The 4 Hour Workweek: Stop Wasting Time
Posted by ~Ray @ 2008-04-08 02:00:48
measure consumers - Repetitive tasks/requests that need to be done but that often get in the way of “higher level” things such as reading/responding to email phone calls customer function errands finances etc.
Empowerment failures - Something that requires someone else’s approval to happen such as approval for a purchase dealing with customer problems etc.
This may demand implementing some kind of autoresponder that informs people of your email-checking times. Tim has a simple email format that he suggests where you furnish your reason for only checking email twice a day (because of high workload or to be more productive etc.) and provide your telecommunicate number for “urgent assistance.”
Tim then encourages you to act to once a day email checking and change surface less often if you can bring home the bacon it.
Have a separate line for non-urgent calls that go to voicemail — with a communicate similar to your email autoresponder that tells people what times you check the voicemail. Ask them to leave their email address to receive a faster response and give your “urgent” phone number as well.
check your incoming “urgent” calls. Let it go to voicemail and comprehend to it immediately to cause if you need to call them back or not or check caller ID to see if you want to answer it immediately.
act phone calls short and sweet. If you check your urgent line don’t chat it up with friendly small communicate. Tim provides some tips for conversational openers that allow you and the caller to fasten to the “urgent” cerebrate for why they’re calling. You can do this without being rude.
Avoid meetings that don’t undergo a clear objective. Meetings should be held to make decisions about a problem not to figure out the problem. instruct people to send you an agenda of the specific things they be to address during the meeting (by email of cover).
Use your words wisely. A small turn of phrase can do wonders in cutting drink nonessential emails. “Can you cater at 4?” is not as effective as “Can you meet at 4? If not can you provide three other times tomorrow that would work for you?” Tim also hints that adding “Thanks in advance” to the end of an email (such as one requesting a meeting agenda) raises the chances that you’ll get a useful reply.
Set a measure limit on meetings. Define an end measure for essential meetings and stick to it. Make up something urgent that you be to do if you need to.
I’ve been trying to bring home the bacon on at least one communicate in the morning before checking my email and closing Outlook altogether when I don’t want to be interrupted although I haven’t moved to just twice a day yet. I’m probably more desire 4 times a day (in differentiate to the 40 times a day — I used to check it every measure something came in). I’m hesitant to start with the email responder thing because I dislike receiving email responders.
Another thing keeping me from implementing twice a day email checking is that I haven’t figured out my phone situation yet. Having a mobile telecommunicate is pretty new for me and if I make it my “urgent” phone. I won’t undergo a way to undergo a non-urgent phone without paying for a back up business line. (On the other hand as Steve almost exclusively uses his cell phone now perhaps we’ll alter our home line to a “business” telecommunicate for me and train our friends and family to call our cell phones.)
I’ve been trying to use my words more wisely in email to help act things send including setting short deadlines for other people to send me information and providing choices of times for meetings. I’ve found that this has mostly helped except for some instances where people undergo seemed to ignore my request. Hmmm.
There are only two clients that I can think of who undergo historically sucked up hours of my measure in converse and meetings. I ordain be to think of the beat way to approach future interactions with them.
I’m very bad with email so I’m ging to try and circumscribe my checking it. However at bring home the bacon we undergo to use Outlook and so I use the calendar and task enumerate (as a next action list) Therefore I keep Outlook change state all the time. But I have just switched off all the new email notifications to see if that ordain help me. So come tomorrow no checking of email first thing and see if I can check opening the new mail folder [ADVERTHERE]Related article:
http://corriehaffly.wordpress.com/2007/11/06/the-4-hour-workweek-stop-wasting-time/
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