you're already late! time management secrets, tools & strategies
DESCRIPTION
Everyone wants to be more efficient and productive. Most people think they’re going to increase productivity by learning how to multitask better—that’s unlikely as repeatedly proven by brain science. Remember this: You can’t perform open-heart surgery AND bake a cake at the exact same time. One key to successful time management lies in tightening up the time between tasks. And that relies on strategic planning. Andrew Mellen, an organizational and productivity expert, identifies time management myths and the top 10 things you can do to increase your success and decrease your stress. 1. Stop Multitasking 2. Know Your Values 3. Use E-mail & Voicemail Strategically 4. Prioritize & Schedule 5. Choose Work-Life Integration over Work-Life Balance 6. Eat The Frog 7. Create Workarounds To Your Feelings 8. Yes Or No Is A Complete Sentence 9. When Is Good Enough Good Enough 10. Listen Before Agreeing You don’t have time NOT to plan. The antidote to anxiety is planning. Focus on what you’ve already identified is important to you and your business and hold true to that. Be flexible enough to take advantage of spontaneous opportunities for growth, fun and collaboration and be strong enough to say no when the opportunity is not a good fit. You can’t create time but you can create a schedule. Remember, the house is not on fire unless the house really is on fire. Urgent will always trump important if you don’t know what important is. About Andrew Mellen: Entrepreneur, Author & Organizational Expert Andrew Mellen is an organizational expert, speaker and trainer, and the #1 best-selling author of Unstuff Your Life! He’s often called, “The Most Organized Man in America.” His corporate clients include American Express, Constant Contact, Genentech, Mr. Sparky, NetApp, Time, Inc., and the US. Depts of Education and Homeland Security. He is the founder of Unstuff U®—the world's first completely virtual personal organization training center. He can be found on the web at www.andrewmellen.com.TRANSCRIPT
Tweet me: @andrewjmellen
YOU’RE ALREADY LATESecrets of Time
Management, Organization & Productivity
Time Management
“Even if you’re on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there.”
— Will Rogers
“Planning without action is futile, action without planning is fatal.”
— Cornelius Fitchner
Office workers spend at least 25% a day looking for hardcopy docs.
80% of papers and information that we keep, we never use.
Staff wastes 3.9 weeks a year looking for misplaced docs.
U.S. Executives waste 6 weeks per year.
3% of all documents are misplaced or lost.
It costs a company on average $20 to file a document, $120 to search for a misfiled document & $250 to recreate a lost document.
US workers are interrupted by communications technology every 10 minutes.
Americans waste one year of their life looking for lost or misplaced items.
Solutions
Costs Of Disorganization
It Isn’t You.
Or You.
Multi-Tasking Decreases Productivity
Nat'l Academy of Sciences: Brain Bottleneck
Brainfacts.org: The Multitasking Mind NPR: The Myth Of Multitasking Wired.com: Multitasking PBS.org: Multitasking=Bad Forbes.com: Worse than Marijuana?
Interfaces.com: Multitasking Myths
Researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry at the University of London studied 1,100 workers at a British company and found that multitasking with electronic media caused a greater decrease in IQ than smoking pot or losing a night’s sleep.
1. The harder you work, the more productive you are.
2. The more you do, the more productive you are.
3. The longer you work, the more productive you are.
4. If you are efficient, you are effective.
5. The best way to get the job done is to do it yourself.
6. There is only one way to get the job done right.
7. The easy way is the best way.
8. Work is not fun but working hard is a virtue.
9. The more you manage your time, the less freedom you have.
10. Last minute pressure gets the job done better.
Solutions
Top 10 Time
Management Myths
Top 8 Time Thieves
1. Interruptions: telephone, e-mail,
colleagues
2. Meetings, particularly without agendas
3. Lack of priorities, goals, and planning
4. Drop-in visitors
5. Crisis management
6. Attempting too much & over-committing
7. Inability to say “no”
8. Lack of self-discipline or consistency
This...
Often Looks Like This
Instead Of This
What Matters To You? Work & Productivity
Friends & Family
Self-care
Self-development
Giving Back
Spiritual Practices
Creative Expression
Integration Strategies
Respond—Don’t React
Return To Values
Reasonable Expectations
Say No Appropriately
Curate—Choose Fewer Things, Go Deeper
Clutter = Deferred Decisions
Procrastination
Urgent vs. Important
What’s At Your Core?
http://andrewmellen.com/library/
A Timer & A Stopwatch Are Your Best Friends
Add It Up
Winners Do What They Have To Do.
The Organizational Triangle®
One Home For Everything
Like With Like
Something In, Something Out
And An End.
Every Task Has A Beginning…
Stop MultitaskingDo one thing at a time and focus.
Know Your Core ValuesComplete core value exercises and use your values to guide your decisions.
Use Email & Voicemail Strategically And EffectivelyComplete and transparent communication means less back and forth filling in missing pieces.
Prioritize, Assign Time Value & Schedule• A/B/C, 1/2/3, Green/Yellow/Red • Assign a specific time value to each task• Make a discrete appointment on your calendar• Schedule your day either the night before or first thing in the morning
Choose Work-Life IntegrationGet off the see-saw and think about integrating activities of value into your day.
10 Strategies To Save Time
Eat The FrogDo the thing you dread the most first thing – the rest of the day can only get easier. www.eatthefrog.com
Create Workarounds To Your FeelingsWaiting to feel “in the mood” or motivated to do something? Think Olympic athletes.
Yes or No Is a Complete SentenceStop wasting time by explaining what doesn’t need an explanation.
When Is Good Enough Good Enough?Don’t let perfectionism derail earnest effort. What can be delegated and successfully completed by someone else?
Listen Before AgreeingDon’t let enthusiasm or desperation fool you into agreement before asking adequate clarifiying questions.
10 Strategies To Save Time
E-mail Emergency? No Such Thing.
Top 5 Ways To Use E-mail Smarter
1. Check e-mail only when you have the time to review it and reply to it.
2. Don't read and answer your e-mail constantly throughout the day.
3. Don't answer e-mail at your most productive time of day.
4. Automate filing e-mails by setting up your app’s rules or filters.
5. If message is less than 15 words, make it the subject line. EOM.
http://andrewmellen.com/library/
SMART Goals
Specific
Measurable
Actionable/Agreed
Upon/Attainable
Realistic/Reasonable
Timed
“Not–so–smart” goal:
Complete third quarter report.
SMART goal:Begin gathering resources to prepare third quarter report. Friday, 2 Hrs.
Make appts. for Saturday to continue working. Friday, 10 Mins.
Review notes, begin 1st draft of report. Saturday, 2 Hrs.
Share draft with colleague, then review & get notes. Saturday, 30-45 Mins.
Revise report. Saturday, 1-2 Hrs.
Review report, add graphics & complete report. Saturday, 1-2 Hrs.
Submit report electronically. Saturday, 10 Mins.
SMART vs. Not-So-Smart
“Not–so–smart” goal:
I want to organize my photos!
SMART goal:Gather all photos and bring to one location. Friday, 1.5 Hrs.
Begin sorting Like With Like according to subject or event. Saturday, 2 Hrs.
Continue sorting Like With Like. Sunday, 1.5 Hrs.
Label photos according to subject or event. Monday, 2.5 Hrs.
Curate “greatest hits” for digital frame & scan images. Tuesday, 2 Hrs.
Purchase containers that match quantities of photos. Wednesday, 1.5 Hrs.
Begin containerizing photos according to subject or event. Thursday, 2 Hrs.
Load digital images onto digital frame. Friday, 1 Hr.
SMART vs. Not-So-Smart
No Meeting.
No Agenda?
1. Place items that must be communicated first—before discussion items.
2. Place anything controversial after an easy decision.
3. Apply time limits for each item.
4. Limit meetings to no more than 90 minutes.
5. Distribute handouts & agenda at least 24 hours prior.
6. Do not allow unscheduled items on the agenda.
7. Assign follow up items as the meeting progresses.
8. Review all assignments before meeting adjourns.
9. Send a reminder of follow up items due at least 72 hours before next
meeting.
10. Always end early or on time.
11. Debrief yourself after the meeting creating & scheduling action items.
11 Tips for Effective Agendas
Do not attend any meeting that doesn’t have a written agenda.
Workload Interruption Responses
Here is what I have on my plate right now. Please help me prioritize this new task.
Is there something you can take off my plate so this will not disrupt other deadlines?
May I delegate parts of this job? Which parts?
What is the final ship/delivery date?
I have to complete project x and project y before I can begin working on this.
Am I the best person to complete this task?
When I have finished this, I’d like to talk with you about ways we could avoid having this happening again at the last minute.
andrewmellen.com