What To Do When There's Too Much To Do by Laura Stack Read Free Book Online Page B

you’re focused on completing a critical task within a specific amount of time, you want to access exactly what you need to support your work, exactly when you want it. You especially need to be able to retrieve all the information you require. But with multiple pieces of important data spread across twenty different documents and platforms covering the same general topic, how do you stay organized?
    In this chapter, I’ll show you. I’ll begin by providing guidelines for reducing information, researching effectively, and reading efficiently. Then we’ll discuss setting up a basic filing schema. I’ll then explain how to refine your personal time management system for maximal efficiency. Once we cover the systems for organizing incoming information, I’ll show you how to process each piece as it arrives with my original 6-D System for processing workflow inputs, whether by e-mail, paper, or voicemail. This methodology will help you make quick decisions and get information into the right place, so you can access it immediately.
TAMING THE INFORMATION GLUT
    Each day, you have to sift through a ton of available information to find the few things you really need. It’s far too easy to overdose—when you take in so much information, you don’thave time to process it all. Unprocessed information doesn’t accomplish anything, since any new information has to mesh with your understanding and methodology before it’s applicable. Therefore, to make the best use of the information available, be selective about what you accept. Let’s consider some ways you can do that.
Reduce the Inflow
    First of all, do everything in your power to reduce the amount of information crossing your desk in the first place. In the modern office, receiving too much e-mail is a particular problem, and processing your inbox can be a nerve-racking experience. If you’re fortunate enough to have an assistant, put that person in charge of screening your e-mail. An assistant’s biggest responsibility is to save you time, and this is one of the best ways to do it.
    If an assistant isn’t in the picture, establish e-mail filters or rules to limit the amount of e-mail you receive. First, install a spam-blocker so you don’t have to deal with unwanted commercial e-mail (or diligently train the one your company has installed for you). Look at each message you receive and weigh it for its value. Does e-mail from a particular source really help you get your job done? If the source sometimes sends you useful e-mails but sometimes doesn’t, politely ask them to send only items they know or suspect are relevant to you. If their information is of limited or no utility, stop receiving it by unsubscribing, or by creating a Rule to move their messages directly to your Deleted Items (in Microsoft Outlook, right-click on an e-mail and go to Create Rule and check the appropriate boxes). Those rare nuggets of useful information just aren’t worth the time you’ll spend sorting through the mountain of garbage. You’re better off doing your own search for the information when you need it.
    If it takes you more than a minute to find a file, document, or e-mail, something’s wrong. Develop a more efficient information processing/filing system.
    Do you really need to receive the jokes and lists your coworkers circulate? Just reading them wastes your time, so politely ask your colleagues to stop sending them to you, or give them a personal e-mail address.
    For all other unwanted mail, put the address of the sender on your Junk or “blacklist,” so you never have to see the e-mail (in Outlook, right-click on an e-mail, select Junk e-mail, and add them to your blocked senders list). That way, when you receive a new e-mail message from that person, it will go to your Junk mail folder, where you can review it before you delete it, to ensure something important didn’t get filtered out, which can