Timesaving tips

... for the beginning of the day

· Some people get more satisfaction from getting rid of the biggest, hardest job first, while others feel better knocking off several short items right away before doing the bigger job. Pick the approach that works best for you.

· Don't just react to events. Schedule your day so that the most important work gets done and the "to-do" pile doesn't build up.

... for meetings

· Hold meetings later in the day, when your concentration is usually low anyway.

· Distribute briefings and other reading material ahead of time, so people at least have the chance to read them beforehand.

· Have an agenda, stick to it, record your decisions and leave with defined action items for the participants.

· A good, albeit slightly devious, trick for ensuring prompt starts is to lock the door when the meeting begins, forcing latecomers to knock. Also, make the last person take the minutes.

... for organizing piles of paper

· Every time you pick up a piece of paper, ask yourself, "What is this and what will I do with it?" If you're not happy with the answer, recycle the paper.

... for the telephone

· Before you call, make a list of the items you want to discuss and make sure you have all the related documents at hand.

... for projects

· Before starting, remember to ask about the project's goals, deadlines and parameters.

... for the end of the day

· Take a few moments to file and organize. This prevents the "archaeology syndrome," where paper piles up chronologically, never to be seen again.

· Review what you have done and make a list of jobs for the next day.

... for more information

Source: Time Management for Dummies by Jeffrey Mayer

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