When I first started my home business, saving an hour or several a day was not really an issue. More important was finding clients and work to keep me busy and earning money during those hours. However, after almost four years, wasting an hour has come to mean wasting money or taking time away from my friends and family.
Cleveland-based,
Bright Side, a pioneer in accelerating behavior change, offers these five tips for re-claiming that lost hour (or more). While home business workers aren't generally bothered by meetings in the board room, virtual meetings and conference calls can be just as taxing.
1. The Chosen Few. Above and beyond setting priorities, Donna Rae recommends starting by focusing on accomplishing those tasks to assure your future happens the way you want. "Don't become distracted by the insignificant or get caught in the swirl of busyness doing things that don't add value." She advises distinguishing tasks between the urgent and the important, and ranking them accordingly. "Obviously the urgent and important go to the top of the list," says Donna Rae. "Next, look at the important, but not urgent. These are tasks, while important, can be done bit by bit, little by little." Tasks that are neither important nor urgent go to the bottom of the list.
2. Death by Meeting. A common complaint today is that people are being meeting-ed to death. According to Donna Rae, certain behavioral norms can make the most of people's time. "Brief, regular meetings to update progress, make decisions and commit to next steps are more efficient and effective than grand, comprehensive gatherings," she stated.
"Meetings move faster and are more productive in an environment of transparency," claims Donna Rae. "It's all about removing 'barriers' -- real or perceived."
According to Bonnie Curtis, Manager Global Oral Care at Procter & Gamble and Bright Side client, "We removed the table from our conference room," she said. "It's become a symbol of us creating an atmosphere of authenticity and productivity; our people feel that they are working in a safe and inclusive environment which has resulted in them being open to new ideas."
Donna Rae added, "Unless they are urgent, save topics and decisions for the regular meetings instead of having additional, time-consuming 'side' meetings. Lastly, leave the technology at your desk. This means no cell phones or other technological assistants."
3. Thrice is nice. "Although it can be a wonderful productivity tool, e- mail can become a burdensome nightmare," claims Donna Rae. Ease and low cost have caused an explosion of unnecessary e-mail. One way to free yourself of being tethered to e-mail is to restrict yourself to checking it only three times a day: in the morning, mid-day and near day's end. The time in between can be spent doing what you need to be doing.
4. Chunk it! Establish "chunks" of time where you are cut off and don't respond to others; where you remain totally focused on the task at hand. "This is a great way to complete those urgent and important tasks we discussed earlier," stated Donna Rae.
5. Go off peak. Do ordinary things at "off peak" times. For example, instead of eating lunch between noon and 1:00 p.m., go to lunch at 11:00 a.m. or at 1:30 p.m. First, the lines will be shorter and you'll be served more quickly, and during the relative peace while everyone else is at lunch, you'll be able to focus and get more done.
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