer for 50 minutes.  When it buzzes, use the last few minutes of your organizing session to put items away, put the charity items in the car, throw out the trash, or put boxes into storage.  The time investment made in getting organized will repay you over and over in reduced stress, decreased frustration, and more time to spend with friends and family.

The New York Times has a great article on this called A Clutter Too Deep for Mere Bins and Shelves, which reports on the health effects of disorganization.

Jot-It: a Nice Alternative for Post-It Notes

I just received a sample product from Cocoa Living called Jot-It, a desktop writing board.  Pretty neat concept.  Takes the place of putting sticky notes all over the place.  If you're the type that writes on scraps of paper, a corner of your desk calendar, or the bottom of the whiteboard hanging on the wall, this could work for you.  It's essentially a whiteboard on an angled desktop frame where you write notes to yourself, things to do, a phone number to call, etc., and then erase them with the built-in Expo marker eraser when you're done.  The clear top lifts up and allows you to put one of several lined templates underneath to keep things neat.  While I wouldn't use it personally, since I capture notes in my DayTimer(R), it would be good for a "scrapper" to keep all notes in the same place.  It's a bit large for my tastes, but if you have a large surface next to your writing hand, it could be really handy.  Good for people who don't have large to-do lists and whose workflow allows them to complete tasks the same day they are received.