SOME TIME SAVERS #2

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help them have more time f In my Time Management seminars, which I have conducted formore than 100,000 people from around the globe, I showpeople how to get more done in less time, with less stress;to help them have more time for the things they want to doin their work and personal lives.If you can recapture a wasted hour here and there andredirect it to a more productive use, you can make greatincreases in your daily productivity and the quality of yourlife.Here are five of the many techniques I share in our TimeManagement seminars, each one of which will help you to getat least one more hour out of your day for additionalproductive time.1. Run an Interruptions Log The average person gets 50interruptions a day.
The average interruption takes fiveminutes. Some five hours each day are spent dealing withinterruptions.
Many are crucial and important and are whatwe are paid to do but many have little or no value. Run anInterruptions Log to identify and eliminate the wastefulinterruptions.
Just use a pad of paper and label it"Interruptions Log" Create six columns: Date, Time, Who,What, Length, Rating. After each interruption is dealt with,log in the date and time it occurred, who brought it to you,a word or two about what it related to, the length of timeit took, and finally the rating of its importance:A=crucial, B=important, C=little value, and D=no value.
Runit for a week or more to get a good measure of what ishappening in your life. Then evaluate the results and takeaction to eliminate some of the C and D interruptions thathave little or no value.2.
Delegate It We all have 168 hours each week and when yousubtract 56 hours for sleep and another 10 hours forpersonal care, that doesn't leave a whole lot of time to getdone what needs to be done. Delegation permits you toleverage your time through others and thereby increase yourown results.
The hardest part of delegation though, issimply letting go. We take great pride in doing thingsourselves.
"If you want a job done well, you better do ityourself". Every night in Daily Planning, look at all thatyou have to do and want to do the next day and with eachitem ask yourself, "Is this the best use of my time?" If itis, do it.
If it isn't, try to arrange a way to delegate itto someone else. There is a lot of difference between "I doit" and "It gets done".3.
Manage Meetings A meeting is when two or more people gettogether to exchange common information. What could besimpler? Yet, it can one of the biggest time wasters we mustendure.
Before a meeting ask, "Is it necessary?" and "Am Inecessary?" If the answers to either are "no", consider nothaving the meeting or excusing yourself from attending. Thenprepare a written agenda for the meeting with times assignedfor each item along with a starting time and ending time.Circulate the written agenda among those who will beattending.
There is no sense in holding a meeting by ambush.Let people know in advance what is to be discussed.4. Handle Paper It's easy to get buried today in theblizzard of paperwork around us.
The average person receivesaround 150 communications each day via email, telephone,hard mail, memos, circulars, faxes, etc. A lot of time iswasted going through the same pile of paper day after dayand correcting mistakes when things slip through the cracks.Try to handle the paper once and be done with it.
If it issomething that can be done in a minute or two, do it and bedone. If it is not the best use of your time, delegate it.If it is going to take some time to complete, schedule aheadin your day calendar on the day you think you might get toit and then put it away.5.
Run a Time Log If you want to manage it, you have tomeasure it. A Time Log is a simple yet powerful tool tocreate a photo album sort of overview of how your time isactually being spent during the day.
Simply make an ongoingrecord of your time as you spend it. Record the activity,the time spent on it, and then the rating using A, B, C, and D as described in #1 above.
Some examples of how your timemight be spent: Made telephone calls, 35 minutes, A;Answered emails, 48 minutes, B; Attended staff meeting, 55minutes, C. Run this for a few days to get a good picture ofhow your time is being spent.
Then analyze the information.Add up all the A, B, C, and D time. Most discover a lot oftheir time is being spent on C and D items that have littleor no value.
Finally, take action steps to reduce the C andD items to give you more time for the really importantthings in your life. Article Tags: Some Time, Being Spent Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com.