in comparison to the other things you have to do.
4. Use Any Time Management System You Like
The various Palm Pilot and computer-based time management personal
organization systems today are absolutely wonderful. No matter what you
do, in whatever field, there are digital time management systems that you
can tap into or load onto your personal computer and organize every part of
your life. You can upload, download, transfer, merge, purge and share your
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files and information throughout the company and around the world. In
addition, there are countless time management systems that provide you with
an array of forms and which require that you write out your goals and plans
by hand.
What I have discovered is that it doesn’t matter what time management
system or planner you decide to use. They are all good. They have all been
developed by experts and contain virtually everything you need to double
and triple your productivity.
The most important part of any time planning system is that you use it
regularly, over and over, until it becomes a habit, like breathing in and
breathing out. It takes a certain amount of time to master a time planning
system, but once you have learned it, you become more productive and
efficient every time you use it.
5. Set Up a 45 File System
There is a simple method of organizing your time and your schedule for up
to two years in advance. It is called the “45-file system.” This is a tickler file
that enables you to plan and organize your activities and callbacks for the
next 24 months. This is how it works.
First, you get a box of 45 files with 14 hanging files to put them it. The 45
files are divided this way. There are 31 files numbered 1 through 31 for the
days of the month. There are 12 files for the months of the year, January
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through December. The last two files are for the next two years. This is a
wonderful system that you can use with hanging files in your desk drawer.
When you have an appointment or responsibility for six months from now,
you simply drop it into that monthly file. At the beginning of each month,
you take out all of your responsibilities for that month and sort them into
your daily files, numbered 1-31. Each day, you take out the file for that day
and that becomes the starting point of your planning.
This system takes a few minutes to set up. It then assures that you never
miss or forget to follow up on a distant call, task or appointment. It helps
you to take control of your time and impose order on your future.
Six Tools for Personal Organization
Here are six more ideas that you can use to help to get yourself organized for
maximum productivity. The more of these tools you learn to use, the more
that you will get done each day.
1. Prepare the Night Before
First, prepare your work list for the following day the evening or night
before. The best exercise is for you to plan your entire next day as the last
thing you do before coming home from work. When you plan your day the
night before, your subconscious then goes to work on your plans and goals
while you are asleep. Very often you will wake up in the morning with ideas
and insights that apply to the work of the day.
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Sometimes, the answer to a problem that you are working on will pop into
your mind when you wake up, or when you are getting ready for work.
Often you will gain a new perspective on a problem or job, or see a different
or better way that it might be accomplished.
A major benefit of preparing your daily list the night before is that this
exercise enables you to sleep more soundly. A major reason for insomnia,
for tossing and turning, is your laying awake trying not to forget to
remember everything that you have to do the following day. Once you have
written down everything you have to do on a piece of paper, it clears your
mind and enables you to sleep deeply.
2. Scheduling Your Time to Reduce Stress
Scheduling your time reduces stress and releases energy. The very act of
planning and organizing your day, week and month gives you a greater
feeling of control and well being. It makes you feel in charge of your life. It
actually increases your self-esteem and improves your feelings of personal
power.
3. Get an Early Start on the Day
Start your day early. The more time you take to sit, think and to plan, the
better organized you will be in every area of your life. In the biographies and
autobiographies of successful men and women, almost all of them have one
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thing in common. They very early developed the habit of going to bed at a
reasonable hour, and rising early.
Many successful people arise at 5:00 am and 5:30 am, so that they can have
enough time to think and plan for the coming day. As a result, they are
always more effective than those who sleep in until the last possible
moment.
A few minutes of quiet reflection before you begin any undertaking can save
you many hours executing the task. When you get up early and plan your
day in advance, you tend to be more calm, clear-headed and creative
throughout the day.
4. Use an Organized Filing System
Resolve to use an organized filing system both at home and at work. As
much as 30% of working time today is spent looking for misplaced items.
These are things that are lost because they have not been filed correctly.
Does this sound familiar to you?
The best and simplest of all filing systems is an alphabetical system. In
conjunction with a filing system, you should have a master list or record of
all your files in a single place. This master list gives you the title of each file
and tells you where the file is located.
One of the finest tools for an office filing system is a Rolodex. There are
many different uses for a Rolodex at home as well. You can purchase them
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in any stationery story and they will allow you to keep track of a variety of
files, in a variety of ways.
There are few activities so frustrating as spending your valuable time
looking for misplaced materials because no thought was given to a filing and
retrieval system.
5. Do Important Work during Prime Time
Organize your life so that you are doing creative work during your internal
“prime time.” Your internal prime time is the time of day, according to your
body clock, when you are the most alert and productive. For most people,
this is in the morning. For some people however, it is in the evenings.
Occasionally, a writer, an artist, or an entertainer may find that his or her
prime time is in the early hours of the morning.
It is important that you be aware of your internal prime time so that you can
schedule your most important projects accordingly. Your most important
work usually requires that you be at your very best, rested, alert and creative.
What time of the day do you most feel this way?
You must also be aware of external prime time. This is the time when your
customers or clients are most readily available. Each person should give
some thought to structuring their day for both their external and internal
prime times.
6. Use a Dictaphone
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Learn to use a Dictaphone for correspondence and notes. Dictating
equipment can be one of the very best time saving devices in your business
or private life. Once you learn how to use a dictating machine, you can cut
your time in writing by as much as 80%. It takes 20% or less time to dictate
than it takes to write something by hand, or type it personally.
A dictating machine also saves the time of the person who is going to type it
for you. It is usually much easier to transcribe from a tape than to interpret a
person’s handwriting.
When using a dictating machine, there are three keys to assure maximum
efficiency:
First, write an outline of what you are going to dictate. Jot down the major
headings and subheadings before you begin. Think through the sentence
structure in your mind before you begin dictating on to the tape. Don’t be
afraid to go back, erase and do it over again using a better choice of words.
Second, when using a dictating machine, don’t try to be a perfectionist.
Sometimes, your natural conversational voice is the best and most correct
grammatically. You can always go back and correct the major mistakes later.
It’s much easier to edit something that has been transcribed than to write it
or dictate it perfectly in the first place.
Third, concentrate on getting your thoughts dictated as quickly as possible,
and then go back and clean it up before you finalize it. In no time at all, you
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will be dictating perfectly correct letters and reports that need no correction
or editing at all.
7. Make Air Travel Productive
An important area where personal organization is important is travel,
especially air travel. Since so many people are traveling by air for business
today, it is essential that you know how to make every hour of traveling time
count for yourself and for your company.
Some years ago, Hughes Air West, a regional airline, hired a consulting firm
to compare the efficiency of flying first class with flying economy class, and
with working in a normal office.
What they found was that one hour of uninterrupted work time in an
airplane yielded the equivalent of three hours of work in a normal work
environment. The key word was “uninterrupted.” If you plan ahead and
organize your work before you leave for the airport, you can accomplish an
enormous amount while you are in the air.
Get the Right Seat
The starting point of getting the most out of air travel time is to prebook a
non-bulkhead window seat. The reason you want a non-bulkhead window
seat is so that you have a tray that opens up in front of you that you can work
on.
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You also want to keep your briefcase handy during take-off and landing, and
with a bulkhead seat this is not possible.
When you travel, your briefcase becomes your traveling office. The reason
you want a window seat is so that you can get out your materials and go to
work without the interruption of someone who wants to get past you to go to
the washroom. Be sure to specify to your travel agent that you do not want a
seat opposite the kitchen or the bathroom on an airplane. These seats are too
noisy and distracting for concentrated effort.
When you pack your work for a trip, organize it by subject. Sit down at your
desk before you leave and go through what you are going to get
accomplished while you are in the air.
Before you depart, make sure that you have all materials, envelopes, stamps
and Federal Express envelopes on hand when you begin working. Your
briefcase should be fully equipped with everything you require. You will be
amazed at how much work you can produce on an airplane when you put
your mind to it.
Get There Early
An important technique to get the most out of your traveling time is for you
to arrive at the airport at least one hour before your departure. Most business
flyers arrive today with only 30-40 minutes to catch the plane, even with
increased security measures. Studies have showed that if you arrive at the
airport at the last possible minute, you experience enormous stress. As a
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result, it can take as long as two hours for you to relax and settle down to the
point where you can concentrate once the plane has taken off.
It is much better for you to arrive at the airport relaxed, with plenty of time.
Then, as soon as you get on board, you can begin work and continue
working away until the plane lands.
Avoid Diversion or Distraction
Be sure to work steadily during the flight. Put your head down and
concentrate without diversion or distraction. Resist the temptation to read
newspapers or airline magazines. Some travelers carry a set of earphones
they use to discourage conversation from the person in the next seat.
One frequent flyer I know has a great answer if his seatmate wants to make
conversation. When the person next to him asks what he does, he turns to
him or her, smiles sweetly and says, “I’m a fund raiser for a religious cult.”
This has never failed to terminate the conversation and leave him free to
work peacefully for the rest of the flight.
Here is one final point on air travel. The very best time to do serious,
concentrated work is on the outbound flight, when you are fresh. The best
time to read books or magazines, or relax and watch the movie, is on the
return flight. On the way back, you are usually tired and not as capable of
doing productive work.
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Be sure to make that outbound flight count. Use every minute to get through
work that you have been unable to catch up with in the office.
Getting yourself organized is the starting point of peak performance. Careful
planning and organization of your work before you begin will yield dramatic
improvements in your productivity, your performance and your results. You
cannot be too well organized if you want to get the most done in the time
you have. It is a key to time power.
“You must be single minded. Drive for the one thing on which you have
decided.” (George Patton)
Action Exercises:
1. Resolve today to become one of the best organized people in your
business: repeat “I am organized and efficient in everything I do!” as
an affirmation until this command is accepted by your subconscious
mind.
2. Write everything down before you begin; always work from a list, and
add new items to the list before you start on them.
3. Get a time planner of some kind, whichever feels most comfortable to
you, and invest the time necessary to learn how to use it. The payoff
in saved time and increased productivity will be enormous.
4. Clean up your desk or work space and keep it clean. Discipline
yourself to be a role model for others who want to know how a top
person works.
