productivity

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You know you need to work on your productivity if …

Monday, April 30th, 2012

stress

Today I thought I’d come with a list of attributes and behaviour that are commonly found in people who still need to work on their productivity. If some of these apply to you, that doesn’t mean that you never get anything done, but the more times you nod when you read the following list or mentally say “oh yes”, “yup, that’s me” or “oops, did that” the more likely you could do with a bit of tweaking of habits and improving of techniques that could help you get more done and spend less time treading the hamster wheel.

So, do any of these describe you?

  • being late to meetings
  • forgetting items
  • having more than a screen’s worth of emails once you’re finished dealing with them
  • not being able to find things on your desk
  • not being able to lay your hand on important documents
  • double booking appointments
  • regularly exceeding deadlines
  • being unable to delegate
  • being unable to say no to more work
  • being a master procrastinator
  • working regularly on evenings and/or weekends
  • insisting on working on holiday (if holidays are even taken)
  • forgetting to do to-dos
  • paying late fees
  • finding yourself constantly apologising
  • having no inbox on your desk
  • having an overflowing inbox on your desk
  • winging it instead of preparing
  • being constantly stressed out

I’m not going to give a number here, saying if you agree with these statements x many times, you need to do y. You know yourself, whether you’re in need of improving your productivity. There are many ways you can achieve this, but all result in the same 3 steps:

  1. Deciding that you have a an issue
  2. Getting help (this can be anything from a book to attending a seminar or personal productivity training)
  3. Implementing what you have learned, step by step

The third step is probably the most important. The best productivity coach, the most amazingly written book won’t be able to help you if you don’t put into action what you have learned. It’s about changing habits and sticking to the new regime. That’s the same as if you were trying to give up smoking or losing weight.

And the first step needs to come from the person needing the help. It’s no good to identify that your partner/co-worker/friend needs to get their act together and get organised. They need to realise it and want it for themselves, otherwise it won’t work, no matter how well meaning the advice is.

 

Posted in desk, getting things done, organisation, procrastination, productivity, time management, to-do list, Ultimate Blog Challenge | 5 Comments »

Your most important tasks for today

Wednesday, April 25th, 2012

To do list

We often get very busy doing things and realise that yet again we have forgotten (or didn’t have the time) to do some of the most important things. So, what are those important things that need to get done? If you don’t get anything else done today, make sure that you at least do the following 3 things:

  1. Make sure you have backed up your computer
    Your computer needs backing up on a regular basis, a good average is once a day. Imagine what you would do if you suddenly lost all files that you have created over the past week, month or even year! You would not stop kicking yourself, for starters, and you would probably have quite a few business set-backs in the process.
    A hard-drive is a disc that can corrupt if damaged in any way, making it almost certain that at some point in time this will happen. It is less a question of whether, but more a question of when. Be one step ahead and take precautions by backing up onto a memory stick, CDs, DVDs or into the cloud.
    Even if you don’t run a business, make it a regular habit to back up. Should the inevitable happen, you’ll be glad you did.
  2. Maintenance
    That falls into two categories – your body and the car. Get that check-up booked in with your doctor, especially if something’s been not quite right. Don’t put it off, you’re playing with your health. And get the car booked in for that overdue service or oil-change. Just like our bodies, cars need looking after, too. And if we look after them, they’re more likely to keep working well when we need them.
  3. Make time for your partner
    Book or arrange a nice evening together or a weekend away, something to reconnect with your partner. We take our significant others for granted which too often leads to unnecessary friction in the home. And do it on a regular basis, at least monthly if not weekly. A happy home will lead to greater productivity, because it becomes a place where you can re-energise.
    If you’re single, arrange something nice for yourself. Take time out to recharge your batteries, relax, unwind and re-energise. By doing that you will have more energy when you get back to work, get more done and be more productive.

What’s on your list of important to-dos that hasn’t been done for too long? Please leave a comment below.

Posted in getting things done, productivity, to-do list, Ultimate Blog Challenge | 9 Comments »

How to set up a tickler file or bring forward system

Friday, April 13th, 2012

A tickler file or bring forward system is one of the most useful productivity tools I have encountered. It is a system of 43 folders, entitled 1 – 31 for the days of the months, and January to December, in which you put items that are due in the next month (1-31) and over the next 12 months (Jan-Dec).

This video by Chrissy Scivicque, the Managing Editor of OfficeArrow.com shows a very neat and simply way how to set up such a system and work with it on a daily basis. Nicely done, Chrissy!

And yes, at first glance this system seems a bit convoluted and over the top especially if you’ve never encountered it before. But trust me when I say, it is easy to set up, simple and straightforward to use and you’ll wonder very quickly how you’ve ever coped without it.

Please comment and let me know about experiences you’ve had using a tickler file.

Posted in getting things done, organisation, productivity, tickler file, time management, Ultimate Blog Challenge | No Comments »

Top Tips to Reduce Your To-Read Pile

Thursday, April 12th, 2012

I have been receiving the newsletter from a company called Day-Timer who make really good planners and diaries. Every month I get useful tips and articles about time management, which are just up my street. So today I thought I’d share one of those tips with you.

A question was posed to Jeff Doubek, one of the company’s experts:

I am a very organised and time-efficient person but one thing I find that gets out of control is reading of emailed articles, mailed magazines and brochures that come my way everyday. At the moment all I do is print them out and file them into a tray labelled “READING” but never seem to get around to reading anything! Please help.

And here is Jeff’s Response:

Throughout history, as long as the printed word has existed I am certain there has also been an overflowing inbox. It’s just a fact – there is too much information for us to handle on a daily basis. Here are some tips for finding time to read:

  • Decide: minimise your pile through two types of decisions: 1) skim and recycle; or 2) file and follow-up
  • Prioritise: decide how important each content piece is to your big picture, and
  • Sacrifice: you may need to let go of some things you want to read, remember that your brain only has so much capacity
  • Discuss: your co-workers may have already read something in your inbox, ask them to summarise it for you over lunch
  • Schedule: follow-up on paperwork by creating a dated task in your planner, or by adding it to your master task list
  • Postpone: create a “Read Later” file, and keep it handy for downtime moments like waiting lines, airline travel, and breaks
  • Minimise: limit incoming paper by encouraging a digital workflow amongst your work team, and by opting out of direct mail and catalogue lists

Now this is definitely some very good advice that I would back 100%. I particularly liked the bit about getting coworkers to summarise read material over lunch. Genius!

If you would also receive tips like this, then here is the Day-timer page where you can sign up to their newsletter eTalk: http://www.daytimer.co.uk/resources/etalk/subscribe.aspx

Unfortunately I don’t receive any benefit from Day-Timer for sharing this with you other than the warm fuzzy feeling that I’m sharing good information with people who are interested and who might gain from this.

Posted in getting things done, organisation, productivity, time management, Ultimate Blog Challenge | No Comments »

Procrastination and predicting the future

Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

We’re so incredibly bad at predicting the future. We are getting better at predicting the weather, at least to a degree (no pun intended). Trying to predict the weather more than a couple of days into the future and all goes pear shaped again. But try and predict out own feelings. Forget about it!

This is one reason why procrastination is such a difficult thing to break. We think “I’ll feel more like it tomorrow” and put off a task we were intending to get on with. Immediately we feel better because we have made a decision that we are definitely going to start tomorrow. We can even imagine what it will feel like to “feel like it”. And lo and behold, when tomorrow comes, we find that yet again we don’t feel like it at all. We find reasons why we can’t possible start and put it off for yet another day, week, month etc.

We not only fail to predict our feelings but we also fail to take into consideration the actual time we have available. The reason is usually a lack of clarity how much we actually have to do that is not scheduled. We are aware of our appointments but what about all those little things we need to do on a day to day basis, that take up time and add up, taking up a large part of our day without us even realising it.

One way around this could be to simply start your task. It doesn’t matter at this point whether the task will actually get finished, but once you have started you give yourself a chance to create some momentum to keep going. You might surprise yourself and even finish the task. Or you might finish a fair chunk of the task and realise it wasn’t nearly as bad as you thought it would be. It doesn’t matter, doing a task in chunks is better than not doing it at all.

If you would like to find out more about this and many other aspects about procrastination, why not pop over to www.procrastination.ca where the Canadian university professor Tim Pychyl shares all his knowledge about procrastination from an academic perspective.

Posted in getting things done, procrastination, productivity | No Comments »

Don’t check your email – process it

Monday, January 23rd, 2012

What does checking your email actually mean? Do you have a look how many emails have come in since you last “checked”? Do you want to know whether a particular email has arrived, ignoring the rest and letting them pile up? How often do you check? And what do you actually do?

Checking emails means different things to different people, but in most cases it does not mean making a decision on every email when you first lay eyes on it. The “touch it once” philosophy we are encouraged to use when dealing with paper also applies to email – our virtual post.

Ideally you access your email 2 – 3 times per day and process it. This means that you make a quick decision on everything that comes in, dividing the “post” into 4 categories: delete, delegate, do  and defer.

Delete: pretty obvious, be generous with the delete button.

Delegate: if you are not the best person to deal with the email, forward with a short note to a more suitable person. Move the email into a “to follow up” folder, so that you remember to check whether the matter has been dealt with.

Do: if the email requires a very quick action (less than 2 minutes) do it straight away. If you have to deal with lots of emails (100 or more per day) you might want to take that down to 30 seconds.

Defer: if the email requires an action that takes more than 2 minutes (30 seconds) move the email to an action folder such as “read”, “reply”, “call”, etc. Deal with the emails in bulk when you deal with the relevant actions.

Processing your emails this way a couple of times per day will ensure that you are always up to date, but you decide when actions are completed and you are not “run” by your email.

Posted in effectiveness, efficiency, email, getting things done, productivity, time management | 48 Comments »

Use Waiting Time Wisely

Monday, December 19th, 2011

Now and again we find ourselves waiting. Waiting for the kettle to boil, being on hold on the phone, standing in a queue at the photocopier or waiting for the computer to boot up. Generally we view these short pockets of time as wasted but have you ever thought of using them productively?

You can use those time pockets to get small jobs done. There are dozens of little mini tasks that always need doing, such as filing a couple of papers, deleting some emails that clutter up your inbox, reading an article or blog post, tweeting, etc. Maybe some of those jobs have been hanging around for a while because you have been procrastinating.

Create a list of those tiny, (sometimes pesky) jobs that need doing but don’t need much time. And whenever you find yourself waiting, do one of those 1 or 2 minute tasks. Keeping on top of those little jobs by using your time pockets will save you a lot of time in the long run.

Posted in efficiency, filing, getting things done, procrastination, productivity, time management, time saving | No Comments »

Never Late Again for Meetings – A Diary Tip

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

Most of us are using a diary and have been doing so for years. But have you ever wondered whether you could do something differently? Could you be using your diary more efficiently? Something along the lines of – use your diary so that you’re never late again. Today I have a tip for you that could achieve just that, if applied regularly.

When you add an appointment to your diary, don’t just add the start and finish time of the event/meeting/etc. but also how long it takes you to get there and back. This will give you the time you from actually leaving your office to getting back and will be a much clearer indicator of your availability at the office. Even if your meeting is only down the corridor or around the corner, add a few extra minutes of “travel”. This allows you a time buffer for getting there and back without having to stress about not being able to make the next meeting if you booked them back to back. With travel time built in you will be less likely to be constantly chasing your tail if your days are filled with meetings.

If most of your meetings are at your office, make sure to build 5-10 minute gaps in between them especially if your meetings usually run back to back. These gaps can be used for comfort breaks, as well as for gathering materials for the next meeting and changing your mindset from one topic to the next. This means that you have enough time to prepare and you won’t have to keep anyone waiting for you until you’re ready. You’ll be calmer and more able to concentrate straight from the beginning of the meeting.

By applying these two tips your busy days will still be busy but a lot less stressed and a lot more productive.

Posted in diary, efficiency, productivity, sanity saving, time management, travel | No Comments »

How do you know when you’re productive?

Monday, November 21st, 2011

Everyone talks about productivity. But what does it mean? The dictionary definition is: producing or able to produce large amounts of goods, crops, or other commodities; or achieving a significant amount or result. So in simple terms: lots of stuff being created. But is it just lots of stuff or is it the right stuff? Could you consider yourself productive if you create a lot of the wrong things? Or what about if you create lots of the right things, but in a wrong way? Lots of questions, I know. Let’s see if we can answer them.

I came across a great graphic the other day on the “Life Live Well” blog that I would like to share with you. It looks like this:

productive vs ineffective vs inefficient

I adapted the look of it slightly since the image didn’t copy well, but the message stays the same. You can do all the right things, but if you do them wrongly you won’t be effective. Also, you can do things really well, but if they aren’t the right things, you will never be efficient. Only when you do the right things in the right way, only then will you be productive.

To do the right things, you need to align your activities with your goals. Are the tasks and projects you are setting yourself in line with what you are trying to achieve long term? If not, you need to consider whether you are doing the right things.

To do things right you need to know how to best do those things. This could mean outsource, but this could also mean that you need to improve your skills or it could mean that you need some tools you haven’t yet at your disposal. These tools include time management skills and other productivity tools.

Consider a goal setting session with a coach to get yourself on the right track of doing the right things. And have a think about whether you might need some time management tools or strategies to improve your workflow. Here at Well Organised that is something we can help with. Why not drop me a line or give me a call for an informal chat. I would love to talk to you and see how we can work together so that you can become as productive as you would like to be.

Posted in effectiveness, efficiency, getting things done, productivity, time management | No Comments »

Setting Up Your New Business? – 3 Key Productivity Tips

Monday, November 14th, 2011

Setting up a new business from scratch can be a daunting task. All those things you need to consider such as legal status, insurance, accounting, etc. etc. In the midst of this it is quite easy to forget about some basics that will make life a lot easier and more productive in the long run. Here are 3 strategies to implement right at the beginning so you don’t get into a muddle:

1. Have an Inbox and empty it every day

Having an inbox means that everything coming in has a place to go. That can be post (physical snail mail), notes for ideas, anything that you can’t deal with right at this moment. Make sure that at the end of the day you have gone through everything and decided what you’re going to do about it. This could be action straight away or at a later date, delegated to someone else, filed for reference or discarded. Set up suitable containers (folders, trays, etc.) for the different categories. At the end of the day your inbox should be empty. This way you know nothing is slipping through the cracks and everything gets dealt with.

2. Set up a time table for key activities

At the very beginning of your new business you will spend a fair amount of time on marketing activities to find clients. Once you have clients and they take up a lot of your time you will find that it gets more and more difficult to find time to work on your business. Create a time table where you plan in regular times for marketing, admin, research, social media, etc. – whatever applies to your situation.

One of my strategies is to blog once a week, do regular Twitter updates as well as write articles. As I got busier all of those fell completely by the wayside until I set aside a certain time every week when all the writing gets done. Thanks to online tools that schedule when updates are posted I can do all the writing for the whole week in one morning.

3. Use a diary

When you first start your business you won’t have many appointments so it seems quite natural to try and keep them in your head. Don’t be tempted to do that. It is so easy to get caught out and double book. Always rely on a diary. Whether you decide to use paper or electronic is a personal choice, but don’t rely on your memory alone. You can also use a diary to block out time for your key activities (see tip no 2) so that you don’t book appointments when you planned to do strategic business activities.

One of my clients thought that he’d start using a diary once he got busier. So when his first client booked an appointment with him he scheduled it at the same time as an existing appointment with his accountant. And since he completely overlooked the accountant’s appointment in his excitement to deal with his first client, he never cancelled with the accountant, resulting in him having to pay for the missed appointment.

Following these 3 strategies right from the beginning of your business life will make things much easier in the long run. If you implement good habits like these right from the start you can avoid losing track of important things.

If you want to know more about getting more done and improving your productivity, why not check out my eBook and audio book “Get Twice As Much Done in Half the Time – 10 Productivity Strategies for Your Office” which is available right here on this website.

Posted in diary, getting things done, organisation, planning, productivity | No Comments »

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