Being more efficient and effective

[Manta]

I came to the realization that I waste a lot of time in my life. I look at my job and the way I work just seems backwards. The problem is I get a ton of "stuff" coming at me in various mediums (I know I'm not the only one). For instance:

1. I get a ton of emails at work relating to various topics. Some are urgent, some are FYI, some are useless, and some may or may not be important (I'm not sure unless I research the issue).

2. I get voice mails from customers, employees, the boss, etc vying for my attention.

3. I go to meetings and papers are given out, notes are taken, next steps and action items are formulated, etc.

4. I have random conversations from office walkins, a co-worker who stops me in the hallway and requests something, etc.

5. I have "real work" to do such as updating the website with content, crafting the budget for next year, and a slew of other "busy" work things that I need to do.

There is more but I'm tired of typing. So, all this stuff is flying at me and I never know how to deal with it. What gets priority? What do I do with all the informaton? How does it get filed?

Right now, I can't even describe how I work. All I know is that I seem busy but I never get anything accomplished. I forget to follow-up with people. I respond late, etc. To be honest, I'm not sure how I've survived work for 10 years!

I'm here at Stevepavlina.com asking for help. I want to be more efficient so I can get more done in less time and do things I enjoy. If you haven't guessed, I'm not naturally organized. For instance, when I was younger, I never kept a homework pad. I kept it all in my head. My office is a list of piles and stacks of paper.

Finally - I've read a few books but many "time management" and "organization systems" seem so overly complex and completely unrealistic. It is like they are setup for a world where everything comes to your desk already organized and it is easy to file, prioritize and move on.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Books? Sites? Systems?
Thanks in advance...sorry for rambling.

Manta

[RT Wolf]

"Getting Things Done" if you haven't read it yet. Pavlina also recommends some books here.

Some summaries:

Lunch & Learn: Getting Things Done

GettingThingsDone - MineZone Wiki

and this site has good links:

Getting started with “Getting Things Done” | 43 Folders

GTD takes a bit of time to get used and implement, but once you do, it seems like the most natural thing in teh world and your mind feels much clearer. It really does sound like exactly the thing for your problems.

[Manta]

Thanks for the GTD reference. A friend of mine, who is decent at being organized but not great, thought it was very complex.

I'm going to the boostore tomorrow and can pickup a copy.

I'll give it a shot. Thanks!

[RT Wolf]

Well, GTD in its full implementation can get pretty complex (and I don't think I knwo anyone who has the full-full implementation, its just too much horsepower), but you can just take out the parts of the system that're too much work for you to put up with and keep the parts that work well for you. It's really a simple enough algorthym. Anyhoo, good luck!

[Max Power]

Originally Posted by Manta

I came to the realization that I waste a lot of time in my life. I look at my job and the way I work just seems backwards. The problem is I get a ton of "stuff" coming at me in various mediums (I know I'm not the only one). For instance:

1. I get a ton of emails at work relating to various topics. Some are urgent, some are FYI, some are useless, and some may or may not be important (I'm not sure unless I research the issue).

2. I get voice mails from customers, employees, the boss, etc vying for my attention.

3. I go to meetings and papers are given out, notes are taken, next steps and action items are formulated, etc.

4. I have random conversations from office walkins, a co-worker who stops me in the hallway and requests something, etc.

5. I have "real work" to do such as updating the website with content, crafting the budget for next year, and a slew of other "busy" work things that I need to do.

There is more but I'm tired of typing. So, all this stuff is flying at me and I never know how to deal with it. What gets priority? What do I do with all the informaton? How does it get filed?

Right now, I can't even describe how I work. All I know is that I seem busy but I never get anything accomplished. I forget to follow-up with people. I respond late, etc. To be honest, I'm not sure how I've survived work for 10 years!

I'm here at Stevepavlina.com asking for help. I want to be more efficient so I can get more done in less time and do things I enjoy. If you haven't guessed, I'm not naturally organized. For instance, when I was younger, I never kept a homework pad. I kept it all in my head. My office is a list of piles and stacks of paper.

Finally - I've read a few books but many "time management" and "organization systems" seem so overly complex and completely unrealistic. It is like they are setup for a world where everything comes to your desk already organized and it is easy to file, prioritize and move on.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Books? Sites? Systems?
Thanks in advance...sorry for rambling.

Manta

What is it about this job, that keeps you there? Money? Importance? Deep down do you actually enjoy the demands of it? Could it be as simple as quitting and going and doing something else? Is the structure of the work environment fixed and can it be changed? Is there any possible way to restructurre the nature of the job, to lighten the load?

Ask yourself these questions and you'll get to the core of the problem, the last thing you probably need is any system that is going to make it more involved, you don't need to complicate the problem, you need to find out exactly what the problem is, not just layer more work on it.

Max

[Max0r]

I agree with Max Power!

[Freelancer]

Perhaps an idea to list every task based on how much value you are providing for your boss?

In other words reading useless emails go low on the list and working on some project much higher...

[Manta]

Thanks for the cmments. MaxPower - my work day is probably like every other "white collar" worker out there. I'm sure I'm not the only one with productivity issues but many seem to have an easier time dealing with the stream of incoming work than I do.

I do enjoy the job and get satisfaction from it. I had a job a few years ago that was "easier" and hated it. There was no challenge and I was frankly bored to tears. I enjoy what I do now...it's just trying to manage it all.

[Max Power]

Originally Posted by Manta

Thanks for the cmments. MaxPower - my work day is probably like every other "white collar" worker out there. I'm sure I'm not the only one with productivity issues but many seem to have an easier time dealing with the stream of incoming work than I do.

I do enjoy the job and get satisfaction from it. I had a job a few years ago that was "easier" and hated it. There was no challenge and I was frankly bored to tears. I enjoy what I do now...it's just trying to manage it all.

It's about control, either they have it, or you have it.

Make a choice

Max

[Manta]

Why can't both of us have control? I assume that is what you meant..but wanted to clarify.

I'm going to give GTD a try. To be quite honest, I've never really *tried* to be more productive. Of course I also believe what Yoda said, Try? Do or do not! There is no try!

So I guess I have been lazy and just haven't "done" yet

[silicon toad2000]

I know where you're coming from. I ended up quitting as I knew there were jobs out there much better than what I had. While I was in the job I used a pretty ruthless triage system. If people in my workplace wanted something, they had to come and see me or phone me, emails didn't cut it, emails were filed until the sender phoned me or came to see me. If a task wasn't essential to the profitability of the company it was canned.
I think the most useful time management tool is realising that it is ok to say no.

[RT Wolf]

There are some good tips here:

The 4 Hour Work Week

Listen to the interview thingy. I really liked the idea of putting an autoresponder that just says that you will not check emails excpet for certain times. To be honest, its a really big relief rather than a nagging feeling that you've got to check email, something importnat might have happened, I've to check email. It's like, he said, a rat with a cocaine pallet dispenser.

Enjoy!

[Manta]

That's funny..I'm sitting here at Barnes and Noble and on the way in I saw this book on the shelf...lol

Amazon.com: The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich: Books: Timothy Ferriss

I'm looking at the GTD book now and will take a look at the 4 hour work week book. Thanks!

[Max0r]

Originally Posted by Manta

Why can't both of us have control?

I think what was meant was, control over yourself. If you don't have it, then others have it by default.

[Manta]

Okay..I started reading GTD and this guy describes me!! I nthe first two chapters he has described my issues so accurately that I'm thinking he had a camera in my office! LOL...

The system is logically making sense. I'm curious to see how it is implemented. For instance, how do I put it to work in my day? I'm hoping he gives suggestions as to how to implement the system.

I'll let you know how it goes!
Manta

[RT Wolf]

^ I'm really glad.

And yea, he does give step by step suggestions int eh second part, and how to apply it. The first part is just sortuvan overview, right. You might want to flip through the book to get an idea of what's coming up.

There's two main questions you learn to ask, "What does done look like?" And "What's the next physical action to get there?"

And two main models you learn:

The workflow process:
Collect, process, organize, review and DO.
and the natural planning model (which is totally brilliant, IMO):
Purpose and principles, visualizing what "done" is, brainstorming, organizing and what's the next action.

[MindofMan]

I agree -definitely look deeper and ask why you care so much about doing the job to the best of your ability. Will you get a pay raise in synch with your improved performance? No? Then why not apply your conscientousness to one of your own personal projects? Especially if you are working alone at first. You'll be able to concentrate and make really effective use of time. Worked for me!

Otherwise, I'm not sure there are many answers. When I worked for a large US multinational, I had the same problems. The company one day fired me (petty middle management office politics - I was actually very productive, which ironically is one of the factors leading to me losing my job - making a senior look lazy!).

I look back and ask myself why I cared so much. I wasn't even really doing anything, even when I was being effective - it's all bureaucracy that most people on the planet couldn't care less about. The company sold widgets to banks and insurance companies. That's it. Nothing special. With most of these companies, you are cog in a machine. Even if you are really effective, you can be replaced.

If you have to stay there, take it easy on yourself. Don't bust a gut for a company that may not care about you.

[Max0r]

Ha, Mind of Man, you're probably talking to a brick wall here.