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eLearning Series: Time Management
How Can I Manage My Time Better?
( 50 articles in this series )
Record
Keeping: Always Write Things Down
When
people fail to write things down, some serious consequences
can occur. People lose productivity time,
they waste funds, and they create stress for themselves and
all of those in the environment around them. Most people fail
to write things down because they believe they will be able
to remember all of the important things they must during the
course of the day. This, however, is a false idea. We find
it difficult to remember all of the things we must because
we are so busy. Generally, the phone rings, three people stop
by your office, and you're trying to handle six tasks at once.
We try to move from task to task. New thoughts pop into our
minds all of the time. We are incessantly interrupted before
we can complete a task. When we do write things down, we do
this on small scraps of paper that will eventually become lost.
Writing things down in the correct manner can put an end to
all of this insanity.
In order to begin writing things down, you
must develop and organized system of record keeping that
works for you. A telephone
log is a good place to start. You can buy a pre-made telephone
log, or you can make your own. Be sure the log you choose has
space to write down the name, business affiliation, and phone
number of the person calling. Then be sure it has plenty of
space to record both the nature of the call and the action
required on your part. Additional information you can include
in the log might be things like who made the call (you or the
other party), the duration of the call, the date of the call,
and the time of day. This might help you to determine several
things when you are analyzing your phone time like how often
you talk to certain people, the time of day you are most likely
to be on the telephone, and any excess time you are spending
on the phone. Store the log by the phone you use most
frequently for business. Every time the phone rings, grab a pencil and
start writing. Use this log for both incoming and outgoing
calls to make your telephone time even more productive. Even
if the phone will not stop ringing, you won't forget the things
you need to do or remember as a result of the call because
they will be written down. A quick read through of the phone
log a few times a day will help refresh your memory as to tasks
left unfinished. Moreover, you will not forget what you have
told clients during previous phone conversations, which can
be a bit of an embarrassment at the time.
This same procedure can also be followed in the form of a
visitor's log. It will help keep your from forgetting what
you tell people who drop by your office on a regular basis.
If you are speaking to them, and their last visits come up
in the course of speaking, you can simply flip to your log
and refresh your memory. It can also cut down on your failure
to listen. It can be very hard not to listen to a visitor when
you are writing down what your visitor is trying to say to
you. It might also impress your visitor that you are being
so thorough based on his or her visit.
In addition to your telephone and visitor's log, it can be
very helpful to keep a small notebook with you at all
times. This might help you to record thoughts or ideas that pop into
your mind through the normal course of a day. You can simply
buy a small notebook or you can purchase a day planner. These
typically have a section for writing things like this down.
Whether you make the logs yourself or purchase them, writing
things down to this degree takes persistence. You may find
that you often forget to write things down. Take it one week
at a time. Do not force yourself to think any further into
the future than you can. By the time you hit the second week,
you will find that it has become second nature to grab your
log and start writing. # # # # #
SolveYourProblem.com
: 2006
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