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Tips & How-To's
8 Time Saving Tips
Restore Your Peace of Mind
By justBurbank.com | March,2008
One Time Only. Look at it once, handle it once, file it once. Anything that comes in that you can handle now and quickly…do it. Get it off your plate. Can’t do it now? Create a pending file or add it to your list and get it done ASAP.
Get It Over With. Always handle the difficult tasks, or the stuff you dislike doing, first thing in the morning. Once out of the way, it’s a mood lifter and the rest of the day will be fabulous.
Organize. You should be able to find anything instantly, preferably in a file drawer or cabinet within easy reach. That way you can drop a document in or retrieve one quickly. Your files should have easy to read tabs. And, this is very important, do not hesitate to use a new file folder, even for just one piece of paper. Don’t jam a bunch of semi-related docs into one file…finding and retrieving them can be very time-consuming and annoying to boot.
Listen To Your Mother. You’ve probably heard this a million times from your mom: Everything has its own place. Put related items in the same area or file. Don’t waste time in the morning looking for your keys or sunglasses. Create a convenient place to drop them on the way in and retrieve them on the way out. That goes the same for mailing supplies (all in the same place), printer supplies, tax documents, software & manuals and so on and so on.
Your Time Is Valuable. This one can be difficult sometimes but it’s important to evaluate the importance of a conversation and gently extract yourself when necessary. This extends even to your customers. Time is money and your time may need some tight-fisted budgeting. When a meeting turns to sports conversations or starts to repeat itself, it’s time to pull out that pre-thought out excuse, i.e. ”I’m late for my next appointment.”
Set Limits. Limit your time answering e-mails. Does it even need answering? With the longer ones, pick out the crucial points and address those only. Keep your business and personal e-mail accounts separate…this will help you stay focused. Personal email should be read in your off time.
Prioritize. Take the time you need to go over your list of “to dos” and evaluate priorities, both business and personal. Maybe you don’t need to be at every networking meeting – once a month might be okay. However, you may want to be at each and every game or school event for your son or daughter. Now that’s a high priority!The team at www.justBurbank.com collaborates on our articles. Each employee, contributes, then Kate edits for business-appropriateness, and Libby edits to make sure the article is funny and juicy. Our aim is to write helpful & entertaining articles.
