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| Systematize
& Simplify -
By:
Dr. Donald E. Wetmore |
During thirty years as a Time Management speaker and
consultant, I have learned and shared a lot of simple
practices that help my audiences to increase their daily
results. A lot of time is wasted because we don't have a
system in place for many of the repetitive tasks we do
so that we have to pay over and over again, with our
time, for
the same results.
So here's one neat tip: systematize. (I don't think this
is really a word, but hey, if no one invents new words,
how will our language grow?) Systematize is the simple
procedure of creating a routine way of responding to a
myriad of tasks that will free our time for more
important things. We can systematize in all areas of our
life. Here are a few places you may wish to begin.
1. Standard text documents. I have dozens of documents
in "My Documents" section of my computer.
These include a lot of the articles that people request
through our website and standard letters I send out for
business and personal contacts, standard information
documents (like directions to our office). Most of the
information I need to send to
respond to my emails is there or easily modified and
tailored so that I don't have to type out a lot of
repetitive information.
2. A single calendaring system. Some people use as many
as a dozen ways of tracking their appointments and
scheduled events and their "To Do" list items.
There's a calendar for work and one for personal things.
There's stuff lying out on the desk reminding us what
needs to be done. The dentist appointment card is on the
bathroom mirror and the dry
cleaner claim slip is hanging from the visor in the car.
The softball schedule is on the refrigerator and we have
several other commitments in our heads. Boil this all
down to a single system. I use Daytimer products, but
whatever product you feel comfortable with is fine. Just
make it a simple, singular, master system from which you
take control of appointments and scheduled events and
your "To Do" list items.
3. Clean up the messy desk or work area. Studies have
shown that the person who works with a messy desk
spends, on average, one and a half hours per day looking
for things or being distracted by things. That's seven
and a half hours per week! ("Out of sight, out of
mind." And the reverse of that is true too,
"In sight, in mind".) And, it's not a solid
block of an hour and a half, but a minute here and a
minute there, and like a leaky hot water faucet, drip,
drip, drip, it doesn't seem like a major loss, but at
the end the day, we're dumping gallons of hot water down
the drain that we are paying to heat. If you have ever
visited the office of a top manager, typically, that
person is working with a clean desk environment. Many
would attribute this result to that person's access to
other staff members. While there may be some truth in
that conclusion, in most cases, if we went back some
years in that person's career, they probably were
working with a clean desk back then which gave them the
focus they needed to become promoted to where they are
today.
4. Have adequate supplies. Some people spend a lot of
their productive time looking for a pen or a pad of
paper or staples for their stapler. Have enough pens,
pencils, yellow markers, "sticky notes",
writing pads, fax paper, printer cartridges, updated
telephone directories, staples, "Wite
Out", report forms, index cards, paper clips, rolls
of adding machine tapes, etc., etc.
5. Make your physical surroundings workable. Move the
fax machine closer (or further away!) from your desk.
Have the most frequently used and needed files within
arm's reach and the less frequently required items
further out. Have adequate space at your desk to do what
you need to do. Remove some unnecessary items, if
necessary, to make room.
6. Set up a functional briefcase. I travel a lot and am
out of my office at seminars or meetings with clients
requiring that I tote along a briefcase. In addition to
the stuff I need for where I am going, I have my
briefcase stocked with a lot of neat things like a
calculator, a pocket map of the
United States, basic office supplies (writing pads,
pens, yellow markers, small stapler, paper clips, stamps
and a few envelopes), blank checks, a few deposit slips,
a paperback book I have been intending to read, and at
least one project I can work on if I get stuck in
traffic or am waiting for
the meeting to begin. It gives me more choices.
7. Schedule maintenance. The equipment you use, your
car, stuff around the house, and oh yeah, you. You know
your car needs to be serviced. Why wait for a breakdown
to get it done and spend more time on what could have
been accomplished in less time. (You still need a
tune-up, but now you have to wait for the tow truck to
arrive.) Regular
medical and dental checkups save huge amounts of time in
our future by fixing small conditions before they become
major costly issues.
8. Catalog contacts. Develop and maintain your contacts
list so that networking can enhance your future with the
contacts you make. A computer-based program such as ACT
is excellent, but even a simple 3x5 card system will
work. Keep track of a growing list of contacts, help
them at every turn and they will be there to help you.
If these ideas were helpful, I have prepared another
article entitled, "Work Rules" which outlines
three simple, but powerful work rules to help accelerate
your success in less time. It's free. To get your copy,
email your request for "rules" to: ctsem@msn.com
Would you like to receive free Timely Time Management
Tips on a regular basis to increase your personal
productivity and get more out of every day? Sign up now
for our free "TIME MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION
LIST". Just go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/timemanagement
and select "subscribe". We welcome you to our
list!
Dr. Donald E. Wetmore-Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute
Time Management Seminars
60 Huntington St., P.O. Box 2126
Shelton, CT 06484
(800) 969-3773
(203) 929-9902
Fax: (203) 929-8151
Email: ctsem@msn.com
Visit our Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com
Professional Member-National Speakers Association
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