In this society, where we
have so many things competing for our time
and attention, we need to shake up our
routines occasionally to gain new
perspectives and more effective ways to
spend our time. The following are ways you
can alter your routines and in the process
make better use of your time:
1. Get up one hour
earlier. Twenty-five years ago, the concept
of late night (11:00 p.m.) news was unknown.
People went to bed at 9:30 or 10:00. Once
people began staying up for the late news,
the networks began running late night talk
shows. As a result, the entire population is
staying up later than the generation before
them did. Why not go to bed earlier, and
wake up an hour earlier? Even if you don’t
go to bed earlier, try getting up an hour
earlier on occasion ---you won’t miss the
sleep that much. In that extra hour, you can
watch the sun rise, meditate, do some
exercises, or go to work before traffic gets
bad.
The activities you do
in that extra hour can affect your whole
perspective on the day. To gain greater
control of your time, to shake up your
routine, and to get a fresh perspective,
occasionally alter your sleep routine--you
won’t miss Letterman that much.
2. Work on the porch
of your house instead of in the office. When
you change your venue and the scenery, you
open up new vistas. When you do this for
some of your tasks (especially tasks that
require conceptualization or creative
thinking), you’ll be more productive than
you ever were before. As the author of 18
books, I find that I can proofread much
better on the porch or in a swing than when
I’m at the desk. Begin to identify the
places in your life that are welcome
retreats to which you can go and work--a
library, sitting in your car in a parking
lot, even a shopping center. When you change
where you’re working, you can benefit
immensely and immediately.
3. If possible, don’t
get your mail until Friday. Postpone tearing
through all your mail. Most things are not
so urgent that you need to attend to them
that day. We tend to place an immediacy upon
things that often is unnecessary.
4. If possible, hold
all calls for two days. Think of it as if
you were on vacation and unable to be
reached for a couple of days. You don’t have
to respond immediately to every call. When
you hold your calls for a few hours--or a
day--you open up time so you can get things
done in a way that is impossible when you
are preoccupied with answering calls. Work
surveys show that the primary disrupter and
time-waster of the workday is the telephone.
Of course, you don’t want to be totally
inaccessible all of the time, but you can
coach those who may call you.
For example, leave a
message on your answering system or with
your receptionist saying that you’ll be
inaccessible for two days, or until 3:00, or
whatever. In this way you are directing them
politely and professionally in a way that
benefits you both; you will gain a brief
respite and they will know when they can
reach you.
5. Work under a tree
or at a pool, during nice weather. This is
an extension of the idea of working on the
porch. In this case, however, being near
nature opens up a way of viewing things that
you would not get if you were in the office.
When working in a natural, tranquil setting,
you’ll gain peace of mind in your otherwise
hectic work routine.
6. Drop the
unproductive 80 percent of your activities.
The Pareto Principle (the “80/20” rule)
states that 80 percent of your activities
contribute to only 20 percent of your
results. The remaining 20 percent of your
activities contribute to the other 80
percent of your results. Take a hardware
store for example: about 20 percent of its
stock accounts for 80 percent of the
revenues; the remaining 80 percent of the
stock accounts for only 20 percent of the
revenues.
The key to successful
retailing is identifying the 20 percent that
is producing the bulk of the revenues. A
smart store manager knows to place that 20
percent where it is most accessible, and to
put the rest where, though it can be
reached, it is out of the immediate way. As
a career-conscious and productive
individual, you need to identify what
activities in your work (and personal life)
support you and are bringing you the most
results. Have the strength to abandon those
activities that are not producing results
for you--get rid of that unproductive 80
percent.
7. Schedule
brainstorming sessions. Brainstorming is a
great process by which you get a wonderful
array of ideas that you might not receive
otherwise. You can brainstorm with yourself,
or (preferably) with others. Have you ever
gone to lunch with a colleague and begun
discussing ways to approach a topic at work?
After a few minutes, perhaps you both are
deep into the conversation, coming up with
all sorts of great ideas.
When the waiter comes
to take your order or bring your check,
however, what usually happens? The
conversation dies out. When you both go back
to work, oftentimes those ideas are
forgotten or just put on a back burner. If
you consciously schedule a meeting, the sole
purpose of which is to brainstorm, you'll
grab control of your time and get some of
the most productive sessions that you’ve
ever had.
For example, I meet
with my mentor once a month at his dining
room table. At a clear table, we sit across
from each other with tape recorders and
discuss problems and issues that face us and
ways in which we can overcome them. We both
keep a copy of the tape, take it home and
make notes on it, and then capture those
ideas--instead of letting them die. When you
come in contact with other people, you’re
exposed to whole new worlds--their worlds.
When you interact with another person, you
get the benefit of all his or her
information, in addition to your own.
8. Use humor more
often--laugh at yourself. When you proceed
through the workday without humor, the days
tend to be long and difficult. Part of
taking control of your life is being able to
step back and look at the big picture, being
able to see the humorous, lighter side of
things. Some of your worst gaffs later
become some of the things you pleasantly
recall--sometimes they might even turn out
to be some of your best ideas!
Humor has its place in
our lives; don’t get caught in the trap of
thinking that what you do is so serious that
you must look serious in order to appear
professional. You’re likely to end up
looking like a stuffed shirt. Step back and
see the humor in your life; it gives you a
break in the action, it makes things less
tense, and it puts you back in control.
9. Work in your car,
when appropriate. This is an extension of
the idea of changing your venue. In an urban
area especially, the car can be your life
support system. I don’t mean that you should
do work while driving--it’s not productive
or safe. You might get stuck, however, in
traffic, or in a snowstorm, or perhaps
arrive at a meeting and have 30 minutes to
wait. In these cases, being able to work in
your car will make you more productive and
give you greater control over your time.
Make your car a
friendly, supportive environment so that you
will feel comfortable when in it.
Furthermore, why not pack a gym bag, and
leave it in the trunk? Include a few changes
of clothes or perhaps a bottle of your
favorite juice. The key is to set up in
advance whatever it is that supports you.
