Time Management - 3 tips
Learn more about this by reading Own Your Time: 22 Time Management Secrets for the Digital Age
1. Schedule your day so that it has a defined time slot for emergencies or “urgent” last minute things.
2. Work WITH – not against – your attention span. How long is your attention span when you are doing an activity that requires maximum concentration? Make two lists every day: one list of important things that take time and energy (write an article, do a research), and one list of minor things you can do even if you are distracted (return a phone call? Check your emails?). Then alternate between the two: do the things that require focus when your attention span is at its best and tune in to the other activities when you need some distractions.
3. Schedule your own personal time in your calendar. If there is something you want to do – schedule it as if it were a meeting. This will ensure that you take it seriously.
Learn more about this by reading Own Your Time: 22 Time Management Secrets for the Digital Age
Information Overload - 8 tips
Learn more about this by reading The Principle of Relevance
1. When the mind is overloaded with inputs, it tends to shut down on any other information processing. You are responsible for managing your own input to processing ratio, for choosing the information that is accurate, articulate, relevant and interesting for you, while eliminating anything else that prevents you from focusing on the information you have chosen.
2. Digital information is like a huge buffet which continuously replenishes with everything from junk food to haute cuisine. Become your Information Dietician. Take some time to examine your daily intake and consider whether your info diet needs some fine tuning. Can you take a data nap some time during the day during which you receive no electronic information? Can you do a weekend data fast? What can you do to regain control of the content of your thoughts?
3. Make the decision to turn off your blackberry, iphone, computers and television at certain specific hours of the day.
4. Take a 1 hour break from emails before going to bed.
5. Do not look at emails first thing in the morning. Have a shower, eat breakfast, have a chat with someone in your family, then – and only then – rush to your loved blackberry or iphone. You will find that the world will still be there. Your emails will be too. But you will have created a significant mental space in your day.
6. If you have trouble doing point 5, can you move your blackberry (or iphone or other device) to a different room at certain times during the day? Especially, can you ensure it is not in your bedroom?
7. Make sure you are not yourself an info polluter. The more emails you send out, the more emails you receive back. Watch what happens when you start responding to emails less frequently. Does the frequency of your inbox flow decrease?
8. The digital age requires a new kind of social responsibility: an obligation to be more thoughtful about what you write, publish and post. Everything from emails to voicemail messages should be not only crisp and to the point, but also well thought through and put in context. Avoid sending stream of consciousness emails. Wait until your thoughts are clear before writing.
Learn more about this by reading The Principle of Relevance
Inbox Management – 3 rules
Learn more about this by reading the Own Your Time: The Secret to Manage Your Overflowing Inbox
RULE 1: Eliminate your “linear efficiency” (getting more things done by doing everything in order) instinct.
RULE 2: Make sure you have collated and understood all the relevant information before responding.
RULE 3: Wait at least 15 minutes before responding to any email.
Learn more about this by reading the Relevance Inbox Management Workbook (c)
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Video: Stefania on Time Management
