I’ve got 2000 emails in my inbox….now what?!?
June 29, 2010 | Leave a Comment
When email takes over it’s sometimes a little difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel. When you have hundreds or thousands of emails in your inbox, where do you begin to take control? Some issues that add to the stress are that you may not be sure if there is something important in all that old email that has been accumulating. You may not have any system in place for filing away important information that you need to keep. You may be reacting to email alerts every couple of minutes as they come into your inbox.
The first step is to decide what you are trying to accomplish by organizing your email and developing a new system. For example, I try to keep my inbox as empty as possible. At the moment I have 9 emails in my inbox, all of which require detailed thought and response. What do you want to see when you open up your email program?
One of the best ways to cut back on the number of new emails you’re receiving is to stop them from coming in the first place. Are you receiving notices from organizations you are no longer interested? Are you receiving newsletters that you don’t have the time to read? Ask to be removed from these lists. Another area to examine is email coming from co-workers or colleagues that you may not need to receive. If you consistently get reports that you don’t need to get, ask to be taken off the distribution list. If you are being copied regularly on correspondence that you have no interest in or have no involvement with, again, ask to be removed from the distribution of that information.
I would like to hear from you about what challenges you are facing with email. Send an email to me or post a comment.
Happy Organizing!
21 Days to Habit Change – Fact or Myth
June 23, 2010 | Leave a Comment
A question was asked on a conference call with Steve Levinson, author of Following Through: A Revolutionary New Model For Finishing Whatever You Start, whether he thought it really takes 21 days to change a habit. He pointed out that there is no scientific evidence that it takes 21 days to change a habit. It really depends on the complexity of the behavior and the potential consequences of not changing it.
For example, if you pressed a button which then caused your house to explode, you would never press that button again. This is an example of instant behavior change! What really determines the amount of time it takes to change a habit is your focused effort on changing that behavior. This is why it’s so important to focus on changing one habit or behavior at a time. So, choose one thing that you would like to change and focus all of your effort on changing that one before moving on to the next. The beginning of a new year always causes folks to think about renewal and change. Unfortunately, within a few weeks most give up. Just remember that behavior change is tough and it doesn’t always happen overnight or in 21 days. Just get back on the horse and try again!
Personality and Productivity
June 2, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Imagine for a moment that you are sitting at your desk filled with anxiety and stress. You stare at the telephone knowing that eventually you have to pick it up and dial. You start to wonder why on Earth you agreed to take this sales position. You don’t like making these phone calls and you don’t like networking events. You are procrastinating to the point that you must make the calls now or risk losing your job.
This is the story of an introvert. Truth be told, it’s my story. Now, I don’t have a sales job, but sales are very much a part of my business. So, when it’s time to sit down to make phone calls, I go through the anxiety and stress described in the previous paragraph. I wonder if running my own business was really the right decision. I wonder if I can really be successful if I can’t bring myself to make phone calls. Pretty crazy, right!
The good news is that I don’t let this stand in my way. I am aware of the problem, but I push through anyway. It’s not easy, but my desire to be self-employed outweighs the other bad feelings.
So, what does this have to do with organization and productivity? Personality traits can affect an individual’s ability to perform certain tasks. Unfortunately, it’s not so easy to identify personality traits that may impact a person’s suitability for a job or task. Matching employees, both current and potential, with appropriate jobs is a key factor in increasing productivity at work. For entrepreneurs, understanding your personality factors can help determine tasks and projects that can be outsourced.
Introverts generally are drained by social interaction. They will procrastinate on making sales calls and may avoid networking opportunities. Introverts are perfectly happy alone most of the time. Extroverts on the other hand derive great energy from social interaction and thrive in positions requiring this. They will happy make calls, attend social functions and don’t do well in situations which require they work in solitude for long periods.
A highly structured person in an environment that requires a high degree of spontaneity will probably not be successful. In the same way a very spontaneous person will not do well in a highly structured environment.
There is no right or wrong in personality traits. The most important thing is awareness. Once you are aware that you possess certain personality traits you are more equipped to make any necessary changes to compensate for any negative effects the trait may be causing.
Great insight can be made into the affects that behavior traits have on your work and personal life. You may discover the cause of your procrastination or why you react in certain ways to certain situations. A behavior assessment tool, such as DiSC, can be very helpful in creating awareness. Not only will you identify your own style, but when completed in a team environment communication among team members will be improved.
If you would like to learn more about how personality and behavior styles affect productivity, consider signing up for my Conquer Chaos Strategy Session. You will gain insight into how your personality traits may be impacting your productivity and get recommendations for improving your ability to get and stay organized. Click here for more information.
Happy Organizing,
