Many time problems are self-imposed

Avoid the ricochet effect, stay on task

The ricochet effect is the human tendency to lose focus after an interruption. Interruptions break our continuity of thought. They can result in our failure to refocus on what we were doing prior to the distraction. This can minimize our effectiveness.

Making a prioritized list at the beginning of the day is a good way to correct this tendency, but only if we keep the list visible at all times. When the list is constantly in our view, it serves as a tool to re-anchor our attention after an interruption. Sailing through the day without something to remind us to keep on task is like trying to navigate without a rudder.

Use color to deal with interruptions and distractions

Technology has changed the way we communication. Gone are the days of face-to-face meetings, one-on-one dialogue. Here comes the email, text message, social dialogue, and instant message.

Technology has created time compression, we operate faster today then ever before.  We are expected to do more with less in the same amount of time.  So we have to become master editor of some voicemail, some email, distractions, and all interruptions.

Want to increase your staff’s communication and productivity? Simply color your choices.

Red means STOP. Go do this activity now.  Needs to be done in 0-3hrs.

Green means GO. Do as many green activities as possible. When a green interruption occurs, schedule it. The deliverable or completion time is the end of the day or within 24hrs.

Yellow means CAUTION. These are the activities on our master task list.  We use yellow as a staging color, we look at yellow activities once each day and they either become green and get scheduled as an activity on our to-do list or they become gray, our last color.

Gray means NO. We use the color gray to identify time wasters. We never schedule gray, it’s a waste of time.

Color your communication; it’s a time saver.  Try this and watch your stress go down and your productivity go up, way up.

Tip: Ask yourself this question when an activity occurs.

• What color is this interruption?
• What color is this email?
• What color is this call?
• What color is this activity?
• What color is this person?

It’s time to live in color.

Technology has changed the way we communication. Gone are the days of face-to-face meetings, one-on-one dialogue. Here comes the email, text message, social dialogue, and instant message.

Technology has created time compression, we operate faster today then ever before.  We are expected to do more with less in the same amount of time.  So we have to become master editor of some voicemail, some email, distractions, and all interruptions.

Want to increase your staff’s communication and productivity? Simply color your choices.

Red means STOP. Go do this activity now.  Needs to be done in 0-3hrs.

Green means GO. Do as many green activities as possible. When a green interruption occurs, schedule it. The deliverable or completion time is the end of the day or within 24hrs.

Yellow means CAUTION. These are the activities on our master task list.  We use yellow as a staging color, we look at yellow activities once each day and they either become green and get scheduled as an activity on our to-do list or they become gray, our last color.

Gray means NO. We use the color gray to identify time wasters. We never schedule gray, it’s a waste of time.

Color your communication; it’s a time saver.  Try this and watch your stress go down and your productivity go up, way up.

Tip: Ask yourself this question when an activity occurs.

• What color is this interruption?
• What color is this email?
• What color is this call?
• What color is this activity?
• What color is this person?

It’s time to live in color.

Beware of Time Bandits Today

Time bandits hold us up by making us wait.  Time bandits are people who hold us up by asking “got a minute?” and then take ten.

• They hold us up with frequent overlong calls and unnecessary drop in visits.
• They hold us up by showing up late for meetings.
• They hold us up in hallways when we are trying to get someplace else.

Time bandits steal our time with office gossip.  One time bandit, who takes fifteen minutes of our time daily, robs us of ninety hours per year.  Remember, time bandits can’t take your time unless you give it to them.

Choosing Activities

Choosing is the number one skill of activity management and it is critical to maximizing your performance and productivity.

An activity is anything that we do, it is a task that has been delegated by a boss, a customer request, eating, exercising, making a phone call, email, text message, Facebook, it’s even a thought or emotion that we feel inside.

• Activities drive productivity.
• Activities give us energy or steel energy.
• Activities can propel us forward towards our goals.
• Some activities have high payoff, low payoff and most have no payoff.

As activity managers we have to decipher the encryption code of activities as they’re presented to us as interruptions or distractions.  To do this we employ the ritual of asking this question. What color is it?  Doing this will help us:

• Maintain focus throughout the day
• Use logic not emotion in decision making
• Uncover the real urgencies
• And can help us reschedule unnecessary interruptions

The key is to identify the importance of the activity immediately when it’s presented.  To do this we are going use the metaphor of a traffic light and color our choices.  Using color is fast; it doesn’t require paper and a pen, just our brain.   This gives us flexibility no matter where we are.

So we are going to use the color RED to stand for things that are vital and urgent.  This means stop what you are doing and go take care of this right now.

GREEN means GO.  This is where we want to spend the majority of our day, on green events that have high payoff in our work and personal life.  Green activities do not require an immediate response; in other words they are not urgent.

YELLOW activities also don’t require immediate attention but have some degree of value.  YELLOW means to use caution.   Many yellow activities come to us wrapped in the context of artificial urgency, like when a co-worker drops in and claims they need your help right now.

GRAY activities are a complete waste of time.  We use the color gray to remind us to stay away from activities that have NO value.

The payoff for being skillful at choosing and refusing is HUGE. It’s one of the most important survival skills in modern organizations. Below is a partial list of activities based on feedback from our Facebook fans and what color I would personally give them.  Now these are given by way of example only, you decide how to color your choices.  Add to the list.  What activities are you doing today?

RED ACTIVITIES

Urgent request from a boss

Customer complaint

Internet is down

Out of milk

Filling gas tank

Paying bill due today

Prospecting call

Reschedule appointment

Expense report

Sick employee

Equipment breakdown

Accident

Sick child

GREEN ACTIVITIES

Daily planning

Gym

Running

Yoga, meditation

Grocery shopping

Time with family

Paying bills

Brushing teeth

Processing email

Laundry

Reading

Research for job

Project planning

Writing marketing plan

Creative for ad campaign

Cycling

Sales call

Writing proposal

Client meeting

Write blog post

Swimming

Calling a friend

Make dinner reservations

Buy airline ticket

House cleaning

Kids to school

Cooking

Kids to sports activity

Coffee with friends

Massage

Carpool (2x)

Piano lessons

Showering

Ironing

Homework

Shovel snow

Cleaning dishes

Taking out trash

Call mom

Feed pets

YELLOW ACTIVITIES

Forwarded Email

Upload photos

Facebook

Buy birthday gift

Monday night football

GRAY ACTIVITIES

Office Gossip

To much television

Surfing the Internet to long

Forwarded email from friends

Blank spaces of time

Doing nothing

You can begin today to color your activity choices. You’ll make great choices that way and it’s easy! You’ll always know when to stop, when to go, when to say no, and when to say no. For more information on the skill of choosing refer to our time management book Attack Your Day! Before It Attacks You. Download the first two chapters.

Getting Interrupted at Work? Try One of The 4 Responses

The Immediate Response Method

This is when you refuse a request on the spot, immediately after it is made. There are four elements you can include in your refusal statement to soften the response.  The elements express:

• A desire to be helpful
• A singular reason you can’t
• An expression of regret
• And a thank you for asking

Here’s an example of the refusal statement using those elements. “I’d love to help but right now I just have too much on my plate, I’m really sorry but thank you for asking.” This is a classy approach most people will feel good about.

Caution: When giving a singular reason for saying no such as your plate is full, don’t give details. The more specific reasons you give, the less persuasive you’ll sound. You are not obligated to give reasons.

The Delay Tactic

This is when you are unsure and you want to think through the request. People often say yes when they should say no because they are under the pressure of the moment.  For example, use a simple statement such as, “I’d like to but I’m not sure I can. Give me some time to think about it and I’ll get back to you.” If, after thinking about it, you decide you can’t, then use a refusal statement with the elements described above.

The Helping Hand Approach

This technique is driven by a sincere desire to be helpful even though you must say no. For example, recommend to the person somebody else who might assist them, or you could suggest alternative solutions. You might also agree to commit some limited time to it. It’s good time management to always lend a helping hand when we can.

Just say NO

This takes courage. But when a person approaches you with “gray matter” just say NO.  Remember, gray stands for activities that are a complete waste of time, such as office gossip.  In our seminars we go through an exercise where participants stand up and yell in their loudest voice, “NO…NO, NO, NO.  What part of no don’t you understand! Can’t you see that I am working here!”

Practice these techniques and your “no muscle” will get stronger and stronger.

Build A Results List, Not A To-Do List

I’ve never liked the term “to-do list.” A to-do list connotes procrastination because it’s only a list of intentions.

To be effective, build a “results list” at the beginning of each day and label it Results List! This is a list of things you will make happen with the investment of your time and energy. Make the listed results absolutely specific. For example: “call twenty clients” not “call clients.”

At the end of the day, you’ll have measurable results for your effort. You will also feel a sense of self-management power because you were effective. Power is the ability to produce effect. Power is the ability to get results. Make each day a powerful day with a results list.

Want to accelerate your personal productivity

Use blank spaces of time well. A blank space of time is any amount of time in which you are waiting for others, or you are put on hold for whatever reason. Perhaps you are waiting for a meeting to start.

Blank spaces can be used in two general ways. One: use blank spaces of time to complete mini-tasks that might take only a few minutes. Always have something with you that you could be working on, or carry an article with you to read. Two: use blank spaces to manage your energy level. It often takes only five minutes or so to win back energy. Change a routine; take a walk around the building, do stretching or some deep breathing. These techniques can work wonders. It’s just as important to manage your energy as it is to manage your time.

Blank spaces of time are golden opportunities. Don’t let them go to waste.

Three deadly planning mistakes

Transition time! Seldom managed, so important.

Transition time is that time consumed as we move from one project to another, one meeting to another, or one activity to another. Basically, it’s the time we spend disengaging from one activity and preparing to engage another.

Most people aren’t aware of the time consumed in transitions. That’s why managers often back one meeting up against the next, leaving no time to disengage from the last and go to the next. Here are three tips on managing transition time.

1. When scheduling meetings, be sure to schedule adequate transition time between them.
2. Say no to unnecessary interruptions. Considering the transition time involved with each interruption, it can take two to three times as long to recover from an interruption as it does to experience it.
3. Finally, develop an awareness of when you are in transition and not fully engaged or focused on anything.

This is Productivity Strategy #46 in our new book Attack Your Day! Before It Attacks You, available on 03.22.11.