The Efficient Office

If you check email first thing in the morning, you will find yourself working on other people’s plans for the day, not yours. Get your own priority task done first before you check incoming mail.

Networking events, luncheons, association dinners are all occasions where you’ll find yourself seated at a pre-set table, often times with multiple pieces of silverware, plates and stemware. Do you find yourself feeling a little anxious because you’re unsure which bread plate is yours? Do you wonder, “The one to the left or the one to the right?”

Here’s a simple exercise that works every time.  Make the “okay” symbol with both of your hands. You’ll notice that your left hand makes the letter B and your right hand forms the letter D. These stand for Bread and Drinks.

The Bread plate is always on your left and your Drinks will always be to the right of your dinner plate. You can now take a deep breath, knowing which plate to use for your bread and which goblets are yours for the sipping.

Parkinson’s Law states that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”  This means that when a person has three hours of available time and has a task that generally requires an hour of effort, the task typically drags out to encompass the entire three hour period.

No doubt you’ve experienced this for yourself at one point.  Perhaps you were writing an article to promote your business and found that it took longer than anticipated because you “accidentally” ended up on Facebook.  Or maybe you were putting together a project plan and thought you could wrap it up quickly, but ended up battling interruption after interruption until it took the entire day.

As a productivity expert, I believe that Parkinson’s Law should actually read “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion in the absence of proper time management and planning.” This is a critical change for business owners because the additional phrase gives you the power to control the length of a task.  Implementing solid time management skills means that your first priority tasks get done completely and in a reasonable amount of time; leaving you room to catch up on the “busy work” that often eats into down time with family and friends.  Here are some ideas to get you started on the path to better time management:

• Keep a “master task list” that lists any and all To Dos.
• Spend 15 minutes at the end of the day selecting the To Dos from the “master list” that you should actually accomplish tomorrow.
• Always create a task list that includes a “time required to complete” estimate with each task.
• Know what task comes next after the current task has been completed.
• Beware of working overtime; it simply gives you an excuse to put tasks off until “later.”

Parkinson’s Law struck me because I’ve come across countless small business owners who talk about how their businesses have “taken over their lives” or tell me how they are “spinning their wheels trying to get everything done all the time.”  Now certainly, being a business owner myself, I know that there is truth in each of these statements: owning a business and running it in a reasonable number of hours per week is a challenge to even the most organized of us.

When is the last time you checked your credit report? It is recommended that you check it once a year to check for identity theft. Since we just passed Tax Day, now is a great time to do so. www.annualcreditreport.com is an authorized website to provide free annual credit reports. Note: none of the additional services offered at www.annualcreditreport.com are necessary to retrieve your free report.

1. When requesting your information online, you will need to identify your state and then click “request report.”

2. Complete all required fields,  select the credit bureau you would like to access and follow each step.

3. I recommend choosing to save the .pdf version that is offered as well as printing it out for later review.

Note: If you want your credit score, you will be given the option to purchase it. Most people do not need their credit score unless they are in the market to make a large purchase requiring a loan or mortgage. When you receive your credit report, review it with an eagle eye, making sure that all information is reported accurately.

Procrastination Tip #3 – What’s the ONE thing I can do today toward my project? Procrastination doesn’t just stop us from meeting deadlines or doing our best work; it also makes us feel bad about ourselves. That negative head trash drags on our mood and creativity. Do one unpleasant task now, so it won’t hold you back later.

2 Powerful Questions

1. Is this getting me what I want more of?

2. Does my schedule reflect my priorities?

Simple questions that, answered honestly, can have potentially powerful answers. Once you start thinking of your time in these terms, you’ll feel a lot less tempted to waste it.

Stop Unsolicited Credit Card Offers

To have your name removed from lists used to send pre-approved credit card offers, you may call the Opt-Out number at 1-888-567-8688.

This is a tricky time of year for small business productivity because spring’s beauty is tugging at all of us.  Birds chirping, baseballs flying and flowers blooming are distractions that we crave and want to enjoy.  Yet, if we’re going to be successful business owners, we have to work, right?

Of course. But what if I told you that you could actually gain an extra hour each day to enjoy all that fun? When I first started my business, I worked a LOT. It didn’t take me long to realize that not having time for fun was NOT okay. Fun is a part of my weekly activities!

I suppose that that sounds like a wild claim to make, but here’s how it works.  Statistics show that on average people spend one hour per day looking for “misplaced information.”  Based on that fact, if business owners figure out what type of information they are regularly misplacing and address that problem, they can  gain time each and every day.

Step One: Evaluate How You Waste Your Time

Savvy business owners begin by evaluating how often they waste their time tracking down these items:

1. Contact information.  Do you have a system that allows you to accurately maintain your contact information?  Do you have a routine  for keeping the data up-to-date?
2. Receipts and expenditures.  How do you file your receipts?  How do you track the money you spend?
3. Office supplies.  Do you always have a pen, pencil or stamp handy?  Is your cell phone always charged and ready to go?
4. Paper files.  Can your paper files be converted into digital files?  Are there easier ways to store and catalog the information?
5. Inventory, marketing collateral, and materials.  Do you have a defined method for organizing and locating merchandise, marketing collateral or materials?
6. The next step.  Do you consistently find yourself pausing before diving into your next money-earning activity?  Do you have trouble identifying what should be done next throughout the day?

Step Two: Develop Efficient Office Routines

Now that you understand how you’re wasting time, make a plan to adjust your work and schedule to deal with these time wasters.  For instance, if you find yourself constantly searching for client phone numbers, invest in a contact management system and make sure that it syncs with all of your electronic devices.  Then, establish a time of day when you sync your contact database.

Or, if you find yourself searching for office supplies throughout the day, make a list of the items that you need every day.  Empty your top desk drawer.  Refill it with these items and only these items.  To support your easy-access approach, make sure to create a reminder to refresh the supplies, such as a reminder on your calendar  

The key to successfully taming the “missing information” time waster is two-fold.  First determine how you will better manage the information.  Second, decide how you will keep up with your new plan going forward.

Understanding where and how you “waste time” in the search for information will allow you to put systems and routines in place to eliminate those time drains.  Spend a few moments answering the questions above and make a note of where you are losing time.  Ask yourself how you can streamline and adjust your systems to make them more efficient. Make more time for fun!

Feel like you’re stuck? Call me for a free Unstuck phone consultation.

Make sure you have added the area code to ALL of the phone numbers in your address book (yes, even your local area code). As of March 31st, area code 984 is added to the existing 919 area. When using a cell phone in the 919 area, you must dial the area code and number on every call.

Procrastination Tip #2 – What is the easiest first step on my biggest project? Getting started is often the hardest part of any project. Find an easy place to begin one. The momentum might just keep you working and focused.