TWENTY TERRIBLE DISTRACTIONS THAT ERODE PRODUCTIVITY!

1. TWENTY TERRIBLE DISTRACTIONS THAT ERODE PRODUCTIVITY!

2. 1) Procrastination • Solution: Force yourself to get the job done and reward yourself for completing priority tasks.

3. 2) Over-Commitment/Poor Delegation Skills • Solution: Just say NO or if you feel it's impossible to say no, review institutional or personal priorities with those closest to you and seek their help in establishing a reasonable schedule. Hire people you respect and trust and give them the opportunity to shine by delegating responsibility.

4. 3) Perfectionist Tendencies • Solution: Give each task your best shot for the amount of time you have to work on it and move on knowing you did your best under the circumstances.

5. 4) Endless Firefighting • Solution: Plan for normal interruptions, deal with them quickly and get back to work. Always finish thoughts before dealing with interruptions and quickly outline where you plan to go with a report, letter, or plan before you leave it.

6. 5) Shortsightedness/Inflexibility • Solution: Don't be so wed to your schedule that you are unable to perceive and grab hold of opportunities that relate to your key life and career goals. Realize that change is inevitable.

7. 6) Lack of Preparation • Solution: Bring all the tools you need to finish the product to the table to avoid straying from your work and other distractions.

8. 7) Not Choosing the Right Place and the Right Time • Solution: Do easy tasks during high interruption times in your office and “priority difficult tasks” at a site and during a time when interruptions are minimal.

9. 8) Poor Staff Training, Supervision, and Follow-up • Solution: If your current assistant is top-notch, ask them to prepare an overview for work in your office, a realistic job description, a day-to-day breakdown of his/her responsibilities and activities, and a "Handbook to Organizing, Cooperating With, and Surviving Work with YOUR NAME HERE." If your assistant is generally useless, put this Handbook on YOUR priority list, complete it, and use it for future orientation, training, and evaluation. Update and revise as necessary.

10. 9) Open Door Policies • An open door says, "I am available to you and I'm not working on a priority project." An open door for a short and consistent time per day may work for you and employees who know they can catch you between 2-3pm daily. • Solution: The aforementioned "Hall Walks" tackle accessibility issues while allowing you to control the use of your office.

11. 10) The Waiting Game: Losing Time Just Hanging Out • Solution: With your organizational binder, you have a myriad of projects just waiting for you! Have your assistant take your mail out of the envelopes and save it to read when you are waiting in lines, stuck in traffic or waiting for meetings to begin.

12. 11) Searching for Emails, Addresses, Websites, Telephone Numbers, etc. • Solution: Have your assistant type in all your important numbers onto your computer and reduce the type so they can easily be fit and found in your notebook. This should include Birthdays, Anniversaries, Holidays, etc. • Important Note: Code any financial numbers to prevent theft!

13. 12) Instant Gratification Syndrome • Solution: Reward yourself only when Priority Projects are completed and chastise yourself for dealing with little tasks just to get them off your list.

14. 13) Listening and Reacting to the Squeaky Wheel • Solution: Reward individuals who respect your time and work plan and penalize individuals who waste your time by assigning them a less than desirable task every time they needlessly distract you.

15. 14) Bad Attitude/Fear of Failure/Jealousy/Anger/Depression • Solution: Let go of the past, look to the future, forgive, forget, and seize the joy that is available to you. Inventory your strengths and blessings and be grateful for all you have accomplished. Consider seeking assistance and outside support for persistent emotional problems.

16. 15) Mealtime Madness • So often, your prime time for working on Priority Projects is preempted by long, unproductive breakfast, lunch, or dinner meetings that don't engage or involve you for more than a few minutes. • Solution: Consider setting a 50-minute limit on all morning meetings (including your own meetings and your participation in outside meetings). Avoid lunch dates and meal meetings that can drag on unproductively for hours without any graceful means of escape. Delegate!

17. 16) Proofreading, Signing Checks, and Signing Letters • Solution: Hire reliable assistants who can proofread, write, and edit materials. Save check and letter signings that you can't delegate for quiet TV-vegetation times, for times you are waiting for meetings to begin, for waiting in line, etc.

18. 17) Handling the Same Projects, Papers, and Memos Over and Over and Over and Over and Over and Over and... • Solution: Put #1 at the top of each new piece of paper that crosses your desk and add #2, #3, etc., each time you rehandle this paper. Resolve to complete the project, delegate the project, or toss the project the third time you handle it.

19. 18) Handling Correspondence on a Piece-Meal Basis • Solution: Resolve to save-up minor correspondence and respond to it all during pre-set times during the week. Utilize the fastest means of dispensing with bureaucratic correspondence (fax, phone call, letter, e-mail, etc.) and don't waiver. Delegate whenever possible.

20. 19) The Black Hole of TV. • Solution: Use the time you must spend in front of a television to review reports, sign checks, grade papers, do push-ups, clean-up your “To Do List,” compose or dictate basic correspondence, and delegate smaller projects to subordinates.

21. 20) Reading Junk Mail. • Solution: Don't do it.