@ryan_carchat24 Ya it sounds crazy to most to not check their email frequently throughout the day, but like you said after you try it it's a huge time saver. Even leaving your open throughout the day, not necessarily responding to emails is a bad habit because you will be thinking about the emails instead of staying focused on the task you're working on.
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- May 1, 2005
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Bobby, love the article and I love the book. You have encouraged me to go back and read it again. While I find it hard to believe one could achieve only working 4 hours a week - the ideas Tim offers in the book are priceless. Priorities and Efficiencies.
I've tried many times to follow the twice a day email rule but that's one I can get to stick. Too many time sensitive emails corresponding to projects and deadlines to get away with only checking my email 2 times a day. However - I do very much agree that email can be a real time such and I have tried and continue to try and cut back on how much I open up my inbox.
I've tried many times to follow the twice a day email rule but that's one I can get to stick. Too many time sensitive emails corresponding to projects and deadlines to get away with only checking my email 2 times a day. However - I do very much agree that email can be a real time such and I have tried and continue to try and cut back on how much I open up my inbox.
- May 1, 2005
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Continuing on...
Meetings - when I was at a single point it was rare we had weekly review meeting that wasn't a real yawn. Then I moved into a "corporate" postion with MileOne where we tended to have several meetings a week. As I transitioned back to a smaller dealer group, where the "I" was the corporate structure, I tried to establish more consistant meetings. This became a real drag. The reason being - most people don't know HOW to have effective meetings. Lets face it, dealers LOVE to talk about everything but the tasks at hand. A meeting that shouldn't take any longer than 15 meetings turns into 30-40-60 minutes long and you have yet to really achieve anything.
I believe meetings are crucial but they need to be short and to the point while ending with a plan of execution with dates to get it done.
A few rules I try to follow when holding a meetings
1. Have an agenda for the meeting. This seems obvious but many times the "weekly" meeting agenda becomes "loose" and after a few weeks. Keep the agenda in front of you at all times.
2. Have a start and end time. View your meeting times as a promise that you need to keep.
3. Stick to the topic for each meeting. At times this can be difficult, but it's necessary to stay focused on the topic the meeting is about.
4. Execution - most meetings are based around getting something done or they at least turn into that. Be sure everyone knows exactly what is expected out of them after the meeting is done while having a time frame or deadline for getting it done.
5. Pre-schedule for the next meeting. This day should correspond to the deadline date set in the previous meeting. I find of you do NOT schedule a date for the next meeting where all will come together with their completed tasks at hand, nothing gets done and the meetings around the subject of execution keeps getting pushed back. Ultimately resulting in what should only take a few days to a week to get done turing into a month to get done.
Meetings are good but keep the short and structured.
Meetings - when I was at a single point it was rare we had weekly review meeting that wasn't a real yawn. Then I moved into a "corporate" postion with MileOne where we tended to have several meetings a week. As I transitioned back to a smaller dealer group, where the "I" was the corporate structure, I tried to establish more consistant meetings. This became a real drag. The reason being - most people don't know HOW to have effective meetings. Lets face it, dealers LOVE to talk about everything but the tasks at hand. A meeting that shouldn't take any longer than 15 meetings turns into 30-40-60 minutes long and you have yet to really achieve anything.
I believe meetings are crucial but they need to be short and to the point while ending with a plan of execution with dates to get it done.
A few rules I try to follow when holding a meetings
1. Have an agenda for the meeting. This seems obvious but many times the "weekly" meeting agenda becomes "loose" and after a few weeks. Keep the agenda in front of you at all times.
2. Have a start and end time. View your meeting times as a promise that you need to keep.
3. Stick to the topic for each meeting. At times this can be difficult, but it's necessary to stay focused on the topic the meeting is about.
4. Execution - most meetings are based around getting something done or they at least turn into that. Be sure everyone knows exactly what is expected out of them after the meeting is done while having a time frame or deadline for getting it done.
5. Pre-schedule for the next meeting. This day should correspond to the deadline date set in the previous meeting. I find of you do NOT schedule a date for the next meeting where all will come together with their completed tasks at hand, nothing gets done and the meetings around the subject of execution keeps getting pushed back. Ultimately resulting in what should only take a few days to a week to get done turing into a month to get done.
Meetings are good but keep the short and structured.
Bobby yes I remember reading 4hr around the time it came out. I still apply some of what I picked from that book and it has been helpful in my career. I enjoyed getting a refresher of it through your post. Your section about "single tasking" is so timely. I think there is trend towards this going on right now.
