• How do you eat an elephant?
• How do you move a mountain?
• How you do begin a journey of 1000 miles?

The answers are all the same… you do it bit by bit…

One bite at a time.  One spoonful of dirt at a time.  With a single step.

You cannot do the whole thing at once.

The same is true of life.  You cannot do everything at once.  But, it is through incremental progress that success is achieved.

How do you get everything done? (more…)

Where is your mail going?

Or better yet… how many places is your mail going?

The problem that many people experience is simple: too many mailboxes.

How many inboxes do you have to check? (more…)

There has been much discussion lately about email etiquette and email rules.  Everyone has experienced someone who can’t seem to abide by email standards.

Then it hit me… where are the standards?  (Well, yes, there are always etiquette standards.  Those are the socially accepted norms.)

But, does your company have published email usage standards?  Not the standard, “work use only” and no “offensive material.”  I am talking about email usage guidelines. Rules. Laws.

In other words, if you cannot abide by these rules… you cannot work here.

Just as we expect basic computer skills, such as Excel or PowerPoint, shouldn’t we expect a certain level of email proficiency?

Email rules are not meant to stifle creativity, they are intended to increase productivity and improve communication.

So, here are 9 email laws for the workplace…

TMN’s “9 Laws for Work Email”

1. Only copy those that need to know – This is an easy one.  Just because you are not paying for stamps on these things, does not mean that everyone in the building should be copied on your weekly status update.  It may make you feel more important, but it only bogs down everyone else trying to get their job done.  Emails should only be addressed to those who need to read what you are sending.  End of story.
2. Do not use BCC – BCC is one of the most misunderstood and most abused email options.  Here is a good thumb rule: “If they should be on the message, they should be on the message.”  Don’t think you are being cute/sly by copying your friend or boss without anyone knowing.  It will come back to haunt you.  BCC has a proper use, and it should only be used to mask distribution lists.   Nothing else.
3. No colored fonts – No joke. Not kidding. Writing your email in red or green does not increase its effectiveness.   In fact, pretty much guarantees people are going to hit delete.  Does your workplace accept business memos written in green crayon?  If so, you can ignore this law. (more…)

Do you get things done?

Let me ask a slightly different question, “Do you get things done on time?”

These days it seems that not many people do. The norm is to be late whether it is finishing a project or showing up to a meeting.

Our society has conditioned us to ignore deadlines. How often do you see people asking for an extension or simply not completing a project on time? The normal response is, “I’m still working on it.”

Oh well, who cares? Very nonchalant. It has become acceptable in modern culture. Workers get away with it, because it is the norm… everyone does it.

Where do deadlines come from?

Do you know where the word deadline comes from?  From earliest uses, it refers to:

“a line that was drawn around a prison.  If prisoners crossed this line they could be shot dead on sight.”

Hence, the word…deadline.

Would people get things done on time or finish projects by the deadline… if they were going to be shot?!?!?

Why we don’t care about deadlines…

(more…)

This is Part 3 in a 3 part series. See also Part 1 and Part 2.

In the previous posts, we discussed two potential impacts from a poorly designed or implemented time management system: Leak and Creep.

Leak was the loss of information from your system, usually due to inadequate tools to capture it.

Creep was the tendency to add more and more tools to your system.

Today, I want to talk about a third potential impact…Bloat.

Is your time management system too much?

As it sounds, a bloated time management system is one that has grown in size or complexity to the point that it is cumbersome to use effectively.  Its awkwardness arises from either too many tools or processes that are excessively complex.

Symptoms of a bloated time management system:

• Too many tools – Too many tools can be a result of Creep.  Redundant tools reduce efficiency and create duplication/sync issues for your information.
• Too much complexity – If your system has too many moving parts you will not be able to keep up with it.  It will slow you down, and parts of it will be forgotten.  Ever find the “other list” that you made and then forgot?
• Too big to be used effectively – This can be a literal thing.  I know people who are great with a dayplanner, but it is so big that they only carry it with them sometimes.  Your time management system has to be with you…always.  No exceptions.
• Wrong tools for the job – You wouldn’t use a hammer to fix a screw, and you wouldn’t use a blank spiral bound notebook for your calendar.  These examples are extreme, but you would be amazed what tools people will try to misuse in their systems.  Ensure that the tools you select are right for the job.

Too much to handle…

(more…)