USING YOUR TIME WISELY

 

The Business Modernization and Technology Corporation located here in Indianapolis has gathered a number of resource partners to help them serve their customers. Ray Wilson & Associates is one of the partners. One of the best benefits I get out of the relationship is to meet and learn from the other partners. The last time we were together, John Elliott, of Discovery International, shared his time-saving tips. At the beginning of his presentation, I thought to myself, I have been through this many times. What can I learn? But by the time John was finished, I learned some new things and was reminded of some I had forgotten. I will share my notes from the session and embellish them a bit with some suggestions from UUI church minister, Ed Harris. Hopefully you can pick up a few tips as well.

 

1. Learn to make a daily to do list. Put it in a place your mind will trust. Use a list every day. Prioritize the items. Here are some things to do every day -- this is the preacher part: Get up thirty minutes before you have to. Read something inspirational, uplifting, encouraging. Go for an early morning walk: get outside, greet the day. Eat breakfast in a calm, relaxed way. Leave for work early. Arriving at work, greet everyone with an attitude of positive expectancy.

 

2. Use the Eisenhower method to prioritize your activities, projects, and goals. Don’t forget to schedule personal pleasures.

 

3. Develop a daily plan to accomplish your goals. Make appointments with yourself; block out time to do what you need to do. Learn to say no.

 

4. Schedule your most important tasks during your biological prime time. If you pay attention, you will learn when you are very alert and productive and when you are not. As a part of this suggestion, remember that eating a good diet is critical. Exercise is the spark that burns the food. Exercise at least the equivalent of walking two miles every other day. Sleep 7-8 hours every night. Be alert as the day passes as to when you begin to feel Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired. This is stress building up and tearing you down. HALT! It is time for a change of pace.

 

5. Learn to manage interruptions effectively. Discover why they are happening: incomplete instructions, inadequate follow-up, non-job related? Be prepared for known offenders and follow these suggestions when they arrive: a) Stand up, b) Ask what can I do for you, c) Choose to do it now or reschedule perhaps at a planned break or at lunch.

 

6. Keep telephone calls short. Buy a three-minute egg timer and set it by the phone.

 

7. Use an effective system for tracking important information and communication. The system could include monthly and annual calendars, daily planning pages, telephone and address files, A-Z tabs for filing, pages for tracking conversations and any special forms you use regularly. Palm Pilots, computers, etc., may not be the total solution (as I to my chagrin have found out!)

 

8. Before the end of each day take a few minutes to review the next days activities and plan. During the review, appraise your work. Find the good in everything and every body.

 

9. Create an organizational system that will clean up your desk and keep it clean. Piles are bigger interrupters than people. One suggestion is to have a set of 26 hanging files A- Z where you file the to do items by name. When you file the to dos put a note in your calendar when they must be done and where to find them. All that other stuff goes in the waste basket or somewhere else, not on your desk.

 

10. Learn to focus. Recent brain research corroborates that we are much less efficient when we try to do two or more things at a time. Remember, if an eagle tries to chase two rabbits at the same time, both will survive, but will the eagle? So it goes with the jobs that need to be done and your own emotional survival.

 

I thank both John Elliott and UU minister Ed Harris for helping me re-evaluate how I spend my time and what is important. I hope that their advice helps you also.