Get off DCUM

Oh, and all of our monthly bills are on auto-pay (dedicated account, everything this month is paid out of $$ that accumulated last month). I never, ever have to think about it and the mortgage is always on time. The bank texts me balances on each account every day- I can see if something "doesn't look right" but for the most part it no longer involves me.

I get in super early several days a week, giving me 1.5-2 hours of uninterrupted quiet time to get stuff done before the office is hoppin'. This is a great time for detail work and very concentration-intense stuff, when I can't handle colleagues dropping by every nanosecond.

If I'm really in a crunch, I completely close Outlook. Only open it at predetermined intervals (every hour or every two hours or whatever). You'd be amazed at how much crap just resolves itself... and my concentration isn't broken. Along the same lines, turn off the little thing where the preview of the email pops up every damn time.

I selectively skip meetings if I know that I won't actually be needed/get anything. Then that time appears blocked out on my calendar, so I can use it for actually getting work done without interruption.

I used to work in an open office environment. Sometimes, when I just needed some space and/or concentration, I would put headphones on... no actual music, but those big bug-eye headphones that say "I am listening to something, please don't bother me." Cuts down on distractions.

Not work related, but I make a meal plan/grocery list every week, ensuring that I don't need to stop on the way home for 3 items. The hours between end of work/afternoon daycare pickup/attempts at making dinner and being an attentive mom are crazy enough, I don't need that added stress.

Start the day with the one thing you must complete before you go home.

Be ruthless about cutting out interruptions. Don't be antisocial or rude to colleagues but limit "water cooler" time.

Get used to the slight discomfort of setting deadlines and saying no to more work than you can handle.

I work in an industry notorious for procrastination and starting late in the day. I work 8 to 5, and work hard, but then I go on to my real life with my family. I refuse to work late regularly because other people roll in at 9:30 or 10 am and have no incentive to leave work on time.

Oh almost forgot... If you need someone with a phd or MBA or biomedical engineering or whatever, you can get that too. Costs a bit more per hour.

It's very simple really. The food stuff they do via peapod for me. The travel is also run of the mill. There are many such companies out there, if you google virtual assistant you'll find dozens of firms. You need to set your expectations ("Hey can you find out which of these six vacation spots I can get to cheapest, including at least a four star hotel?" Vs "Can you identify a pricing algorithm for hotels?"). But basic stuff sure. Some of my friends let them pay their bills too (since near everything is digital now, its doable). I don't personally like giving out that much info to people but to each his own.

Most firms bill by the hour and offer discounts if you buy blocks. I've had them do stuff like email a dozen landscaping firms to get maintenance quotes, put the reply in a ppt and send to me. Etc. forgot about that one... That was useful.

Try it for a month. It's hardly high cost.

Anonymous wrote:I write my todo in notepad.
I save it as todo.txt
I added it to my startup folder

It's simple and totally unsophisticated but every time I turn on my PC it gives me my todo list on the screen. Being just text there's no setting priority or deadlines or other fancy crap. I just move things up and down by cutting and pasting if needed.

Also I block off 8 to 11am every day on my calendar.

I also outsource some of my work to India. Small stuff like organizing a a list, drafting an email, paying bills. it costs me about $200 a month, but allows me to spend more time relaxing. I just leave a voicemail for them on my way home from the office - they have some special system that lets me leave up to 30 minutes at once. I'll list off groceries in my head, tell them to prepaid the order and tell them to do it for delivery on X day. Or I'll tell them I want to take a trip in June and to send me flight costs for five or fix cities. Or I'll give them a simple research task (it has to be fairly simple) and ask them to send me some top results in a day or two.

Usually I walk in and have it in my email immediately. Worth every penny. I haven't been to a grocery store in 3 years. Passes my commute too.

What now? Tell me more...

I write my todo in notepad.
I save it as todo.txt
I added it to my startup folder

It's simple and totally unsophisticated but every time I turn on my PC it gives me my todo list on the screen. Being just text there's no setting priority or deadlines or other fancy crap. I just move things up and down by cutting and pasting if needed.

Also I block off 8 to 11am every day on my calendar.

I also outsource some of my work to India. Small stuff like organizing a a list, drafting an email, paying bills. it costs me about $200 a month, but allows me to spend more time relaxing. I just leave a voicemail for them on my way home from the office - they have some special system that lets me leave up to 30 minutes at once. I'll list off groceries in my head, tell them to prepaid the order and tell them to do it for delivery on X day. Or I'll tell them I want to take a trip in June and to send me flight costs for five or fix cities. Or I'll give them a simple research task (it has to be fairly simple) and ask them to send me some top results in a day or two.

Usually I walk in and have it in my email immediately. Worth every penny. I haven't been to a grocery store in 3 years. Passes my commute too.

About 10 or 15 minutes before I leave at the end of the day, I organize my desk. Make a list of everything to do the following day, review the next day's calendar, etc.

I also am not shy about closing my door, or ending a casual chit-chat by saying, "Okay, I need to get to work now." I'm not afraid to delegate where appropriate, and I encourage others to delegate. So if I have two huge projects I'm working on, and need photocopies and word processing done, I'll tell my secretary to have Office Services do the copying job and the WP department handle the editing. Then I know she's free to grab the phones, keep people from bothering me, and handle anything that comes up.

Please share tips on how to be more efficient and getting more done in less time at work. Thanks.