Proactive is Productive

No matter how well you plan, an unexpected emergency will occasionally sock you right in the kisser. School closes unexpectedly for a day. My cat runs away. My garage door won't open. My kids wake up with fevers. The car won't start. To cover these contingencies, make sure you have a backup strategy, a Plan B, and perhaps a Plan C and D, in place. At a minimum, make arrangements with a neighbor if you have an emergency daycare pick-up need. Keep a helper's cell phone number with you at all times. My mother-in-law steps in when we have a daycare emergency, and we know how blessed we are to have her availability.

However, there's a difference between a true emergency and a "crisis" that was created because you didn't do something before it was due.

Here are some examples:

• Wrap the present days before the birthday party (not in the car on the way),
• Refill your prescription several pills before you take the last pill (not when you're out, forcing you to wait at the pharmacy 30 minutes before work),
• Find your tax receipts a month before taxes are due (not when you're forced to file an extension),
• Buy greeting cards before your card box is empty (not when you have to go to the store to buy one single birthday card),
• Get your car checked out when you hear a noise before it breaks down (not when you're on the side of the road calling AAA),
• Restock toilet paper before you run out (and are forced to use tissue),
• Stock up on stamps before they're gone (and you have to stand in a one-hour line during lunch to mail a single bill),
• Take your printer in for maintenance before it breaks down (and you're forced to purchase another so you can get a mailing out while that one's in the shop).
• Get your tooth checked if it's hurting before it gets infected (and has to be pulled).

Participants in my time management classes gave me all of these examples. I share them so you can understand you're not the only one! But you can change any patterns and take care of things before they become crises. You can call them contingency plans, prevention, time padding, time shifting, pre-work, or frontloading.

You will be amazed at the level of calm you experience when you do things before they are due or you need them. Over a period of weeks and months, if you spend ten minutes more a day (building to 30 and 60 minutes more every day) doing activities before they're required, soon you'll have shifted your time wisely. Yes, you're still doing the same activities, but you're no longer doing them under deadlines. The biggest bonus, however, will be the amazing sense of tranquility you feel by only dealing with life's true emergencies.

Since the holidays will soon be upon us, here are a few universal time crunches that can be better managed:

Ho-ho-harrumph. The best time of year to think about the holiday season is long before it starts! Will this year be a season of joy or a season of stress? Avoid waking up tired and blurry-eyed from wrapping 50 gifts until 2:00 AM the night before Christmas. Instead, set up a wrapping station in a utility room, corner, basement, or closet. Wrap gifts as you purchase them. Keep rolls of ribbon organized on a paper towel rack hanging on the wall, and put up pegs or hooks to hang tape and scissors. Put wrap on a card-table or stand it up in a tall wastebasket. Purchase a gift-wrap organizer for flat sheets and nametags. Keep your wrapping station set up throughout the year, if possible.

Replenish holiday items right after the holidays. John is a big shopper. Yes, he's a guy and actually LOVES to shop (strange, I know)! One of his favorite traditions is to hit the sales the day after Christmas. He especially loves going to Target where he picks up decorations and wrapping paper at discounted prices. He also hits Ace Hardware or Home Depot to add yet one more lawn statue to his (already large) collection. We also purchase sale holiday gifts for the NEXT year-the gifts that won't go bad-and it just takes some planning.

Prepare your home for the change in seasons. If you've ever wanted to snuggle up with your sweetie in front of a blazing fire during a snowstorm, but lit the logs and had black smoke come billowing out into your living room, you know the importance of winterizing your home (Florida, Nevada, and Arizona residents, ignore this). A month or two before the first snow blows in your area, put the following items on your monthly to-do list and crack at them over several weekends: clean and store your warm-weather tools and equipment; cover your air conditioner; make a list of supplies and purchase items like shovels and salt; check and change your furnace filter; cover the outside of your windows with plastic sheeting; roll and store hoses; service your snow blower; seal drafts in windows; change the batteries in smoke detectors. Then when the snow flies, you'll be ready to relax in front of that fire. Have a glass of wine on me to congratulate yourself.

Make it a productive day! ™

Teleworking Increases Productivity and Morale, Saves Money.
Yahoo News (press release) - USA. AT&T realizes approximately $150 million in annual savings by teleworking; $100 million through direct employee productivity.

Aetna and GlaxoSmithKline Cosponsor Depression Seminars.
Business Wire (press release) - San Francisco, CA, USA. Depression is among the top five health-related issues that have a significant impact on employee productivity.

Q: Hi Laura -
What does one do with a co-worker who rarely puts in a 40-hour week? How do you come to terms with a co-worker who somehow manages to nearly always come in after you and nearly always leaves before you, yet claims to put in a 40-hour workweek? How do you handle somebody who spends several hours out of every day on the telephone with their spouse and relatives, who takes 2 hours plus for lunch and reading the morning paper virtually every day, but who honestly believes they are working hard and putting in the time?

I work with an individual who spends plenty of time telling anyone who will listen how much they are responsible for, going on and on about how they just never really have enough time. These remarks are usually followed soon after by a phone call to a family member or a break to do word puzzles in the newspaper or some other non-work related task. I know this person feels pressured primarily as a direct result of their own failure to stay on task and use time at work to do work. Understanding that does not make it less annoying to have to put up with this sort of negative behavior. I find it VERY difficult to have to listen to this person expound and whine about how busy they are and how much they have to do and how they have no time - when I can see they generally spend no more than 3 hours per day on work related tasks.

I know there is somebody like this in almost every department and office - somebody who believes they are working hard and have a great work ethic - primarily because they have told everyone around them that is how they are for so long they have come to believe it. I also know that it can be quite demoralizing to work with people like this. I see how much time this person is actually spending on work related activities and I know very well it isn't anywhere near what others are being told.

Suggestions?
D

A: Dear D:
Since you are not this co-worker's boss, there is absolutely nothing you can do about someone else's poor work ethic. It is a normal human condition in offices all over the world. Best to focus on your strengths and competency and do your job and stop worrying about hers. You're focusing an inordinate amount of energy and stewing about something that isn't affecting your work. Unless it is directly impacting your performance in having to pick up this person's slack, I'd get over it. You are wasting time on someone who isn't worth it. It's just like getting cut off in traffic: the world will never be rid of bad drivers, and you have to get to a point where someone else's behavior doesn't affect you, or you'll be mad about it hours later while the other person has a perfectly good day. If she comes whining to you, simply tell her you don't have time to talk about her lack of time and suggest she get to work instead. Or tell her you know this really great productivity consultant named Laura Stack, and she should use this cool time log* to track her hours and figure out why she can't seem to manage her time. Hopefully that will make her think twice about being negative toward you, when you refuse to buy into it or let her push your buttons.

Productively yours,

Laura

* Clicking the link will open a new browser window with the downloadable time log file in PDF format.

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Dear Laura,

Thanks to your class, I have had two weeks of actual "restful" nights. I have implemented the priority system (with a few mistakes here and there) and the paper file system. I have my palm pilot and write everything down to calm my mind and feel so much better in general about getting more organized!

I have passed your information to our Training Coordinator, because we have all-staff in-services every quarter. It is my hope that you can come to do a presentation; I was so impressed and thankful that I was able to attend such a relevant and entertaining training.

Many Thanks again Laura!

Kelly D.