Ian's Messy Desk

-- By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

Do you sometimes feel a little bit out of control during your workday, wish you had more time to do the really important things or feel like you are doing a lot of wheel-spinning on non-productive items? You are not alone. Eighty-five percent of people in the workplace have similar complaints and part of the remedy is better control of our day through more effective Time Management.

The answer is not to work harder but to work smarter. Successful people do not necessarily put in more hours but, instead, work their time in a more efficient manner to get more done in less time.

Planning is the most important step in effective Time Management. Three easy rules can be followed to help you to significantly improve your productivity each day, which translates into getting more done in less time.

Make a "to-do" list on a clean sheet of paper or in your day planner, such as a Daytimer. List all items you would like to complete today, if time permits.

Prioritize the "to-do" list. Select from the list the most important item to be done. Ask yourself, "If I could only do one item today, which would it be?" Making a "to-do" list is an important first step but prioritizing that list ensures that we focus on the more important items rather than giving in to the temptation of working on the less important items because they may stand out more or because they are easier to do.

Follow this process every day. For example, yesterday's item #9 may become today's item #1. If you are working off yesterday's "to-do" list, that important item may not receive attention. Daily planning will sharpen daily focus as priorities shift with each day.

These three rules will help you to significantly improve your performance each and every day and will help to reduce that free-falling feeling. You will find you are getting more done in less time and you will feel more productive and less stressed each day. [read the complete article]

A big part of being organized is being able to define the problem at hand. Just jumping right into a solution, rarely works. There may be a dozen different solutions, but only one of those solutions will be the very best one for you.

To find the very best solution, the problem you have must first be clear in your mind, and in the mind of anyone trying to help you.

A problem that is clearly defined, is 50% solved.

Ask yourself questions. For example, let's say your office is cluttered. You might ask yourself . . .

1. How did my office get so cluttered?

2. Is anyone else, besides me, contributing to the clutter?

3. What are my systems for completing projects or going through the mail?

4. How much time do I currently invest in keeping the clutter out of my office?

Once you come up with some answers to your questions, the solution should begin appearing. Keep this in mind when it comes to your organizing projects, and any other projects that you may have. If you do, you're well on your way to being organized

• E-mail
  • Use the two-minute rule to process your e-mail. If it takes less than two minutes to answer a message, do it then file or delete the message.
  • Use folders to organize messages.
  • IMMEDIATELY delete any messages you do not need to keep.
  • Use follow-up flags or dated calendar alarms to bring forward e-mail when it needs attention.
• Voice Mail
  • Review your voice messages, take notes and delete them.
  • Respond to those that fit the two-minute rule.
  • Schedule the others for follow-up, as appropriate.
• Postal mail
  • Open your post once a day.
  • Toss the junk or the unneeded paper into the bin.
  • Use the two-minute rule.
  • File those that are just for information. Delegate what you can. Place in rest in a follow-up system, so that it comes to your attention, when you need it and not before.

Over the past four weeks I've looked at internal time-wasters. Over the next four weeks we'll look at external time-wasters; those that can be a little more difficult to control.

Controlling the visitors that drop in on you while you are working requires both tact and judgment. The office culture where you work can have considerable influence on this practice. If yours is an organization that encourages less-formal communication, you may find people dropping by to discuss anything from last night's big game to next week's big presentation. There are a number of ways you can control drop-in traffic.

1. Be the visitor. If you have to speak with someone, go to their office. That way, you can control the length of the visit. When your done, excuse yourself and leave.
2. Turn away from the door. If your work space is arranged so that you sit with your back to the door, it can be more apparent to visitors that you are working and they might be less likely to disturb you.
3. Close the door. If you have a door. The Les Nessman solution isn't always workable in a cube farm.
4. Stand up for visitors. If a visitor comes into your office, stand up to greet them and don't invite them to sit down. This will often shorten the length of their visit.
5. Tell them politely. If you're busy at the moment, ask them to come back. Set a specific appointment time if necessary.

The most extreme solution I've ever encountered was someone who sawed an inch of the front legs of the chairs in his office. Trying to keep from sliding off required just enough effort to discourage people from staying long. However, with a little courtesy and the above steps, you shouldn't have to resort to such drastic measures.

I remember a supervisor at one of my first jobs picking up on a number of silly mistakes I had made and saying, "I don't think it's that you're careless, I think you couldn't care less." She was right. There were a dozen things grabbing my attention and the job wasn't one of them. It's easy for productivity or the quality of work to suffer if the job is not grabbing your interest. However, there are some things you can do if you find a care-less attitude preventing you from doing your job.

1. Look for creative ways to make your current tasks more interesting. For example, you might be able to take certain tasks outside the office —say, to a coffee shop— and complete them, without the usual office distractions.
2. See if it is possible to trade or share tasks with a coworker One person's tedium is another's challenge. You might hate number-crunching in a spreadsheet, while a co-worker hates writing documents. Trading tasks could address the attitude problems for two or more employees.
3. Ask for more challenging responsibilities. Job boredom often comes from not having enough to do. Adding responsibilities can make an old job seem fresh and new.
4. Schedule your work to best manage routine or tedious tasks. Most jobs have some parts that are less desirable than others. Making use of scheduling to optimize the completion of such parts. You can group low-energy tasks together and schedule them for a time when your work energy is low. You might alternate tedious tasks with challenging tasks giving some balance to the day.
5. Look for a new job. In the end, if you can't make the changes necessary to stimulate you current situation, perhaps it's time for a job change; either an internal move, a position in a new organization or a career re-direction.

Don't stand by and let boredom hold you back. Grab a hold of opportunities to make your work more interesting.

New Mindjet MindManager Pro 6 Helps Business Users Create Visual “Blueprints for Action”

I've been playing around with a beta version of this for a few weeks now and it's a great upgrade to a great product.

Larkspur, Calif., Sept. 13, 2005 - Mindjet Corporation, the leading provider of software for visualizing and managing information, today announced availability of Mindjet® MindManager® Pro 6, the newest version of its flagship application for business professionals and teams. Available September 20, 2005, MindManager Pro 6 is a tool for graphically representing the core communications of business: from capturing meeting notes to creating sales campaigns and drafting business plans in an “at-a-glance” view. Now with enhanced integration with Microsoft® Office, each resulting Mindjet MindManager Pro 6 “map” can contain additional information via hyperlinks to documents, spreadsheets and presentations. Maps can also be connected to corporate applications and databases, and to Web services.

New Mindjet MindManager Pro 6 features include:

* New Microsoft Excel integration: Embed spreadsheet information into maps

* New Microsoft Visio export: Quickly create flow charts, map out processes

* Improved Microsoft PowerPoint integration: Quickly create and preview slides

* New editable outline view: Switch from map mode to standard linear mode

* New “Add Attachments”: Add multiple documents, URLs to each map topic

* New Topic Alerts: Receive alarms for appointments created in your maps

* New Organizational Chart view: Create dynamic, data-rich org charts

* New Ink-enabled Notes: Adds new power to mapping on a Tablet PC

* Improved Map Formatting commands: Make maps look better than ever-fast!

If you've not given much thought to mind mapping, you can find a post on the effectiveness of mind maps at Between Seeing.

We all face the fact that there are times when we demands on our time that exceeds our ability to handle them. Learning to say "No" is a critical --yet difficult-- skill that needs to be mastered. Taking on more than you can manage only leads to frustration as nothing gets done very well. Here are a list of web articles on learning to say no:

• Oprah.com >>http://www.oprah.com/spiritself/lybl/control/ss_lybl_control_08.jhtml
• The New Nation >>http://nation.ittefaq.com/artman/publish/article_21344.shtml
• Web4Health >>http://web4health.info/en/answers/child-say-no.htm
• Detroit News >>http://www.detnews.com/2005/money/0507/23/C02-250668.htm
• SmartBiz >>http://www.smartbiz.com/article/articleview/615/1/3/
• Life in Motion >>http://www.lifeinmotioncoaches.com/articles_files/page0005.htm

• How to send e-mails from any address using Gmail's SMTP server
• How to Make Your Speaking Easier and More Effective
• Meeting Agenda Template
• D*I*Y Planner | Paper, productivity & passion

• Using Thunderbird to Get Things Done
• Idea Generation Methods
• Outlook and GTD - Filing and Archiving Tips
• Pocket Mod - The free disposable organizer
• The Ultimate USB Key

A second internal time waster is procrastination. We all put things off. Generally, we put off tasks that are boring, difficult, unpleasant, etc. When faced with something we don't want to do, we can find a dozen jobs of no consequence to fill our time. When you're tempted to procrastinate, follow these steps:

1. Set a deadline —a task without a deadline can be put off indefinitely. Set a date and stick to it.
2. Set up a reward system —make it commensurate with the task. An afternoon cleaning out the garage is worth dinner out, while a 14 month software roll-out might warrant a tropical vacation.
3. Arrange for a follow-up —assign someone to be a "nag-buddy". Give them permission to check in periodically to make sure you're staying on track.
4. Do it first —tackle difficult jobs early in the day, when you have the most energy.
5. Break the task into small pieces —if the whole seems too big to tackle, break it into manageable sub-tasks.
6. Do it now —don't put if off any longer. Sometimes you just have to jump in and get it done.

Procrastination Quotations

• Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task. ~William James
• Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday. ~Don Marquis
• There are a million ways to lose a work day, but not even a single way to get one back. ~Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister
• You may delay, but time will not. ~Benjamin Franklin
• Someday is not a day of the week. ~Author Unknown
• Don’t fool yourself that important things can be put off till tomorrow; they can be put off forever, or not at all. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic’s Notebook, 1960
• Procrastination is opportunity’s assassin. ~Victor Kiam
• The best way to get something done is to begin. ~Author Unknown
• Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week. ~Spanish Proverb
• Putting off an easy thing makes it hard. Putting off a hard thing makes it impossible. ~George Claude Lorimer
• Tomorrow is the only day in the year that appeals to a lazy man. ~Jimmy Lyons
• A year from now you may wish you had started today. ~Karen Lamb
• Procrastination is the thief of time. ~Edward Young

Last week, in a moment of hubris, I committed to eight posts on common time-wasters. Here is the first

How much stuff do you have sitting on your desk or in your work area? A couple of years ago, Coopers & Lybrand released data from a poll on personal organization. One statistic found that, "The average desk worker has 36 hours worth of work on their desk and wastes up to 3 hours a week just “looking” for STUFF!" My personal experience would tend to support that statistic. (It's not called "Ian's Messy Desk" for nothing.) Being disorganized is a key culprit for wasted time.

Often times, the problem is not cleaning the desk --though that can be a challenge-- but maintaining the clean workspace. Here are some tips to help keep the desk clean:

1. Sort your mail and toss junk as it arrives. Even with an in-basket, you need to process your mail daily to avoid accumulating a stack of paper.
2. Get rid of sticky notes and scraps of paper. Get a single notebook and use it to record notes, phone numbers, web addresses, ideas, to-dos, etc.
3. Create a list or binder of regularly referenced material, such as phone numbers, and keep it accessible in a desk drawer.
4. Schedule filing time at least once per week.
5. Add dated or calendar items to a tickler file system or a diary as soon as they arrive.
6. When you stop working on something, put it away until the next time you need it. Don't leave half-completed projects sitting on your desktop.
7. Keep nothing on your desk unless you absolutely need them. If you aren't joining sheets of paper with tape, move the dispenser off the desk. If you want personal photos in the office, restrict it to one or better yet, hang them on the wall.
8. Keep a reading folder for material you need or want to read at some time. Scheduling a regular reading time to clear that material.
9. Create a "waiting for" or pending file to hold items dependent on outside action.
10. Create a weekly appointment to clean your desk and this includes dusting or polishing. You might be less inclined to mess up a shiny desk. ;)

It doesn't take much "neglect" for your workspace to fill up with things that eat at your productivity. A few simple and regular good habits can free up a bunch of extra time for getting things done.

Tags: GTD

There's a part inside most of us that prefers wasting time to accomplishing what needs to be done. Wasting time is not all bad. It can serve to help one relax or overcome stress. Most frequently though, wasted time is an opportunity lost.

Over the next few weeks I'm going to post on eight common sources —four internal and four external— of wasted time.

Internal:

1. Disorganization
2. Procrastination
3. Inability to say no
4. Attitude

External:

1. Uninvited visitors
2. Incoming communication
3. Unproductive meetings
4. Waiting

Stay tuned.

Tags: GTD, Getting-Things-Done, Time-Management, Organization

Walt Mossberg has posted a positive review of EverNote at his Personal Technology column in the WSJ.

Tags: GTD, Getting-Things-Done, Time-Management, Organization

Have an extra minute or two to spare? Use it to reduce your clutter, rearrange your space or get a quick to-do done. Here are 10 organizing tasks you can do in two minutes.

1. Weed out 5 file folders. While weeding out your entire filing system can seem overwhelming, anyone can weed out just 5 file folders. You won't even break a sweat!
2. Sort your mail pile. Make 4 small piles out of your one big pile: To Toss, To Do, To File, To Give Away. Your mail will be much easier to handle when you have it properly sorted.
3. Delete 20. If your email inbox is overflowing, it's definitely time to start cleaning it out. Go through your email and delete at least 20 that are cluttering up your in box.
4. Pick it up. Go into one room with a large, empty hamper. Pick up every item you have that is currently out of place. As soon as you have another two minutes, use that time to put these things back in their assigned homes.
5. Corral your plastic containers. Corral all of your plastic containers. Have too many? Get rid of a bunch. Match up lids and containers so you don't have to search through the pile when you need one.
6. Make an appointment. Have you been putting off making a haircut appointment for yourself, a veterinary appointment for your pet or a review appointment with your insurance agent? Use two minutes to make that appointment, and check that task off on your to do list.
7. Unload the dishwasher. It only takes a few minutes, and your dishwasher will be ready to clean the next load of dishes.
8. Write out a few checks. If you can never bring yourself to pay all of your pending bills in one sitting, do one or two at a time--while you're waiting for water to boil or when you're on telephone hold.
9. Unify your clothes closet. Put all shirts together in one section, all pants in another, all dressy clothes in another and so on. Have another two minutes? Put in a few hooks to hold belts and purses.
10. File photos. Even if you have boxes of photos yet to be sorted, if you just spend two minutes each night sorting them into a categorized photo box, the job will get accomplished before you know it.

by Maria Gracia - Get Organized Now!
Want to get organized? Get your FREE Get Organized Now! Idea-Pak, filled with tips and ideas to help you organize your home, your office and your life, at the Get Organized Now! Web site
http://www.getorganizednow.com

Tags: Organization, Simplify, GTD, Getting-Things-Done

"Out of sight, out of mind." The reverse of that is true too. When it's in sight, it's in mind and we cannot help but be distracted.

Studies have shown that a person working with a messy desk will spend, on average, one and a half hours per day either being distracted by things in their view or looking for things. That's seven and a half hours per week.

Keep the clutter before you at a minimum and you will have a more accurate focus on what you need to do to increase your daily productivity.