The Rule of Anticipation (the 65-25-5-5 rule)

Most work problems are caused by procrastination. Roughly 65% of your daily tasks must be completed today, 25% within two to seven days, 5% withing eight to 30 days, and the rest later. Plan accordingly.

The Rule of Recall

Every few months we must do a personal audit, to remind ourselves of what we have (or have not) accomplished. Most people can't even remember 25% of what they did during the work day yesterday.

The First 15 Minutes

The productive person does this:

• writes a work plan for the day
• defines each task by its payoff
• places each task in order of payoff
• discusses the work plan with others

The Most Productive Periods

Most people are better in the morning; 9-11 AM is the best. After 4:30 PM, most people are worthless until evening.

The Effects of Caffeine

If I drink 24 ounces of coffee in an eight-hour stretch, my average attention span after that is about eight minutes. Tea drinkers aren't as bad, though some teas have more caffeine than coffee. Cola has less caffeine in general than coffee or tea, but you have to be careful not to drink cola too early in the day.

Office Environment

The worst layout is the one in which the desk faces the door. It invites eye-contact (and then walk-ins) from everybody passing by. Besides facing away from the door:

• place the phone where you have to move to reach it
• limit piles of papers in your workspace
• decorate the office comfortably

The GBR Rule

Gracious but Ruthless. New employees will become more effective on the job by doing their own work, rather than depending on their mentors to do it for them. It is possible to take on too much of others' jobs to be "nice," or to make sure "the job gets done right," etc. Resist this temptation!

Telephone

Three quarters of all business calls you make never reach the person you're calling. Almost 90% of the phone messages you get have only a name and number. You may get distracted (and even upset) if the phone rings while you're busy. Try these ideas instead:

• make telephone appointments with those you haven't been connecting with
• leave descriptive phone messages, so the people you call are ready when they call back
• turn off the ringer (if possible) at the busiest times of day

Meetings

You NEED to record ideas. My own ideas have a useful life of about 30 seconds unless they're recorded. Also, give out a descriptive agenda before the meeting:

• a sentence describing each item
• a sentence indicating any actions to be taken
• a time limit for the item

21 Days

85% of all New Year's resolutions are broken within two weeks. If you want to change your behavior (and in particular to become more productive), make a conscious commitment for 21 days and get others to help you.

Scrap Time

This term was recorded by time management consultant Rebecca L. Morgan. It encompasses

• waiting (for appointments, in line or on hold)
• trivial tasks (e.g. collating, stapling, opening, closing, stamping, logging on, logging off, walking, etc.)

She gives ideas on how the time can be used:

• make a phone call
• plan your day, week, or month
• complete paperwork (or edit a report)
• strategize
• listen to a book on tape
• read a magazine article (keep one with you for this)
• write a note (keep a pad or postcards on hand)
• practice a speech (formal or informal)
• tidy up
• do relaxation exercises

References

Covey, S. Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Fireside Books, 1990.
Rebecca Morgan's Web site