Career Advice
How to multi-task
1. You can't take it with you? Oh yes you can! If you need to drop off the cleaning sometime this week, put the bag in your car. You might have an extra 15 minutes at some point in the day and be able to zip on over there. If the clothes are with you, you can take advantage of these moments.
2. Do Your Own Thing. Don't wait until you are sitting in the doctor's office or having your hair cut to realize that you could be reading that article, hemming your daughter's skirt or writing your speech for your networking meeting. Have something to do that will save time later.
3. Going My Way? If you have an appointment across town, what else can you do while you are there? Do you have someone else to see or an errand to do in that neighborhood? Schedule your appointments and errands geographically, particularly if you live in a place in which getting around is tricky.
4. Get a pda so you can access the Internet on the run.
5. Invest in a laptop. You can drop the kids off and grab a cup of coffee at a local coffee shop with wireless access. Or, work offline and send the emails and documents when you get
back to your home or office.
6. Get some exercise. Have your sneakers and an i-pod in the car so you can take a walk when you have an extra 20 minutes.
7. Read. I have a file of work-related articles that I take with me. 20 minutes of sitting in the car can be a great opportunity to get some of that work off your desk.
8. Just Say No: Start sorting at the moment an item comes through your door. Toss mail that is junk immediately. Ask yourself right away, if you are realistically going to be able to follow up with an item and if not, toss it before it starts a new pile.
9. Always Say Never: Be relentless with the Never pile. If you are even considering placing items there, then you are ready to let them go. If you are ever interested in learning how to make a hook rug or searching for that perfect "extreme" vacation, you will find it in a snap on the web.
10. What's Next? Stay on top of the Next pile. Don't let it sit for too long. Make a little note in your calendar to review every month or two... and then move things out of there.
Jamee Tenzer is a US-based full-time coach, mother of three children and author of A Year of Secrets and Solutions for Multi-Taskin’ Mamas. More information.
Related articles:
News and blogs
Advice and support
Features
Post this entry to:
del.icio.us
|
Digg
|
Newsvine
|
Reddit
There are currently no comments on this post.