Time management consultant Stephen Young claims that the average
time consumed by an unplanned telephone call is 12 minutes,
verses 7 minutes for a planned call. This represents five-minute
savings every time you jot down some notes before dialing a
number. My average client receives about 45 emails and 15
voicemails a day. But the effectiveness of usage is what
determines our efficiency. Here's some tips to help increase
your personal performance and that of your team: Sending
messages Be specific about your subject. The subject line is a
great tool to communicate?but so often overlooked. For example,
'October 31 Sales Meeting Agenda'. In your voicemail, let the
person know very early in the message why you are calling and
what you need. For example, 'I'm calling because I need your
input on the Jones Project before I can complete the report due
Monday'. Be specific in your first sentence. For email, the
first sentence should answer the 'who, what, why, where and
when' for the recipient. With voicemail, using a list helps
prevent phone tag, so write down your key points before picking
up the phone. In both cases include timelines or deadlines. For
example, 'I need you to review and approve the attached budget
by 4PM Friday'. Be selective about distribution. When it comes
to emails, try to copy only those individuals directly affected
by the content. Copying or forwarding information
indiscriminately wastes the recipient's time as well as your
own. Retrieving messages Retrieval frequency. Generally speaking
I recommend picking up messages 3-4 times a day. However, the
number of times a day you retrieve messages depends on the type
of job you have and the circumstances surrounding your work. If
you know there is an issue, contract or deadline looming you may
end up checking more frequently on that day. Filter by person.
If you are consistently copied or blind copied on emails, they
will probably have a lower priority than ones written
specifically to you. Save them in a digital Folder labeled
'cc/bc' and read them at a later time. If they consistently fail
to provide information you need, contact the sender and request
removal of your name from the distribution list. Maintenance
Treat your email inbox as you would you paper inbox. Leaving
information in an inbox just clutters up the system and promotes
delayed decision making (aka procrastination). Establish
electronic file folders and after reading the message, either
file or delete it. These are just a few tips, but the single
most important thing to remember is to develop an email and
voicemail strategy, share it with the team and encourage
everyone to stick to use! Copyright 2001 Cynthia
Kyriazis. All rights reserved.
About the author:
Cynthia Kyriazis is an organizing and time management
consultant, trainer, speaker, coach and author.Organize it, a
division of Productivity Partners, Inc. is an organizational
training firm that serves Fortune 500 clients. since. She
currently serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors for the
National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), and is
member of the National Speakers Association (NSA).
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