LOGIN | REGISTER NOW | SUBSCRIBE
 
 
News on Monday
more>>
SharePoint Tech Report
more>>


   

 
 
Download Current Issue
ISSUE 7/1/2009 PDF

Need Back Issues?
DOWNLOAD HERE

Receive the print Edition?


 
Is the mystery Borland suitor Serena?
Borland software is considering an offer from another company after a preliminary deal with MicroFocus. Is Serena the new company?
06/30/2009 01:55 PM EST

Windows 7 - An eBayer's dream product?
Windows 7 pre-orders can make people money on eBay.
06/29/2009 03:48 PM EST

Know thine cloud provider
Cloud computing require companies to understand compliance and regulation. Third parties will play a big role in regulated industries.
06/29/2009 02:58 PM EST

 

Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conf.
7/13/2009 to 7/16/2009
New Orleans
Microsoft

OSCON (Open Source Convention)
7/20/2009 to 7/24/2009
San Jose
O'Reilly Media

XBRL Technology Workshop & Summit
7/28/2009 to 7/30/2009
Santa Clara
XBRL US

ACM SIGGRAPH
8/3/2009 to 8/7/2009
New Orleans
ACM SIGGRAPH

OpenSource World (formerly LinuxWorld)
8/12/2009 to 8/13/2009
San Francisco
IDG World Expo


 
print Printable version 
Most Read Latest News Blog Resources
Kapow automates website data retrieval
Kapow Technology's Web Data Server 7.0 can be used to create modules that navigate through...

Oracle's Fusion 11g lays groundwork for ERP platform
Fusion's components are standards-based and integrated, but some abilities are lost if non...

COBOL’s future lies in the clouds
After 50 years of use in businesses, COBOL is still lingering around mainframes. But the s...

Digg!  Digg
Reddit  Reddit
Slashdot  Slashdot
Share on facebook  Facebook
Share on Twitter  Twitter

Jack Bauer Doesn’t Know Time Management


By Edward J. Correia
December 11, 2007 — 
There’s a lot Jack Bauer doesn’t know about time management. If he did, the star character of the Fox TV series 24 might have been able to give himself a little more time to save the planet from last season’s band of nuke-toting terrorists.

Perhaps advice from Michelle LaBrosse, founder of management mentoring firm Cheetah Learning, might have helped. This week her number—and yours—is 12. That’s the number of time-saving tips she offers for helping you add more hours to your day and get time on your side.

“When you use project management techniques to your advantage, you can be singing [that] Rolling Stones classic,” says LaBrosse, who this week shared her favorite time-saving tips that you can apply in the workplace and at home.

1. Avoid the Long, Rambling To-Do List. “One thing that gets many of us in trouble is when we have enormous to-do lists that have no prioritization, and they just continue to grow like a pile of laundry,” LaBrosse says. The danger is becoming overwhelmed and avoiding the list altogether.

2. Prioritize. To avoid this avoidance, you need to set priorities. “At the beginning of every day, look at what you have to do and [ask yourself] ‘What’s red hot and time-specific?’ Do those things first,” LaBrosse advises.

Then, decide what you need to get done by the end of the day to move forward on some of your “Big Hairy Audacious Goals.” Other tasks that should take priority are things that others are waiting for you to do.

3. Eat Your Spinach. It’s perfectly normal to dive into fun and new tasks first, or work on those things you are passionate about. “[They] recharge your batteries and give you energy. But think of all the procrastination time you save when you tackle the tough stuff first.” She compares it to having to eat your spinach before you can have that hot fudge sundae for dessert.

“It’s also important to tune into the time of day when you have the most energy. That’s the best time to do your most difficult tasks,” LaBrosse says. For me, it’s the morning hours, but I’m sometimes quite productive in the late afternoon, particularly when I’m on deadline. Know your times of highest output and maximize them. Save easier tasks such as cleaning out your spam folder for after lunch or when you know you might be groggy.

4. Save Time for Murphy. “When you over-schedule your day, you create stress for yourself by not allowing time for Murphy’s Law—the inevitable and unforeseeable things that go wrong.” LaBrosse recommends leaving at least two hours of your workday unscheduled.

5. Reboot Your Brain. “Sleep deprivation might have been a sport in college, but when you’re working and trying to be effective in all aspects of your life, you need to get enough sleep,” LaBrosse notes. I often think of my brain as my own personal hard drive. When my wife becomes angry when I forget an important date or appointment, I tell her that my hard drive must be full. Without enough sleep, I often find myself forgetting things I was just told or have just read.

“To function at its best and keep all the data in the right places, [the brain] needs time to sleep. When you’re rested, you give your brain the white space it needs to do its best work. Nothing is a bigger time waster than when you’re not in top form, and you have to keep doing the same things over and over again.”

6. Know Where Your Time Is Going. If your boss asked you what you’ve been doing all week, could you answer? “If you don’t know where your time is going, spend a week logging it. Then evaluate the results.” Be sure to log all activities, even those not directly related to the job. After all, this is for your own personal improvement and should not be seen by anyone else. “This simple exercise will often give you insight into what you should not be doing.”

7. Do Similar Tasks in Concert. “When you group like tasks together, you can save an enormous amount of time and really get momentum going,” LaBrosse says. “Look at what you have to accomplish and set up the flow so that it builds logically and saves you having to back track.”

8. Make Technology Work for You. Certain tasks are repetitive or have repetitive aspects such as creating reports or filling out forms. LaBrosse suggests automating or standardize such tasks wherever possible.

She also urges workers to treat e-mail more as a productivity tool than a time waster. “If you find that you spend all day responding to e-mail, but not enough time completing tasks, you need to re-evaluate how you’re spending your time,” she suggests. Perhaps the team is using e-mail for things that would be better served by an in-person meeting. “Build an e-mail culture that works for your team and organization.”

9. Make Meetings Matter. At the same time, organizations should not hold a meeting if the issue can be resolved using e-mail, conference call or some other informal method. “Someone once told me about a CEO in New Hampshire who had conference room tables with no chairs,” LaBrosse says. “The message was clear: Get to the point and make the meeting matter.”

Meetings should be reserved for new or complex projects involving many members, or for times when being face-to-face has an important impact on the outcome. “Everyone’s time is valuable, so no meeting should be called unless there is an agenda with clear objectives,” says LaBrosse. It’s also sometimes helpful to distribute the agenda in advance to allow attendees to prepare contributions and questions.

10. Take a Break. Stop work occasionally to stretch. Get away from your desk at least once a day, if possible, to take a walk or otherwise flex your muscles. “Exercise and stretching are critical to maximizing your time and making sure your brain is working at its peak performance,” says LaBrosse. “We see this time and time again in our training, and that’s why we believe strongly in integrating stretching and breathing into our classes.”

11. Use Passion to Recharge Your Batteries. The way LaBrosse puts it, “Passion creates energy.” I agree. When you’re passionate about something, whether it’s politics, fly-fishing or doing the tango, discussing or doing it helps you recharge your batteries. She recommends leaving space on your calendar for something that you love.

12. Get Professionally Trained. If you found this free advice useful, there’s more where that came from. LaBrosse recommends that you “invest some time in your professional development” and thereby accelerate your career.

Naturally, she’d prefer it if you invested in her company’s services, but says that any way you can “beef up your skill set will help propel you forward.” The first step is to be committed to making every minute count.


Share this link: http://www.sdtimes.com/link/31415
 

Add comment


Name*
Email*  
Country     


  • Comment
  • Preview
Loading