Our goal in life should be how can we personally productive and still leave the office early. So that we can enjoy all the components of LIFE! By doing this we will have less stress and more to show for it. Are you productive – or just busy? Everyone like to look busy. Some workers make a career out of it – they actually accomplish very little in the average day. Zoom around the office guzzling coffee, stomping back and forth to the copier, scatter papers across every inch of their desk. They furiously clack away at their keyboards while they talk on the phone. Busy, busy, busy! We can be very busy and still not accomplish much. DO YOU PLAN YOUR DAY? More than keeping track of your appointments Planning is keeping track of your projects and goals Managing your priorities You ca
More than keeping track of your appointsments Take a few minutes every day to invest in planning Make double sure that each meeting you attend is a good use of your time. Prioritize your to-do-list
What do you care about the most in this world? Your family, kids, vacation, personal time, time for reflection, entertainment, etc. Are you moving toward your goals? Why is it so easy to neglect our goals? Whatever matter the most – so often gets pushed to the back-burner in favor of things that aren’t nearly as important. It is easy for unimportant work to steal family time. To allow office frustrations lose sight of career ambitions.
Evaluate your tasks and challenge yourself to get them done more quickly. Tight deadlines don’t leave much time for the banging your head on the computer routine.
Microsoft templates Paying bills online Use time-saving software.
Could you make a template for the letter you are now rewriting for the umpteenth time? Could your family be more diligent about getting their dirty clothes to the laundry area in an orderly fashion? Checklists No thinking, no reprioritizing. Just start at the top of your list and cross things off until you get to the bottom.
Task at hand has gotten much more complicated than when you first started out.
Master List – think of it as your memory list You won’t have 97 things to do on your daily list. PERSONAL: integrate your personal and professional lives into a single list.
Your stomach suddenly growls and you look at the clock to discover you worked right over your lunch hour and didn’t notice.
Output – you get more done when you are 100% attuned to your task. PERFORM – Quality will be better. Isaac Newton: If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention than to any other talent. Time Invest: If you don’t like doing something in the first place (like paying bills) wouldn’t you rather have it over in an hour instead of stretching it out over three? Less Rework: reduces time it would have taken you to correct the mistakes and omissions that are a byproduct of inattention. Peace of mind
Master your job: the more unfamiliar you are with your work, the harder it is to achieve flow. Driving a car – first a conscious behavior – when mastered, it became subconscious. FOCUS – set your mind properly. Decide that you are going to concentrate. Have a positive attitude. Prepare your materials in advance. Have what you need at your fingertips. Clear your desk: do your piles talk to you? Clutter can be psychologically distracting. Clear everything out of your line of sight except the single thing you’re working on. Set aside some time: estimate how long – schedule an appointment with yourself. Total absorption is very relaxing. It is splitting your attention that’s exhausting. Ensure no interruptions: having privacy will help you achieve a state of flow. Requires at least 15 minutes of ramp-up concentration. When you are disrupted, they can’t go right back in – takes an additional 15 minutes of time to get started again. Close your door, leave your office or retreat to an empty office where you can find one. Go to the library, conference room, etc. Strive to be “in the moment”.
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