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Essential Strategies

Since many of the TGE team are independent contractors, these basic tips can be helpful. Some of the strategies below seem too basic to mention. However, I have found through years of executive coaching that these basics are often at the bottom of some non-trivial issues. To use your time most efficiently, and be most productive you may want to make sure you have these basics in place. If you don't, just select one at a time and begin implementing it.

When you have difficulty implementing an important strategy, that is exactly when you may want to enlist the structure and support of a wellness coach.

Essential Strategies for Making the Most of your Time and Energy

Tip # 1: Use a diary, calendar or planner

Tip # 2: Get ready the night before

Tip # 3: Deal with your mail every day

Tip # 4: Deal with your email only a few times a day

Tip # 5: Make a place for everything that belongs.

Tip # 6: Don't put it down. Put it away.

Tip # 7: Label everything - so you can see at a glance, without opening everything.

Tip # 8: Lists

Tip # 9: Use folders

Tip #10: Clear out your junk

Tip #11: A quick tidy up every night

The Home Side of Business

Tip #12: Get fully dressed every morning

Tip #13: Plan your meals

Tip #14: Clean up fully after each meal

To select the right calendar or planner, consider the following issues:

Do you need to be able to carry it around with you so you can make and check your appointments and tasks while you're out and about?  If so, would it be better to have one that's spiral bound so you can lay it flat, open to the page you want?  Consider the size you need, and whether day to a page or week to an opening would work better for you.

If you’re thinking about using an electronic diary like the one on some mobile phones or a PDA, don’t forget you can usually only view one day at a time, which is not so good for planning ahead.  They do have the advantage of built in alarms and repeat functions though, and can often be updated by plugging into your computer if you use a calendar such as the one on Outlook.

Do others need to share calendar information with?  If so, you want a wall calendar somewhere in your office where they can see it. Remember to copy relevant info from your portable/personal one onto it. The best wall calendars are the ones with the biggest possible squares to write in, and make sure there's a pen or pencil handy.  You might prefer calendars which allow the weekend to be viewed as a whole, rather than split up on opposite sides of the page.

At a minimum, check your calendar morning, noon, and night. If you have multiple appointments, you may develop the habit of checking your calendar after each appointment to see what is happening next. If you have 15 minutes, what is the most effective thing you can do in that time? If you have a large block of time, what task or project would have the most pay off?

You can also use your calendar to plan both short and long term. Just remember to write long term plans so they can be erased and rewritten, because they are dynamic and often change.

In the coaching concepts section I talk about "Prepare Tonight for Tomorrow". This concept is as true for the well being of your office systems as it is for your physical well being. The morning rush adds stress to your day and increases the chance that you will overlook something.

Think about tomorrow. In your personal life, you can set out your fitness equipment and remind yourself of tomorrow's family commitments. It is even valuable to set out your clothes for tomorrow. This sets a tone of preparedness and calm to tomorrow morning's activities.

In your office life, you can set out the books or files you need for the project you will be working on tomorrow. Prepare for the project that is highest on your priority list. Once you are in motion towards working on that high priority task, your momentum will reduce procrastination and being side tracked.

If you will be traveling, check schedules, maps, and other travel details.

You want to minimize the number of times you handle any piece of paper in your office. Every time takes time. Think about WHEN it is best for you to handle the mail. This is not a task that you want to do during your "Prime Time" (the time of day when your biorhythms allow for your most creativity and best cognitive function). Opening mail is best left for your "Down Time" (when you are less sharp). Tune into yourself and discover when this time is for you.

When you do look at the mail, discard junk into the recycle bin mail right away. Make sure to shred anything that has your personal information on it.

Then put newspapers, catalogues, journals, etc., that you want to read in the designated place. If you do not have a designated place, now is a great time to make one.

Open all the letters and put the envelopes in the recycling, (or shred if they have personal information on them). 

Make any necessary decisions based on the mail.  Do you need to write something on the calendar?  Are there bills to go in your accounts payable folder (yes, you should have an accounts payable folder), anything that just needs filing, can be done now in these few minutes, or needs to go in your 'to do' folder for when you sit down to do your desk stuff. 

Most people check and process email regularly and constantly all day long. This seems natural. However, this is the #1 time waster in the average office. Of course, there are times when an essential email is awaited and it is only reasonable to keep your eye on your email. It turns out, that unless it is essential to get a particular email, it is best to check your email only three or four times a day.

If it belongs in your office, then there should be some PLACE that it belongs. If there is not a place for it ... make one and put it there.

This seems like a simple concept, yet it is challenging to implement. If you follow this one simple rule, then you cannot have a mess in your office.

You have three choices or times to declutter your workspace:

1. When you discover the need to put something away, make a place where it goes.
2. At the end of the day, when you see that the things are not in their places.
3. On a designated day when you have chosen to focus on organization

I recommend that you employ a little of each. When it is not distracting from your work flow and you are not using your precious "Prime Time", it is helpful to organize as you see the need (1). At the end of the day when neatening things up is a natural time to organize (2). And when there is a need for great changes giving yourself a whole day to focus on this task can be perfect (3).

Yes, this is a simple, yet challenging concept. It will be worth your time and effort because an organized work space will save you time and reduce stress. "Make a place for everything" is the single most important concept in organization.

This speaks to the efficiency concept: "Only handle it once" ... which is more correctly stated as: "handle it the least number of times possible."

If it is an email or piece of paper, it either gets trashed, filed, or put in the "action folder" where you will cope with it at the proper time in your day.
If it is an item, either it belongs in your office and you put it in it's place, or it does not belong in your office and you put it in the basket to go elsewhere or the trash basket.

Everything you handle takes time and focus. Once you get the habit of putting things away instead of putting them down, you will actually enjoy it. Every time you go to put anything down, ask yourself if you’re putting it in the right place.  It might only take 2 seconds longer, and could save you lots of time and stress later.

Whenever you get up from one place to go to a different place, ask yourself if there is stuff that needs to go with you.  When you step out of the car, take everything that does not belong in the car with you and put it away.  When you get up from the couch or your desk, take your dishes and rubbish and anything else with you and put it away.

Once you have made a place for everything, you will need to label each box, cabinet, folder, canister, drawer, etc. This way you will be able to find things without opening and looking in several locations.

This again seems simple and basic. However, you cannot imagine how often I find a high powered executive wasting time thumbing through folders or opening drawers.

Have you every been rummaging around in the box with all the little electrical odds and ends, and found a few items that you have absolutely no idea what they are?  Me too.   Often there are a few bits and pieces belonging to one thing.  I put them inside a plastic bag, with a note attached securely saying what the things are for.  This makes it much easier when you are looking for a gizmo, or when you are sorting through boxes for stuff to get rid of.

Lists can be a way of wasting time and avoiding actually doing things, or they can be the key to organizing and time management. You must regularly assess how you use lists and maximize their effectiveness.

In business there are the to do lists of short term (today) and longer term (this week or this quarter) projects. Then there are the individual tasks needed to bring the project to fruition.

In everyday life there are lists too. By keeping these lists, you reduce your stress. You do not need to remember all these things. They are written down: to do, to buy, gifts, packing, books / movies / songs, birthdays, etc.

Worried because you like to re-write your lists & feel it’s a waste of time?  Well stop worrying, because this activity, in moderation, is actually useful and productive.  It helps you keep your list up to date, prioritized, re-assessed and relevant.

And don’t forget to consult those lists, when you’re planning your day or your week, going shopping, or whenever they will be useful to you.

You cannot get any more basic in an office than folders and filing. That is why it is an essential topic. To help your folders work best for you, consider the following:

  - Have enough of them.  Pick up another packet so you've got some spares always on hand.  You want a separate folder for each group of papers.

- Label them as you use them.  Yep, they're no good to you if you haven't written on them what goes in there. 

- Use them.  Put things in their correct fold ers ... basic ... essential.

- When adding something to a folder, if you see stuff in there that's no longer needed, toss it out.

- Keep the frequently used folders closer to your work area.

- Consider ring binders if you need to regularly look through a group of papers.

- Put important documents inside plastic pockets.  It keeps them in better condition and protects them against getting wrinkled.   This also reduces the risk of them getting mixed up with other things.

Once you get organized and have a place for everything with everything in it's place, it is too easy for things to accumulate. Regularly go through and clear out the non-essential items. If you have not used it in a year, do you really need it? Should it be stored in a fire proof safe?

As you file things and put things away, look at what is already there. Perhaps you can toss some of it. Perhaps some of it needs to be archived or kept in a safer place. Store your papers and possessions on purpose, not by accident of having put them away.

Notice how you feel tonight. If you are "out of gas", then you will just do the basics. Neaten your desk. File things. Hang up garments. Put away whatever got left out. If you have some energy, then notice what one area would benefit from a LITTLE organizing, and do it.

Remember to check your calendar again tonight, and get things ready for yourself for tomorrow.  Now, you can have a nice evening with less stress. You will have a nicer morning because of your efforts tonight.

The Home Office Side of Business

What’s this got to do with being organized?  If you take care of yourself first, then you will be ready to take care of the rest of your life.

Do you do a morning workout? Then do it. Have a quality breakfast. Have a good morning conversation with your family members. And get up, get dressed, and get busy.

Start your day dressed in comfortable professional clothing. Even though you may work from a home office, this helps you feel better, stay more focused, and make better choices all day.

Today could be the best day of your life.  What if it was and you were not dressed for it?  Or more to the point, is it more likely to go better if you’re dressed like you mean business, like you’re confident, in a way that makes you feel good about yourself.

Dressing as well as we can all the time is a habit that can improve other areas of our lives in all sorts of sneaky ways.  Because feeling better about yourself makes everything go better.  And you will always be ready.

Whether you work in an office complex or a home office, every human being needs regular nutrition and hydration for maximum performance. Do not leave it to chance.

Plan what you will have for lunch and have it available to you. Find a drink that you enjoy and keep that drink around. Have quality snacks at your access. It only makes sense to keep yourself fueled when you want to excel in your tasks for the day.

First, I recommend you eat your meals and snacks at a table, not at your desk. Then, make sure you clean up fully after each time you eat. Again this seems so basic. Yet it is a valuable habit to build for yourself.

If you implement this basic habit, your work space will stay neater. You will feel better. And you will have less to tidy up at the end of the day.

Contact: Kelly Bliss 610-394-2547, Kelly.Bliss@TGEwellness.com

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