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HOW-TO BOOKS
H OW-TO
BOOKS
How to Get Everything
Done (And Still Have a Life)
Charles Mallory
H OW-TO
BOOKS
H OW-TO
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This preview version of our product is protected by copyright
law. Copying or distribution of this file is prohibited.
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How to Get
Everything Done
(And Still Have a Life)
Charles Mallory
Coastal Training Technologies Corp.
500 Studio Drive
Virginia Beach, VA 23452
How to Get Everything Done
(And Still Have a Life)
Charles Mallory
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Copyright 1997 by Coastal Training Technologies Corp.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the
publisher.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard
to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that neither the author
nor the publisher is engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service.
If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent
professional person should be sought.
Credits:
Coastal Training Technologies Corp.: Arthur Bauer
Todd McDonald
Managing Editor:
Karen Massetti Miller
Designer:
Gayle O’Brien
Cover Design and
Illustration:
Kevin Zdenek
Published by Coastal Training Technologies Corp.
500 Studio Drive
Virginia Beach, VA 23452
Library of Congress Card Number 97-070153
Mallory, Charles
How to Get Everything Done (And Still Have a Life)
Printed in the United States of America
1997
ISBN 1-884926-73-8
Introduction
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Scrambling to catch up on phone calls? Buried under piles of paperwork? Fighting
the clock every day? Wondering how you’ll ever manage to get everything done
and still have a life?
Cheer up! That swamped feeling is seldom a matter of having too much to do in
too little time—it’s a matter of not using the time you do have effectively.
This isn’t a typical time-management book. As an author, I’m aware of the many
time-management books and classes out there, and I know you’ve probably heard
a few ideas by now. So this is the second-step book for organizing your office,
battling procrastination, saving time, and making your workday work better.
“Second step” doesn’t mean you need prerequisites—if this is your first time
organizing, you’ll be in good shape. But if you’ve tried before, this information
will take you further and give you ideas and techniques that apply to today’s
workplace.
This material doesn’t duplicate any other book or seminar. Best of all, it’s more
than a read-once book—it’s a reference book to use over and over, to keep your
skills sharp in organizing your space and time. You can refresh things you’ve
already learned and pick up new techniques you didn’t employ the first time
around.
As you’re aware, organizations across the country have trimmed the fat. They have
no room for wasted time and effort—and if waste occurs, you’re the one who pays
the price! Managing your paper, projects, desktop, information, files, calls, and
workflow can provide tremendous benefits immediately. Now you can join the
many people who are using these new-era techniques to supercharge their
workday.
About the Author
Charles Mallory is the president of Mallory Marketing, a consulting firm that
serves a variety of training and communication organizations. As a marketing
consultant, primary parent, and author of three books, he is noted for his ability
to create a low-stress, high-achievement lifestyle.
● Table of Contents
Chapter One
Setting Priorities
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9
11
16
18
21
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What Complicates Priority Setting?
Two Barriers to Prioritizing
Overcoming the Barriers
Other Prioritization Systems
An Action Plan for Completing Your Major Projects
Priorities: Your First Step to Getting Everything Done
Self-Check: Chapter 1 Review
6
Chapter Two
Using Your Time Effectively
Make the Most of Your Peak Time
Plan as You Go
Establish a Quiet Hour
Change Your Routine
Volunteer Selectively
More Time-Saving Tips
Use Time Wisely
Self-Check: Chapter 2 Review
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24
25
27
30
31
32
32
33
Chapter Three
Stop Procrastinating NOW!
Nine Procrastination Excuses and Their Solutions
Conduct a Time Audit
Help Others Overcome Procrastination
Speed Up Your Workday
Getting Caught Up
Keep At It
Self-Check: Chapter 3 Review
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36
41
41
43
44
44
45
Chapter Four
Organizing Your Files
The Importance of Organization
Organize Your Papers
Set Up a Filing System
Eliminate Useless Computer Files
Name Electronic Files for Easy Identification
Final Filing Tips
Self-Check: Chapter 4 Review
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48
51
53
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55
56
Table of Contents ●
Chapter Five
Dealing with Documents Efficiently
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Streamline Your Writing
Handle Paper Efficiently
Should You Go Paperless?
Self-Check: Chapter 5 Review
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58
60
61
64
Chapter Six
Managing Meetings
Should You Meet at All?
Planning a Meeting
Keeping Meetings on Track When You’re the Facilitator
Keeping Meetings on Track When You Aren’t the Facilitator
Keep Meetings Moving
Handling Meetings of Two
The Meeting Formula
Self-Check: Chapter 6 Review
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71
72
73
74
75
76
Chapter Seven
Delegation and Dealing with People
Why We Avoid Delegating
When Should You Delegate?
To Whom Should You Delegate?
How Should You Delegate?
Organize Your Delegation
Receiving Delegation
Ask for What You Need
Managing Multiple Priorities
Get It in Writing
Manage Your Level of Involvement
Ask for Help
Self-Check: Chapter 7 Review
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86
88
90
91
91
92
93
Chapter Eight
Work as Though You’re Self-Employed 94
Work Habits of the Self-Employed
Nineteen Ways to Work as Though You’re Self-Employed
A Final Tip
Self-Check: Chapter 8 Review
Answers for Chapter Reviews
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99
100
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● Setting Priorities
Chapter
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Setting Priorities
Chapter Objectives
▲
▲
▲
Understand the importance of setting priorities.
Overcome the two greatest barriers to setting priorities.
Prioritize tasks according to their degree of importance
and urgency.
nce upon a time, I created the job of my dreams. I
interfaced with three different departments. Since each
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of them needed only a few hours of work a week, I was able
to work for each. This provided the variety I desired.
Soon, though, I was dealt with the first of many multiplepriority dilemmas. Previously I had worked full-time for Patti.
She’d given some of my old duties to another employee, but
unbeknownst to me, she didn’t like the fact that I had created
this new position. In a way, she felt rejected—now she’d have to
share me with two other bosses.
Kent seemed easygoing and amicable. I didn’t think we’d have
any problem working together, and I looked forward to
experiencing his supervisory style. Unbeknownst to me, Kent
was jealous of Patti and secretly wanted to best her.
My third supervisor was Hamlin, who was younger and new to
supervising. I was older than he, but I suspected we’d teach each
other as we went along.
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The first week, Patti wanted to finish something we’d started in
my previous position. Kent wanted me to tackle a new, huge
project immediately. Hamlin demanded that his department’s
overdue work be completed immediately. He wouldn’t take “no”
Setting Priorities ●
for an answer or even “not yet”—he was a supervisor now!
I met with each supervisor individually and explained that each
one had given me a project to be finished now. Patti said, “I
have top priority—this is the oldest of these projects. You knew
weeks ago this would need to get done.” Kent said, “It’s easy
to see, looking at the nature of the projects, that mine is top
priority in this company.” Hamlin said, “Top priority? Patti
and Kent don’t set ‘top priorities’ for me! My project needs to
get done first.”
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In planning my job, I had considered my workspace and
workload, written a job description, and worked with the
division leader to see the job from all angles. There was only
one thing we missed—priorities!
I had not thought about whose work got priority if I had
multiple deadlines from different bosses. Granted, I should
have thought of that ahead of time. But now the demands were
pressing in on me, and I had to take action.
There wasn’t an easy solution to my dilemma, and none of the
solutions I tried made everybody happy. That particular job
didn’t last but a few weeks before I said, “I quit!”
Have you ever been in a position where you had many things
to do but couldn’t decide which to do first? Like me, you might
have concluded, “I should have . . . ” Let the information in
this chapter end your regret and set you on course so that you
never again have to waste time and energy trying to juggle your
priorities.
What Complicates Priority Setting?
Setting
priorities is
the first step to
improving your
productivity
and getting
the most out
of every day.
Setting priorities is the first step to improving your productivity
and getting the most out of every day. But setting priorities in
today’s complex organizations can be difficult. Issues like
multiple bosses, greater workloads, and higher expectations have
made setting priorities more complicated than ever.
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● Setting Priorities
Take a Moment
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Have any of these elements made prioritizing more difficult
for you than it was earlier in your career? Check those that
apply to you.
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_____
Multiple bosses.
_____
More work for each employee because the
company has been downsized.
_____
Greater access to information from all kinds of
sources.
_____
Greater access to materials and supplies from
all over the world.
_____
Higher productivity expectations.
_____
More teamwork.
_____
More “layers” of upper management,
particularly with merged organizations.
_____
More demands to communicate (processes,
project updates, and results) placed on each
worker.
_____
More ways communication can interrupt you
(phone, e-mail, cubicles rather than offices,
etc.).
_____
A new management style that breeds more
collaborative work, interaction, dropping in on
each other, etc.
Setting Priorities ●
Two Barriers to Prioritizing
Yes, setting priorities in today’s workplace can be complicated,
but it isn’t impossible. The first step is to recognize and
overcome two common barriers:
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◆
False urgency
◆
Lack of motivation
False Urgency: The Number One Barrier
Managers and supervisors create the greatest barrier to priority
setting when they assign tasks with a false sense of urgency. The
supervisor who insists that everything must be done now is like
the boy who cried “wolf.” Soon employees no longer believe the
demand for urgency unless they have personal knowledge that
time is of the essence in a particular situation. In other words,
when everything is presented as urgent, nothing will be seen as
urgent.
False urgency isn’t only a supervisory issue. Too often, our
priorities can be skewed by peers who see their own work as top
priority. Anyone in your organization can bash your priorities by
interrupting you constantly. Working for multiple supervisors
presents perhaps the greatest challenge in allotting your time
and prioritizing your work.
Managers and
supervisors
create the
greatest barrier
to priority
setting when
they assign
tasks with a
false sense of
urgency.
Lack of Motivation: The Number Two Barrier
If you truly don’t want to do something, it will often fall to the
bottom of your priority list. Jake, a self-employed small
publisher, found this to be the case in his own work habits. He
wrote promotional copy for his books, and since many were
similar, he grew tired of having to write copy that made each
product sound distinct and special. There was no other way he
could complete this hated duty—he couldn’t hire out the work,
and he found it too time-consuming to brainstorm with others
for fresh ideas.
If you truly
don’t want to
do something,
it will often fall
to the bottom
of your priority
list.
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● Setting Priorities
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But instead of writing his promotional copy, Jake often used his
time to compute long-term financial projections. First, he’d
estimate how much he would be making next year with a
variety of new products. Then he’d use his financial software to
calculate how he could invest some of his profit in the stock
market to keep his money coming in. Then he’d balance his
checkbook and review the month’s expenditures. After that, he’d
go make a cup of coffee. Advertising deadlines for his copy grew
closer, and he felt angry that he “didn’t have enough time.”
The truth was, Jake was procrastinating. He put off completing
a task he disliked in order to focus on one he enjoyed. His top
priority should have been the advertising copy since it was on a
tight deadline. The financial projections were not on a tight
deadline, yet they got done first. He was his own worst enemy
when it came to meeting his priorities—as is so often the case.
Some people have a reverse reaction. They are so oriented
toward “duty before pleasure” that they force themselves to do
every last hated or dreaded task before they start the projects
they like. By then, they’re so exhausted they might not enjoy
their enjoyment!
Take a Moment
Think of some urgent tasks that you normally try to
complete very quickly. Are the tasks really urgent? What
would happen if you put them off to focus on other tasks?
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Now think of a situation in which you put off doing
something you didn’t want to do even though it should have
been your first priority. What happened?
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
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_______________________________________________
Setting Priorities ●
Overcoming the Barriers
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As the preceding examples illustrate, allowing others to
determine which tasks are urgent, or only doing those tasks that
you enjoy, are not effective ways to prioritize your work. In
order to overcome the barriers of false urgency and lack of
motivation, you need to identify those tasks that need to be
completed quickly, whether you like doing them or not, and
those tasks that can wait. You can do this by categorizing your
tasks according to their urgency and importance.1
◆
Urgent tasks are those tasks that demand our attention,
regardless of how important they are. Ringing phones and
e-mail alerts vie for our attention, but the information they
convey may be trivial.
◆
Important tasks help us meet our major goals. Important
tasks may not demand our attention the way urgent tasks do,
but if we don’t take the time to complete them, we can find
ourselves spinning our wheels, never meeting key deadlines
or completing important projects.
Categorizing your tasks by their urgency and importance
allows you to distinguish those tasks that must be dealt with
promptly—even if you don’t particularly like doing them—from
those tasks that can wait. Categorizing also helps you determine
the amount of time you should invest in each task: an
unimportant task isn’t worth a great deal of time investment.
One effective way to categorize your tasks is to create a matrix
that ranks each task according to its urgency and importance, as
in the example on the next page. In this matrix, tasks are divided
into Urgent, Moderately Urgent, and Not Urgent as well as
Important, Moderately Important, and Unimportant.
Allowing others
to determine
which tasks are
urgent, or only
doing those
tasks that you
enjoy, are not
effective ways
to prioritize
your work.
Categorizing
your tasks by
their urgency
and importance
allows you to
distinguish
those that must
be dealt with
promptly.
When using this matrix to set your own priorities, let a task’s
level of importance be your guide. Some important tasks are not
urgent, but if you keep putting them off, they will move into the
urgent area. Set aside time to work on these important projects
before they become urgent.
1
The concept of categorizing tasks according to urgency and importance was
developed by Stephen R. Covey in his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective
People, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1989.
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● Setting Priorities
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There will always be some urgent tasks, such as answering e-mail
or voice mail, that command your attention, even if they’re not
as important as other things. By working consistently on your
important tasks, you won’t allow these little chores to take over
your life. Take some time now to review the matrix and compare
it to your own work situation. Examples of a task that might fall
into each category are given; some of these tasks might fall into
different categories when applied to your job.
Urgent
Moderately
Urgent
Not Urgent
Important
Having an
impromptu
discussion with an
employee who is
so frustrated he
feels like quitting.
Preparing for
tomorrow’s gettogether with
important
visitors.
Dealing with a
market research
project to better
understand your
long-term
customers.
Moderately
Important
Preparing to meet
with the supervisor
later today to
update her on a
long-term team
project.
Preparing for next
week’s gettogether with
important
visitors.
Planning your
report for next
week’s weekly
meeting.
Unimportant
Reading routine
memos as they are
dropped into your
in-box.
Dealing with a
Listening to
politics-playing
another
employee’s
employee’s gossip.
unfounded
complaints about
another employee.
Joan and the Phone
Case
Study
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Problem:
Joan wondered why she was always behind in her important
tasks. She seemed to spend each day handling small matters and
interruptions and could never get started on her major projects. “I
don’t have enough time to do my job,” she complained.
After using the above matrix to review her priorities, Joan
discovered that she was letting the Urgent column rule her life. It
didn’t matter whether it was a phone call that needed to be
answered, a coworker who stopped by to ask for immediate help
on a project, or minor paperwork that the supervisor said he
Setting Priorities ●
wanted that day—Joan felt a need to get all the small and “urgent”
things done first.
Joan’s problem was twofold:
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◆
She was easily distracted, and small, immediate tasks
captured her attention.
◆
She felt a need to get all her small pieces of work done before
she could tackle something large.
What could Joan do to solve her problem?
Solution:
When Joan realized what she was doing, she began to set aside a
certain number of hours each day to work on major projects, even
when “red alert” e-mails, “urgent” phone messages, and other little
“emergencies” vied for her immediate attention. In the process,
Joan made an amazing discovery—about half the messages she
received in the morning that were left unreturned until later in the
day resolved themselves. People either found information on their
own or called to say that their plans had changed.
Consider how
other people’s
demands are
affecting your
priorities.
Joan’s story might make you feel like never answering a message
again. While this would be an extreme response, you might
consider how other people’s demands are affecting your
priorities. Are there people in your workplace who ask you to
perform simple tasks they should handle themselves? Does
Hannah constantly lose things and ask you to find a copy? Does
Jay call you every time he has a software question instead of
looking in his user’s manual? If so, try Joan’s technique. By
paying attention to your own priorities, you will help these
people learn to solve their problems on their own.
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● Setting Priorities
Take a Moment
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Setting Your Own Priorities
How do your priorities stack up against Joan’s? Are all of
your major projects running on schedule, or do you feel as
though you’re always a day late and a dollar short?
To analyze your priority-setting skills, list the various tasks
you hope to accomplish this week. Include everything from
answering mail to your most important project—use an
additional piece of paper if necessary. You do not need to
list your tasks in order of importance.
1.____________________________________________
2.____________________________________________
3.____________________________________________
4.____________________________________________
5.____________________________________________
6.____________________________________________
7.____________________________________________
8.____________________________________________
9.____________________________________________
10.____________________________________________
Categorize each task by writing that task (or its line number)
in the appropriate quadrant on the next page.
(You may assign more than one task to a quadrant.)
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Setting Priorities ●
Urgent
Moderately
Urgent
Not Urgent
Important
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Moderately
Important
Unimportant
Take a Moment
Review your matrix and ask yourself where you spend your
time in the course of a typical day:
• Do you handle your Urgent/Important tasks first, or do
you procrastinate?
• Do you delegate time for your Moderately
Urgent/Important tasks, or do you allow yourself to
become distracted by your Urgent column?
• Do you save Not Urgent/Unimportant tasks for your
spare time, or do you use them as a means to put off
doing Urgent/Important tasks you don’t like?
• Let your answers guide you as you work to improve
your priority-setting techniques.
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● Setting Priorities
Other Prioritization Systems
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Our Urgent/Important categorization system isn’t the only way
you can prioritize your tasks. Here are some others you can try.
Experiment until you find the one that works most effectively
for you.
Stephen Covey’s Matrix
If your work is
not complex
enough to
break into six
boxes, you
might consider
using a matrix
of four boxes.
If your work is not complex enough to break down into six
boxes, you might consider using this matrix of four boxes
developed by Stephen R. Covey in The Seven Habits of Highly
Effective People:
Urgent and Important
Urgent but Not Important
Not Urgent but Important
Not Urgent and Not Important
Prioritization by Time Frame
Another simple ranking system is to list activities and mark each
by its time frame:
1. Do it today.
2. Do it in the next two days.
3. Do it sometime this week.
4. Do it this month.
5. Do it whenever.
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Setting Priorities ●
When using this prioritizing system, complete all the items
listed under #1 before you move on to the items listed under #2,
and so on. This scheme is best used for priorities that are all on
the same importance level. If you have an important task that is
not urgent, it will always fall at #5, and you might never get to
it! New #1 priorities have a way of continually popping up.
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Effort Priority
You can prioritize tasks by ranking them according to effort.
Effort priority is the amount of impact your efforts in a given
area will have in meeting your overall goals. Classify those duties
that will have the largest impact as A priority and other duties
that will have a smaller impact as B priority. Complete your A
duties before turning to your B duties, as in the following
example:
■ Carolyn has to prepare graphics for her CEO’s important
presentation in Italy and prepare her own presentation for the
company’s weekly meeting. Which should she do first? She
ranks them as
Effort priority is
the amount of
impact your
efforts in a
given area
will have in
meeting your
overall goals.
A: Prepare graphics for CEO’s Italy presentation.
B: Prepare for my presentation at weekly meeting.
If Carolyn slips up at the weekly meeting, it’s not the end of the
world, but if her CEO slips up after she travels to Italy to make
a special presentation, it will have a serious impact on the
organization (and Carolyn’s career).
Type Priority
You can also categorize your job duties according to type. This
prioritizing system has three categories:
A. Can only be done by me.
B. High priority for the boss.
C. High priority for the company, but not the boss.
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● Setting Priorities
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By sorting things this way, you can stagger your workflow by
handling a bit in each category as necessary. If something falls
into all three categories, you know it’s a top priority.
Prioritizing by type can also help you explain your priorities to
others when dealing with multiple deadlines. If you must handle
things that can only be done by you, and a supervisor or
coworker complains that you neglected his or her priorities, you
can use this ranking to show that you completed pressing items
that no one else could handle.
An Action Plan for Completing Your
Major Projects
Categorizing
your job duties
by the type
allows you to
stagger your
workflow by
handling a bit
in each
category as
necessary.
As we’ve seen, the purpose behind prioritizing your tasks is to
allow yourself time to work on important major projects. But
even as you make time for those important tasks, you may still
be uncertain how to approach them. Large projects can seem
daunting at first, which may cause you to put off working on
them no matter how high their priority. Luckily, even the most
formidable-looking task can be managed effectively if you break
it into its component parts.
Once a writer who wanted to complete a novel asked a
published novelist how he did it. “I can’t imagine sitting down
to write a whole novel!” said the young writer. “It seems like
such a huge task.”
“I never sit down to write a novel,” said the published novelist.
“I plan a novel. My first goal is to write chapter one. When
chapter one is done, I decide to write chapter two. And so on.”
Let the novelist’s approach help you conquer your most
daunting workplace project. The exercise below will help you
break that looming task into chunks so you can begin to process
it. As you fill in the blanks, remember that this exercise refers to
a project that is Not Urgent but is Important.
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Setting Priorities ●
Take a Moment
Project Name:___________________________________
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Time Frame for Completion:________________________
Major Portions of the Task:
1._____________________________________________
2._____________________________________________
3._____________________________________________
4._____________________________________________
5._____________________________________________
(Use as many items as you need.)
Other People Who Will Help on the Project:
When Available to Help
Person
_________________________
___________________
_________________________
___________________
_________________________
___________________
_________________________
___________________
Check here, if applicable:
_____No one else. I must do it myself.
What I can do today to begin this project:
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
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● Setting Priorities
Take a Moment
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What else I can do, within seven days, to progress on this
project:
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
What I can do this month, even if busy, to progress on this
project:
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Why is this project not more urgent?
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
If it should be more urgent, what can I do to speed its
completion?
Check one or both, if applicable:
_____Things I should do as self-motivation:
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_____Things I should do to make this more urgent to
others/company:
_______________________________________________
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_______________________________________________
Setting Priorities ●
Try completing this worksheet for one or two of your most
important projects and see if they don’t seem less intimidating
after you’ve reduced them from one gigantic task to several
smaller ones.
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Priorities: Your First Step to Getting
Everything Done
No matter which system you use to determine your priorities, or
how you choose to complete your major tasks, identifying which
tasks need to be done immediately and which can wait is a
crucial first step toward getting everything done. In our next
chapter, you’ll see how setting priorities can help you use your
time effectively.
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● Setting Priorities
Answers for these questions appear on page 101.
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✓
Self-Check: Chapter 1 Review
1. True or False?
All urgent matters must be handled immediately before you
start other projects.
2. True or False?
You should always work on tasks you like doing first so
you’ll be fresh enough to enjoy them.
3. Two barriers to setting priorities are:
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
4. Two factors that you should consider when categorizing
work are:
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
5. True or False?
Prioritizing your tasks is the first step to using your time
effectively.
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● Using Your Time Effectively
Chapter
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Two
Using Your Time Effectively
Chapter Objectives
▲
▲
▲
▲
Plan your time on the basis of your priorities.
Analyze your hourly time use.
Change or eliminate time-wasting routines.
Develop important time-saving techniques.
ach day of your life has only 24 hours—it’s up to you to
make the most of them! If you’re like many people who’ve
E
invested in personal organizers, computerized scheduling
programs, or beeping wristwatches, planning your time may
seem like old hat. In this chapter, we’ll move beyond some of
the most obvious time-planning methods and discuss some new
techniques that will help you use your time more efficiently.
You’re probably already familiar with the idea of making a to-do
list in which you record all the tasks you hope to complete in a
day or a week. Instead of simply listing the day’s activities, use
your to-do list to help you complete your most important
priorities.
Make the Most of Your Peak Time
Most people
have “peak
hours,” when
they are
physically and
intellectually at
their best.
24
Most people have “peak hours,” when they are physically and
intellectually at their best, and “off-peak hours.” Know when
you are most capable of meeting challenging tasks—and when
you don’t work as effectively. Are you a morning person?
Schedule time for your most important projects then. Use your
afternoon for those urgent but less important matters, such as
returning phone calls or e-mail.
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Be aware that a change in your environment at work or at home
can create a change in your peak time as well. Did you always
think of yourself as a morning person, but now you have more
energy in the afternoon? Allow yourself to reestablish your peak
times.
Plan as You Go
In particularly fast-paced organizations, holding to priorities can
be difficult. If you find yourself being constantly interrupted by
“urgent” demands, despite your best intentions, try this hourby-hour scheduling plan.
At the beginning of each hour, spend a few minutes planning
the remainder of the hour, as in the following example:
10:00–10:10
10:10–10:25
10:25–10:45
10 min.
5 min.
Planning.
Return phone calls on Blankly project.
Organize materials for Cornell report.
Allotted for phone interruptions; use as
“saved time” if there are no interruptions.
Rest room/water cooler break.
2
If you find
yourself being
constantly
interrupted by
“urgent”
demands, try
hour-by-hour
scheduling.
Next, make a list of several 10- or 15-minute tasks you can
complete in your saved time, and arrange them in order of
priority. If in your first hour you have 10 minutes of saved time,
and cleaning out your top left-hand junk drawer is on the top of
your saved-time list, you can accomplish an extra chore in that
hour. Or, if you’re feeling particularly stressed, use a saved-time
slot for a quick walk outside or a stretching break at your desk.
What if your plans are confounded by repeated interruptions
you can’t avoid? Continue trying to complete your tasks in the
next hour. If you gain a “saved time” slot, use it to get ahead.
This hour-by-hour planning may seem like more detail than you
care to deal with. But it doesn’t have to go on forever—in fact, it
shouldn’t!
Look on hourly planning as a temporary solution until you get
yourself on track with better prioritization. This method helps
many people identify and eliminate their most frequent
interruptions and time-wasters. As they become more efficient,
they don’t need the hourly planning break.
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You might become so adept at planning your hours and
evaluating your progress that your initial planning minutes
might become virtually invisible. You don’t have to be a memory
wizard to get to this point, nor do you have to plan exactly on
the hour. Instead, think of yourself as developing a sort of
mental clock/planner that you follow rather than letting tasks
and interruptions swirl about you out of control.
Take a Moment
Using the space below, plan an hour of your workday.
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Now list and prioritize several tasks that you could do in
your “saved time.”
1._____________________________________________
2._____________________________________________
3._____________________________________________
4._____________________________________________
5._____________________________________________
Were you able to follow your hourly plan? What
interruptions, if any, kept you from following your plan? Is
there a way you could have dealt with those interruptions
more efficiently?
26
Using Your Time Effectively ●
Establish a Quiet Hour
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Have you ever felt so overwhelmed by interruptions that you
wondered how you’d ever finish your work at all? Sometimes, it
can seem as though you barely get started on a task when the
phone rings, a coworker sticks his head in your door, or it’s time
for a meeting. You might find yourself writing a report between
appointments, reading memos while you eat lunch, or just
taking your work home and finishing it after the kids are in bed.
All of us need uninterrupted time to get into a particular
project, even if the project isn’t one traditionally associated with
solitude. Uninterrupted time allows for more creativity and tells
the mind and body that it’s time to get something done.
2
All of us need
uninterrupted
time to get into
a particular
project.
Give yourself the uninterrupted time you need to do your best
work. If your company allows it, designate certain times of the
day as “quiet hours” when you will close your door and put your
phone on hold.
If at all possible, take steps now to establish your uninterrupted
time and determine how you can use it more productively. Just
follow the steps below, and add any other steps needed to adapt
the list to your specific job.
1. Determine the most important type of work you could
typically perform during a quiet hour.
2. Find the best hour in which to do this work. (Typically, this
will be a peak performance time—for instance, if you’re a
morning person, it would probably be first thing in the
morning.)
3. Take detailed notes on a few sample days regarding what
now occurs during this hour. Are there many interruptions?
Few? Is it a heavy phone time?
4. Identify weekly meetings, conference calls, or other events
that now occur or could occur at this same time. If there are
any, decide if you should:
• Move your hour slot
• See if the meeting/call/other priority can be moved to a
different time
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As you begin to
establish your
quiet hour, try
to predict the
reactions of
your supervisor
and coworkers
and determine
what you
should do to
keep your quiet
hour intact.
5. Decide whether there is someone, such as a secretary, who
can screen calls and prevent drop-in visitors during this time.
If not, can a receptionist be of some help? Or, can you and a
coworker each establish an uninterrupted hour and cover the
phone or drop-in visitors for each other?
6. As you begin to establish your quiet hour, try to predict the
reactions of your supervisor and coworkers and determine
what you should do to keep your quiet hour intact. (You
might have your supervisor’s agreement, but putting it into
practice with him or her is another thing entirely.)
7. Establish an alternate quiet hour in case the first one doesn’t
work. At this point, you don’t have to analyze it in great
detail. Just have an alternate hour in mind as a back-up
choice.
8. After you’ve established your quiet hour for one week,
analyze its usefulness:
• Has it helped you get more done?
• Do your coworkers and supervisor respect your quiet
hour, or does enforcing it create more problems than it
solves?
• Does the quiet hour make the rest of your workday
better or worse?
9. Ask your supervisor and coworkers how your quiet hour
affects them:
• Does it prevent them from getting something finished
when they want to?
• Does it seem unfriendly?
• Have you established it in such a way that everyone
understands its purpose?
• Do other people perceive you as getting more work
done?
If you are the first in your company or department to establish a
quiet hour, you might find that others want to do it too!
Usually, interruptions are just a bad habit and can be easily
overcome with some forethought.
28
Using Your Time Effectively
To get the most from your quiet hour, try these tips to further
reduce interruptions:
Eliminate physical distractions. Do you naturally think of
running to the coffee machine whenever you see your coffee
cup? Put the cup away. Are you tempted to visit with
coworkers when they walk by? Shut your door or turn your
desk away from your cubicle entrance. Does your in-box pile
distract you? Put the in-box in a drawer during your quiet
hour so that you can concentrate on that big project. Some
workers even use earplugs to eliminate distractions.
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◆
◆
Establish an open-door hour. If your coworkers are
concerned that your quiet hour will make you less available
to them, try establishing a second special period, or called
an open-door hour during which anyone can pop in with
anything. TIP: Don’t schedule this hour immediately
following your quiet hour, or you’ll find coworkers cheating
by showing up early, “forgetting” which hour was which, etc.
◆
Identify major interrupters. All or most of your major
interruptions may be caused by one or two people. Some
people simply have a manic work style. They run to
someone else the minute a new idea pops into their head,
they talk before they think, they are extremely peopleoriented, and they need a lot of external contact as part of
their workday.
2
Be sure that
others don’t
take your
request for
privacy as a
criticism of
their behavior.
Be sensitive to these people as you establish your quiet hour.
Be sure that they don’t take your request for privacy as a
criticism of their behavior. If you find someone absolutely
resistant to your plan, ask your supervisor for some subtle
help. For example, your department or company might
conduct a workshop on productivity or work styles. The
speaker could specifically address interruptions and how
better to conduct the workday. If everyone attended, it
wouldn’t look like the “interrupters” were singled out.
◆
Avoid interrupting others. Analyze your own work habits.
Are you an interrupter? Can you reduce or eliminate
interrupting others so they can get more done?
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● Using Your Time Effectively
Don’t give up easily. Establishing a quiet hour might take
time and patience. But if you believe that a quiet hour could
improve your workday, don’t give up without giving the
process a real chance.
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◆
Change Your Routine
Many of us spend time doing the same tasks week in and week
out without questioning their usefulness or effectiveness. Take
some time now to evaluate some of your most common tasks.
Do they still serve a purpose, or are they just taking up valuable
time that you could use for something else? If they are still
useful, are you doing them in the most efficient way? Some areas
you might consider include:
◆
Eliminate reports.
Reports can be helpful, but some are simply unnecessary, as
in the following example:
■ Darren had created a weekly report of all his activities
since he started his job. Because his duties were so
complex, the report was up to four pages long and took
half of Friday afternoon to complete! He finally asked his
boss if the weekly report could be changed to a monthly
one and be more general. Darren was nervous—would it
look like he was trying not to be accountable? His boss
said, “You can stop doing that report altogether. When you
were new, I thought it would be a good idea. But you’re
such an independent worker, and you get such great
results, I can see that I don’t need to know your every
action.”
30
◆
Avoid unnecessary movement.
How you get around your office space each day may be
second nature to you, but take a good look. Do you reach
too far to get to files you frequently access? Can you grab
your phone without much extra movement? Would some
simple adjustments save you wasted motion? Moving a few
things could save you time and energy.
◆
Stop requesting call confirmation.
Are you constantly playing phone tag, trying to confirm
appointments and meetings? Too many of us insist that the
other person call us back to confirm or agree when we really
Using Your Time Effectively ●
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don’t need to. Try leaving your more reliable contacts
messages such as, “If that doesn’t work for you, call me back.
Otherwise, no need to call—I’ll know it’s okay with you.”
Allow others to receive information from you without always
having to get back to you—unless:
2
• The message is so important you can’t take the chance
the other person didn’t receive it.
• The other person is difficult to reach or unreliable, and
you feel a need for confirmation.
Take a Moment
These are just a few of the routine actions that can use up
your time. Use the space below to list some other routines
that you could change or eliminate:
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Volunteer Selectively
Does your professional organization ask you to volunteer an
extensive amount of your time? Evaluate such decisions
carefully. Professional associations provide useful networking
opportunities and allow you to gain recognition in your field,
but be sure that your involvement does not become so timeconsuming that it takes you away from your primary
professional commitment—your job.
Remember that the best way you can establish yourself
professionally is by working efficiently, becoming more valuable
to your organization, and earning increased responsibility. Be
sure that your other commitments don’t stand in the way of
workplace achievement.
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● Using Your Time Effectively
More Time-Saving Tips
Time phone calls.
Watch the clock as you make calls. Follow your normal
pattern, and jot down how many minutes you spend on each
call. You might be shocked to find that you chatted with
someone for 19 minutes when your business could have
been handled in 5. Timing yourself will help you make
phone time shorter.
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◆
◆
Use free time.
Make use of unplanned free time. Carry a small notebook of
non-urgent memos and clipped articles. If you have to stand
in line at the bank or post office, or you’re put on hold, you
can use the wait to look at these items instead of being
irritated.
◆
Organize your notebook.
You can carry it wherever you go and access information
even if you’re on your feet.
Use Time Wisely
Using your time wisely is an important part of improving your
productivity. As you review the ways you plan and use your
time, you will undoubtedly come up with other ways to make
the most of that most valuable resource. In our next chapter,
we’ll look at another important factor in getting everything
done: becoming organized.
32
Using Your Time Effectively
Self-Check: Chapter 2 Review
✓
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Answers for these questions appear on page 101.
1. What type of work should try to do during your “peak”
hours?
______________________________________________
2
2. Taking time to plan at the beginning of each hour can help
you identify
______________________________________________.
3. Designating a quiet hour will allow you to
______________________________________________.
4. Three types of routines you might change or eliminate
include:
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
5. Though volunteering in your professional association can be
useful, you should never allow it to interfere with:
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
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● Stop Procrastinating NOW!
Chapter
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Three
Stop Procrastinating NOW!
Chapter Objectives
▲
▲
Determine whether or not you procrastinate.
▲
Help others overcome procrastination.
Follow guidelines to overcome procrastination.
ob thought he was going crazy! His supervisor had just
handed him a new project, one that could mean a promotion if
he did a good job. But the piles of paper on Bob’s desk thwarted
his good mood. Unopened letters crowded up against files Bob
needed to read for the new project. The red light on his phone
showed that messages were waiting—and Bob hadn’t returned
yesterday’s calls! Bob’s in-box was piled so high that it was only a
matter of time before a new file would send it all tumbling down.
B
Then Scott walked by. “I’m done for the day,” he said, “and I’m
beat. Let’s go out for a beer.”
Great, Bob thought. I’ll forget this mess today and get started on it
first thing tomorrow.
Have you ever caught yourself saying any of these phrases?
34
◆
“I’ll start on it tomorrow.”
◆
“There’s so much to do, I don’t know where to begin.”
◆
“I’m a procrastinator—it’s just the way I am.”
◆
“I always make my deadline, even if it’s at the last minute.”
◆
“If I liked my job more, I wouldn’t put things off.”
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These statements are nothing more than excuses and clear
indicators of bad habits. You can blame an outside cause or your
own personality, but procrastination will only keep you from
using time effectively. Why allow your productivity to suffer
when a few quick steps can help you rid yourself of this
annoying and unproductive habit? Even if you feel that you are
the type of person who needs the last-minute deadline rush to
fuel your work, you can still increase your productivity and
benefit from the advice in this chapter.
Take a Moment
3
Check the item(s) below that indicate why you
procrastinate. These are all common reasons why people
put things off. (The numbers before each answer
correspond to solutions given on the next five pages.)
_____ 1. I don’t know where to start.
_____ 2. I’m already in a rut and have so much to do
that it seems hopeless.
_____ 3. I feel overwhelmed because of the size of
the project.
_____ 4. I feel underwhelmed because the task(s)
is/are so routine and/or dull.
_____ 5. I need to rush at the last minute because
the deadline makes me productive.
_____ 6. I want to get it just right (otherwise known as
perfectionism).
_____ 7. No matter what I do or how hard I work to
meet a deadline, I never receive any praise
or reward.
_____ 8. I’m in the habit of procrastinating.
_____ 9. I’d rather be doing other tasks.
Can you think of other reason(s) not listed above?
Write them below:
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
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● Stop Procrastinating NOW!
Nine Procrastination Excuses and
Their Solutions
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Stop letting self-defeating thoughts control your life. Listed
below are several ideas for tackling procrastination. Put on a
positive attitude and dig in. (The number of each solution
corresponds to the reasons for procrastination listed in the
previous exercise.)
Excuse 1—I don’t know where to start.
Solutions:
◆ Stop telling yourself you don’t know where to start—it’s just
an excuse.
Stop telling
yourself you
don’t know
where to
start—it’s just
an excuse.
◆
Prioritize your work as suggested in chapter 1, then tackle
projects according to priority. Give yourself enough time to
spread out the work to be accomplished. Divide the tasks or
project into manageable pieces, such as answering five calls
per day, or reviewing 20 resumes per week, or doing 20 cold
calls from your list each day, etc.
◆
If you’re so lost that you can’t even prioritize your work, just
start anywhere at random without prioritizing. Block off
interruptions and do as much as you can in a specified time
period—say a couple of hours.
TIP: Don’t try to evaluate how much you got done or feel
negative that you haven’t made much of a dent. You got
started, and that in itself is the success.
Excuse 2—I’m already in a rut and have so much
to do that it seems hopeless.
Solutions:
◆ Overcome your hopeless attitude. Have you repeatedly left
piles of incomplete work on your desk throughout your
career? Probably not, or you wouldn’t have a job now. You
have completed major multiple-deadline projects before, and
you can do it again.
Can you ask someone to help you with the work or delegate
some of it?
36
Stop Procrastinating NOW! ●
If your workload really seems unreasonable, can you go to
your supervisor with a list of all you have to do and
demonstrate that you need some help?
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◆
Excuse 3—I feel overwhelmed because of the
size of the project.
Solutions:
◆ Break the project into manageable pieces with various
deadlines. Give yourself breaks with other types of work as
well as recreational breaks (snacks, a walk, a soft drink, etc.).
◆
Can you delegate portions of the project?
◆
Evaluate whether you’ve done a project this complex before
and recall the things you did right—do those again. Also,
recall the things you did wrong—identify how you can do
better this time.
3
Excuse 4—I feel underwhelmed because the
task(s) is/are so routine and/or dull.
Solutions:
◆ Push emotion aside and just get the work done.
TIP: Do the grunt work when you’re in a good mood and
the dullness of it doesn’t bother you as much. Why walk
through the mud in heavy rain when you can let the mud
dry up and walk over it easily?
◆
Do the repetitive task in a different way, even if it’s as simple
as driving a new way to the post office.
◆
Give yourself your own little reward even if none is
forthcoming from anyone else. You get the reward when you
get through the task.
Push emotion
aside and just
get the work
done.
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● Stop Procrastinating NOW!
Solutions:
◆ Set your own deadline that is slightly before the actual
deadline. Then forget the real deadline and finish the project
under your self-designated deadline. That way, you’ll never
be late, and you can still get the last-minute burst of
inspiration some people need.
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Ask your
supervisor or
a helpful
coworker to
point out when
perfectionism
causes you
to agonize
unnecessarily.
Excuse 5—I need to rush at the last minute
because the deadline makes me productive.
TIP: Don’t think of or refer to your self-created deadline as a
fake deadline, or you’ll end up ignoring it.
◆
Ask yourself whether you’re on some sort of ego trip. Do
other people get upset because you’re always finishing things
at the last minute? Does your lateness cause a ripple effect of
activity among your subordinates? Is there a high sense of
relief from others when you make it? You might be so
addicted to your own influence that you’re stuck in a
pattern. Let yourself and everyone else off the hook. Being
last-minute is not heroic.
◆
Figure out what it is about last-minute work that makes you
so productive. Are you granted an uninterrupted day because
you’re rushing to meet a deadline? Maybe you really want a
long stretch of uninterrupted time—arrange for it before
your project becomes a last-minute rush. Do you work at
home or somewhere different just to get away, so you can
rush to meet the deadline? Maybe you could use the
different locale when you’re not in a rush.
Excuse 6—I want to get it just right (otherwise
known as perfectionism).
Solutions:
◆ Ask your supervisor or a helpful coworker to point out when
perfectionism causes you to agonize unnecessarily. Note
these times and begin to eradicate those habits from your
work routine.
◆
38
Review past projects. Did everything really need to be
perfect, or would good have been enough? Another
important thought: No matter how hard you try, have you
ever been satisfied that you actually reached perfection? You
can’t reach perfection—you can only waste energy trying.
Stop Procrastinating NOW! ●
Work in a team or with another person to get portions of the
project done. Warn your coworkers of your tendency to be a
perfectionist and have them set certain limits, such as
deadlines, on when you’ll “close the door” on the project.
Sometimes we are perfectionists because we feel so
responsible for everything; sharing the work gives us a break
because we share the responsibility.
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◆
TIP: Perfectionists are often masters at doing the “little
tasks” because those are the ones they feel will reach
“perfection.” Once you punch down your perfectionist
qualities, you’ll find yourself spending less time on smaller,
less important tasks, giving yourself time for the larger, more
important ones.
Excuse 8—No matter what I do or how hard I
work to meet a deadline, I never receive any
praise or reward.
Solutions:
◆ Practice doing a great job, regardless of management’s
attitude, company performance, pay, benefits, or rewards.
Just do a good job. You will feel better about your abilities,
learn good work habits, and develop the skills you need to
succeed in your next job.
◆
Create your own rewards, and don’t gnash your teeth that
you have to give them to yourself or pay out of your own
pocket to get them.
◆
Make sure that your supervisor knows your successes—
meeting the deadline, producing a great report, and
receiving praise from others (especially your supervisor’s
peers). Be your own public relations person.
Excuse 9—I’m in the habit of procrastinating.
Solutions:
◆ Make a conscious decision that you will break the
procrastination habit.
◆
Find seminars, books, and tapes that deal in-depth with
conquering procrastination. Don’t put it off; do it now.
◆
Ask yourself why you are making excuses for yourself.
3
Practice doing
a great job,
regardless of
management’s
attitude,
company
performance,
pay, benefits,
or rewards.
Make a
conscious
decision that
you will
break the
procrastination habit.
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● Stop Procrastinating NOW!
Excuse 10—I’d rather be doing other tasks.
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Solutions:
◆ Use the work you enjoy as a motivator: “If I finish this today,
tomorrow I can work on that exciting movie client project.”
Discuss with
your supervisor
how you can
gain more of
the tasks you
like and
delegate more
of the tasks
that are less
interesting to
you.
◆
Don’t fret about the dreaded tasks while you’re doing them.
You will not always do these tasks; you are doing them just
for this moment.
◆
Discuss with your supervisor how you can gain more of the
tasks you like and delegate more of the tasks that are less
interesting to you. Ask! It might be easier than you think to
shift around some of your work. But until you ask, the
answer is always no.
◆
Don’t let dreaded tasks build up to a repugnant mountain of
chores. Handling a few disliked tasks at a time is better than
letting them multiply. Why give yourself a reason to get
depressed?
◆
Don’t always put off the duties you love, forcing yourself to
get all the grunt work done before you get to the exciting
stuff. There truly is such a thing as inspiration, and if your
mind is cranking with hot ideas on an exciting project, by all
means use that powerful time to work on that project.
Take a Moment
Can you think of any other solutions that could help you
break these procrastination habits? List them below:
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
40
_______________________________________________
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Applying the solutions listed above should help you move
beyond your tendency to procrastinate. Try the following
techniques to make even more progress:
Conduct a Time Audit
Are you really a procrastinator? Use a time sheet for a day or two
to fully examine your work patterns. On a typical day, do you
handle the same files over and over? Do you bounce back and
forth from one small project to another? Does the phone
interrupt you every five minutes? This simple audit might show
you that you aren’t really a procrastinator, you just put things off
because you’re overwhelmed with it all!
3
After you’ve conducted your audit, review the suggestions in this
book to organize your desktop, cut paperwork time, and
develop other helpful patterns that will increase your
productivity.
TIP: While doing your audit, watch your thoughts. Do you say,
“I’ll return calls after the 10 a.m. meeting,” and “I’ll get to that
after lunch”? Often, these statements are legitimate mental
scheduling, but they can indicate a tendency to put things off.
Help Others Overcome Their
Procrastination
Even the most organized person can miss a deadline if he or she
has to work with procrastinating team members.
■ Greg, a human resources manager, had to make a major
presentation on a new benefits package in one week. Looking
at those reporting to him, he found that:
•
Bev hadn’t done the necessary research on the new
benefits offer. (She’d had two months to complete it.)
•
Glenn hadn’t discussed possible staff resistance to the
new plan with the executive management team. (Greg had
asked him to do that a month ago!)
•
Mary hadn’t finished creating Greg’s overhead graphics on
her new computer program (the one she’d begged to have
for months, saying it would make her more productive).
Even the most
organized
person can
miss a
deadline if he
or she has to
work with
procrastinating
team members.
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● Stop Procrastinating NOW!
David, in public relations, hadn’t finished critiquing the
speech outline Greg had given him two weeks ago. (He’d
promised he would help make this presentation great!)
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•
It’s a fact of life that procrastination can cause you problems,
even if you have your act together. To prod others into decisive
action, take these steps:
42
◆
Teach them what you know about how to avoid
procrastination.
◆
Identify their bad patterns and work around them. Does Bev
have a deadline problem? Give her an early false deadline.
Does Glenn seem unwilling to discuss difficult matters?
Delegate that task to someone else next time. Does David
promise and then not keep his word because he’s so busy?
Split up his part of the work with some other people. Is a
member of your team not a morning person? Meet with that
person in the afternoon so that you’ll receive a better level of
attention.
◆
Ask secretaries and assistants to help keep their supervisors
on track, but be careful. Telling a secretary to “get your boss
moving” should only be done if you can do it in confidence,
in a very friendly way, and not cause ruffled feathers.
◆
Give procrastinators more of what they want. Do they want
more power? Give it to them—then make them responsible.
Do they want more independence? Give it to them—then
hold them accountable. Create a sense of “ownership”
around each person’s task.
◆
Praise, praise, praise—to the individual and publicly around
the office. Your subordinates and coworkers will produce on
time if they feel that you truly value their efforts and if they
see and hear that you do.
Stop Procrastinating NOW! ●
Take a Moment
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Is one of your coworkers a procrastinator? What are some
strategies you could use to work effectively with this
person?_________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
3
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Speed Up Your Workday
If you find that you procrastinate because your workload is
simply too large, try these strategies to make it more
manageable:
◆
Try to work faster. Walk through the office faster, move
around your desk faster, dial the phone faster, and type faster,
if you can. Ignore distractions and just speed up!
◆
Lower your standards, though not to the point that you
produce poor quality work. Learn what’s “good enough,”
and make sure your standards are not too low for the
organization.
◆
Be more assertive in asking others for help.
◆
Use newer and better equipment. Upgrade software, improve
your phone system, look for time-saving steps built into
electronics, and find other ways in which technology can
help you.
◆
Make lifestyle changes to increase your personal strength.
Improve your health by losing weight, eating a balanced diet,
and giving up cigarettes. Make a decision to begin each
workday with a positive attitude. Feeling good can only
increase your productivity.
Be more
assertive in
asking others
for help.
Make lifestyle
changes to
increase your
personal
strength.
43
● Stop Procrastinating NOW!
Getting Caught Up
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If you’ve been procrastinating and feel overwhelmed by the work
to be done, devote most of one day to “office hours only”
tasks—calling people, attending meetings, etc.
Ask to work at home (or at the library, if home is a distraction)
for the next full day after that, so you can focus without
interruption on the “nonoffice hours” tasks—paperwork,
reports, speeches, presentations, etc. If your organization won’t
allow you to work off-site, consider taking a personal day or a
vacation day to do it. The peace of mind you achieve will be
worth the sacrifice of a little time off.
Keep At It
Don’t expect to
overcome your
procrastinating
tendencies
overnight.
44
Don’t expect to overcome your procrastinating tendencies
overnight. You may have been procrastinating for so long that it
will take some time to get out of that rut. You might find
yourself getting caught up and then falling behind again, unable
or unwilling to get to your new tasks. Don’t be discouraged.
Changing a life pattern takes time, but the benefits you receive
will make it well worth the effort.
Stop Procrastinating NOW! ●
Self-Check: Chapter 3 Review
✓
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Answers for these questions appear on pages 101–102.
1. If you are procrastinating because you are overwhelmed by
the size of a project, what are three things you can do?
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
3
2. True or False?
It’s okay to procrastinate if you believe that you work better
under pressure.
3. True or False?
Lowering your standards somewhat is an effective strategy
for speeding up your workday.
4. What are four things you can do to deal with procrastinating
coworkers or team members?
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
5. A time audit could help you discover that
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
45
● Organizing Your Files
Chapter
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Four
Organizing Your Files
Chapter Objectives
▲
▲
Sort your papers and files into categories.
Set up an efficient filing system.
hat a strange contradiction: Benny’s desk is stark. The only
items on it are a phone, an in-box (nearly empty), a
computer, and a pad of paper. Yet Benny is a high achiever at his
company and seems constantly busy.
W
Derek’s desk is piled with work. The desktop is covered with stack
after stack of reports, memos, and correspondence, and the
location of the in-box is anybody’s guess. The phone rings from
underneath a pile of papers. Files, sticky-notes, and Rolodex cards
are scattered throughout the clutter. Yet Derek is not known for his
outstanding achievements. In fact, he doesn’t seem to work half as
hard as Benny.
A clean desk
signifies that
its owner has
taken time to
get organized.
46
Appearances can be deceiving. Though a cluttered desk was
once taken as a sign of industriousness and dedication, a clean
desk is now the mark of an efficient worker. A clean desk
signifies that its owner has taken the time to get organized and
devotes time to working rather than digging for something that
was there just a minute ago.
Even if you don’t work at a desk, it’s still important to keep your
workspace free of clutter. In this chapter, you’ll learn new ways
to organize things and keep them in order. Following these steps
will stand you in good stead no matter where you work.
Organizing Your Files ●
The Importance of Organization
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Good organization can help you in all aspects of life—running a
household, operating a large organization, managing your
workspace, or even just handling numerous pieces of paper.
In the book Time Management for Dummies, Jeffrey Mayer says,
“Most people waste almost one hour per day looking for papers,
documents, and files.” One hour a day adds up to five working
hours per week—or, allowing for two weeks’ vacation, 250
hours a year!
Give yourself more than 31 extra workdays of time per year by
clearing out the clutter—and getting on with your work and
life!
4
Take a Moment
Take a look at the top of your desk. Is it cluttered like
Derek’s or well-ordered like Benny’s?
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
If you think your desk looks cluttered, what types of items
are creating the clutter?
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Where could you store these items to get them out of your
way?
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
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● Organizing Your Files
Organize Your Papers
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Disorganized papers and files can create clutter both on top of
and inside your desk and filing cabinet. Poorly organized files
can also make it difficult, if not impossible, to find what you
need when you need it. Luckily, it’s relatively easy to put papers
in their proper place. You can begin by grouping all of your
papers and files into three categories:
1. Discard: Items you should throw away.
2. Route to coworkers: Items that should go to someone else.
3. Save: Items you should keep to work on.
Begin by Discarding
Research
shows that
if you are a
typical worker,
50 percent or
more of the
clutter on
your desk
and in your
file cabinets
can go.
Research shows that if you are a typical worker, 50 percent or
more of the clutter on your desk and in your file cabinets can
go. You’ll never use it and probably never even miss it. People
who have had house fires report that after rebuilding and getting
settled, they have much fewer papers and can’t even remember
what they had “in all those boxes”!
If you have trouble identifying papers to throw away, take a
serious look at your own pack-rat qualities. Do you feel a need
to keep everything “just in case”? Look back at some of the
things you’ve kept in the past that you can’t recall using. Do you
still need to keep these things? (This idea is great for home
organizing too. Do you even know what you’re storing in the
attic or basement?)
Most offices today produce information on computer before
printing it on paper. Are most of your memos, reports, and
letters on computer? Do you know how to get a copy if you
need it? If so, throw away ruthlessly.
TIP: Remember that it’s easier to find something on disk than it
is in a file or in a pile of paper. A fairly fast computer can zip
through the equivalent of 50 sheets of paper to look for a certain
word when you use the “Search” key. Try thumbing through 50
sheets as fast!
48
Organizing Your Files ●
Route to Coworkers
If you truly
believe that a
file or paper
could have
value to
someone else,
route it to the
appropriate
person.
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As you sort through your papers and files, you will probably find
some that are of no more use to you but could be of use to a
coworker. If you truly believe that a file or paper could have
value to someone else, route it to the appropriate person. Use
these guidelines to help you determine which items to route and
which to discard:
◆
Don’t inundate your coworkers with ancient files and dogeared pages simply because you can’t bear to throw things
away. Forward materials to coworkers only if you have reason
to think they will find them helpful—otherwise, throw them
away yourself.
◆
When you forward materials to others, let them know that
you have no desire to keep the material or to have it
returned. Include a note that gives them permission to
dispose of the material if they have no use for it.
4
Sort What You Save
Once you’ve discarded your useless papers and files and
forwarded those of value to the appropriate people, it’s time to
organize what’s left. Start by dividing the material you save into
four categories:
1. To do this week—Identify those papers and files that
require immediate action and place them in a to-do file that
you can access easily. Create a master list of all items in your
to-do file so that you can keep track of your progress. Reduce
clutter by relying solely on your master list to monitor your
to-do file—throw away all sticky-notes and reminders
written on scraps of paper.
TIP: If you have a few red-hot files that you need to access
quickly, place them in colored file folders for easy
recognition.
2. To file—Identify those papers that you believe will be truly
useful to you and file them for future reference. See the
following section on setting up a filing system to establish an
effective way to deal with all your files.
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● Organizing Your Files
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3. Dated materials—For items you won’t need until a
particular date, create a set of file folders for each day of the
month, numbered 1–31. Place items in the files that
corresponds with their dates. When that date arrives, pull
the appropriate file, remove its contents, then place the file
behind the remaining files, where you can place items in it
for the following month.
4. To read—Collect journal and magazine articles that you
need to read, but don’t try to read them all at once. Instead,
schedule two or three regular 30-minute reading periods
each week. Highlight important information as you read so
you can find it again quickly. During or after your reading,
do the following:
• Cut out or copy useful information and save it for filing.
• Throw away anything you don’t need to save.
Schedule two
or three
regular 30minute reading
periods each
week.
If you discover that a particular source consistently sends you
information that is not useful, ask to stop receiving the material.
Do you get lots of junk mail at work, or are you included on a
routing or mailing list you’d rather be off? Save the addresses/
contact information and notify these people that you no longer
need the information.
TIP: E-mail can be as big of a problem as paper mail. If you
have signed up to receive information on various subjects via email and no longer need that material, have your name removed
from the list.
Removing the clutter from your desk and file cabinets is the first
step to creating an organized workspace. Once you’ve discarded,
rerouted, and processed all the materials that are no longer
useful to you, your next step is to create an efficient system to
organize the material that remains.
Take a Moment
50
Try to identify those papers and files you can discard. Can
you estimate what percentage of your papers and files you
can do without? Could you do without 50 percent of the
documents you are now saving, as research suggests?
Organizing Your Files ●
Set Up a Filing System
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Many people are reluctant to set up a filing system because they
think it will be difficult or time-consuming. Perhaps you’ve
made one of the following excuses:
◆
I don’t need a filing system; I know where everything is.
If you believe this, you’re fooling yourself. You may
sometimes find your needle in the haystack quickly and
think, “See, I do know where everything is,” but what about
all the times you’ve spent a half hour searching for a paper
that was “here just a minute ago”? There is no way to be
organized with papers and files floating randomly around
your office, no matter what you think.
◆
I don’t have time to set up a filing system.
It’s true, setting up a filing system does take some time, but
the amount of time you’ll save when it’s done will make your
initial investment worthwhile. If you think you don’t have
time to set up your system, here are four ways to accomplish
it:
4
1. Get ahead on your work and then give yourself a couple
of hours (or longer, if needed) to set up a filing system.
2. Come in on a Saturday or Sunday for a couple of hours.
You’ll probably have to do this only once.
3. Come to work an hour early one or two mornings.
4. Stay late; setting up your system should only take one
evening.
◆
I don’t know how to set up a filing system.
If you think you don’t know how to set up a filing system,
ask yourself the following questions:
Your filing
system does
not need to be
complicated.
1. Do I know the alphabet, A–Z?
2. Do I understand the numerical system, 1, 2, 3, etc.?
Your filing system does not need to be complicated, and
unless you’re a professional secretary or someone who does a
heavy amount of filing all day, you don’t need a class on
filing. Just put everything in alphabetical order.
51
● Organizing Your Files
Let your common sense guide you in setting up your files. If
you have one set of files that you work on regularly, create a set
of A–Z file folders for those and store them where you can
access them most easily. If you have another set of files that you
access less frequently, create a separate A–Z set for that. If you’re
worried that you’ll mix up the files, put one set in blue file
folders and one set in red. It’s that easy. Don’t like or need A–Z?
Use numbers.
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Let your
common sense
guide you in
setting up your
files.
TIP: If you use a certain color or type of file folder that your
company does not keep in stock, squirrel away a few blank ones
in another part of your desk so that you’ll have them handy
when you create new files.
Label your files properly and legibly. Get enough file folders,
file labels, and other accessories to complete the job. If your
workplace doesn’t supply enough filing materials or thinks you’re
asking for too much, consider buying them yourself. After all,
why not spend $15 to $20 for something you will use every
hour of every workday?
Take a Moment
Quickly review your existing files and list some basic
categories into which you could group them.
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Which category of files do you work with most frequently?
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Where could you store these files so that they will be easy
to access?
_______________________________________________
52
_______________________________________________
Organizing Your Files ●
Eliminate Useless Computer Files
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Your computer’s hard drive can contain just as much flotsam
and jetsam as your desktop and file cabinet. Review your
electronic documents. Delete any electronic documents that you
no longer need, and transfer those that you need to save but
seldom open onto diskettes or a tape storage system. This will
free up hard-drive space for the documents you use regularly
and make it easier to access your electronic files.
Delete any
electronic
documents that
you no longer
need, and
transfer those
that you need to
save but
seldom open
onto diskettes
or a tape storage
system.
Name Electronic Files for
Easy Identification
Imagine having to paw through a bunch of manila folders
labeled Letter 1, Letter 2, Letter 3, etc. This would be a terrible
way to file printed correspondence, yet many people create
computer files with names like these and then wonder why they
can’t find their work.
4
Whenever you create new files on your computer, select names
that will help you identify what is inside. Your task will be easier
if your computer’s operating system lets you use longer file
names. But even if your operating system limits the number of
characters you can use, you can still represent names, dates, and
subjects in a way that will help you easily access the information
you need. For example, if you write a report each month, you
could use the suffix “rep” to indicate report and label each report
by its date:
Oct97.rep
Nov97.rep
October 1997 report
November 1997 report
Your smaller documents, such as letters and memos, will be
easier to find if you open a separate file for each rather than
dumping all of them in a large Letters or Memos file. Try using
a combination of letters from the name of the person you’re
writing to and the date, as in this example:
Sm20-09.let
Sm05-10.mem
Letter to John Smith, September 20
Memo to John Smith, October 5
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● Organizing Your Files
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Grouping all of one type of document together into a separate
directory can also be helpful. Don’t be afraid to create new
directories and subdirectories if you have a number of items that
can be grouped together for easy reference. For example, a sales
manager’s directory tree for correspondence might look like this:
New
Customers
Letters
Repeat
Lapsed
Suppliers
Take a Moment
How can you better organize your computer files?
1. How many different types of documents do you have?
_____ Word processing
_____ Graphics
_____ Programming
_____ Accounting
_____ Research
_____ Inventory
Can you break down these categories further? For
example, you might divide word processing into
“correspondence,” “faxes,” etc., or break accounting
into “receivables,” “payables,” etc.—whatever
assortment of divisions would be appropriate for you.
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
2. What suffixes could you use for the above categories to
easily sort your information?
Document type: _____________ Suffix: ________
Document type: _____________ Suffix: ________
Document type: _____________ Suffix: ________
Document type: _____________ Suffix: ________
54
Document type: _____________ Suffix: ________
Organizing Your Files ●
Take a Moment (continued)
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3. What directories could you set up that would help you
find specific categories of files more easily?
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
4
Final Filing Tips
As you begin to organize your paper and electronic files, think
about the tremendous amount of time you will save if you:
◆
Clean off your desk so that you can work without distraction
and spend less time searching for papers and files.
◆
Develop an effective filing system that lets you easily add
new information and find what you need.
◆
Create an organized array of computer files with easy-tounderstand document names that help you find exactly what
you’re looking for.
The most important thing to remember is once you’ve
developed a filing system, stick to it. At first, you may feel as
though you are spending a lot of extra time maintaining your
system. But soon, putting everything in its established place will
become second nature, and the time you save will put you one
step closer to getting everything done.
55
● Organizing Your Files
Answers for these questions appear on page 102.
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✓
Self-Check: Chapter 4 Review
1. Why is a clean desk taken as a sign of an efficient worker?
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
2. How much time each day does the average person spend
looking for papers, documents, and files?
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
3. As you begin to organize your cluttered papers and files,
what are three things you can do with them?
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
4. What percentage of the clutter on a typical worker’s desk can
be discarded?
______________________________________________
5. What are four ways you can categorize papers you decide to
save?
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
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● Dealing with Documents Efficiently
Chapter
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Five
Dealing with Documents
Efficiently
Chapter Objectives
▲
Use time-saving techniques to make letter- and memowriting quicker and easier.
▲
Process the papers you receive efficiently.
ealing with paperwork can be one of the most timeconsuming tasks you do each day. Whether you’re writing
D
documents or reading them, you can use these shortcuts to cut
down on the number of times you handle individual pieces of
paper and save time in the process.
Streamline Your Writing
You don’t have to be a professional writer to produce effective
letters, memos, and reports quickly. Just follow these helpful
hints:
◆
58
Use prefab letters.
Forever struggling with letter- and memo-writing? Get
yourself a book or computer program of prewritten business
letters and memos. “But that’s cheating!” you say. No, it isn’t.
You’ll still have to adapt those prefab letters to fit your
situation; their purpose is just to give you an easy start.
TIP: When you buy a collection of prewritten letters and
memos, don’t grab the first one you see. Determine how
inclusive the selection is and read some of the letters to be
sure they’re not too formal or stilted. If the collection is
several years old, look for a newer one so that the language
will be up-to-date.
Dealing with Documents
Automate letter/memo text.
Do you write much of the same information in your letters
and memos? Create standard paragraphs (using your
collection of letters and memos or writing from scratch), and
save them on your computer. You can then use your wordprocessing program’s cut-and-paste feature to pop the
standard paragraphs in whatever document you’re working
on. If you work with an assistant, assign labels to the
paragraphs, such as A, B, C, etc., that you can refer to in a
rough outline: “Dear Mr. Jones, (A), (D), (F), Sincerely,
John Doe.” Your assistant can then create the actual letter
from the standard paragraphs. Of course, don’t use this
system to send standard copy to the same people over and
over.
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◆
Take a Moment
Do you write the same types of letters or memos
frequently? Identify standard sections that you use
repeatedly and decide how you can save this material in
your computer so that you or an assistant can insert it in a
document.
◆
Create formatted reports.
Try using a standard format for regular reports or other
paperwork. If you regularly write reports that cover the same
general topic areas, you could create a master copy with all
of those topic headings already in place so that you would
only need to fill in the information. If you send out several
nonurgent memos each week, try consolidating them into a
weekly memo that you can format in advance.
◆
Preprint labels and envelopes.
If you have several people with whom you correspond
regularly, preprint a number of envelopes or mailing labels.
If you find yourself writing to certain people frequently, you
might even consider putting their addresses on rubber
stamps.
5
59
● Dealing with Documents Efficiently
Handle Paper Efficiently
Handling paperwork can take up just as much time as writing it.
Follow these tips to keep your paper flow moving:
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Make a habit of
handling each
piece of paper
that comes
across your
desk only
once.
◆
Handle papers once.
How many times do you handle a piece of paper before you
act on it, file it, or throw it away? Make a habit of handling
each piece of paper that comes across your desk only once.
Handling paper in this way will not only keep your desk
from becoming cluttered, it will also help you stay current
with your work by encouraging you to follow up on
assignments promptly.
Take a Moment
How many times do you handle a paper that comes across
your desk? To find out, keep pads of colored sticky-dots
nearby. Each time you handle a piece of paper, slip a dot on
it. A large number of dots is a sign that you’re spending too
much time handling the same papers over and over. Quickly
squash that bad habit by handling each piece of paper only
once.
60
◆
Create a “non-wastebasket.”
If you simply cannot get through life without jotting notes
onto little scraps of paper or sticky pads, don’t clutter your
desktop with them. Throw all the small pieces of paper into
a small box on your desk. Daily, weekly, or whenever the box
is full, process all your little bits of paper instead of doing it
repeatedly during the day. (And if you find you’re throwing
most of the pieces out, what’s the use of writing so many
notes?)
◆
Delegate mail sorting.
If opening your mail is taking up too much of your time, do
you have an assistant who can sort through it for you?
Explain to your assistant which types of mail you think are
important and ask him or her to discard junk mail and other
pieces of paper you don’t need to see. Work with your
assistant the first few times the sorting is done so that he or
she can get used to your preferences.
Dealing with Documents
Eliminate useless mail.
Preprint a number of plain, postpaid postcards that say,
“Eliminate me from your mailing list” with your name and
address. Send out a card whenever you receive a mailing that
you don’t want—if possible, include the address label from
the publication taped securely to the card. Don’t give up—
you might have to send more than one postcard to the same
organization.
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◆
◆
Limit your publications.
Take a hard look at the many publications that come across
your desk. Do you really need to read all of these? Give your
assistant or an intern a list of keywords or concepts that are
of interest to you and ask that person to go through some of
the less relevant publications, cut out any useful articles, and
throw the rest away.
Should You Go Paperless?
One way to cut down on the amount of time you spend
handling paper is to eliminate paper documents entirely. As
computers and computer networks become more and more
popular, the paperless office seems like the wave of the future.
Consider the following:
◆
Easy-to-use programs for scheduling, planning, and
maintaining address files already exist, eliminating the need
for paper organizers, planners, and address books. Many new
PCs come complete with such software.
◆
Faxing directly from a PC is becoming common. It’s easier
than feeding paper into a fax machine.
◆
E-mail is widely available. Many people who don’t work in
offices receive e-mail at home. Once you know how, it’s easy
to attach a file to an e-mail message and send it on its way.
That eliminates photocopying the item for mailing (the
physical counterpart of “attaching a file”), printing a letter,
printing an envelope, assembling the package to be mailed,
applying the stamp, and mailing the letter. It also arrives
more quickly.
5
As computers
and computer
networks
become more
and more
popular, the
paperless
office seems
like the wave
of the future.
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● Dealing with Documents Efficiently
The number of people learning how to use the Internet is
growing daily. Soon you’ll be able to contact virtually anyone
in any part of the world without leaving your office chair.
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◆
You can begin
to work toward
a paperless
office by
saving all your
new documents
on computer
rather than on
paper.
62
◆
Being fully electronic makes finding files easier. A computer
can zip through hundreds of pages looking for a particular
name, date, key word, or other element—a process that
would take you extensive time as you flipped through pages
or sets of paper.
◆
Today’s computers are more user-friendly than ever. If you
haven’t used one or have computer anxiety, now is the time
to learn. Even senior citizens are learning—and enjoying—
PC use.
You can begin to work toward a paperless office by saving all
your new documents on computer rather than on paper. You
can also begin to transfer your existing files from paper to
computer by running the pages through a scanner that will read
the contents and convert it to computer text. Perhaps your
office already has one.
Dealing with Documents Efficiently
Take a Moment
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As you consider whether a paperless office is right for you,
ask yourself the following questions:
1. Do you have enough space on your hard drive or some
other type of data storage system to hold a large number
of additional files?
2. If you don’t presently have the space, can you get it?
3. How would getting files from a computer differ from
getting files on paper?
4. Do you need additional training in using a computer to be
able to work almost exclusively from electronic files?
5. Do you know how to transfer files and attach files to
e-mail? If not, how can you learn?
5
6. If your computer is on a network, does your computer
system run slow or go down often? (Don’t use this as an
excuse. If you’re not sure of the reliability of your network,
document how much time in each month the whole
system is “down.”)
Whether you choose to work on paper or electronically, dealing
with documents effectively will help you make the most of your
time. In our next chapter, we’ll explore how you can save even
more time by streamlining the way you hold meetings.
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● Dealing with Documents Efficiently
Answers for these questions appear on pages 102–103.
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Self-Check: Chapter 5 Review
1. List 4 ways you can streamline your writing.
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
2. Which of the following is not a technique for handling
paper more efficiently?
a. Handle papers once.
b. Sort your own mail.
c. Limit your publications.
3. True or False?
It is easier to find files in a traditional paper filing system
than it is to find them on a computer.
4. You can begin to work toward a paperless office by
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________.
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● Managing Meetings
Chapter
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Six
Managing Meetings
Chapter Objectives
▲
Recognize when you should call a meeting and when
you can meet the same objective through other means.
▲
Plan a meeting by creating a meeting checklist.
▲
Use a variety of techniques to keep meetings running
smoothly.
ot another meeting!” How many times have you said these
words? Meetings can inform, synergize, and energize, or
N
they can depress, irritate, and waste valuable time.
“
One reason
why so many
people dislike
meetings is
that many
meetings are
held without a
good reason.
One reason why so many people dislike meetings is that many
meetings are held without a good reason. For example, have
you ever been invited to a meeting that was held “to gather
everyone’s opinion” when it seemed that the person holding the
meeting just didn’t want to make his or her own decision?
Personal preference also affects the way people react to
meetings. People-oriented workers like the gathering,
discussion, and interchange of a meeting while quieter people or
those who work better in solitude can find meetings less useful.2
2
66
For more information on planning and conducting effective meetings, see
the book Meetings That Work by Karen Anderson, published by American
Media Inc.
Managing Meetings ●
Take a Moment
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Think of a recent meeting that you thought was useful and
energizing. What factors do you think made the meeting
successful?
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Now think of a meeting that you thought was a waste of
your time. What factors do you think made the meeting
unsuccessful?
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
6
Should You Meet at All?
When should you hold a meeting? Generally, meetings are
appropriate when a group needs to share information, reach a
decision, or complete a task. But sometimes you can accomplish
the same objective by some other means that might be less timeconsuming.
◆
Eliminate informational meetings by sharing information in
other ways, such as memos, voice-mail, or an organizational
newsletter.
◆
Eliminate task meetings by assigning the task in question to
an individual or small group.
◆
Eliminate decision-making meetings by using other methods
to gain input, such as sending a memo asking for a written
vote or polling people individually.
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● Managing Meetings
Before you call a meeting, clearly identify your objective and
determine whether a meeting is the best way to meet it, as in the
following example:
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Before you call
a meeting,
clearly identify
your objective
and determine
whether a
meeting is the
best way to
meet it.
Meeting on New Consulting Firm
Objective: To share reactions of managers Susanne, Bill, Warren,
and Veronica on the work of Lambert Consulting and determine
whether to retain the consulting firm for another year.
Are there other ways to accomplish this objective?
•
Talk to each manager individually: Too time-consuming,
and managers will miss the chance to talk with each other.
•
Exchange memos: Would still need to meet in order to
discuss final decision.
•
Use voice mail or e-mail: Wouldn’t provide opportunity for
group interaction.
In the above example, a meeting is truly required. The meeting
participants need to talk face-to-face in order to share their
reactions and reach an agreement on a major company
expenditure that affects many departments. Substitutes, such as
sending a memo or polling individual managers, are either
inappropriate or a poor use of time.
Take a Moment
Think of a typical meeting that might be held in your
organization or department and use the worksheet below to
determine whether the same objectives could be met
through other means.
Subject of Meeting: _______________________________
_______________________________________________
Objective: ______________________________________
_______________________________________________
Are there other ways to accomplish this objective?
68
_______________________________________________
Managing Meetings ●
Planning a Meeting
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If you determine that a meeting is the best way to meet your
objective, proper planning will help you get the most out of
every minute of your meeting time. Follow these step-by-step
guidelines to plan the most effective meeting possible.
Proper planning
will help you
get the most
out of every
minute of your
meeting time.
Meeting Checklist
1.
Establish a meeting objective and communicate it to
the participants. Let everyone know exactly what it is
you’re getting together to accomplish.
2.
Create a meeting agenda. An agenda doesn’t need to
be fancy—it’s simply an outline of the topics you need
to cover in the course of reaching your objective.
3.
Allot just enough time to handle the agenda. Avoid
wasted time—don’t make your meeting any longer
than it has to be. Announce a meeting ending time as
well as a beginning—10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., for
example. You might not be able to adhere to that time
frame, but you will send the message to others that
promptness and efficiency are expected.
6
4.
Decide whom to invite. The more people you invite,
the longer your meeting could run. Take care to invite
only those necessary.
5.
Prepare any materials you’ll need, such as the outline
of a formal presentation, written handouts, or visual
aids. If other people will need to prepare presentations
or materials for the meeting, be sure they are ready.
6.
Choose your meeting location. Schedule a conference
room, if necessary, and decide which room
arrangement will work best:
Conference table, to establish formality or because of
numerous written materials to be handled.
Circle, to invite discussion and participation.
Classroom style, to focus attention on one speaker.
–
–
–
7.
Determine which people are most apt to be timewasters and plan what you can do or say to get things
moving.
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● Managing Meetings
Take a Moment
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Use the following worksheet to plan a typical meeting that
could be held in your organization or department.
Meeting objective:
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Agenda:
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Time to hold meeting: From __________ to ___________
People to invite:
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Necessary materials:
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Location and room arrangement:
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Possible time-wasters and responses to them:
_______________________________________________
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_______________________________________________
Managing Meetings ●
Keeping Meetings on Track When
You’re the Facilitator
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Despite a facilitator’s best efforts, meetings can still get derailed.
Here are a few additional tips to help your meetings stay on
track:
◆
If you have trouble getting meetings to end on time,
schedule your next meeting so that it must end because of
other priorities. For instance, if you want a meeting to last
only an hour, schedule it for one hour before lunch, or one
hour before the end of the workday, or one hour before
another important meeting or event.
◆
Don’t hold meetings first thing Monday morning or last
thing Friday. You’ll have more conflicts with employees who
travel, and you’ll send a dictatorial message that you control
the employees’ workday.
◆
Don’t have lunch meetings unless absolutely necessary
(which isn’t often). The lunch hour is a needed break that
helps employees become more productive.
◆
Have late-arrivers? Make sure that you always start the
meeting on time, even if key people are missing. That will
make everyone more punctual. Another idea: start a meeting
off the hour, such as 10:10 a.m. instead of 10:00 a.m.
◆
If your meeting comes to a real standstill, announce that
you’ll arrange another meeting. Schedule the time slot right
then, if necessary. Then quickly conclude the current
meeting.
◆
Make your agendas more specific. Instead of listing an item
such as, “Discussing our collaboration with the Widget
Company,” list specific questions to be answered:
6
Make sure
that you
always start
the meeting
on time, even
if key people
are missing.
• Does our staff enjoy working with the staff at our
affiliate, the Widget Company?
• Do our communication systems, such as e-mail, phone,
etc., work well enough to make this long-distance
collaboration efficient?
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● Managing Meetings
• Does our staff have more travel time than they would
like because of our association with the other company?
Break the routine. If it’s been your habit to go over “old
business” and then “new business,” throw both out and set
up a list of decisions to be made.
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◆
Take a Moment
What are some ways that meetings in your organization or
department typically get off track? What are some things a
facilitator could do to get them back on track again? (Use
techniques described above or come up with some of your
own.)
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Keeping Meetings on Track When You
Aren’t the Facilitator
You can help
get meetings
back on track
even if you
aren’t the
facilitator.
If your group’s meetings lapse into chatting, chaos, or some
other unproductive mode, you can help get the process back on
track even if you aren’t the facilitator. The following techniques
will help you subtly keep your fellow participants on course. Use
them judiciously—you don’t want to appear as though you are
trying to take over the facilitator’s role.
◆
Ask time-based questions:
“Since we only have ten minutes left in this meeting, what
do we want to do?”
“What can we accomplish on this in the next week?”
“Give us an overview of what you learned last week.”
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Managing Meetings ●
◆
Ask closed-ended questions:
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“What was the single most important thing you learned?”
“What three words would best describe Alicia’s actions?”
“How many times did that occur?”
“If you could summarize it in one sentence, what would you
say?” (Give the person time for thought.)
◆
Ask decision-forcing questions:
“So what is your decision?” (Then wait until the other
person speaks. Learn to use silence to your advantage.)
“Which other people need to know about this?”
“What actions should we take right now to solve this
problem?”
◆
Use agenda-conforming statements:
6
“Is that all you wanted to say about the project review?”
“Does that conclude all we needed to discuss about the
Hamilton project?”
“Since this is the first item on the agenda, can we discuss it
more fully later and use our time to get to the rest of the
items on today’s agenda?”
“How much time should we be taking on this particular
agenda item?”
Keep Meetings Moving
You can move meetings along—bypassing side conversations,
lengthy and unnecessary discussions, office politics-playing,
showing off, and other distractions—with questions like the
ones on the previous pages. Here are more ways to keep
meetings moving:
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● Managing Meetings
◆
If a complex issue is at hand, break into smaller groups, as
you would in a workshop. This format works well for
meetings too.
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If a complex
issue is at
hand, break
into smaller
groups.
◆
To conclude a meeting that is dragging on, list tasks to be
done on index cards, one task per card, and hand them out
to those present. (Of course, for this to work, there has to be
an understanding that such delegation will occur.) This
technique also eliminates the excuse for those who “forget”
what their assignment is or when it’s due.
◆
Unless you’re under pressure to resolve a controversial
issue immediately, interrupt outright arguing or heated
disagreement by asking to shelve the discussion until a
later date. Avoid wasting time with boiling tempers by
conducting business when cooler heads prevail.
Handling Meetings of Two
Conversations
are meetings
too.
74
Time might be slipping away from you in the form of one-onone chats, stand-up discussions, and other conversations that
happen many times each day. These are meetings too! Boost
your productivity by taking these small steps to shorten your
meetings with one other person:
◆
If you’re meeting with one other individual, have little time,
and are already standing, don’t sit or offer the other person a
chair. Handle your business as you stand. This is a great
technique for dealing with coworkers who tend to linger.
◆
To defeat the chronic prolonger who steps into your office to
“have a short meeting,” say that you were just stepping out
and ask if the person would mind discussing the issue with
you as you go. Prepare in advance—have change ready for
the vending machines in the break room or tell the person
you were just going to take a walk break. That way, you’ll
accomplish something even if the other person talks for too
long.
Managing Meetings ●
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If a chronic prolonger becomes a real problem, plan in advance
for a secretary, assistant, or nearby coworker to interrupt and
remind you of another commitment if your meeting with the
problem person drags on for several minutes. Don’t feel guilty
about using such techniques. You are trying to save time and
energy so that you can do more and better work for your
organization. There’s nothing wrong with that! You are entitled
to your own productivity.
The Meeting Formula
As you try to make your meetings more productive, keep this
simple formula in mind:
Intended Productivity - People’s Hurt Feelings = Solid
Meetings
Intended
Productivity –
People’s Hurt
Feelings =
Solid Meetings
This formula means that you should move meetings along as
much as possible without offending people or appearing overly
aggressive. Assertiveness is great, but few people want to be
known as the person who constantly cracks the whip to keep
things going.
6
Consider the type of people you work with and how they will
respond to the techniques discussed in this chapter. Also, review
management’s take on meetings—how will managers take your
suggestions or actions to make meetings more productive? Has
anyone else tried to make such changes? You may have to take
things slowly at first in order to avoid offense, but be patient.
The time you save in the long run will make it all worthwhile.
75
● Managing Meetings
Answers for these questions appear on page 103.
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Self-Check: Chapter 6 Review
1. List three reasons for holding a meeting.
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
2. When should you consider not holding a meeting?
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
3. You should invite only as many people as are necessary to a
meeting because
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
4. Describe a scheduling technique that can help your meetings
end on time.
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
5. What is the meeting formula?
______________________________________________
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● Delegation and Dealing with People
Chapter
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Seven
Delegation and Dealing
with People
Chapter Objectives
▲
▲
▲
Recognize the benefits of delegating work to others.
Identify which assignments to delegate to which people.
Deal effectively with assignments that are delegated to
you.
houghtfully delegating tasks to others rather than attempting
to do everything yourself can help you achieve your goal of
getting everything done. Delegation can also provide the person
receiving the assignment with the chance to develop new skills
and gain recognition for his or her efforts. But even with these
benefits, many people are still uncomfortable delegating.
T
Why We Avoid Delegating
Here are a few of the concerns that keep us from delegating
more often:
A delegated
task isn’t a
burden if it
helps another
employee
develop
competencies
and display
skills.
78
◆
I don’t want to burden someone else with my work.
A delegated task isn’t a burden if it helps another employee
develop competencies and display skills. Just be sure to
provide a reasonable deadline and not to assign more work
to a person who is clearly swamped.
◆
I feel guilty when I delegate a task I don’t enjoy.
Just because you don’t like a task doesn’t mean that no one
else will either. Try to find someone who you think might
enjoy it. If the task is truly unpleasant or boring, break it
into parts so that several people can share it, or take turns
assigning it to different people.
Delegation and Dealing with
No one else can do the work as well as I can.
Delegating work means taking the risk that the work won’t
be done the way you would have done it. Remember, your
way isn’t the only way. Choose the most competent people
you can for assignments, and then give those people room to
make the work their own.
If done
properly,
delegation can
save you time
and energy.
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◆
◆
If the person to whom I delegate the task does a
wonderful job, I’ll look bad in comparison.
Don’t be afraid of another person’s talent or success. Part of
your job as a manager or team member is to help other
members of your team develop their skills. When one team
members succeeds, everyone looks good.
◆
I sound bossy and demanding when I delegate.
Practice common courtesy whenever you make a work
assignment, and always remember to say “thank you” when
the work is done.
◆
I’m not organized enough to delegate.
If done properly, delegation can save you time and energy.
But if you delegate haphazardly, without planning, it will
create more work than if you had done the task yourself in
the first place. For delegation to succeed, you need to
identify what tasks to delegate, who to delegate them to, and
how to explain them. But your initial investment of effort
can bring great returns as you gain more time for other
projects and your team members gain the opportunity to try
their hands at new assignments.
7
Take a Moment
If you’re in a position to delegate, can you think of other
reasons you might have avoided this powerful time-saving
tool? List them below:
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
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● Delegation and Dealing with People
When Should You Delegate?
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As you can see, many of the concerns that keep people from
delegating really aren’t problems at all. If you’d like to start
delegating but aren’t sure where to begin, here are some
guidelines for determining what projects or tasks you can
delegate:
◆
Delegate when the task is not in your strongest area.
Is there someone else who is better trained or better educated
in this area? Delegation doesn’t mean that you can’t learn, it
just means that you will give optimum attention to the task
at this time by giving it to someone who is more specialized
in that area.
◆
Delegate when a task is obviously lower than your level of
expertise.
You are at a higher level because you performed for it. Now
allow someone else to get the experience he or she deserves
by delegating the tasks that are clearly for your subordinates.
◆
Delegate when you are extremely busy and someone else
seems idle, if the delegation transfer is appropriate.
Don’t feel guilty—being bored at work is worse than being
busy. Just be sure that you’re authorized to delegate to the
person in question and that he or she has the skills to do the
work.
◆
Delegate when someone else is in a position designed to
handle routine tasks.
Many secretaries are underutilized because their supervisors
insist on being involved with every task. A routine follow-up
letter is not a high-payoff item. Other day-to-day matters
might not be either. Devote your attention to the important,
high-payoff projects.
Don’t forget the extra element of delegation: If everyone on staff
is busy and a task must be delegated, find an outside consultant
or agency to help with the project.
80
Delegation and Dealing with
Take a Moment
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Using the previous guidelines, identify three tasks you
currently perform that you could delegate to someone else.
1._____________________________________________
2._____________________________________________
3._____________________________________________
To Whom Should You Delegate?
Never delegate a task to someone simply because that person
is available. It takes more than free time to complete a task
successfully. Be sure that the person has the necessary knowledge
and expertise. If the task requires skills that the person doesn’t
have, arrange for training, have the person work with a more
experienced team member until he or she learns the skill, or give
the assignment to someone else.
Never delegate
a task to
someone
simply because
that person is
available.
Try to delegate tasks to people who will find them interesting.
Consider an employee’s personality as well as his or her skills
when delegating—a very shy person isn’t a good choice for
calling past-due accounts. If a task is so boring that no one will
enjoy it, recruit several team members to share the responsibility,
or assign it to a different person each time it comes up.
7
Take a Moment
Identify three people to whom you could delegate the tasks
listed above and write their names on the lines below. On
the lines next to the names, state why you think that person
would be good for that particular assignment.
Staff Member’s Name
Why He/She Is the Best Choice
___________________
________________________
___________________
________________________
___________________
________________________
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● Delegation and Dealing with People
How Should You Delegate?
Delegation is more than just handing someone a task. You can
delegate assignments in a variety of ways, some of them very
empowering to the person receiving work from you. Here are
three major types of delegation:
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Delegation is
more than
just handing
someone a
task.
◆
Assign a specific, limited task or project.
This is the most common path in delegation, in which a
project is handed to someone else for completion. The
amount of instruction you give can vary—try to clearly
outline the steps involved without providing an
overwhelming amount of detail.
◆
Assign an ongoing responsibility.
Give the employee instruction, guidance, or training the first
few times the task must be completed. Then allow the
person to perform the work alone, even monitoring his or
her own level of performance and success and providing the
results to you. Warning: Don’t turn high-drudgery tasks into
ongoing responsibilities—spread them around to more than
one person. If someone is currently performing an ongoing
responsibility with little enthusiasm, see if you can split up
the project, move it along to several others, or assign it to
newer staff members who might have more tolerance for it.
◆
Assign an objective to be reached. Instead of creating a
complex assignment, give high performers an objective,
such as the following:
“We need to increase sales by 25 percent in the next
quarter.” Even if the objective is less exact, such as “In the
next few months, see what you can do around here to help
people feel more motivated,” many high achievers enjoy
getting an objective without a lot of barriers.
Warning #1: This type of delegation works best with an
independent self-starter who can think on his or her own.
82
Warning #2: Be sure to give an objective, not a goal. A goal
is inexact—“Be the best in customer service,” while an
objective is specific—“Increase sales by 25 percent in the
next quarter.” You can measure an objective and thus reward
the employee when the result is achieved.
Delegation and Dealing with
Organize Your Delegation
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Following the right steps when you delegate will help you give
assignments in a way that teaches and motivates others—and it
will save you time and energy. Use the form below to organize
your delegation process. (This form lists five tasks to be
delegated. Customize the form on your computer, creating as
many assignments as you like; five will probably be too few.)
Take a Moment
1. Reviewing the work to be done, ask yourself, “What can I
delegate?” (Use the projects you identified on page 81
and add others.) List the projects below.
A. ______________________________________
B. ______________________________________
C. ______________________________________
D. ______________________________________
E. ______________________________________
2. Match the above tasks to staff members to whom you
can delegate. (Use the names you listed on page 81 and
add others.)
Staff Member’s Name
7
Why He/She Is the
Best Choice
Project A to _______________
______________________
Project B to _______________ ______________________
Project C to _______________ _____________________
Project D to _______________ _____________________
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● Delegation and Dealing with People
3. Identify a back-up candidate in case your first choice
can’t take the assignment.
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Project A to ______________________
Project B to ______________________
Project C to ______________________
Project D to ______________________
Project E to ______________________
4. Consider what instruction, information, or training you
will need to give the employees before or during their
projects.
Staff Member’s Name
Instruction, Information,
or Training
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
5. If any staff members are receiving a particularly boring
assignment, can you offer them an interesting task now
or in the future to offset the dull task?
84
Staff Member’s Name
More Interesting
Task Forthcoming
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
Delegation and Dealing with
6. Do any of the tasks assigned in #2 require checkpoints to
ensure the project’s completion?
Checkpoints (by date or
stage of project)
A _________________
_____________________
B _________________
_____________________
C _________________
_____________________
D _________________
_____________________
E _________________
_____________________
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Project
As you delegate, remember two other important areas. These
don’t require an item for the checklist but are no less crucial to
the process:
◆
Give the authority to get the work done.
Kate was given an assignment that she looked forward to,
then was told by her boss, “But don’t talk with Tom until I
give you the go-ahead,” and “Let me check all the
information you’ve gathered before you compile the report.”
Kate instantly felt unmotivated and mistrusted.
7
Yes, some employees need a complex set of checkpoints for
the progression of their work, but many are self-motivated,
responsible, and want to prove themselves. Cut the apron
strings a little, and let them do as much as possible with as
little supervision as possible—at least once, to see what
happens.
◆
Give praise and rewards after you’ve delegated.
Unfortunately, this step is often overlooked! Point out the
good qualities of the employee’s performance and thank him
or her for a job well done. Then the next time you come
calling with a project, you’ll be met with a smile.
Give praise and
rewards after
you’ve delegated.
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● Delegation and Dealing with People
Receiving Delegation
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There are two ways delegation can work for you. You can give,
or you can receive. At first, you might think that giving
delegation is far better than receiving. But consider that when
work gets delegated to you, these things occur:
◆
You have the opportunity to show your skills, enhancing
your chances of promotion.
◆
You have the opportunity to demonstrate your cooperation
and teamwork.
◆
You have the opportunity to learn something for yourself.
Take a Moment
Think of some tasks that have been delegated to you
recently. Did you receive any professional benefits from
performing these tasks? Are there other tasks you would
like to have delegated to you that would be beneficial? What
things could you do to receive those assignments?
If you are
working on
several
projects and
aren’t sure
which project
comes first,
ask your
immediate
supervisor to
make priorities
clear.
86
If you find the flow of work coming to you via delegation, is
there anything you can do to save time and aggravation?
Certainly! Organizing your office and your life means finding
every way to make yourself more productive without drowning
in work.
Follow these easy guidelines to keep the tasks delegated to you
from becoming overwhelming.
◆
If you are working on several projects and aren’t sure which
project comes first, ask your immediate supervisor to make
priorities clear. Michael found this out the hard way:
■ Michael’s immediate supervisor, Wesley, had delegated
two or three projects. Wesley had also sanctioned
Michael’s peer and equal at work, Cynthia, to hand Michael
some tasks because her department had an unusually
high workload. Plus, Michael wanted to be part of a side
project that yet another department was working on. This
last assignment was based on Michael’s love of the
project—he didn’t need more duties, but the tasks on the
side project involved a new, high-visibility product.
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Soon Michael found himself swimming in tasks. He was
doing the side project he loved but getting half-baked
results from Cynthia, who was on him constantly to finish,
and he was ignoring his own supervisor’s tasks because
the supervisor hadn’t said anything. After that experience,
Michael learned to ask for his supervisor’s help. Once he
understood the priority levels, he was able to set his own
priorities.
◆
Don’t double-delegate unless you have the authority. “Here
comes that deadly dull project again,” you think when you
see your supervisor handing you the monthly chore. You
decide to pass it along to your subordinate with a shorter
deadline than you received. You will review the subordinate’s
work, fix it if necessary, and turn it in to your boss on time.
Don’t doubledelegate
unless you
have the
authority.
But what if your subordinate misses the deadline or does a
poor job with the project? What if the supervisor specifically
intended for you to do the work (she or he used the checklist
technique above and decided that you were right for the
project!) and hears that you delegated it downward? Find out
what you can pass along to someone else. Often, you’ll find
that most things that come to you are supposed to be done
by you.
◆
Be positive but honest about your strengths and weaknesses.
Perhaps you’re anxious to prove yourself to your supervisor,
and she or he says, “Have you had experience in market
research? If so, I’ve got a project for you.” You think, “I did
take a class on that in college,” and say, “Yes,” with no
further explanation. You might get an assignment you botch,
don’t understand, or are unable to do by yourself.
7
Sometimes you may feel a need to take such a risk to move
toward further success at work. But if you’re uncertain about
your qualifications, be clear on what’s being delegated to
you: “I’ve taken a class on that, but I don’t have any work
experience in that area. Can I look at the project itself? It is
something I’d really like to try.”
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Ask for What You Need
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■ Della was in a stew. Her supervisor had given her a project to
complete, and she really wanted to show her skills. The
deadline was “Do it now.” But Della didn’t understand some
parts of the project, and she lacked background information.
She didn’t want to lean too heavily on her supervisor—this was
her chance to work independently and prove herself! Finally,
she asked a coworker for help.
When Della finished, her supervisor complained that parts of
the assignment were incomplete or inaccurate, and the entire
project appeared as though she had rushed through it. Though
he had said he wanted it done immediately, she really had a
couple of weeks. Della explained that she’d had some
problems with the project and asked a coworker for help.
“Why didn’t you come to me?” the supervisor asked.
“I didn’t want to bother you,” Della mumbled.
But Della’s other thoughts were:
•
Why didn’t you give me a specific deadline?
•
Why didn’t you give me enough information?
•
Why didn’t you act more welcoming when you gave me the
project, so I wouldn’t feel intimidated to come to you for
help?
Take a Moment
Della’s supervisor didn’t provide Della with the direction she
needed to complete the task he had given her. Have you
ever been in a work situation like that? What happened?
Looking back, is there anything you could have done
differently to avoid those problems?
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Della’s supervisor did not do a good job of giving Della her
work assignment, but Della made the problem worse by not
asking for the information she needed. If you encounter a
situation like Della’s, take matters into your own hands and ask
for whatever you need to successfully complete the project!
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When things you are delegated to you, use this checklist to
make sure you have matters handled before you run into
trouble:
Receiving Delegation Checklist
Do I fully understand the task(s) assigned? _____________
Do I have enough information to complete the project?
_______________________________________________
If not, how can I get additional information?
_______________________________________________
Can I approach the supervisor for additional
information or help? __________________________
Can I approach coworkers for additional information or
help? ______________________________________
Can I get major help if I get caught in a jam? ___________
_______________________________________________
Do I have the skills and resources necessary to complete
the project?______________________________________
_______________________________________________
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If not, what do I need?_________________________
How can I get them? __________________________
What is the project deadline? ________________________
What are the interim deadlines?______________________
_______________________________________________
Is there a progress-reporting system? _________________
_______________________________________________
What is the project budget? _________________________
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Managing Multiple Priorities
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What if delegation comes to you from more than one source?
Handling multiple priorities is the subject of many books, tapes,
and seminars because it is such a needed skill. Here is a shortcut to
managing multiple layers of delegation that come to you:
If you are
ultimately
responsible for
determining
which battling
priority gets
the top spot,
ask to whom
you should go
for assistance
when this
occurs.
1. Have a meeting with all people who will be delegating to you.
2. At that meeting, agree on a priority system that is universal
among all the delegators—such as a red file folder for top
priority, blue for medium-level priority, and manila for lowlevel priority.
3. At the same meeting, agree on what to do if priorities clash.
Who shall ultimately decide which top priority truly goes to
the top? Will it be determined by the earliest-dated top
priority?
4. If you are ultimately responsible for determining which
battling priority gets the top spot, ask to whom you should go
for assistance when this occurs. Do not accept this
responsibility without this back-up protection, or you’ll always
be in the hot seat.
5. Set up a system in which you know which projects can be
delegated by you to someone else. Perhaps a sticker of some
type on the file folders that cannot be delegated on past you
should be used. (It is assumed your delegators won’t mark
everything “not delegatable.”)
6. Agree that assignments received late in the day do not need to
be done that day.
7. If you’ve set up some of the techniques discussed earlier, such
as quiet and open-door hours, inform the delegators of your
schedule.
8. Schedule a follow-up meeting at a designated time (perhaps a
week or a month later) with all your delegators to discuss how
this system is working. You might need to have such a meeting
on a regular basis to keep it working smoothly.
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9. Record all these arrangements in writing and give a summary
to each of your delegators.
Delegation and Dealing with
Get It in Writing
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Getting your assignment in writing is a good idea anytime you
receive delegation. It’s especially important if you receive work
from someone who forgets what she or he assigned or the
agreed-on deadline (see “Ask for Help” on the next page for
specific wording). If you don’t receive written instructions, take
your own detailed notes and send a memo summarizing them to
your delegator, asking, “Do I understand the project correctly?”
If you don’t
receive written
instructions,
take your own
detailed notes
and send
a memo
summarizing
them to your
delegator.
Manage Your Level of Involvement
Another way to optimize what is being delegated to you is to
manage your level of involvement with the project by asking for
more help or more responsibility.
◆
If the project seems overwhelming and you want
assistance, use statements like:
“Let’s establish a system of checkpoints so that we can review
progress each step of the way.”
“I’ll need to meet with you from time to time to make sure
I’m on the right track.”
“Would two heads be better than one in getting this done
the right way?”
7
“I think I’m going to need more than the usual contact with
you on this particular project, though I’m going to try my
best to work independently.”
◆
If you would like more responsibility on a project, use
statements like:
“Can I have the authority to make minor budget changes as
needed?”
“Why don’t I take all of this off of your hands and take care
of the progress reports and meetings too. I’ll do my absolute
best.”
“Do you need to hear from me often on this, or can I
proceed as I need to? I feel confident that I can work
independently on this project.”
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Take a Moment
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Identify a current project on which you would either like
more help or more responsibility. How could you ask your
supervisor for what you want?
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Ask for Help
If you get stuck, delayed, or lost in a project and need to ask
your supervisor for help, or if you need more or better
information, use the power of communication to make your
request effective.
Don’t say—“I’m lost on this project. I need your help.”
Say—“Can we meet on this project? I have some questions.”
Don’t say—“You’re delegating too much! I can’t get it all done.”
Say—“Can we review what I have now to make sure I
understand the priorities?”
Don’t say—“This is beneath me. I’ll be bored.”
Say—“Is this a good use of my time, or can I get (name)’s help?”
(Useful if you’re delegating the project further down the line or
need help from a coworker.)
Don’t say—“This is too hard.”
Say—“It looks like I’ll need some direction (or instruction, or
education, or training) to do this project in the best way
possible.”
Don’t say—“I need it in writing.”
Say—“Let’s get all the details down on paper so that there’s no
confusion.”
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Whatever your response, never let your temper or stress level
control what you say. Express your needs in a polite, firm way.
This reduces the chance for conflict and makes you look more
professional.
Delegation and Dealing with
Self-Check: Chapter 7 Review
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Answers for these questions appear on pages 103–104.
1. How would you respond to these objections to delegating?
a. I don’t want to burden someone else with my work.
______________________________________________
b. The work won’t be done correctly—no one can do it as
well as I can.
______________________________________________
c. If the person to whom I delegate the task does a
wonderful job, I’ll look bad in comparison.
______________________________________________
2. List four situations in which you should delegate work.
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
7
3. What are three benefits of receiving delegated work?
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
4. Getting delegated assignments in writing can be especially
helpful when
______________________________________________
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Eight
Work as Though You’re
Self-Employed
Chapter Objectives
Recognize the work habits of self-employed people.
▲
▲
Statistics
suggest that in
the future,
more and more
people will be
self-employed.
Develop those habits in your own work style.
tatistics suggest that in the future, more and more people
will be self-employed. Even those employed by organizations
will work in a self-employed style with home offices, flexible
schedules, and increasing levels of independence and
responsibility.
S
Work Habits of the Self-Employed
What work habits allow the self-employed to meet the demands
of working on their own? They include:
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◆
Displaying a strong level of motivation.
◆
Maintaining a high level of organization.
◆
Managing time effectively.
◆
Seeking and accepting responsibility.
◆
Adapting to needs of clients.
◆
Developing the ability to find information, learn new skills,
and develop creative solutions to new challenges.
Work as Though You’re Self-Employed
Take a Moment
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Think about the successful self-employed people you know.
Do they display any of these work habits? Can you identify
other work habits that might have helped them succeed in
their businesses?
If you’re self-employed, developing the work habits previously
listed will help you make your business a success. And if you
aren’t self-employed, these same qualities can help you succeed
in your current organization.
“Are you crazy?” you might be thinking. “Give that kind of
devotion to an employer when businesses are cutting benefits,
increasing employee workloads, and downsizing their
workforces?”
Why not work as though you’re self-employed? Who will reap
the benefits? You will gain the following things if you work in a
self-employed style:
◆
A sense of accomplishment for effectively managing your
tasks.
◆
New skills in managing your time and office in an
independent fashion.
◆
More creative thinking, which will benefit you in all aspects
of your life.
◆
A work style that will help you if you actually do become
self-employed someday.
◆
Greater promotabilty in your organization.
◆
Greater visibility in your organization.
◆
More respect from your supervisor for working
independently.
◆
(Possibly) More respect from your peers and subordinates for
working independently.
8
The list could go on and on.
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Take a Moment
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Can you think of any other benefits you might gain from
working in a self-employed style? List them below:
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
Nineteen Ways to Work as Though You’re
Self-Employed
Be prepared for
ongoing workrelated
change.
As you can guess from the previous list, learning to work as
though you were self-employed can only help you. Here are
some tips to help you do it.
1. Be prepared for ongoing work-related change. Embrace
change as an opportunity for learning and growth. Though
you will sometimes encounter more change than you would
like, remember this: You’ll never be bored!
2. Treat office equipment and supplies as if you bought them
yourself.
3. If you’re in a position to hire, spend more for higher-quality
people. It’s not a given that you get what you pay for when
you hire someone, but it’s often true. Good staff will do
more work of a higher quality in less time.
4. Don’t blame others. Be a do-it-yourselfer. Look for ways
around those people who slow you down, and involve
yourself with the good workers. But above all, be
responsible as if it were up to you alone to ensure work
success.
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5. Don’t lose the personal touch. Organizing, combining tasks,
and becoming more efficient in general might make you
appear less friendly. Do what you can to retain your
personal contact, even as you streamline your work systems.
6. Don’t burn bridges. Few self-employed people tell off clients
when they get rid of them—you never know how your
future contacts are connected to those current people in
your life. Avoid those you dislike but remain professional.
7. Have a once-a-year date to send a thank-you card to valued
associates. These can include outside consultants, good
customers, your supervisor, and your mentors. A good date
might be the anniversary of your date of hire. List specific
ways they’ve helped you in the past year.
8. Relax, but not too much. Today’s more casual workplace
might make you feel more easygoing, and it’s more
enjoyable to be comfortable at work. But don’t get sloppy,
either in outward appearance or in dealing with others.
9. Don’t let constant talkers waste your time. We all know
people who:
• Have big ideas they’ll never even try to get off the
ground.
Don’t let
constant
talkers waste
your time.
• Think they have far more power than they do.
• Focus on “someday” and ignore actions they could be
taking in the present.
8
• Are all smoke and mirrors, seemingly always on the verge
of some great financial opportunity, a big deal, or other
pseudo-event.
Don’t let these people take up a lot of your time. Create
your own big deals by making the most out of your life day
to day and sensibly reaching for your own goals.
10. Find items of interest to others, especially professional
information, articles, contact names, Internet addresses, etc.
Send them to the appropriate coworkers and associates.
They’ll appreciate your thoughtfulness.
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11. Be visible. You may not have a strong presence in all the
departments at your workplace, and you may not have time
for regular volunteer work. But you can be visible in other
ways. Use your new organizational skills to organize the
office holiday party. Give speeches to professional peers. Be
a mentor or sponsor internships. Teach classes. Do whatever
you can to help others get to know you and your skills.
12. Don’t work to the point of exhaustion before you take time
to relax. Give yourself breaks. Allow free time. Help yourself
feel better about working rather than feeling exhausted all
the time.
Don’t be so
organized that
you forget to
listen.
13. Don’t be so organized that you forget to listen. Gain
information from a variety of sources—this can happen in
quick or passing conversations. Listening is the only
pathway to full understanding.
14. Shrink your office. A big office means more movement for
you each and every hour of the workday—and it’s not even
aerobically beneficial! Have a compact, everything-withinreach work area, as the self-employed person often has.
15. Pay attention to your competitors, even if that’s not even
necessary for your particular job. It never hurts to have extra
knowledge or to have “an edge.” Who knows? You might
discover something about a competitor that no one else in
your company has yet shared. That’s a tremendous
advantage, and it makes you look good.
16. Respect other people’s styles. Call on them at their “peak
period” of the day. Don’t barge in if that’s not their style.
Don’t e-mail if they like to chat in person.
17. Share your secrets of success. What’s wrong with helping
others learn your highly productive shortcuts and timesaving techniques? The more, the merrier!
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18. Give yourself a pat on the back. There will be days when it
seems like no one cares about you or your accomplishments.
You may sometimes have little support or even contact with
others. That’s when it’s up to you to make yourself feel
good.
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19. Perform above and beyond expectations. Becoming more
productive doesn’t mean using the time you save to shorten
your workday. Use the time you gain to do more for your
supervisor and your company—even when it’s not expected.
Take a Moment
Go back over the 19 ways to work as though you’re selfemployed. Pick three that you would like to try immediately
and write them below in the left column. In the right column,
describe the actions you will take to make each one a
reality.
1.___________________ _________________________
_________________________
2.___________________ _________________________
_________________________
3.___________________ _________________________
_________________________
A Final Tip
No one becomes completely organized overnight. But now that
you’ve read this book, you’ve begun the journey. You’ve probably
put some of these techniques into place already, and you will be
able to develop others over time.
8
Review this book from time to time, incorporating more and
more of these time-tackling, productivity-building methods into
your workday. Here’s one more tip for how to make this happen.
Highlight the ideas in this book in different colors. Use one
color for things to be accomplished in the next week (or
month). Use another color for tips to be accomplished the
week/month after that, and so on.
Happy organizing—and more importantly, have a good time
with your newfound time and energy!
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Answers for these questions appear on page 104.
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✓
Self-Check: Chapter 8 Review
1. Which of the following is not a work habit of the
successfully self-employed?
a. Displaying a strong level of motivation.
b. Maintaining a high level of organization.
c. Delegating responsibility for all projects to clients.
d. Managing time effectively.
2. True or False?
If you currently work for an organization, learning to work
as though you’re self-employed will benefit you as well as
your company.
3. You can be prepared for ongoing work-related change by
treating it as an opportunity for ______________________
and ______________________.
4. True or False?
One of the ways you can work as though you’re selfemployed is to protect your interests by keeping the secrets
of your success to yourself.
5. Becoming more productive at work means:
a. Gaining more time so you can shorten your workday.
b. Gaining more time so you can improve your
performance and exceed expectations.
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Answers for Chapter Reviews ●
Answers for Chapter Reviews
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Chapter 1 (page 22)
1. False—Some seemingly urgent matters are not actually
important and do not need to be handled immediately.
2. False—You should work on tasks according to how they fit
into your system of priorities.
3. False urgency and lack of motivation.
4. A task’s urgency and its importance.
5. True—Prioritizing your tasks is the first step to using your
time effectively.
Chapter 2 (page 33)
1. Your most important projects and challenging tasks.
2. Your most frequent interruptions and time-wasters.
3. Work on challenging tasks or projects without interruption.
4. Routine reports, routine movements, and routine call
confirmations.
5. Your workplace performance.
Chapter 3 (page 45)
1. a. Break the project into manageable pieces with various
deadlines.
b. Delegate portions of the project.
c. Try to repeat things you’ve done right when tackling
other complex projects, and avoid those things you did
wrong.
2. False—It’s never wise to leave work for the last minute. If
you think you work better under pressure, set an imaginary
deadline that’s earlier than the actual one.
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● Answers for Chapter Reviews
3. True—Learn what’s good enough, and make sure your
standards are not too low for the organization.
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4. Choose from:
a. Teach them what you know about how to avoid
procrastination.
b. Identify their bad patterns and work around them.
c. Ask secretaries and assistants to help keep their
supervisors on track.
d. Give procrastinators more of what they want—such as
power and independence—but hold them accountable.
e. Use praise to show assistants and coworkers that you
truly value their efforts.
5. You aren’t really a procrastinator; you just put things off
because you’re overwhelmed.
Chapter 4 (page 56)
1. A clean desk signifies that its owner has taken the time to get
organized and devotes time to work rather than digging for
papers and files.
2. One hour.
3. Discard, route to coworkers, and save.
4. Fifty percent.
5. To Do This Week, To File, Dated Materials, and To Read.
Chapter 5 (page 64)
1. a.
b.
c.
d.
Use prefab letters.
Automate letter/memo text.
Create formatted reports.
Preprint labels and envelopes.
2. b. Sort your own mail. To save time, delegate mail sorting
to an assistant if possible.
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3. False—A computer can search through electronic files much
more quickly than a person can search by hand.
Answers for Chapter Reviews
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4. Saving all new documents in computer files rather than on
paper and transferring existing files from paper to computer
by running the pages through a scanner.
Chapter 6 (page 76)
1. a. To share information.
b. To reach a decision.
c. To complete a task.
2. You should consider not holding a meeting when you can
accomplish the same objective through some other means,
such as sending a memo or polling people individually.
3. The more people you invite, the longer a meeting can take.
4. Schedule the meeting so that it must end because of other
priorities. For example, schedule an hour-long meeting to
begin one hour before lunch.
5. Intended Productivity - People’s Hurt Feelings = Solid
Meetings.
Chapter 7 (page 93)
1. a. A delegated task isn’t a burden if it helps another
employee develop competencies and display skills. Just be
sure to provide a reasonable deadline and not to assign
more work to a person who is clearly swamped.
b. Your way isn’t the only way. Choose the most competent
people you can for assignments, and then give those
people room to make the work their own.
c. Part of your job as a manager or team member is to help
other members of your team develop their skills. When
one team members succeeds, everyone looks good.
2. a. Delegate when the task is not in your strongest area.
b. Delegate when a task is obviously lower than your level
of expertise.
c. Delegate when you are extremely busy and someone else
seems idle, if the delegation transfer is appropriate.
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● Answers for Chapter Reviews
d. Delegate when someone else is in a position designed to
handle routine tasks.
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3. a. You have the opportunity to show your skills, enhancing
your chances of promotion.
b. You have the opportunity to demonstrate your
cooperation and teamwork.
c. You have the opportunity to learn something for
yourself.
4. You receive work from someone who often forgets
what she or he assigned or the agreed-on deadline.
Chapter 8 (chapter 100)
1. c. Delegating responsibility for all projects to clients.
2. True—Both you and your organization will benefit if you
develop work habits of the self-employed.
3. Learning and growth.
4. False—You can gain visibility and goodwill by sharing
information and tips for success with others.
5. b. Gaining more time so you can improve your
performance and exceed expectations.
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