The Productivity PRO!® news"E"letter

“The Productivity PRO!”^® news"E"letter

Number 36, May 2002

By Laura M. Stack, MBA, CSP (Certified Speaking Professional)

“The Productivity PRO!”® news"E"letter is a monthly electronic newsletter distributed to our clients, human resource personnel, and colleagues. Laura Stack helps people leave the office earlier, with less stress, and more to show for it!

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MESSAGE:

Many of you have asked where you can attend a "public" seminar to see me live. The vast majority of my speaking (95%) is for corporate clients, which means a private, on-site engagement. I rarely speak at venues which are open to the public.

So, perhaps we could put our heads together and figure out a way to rent a hotel room and offer a public seminar to subscribers of this newsletter. If I get 30 people willing to invest $100 each for a full-day Mastering Personal Productivity seminar in Denver, that would cover my Colorado full-day fee. I would cover the expenses myself. Please email me at Laura@LauraStack.com if you're interested and would like me to "count you in!" We'll see what we can do!

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IN THIS ISSUE:

· Article: "Honey, Where Did You Put the Plane Tickets?"

· “The Productivity PRO®” answers your questions!

· Time Tips and Traps

· Words of Wisdom

· Featured Program: “eCommunication: Virtual Communication in the Digital Age”

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ARTICLE: "Honey, Where Did You Put the Plane Tickets?"

Excerpted from Laura's book draft "The Productivity Quotient" (tm)

ORDER quiz item #3

3. _____ I know where to put items that require a future action or are pending

Have you ever filed a piece of paper so well that you hid it from yourself? “I just wanted to put it somewhere safe,” you explain. Many people are unsure about where to keep papers that require a future action. If you pick up a piece of paper and say to yourself, “I need to act on this, but it’s not important right now. I’ll do it in two weeks.” You don’t want to file it, do you? What would happen then? You’d forget to do it! Out of sight, out of mind.

Where do you put a meeting agenda for a meeting two weeks away? Where do you put an invoice so you remember to pay it in three weeks? Where do you put those plane tickets so you don’t lose them? Where do you put the birthday card (that you managed to buy on time) so you remember to send it? If you’re like most people, you put it on your desk! Where you can remember it. Where the piles can grow as if you poured fertilizer on them. So what do you do instead?

Bad habits

First I’ll tell you where not to put an action item. You don’t want to file it in your permanent files, because you’d forget to take action. You don’t want to put it in a stackable tray because “out of sight” becomes “out of mind.” You don’t want to carry it around in your organizer for two months because you become weighed down by paper. You don’t want to tack it on your bulletin board because soon you’ll become blind to it and forget it’s there. You don’t want to put it in your in-box because it gets buried by incoming paper. You don’t want to leave it on your desk for two weeks in plain sight because piles seem to grow exponentially and you must search it daily to determine what’s on your plate.

You need a system that will remind you which papers require your action today and allow you to forget the rest until their time. What’s the answer? This indispensable system is called a tickler file (also called a calendar file, a bring-up file, a suspense file, or a pop-up file).

A tickler file reminds us about items needing our attention each day. Think of it as a calendar for paper. Compare it to a well-managed, well-sorted in basket. It contains papers that are pending, need your attention, or require you to act in some way—papers you can’t toss, delegate, file, or work on right now. Your tickler file stores what would have been piles sitting on the desk top, the credenza, or any other surface.

Here is the procedure for creating one:

1. Obtain 43 hanging (Pendaflex) folders. Label 31 folders 1 through 31 for the days of the month and 12 for January through December. Hang them in an accessible file drawer, a file box or container, or use an expandable file instead. The only requirement is that it is close to your work area. Put the numbered folders behind the current month, similar to a calendar. The current month is the first folder, and the current day is the second folder. The rest hang in order. For example, on March 15, your file would look like this, front to back:

March

16...

April

May...

February

2. File any papers that are pending or require your action (assuming the above arrangement):

· A conference registration ticket for June 3 would be filed in the June folder (months act like holding files for anything further than 31 days out)

· Plane tickets for July 4 would be filed in July

· A meeting agenda for March 20 would be placed in the 20 folder

· A copy of a written delegation item due March 28 could be filed in the 24 folder to remind you to follow up with the delegate

· A birthday card for April 11 would be filed in April 7 or 8; a birthday card for April 18 would be filed in the April file

· An invoice due on March 31 could be filed in March 25 or 26 (or, if you pay all your bills at the same time, the bills would all go together on the date you want to pay them)

· A return merchandise slip could be filed two months out so you remember to compare it against your credit card statement

· Quarterly tax bills are dropped in April, June, September, and January

· A sales lead sheet to call on in three days

· A reminder to follow-up with a person who owes you a piece of information for your project

· Directions to a party or wedding

· Bills you need to pay (twice a month). Pick two days to pay bills, say the 1st and the 15th, and file them in either folder

· A piece of a project you are working on

· A contract to review and sign

· A letter from a friend could be filed a couple weeks out so you remember to write back

· An article you want to read

· A follow-up sales call you need to make

When deciding where to file papers, always ask yourself, “When do I need to see this item again so that I can complete it before it’s due?” Don’t file items on the day they are due unless you can do it that day! Some items have fixed deadlines; some items require you to pick the next action date. If you have an item that qualifies for the calendar file but is too big, put a note in the file that refers to the location of the material. Or it can live somewhere off to the side of your main workspace, in the bookcase, or in a project file.

3. At the end of each day, you must plan for the following day. Before you leave work for the day or before you go to bed, take out the folder for the next day. For example, on March 15, you would remove the folder marked 16. Take out the contents and refile any papers you’re not going to get a chance to do. Move the empty folder behind the next month. Record the tasks on your to-do list. Put the papers in a “priority tray” (not your in-box) on top of your desk. At the end of the day, reevaluate any paper left in the priority tray, and refile in the calendar file. On the last day of each month, review the next month’s folder and sort the contents into the numbered folders.

Putting the tickler to use

Here are a few more pointers on making good use of your file:

· If the action date is further than 31 days out, it’s a good idea to jot the date you want to see it again on the upper right-hand corner of the paper before you file it in the monthly folder. By the time you get to a new month, you could have a folder four inches thick! At the beginning of the new month, the dated folders are now behind that month. You wouldn’t want to have to re-read all the items in there again, just sort them into the proper dates.

· Remember that a calendar file stores paper. Don’t create a piece of paper just to put it in the calendar file. You would write a verbal request with no associated piece of paper on your to-do list. For example, if a colleague visits your office, orally requests some marketing data, then departs, that action item is not a candidate for the calendar file unless paper changed hands. Simply write yourself a reminder note on a daily calendar page or to-do list.

· If you’re going on a trip, review the days you’ll be gone before you leave. Knowing you have covered everything gives you peace of mind and helps you enjoy your travels.

· Customize and tailor the contents to fit your individual needs. Find a system that works for you. For example, you can use two calendar files (one at work and one at home), or you can transport personal papers from home and incorporate everything into your work file, or frequent travelers can use an expandable accordion file that fits in a briefcase.

Clear benefits

The Tickler File allows you to:

· Pace yourself better,

· Eliminate piles from surfaces

· Have the confidence that even if you put something out of sight it will pop up again as long as you review your tickler file each day

· You’ve got all your reminders in one place, And you can even put papers or small items that need to be worked on in the file too so you’ve got what you need to do the activity as well as the reminder about the activity, so it’s not like reading the note on your desk calendar and then having to find the material you want to work on.

I honestly believe a calendar file is the single most important thing you can do to organize your papers. It allows you to pace yourself better, eliminate piles from surfaces, and keep all your reminders in one place. After you adjust to it, you gain confidence that items filed out of sight will pop up again.

The biggest thing you can do to goof up a tickler file is to forget to look in it! Come up with a way to remind yourself to check it each day.

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THE PRODUCTIVITY PRO® ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS!

Q: Melissa L. writes, "I am a young chemical engineering professional working in the manufacturing industry. I am a very organized person, but sometimes use organizing as a mechanism for procrastination. I have packrat tendencies, and think that as long as everything is organized it is okay to keep all the unnecessary items. After graduating from school in 1999 my husband and I moved to Gulfport, Mississippi where I work for DuPont and he is a Civil Engineer in the Air Force. We have experienced many challenges in setting up a new household while starting our careers. We are moving to North Carolina this summer and plan to start a family soon. With the move, work relocation, and buying our first house, we will have a lot of productivity challenges ahead of us. My most critical time management concern is that I often work hard all day and at the end of the day feel like I haven't accomplished very much. I was first introduced to you during the Society of Women Engineers conference in June 2001, and have thoroughly enjoyed receiving your newsletter since then. The time management tip that I have incorporated most into my life is the 6-D system for managing information."

A: "Melissa, the irony is that many people who subscribe to this newsletters are already fairly good time managers. Similarly, those who show up in my seminars are NOT typically the ones who need to be there the most. I can't tell you how many times people come up to me at the end of the program and say, "Boy, my boss sure needs this!"

I can tell that this is also the case for you. You're a hard worker. You get a lot done. You are fairly efficient. You know how to make lists and check things off. So if you get a lot accomplished each day, why do you feel like you’re spinning your wheels? It may be a issue of incorrect focus and prioritization during the day, or it could be that you're not being realistic about what you can get accomplished and aren't giving yourself the credit due.

You said you, "work hard all day and at the end of the day feel like I haven't accomplished very much." What is your main source of frustration? Are you bothered by all the things left undone, or that you did the wrong things? Are the things you SHOULD have done complete, or did you do the things you SHOULDN'T have done? Or do you simply have too much to do? For very few people, it is an issue of understaffing. For the vast majority, however, the issue is the order in which you choose to complete tasks.

We spend our time in certain ways because we choose to. There is nothing we do without choosing, although our choices are not always deliberate or visible. We have the choice to work or not to work, to write that report or not, to take the phone call or to wait. Each choice is based upon a reward received or anticipated. Rewards are what you expect to gain from undertaking or postponing a certain task. If you didn’t receive rewards, you would not continue that behavior. So you are gaining some sort of reward by not completing certain tasks, which could be as simple as not having to do something unappealing. What rewards do you get for managing time the way you do now? Rewards come from good time management habits.

Let me share one of the very best time management habits you can get into. Ten minutes before you leave work every night, as the last thing you do, quickly review what you accomplished that day. Ask yourself:

· Which part of each day was most productive? Which was least productive? Why?

· Where did you procrastinate?

· What did you do that wasn't necessary or appropriate?

· On what occasions did you allow enjoyment to override a priority task?

· Which activities did not contribute to achieving one of your main objectives?

· On average, what percentage of work time were you productive? (Be honest)

· What is your reaction to this figure?

Then plan for tomorrow. The most important question you can ask yourself is, "Okay, if I only got THREE things accomplished tomorrow, what would those three things have to be for me to feel GOOD about leaving the office tomorrow?"

This planning process is the most important component of the science we call "time management." Some of you say, “I don’t have time to do that kind of planning,” or “Things change too much to plan!” But this is a fact: research shows that for every 1 minute you spend in planning, you will gain 10 in execution. 1 minute = 10 minutes. 10 minutes = 1 hour and 40 minutes! This may seem amazing because you may feel like you are already doing all you can each day! If you could just gain an extra ½-hour a day through effective time management, you would have 22 more days available to you.

Planning will keep you on course in achieving your goals and objectives. Planning is the difference between being REACTIVE and PROACTIVE. When you don’t plan, you end up responding to the day’s events as they occur or as the mood strikes you. If you don’t determine the most important things to accomplish, you will experience frequent changes in your plans. You will experience a decision dilemma—”What do I do next?”

Let's say you have a to-do list with only 10 items on it. When you get a block of time to complete a task, what will you choose first? If you're like most people, you will pick the easy one; the one that you can "check off" rather quickly and easily. Check. Ooooh, that felt good! What should I do next? Check! Let's say by the end of the day, you have 9 out of 10 items checked off. What's the one that's left? It's typically the most important.

We have to learn to detach our sense of productivity from check marks. I would rather you only have six items completed, if one was the most important, instead of 9 completed and leave the most valuable. The key is to identify beforehand the most valuable items and discipline yourself to accomplish them in order of importance, despite what you "feel" like doing. Time management is really about self-management.

Sometimes it's perfectly okay to procrastinate indefinitely on an item that has such a low priority it isn't worthy of your time or attention. You should just remove those items from your to-do list and put them on a master list for a future time, rather than banging your head against the wall every day as you leave your office, saying "What's wrong with me?" You should feel good about leaving those items unfinished that have a very low return on the value of your time invested.

There will always be more things to do than time to do them. Sometimes you must forego something you would like to do in favor of something that has to be done to accomplish your objectives. Don’t fail to plan. If you do, plan to fail."

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TIME TIPS AND TRAPS

· Backup your computer's hard drive weekly! Even if your IT folks are backing up your company's shared drives, your hard drive isn't included. If you save information directly to the c: drive, you will lose everything if (and when) it crashes. Schedule a backup for a specific time of the week, say Friday afternoons, so that you don't forget. As a reminder, schedule them on your calendar. Keep a large supply of CDs or disks handy, so you don't have an excuse for not running it.

· If you write checks or pay bills manually, always order duplicate checks! This will keep you from forgetting to record a check in your register. If you must have single checks, get into the habit of writing the amount in the check register first, then write the check.

· Don't forget that your in-box is not a storage folder! Once you've taken something out of your box, don't put it back in. You must either toss it, route it to another person, complete it, put it in the tickler file for future action, file it in a project file, put reference material in your "to be filed" folder, or put articles in your "Reading" file.

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WORDS OF WISDOM

"It's not always the actual work that is the hardest part of a job and success - it's the decisions, compromises and choices that need to be made." --- Barbara Abrams Mintzer

"When you are faced with a decision, the best thing is to do the right thing, the next best is to do the wrong thing, and the worst thing is to do nothing." --- Roger Enrico

"Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there." --- Will Rogers

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FEATURED PROGRAM: “eCommunication: Virtual Communication in the Digital Age”

Business professionals communicate with people from around the world, most of whom they will never meet. That’s the norm in today’s fast-paced, virtual world. In an environment when time is critical and people need to be productive, whether in the office, at home, in a hotel, or around the world, businesses have become dependant on technology for staying in touch. This course will teach you how to communicate effectively via email, voice mail, and conference calls.

Course Objectives

· Virtual Letters: Managing Email

Reducing Information Overload

Communication Guidelines

Etiquette/Protocol/Courtesies

Managing Your In-Box and Calendar

Productivity Tips

· Virtual Conversations: Managing Voice Mail

· Virtual Meetings: Managing Conference Calls

· Discuss the Advantages/Disadvantages of Each Method

· Selecting the Best Method of Communication

· Communicating with a Virtual Team

· Managing People You Never See

New client offer: Until May 30, schedule this program on-site at your organization and receive a one-time 20% discount off our regular rates!

Psssst, best-kept secret: forward this newsletter to your colleagues whom you think might be interested in having me speak on-site at their organizations or at an association conference, and I will give them the discount. I appreciate your referrals!

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Visit Celebration Presentations on-line at http://www.LauraStack.com.

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