Frustrated!
I don’t know what it was about this week, but everywhere I turned, I ran into people who just didn’t do what they said they would. And the excuses, just amazing!
- “My computer was down.” How about making a phone call?
- “Didn’t have the time.” What’s the message this sends?
- “Misplaced my cell phone so I couldn’t call.” No other phone available?
- “Tried calling but you didn’t pick up.” What about leaving a voicemail message?
- “Too busy.” Really? Doing what?
The effort you make sends a huge message to the receiver. Nothing more frustrating than counting on someone to do their part only to find out that they haven’t done it. I know life happens and I understand emergencies, but the excuses I heard all boiled down to this – poor planning and following through.
Do what you say you are going to do and if you can’t, at least be considerate enough to let the person know who is relying on you that you can’t deliver.
Be a person who follows through on their obligations!
What? Another Meeting?
If having a meeting is truly the only way to accomplish what you are looking to accomplish, then make sure your meetings are effective and efficient.
Meetings are often significant sources of time waste. Here are 10 tips for conducting more effective meetings.
1. Clarify the purpose of the meeting.
What do you want to accomplish by having the meeting and why do you want to accomplish it?
2. Seriously consider alternative methods for accomplishing your purpose.
Is this meeting really necessary? Can your objective be accomplished with a memo or an e-mail? Would one-on-one conversations be more effective? Since meetings have become such a serious waste of time in many organizations, look for ways to avoid having a meeting, if at all possible.
3. Invite the appropriate people.
Are the right people invited to this meeting? Is anyone coming to this meeting that does not need to be there?
4. Conduct adequate premeeting planning.
What needs to happen before the meeting begins? For example, can materials be sent to the attendees prior to the meeting to facilitate more effective and efficient interactions during the meeting?
5. Carefully control the time used during the meeting.
As a meeting leader, develop a reputation for being ruthless about avoiding time waste. Start on time! Give attendees a specific ending time and stick to it!
6. Use headlining techniques.
Communicate during the meetings by asking everyone to use headlining techniques to prevent or minimize rambling dialogue. Whenever possible, ask people to begin their comments or responses by headlining – stating clearly in 10 words or less – the essence of what they plan to talk about.
7. Use the pause and debrief method to generate purposeful discussion.
Headline the issue to be discussed and ask everyone to pause for a minute or two and jot down their thoughts related to the issue. Then debrief the group in a manner that will facilitate the full participation of all members of the meeting group. For example, call on the less vocal attendees first and protect them from premature criticism from the dominant, outspoken attendees. As meeting leader, if you plan to comment, save your comments for last.
8. Use the “Parking Lot” technique to prevent excessive rambling or off-topic discussions.
Use a flip chart or separate pad of paper to record off-topic items. In effect, park these issues elsewhere until after the meeting, along with follow-up items or any other items that would be better addressed outside the meeting.
9. Establish some form of “After-Action Follow-up”.
Have a recorder present to take notes and distribute to the attendees. Establish a clear plan for what happens next, if anything. Assign ownership and set deadlines for any follow-up items.
10. Evaluate the success of your meeting and make any appropriate adjustments before you conduct another meeting.
Good Luck and have Positively Productive Meetings!
Summer Vacation
School is out for us and summer has officially begun. Where did this school year go? I was at a graduation party the other day and it seemed like everyone was talking about where they are going on their summer vacation. Some are going to the beach, mountains, tropical destinations, hiking, white water rafting, and much more. Others are simply staying put and finding things to do around town.
Where are you going and what is the one thing that you MUST take with you on vacation? For me, it’s my running shoes!
For every type of trip I’ve taken, I have made a list and keep them all in a journal. I have a list for the beach, one for the mountains, for holiday trips to visit family, going to races, etc. That way when I get ready to pack, I go to the appropriate list, make a copy, and start checking off the items as I pack them. It makes the process so easy and I don’t forget anything! – and if I did, I write it on the list when I get back to make sure I don’t forget it the next time!
Start your list, begin packing early and enjoy your vacation!
Tell me where you’re going and what is the one thing you MUST take with you on vacation. Would love to hear from you!
Have a great summer!
I've Co-authored A Book
Coming this fall!
Incredible Business is the essential resource to building a thriving business, learning the skills to stay competitive and growing your bottom line. Discover what you need to know to advance in the marketplace with insights from North America’s top business experts.
Your business success comes as the result of more than talent, commitment and hard work. Your success will also be determined by how you treat your clients, conduct your marketing, do your business planning and manage your team. In fact, your success is determined by everything you do and not do all day long, every day.
With this book, you can quickly learn how business experts act to get the very best results. Top experts in each of their respective specialties have joined together to give you the most powerful innovative information and strategies available to build your business.
Be one of the first to get a copy of Incredible Business. Pre-order your signed copy by contacting me at karen@organize4results.com!
Great Feedback!
I have been teaching the GO System quite a lot lately and I have received great feedback! For those of you who have taken the course, let me know what’s working for you and share your success stories! Post a comment and become a fan on Facebook!
Have a positively productive week!
Top 10 Time Wasters – Final 2!
Here are the final 2 with specific strategies for addressing these issues:
9. Procrastination
- Investigate, identify and take action to eliminate the reason(s) for your procrastination. Here are eight of the primary reasons that people procrastinate:
- Perfectionism
- Fear of Failure
- Impulsiveness (lack of self-control)
- Punitive parenting (a form of rebellion)
- Thrill Seeking (to experience the adrenaline rush of waiting until the last minute)
- Task-related anxieties (task is too difficult or too boring)
- Unclear expectations
- Depression
10. Personal Disorganization
- Implement ideas from this blog!
Look at all 10 issues considered to be top time wasters that I have been posting over the past few weeks, pick the one the affects you and implement the strategies suggested.
Have a positively productive week!
Top 10 Time Wasters – Continued
Here’s numbers 7 and 8 with specific strategies for addressing these issues:
7. Lack of Self-Discipline
- Clarify your goals or the direction you desire to take in your life.
- Read ‘Following Through” by Steve Levinson and Pete C. Greider
- Investigate issues related to cognitive dissonance to see if they are limiting your ability to follow through.
- Investigate potential sources for procrastination.
- Minimize or eliminate distractions or barriers (real or perceived) that are preventing you from moving forward.
8. Inability to say “No”
- Practice saying “no” when you want to say “no”. It gets easier with a little practice.
- Investigate why you say “yes” when you really want to say “no”.
- Clarify your priorities and decline activities that are not in alignment with your priorities.
- Stop wanting everyone to like you all of the time.
- Be patient when changing your behavior.
I’ll post the last 2 next week!
Have a positively productive week!
Top 10 Time Wasters – Continued
Here’s numbers 5 and 6 with specific strategies for addressing these issues:
5. Drop-in Visitors
- Remember that you teach what you allow. Stop teaching people to interrupt you.
- Remove the “bait” from your workspace (candy dishes, toys and other things that might easily attract visitors).
- Get a “Do Not Disturb” sign for use when you need time to focus and concentrate.
- Rearrange your workspace furniture to help minimize interruptions.
- Ask chronic interrupters to stop interrupting you.
6. Poor Delegation
- Investigate the psychological reasons for your reluctance or inability to delegate effectively.
- Clearly articulate the details of all delegated tasks.
- Take the time to teach others to do what you do so you can delegate the task in the future.
- Establish and maintain an appropriate follow-up system for all delegated tasks.
- Find people whose strengths are the opposite of yours and “barter” with them to swap selected tasks.
I’ll post 2 more next week!
Have a positively productive week!
Top 10 Time Wasters – Continued
Here’s numbers 3 and 4:
3. Poor Planning
- Implement a sound planning process.
- Do not start a project unless you have reasonable clarity about the objective of the project.
- Break the project down into specific, measurable activities and assign ownership for all activities.
- Set specific deadlines or completion dates for all critical activities.
- Document your plan in writing.
4. Attempting To Do Too Much
- Investigate why you are unable or reluctant to say no to new demands on your time and energy.
- Apply the 80/20 Principle – 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts.
- Learn to delegate freely and effectively.
- Schedule flexible time into your daily routine to allow for interruptions and unexpected emergencies.
- Develop a mental attitude that values quality instead of quantity.
I’ll post 2 more next week!
Have a positively productive week!
Top 10 Time Wasters
There are 10 issues that I consider to be huge time wasters in the work environment. For the next 5 weeks I’ll feature 2 of them and give you suggestions for addressing these issues.
1. Operating in a Crisis Mode
- Implement a sound planning process.
- Stop making new commitments and promises until you restore balance in your life.
- Address the true cause(s) of the crisis rather than only addressing the symptoms.
- Increase your knowledge and skill level related to the factors causing the crisis.
- Shut down all nonessential activities until you have solved the crisis.
2. Handling Phone Calls and E-mails
- Stop taking any phone calls or paying attention to any e-mails for at least 20% of your workday.
- Use only one voice mail system to capture messages from important people in your life.
- Use only one e-mail system to capture messages from important people in your life.
- Set up a separate e-mail address to use for filling out product applications, forms or other documents that may generate future junk mail.
- Establish a process and develop the habit of keeping your voice mail and e-mail inboxes empty.
These are just 2 issues that might be putting limitations on your ability to become more focused, organized and productive. I’ll post 2 more next week!
Have a positively productive week!
