“The Productivity PRO!”®
news"E"letter
Number
33, February 2002
by Laura M. Stack, MBA, CSP (Certified Speaking
Professional)
“The Productivity PRO!”®
“The Productivity PRO!”® news"E"letter
is a monthly electronic newsletter distributed to our clients, human resource
personnel, and colleagues. Laura
Stack helps people leave the office earlier, with less stress, and more to show
for it!
_________________________________________________________________
MESSAGE: Did the holidays leave you feeling behind? Here
it is, the end of February, and several people have complained that they just
can’t seem to get on top of things. If
you feel overwhelmed, you might just mentally “throw up your hands” and stop
making decisions altogether. Instead,
dedicate a half-hour a day to getting organized.
Don’t look at everything you need to do at once; break it down into
small pieces and dedicate yourself to small victories each day.
_________________________________________________________________
IN THIS ISSUE:
*
Article: “Help! My Time is Completely Uncontrollable!”
*
Time Tips and Traps
*
Words of Wisdom
*
Featured Program: “Mastering Personal Productivity: Moving at the Speed
of LIFE!”
_________________________________________________________________
ARTICLE: “Help! My Time is Completely Uncontrollable!”
I met recently with a client at Denver Water for his 1-on-1
“In the Trenches” appointment to get organized. When I first arrived, he stated, “I would be completely
organized if it weren’t for other people.
As it is, my day is so uncontrollable that I never have enough time to
get things done.” Sound familiar?
Many people place blame on external forces to some degree.
It’s easy to do and understandable.
Interruptions are very frustrating, especially when you have a nice to-do
list laid out for the day. The
trick is figuring out how to gain some semblance of control in an uncontrollable
environment.
Here are three of Bob’s difficult situations and the
solutions we came up with:
1.
Situation: Bob is the manager of the artistic and reproduction services
groups. He makes major purchase
decisions for his organization on printing, photocopiers, storage solutions,
etc. Accordingly, he has vendors
stopping by unannounced to demonstrate their products.
Since they made the long trip out there, he felt bad turning them away.
The unscheduled product demonstrations threw his schedule for a loop.
Solution: He will make better use of his administrative
support staff that runs the repro shop. Rather
than ushering vendors to his office at any time, they will screen vendors.
Upon arrival, the staff will pull out Bob’s new monthly appointment
schedule book, where Bob has blocked out a half-day twice each month for
appointments. Since he won’t know
the vendor even stopped by, he has agreed to stop feeling guilty for turning
them away. A policy stating “No
walk-in appointments” will keep it from being personal.
Vendors will still have the opportunity to demonstrate their goods, but
it will be at Bob’s convenience, instead of the other way around.
2.
Situation: As the master artist of his organization, he receives
“last-minute” requests from co-workers to “quickly” draw up an
illustration or picture for a document, sign, or brochure.
People tend to think “F2, Poof” here’s your drawing, not realizing
how much time goes into the creative process.
Bob must often mull on a project for days until he’s inspired to create
the perfect illustration. So he
stays late and can’t sleep at night, stressing out about the deadline.
The artwork he produces is often not the quality it could have been, had
he had the proper time to devote to the project.
Solution: In
the 22 years Bob has worked for this company, he has never published a
“lead-time” policy. Similar to
an editorial calendar for a magazine, we worked up a schedule. If your project is due on (w) date, you need your artwork by
(x) date, and I need (y) time to complete this type of work, so it will be due
by (z) if (w) is to happen. People
had simply not realized the complexity of his work before and how long it really
took. Bob was able to take the
pressure off of himself by publishing and pointing to the policy when people
came in with unrealistic deadlines. Bob
could make exceptions to the policy when necessary, but he was no longer at
others’ beck and call.
3.
Situation: Colleagues would
walk right into Bob’s office at inopportune times, right when he was having a
“creative” moment and needed some privacy and thinking time.
When they started talking without being acknowledged, Bob would lose his
thought and his creative energy. He
ended up frustrated and being rude to co-workers.
Solution: Bob had a door that he could shut, but he felt
that it was rude to do so. So we
got a retail-type clock that said, “Be back at” with the clock hands and a
hanging file box for people to drop off requests.
Used sparingly, this has been an invaluable tool for Bob.
When he is right in the middle of an important, creative project and
would prefer not to be interrupted from his “flow,” he simply hangs the
clock on the door, sets the hands for a half-hour or so, and shuts the door.
People don’t knock, because they don’t know he’s inside.
When he finished, he immediately removes the sign and opens the door.
Even people who have discovered his system don’t take advantage and
knock, because they know he uses the system fairly and is soon available again.
Conclusion: I have RARELY found circumstances that are 100%
completely uncontrollable. It might
help to keep a time log for a week to determine who is interrupting you, at what
times, and for what items. With
this information, you can step back and take a neutral look at what systems you
might be able to put in place to gain some control. If you would like a Time Log form and directions, I’ll be
happy to email you a Word document to assist you in this activity.
_________________________________________________________________
TIME TIPS AND TRAPS
·
Stop nagging your children about getting ready for school in the
morning! I grew weary of reminding
Meagan (6 years old) to do certain things every morning.
So we sat down and listed out all of the tasks, no matter how small, that
are required to get her out the door every morning.
We came up with 20 things! No
wonder I felt like a broken record. So
we made a checklist, and now Meagan can completely get herself ready for school
with NO help from me! If you’d
like a copy of our neat checklist, feel free to email me.
I’ll send you a Word document via email attachment.
·
Keep only those things that you touch or use DAILY on top of your
desk. Anything that isn’t used
frequently shouldn’t be out cluttering up your surfaces.
When you finish using an item, put it back immediately.
·
Buy a vertical file to hold one file folder per member of your
family. Get each person to agree to
put important papers for other members of the family into the appropriate
folder. This will keep multiple
piles from forming and looking for an item won’t require a search of the
entire house. When the mail
arrives, place each person’s mail in the correct folder.
Kids can empty permission slips or schoolwork that you need to see into
your folder. You can place phone messages in the folders also.
______________________________________________________________
WORDS OF WISDOM
“True stability results when presumed order and
presumed disorder are balanced. A
truly stable system expects the unexpected, is prepared to be disrupted, waits
to be transformed.” --- Tom Robbins
“Life is what happens to you while you are making
other plans.” --- John Lennon
“If not controlled, work will flow to the
competent man until he submerges.” --- Charles Boyle
_________________________________________________________________
FEATURED PROGRAM:
“Mastering Personal Productivity: Moving at the Speed of LIFE!”
Does
the speed of the new economy leave you feeling tested, bested, toasted, and
roasted? We are competing in a race
where there’s no “speed limit.” So
you must know how to move quickly, without killing yourself.
Learn how to leave the office earlier, with less stress, and more to show
for it! This is NOT your standard
time management class…it offers a multitude of innovative strategies for
improving your personal productivity. Get
physiological, psychological, behavioral, and environmental tips and ideas from
“The Productivity PRO” on performing at your matchless best!
Course
Objectives:
·
Discuss the Causes of
Overload in the Workplace
·
Find Out if You Are a
Workaholic
·
Learn How Humor Increases
Productivity
·
Discover Your Energy Prime
Times
·
Work the Way Your Brain
Works to Increase Output
·
Learn Why Multi-Tasking is
Unproductive
·
Discover the Most
Important Ten Minutes of the Day
·
Determine if Your Stress
Level is Affecting Your Productivity
·
Discuss a Multitude of
Innovative Ways to “Create” Time
·
Establish Appropriate
Boundaries Necessary to Gain Control
·
Stop the Voices in Your
Head and Concentrate on Your Work
·
Discover the Importance of
Diet, Exercise, Quiet, Leisure, and Sleep
·
Reduce “Desk Rage” and
Personality Irritations that Sap Productivity
·
Control Your Day in an
Uncontrollable Workplace
·
Prioritize Your Activities
to Create the Greatest Value for Your Time
·
Blend Work and Family
Activities More Effectively
·
Evaluate Whether Your
Workspace is Ergonomically Correct
·
Stop Procrastinating
(We’ll Discuss This Last)
New client offer: Until
March 31, schedule this program on-site at your organization and receive a
one-time 20% discount off our regular rates!
_________________________________________________________________
CONTACT US
Visit Celebration Presentations on-line!
http://www.LauraStack.com
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