By Nancy Friedman, Customer Service Expert; President, Telephone Doctor Customer Service Training
While customer service, communications and sales are the basis of our wheelhouse, seems we also can give a few tips on time management.
Being A.D.D., time does get away from me. So, if you’re in this pickle, I am thinking some of my five time management tips can help you.
- Lists are always helpful. However, I tend to have more than one place to put my lists. That means I have several lists, and that is NOT helpful. So, I learned having ONE list in one place does help.
- Most of my scattered thoughts get on the list. And then, so many get removed very quickly. That’s when I realize I put way too many things on my list that are not important to my life at all.
- First things first. Well sort of. I take items off the list that I absolutely know are useless or do not need to be done. Or, in all honesty, will never get done. It helps a lot. The list gets shorter and easier for me then.
- OMG – this is where I normally lose it. I haven’t mastered that yet. Some say “Carve out a time to do your email.” Well, when clients expect a speedy answer, that’s not always possible. I’m on email a lot. But I honestly don’t feel that hinders my time management. I seem to be able to go through the emails rather quickly and delete the ads and other useless stuff easily. And I keep useful, known ones in my TASK file with a date. (Works for me).
- We don’t put a Subway sandwich in our mouth all at once, and we aren’t able to do all the things on our list all at once. Know that in advance. Use a RED marker for the THIS MUST BE DONE TODAY items. And use a DATE. “Today” can become tomorrow and so on! DATES are very helpful. Use the DAY and the DATE.
I have a few more, but it’s FRIDAY FIVE. Enjoy the holidays!
