Aloha,
After the third return trip home to get yet another item I'd forgotten, I laughingly mentioned to my family that its really a good thing I'm an organizer. Then I realized that I've made that statement several times this week and it's only Tuesday! Luckily, I am an organizer who deals with chronic disorganization and overwhelm, so I was able to take the advice I often give out to my clients: - STOP. Stop moving, stop thinking, stop going around in circles. For just one minute, stop.
- Breath. Take several deep, slow breaths and get oxygen back to your brain.
- Prioritize. Which is the first thing you need to do? You may even want to Dhuck Your Responsibilities.
- Focus on ONE task at a time. Multi-tasking does not accomplish more in less time. It's like opening all the programs on your computer and trying to use the internet, all at the same time. It slows down everything.
- Simplify. Get back to the basics of what you need to accomplish, not what you could accomplish.
- Take breaks. Breaks don't have to be long. Just taking a 5 minute break between projects and tasks can help you re-focus your thoughts for what's next.
- Ask for help. You don't have to do everything yourself. The help could be as big as taking on a larger role in a project or could be as small as taking out the trash this week.
This was not the original topic for the newsletter, but I thought I would take the opportunity to confess that I still get as overwhelmed as anyone else. However, I have strategies I rely on to move forward and now you can, too. And yes, I successfully navigated the rest of my day and am making much better progress. If you want help navigating out of your overwhelm or need support in clearing your clutter, call me at 808.969.3800 or email me at dhucks@dhucks.com I can help over the phone (almost anywhere), as well as in-person (for Big Island residents only).
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E-mail Affects Productivity
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To help keep your e-mail from overwhelming you:
- Decide who's in charge. Decide whether you want to be in charge of your email or would you rather your email (and the senders) be in charge of you and your time. Seriously, which do you want? Then base your actions on that decision.
- Establish common subject flags to indicate importance. Some people use the word URGENT, some use 9999 or 1111. I asked one co-worker to put "HEY YOU" at the beginning of the subject line so that I knew it was more than just information she was sending.
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To make your email more effective:
- Put your request for action from the reader or the must-have information (such as meeting date, time and location) in the first paragraph.
- Keep your email short. One study found that an email that is 2 sentences or less has the highest response rate. The longer the email the less information they'll take in and they might skip it all together.
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Changing your e-mail habits, strategies and guidelines is not an overnight occurrence (at least not for most people). So plan to improve rather than perfect.
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| 15 Minutes or Less |
- Take a 5 minute break before you tackle the next task on your list.
- Go through your email inbox and delete or move those that over 2 months old.
- Find 5 items on your desk that you can put back where they belong.
- Go through your June IDEA Box file.
- Take a look at previous 15 Minutes or Less ideas and try one of them.
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