If you are following this system (see last post) you have already taken these steps.
1. Stacked all your unhandled communications, large and small, gathered from drawers, trunks of cars, bedroom bureaus, closets, etc., on your desk, or as nearly as possible in the vicinity of your desk.
2. Then you have taken each item one by one and done one of four things with it
DO IT.
DUMP IT.
DELEGATE IT.
DELAY IT.
It possibly has taken you considerable time to plow through all your stacks. Now you are left with a quite small (by comparison) stack of items that you did not dump, could not delegate, and that you could not knock out in about 10 minutes, so you have DELAYed IT.
What remains should be about 1% – 10% of what you began with. These are the more complex matters, but there are a few things that you can do to get on top of even the most resistant of your traffic.
Remember you initially procured a stack of file folders. The next step is to start by sorting each DELAYED item into one of the folders establishing categories of functions as you go. As each new function appears, label the folder according to that various “hat” (or job), such as finance, family, hobbies, personal, computer, production, sales, marketing, future plans, etc. If an item does not fit in one of your already existing folders, make a new one. It is very important that each folder only deals with one area, “one hat.”
As you put the items into the folders, put them into the sequence in which you want to do them. The items on top will be handled first and at the bottom, last as you decide.
You may also find there are things you just want to do for which you don’t have a piece of paper. Don’t skip these, make a note and put them in proper sequence in the appropriate pending folders.
The next step is vital, or all will be wasted. You must set aside some time regularly to work on these pending folders so you eventually catch them all up completely following the priorities you have set.
There is another action that will help you save a bunch of time. Remember, you can only do one thing at a time. The smart thing to do is on any complex tasks, lay out the steps that need to be done, and mark a line after it that you can write “done” on as soon as that step is done. Now you have a small project that you can systematically follow, and you will find that breaking up the overall cycle into a series of steps that can be done one by one is most rewarding. Nothing is more satisfying than taking out one of these project sheets and being able to scrawl “done” on that line. Many people start finding that they can knock out several steps of a project when they proceed this way. The really proficient ones even put dates on the line to challenge themselves to get the steps done on a certain timetable. After awhile, this becomes the most natural way in the world of operating, and believe me, if things are bugged, you will know it right away if you see no progress, so you can take the necessary steps to debug the project. That is another very distinct advantage – not to mention always knowing exactly where things stand if you are asked.
The final piece of the puzzle is to schedule your day so you have designated slots for the various hats that you are wearing. It is even better if you can set up different desks or areas where you work on different hats. This also has the advantage of setting things up for easy turnover to new staff, which you are probably going to be bringing on as your efficiency increases. If you can’t do that, discipline yourself so you only work from one folder at a time when you are at your desk; and as much as possible, stick to the schedule. A number of very bright people have taken to using auto-responders on their email to inform people of when they will next be dealing with this or that cycle, to avoid continual harassment.
If you organize your work this way, you will be amazed at how much more you can get done. If your entire office operates this way, you will find production soaring. And like I said, we are really only scratching the surface of all that can be done to increase productivity. Don’t be surprised if someone suggests you should be promoted.
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