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Health and Wellness
PAGE 62
Conquer Procrastination
Overcome Distractions
Reduce Stress
Increase Productivity
Control Clutter
Manage Time
Patricia Diesel
PO, CEC, Author/Columnist
Keep It Simple Now, LLC
908-642-1226
www.keepitsimplenow.com
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MANAGE YOUR TIME
AND GET THINGS DONE
By: Patricia Diesel, CPC
There are two basic components to
organizing; managing your use of space
and managing your use of time. Both
require mindfulness to optimize their
efficient use.
However, with all the digital distractions
one faces today, otherwise known as the
“
gremlin” of the modern day workplace
(
email, texting, Facebook, Twitter, Ama-
zon) all competing for our precious time
and attention, it’s easy to lose focus on
our tasks at hand.
In the workplace, distractions play a crit-
ical role in our productivity. IT research
and consulting firm
Bassex,
estimated
that $1 trillion was lost in productivity in
2010
due to information overload and
distractions. The data accounted for time
spent managing email and other content
and the lengthy recovery time once a
worker is sidetracked.
Here are some simple but effective ways
to help keep you on track and defeat
those distractions.
Set Aside “Me Time”
Compartmentalizing your time gives you
the ability to create and absorb instead
of reacting to communication stimuli. It’s
probably a good idea to schedule “me
time” in the morning when you are
freshest and most alert. These quiet
moments can ease you into your day –
fully engaged and ready to accomplish
great things.
Create a Clean Workspace
If you want to be most efficient, you
need to be aware of your work environ-
ment. Organized files and neat desks go
a long way toward a work-conducive
environment. Perhaps soft background
music will help you focus and limit out-
side noise. Also, something as simple as
shutting the office door, or ‘holding all
calls’ for a specific amount of time will
sharpen your focus, enhance your cre-
ative thinking and help you get your
work done quicker.
Delegate and Let It Go
For those of us with a highly developed
sense of responsibility, it can be easy to
over-manage every task and project that
comes within our radar. Perhaps you fit
into this category and easily find yourself
adding more and more to your workload
throughout the day, by convincing your-
self, ‘this shouldn’t take long.’ Eventual-
ly, the sheer number of these tasks will
overwhelm even the most productive
person. Trust that your coworkers are
competent and capable of handling proj-
ects and meeting crucial deadlines with-
out your constant monitoring/micro-
managing.
Prioritize Tasks
When overwhelmed with projects and
communications, try to prioritize tasks
using two types of lists:
1.
Urgent tasks (to be completed
that day)
2.
Future work (to be completed
that week)
With this game plan, projects on a strict
deadline will get your immediate atten-
tion, while any time left over will be put
toward achieving the goals you’ve made
for a later date. In this same vein, if you
make lists on a weekly, monthly, and
yearly time-line, you will have a bigger
picture of what needs to be done, taking
baby steps to accomplish future goals.
Block Out Time for Correspondence
If you have an overabundance of daily
work emails and phone calls, it may be
best to set aside a regular time dedicated
to responding to those communications
perhaps an hour or two out of the day.
This way you can respond to everyone
effectively, without having your entire
day peppered with hastily answered
calls/emails in between other job respon-
sibilities and deadlines.
It’s probable that your work environment
will be somewhat chaotic at times –
dealing with co-workers and clients and
others make constant stimulation and
distractions inevitable. Being aware of
the entire process, taking it all in, priori-
tizing time and enhancing the quality of
your environment, will help you become
more productive and effective without
going crazy in the process!
Patricia Diesel
is a prominent certified
professional organizer, life coach and
author who conveys her life-transforming
lessons through her travels, speaking
engagements and media appearances,
including
Good Morning America, Life-
time
and
The Learning Channel.
She has
helped countless individuals restore tran-
quility and sense to their lives by using her
unique abilities to encourage release,
order, and constructive engagement with
the personal environment. Please visit her
website at www.KeepItSimpleNow.com.
To contact Patricia, call 908-642-1226, email
at patriciadiesel@keepitsimplenow. com.
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