Just Do It!...Or… Maybe Not?

We suffer from information and interruption overload. We suffocate in email. We get lost in the data-smog. Our to-do lists are growing in length by the minute. Technology was supposed to increase our productivity and increase our leisure time. By all accounts, it is to the contrary.

Of course, it's not necessarily that technology is at fault. Our problems, more often than not, are self-inflicted. We allow technology (email, voicemail, pagers, Blackberries) to interrupt us at will, reducing our ability to focus and stay on target. Everywhere you look there is waste, mistakes and delays. Getting it done, or done right the first time? Nearly never. The results are painful: lost business opportunities, decreased productivity, stress, frustration, anxiety and burn-out.

Did you hear the quip? Just do it!. Sounds positive and witty doesn't it? Just do it! Never mind trying to understand what needs to be done. Stop and think? Who has the time? My email is dinging, my voicemail light is blinking and my cell phone is ringing. React! And react fast. Just do it! Or...perhaps, not?

Is there a way out? Is there a better way of dealing with the accelerated pace of life (really, craziness) and the rush? Is there a way to be truly effective, more productive and still keeping our sanity? Following are some tips. Not instant solutions. Not quick fixes. Not for overnight changes. Merely best practices, which you can adopt over time in order to slow down, become more focused and more in control of your time and activities.

• Search every conceivable place, where you collect to-do items, including your head, too.
• Write everything down in one place. If you use MS Outlook, the place is the Task Pad. Otherwise, use a suitable day-timer with task (to-do) pages;
• Prioritize all your tasks. (A-B-C or High- Normal- Low)
• Now, consider this: If a to-do item is not in your calendar, there is an 80 % chance it won't get done. From to-do to done, you must have a calendar.
• Plan for tomorrow, tonight: move/write all your desired activities in the calendar. Not because it would be nice to do them, but because you have every intention of completing them.
• Estimate (realistically) the time period for each task. Mark/block your calendar accordingly. Once you planned it, let your calendar (with your goals and priorities) drive your day. Not the interruptions.
• Remember: interruptions occur to the extent you allow them to occur. Learn to say no, (or block your calendar) when you have to or need to. Just because technology is so fast, it doesn't mean we have to work at that speed.
• Process your email (paper mail and voicemail) only at specific times during the day. Read them and think about them. Opening an email and closing it back again is not an option...without making a decision what do with it. Delete it. Do it, but only if it takes less than 2 minutes. Defer it to your TaskPad or your Calendar. Delegate it.
• Slow down in order to speed up. Stop and think! Even if it sounds unthinkable. Haste makes waste.

Don't forget to breathe! And more importantly, to exhale deeply. Chew your food. Stop and think. Talk slower. Walk slower. Work slower, even if it sounds sacrilegious.