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Here are
six powerful methods that I've used to save time and build an effective
organization. They've worked for me, and they'll work for you no matter what
you're doing.
1. Avoid flameout.
Understand that there are two entirely different kinds of time. The first is
opportunity time, during which you achieve your career goals. The second is
replenishment time, during which you rebuild your strength through exercise,
recreation, relaxation, and sleep.
Flameouts happen to the people who
never get the hang of switching from opportunity time to replenishment time.
Unless you learn how, you'll run like a jet engine — until you run out of
fuel. Then the flame goes out, your power shuts off, and you drop like a stone.
Highly productive people by the tens of thousands suffer flameout, and they
often lose several years as a result. Some quench their flames so thoroughly
that they never manage to get their engines going again.
The dangerous part is that
flameout sneaks up on you. Don't try to fly high when your tanks are low. Touch
down and refuel your spirits — spend a few days away in a completely different
atmosphere from your workday world.
When you're in the midst of
opportunity time, get tough about it. It's amazing how much of our working life
gets eaten up by trivial interruptions unless we're determined not to let that
happen.
2. Get rid of busy work.
This is the usually pointless stuff that you like doing because it's easy, and
doing it makes a marvelous excuse for not tackling the hard things you should
do. If you're a winner, you always have time for the tough end of your job that
produces the results — it's the easy stuff that you don't find time for. You
find someone else to do the easy work that needs doing.
3. Always jump on the most
important thing first. What is the most important thing that you should
do right now? It's easy to figure out the answer — the most important thing is
usually the item you least want to do. So jump on it. Get it out of the way.
Then go on to the next thing you don't want to do and get rid of that item by
completing it.
Start doing this every morning,
keep on doing it, and you'll soon discover that you're not worrying so much any
more. You're enjoying the work, you're feeling good about yourself, and you're
winning. If you want success, start getting the most important things about your
job out of the way first every morning.
4. Touch it once.
This isn't a new idea. In some form or other, it's an important part of every
good system for digging out from under paperwork. If you'll take final action on
every piece of paper that you touch on your desk, you'll be amazed at how
quickly the mountain of paper choking your in-basket will melt away. Getting
things done doesn't mean taking a whack at one thing after another and leaving
them all undone. One thing completed is an accomplishment; ten things glanced at
is a nothing.
Some people spend day after day
rotating the papers from one side of their desk to another. If anything, the
heap of paper just gets larger and larger as new stuff comes in. Finally, the
day comes when it all gets thrown out, important things with useless trash. Then
the party who just lost that paper battle (unless he/she's been replaced by
someone more efficient) immediately starts building another great heap of paper.
What does that heap of indecisions say to anyone coming near? “Beware —
somebody is working hard at doing nothing here.”
The way out is to say, “This
challenge is going to get settled now. I'm returning the call right now. I'm
finalizing everything I can. I'm getting my desk clean so I can handle even more
opportunities.”
5.
Throw it away if you don't need it now. One of the most efficient people
I've ever known uses that saying as his motto. One day I was in his office and
had a chance to observe his working methods closely. My friend keeps his desk
clear at all times so that he can concentrate on just one item at a time, and he
actually does throw a lot of things away that aren't needed at the moment.
But this
man's definition of what he needs now includes keeping up an extensive and
well-organized file of catalogs and other material that he can refer to quickly.
Since he knows where he's going, he knows what he needs to keep. It all starts
with a clearly defined set of goals, and that he has.
Use this self-instruction to get
and keep yourself on track with getting the most out of your time:
“I'm tough about my opportunity
time. Nobody fritters it away. And I don't fritter my own opportunity time away
doing busy work or engaging in unnecessary activities. But I'm loose about my
replenishment time. I really kick back and relax when needed to avoid
flameout.”
Newsletter information provided by Tom Hopkins
International
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