More Work Gets Done In A Group

More Work Gets Done In A Group

We are all subjected to the tyranny of the urgent =96 those quick questions, phone calls, email, and other interruptions that have to handled. Several days may pass, and then we look back and wonder what happened to that time. We've been pumped up and running on adrenaline, yet we still haven't accomplished the projects on our To Do list - those items that are "important" for developing our business rather than just the "urgent" immediate requests. Interruptions caused by this tyranny of the urgent can be the biggest time-waster in our day.

Studies show that we can be four times more efficient when we work on one type of activity at a time than when we switch back and forth from one thing to another. To take advantage of this method of efficiency, schedule blocks of time each day so that the primary causes of interruptions are grouped together.



What activities are effective when grouped?

- Telephone: Plan for a block of time in your daily schedule when you will make and return phone calls. This doesn't mean that you don't accept an urgent, unexpected call, but work toward keeping the routine calls in your time block. If you have an assistant, train that person to take a message and let the caller know what time you will be returning the call.



- Voice Mail: Many of us don't like voice mail, but it can be a powerful tool, especially if you work alone. Let the voice mail take the messages that don't fall into your telephone time block. The voice mail message can state that you will return calls between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m., and then between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., or however your schedule is set up for that day. Your telephone block can vary from day to day. Just be sure your voice mail message reflects the changes. Resist the temptation to check your voice mail after the phone has picked up the message. Again, use a time block for checking your messages just before your telephone calling starts. Otherwise you're still letting the telephone interrupt you.

- Email: It is very easy to allow email to dominate our time, especially if we are working close to our computer. That "You've Got Mail" message, whether verbal or just sound, is hard to ignore. Even stopping to take a quick look to see who it is from becomes an interruption. You've lost time working on the project you were involved in because it takes more minutes to get back into focus and regain your train of thought. Turn off the sound that alerts you to every message coming in. Just as with telephone calls, set blocks of time each day where you will deal with all the email messages together.



- Bill Paying: Whether dealing with personal bills at home, or with office matters, it is not efficient to stop and write checks every day or two. I've even seen people write them as they come in because they are afraid that otherwise the bills will get lost, or they will forget. Those are situations where other assistance is needing in setting up a system to manage papers. Again, group your bill paying and other accounting activities together for once a week or for every other week, depending on volume.



- More: Consider the other tasks that occur frequently throughout your week. Which similar activities can you group?

It will take time to get used to controlling interruptions rather than allowing those constant interruptions throughout your day to control you. However the payback in time gained is well worth the effort it takes to develop a new habit.