I have been somewhat disorganized lately. Our insurance business has been a little slow, which I think is causing this disorganization. When I (and others) have too much time on my hands, it is easy to find ways to waste the extra time rather than make it productive. I have spent the last couple of days re-organizing how I will spend my time. I read on chrisbrogan.com today, where he is re-drawing how he will spend his time. It feels nice to be on the page with someone who has put some thought into this process. To me, it is important to spend a little time thinking about the most productive ways to spend your time. Due to the speed with which business and work flows can change, it is important to evaluate your time at least once per quarter, if not more often.
Email:
How much time are you spending on email? I spend a lot of time on email, yet much of that time can be shifted to non-peak business hours. That is to say, that every email does not need an immediate response. In fact, many emails don’t need a response within the same business day. I have decided to make an immediate judgement on emails as they come in and determine whether they need immediate response, or whether I can work them from home at night. This began today, and I already have a few to respond to this evening. I think I’ll be okay.
Reading:
It is important to spend some time each day to determine what is going on in your world (local news, profession-specific news, world news). I sometimes imagine everyone sitting around reading their local newspaper or Wall Street Journal. Needless to say, times have changed and the consumption of news/information has felt that change. The problem arises in that the information is so readily available and so vast, that if you don’t watch out, you can spend too much time each day “staying informed”. If you don’t believe me, log the amount of time you spend each day on the Internet reading news (including sports, entertainment, fashion) and you will probably be amazed at just how much time you are spending.
Even though the information is readily available, I have decided to carve out a few minutes in the morning, a few in the afternoon, and some wrap up time at night before I go to bed. I don’t think I will miss anything major. I do get Washington Post email updates, afterall, so I’m sure I will be informed of any news that would be immediate for me to know.
Business Contacts:
How much time do you spend each day reaching out to potential business partners? If you spend too much time on non-essential reading and emails, then you are losing valuable contact time. I like to pick up the phone and contact people. When I don’t have the time to pick up the phone, I go to Linked In or Biznik and look how my connections are connected to everyone else. I found a couple of old contacts today and reunited with them. It was nice to connect.
Take some time and log what you are doing each day. Is it productive? Is it wasteful? Maybe you are better than the rest of us, but if you go through this process at the very least you will confirm your productivity.
CWH
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