Archive for the ‘Productivity & Workflow’ Category

The other morning, I opened up my email system and had four emails from a client and every single one of them was marked “Urgent!” I looked at the time stamp, and they had all come in late at night (around 11:50 PM). My initial fear was that there was a death in the family or she was extremely sick and in the hospital, all kinds of terrible things were crossing my mind.

So I opened the first email. Can you guess what it was?

She had some changes to a project we were doing for her. At 11:50 PM, she wanted a simple change done to her website…right away. Now, I know I work some late hours as a entrepreneur, but I do NOT check email at midnight.

Well, I checked the other 3 emails, and they were all in the same vein. A word added here, a change made there, nothing that really couldn’t wait. They were all just things that she had thought of, and she decided to email them to me right then and there.

No one had died, no one was in the hospital, and she wasn’t deathly ill at home stuck in bed. And most importantly, none of them would adversely affect her business if they didn’t get done at 11:50 PM. And yet, they were all marked “Urgent!”

So, this begs the question, what really is “Urgent!” I’m sure to a entrepreneur whose income depends on their business; every little thing is “Urgent!” And to an extent, when I’m working on my own business, I sometimes have moments of “Urgent!” feelings.

But what does “Urgent!” really mean?

For me, when I think of “Urgent!” I think of life or death, and I measure my urgencies by that standard. For example, if my newsletter doesn’t go out by my promised date, is someone going to die, be severely injured, or be really put out to the point of tears? Probably not, as most of you don’t even know that I send them out the same time each month and probably wouldn’t miss it if I skipped a month. So to me, that is not “Urgent!” In the same vein, a link on a website that will in no way increase sales or traffic is not really “Urgent!”

Now I’m not saying to abandon commitments. But there has to come a point in life where the “Urgency!” stops. If it doesn’t, one, you’re going to run yourself into the ground, and two, you’re going to become known as the “Client who cries ‘Urgent!’” And neither is a positive.

So how do we want to qualify an issue that really is “Urgent!”?

An “Urgent!” item is one that will adversely affect your business if it’s not taken care of immediately. Truly “Urgent!” items are usually caused when an entrepreneur falls into “crisis mode” or “I’ve gotten so far behind I don’t know what to do next.”

Sound familiar? Don’t worry, it does to me too. But there are things we can do to avoid both crisis mode and “Urgent!” items.

First, when you have something that you think is really “Urgent!” ask yourself: “If this does NOT get handled right now, what will happen to my business?” If the answer is “Not Much,” then it’s probably not “Urgent!”

If a simple website change is something you consider to be “Urgent!” then you may already be in crisis mode, and you’re stressed to the max. Meaning, you’re running around so much working IN your business that you have no time to work ON your business. You can’t see the forest for the trees and you need to take some time to get organized.

So how do I start?

1.      Check in with yourself and find out when you are the most alert and productive.  Are you a morning person or an afternoon person? That’s a really important fact to know. If you’re not a morning person (one that doesn’t wake up until noon), you certainly don’t want to schedule an interview with your most important client at 7:00 AM.

2.      Once you’ve figured out what your best time of day is for productivity, it’s time to figure out what you need to do. Scheduling is something that affects your business, so it should be put on your calendar. Set aside about 10-15 minutes at the end of your day to schedule the next day’s work. Start with projects that you’re working on; include phone calls you need to make, appointments that you’ve scheduled or other types of commitments and don’t forget to add items that you didn’t get finished today. You may even want to schedule in time to check your voice mail and email.

3.      Once you’ve got your list, prioritize. Remember, those items that directly affect your business or income are the most important, so rate them higher than simple items (like adding a link to a webpage). When you’ve got everything prioritized, you’re ready to add them to your calendar. Take your most important items and add them to your most productive time of day, and then work your way down the list. Don’t be afraid to schedule yourself planning time. You are your most important client. And don’t over-schedule your day. Only schedule about 75% of your day, so you have some available time in case an emergency pops up.

Most importantly, don’t forget to schedule yourself some personal time in between appointments to eat lunch, take a break, and go to the bathroom. Don’t feel guilty for taking care of you.

Having a comprehensive, yet flexible, schedule will greatly reduce your stress load, and it will give you the time you need to get the items accomplished that really need your attention. It will also cut down on the things that seem “Urgent!”

As much as I’m on the computer, I utilize every click, key and tool imaginable to help me be more efficient and productive. One of the simplest tools that each and every person on the computer has is keyboard shortcuts. Here is a very short and simple video on the most common keyboard shortcuts. Heck, I even learned something new. Enjoy!!

If you’re like most people, very often you find yourself struggling to get everything done (or working late into the night). Whether you’re running your own business or working in the corporate arena, it’s sometimes hard to remember that there are only 24 hours in a day, and some of those hours have to be used for sleep, food, and general living. Once those hours are gone, there’s no way to make more of them, so we’ve got to use the ones we’ve got wisely. If you constantly feel like you’re playing catch-up and working 15-hour days, you’re probably over-extended.

Budgeting your time and making the most of it comes down to setting up a solid schedule and sticking to it…as much as you can. Stuff happens, so make sure that the schedule you put together has enough flexibility in it to deal with crises and changes. It’s a good practice to schedule only about 75% of your day so that you can deal with unforeseen challenges.

The first thing you want to do is consider whether you are a morning person or an afternoon person. Most of us fall into one of those categories, and it’s a good idea to schedule your most important projects during your “up time whenever possible. If you’re the type of person who doesn’t “wake up” until noon, you certainly don’t want to schedule a meeting with your biggest client at 7:00 AM. So make sure you take your personality into consideration when you’re setting up your schedule.

Set up a Schedule

As simple as it sounds, setting up a schedule can be very complicated. First, you want to decide on a format of paper or computer. Why paper in this age of technology? Because it’s very easy to jot down notes on a piece of paper, and if you have a paper calendar, you can have it open on your desk for easy reference. You also don’t have to worry about accidentally deleting a paper copy of something. But paper isn’t always the only answer, as computers have alarms and reminders, warning systems for overlapping projects or meetings, search capabilities for specific items, etc. The easy answer is to use a combination of the two, just make sure that you update both of them so you don’t cause an unintentional conflict.

Setting your schedule is usually something you want to do at the end of the day for the next business day’s work. Allow yourself about 10-15 minutes to accomplish it, and put it into your to-do list.

Now, you’re going to want to write down everything that needs to be done. Start with items from yesterday that didn’t get done. Include any projects that you’re working on for your own business or for a client, even phone calls that you need to make in that day or other types of appointments. You might even want to schedule time to check e-mail and voice-mail. Make notes as far as importance of the task and the deadline for its completion. Major tasks should be broken down into their component parts so you can set aside time each day to work on it instead of trying to compress it all into one day.

Once you have your list, give priorities to each entry based on the deadline (items with an immediate deadline take higher priority) and based on what the item is. Items that directly affect your business and are essential need to be ranked higher, as do those that might lead to a high payoff for you. Items that are not due immediately can be moved down the list. Don’t be afraid to schedule time for yourself for planning and organization. You are your most important client!

Once you’ve got your list and you’ve prioritized it (put a star by one or two of the most important items so you know what to work on during any “down time” you might encounter), it’s time to put it on the calendar.

Lay out your Calendar

On your calendar, start with your most important item from your To-Do list and put it into your most productive time slot (if you’re a morning person, schedule it for the morning work hours). Take the next most important item and put it into the next productive slot, and so-on down the list. Using this procedure will have you working on your most important tasks when you’re most “up in your day. Remember, most projects will take more time than you think, so schedule a little extra time for the most important ones. If you have a special phone call or appointment, schedule projects to finish well in advance of the call so you don’t run long and call in late.

Don’t over-schedule your day. Remember, block out about 75% of your day so you’ve got flexibility for those unforeseen challenges that can, and often do, arise.

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© Copyright 2009 Sheic Space®, LLC. All rights reserved.

Angee Robertson is the Founder and Editor of Sheic Space Online Magazine. Sheic Space celebrates the shift from a masculine workspace to a feminine workspace by sharing how other business women use their office space to support their creativity and nurture their soul. Be sure to visit www.sheicspace.com to sign-up to receive your FREE subscription.