Get More Done & Stay Sane: Time Management Techniques To Work Better, Smarter & Faster (A.K.A.:Empower Your Communications)

presents EMPOWER YOUR COMMUNICATIONS productivity tactics & efﬁciency techniques to take back control of your inbox, your phone & your LIFE

what could you do with more time?

how much is your time worth?

what is the value of one hour?

the value of one hour... { base earnings } work hours/year the $$ value = of your hour { ratio } productivity

the value of your hour... • base earnings rate: how much/year? • # workweeks/52: 40, 45, 50, 52? • number of work days in a week: 3? 4? 5? • number of hours in a day: 9 to 5 = 8 • productive time: 1/4? 1/3? 1/2?

Base Earnings Target $200000 Number of work weeks 44 Number of work days/week 4 Work hours/day 6 Productivity 1/3 Value of YOUR hour $568.18

think about that every time...

the MULTI-TASKING myth

“staccato work environment” (Julie Morgenstern) • tasks that take 5 or 10 minutes get done • give feeling of “accomplishment” • tasks that take concentration & focus, get delayed • delayed tasks are usually more important • we spend most time on unimportant tasks Julie’s online videos have great info

In 2007, a group of Microsoft workers took, on average, 15 minutes to return to serious mental tasks, such as writing reports or computer code, after dealing with incoming email. They wandered off to reply to other messages or browse the Web. – New York Times, 3/25/2007

People who regularly juggle several streams of electronic information do not pay attention, control their memories, or switch from one task to another as well as those who prefer to focus on one thing at a time. – Stanford Report, 8/24/2009 Study by Clifford Nass, Eyal Ophir & Anthony Wagner

It takes the human brain two to four times longer to recognize and process information when switching from one task to another. Time lost increases with the complexity of the tasks at hand. – Harvard University & University of Michigan Studies

forced switch + ﬁxed time = best results increased results Stephen J. Payne, Geoffrey B. Duggan, Hansjörg Neth (2007). Discretionary task interleaving: Heuristics for time allocation in cognitive foraging. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 136 (3), 370-388 DOI: 10.1037/0096-3445.136.3.370

time burners email meetings phone procrastination people menial tasks repetitive tasks

productivity toolbox batch outsource ﬁlter automate plan delegate eliminate

what is email?

how many emails do you get a day?

email batching* 50 messages/day = 1 message every 10 minutes 9 am II IIIII III I IIII I I III I II I I III I I II II IIIII II IIIIII III 5 pm * Tim Ferriss, The Four Hour Workweek

email batching productive productive time productive productive time 12:30 time time 9 am II IIIII III I IIII I I III I II I I III I I II II IIIII II IIIIII III 5 pm productive productive productive time time time productive productive time time

email batching 9 am II IIIII III I IIII I I III I II I I III I I II II IIIII II IIIIII III 5 pm productive time productive time batch batch email email

email scheduling • least productive way to start day • start day in “reactive mode” • never regain control • avoid email for at least first hour • what really can’t wait 1 hour? • reserve first hour for most critical • if people really need you... they will find you • bad news travels fast • “single most powerful way to regain control”

write down one thing that would make a huge difference in your career/business/life... (i.e., gym, write book, strategize)

do THAT ﬁrst every day instead

Sincerely, Michelle Villalobos (vee - ya - low - bos) phone/fax: (888) 531-3830 email: michelle@mivistainc.com website: www.MichelleVillalobos.com Note: In an effort to be more efﬁcient, I now “batch” my emails and check twice a day (usually at 11 am and 4 pm). If your matter is urgent (really urgent!) please call me _____. Otherwise, thank you for understanding & helping me in my effort to become more productive!

email organization archive inbox follow up hold best tool: search!

email ﬁlters archive ﬁlters inbox follow up hold later “bacn” best tool: gmail

IMAP (instant message access protocol)

it took me 5 hours (from 2 pm to 7 pm) to ﬁnish this set of 3 slides!!

the auto-responder Thanks for your email. In an effort to free up time and become more efﬁcient & effective, I'm outsourcing my inbox ;) Patti & Corrisa will be monitoring my incoming business emails, booking my speaking engagements, scheduling appointments, & answering most incoming emails for the time being. Should you urgently need to speak with me, text me at xxxx@txt.att.net. I will answer or call you back at my earliest convenience. However, I am "batching" communications and responding once or twice a day at most. Please do not add this email to any subscription lists or mailing lists. I appreciate your helping me to automate, outsource and delegate all non-essential tasks in an effort to "upgrade my life." If you are interested in performing your own experiment, here are a few book recommendations: 1. The 4-Hour Workweek 2. Upgrade Your Life 3. Never Check Email in the Morning Thank you!

effective writing • use bullets • anticipate & offer choices • use “if so” or “if not” construction • if it’s emotional, call or email always • use a meaningful subject line • use shortcuts (EOM, NRN)

subject lines x Important! Read Immediately!! x Hola! x Following-up x The ﬁle you requested. "Conﬁrmed for Tuesday but need to change location to Starbucks” EOM (end of message)

email recap • don’t check in morning • attack most important task in morning • batch • outsource • inform with signature & auto-responder • ﬁlter • “zero inbox” (i.e., 3-folder) system • write better (anticipate)

phone problem signs • you answer any & all calls whenever, wherever • you have notiﬁcations set for email (vibrate counts) • you leave on (and out) during meetings • you have your cell phone on your business cards • you’re in sales ;) your phone is controlling you

eliminate, consolidate, ﬁlter, batch

eliminate • don’t give out your cell phone number (mask) • requests email or text instead of v-mail message • voicemail transcription service • refers to an assistant (or transfer) • turn the ringer off/phone off!

phone to email “Hi, this is Michelle, press # to skip this message. I’m not available, but please leave a detailed message, which will be transcribed and emailed to me. If your matter is urgent, please call or contact Jessica at (888) 531-3830.”

consolidate • have one input point (i.e., single number/v-mail) • several output points (“ﬁnd me follow me”) • retrieve (from anywhere, anytime, any device) • check or batch as needed

one number incoming call

Jane Doe Director, Business Development janedoe@abccorp.com tel 305.555.9000 direct 305.555.7979 toll-free 888.555-8000 mobile 305.555.4869 ABC, Corp. fax 888.555.1678

Jane Doe Director, Business Development janedoe@abccorp.com 305.555.9050 ABC, Corp.

“ﬁnd me, follow me” (“hide me, shield me”)

filter • set automatic forwards (days, times) • conditional forwards (i.e., for CS press 3) • special treatment for specific numbers • outsource/delegate • phone spam filtering! (i.e., virtual ring)

phone ﬁlters spam voicemail (batch) one ﬁlter text number assistant you i.e., Nexogy!

batch • choose a time to check messages & return calls • retrieve (from anywhere, anytime, any device) • when do you like to talk on the phone? i.e., commuting with headset of course ;) • set availability times (like ofﬁce hours) • batch check & batch return as needed • if too tempting, turn off ringer

vampires* hey, got a minute? *Dan Kennedy: The No BS Guide to Productivity

impromptu meetings

batch OFFICE HOURS please bring speciﬁc issues/questions you’d like to address & resolve Monday: 4 to 6 pm Wednesday: 8 to 10 am Friday: noon to 2 pm

eliminate just say no!

eliminate

evaluate

who interrupts you? • log 1 week • every 30 minutes (=10-15 data points/day) • probably ﬁnd it’s the same people • ﬁgure out ways to manage them better

general principles

your work day • set boundaries; shorten workday; get more done • think close to revenue line • break the habit of total self-reliance (“no task too big or too small”) • free up time for the highest level tasks • release perfectionism • handle interruptions (& other nibblers) outsource, automate, delegate, ﬁlter, batch!!

* Steven R. Covey

efﬁcient vs. effective

productivity toolbox batch outsource ﬁlter automate plan delegate eliminate

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Get More Done & Stay Sane: Time Management Techniques To Work Better, Smarter & Faster (A.K.A.:Empower Your Communications)

by Michelle Villalobos on Oct 17, 2009

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Get More Done & Stay Sane: Time Management Techniques To Work Better, Smarter & Faster (A.K.A.:Empower Your Communications) — Presentation Transcript

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