Most of us are taught not to waste time. However it is easy to get into habits that, upon close examination, can be found to be big time wasters. I'd like to cover 3 points that, if not kept in mind, can cause us to become less efficient and to waste more time.
Phone and Email Interruptions:
As small children most of us saw our moms and dads rush to the phone each time it rang. We may have even been taught that it was the correct way to operate - to answer the phone the moment it rang. The simple sound of the old telephone bell can stir many of us to jump as though getting orders from a drill sergeant. This can last well into our adult years and throughout our lives. The same can be said for emails. Many folks are notified instantly when a new email arrives and are compelled to read and even handle those emails as they come in. Since interruptions of a train of thought or activity are a scourge of production, perhaps we can see that it is rather obvious that the interruption that comes from phone calls and a constant stream of emails can do much to inhibit the amount of production we are able to get during a day.
If somebody knocks on your door in your office, it is considered polite for them to look in and ask you if you're busy and to come back another time if you are. The interesting thing about phone calls and emails is that they occur without regard to what we're doing. If we saw this in a colleague we would think it rude at best.
Most experts, and most people who get a lot done, agree that it is best to control phone calls and emails and to handle them at times of our own convenience. While this may not always be possible, an attempt to put some sort of control these factors can be very beneficial. One way to do this is to designate certain times of the day to handle phone calls as well as emails.
There are numerous ways of doing this. Each of us will find a workable method that's unique to our type of life and our work. Many folks find it quite useful to first check their email just after lunch. Perhaps they will heck it again at the end of the day. Though we can check it in the morning, this can easily incline us to diverge from our planned activities for the day. This is why many have discovered and now recommend that just after lunch is the best time to check that in box.
It is, unarguably, important to shut off the alarm notifying that email has arrived. What I personally do is turn off the automatic checking for email and check email manually. This way I am in full control of the incoming communications.
The phone can be a bit different because we might want to be available more often, especially for new clients. However if we are doing any kinds of projects, it is essentially impossible to be available all the time for phones. Many people find it best to have certain hours designated during the day for answering the phone. When calls come in during times outside these designated periods, we simply informed them, with our answering system or secretary, that we will get back to them at a certain specific time of the day. And we, of course, keep that promise. This allows us to control the times of our communication and allow us to have time relatively interruption-free. This is our time for production.
We each will handle this in our own way but a careful inspection of the situation will likely reveal that phone interruptions and email interruptions need to be controlled if we have any real chance of increasing our productivity.
Trying to Be Perfect:
A successful life requires action. Work has to get done. We need to look at action and regard it as what it actually is. It consists of 3 steps; start, change and stop. A cycle of action, in order to be successful and to be under control, needs to contain all 3 of those elements.
Perfectionism is one of the big lies that many of us adopt during our lives. We get the idea, sometimes from childhood, that things need to be perfect before we can end our actions on them and consider them done. The problem with this, because perfectionism is impossible, is that it tends to trap us in actions and we never are able to hit the "stop button". The truth is that doing our best is really the only realistic standard by which we can operate.
If we find ourselves not getting things done because we if we are not are trying to achieve perfection, not turning out products because they are not quite perfect enough, perhaps it is wise to figure out why we are trying to be perfect. Perhaps a simple definition of what perfection is would be of value. You might find it is very difficult to define.
No doubt about it, we should perform a great job at what we do. But we should leave perfection to the less productive in our society.
Multitasking:
It is easy to get into the habit of doing many, many things at one time. There are so many electronic gadgets, programs, apps that exist which can all run simultaneously. Many of us do this on a habitual basis.
There are folks that have Facebook going all the time on their computers. Some have Twitter going. Some are checking their email constantly and trying to read it handle other people's communications on other people's schedules rather than on their own. It's easy, after a day of an immense amount of activity, to look back and see that really nothing of importance really got done.
There really is not anything such as multitasking. We might think that pilots are multitasking when they're flying an airplane, but the truth is all they're doing is flying an airplane. That task may be comprised of many separate actions but let's not be fooled into thinking that they are multitasking. Walking consists of an amazing number of actions. But the truth is we are only walking. It is one thing.
Being productive requires the ability to concentrate on one thing at a time. It is best to do one thing, then the next, and the next, etc. If we do that we will find our own efficiency skyrocketing.
Efficiency is not something we seek for its own sake. Efficiency is simply a label that we use to indicate how much we get out of something. Since time, for the most part, is a fixed commodity, we create time by utilizing it more efficiently. Keeping in mind the above 3 points can take us a long way to becoming more efficient and more productive.
Phone and Email Interruptions:
As small children most of us saw our moms and dads rush to the phone each time it rang. We may have even been taught that it was the correct way to operate - to answer the phone the moment it rang. The simple sound of the old telephone bell can stir many of us to jump as though getting orders from a drill sergeant. This can last well into our adult years and throughout our lives. The same can be said for emails. Many folks are notified instantly when a new email arrives and are compelled to read and even handle those emails as they come in. Since interruptions of a train of thought or activity are a scourge of production, perhaps we can see that it is rather obvious that the interruption that comes from phone calls and a constant stream of emails can do much to inhibit the amount of production we are able to get during a day.
If somebody knocks on your door in your office, it is considered polite for them to look in and ask you if you're busy and to come back another time if you are. The interesting thing about phone calls and emails is that they occur without regard to what we're doing. If we saw this in a colleague we would think it rude at best.
Most experts, and most people who get a lot done, agree that it is best to control phone calls and emails and to handle them at times of our own convenience. While this may not always be possible, an attempt to put some sort of control these factors can be very beneficial. One way to do this is to designate certain times of the day to handle phone calls as well as emails.
There are numerous ways of doing this. Each of us will find a workable method that's unique to our type of life and our work. Many folks find it quite useful to first check their email just after lunch. Perhaps they will heck it again at the end of the day. Though we can check it in the morning, this can easily incline us to diverge from our planned activities for the day. This is why many have discovered and now recommend that just after lunch is the best time to check that in box.
It is, unarguably, important to shut off the alarm notifying that email has arrived. What I personally do is turn off the automatic checking for email and check email manually. This way I am in full control of the incoming communications.
The phone can be a bit different because we might want to be available more often, especially for new clients. However if we are doing any kinds of projects, it is essentially impossible to be available all the time for phones. Many people find it best to have certain hours designated during the day for answering the phone. When calls come in during times outside these designated periods, we simply informed them, with our answering system or secretary, that we will get back to them at a certain specific time of the day. And we, of course, keep that promise. This allows us to control the times of our communication and allow us to have time relatively interruption-free. This is our time for production.
We each will handle this in our own way but a careful inspection of the situation will likely reveal that phone interruptions and email interruptions need to be controlled if we have any real chance of increasing our productivity.
Trying to Be Perfect:
A successful life requires action. Work has to get done. We need to look at action and regard it as what it actually is. It consists of 3 steps; start, change and stop. A cycle of action, in order to be successful and to be under control, needs to contain all 3 of those elements.
Perfectionism is one of the big lies that many of us adopt during our lives. We get the idea, sometimes from childhood, that things need to be perfect before we can end our actions on them and consider them done. The problem with this, because perfectionism is impossible, is that it tends to trap us in actions and we never are able to hit the "stop button". The truth is that doing our best is really the only realistic standard by which we can operate.
If we find ourselves not getting things done because we if we are not are trying to achieve perfection, not turning out products because they are not quite perfect enough, perhaps it is wise to figure out why we are trying to be perfect. Perhaps a simple definition of what perfection is would be of value. You might find it is very difficult to define.
No doubt about it, we should perform a great job at what we do. But we should leave perfection to the less productive in our society.
Multitasking:
It is easy to get into the habit of doing many, many things at one time. There are so many electronic gadgets, programs, apps that exist which can all run simultaneously. Many of us do this on a habitual basis.
There are folks that have Facebook going all the time on their computers. Some have Twitter going. Some are checking their email constantly and trying to read it handle other people's communications on other people's schedules rather than on their own. It's easy, after a day of an immense amount of activity, to look back and see that really nothing of importance really got done.
There really is not anything such as multitasking. We might think that pilots are multitasking when they're flying an airplane, but the truth is all they're doing is flying an airplane. That task may be comprised of many separate actions but let's not be fooled into thinking that they are multitasking. Walking consists of an amazing number of actions. But the truth is we are only walking. It is one thing.
Being productive requires the ability to concentrate on one thing at a time. It is best to do one thing, then the next, and the next, etc. If we do that we will find our own efficiency skyrocketing.
Efficiency is not something we seek for its own sake. Efficiency is simply a label that we use to indicate how much we get out of something. Since time, for the most part, is a fixed commodity, we create time by utilizing it more efficiently. Keeping in mind the above 3 points can take us a long way to becoming more efficient and more productive.
About the Author:
Download, free of charge, our one-of-a-kind daily planning tool called the Time Coach. Also, visit DayPlanner.info for more Time Management and Day Planning Hints and Tools.
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