| MANY people have been complaining recently about | | | | interruptions. |
| their time management problems specifically around | | | | Think of the time you spend during your workday like |
| having an inordinate amount of meetings to attend on | | | | Chinese water torture. This is the popular name for a |
| a daily basis. This leaves them with little or no time to | | | | method of water torture in which water is slowly |
| tend to their emails, voice mails or anything else, for | | | | dripped onto a person's forehead, slowly and |
| that matter. The incredible stress this causes can be | | | | unpredictably, driving the victim insane. The victim tries |
| greatly reduced. | | | | to predict when the next drop will fall causing tension |
| First off, know that you really DO have control over | | | | build up. When the drop finally does fall, a sense of |
| the number of meetings you attend. If you use a group | | | | shock and then relief follows, only to be replaced with |
| calendar system like Outlook and your calendar is | | | | more tension about the next drop. |
| empty at the time a meeting is called, then you will be | | | | Believe it or not, you experience a feeling similar to |
| scheduled to attend it. However, if you intentionally | | | | Chinese water torture every day. According to the |
| block out time (translate = show busy) for your email | | | | National Association of Professional Organizers, the |
| and other projects, then you won't be going to that | | | | average business person is interrupted, or dripped on, |
| meeting! Certainly there are some meetings that you | | | | approximately 60 times per day. Each interruption lasts |
| HAVE to go to, but limit your time available by blocking | | | | an average of five minutes or a total of four hours per |
| out time for you, first. | | | | day. These interruptions come primarily in the form of |
| Another simple strategy is to just say "NO"! Of course | | | | phone calls, emails, and other people dropping by. So if |
| this needs to be used judiciously but remember it | | | | you are busy working on a project and your email |
| always IS an option! | | | | dings (an unexpected drip), your body tenses up or |
| Secondly, do you REALLY have to attend every | | | | "twitches." Your mind now shifts away from what you |
| meeting you are invited to? Of course we all want to | | | | are doing to make a decision about what needs to be |
| feel needed and important but some meetings are just | | | | done with the interruption. Multiply this by 60 and you |
| a plain waste of time. Find out from the meeting | | | | have a very stressful and non-productive situation |
| organizer what the meeting will cover and why you | | | | indeed! |
| need to be there if you are at all unsure. You might | | | | So here's some ways to reduce your "twitches" so |
| just buy yourself an extra hour by spending 2 minutes | | | | you can feel more accomplished at the end of your |
| checking. | | | | day: |
| Also, has your organization learned the ways to | | | | Turn OFF your email notification. If you are feeling like |
| running efficient meetings? They include things like: | | | | a slave to your email, this can help you feel like the |
| - Timed out agendas sent ahead of time | | | | master. |
| - Clear purpose and objectives | | | | Check your email 3 times a day (OR less than every |
| - Basic meeting ground rules | | | | 5 seconds!). If you are in a customer service position, |
| - STRICT start and end times | | | | this may not work BUT if you can resist obsessively |
| - A meeting timekeeper to keep on track | | | | checking email, you will twitch less and have more time |
| - A meeting minute taker (to share with those NOT in | | | | to get other work done before checking it again. |
| attendance, maybe you??) | | | | Use voice mail and turn the ringer off. (See #1 above.) |
| - A meeting facilitator | | | | Create daily office hours and post them. Just like |
| - Evaluate meeting for productive or unproductive | | | | professors, let others know when you are available to |
| outcomes | | | | field questions and issues. Otherwise, your time is your |
| - Set next steps | | | | own for projects or meetings. |
| If you and your colleagues are meeting'd out, want to | | | | Go where you can't be found. When you are trying to |
| make your meetings more efficient or spend less time | | | | get some reading or important work done, sign |
| in meetings, then I hope this gets you thinking about | | | | yourself into an empty conference room or go to the |
| making some changes to reduce your stress. | | | | cafeteria off hours to reduce your interruptions. |
| Another way to reduce stress is to reduce | | | | |