Time Management
Missing appointments? This Tool can Help
Last week I scheduled an appointment with a renovation company to go over possible work, get an estimate and get it started. I am asking this of someone who I have worked with before, so the odds are good I will hire them again, and home renovations is not chump change.
But they ‘forgot’ about me and never showed up. When I called because I wanted to check on when they were going to be there, I was told “Oh I completely forgot, sorry. How about Friday morning?” This could be enough for some people to say forget it, you missed this appointment, how will you be when it comes to doing the work? Your presence for consults or estimate say a lot about how you work – making them appointments you should never miss, never forget. I will give them one chance, and frankly if they are not here when noted; I will be writing them off.
As a small business owner working in a any business but even more so a business like home renos or other work where you get calls for estimates and have to followup on these you need an easy reminder / appointment calendar system. This is a must if you don’t want to miss out on business.
Most likely you have it already and just do not use it. Few people working in the trades these days go without a cell phone or smartphone, they are on the go and do not want to miss call or be unreachable. That phone is the answer. Almost everyone of these devices has a calendar system of some sort. USE IT! Make this calendar your friend.
- Learn how to enter appointments in your calendar and set reminders as well.
- Have reminder times that make sense. If it takes you on average 30 min to get to an appointment (if in person) then set your reminders 1 hour ahead. Give yourself reminder time to be on time, if you forget a lot.
- Use it immediately. If someone emails, then move that email to your calendar and setup the appointment. Or once you hang up the phone then enter the name / info into your calendar right there. DO NOT do one other thing until this has been done.
It’s all about keeping yourself organized no matter what line of business you are in. I have even started getting my 12 year old son to start using his phone for his homework / assignments. It’s the one device he always has on his person, so we’re using it to make certain he stays on track.
What tools are you using to stay on track? Please post a comment here with other tips you have to share.
Is it Urgent or Important?
Too Much Information to Read? This tool will help
Are you one of those people who have a ton of bookmarked websites and pages in your web browser? You know, pages you have found interesting but had no time to fully read, so you clicked “bookmark” this page and saved it for later?
If you are like me you may or may not have gone back to read it, but you definitely have not cleared it from your bookmarks once read. Take a peek at your bookmarks toolbar – Is the list full and goes well on beyond the bottom of your computer monitor? If so then have I got a solution for you!
I found it yesterday when I updated to the latest version of Firefox. They had a message to “Check out the latest Add on Features” (Add-ons in Firefox are like little tools that help you with various web browsing situations. I did for once, and one of the top ones was something called “Read it Later“. I took a minute to check it out – very neat tool.
Once installed this Add-On places a button right by the address bar in Firefox. If you come across something you want to read later, then all you do is click this button and it adds the page to your list.
When you have the time to read those pages – you go to the list under the main icon and simply look at your ‘Reading List” and click the one to read. Once done with that page, all you need to do is click the checkmark that it has been read and that webpage gets removed form your Reading List. Nice and clean.
Best of all it keeps all these “read later” pages out of your bookmarks so that you can save that for pages you visit often and want to keep organized.
The process to ensure that you in fact get the Read it Later list cleaned out weekly is to set aside time on your schedule for ‘reading’. Once you have read the items/pages and gleaned the info you wanted from it – tick the page as read and move on to the next site.
The Email Inbox Monster
I was inspired for this blog post when talking to a friend of mine the other day. She is starting a bookkeeping business and will be working from home. She made a point of saying how she will have to start managing her mornings better; she has found herself having to take a computer break around 10 or 11 to have a shower and get dressed. (Yes, office folks, that is something we work at home people can do – work in pajamas or sweats if we choose)
What my friend has found happening is she is getting lost in emails and work before she has even gotten ready to start her day. She wakes up before the kids and hubby and goes to check her emails. She starts acting on some of the emails and soon has to rush to get the kids off to school and then sits back down at the computer to finish what she started. When she finally looks up it is mid morning and she now needs to get showered and dressed. She also made the comment – “and it seems like I have been working all morning yet nothing was getting done”.
She’s falling into the email trap and it is so easy to do.
Time Management experts will tell you to plan out your day and schedule in time for checking emails. Your inbox can be the biggest time-suck in any workday – whether at home or in an office setting. The best piece of advice they recommend is to NOT check your emails first thing in the morning but to attend to tasks that need completion first. Accomplish and finish one or two main tasks and then check your emails. The best process I have seen so far is:
First, have a to-do list or schedule set for the day. Take the time to write it out the night before – or once for the entire week with adjustments during the day and things change – then have a revolving system that goes as follows:
- Tackle one or two main tasks first thing. Get them done!
- Then make time to check emails. Process the emails as recommended in another blog post here – DANG my Inbox Looks Great! * VIP!!! remember that you do not have to followup on each email immediately.
- Move onto the next items in your daily schedule and later go back to check your inbox again.
Ideally you should be able to check your emails 3-4 times per day, depending upon your type of business and how work is assigned/processed. The main point is to have a plan around your daily tasks, larger projects and your inbox. Letting them all run wild will result in you thinking statements as my friend did and you will find yourself being less productive, getting more and more disorganized and wasting time.
What tips do you have for keeping the inbox monster at bay?? Please share them here.
5 Tips to Complete your to-do List
Everyone works differently; personality plays a big part. Finding an effective way to finish your daily tasks will depend upon your personality, the tasks and you.
Whether you use a paper planner, your email calendar, online calendar or wireless phone; you probably have a method to keeping track of your tasks. If not, and you are finding that you are not completing tasks and forgetting items; then you may want to figure out a task list or to-do system.
If you have system in place, does it work well? Do you get to cross off items; or are they continually added to tomorrow’s calendar? Are items forgotten and missed completely?
You may not realize it, but simply having a to-do list does not guarantee everything will get done. You need to back up your list with a system to help you complete what is on your list.
Here are the Top 5 tips I follow to get my to-do list completed and crossed off.
- Update your List. Set aside time at the close of day to update your list for tomorrow. This way you will start your day knowing what tasks must be done. Add in new tasks as assigned and their deadline.
- Block off time to work on tasks. Most people are more productive early in the morning – so it is best to do this first thing. Even before you open your email – emails are one of the biggest procrastination machines out there! You also will fare much better if you work on the more intensive tasks first.
- Order Tasks by time and priority. This will help you manage your time by knowing what is high priority and the time required. If one task has a medium priority but will take 5 minutes and the high priority items will take 1.5 hours. List the 5 minute task first. One more crossed off. Sorting your tasks on your list will allow you to cross off more as completed. Also you can break up longer tasks into chunks of time allowing you to complete more in between.
- Spread tasks out over the week, allowing for other aspects of your work to be fit in. Meetings, client calls and other time – takers are reality; allow and plan in time for them as well.
- When this week’s list is complete; let it be. Having some free space in your daytimers. If all is done that needs to be; adding in more work will mean your list will never be completed. Not to say that if a task must be done that you don’t tackle it. More to say – it’s okay to have a finished list with an end and new work can wait until next week. Use the time for development and be happy with the accomplishments you have made.
What tricks do you use to help you complete your work? I’d love to learn your methods… maybe I can improve on mine?
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