Getting on top of time management

A discussion on time management at today’s meeting of Mayo Open Coffee Club inevitably led to one topic – emails!

Chris B Kerndter told of how he had dramatically reduced his daily email load by up to 80 per cent by unsubscribing himself from all manner of irrelevant newsletters, along with setting up filters to keep emails from various contacts all in one place. Thus, he can deal with emails in shorter, sharper bursts, rather than allowing them to dominate throughout the day.

He also recommended the advice of Timothy Ferris (The Four-hour Work Week) to set aside two times a day to check emails. Robert Grealis felt this might not work with a consumer-driven business, but agreed with the sentiment.

“The culture of being engrossed in emails is killing business,” said Robert Grealis. Emails are crucial for many businesses, he said, but they must be kept in check.

Chris also talked about monitoring yourself throughout the day so you can see if you are using your time effectively. He recommended www.rescuetime.com as a valuable resource that gives minute-by-minute breakdown of how you spend your time at your desk.

People who don’t spend all their time at a desk should still select a day where they log their time in 15-minute blocks, said Robert. It could prove quite revealing. Perhaps a lot of valuable time is being wasted on non-essential activities!