Title: Getting Things Done: Time Management Tips
Author:
Section/SPIG: Health Administration
Issue Date:
Here is a useful set of suggestions for increasing your productivity and reducing clutter. These tips were taken from several issues of Taylor's Time Tips, an electronic newsletter and used with permission of the author. Harold L. Taylor is the author of 'Making Time Work for You.' Subscribe to Taylor's Time Tips at <http://www.TaylorOnTime.com>.
High Cost of Paperwork. Inc. Magazine (May, 1993) provided the following paper statistics (sourced from Lawrence Livermore Labs; Coopers & Lybrand). In the average office: 19 paper copies are made of each original document; 7.5 percent of paper documents get lost completely; 3 percent of the remainder get misfiled; $20 in labor is spent filing or retrieving a document; $120 in labor is spent finding a misfiled document; and, $250 in labor is spent recreating a lost document.
Are You Working Too Hard? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans are averaging only two to two and a half weeks of vacation, while Europeans take five. (Source: "Just Enough" by Laura Nash & Howard Stevenson, Wiley, 2004)
Keep Meetings on Target. Laura Stack, author of "Leave the Office Behind" (Broadway Books, 2004) suggests that any items that come up that are not on the agenda be placed on an easel pad labeled "Parking Lot." If there's not enough time to discuss them near the end of the meeting they can be placed on next month's meeting agenda.
Advice for the Administrative Assistant. Keep a record of all incoming calls, drop-ins and meetings that occur during the boss' absence. A brief journal or diary can be reviewed upon his return. Never assume you will remember.
Clutter is a Big Problem. It is estimated that 10-15 percent of the U.S. population is so chronically overwhelmed by clutter that it is a problem either to them or to someone close to them. This statement, attributed to Jonnae Ostram of Packrats International in California ("Why It's So Hard to Let Go of 'Stuff'" by Paul Brookshire, Wisconsin, June 20, 1993) indicates the importance of keeping on top of your possessions.