Monday 3 November, 2008
There is a significant relationship between time management
and stress management. If you are a better time manager, you experience
less stress, and if you manage your stress, you are a better time
manager.
Time and stress are siblings. If they get along, everything is rosy. But if they fight, life is pretty miserable.
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Master task list versus daily task list
Accept it - you will not be able to get everything done in one day. This necessitates the use of a master task list and a daily task list. The master task list contains everything you have to accomplish, including long-term project tasks. The daily task lists what you can physically accomplish today.
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Interactions versus production
There are two critical parts to your day: interactions and production. It is important to maintain your focus during each.
A past president of United Airlines realised that his entire day was just one big interruption, so he solved it by staying home the first 90 minutes of each day, doing all of his work and then going to the office and handling the interruptions.
You need closed door time to produce, but you have to balance that with being responsive to co-workers and employees.
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Deadlines distort
From a productivity viewpoint, deadlines are good because they move you into action. However, when faced with a simple deadline of getting out the door on time or getting the figures to your manager by 2:00pm, and you are behind because of the "anything that can go wrong, will go wrong" phenomenon, you get that out-of-control anxiety.
Productivity is freeze-framed. To work around deadlines, always attack the issue early and allow extra time for things to go wrong - because they will!
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The "before" principle
Working in tandem with the allow-extra-time principle, is the "before" principle meaning you complete tasks before they are due. For example, make sure the figures are finished the day or morning before the 2:00 pm deadline.
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Tackle traffic
The commute to work is a tough issue to get around. The stress skills are to re-frame, re-name, re-label, listen to educational CDs or find an alternative to driving.
Alternatives include choosing public transportation so tasks can be completed while your "chauffeur" does the driving, taking advantage of flexible work arrangements so you are driving at non-peak hours or working from your home office one or two days a week.
These alternatives are good organisational solutions if you are frazzled by the time you get to work because of commute problems.
If a daily task list includes researching a topic via the Internet, answering e-mails, and making telephone calls, you don't have to be in your cubicle.
Research shows people working from a home office are typically more productive for three reasons: less interruptions, productive use of time normally spent in traffic, and reduced stress.
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Avalanche email
To avoid the oppressive presence of unanswered e-mails takes expertise of the tool, knowledge of how to write e-mails for quick transfer of information and organisational policies that prohibit the proliferation of needless communications. Have a company meeting and make a decision to stop the ‘Reply to all' and the ‘Carbon Copy all' frenzy.
Another quick tip is to set up standards for e-mail subject lines. Putting the client name or project number in the subject line make it easy to recognise and sort e-mail. Once the subject line has a standard name or number, it is easy to use the rules wizard to route it to the proper folder automatically for storage and easy retrieval.
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Technology tools
You can't live with it and you can't live without it. Technology saves you time in the long run, but in the short term, your time is eaten up with maintenance and your work slows down during the learning curve with new software editions. It is well worth the investment of your time, however, to spend a few minutes every day learning a new feature of the software installed on your computer.
If you work for a company that has IT on staff, use them not just when your computer crashes, but for tips and techniques that will save you, and them, time in the long run.
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Meetings, meetings, eternal meetings
As an organisation, it is important at regular intervals to evaluate the effectiveness of meetings. It may surprise you how many could be eliminated, giving employees precious time to complete work.
Another technique is to estimate the wasted time in each meeting and seek to be more efficient by sending out an agenda, so employees are prepared on the topics being discussed, limiting conversations about subjects not on the agenda, and helping attendees listen intently and respectfully to each other.
If you absolutely do not have to be in a regularly scheduled meeting, send someone else or borrow a friend's notes.
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Laser focus
Focus is a very important time management technique. When you focus, you enable laser thinking, decision making, and a sense of satisfaction when you finish a task. Using the discipline to shut out distractions and focus on your task is an art.
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Pesky interruptions
There is a need to balance your time to focus, concentrate and produce original thinking with the time you need to be available to employees and colleagues.
As to employees interrupting you, give them each a specific time during the day to meet with you when you will give them your undivided attention. Instruct them not to interrupt you otherwise unless there is a terrorist attack!
With colleagues, you can use phrases to get them to the point of their visit and you can use phrases to get them out of your office. Try "How can I help you?" "In summary..." or "Thanks for dropping by. I've got to get this out by Noon. You understand".
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Filing information
If you want to feel really sick, just log the minutes that turn into hours that you spend looking for information every day. It is well worth the effort to decide on a filing system for your computer folders and for your desk drawers.
If you have ever complained that you need a new filing cabinet to keep all of your stuff, remember that about 80% of overcrowding is the result of disorganised space rather than insufficient space and new filing cabinets just provide more space for you to be disorganised in.
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The "P" word: procrastination
Procrastination is a thief. It robs you of achievement and production and the scary thing about it, is you do it unconsciously.
Every day that overwhelming project seems to get pushed to the next day. The difficult conversation is never had, it just continues to gnaw at your stomach and sometimes at your heart, either way, destroying your peace of mind and limiting your growth.
Surprise procrastination. Take the task you have been procrastinating on and break it down into instant start-up tasks that can be done in about 5 minutes.
Give yourself a definite time of day to sit down and work on the task. Once you are in your chair with the task in front of you and you have completed a 5-minute instant start-up task, you are on your way. As you become focused on the task, you will probably be unaware you have spent the last two hours on the project. It's a great feeling.
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Close out the day
It may sound weird, but nothing is more important for your daily productivity tomorrow than closing out today. Check off completed items, make note of where to start on finished projects, decide what will get your attention first when you walk in the office tomorrow morning, and clean off your desk, re-filing folders and returning e-mail and phone messages.
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Balance your life
It usually isn't talked about in CEO circles, but you'll be a better employer if you have a handle on your personal life. Simple things such as being fairly consistent in the time you get home every night can make a big difference to the stress level you feel.
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Print out seven pages of the following blank table
Use the first table to identify stressors as you remember them. Use the second page to record anticipated stressors.
For the next five days, use the next five pages of tables to record your actual stressors and time management goof-ups and actively look for solutions to each stressor or time management challenge.
After five days of this exercise you should have a pretty good idea of how to cope with what bugs you, eats up your time, makes you lose your cool, and sends you over the edge. Only then can you quiet the time and stress management sibling squabbles.
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Time of Day
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Challenges
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Time and Stress Solutions
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6:00 a.m.
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7:00 a.m.
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8:00 a.m.
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9:00 a.m.
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10:00 a.m.
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11:00 a.m.
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12:00 Noon
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1:00 p.m.
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2:00 p.m.
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3:00 p.m.
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4:00 p.m.
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5:00 p.m.
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6:00 p.m.
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7:00 p.m.
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8:00 p.m.
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9:00 p.m.
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Author Credits
Karla Brandau, CSP, is an expert in change, leadership and
team building in the flat world. She offers keynotes and workshops to
move your organisation forward. Sign up for her monthly newsletter,
‘From the Desk of Karla Brandau’ and download free articles by going to www.KarlaBrandau.com.
Contact Karla at 770-923-0883 for a free consultation or to check the
availability of dates to bring Karla to your organisation.
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