The Personal Efficiency Program: How to Stop Feeling Overwhelmed and Win Back Control of Your Work!, Fourth Edition

260 Pages·2009·2.806 MB·English

by  Kerry Gleeson(auth.)

The
Personal
Efficiency
Program
The
Personal
Efficiency
Program
Fourth Edition
How to Stop Feeling Overwhelmed
and Win Back Control of Your Work!
Kerry Gleeson
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Copyright(cid:2)C 2009byKerryGleeson.Allrightsreserved.
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ISBN978-0-470-37131-2
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Tony D’Arcy—We are all better for having known you.
And in loving memory of our MorMor
CONTENTS
WORLDWIDEOPPORTUNITIESWITHIBT XV
PREFACE XVII
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS XIX
INTRODUCTION 1
OriginofthePersonalEfficiencyProgram 2
HowtoWork 4
CHAPTER 1
ExecutiveSummary 5
GetOrganized 7
HabitsandRoutines 10
BatchingWork 11
Planning 12
ContinuousImprovementoftheProcess(Kaizen) 13
CHAPTER 2
DoItNow! 15
WhythePersonalEfficiencyProgramWorks 17
StartwithYourDeskorWorkSpace 19
OvercomingProcrastination 21
NotEverythingCanorShouldBeDoneNow 30
BuildDecisivenessintoYourWorkHabits 31
vii
CONTENTS
viii
EstablishDoItNowWorkHabits 32
Perfection 33
Discipline 34
Follow-UpforChapter2 35
CHAPTER 3
OrganizeItNow! 37
ASoldier’sStory 39
CleaningOuttheClutter 39
WhereDoesClutterComeFrom? 40
WhyClutterStaysThere 41
OutofSight? 42
Don’tOverlooktheObvious 42
StartwiththeBasics 44
YourOfficeToolbox 44
BecomeFamiliarwithToolsasTheyComeontheMarket 46
OrganizingFiles—BeginningwithPaper 47
WorkingFiles 48
TicklerSystem 50
SettingUpYourPersonalWorkingFiles 51
YourPersonalReferenceFiles:NoteThingstoDoasYou
ComeacrossThem 52
ArchiveFiles 54
Tips—WhattoKeep,WheretoKeepIt,andWhattoThrow
Away 55
TipsforImprovingYourPaperFilingSystem 56
FilingandLabeling 56
OrganizingElectronicFiles 58
WheretoBegin—TheComputer’sOperatingSystem 59
BackUpYourHardDrive 60
NamingElectronicFiles 60
LettheComputerFindYourDocumentsforYou 63
OrganizingE-Mail 64
StepstoOrganizeE-Mail 65
CreatingandOrganizingYourE-MailAddressBook 65
OrganizingBookmarks—WebPagesYouMayWishtoAccessin
theFuture 66
CONTENTS ix
OrganizingtheComputerDesktoptoAccessApplicationsand
FilesEasily 67
UsingSearchFunctions 67
OrganizingOtherMedia 68
Summary 69
Follow-UpforChapter3 70
CHAPTER 4
DoItRoutinely 73
KeepaTimeLog 75
ElectronicTimeLog 76
OvercomeInformationOverload 76
BeyondtheInBasket 80
BatchtheRoutineWork 81
ScheduleandAvoidHavingtoDecide 82
Parkinson’sLawandtheAllocationofTime 83
BlocksofTime 84
BatchingTelephoneCalls 84
OneMoreThing! 86
BatchingE-Mail 86
PaperMail/Memos 87
Reading 89
WeeklyOne-on-OneMeetings 89
DailyMeetingwithAdministrativeAssistant 90
DealingwithInterruptions 91
RespectOtherPeople’sTime 92
MakingItWork 92
Pitfalls 94
Follow-UpforChapter4 95
CHAPTER 5
PlanItNow! 97
PurposeofPlanning 99
PlanningPrinciples 101
Prioritizing—TaskManagement 101
CONTENTS
x
TimeManagement 102
TheTimeItTakestoPlan:IsItWorthIt? 103
PEPPlanningProcess 103
DailyPlanning 104
WeeklyPlanning 104
OneMoreReasontoScheduleaWRAP(WeeklyReviewand
ActionPlan) 106
ShapingtheDiary—AMonthlyPlanningProcessforSenior
Executives 110
ProjectImplementationPlanning 111
CriteriaforProjectPlanning 113
ImplementationMapping 113
PlanninginMicrosoftOutlook/LotusNotes 115
PlanningonaComputer 116
MicrosoftOutlook/LotusNotesCalendaring 117
StrategicPlanning 117
Goals 118
PersonalGoals 119
Values 120
ValuesonaPersonalLevel 121
Visualization—WhatYouSeeIsWhatYouGet 122
Follow-UpforChapter5 123
CHAPTER 6
DealingwithE-mailNow!TheSingleBiggestChallengefor
MostPeople 127
PartOne:TakeControlofWhatYouGet 130
TheMoreE-MailYouSend,theMoreYouWillReceive 131
PushtoPull 131
IfYouHaveAdministrativeSupport 131
TechnicalSolutions 132
ChangeE-MailAddress 133
YouDecideWhentoHandleYourE-Mail 133
CCsand“ReplyAll” 134
CONTENTS xi
PartTwo:ManagingandProcessingInformationEfficiently 134
Add-InApplicationsforE-MailPrograms—Organize
Information 134
SettingStandards 135
MoreStandards 136
ProcessingInformation 136
TheFourDs 137
TurnOffNotifications 138
InstantMessages 138
PendingFolder 138
SettingReminders 138
ReadFaster! 139
E-MailRulesofThumb 139
ItIsNoEasyTask! 141
Follow-UpforChapter6 141
CHAPTER 7
Follow-UpandFollow-Through! 143
Persistence 145
Persistence,Routines,andHabits—DoingWhatYouDon’t
LiketoDo 146
ForgetRemembering 148
PreoccupationandTime 149
OrganizeEfficientFollow-UpSystems 150
PaperFollow-Up 150
Logbook 151
ElectronicSolutionstoaLogbook 153
CalendarSystems 153
ElectronicSolutionstoFollow-Upand
Follow-Through 154
CombinationPaperandElectronicCalendaring
Systems 156
WorkGroups 156
Follow-UpandDelegation 157
Delegation—UsingYourElectronicTools 159
ExceptionstotheRule 159
CONTENTS
xii
MakeFollow-UpPartoftheWorkProcess 160
Follow-UpforChapter7 161
CHAPTER 8
DoItRight,Now! 163
ApplyThisOnePrinciple,andThatIsAllYouNeedtoDo 165
WhyQuality? 166
Kaizen 166
PEP—APracticalToolforQualityImprovement 167
6S 168
IdentifyingYourCustomersandTheirNeeds 169
WorkplaceKaizen 170
Benchmarking 171
FocusonPrevention 171
Project-by-ProjectImprovement 172
ContinuousChange 172
Summary 172
Follow-UpforChapter8 173
CHAPTER 9
DoItNow!—FromWhereverYouAre! 175
EvolvingWorkEnvironments 177
WhyNow? 177
WhatIsa“MobileWorkEnvironment”? 178
WorkingOutofaHomeOffice 178
CommonDenominators 179
TheProperWorkToolsfortheMWE 180
WorkIssuesintheMWEHomeOffice 181
CommonIssuesFacedWorkingintheMWE 182
WorkIssuesintheMWE 184
Follow-UpforChapter9 184
CHAPTER 10
BeaDoItNowManager! 187
ManagementbyWalkabout 189
ExamplesofPEPWalk 192